Matthew 6:9-13 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/9/2020)...

Lately, I have caught myself sensing the necessity to add a phrase to my morning devotional prayer. I regularly and faithfully pray, “Heavenly Father, please graciously forgive me for sins of omission and/or commission committed against you.” 

Recently, however, I have been impressed to add the prayer-phrase, “...and strengthen me, Lord, to make necessary adjustments in my daily life-walk that will prove more pleasing to you. Amen.”

Rocky

Matthew‬ ‭6:9-13‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

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Psalms‬ ‭19:12-14‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

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Romans 12:11-12 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/8/2020)...

“I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.”

Admiral James Stockdale (1923-2005)

NOTE: Admiral Stockdale was a prisoner of war for eight years during the Vietnam War. Following release from captivity, he was asked how he survived those unthinkable eight years of imprisonment.

Romans‬ ‭12:11-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

Romans‬ ‭5:3-5‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

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John 1:12-13 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/5/2020)...

“The child in my womb right now is truly alive, even though his life is utterly contingent on mine. He moves freely within my womb. But he does not control his location: where I go, he goes. Likewise, I am truly alive and truly free not independently from Jesus but enfolded in him. And just as escaping from me right now would mean not life to my child but death, so escaping from Christ would mean not freedom and life to me but a brief writhing before stillness. Enclosed in my body, dependent on my blood, protected by my immunity, and housed in my love, my son is, in a tangible sense, united with me. Because I trust in Jesus, I am similarly dependent on him. Where Jesus goes, I go. If he lives, I live. He died my death and took my punishment. He is my resurrection and my life.”

Rebecca McLaughlin (https://www.crossway.org/authors/rebecca-mclauglin)

‭‭John‬ ‭1:12-13‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

Acts 17:28‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, “We are his offspring.”

1 John‬ ‭3:1-3‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

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Mark 10:17-27 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (June 4, 2020)...

“Money is a marvelous servant but a terrible master. If you possess money, be grateful and use it for God’s glory; but if money possesses you, beware! It is good to have the things that money can buy, provided you don’t lose the things that money cannot buy. The deceitfulness of riches had so choked the soil of this young man’s heart that he was unable to receive the good seed of the Word and be saved. What a bitter harvest he would reap one day!”

Warren Wiersbe (1929-2019)

Mark‬ ‭10:17-27‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’ ” 

“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” 

Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 

At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” 

The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. 

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

John‬ ‭3:16-18‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.

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Psalm 118:24 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/3/2020)...

“A great attitude becomes a great day which becomes a great month which becomes a great year which becomes a great life.”

Mandy Hale

Psalms‬ ‭118:24‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

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Philippians‬ ‭2:14-15‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

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Psalm 4:4-8 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/2/2020)...

“Christian joy is a mood independent of our immediate circumstances. If it were dependent on our surroundings, then, indeed, it would be as uncertain as an unprotected candle burning on a gusty night. One moment the candle burns clear and steady, the next moment the blaze leaps to the very edge of the wick, and affords little or no light. But Christian joy has no relationship to the transient setting of the life, and therefore it is not the victim of the passing day. At one time my conditions arrange themselves like a sunny day in June; a little later they rearrange themselves like a gloomy day in November. One day I am at the wedding; the next day I stand by an open grave...Yes, the days are as changeable as the weather, and yet the Christian joy can be persistent. Where lies the secret of its glorious persistency?

Here is the secret. "Lo! I am with you all the days." In all the changing days, "He changeth not, neither is weary." He is no fairweather Companion, leaving me when the year grows dark and cold. He does not choose my days of prosperous festival, though not to be found in my days of impoverishment and defeat. He does not show Himself only when I wear a garland, and hide Himself when I wear a crown of thorns. He is with me "all the days"—the prosperous days and the days of adversity; days when the funeral bell is tolling, and days when the wedding bell is ringing. "All the days." The day of life—the day of death—the day of judgment.”

Rev. John Henry Jowett (Day by Day pp. 169-171)

Philippians‬ ‭4:4-8‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

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Luke 21:25-28 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/1/2020)...

“The outlook may be dark, but the uplook is always bright.”

Pastor/Author Mark Hitchcock 

Luke‬ ‭21:25-28‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!

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