Grace for the Moment: Morning and Evening Devotional Journal

8/13/2019 Grace for the Moment: Morning and Evening Devotional Journal

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God ListensI cry out to the L

ORD

;I pray to the LORDfor mercy.

P S A L M 1 4 2 : 1

ou can talk to God because God listens. Your voice mattersin heaven. He takes you very seriously. When you enter his

presence, he turns to you to hear your voice. No need to

fear that you will be ignored. Even if you stammer or stumble, even

if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God, and helistens. He listens to the painful plea of the elderly in the rest home.

He listens to the gruff confession of the death-row inmate. When

the alcoholic begs for mercy, when the spouse seeks guidance, whenthe businessman steps off the street into the chapel, God listens.

Intently. Carefully.TH E GR E A T HO U S E O F GO D

God wants to hear what you have to say. How does thatmake you feel?

M O R N I N GJ A N U A R Y 1

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3/15

E V E N I N GJ A N U A R Y 1

Packed for a PurposeHe has filled them with skill.EX O D U S 3 5 : 3 5 N K J V

ou were born prepacked. God looked at your entire life,

determined your assignment, and gave you the tools to do

the job.

Before traveling, you do something similar. You consider thedemands of the journey and pack accordingly. Cold weather? Bring

a jacket. Business meeting? Carry the laptop. Time with grand-children? Better take some sneakers and pain medication.

God did the same with you.Joe will research animals . . . install

curiosity. Meagan will lead a private school . . . an extra dose of

management. I need Eric to comfort the sick . . . include a healthyshare of compassion. Denalyn will marry Max . . . instill a double

portion of patience.

God packed you on purpose for a purpose.

CU R E F O R T H E CO M M O N LI F E

How has God packaged your life? List some tools he has givenyou and describe how you might use them for his purpose.

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4/15

A Chosen PeopleYou are a chosen people, royal priests,a holy nation, a people for Gods own possession.

1 P E T E R 2 : 9

o you ever feel unnoticed? New clothes and styles mayhelp for a while. But if you want permanent change, learn

to see yourself as God sees you: He has covered me with

clothes of salvation and wrapped me with a coat of goodness, like a

bridegroom dressed for his wedding, like a bride dressed in jewels(Isaiah 61:10).

Does your self-esteem ever sag? When it does, remember what

you are worth. You were bought, not with something that ruinslike gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ, who was

like a pure and perfect lamb (1 Peter 1:1819).

The challenge is to remember that. To meditate on it. To focus

on it. To allow his love to change the way you look at you.

WH E N CH R I S T CO M E S

You are so valuable to God that he sent his Son to die foryou. Does that encourage you? In what other ways has heshown you his love?


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Worthless WorryI was young, and now I am old,but I have never seen good people left helplessor their children begging for food.

P S A L M 3 7 : 2 5

e worry. We worry about the IRS and the SAT and

the FBI. We worry that we wont have enough

money, and when we have money we worry that we

wont manage it well. We worry that the world will end before theparking meter expires. We worry what the dog thinks if he sees usstep out of the shower. We worry that someday well learn that

fat-free yogurt was fattening.

Honestly, now. Did God save you so you would fret? Would he

teach you to walk just to watch you fall? Would he be nailed to the

cross for your sins and then disregard your prayers? Come on. Is

Scripture teasing us when it reads, He has put his angels in chargeof you to watch over you wherever you go (Psalm 91:11)?

I dont think so either.IN T H E GR I P O F GR A C E

What things do you tend to worry about? List some of Godspromises in Scripture that will remind you not to worry.


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7/15


Loaded with LoveHe . . . loads me with love and mercy.P S A L M 1 0 3 : 4

ts time to let Gods love cover all things in your life. All secrets.

All hurts. All hours of evil, minutes of worry.

The mornings you awoke in the bed of a stranger? His love

will cover that. The years you peddled prejudice and pride? Hislove will cover that. Every promise broken, drug taken, penny

stolen. Every cross word, cuss word, and harsh word. His lovecovers all things.

