January 2018 Passages
January 1, 2018
Happy New Year!!! May 2018 reflect our reliance on Jesus to navigate us through whatever comes our way.
"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
January 2, 2018
We get up each day to do life as we know it ONLY because Jesus says so...
"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."
January 3, 2018
To begin 2018, may we desire to live by the Spirit of God refusing to live by sinful nature. Paul's address to the Galatians remains relevant today.
"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want."
January 4, 2018
Pray daily to live by the Fruit of the Spirit.
"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
January 5, 2018
Do not take for granted or lightly our salvation found only in Jesus.
"We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him."
January 6, 2018
Live each day fully in the strength and courage of Jesus.
"And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."
January 7, 2018
Use the courage that is in Jesus to press on each day being built into His image.
"For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory."
January 8, 2018
Being made in His image strengthens us to persevere and remain calm in the stress and chaos of our days.
"Look, a righteous king is coming! And honest princes will rule under him. Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land.
January 9, 2018
Set aside time each day in prayer to draw upon the strength and wisdom of Jesus to live for His glory and delight.
"But Lord , be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strong arm each day and our salvation in times of trouble."
January 10, 2018
Knowing God's expectations of our behavior, put aside what causes us to sin and help each other daily.
"Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.
January 11, 2018
We will be tested time and time again and only with Jesus driving our life can we resist the sin of conforming to "what everyone else does."
"For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”
January 12, 2018
Our sure footing each day rests only with Jesus who gives us everything we need.
"In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.
January 13, 2018
We will be tested time and time again and only with Jesus driving our life can we resist the sin of conforming to "what everyone else does."
"For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”
January 14, 2018
Good is love. To be sincere in love is to reflect Jesus in our behavior and words, which would then reject petty,gossipy, and mean thoughts and responses to others.
"Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good."
January 16, 2018
Please keep Mick's Dad in your prayers. He undergoes open heart today. True desires and energy for life come from God. Pray daily for His strength, wisdom, and love to be well equipped for anything that comes your way.
"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."
January 17, 2018
Stay connected to Jesus. Each moment of this present time is to rest in the assurance of what we know to be true. He is faithful & more powerful than what we will ever face.
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
January 18, 2018
Time is necessary; to work, to learn, to earn, to play and to go, yet the most important is time to be- to be present, to connect, to share, to help, to support, to laugh , to love, to be with each other- God's people. Allow your time to be planned by God.
"Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality."
January 19, 2018
To pray for and be kind to people who are mean, irritating, jealous, do not understand you or want you to succeed is a testament of the type of relationship you have with Jesus and defines your character."
"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
January 20, 2018
Truly invest in each other is to feel what they feel- joy, sadness, pain , fear- and time well spent. Pray for them as you walk with them.
" Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."
January 22, 2018
Take the road less traveled extending grace and forgiveness- refuse to explode or get someone back.
"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone."
January 23, 2018
Choosing to praise God when life is not going well demonstrates trust he will provide for you.
"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord , I will be joyful in God my Savior.
January 24, 2018
Our love for and desire to follow Jesus plants in us his righteousness which is his law- and by our faith in him we are justified; redeemed.
"We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,"
January 25, 2018
Pray to be aware of and pay close attention to what God is instructing daily. Getting caught up in tasks, drama, and what you might find important can steer you in the wrong direction.
"We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him."
January 26, 2018
Have courage in the power of Jesus to withstand what is unjust and contrary to the gospel. For he is just and will strengthen you.
"God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels."
January 27, 2018
In relationship with Jesus, He reveals to us what must change to be more like him. Refusing to do so, our relationship is a lie.
"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth."
January 28, 2018
His light shines through us to others when we choose to depend on Him and live as He commands
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
January 29, 2018
Be honest with yourself when you make a mistake. Tell Jesus and those you have hurt you are sorry and thrive in the freedom he lovingly gives.
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
January 30, 2018
Desire to emulate the character of God: love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
"This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."
January 31, 2018
Extending respect, kindness, generosity, and help to people who live differently or live in darkness shows them Jesus in you.
"Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them."