Monday
Charm is deceptive and beauty if fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
So many things we honor and exalt in our culture are shallow and temporary. The one thing that lasts in a beautiful woman is not her charm or her beauty, but her godliness. Let's make sure in our church families and our physical families that true and lasting beauty is clearly valued and amply praised!
MY PRAYER ...
Holy God, please give us better eyes and more faithful hearts that we may value in all people qualities that reflect your character. Bless us as we raise our children that we may instill in them a sense of proper values as they choose their life partner. And dear God, please help us in our churches to value and praise women for their holy character. In Jesus name. Amen.
Tuesday
You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
I am made by God! You are made by God. Just as surely as ANYone has been made by God, we have been made by God. He knew us before anyone knew we were there. He had plans for us before anyone planned our arrival. And he made us well! How do we know? Look at all God has made.
MY PRAYER ...
God Almighty, my Savior and Redeemer, thank you for knowing me before I was able to know. Thank you for choosing my life and giving it to me. Thank you for giving me the gifts, abilities and talents that you have given me. Now help me live as if I was made special by you, because I am! Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
Wednesday
As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
I don't know. I don't know! That has to be one of the hardest phrases for us to use. But when thinking about God and his ways, that's really all we can say. We know about God only what he in his grace has chosen to reveal to us. He is the Mystery of mysteries. He is the supreme knowable Unknown. Yet what we do know of him, what he has revealed to us in Jesus, is not only mighty and awesome, but loving and merciful.
MY PRAYER ...
To you, O Lord God, I can only offer my wonder and awe. When I consider the universe in which our tiny blue planet spins its existence, I am humbled at your vastness. But at the same time, I treasure your nearness. You are a good far above all I know, but a God who is also near. Thank you for being accessible but not penetrable. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
Thursday
The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
So God likes to sing too! He even likes to share his lullabies with those he loves. Not only is God Abba Father, he is also like a mother. He gently rocks and quiets his children with his affectionate care.
MY PRAYER ...
O God, I pray that when the storms of life rage against me, I will remember these words and find refuge, comfort and peace in your sheltering care. Make me aware, O God, of your singing in my life as you make your salvation more clear to me each day. Through my Savior Jesus I pray. Amen.
Friday
Oh, the depth and riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
God's plan to save us is incredible. His blueprints for the creation of our universe are beyond our imagining. He is so rich in wisdom and knowledge. What else can we do but go to him and ask him to open our minds to his work and his will in our lives.
MY PRAYER ...
Precious and Almighty Father, thank you for reawakening me each spring to the power of your sustaining presence in the world, but even more in my life. Bless me today as I seek to put you first in all I do. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Saturday
The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE …
Now I know why righteousness is so hard to find: there aren't many sowers! Heavenly wisdom is full of acrificial earthly action. That's a powerful reminder to me that wisdom is not what you know but what you sow!
MY PRAYER ...
Holy and Wise Father, thank you for demonstrating purity, peace making, consideration, submissiveness, mercy, good fruit, impartiality, and sincerity in Jesus. I ask for the power and the courage to demonstrate those qualities this week as I seek to live more like him. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Sunday
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE ...
So much assurance in such a short verse! God is not unjust – boy is that an understatement. If he produced the atoning sacrifice for our sins, what will he deny us if we seek after him? He will not forget our work and love – an eternal record of the good we have done! When we help our brothers and sisters in Christ, we bless him! We are HIS people!! That's real motivation to keep on maturing in Christ.
MY PRAYER ...
God, you are so gracious. Thank you. Words cannot express my joy at hearing such a simple and profound statement describing your virtues. I am so glad I am your child. Through my brother Jesus I pray. Amen.