April 7, Day 98 - Psalm 32

Click here to read Psalm 32

What a great Psalm to read the day before Easter!!!

Oh, what joy for those

    whose disobedience is forgiven,

    whose sin is put out of sight!

Yes, what joy for those

    whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,

    whose lives are lived in complete honesty!

The Psalm goes on to remind us of what happens when we carry around our sins.

And the Psalmist concludes with this:

So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him!

    Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

April 6, Day 97 - Luke 12

Click here to go to Luke 12

The thing that jumped out to me at this point in my life were verses 25 - 28:
25 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 26 And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?
27 “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 28 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

I need to take things one day at a time and trust God to take of things.

How about your guys?

And in honor of Good Friday a song that I love it, I'll admit... may not be the most theologically sound words, but the ultimate message is there. Jesus Christ was crucified on a Friday but Sunday came and He rose victorious!

April 5, Day 96 - Luke 11

Click here to go to Luke 11

One of my other blogs is a Christian Book Review site and one of the books I'm reading is More Beauty, Less Beast: Transforming your Inner Orge by Debora Coty.  She used the acronym PRAY in relationship to the Lord's Prayer as a way to take us through a focused prayer process.  I've been using it while I'm on the demon machine AKA the elliptical machine.

P stands for Praise, praising God for how He is and what He's done Father, may your name be kept holy 
R stands for Raise, raising your requests to Him Give us each day the food we need,
A stands for Admit, confessing your sins and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us
Y stands for Yield, admitting we need God's help for everything! And don’t let us yield to temptation.


I really liked the way she tied it all together.

There is also the ACTS "model" of prayer:
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication

Blessings all!

April 4, Day 95 - Luke 10

Click here to go to Luke 10

Oh wow!  What a rich chapter! I know I've read this chapter before but verses 21 - 23 never jumped at me before: At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Can you imagine?  Jesus filled with the Joy of the Holy Spirit. Not sure why I like the visual, but I think too often I think of Jesus as being serious and here when I read "filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit" I imagine someone bubbling with joy.  OK, so maybe I'm just weird.

The story of the Good Samaritan is such a great reminder of how we need to act toward those around us.  Here in SoCal we have some may scam artist that just want a handout it's really hard to discern who needs help and who doesn't.  In this parable it is obvious this man was injured and in need of help.  I have gotten to the point where if someone ask for money for food I'll offer to buy them food, but I won't just give them cash.

Sorry if I'm babbling today...my thoughts are a little scattered.

April 3, Day 94 - Luke 9

Click here to read Luke 9

Chapter 9 is such an interesting chapter to me. First you have Jesus sending out His disciples where they preach the Good News and heal people but just a week or so later. (We don't have an exact timeline here but we know it was longer than a week. v 28)  A man brings his demon possessed son to the disciples and they can't help.  Of course, the disciples aren't all that different than I am.  How often have I seen God do tremendous things to later doubt Him on something so similar.  What does that say about the human nature? That we tend to forget too quickly the power of God.

There's some other really good stuff in this chapter, but I love reading what you guys share.

http://www.wga.hu/art/l/lanfranc/miracle.jpg

April 2, Day Day 93 - Luke 8

Click here to go to Luke 8

OK, something I've never noticed before is verse 3: Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.

Looking at the different commentaries available on biblegate.com there is uncertainty whether Joanna was a widow or if her husband, Chuza, was the current business manager of Herod.  Interesting to think that Herod had someone that close to him that was a possible believer if Jesus.  

I love the fact that Luke made a point to mention the women involved in Jesus' ministry.  A reminder that God does want to use women.  

I also love the fact that Jesus calls those who obey His words family (19-21): 

Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they couldn’t get to him because of the crowd. Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, and they want to see you.”

Jesus replied, “My mother and my brothers are all those who hear God’s word and obey it.”

This chapter is rich with life lessons and reminders of God's power. What portion speaks to your heart today?

April 1, Day 92 - Psalm 30

Click here to go to Psalm 30

This Psalm is labeled: A Psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the temple.

I love verses 11 & 12 especially this weekend as we said good bye (or rather "see you later") to a dear friend and God honoring man.  Our friend, Ray, had been a part of the sheriff's department for over 40 years.  He touched a lot of lives. He lived life with no regrets.  Today in the service our Pastor used the life that Ray lived to challenge all in attendance, including close to 100 sheriff's deputies and explorers (kids 14-20 who think they want a future in the sheriff's department) to live life with no regrets. To live life with the peace, joy, and love that Ray lived.  And there's only one way to do that, ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.  He had an "altar" call, though he didn't have them come down front he asked them to raise their hands.  No eyes closed either.  Probably 20 people raised their hands and said, "Yes, I want this Jesus that Ray knew."

Even though the pain is still very real and very deep for not only the family but for many of us who knew him, there is rejoicing. Rejoicing that he's with his  Lord, rejoicing that even in death he's making an impact on lives.