Day Fifteen (of 31 Daily Reminders)

Who God Is…

God is Love!  (Agape)

[No greater love has anyone (including God) than this: that He lay down His life for His own. He was willing to do whatever it took to rescue us from the consequences of sin and death!]

 

Who I am/we are in Christ…

I am being transformed!

“Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Rom 12:2

Don’t copy the outward behaviors and customs of the world or let yourselves be squeezed into its mold, rather be transformed inwardly as God renews your mind. Then you will know God’s will for you and learn from your own experience that His ways will really satisfy you.

[Not reformed (something I do) but transformed (something God does). God transforms us through His Spirit through His Word. The new life effects the very core of who and what we are – our attitudes as well as our actions. Then we will understand from personal experience that His plan and His ways are the very BEST. The battle ground in this spiritual warfare is the mind…  I, {state your name}, and being transformed as God renews my mind.]

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
Col 2:6-7

Now as you trusted Christ to save you, trust Him, too, for each day’s problems; live in Him. Keep your roots deep in Him, build your lives upon Him, and become ever stronger in your faith as you were taught. Then your lives will overflow with joy and thankfulness.

[A tree with a good root system is better able to withstand life’s storms. Faith is not a one-time decision but a daily way of life, a walk with God…  As I, {state your name}, put my roots down deep in Christ and His Word, I am more prepared to withstand all the storms that will come my way.]

 

His promises for me/us today…

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and my God.”
Ps 42:5

Why am I so discouraged? Why am I so restless and sad? I will put my confidence in God; I will continue to praise Him for He is my Savior and my God.

[When we focus on ourselves and/or our problems, they will loom large and will threaten to overwhelm us… When I, {state your name}, look to God, His peace will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.]

“Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.”
1 Pet 5:7

Let Him have all those things that are troubling and worrying you; because He cares about what happens to you and can handle them for you.

[God is concerned for us and for those things that are weighing us down…. He invites me, {state your name}, to turn my worries over to Him.]

“In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world!”
Jn 16:33

As long as you live in this broken world, you will face trials and troubles. But don’t worry, for I, Jesus, have overcome the world.

[I, {state your name}, can have peace because Jesus has overcome all the troubles this world can send my way.]

  

His callings/my vocations…

As you reflect on these words from the Lord, what do you sense God calling you to be or to do? How do these words and promises from the Lord speak to you today with the particular joys and struggles that are part of your life and life of faith?

Think of the people who are closest to you in the vocations He has given you?  [husband/wife; family; friends; neighbors; others]. What are some of the “take aways” from these verses that you could share with them to encourage or support them in the challenges they face as they live in this broken world?

Now take a moment to pray, using the words of some of these Scriptures to shape your prayer, as you pray them back to Him. Pray them specifically for those things that you or those you love are dealing with today!

 

This is from the devotional tool, “31 Daily Reminders”, that I have designed to help you begin each day aware of Who God Is, of Who We Are In Christ, of His Promises That Sustain and Empower Us, and of the Various Callings/ Vocations He Has Given Us.  If you would like a hard copy of these devotions, just let me know!