Let it. Discover along with the psalmist: He . . . loads me with

love and mercy. Picture a giant dump truck full of love. There you

are behind it. God lifts the bed until the love starts to slide. Slowly

at first, then down, down, down until you are hidden, buried,covered in his love.

Hey, where are you? someone asks.

In here, covered in love.A LO V E WO R T H GI V I N G

God has loaded your life with mercy and love. What hurtsand worries do you need to bury beneath that love?

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8/15

A Complete RestorationYou will know that Gods power isvery great for us who believe.

E P H E S I A N S 1 : 1 9

od loves to decorate. God hasto decorate. Let him livelong enough in a heart, and that heart will begin to

change. Portraits of hurt will be replaced by landscapes

of grace. Walls of anger will be demolished and shaky foundations

restored. God can no more leave a life unchanged than a mothercan leave her childs tear untouched.

This might explain some of the discomfort in your life.

Remodeling of the heart is not always pleasant. We dont objectwhen the Carpenter adds a few shelves, but hes been known to

gut the entire west wing. He has such high aspirations for you.

God envisions a complete restoration. He wont stop until he is

finished. He wants you to be just like Jesus.

JU S T LI K E JE S U S

How has God been changing your heart? What is differentin your life today because of those changes?


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9/15


The Author of LifeHe who was dead sat up and began to speak.And [ Jesus] presented him to his mother.

L U K E 7 : 1 5 N K J V

he mourners didnt cause him to stop. Nor did the largecrowd, or even the body of the dead man on the stretcher.

It was the womanthe look on her face and the redness in

her eyes. He knew immediately what was happening. It was her son

who was being carried out, her only son. And if anyone knows thepain that comes from losing your only son, God does.

So he did it; he went into action. Dont cry, he told the

mother. Arise! he told the boy. The dead man spoke, the devil ran,and the people were reminded of this truth: For those who know the

Author of Life, death is nothing more than Satans dead-mans-bluff.

GO D CA M E NE A R

How has the Author of Life brought healing and hope toyour life? What difference has this made to your life?

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10/15

Dont Miss Gods AnswerIs anything too hard for the L

ORD

? No!G E N E S I S 1 8 : 1 4

he God of surprises strikes again. God does that for the

faithful. Just when the womb gets too old for babies, Sarai

gets pregnant. Just when the failure is too great for grace,

David is pardoned.The lesson? Three words. Dont give up.

Is the road long? Dont stop.Is the night black? Dont quit.

God is watching. For all you know right at this moment . . . the

check may be in the mail.

The apology may be in the making.

The job contract may be on the desk.Dont quit. For if you do, you may miss the answer to your

prayers.HE ST I L L MO V E S ST O N E S

God is faithful. God is always on time. Describe someother characteristics of God that will encourage you tohang in there.


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11/15


God Honors WorkWhatever work you do, do your best.E C C L E S I A S T E S 9 : 1 0

eavens calendar has seven Sundays a week. God

sanctifies each day. He conducts holy business at all

hours and in all places. He uncommons the common by

turning kitchen sinks into shrines, cafs into convents, and nine-to-five workdays into spiritual adventures.

Workdays?Yes, workdays. He ordained your work as somethinggood. Before he gave Adam a wife or a child, even before he gave

Adam britches, God gave Adam a job. Then the Lord God took

the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and

keep it (Genesis 2:15 nasb). Innocence, not indolence,

characterized the first family.God unilaterally calls all the physically able to till the gardens

he gives. God honors work. So honor God in your work.

CU R E F O R T H E CO M M O N LI F E

God ordained work as something good. List some ways youcan honor God in your work or daily responsibilities.

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Miraculous MomentsIn Christ there is all of God in a human body.C O L O S S I A N S 2 : 9 T L B

esus was not a godlike man, nor a manlike God. He was

God-man.

Midwifed by a carpenter.

Bathed by a peasant girl.The Maker of the world with a belly button.

The Author of the Torah being taught the Torah.Heavens human. And because he was, we are left with scratch-

your-head, double-blink, whats-wrong-with-this-picture? moments

like these:

A cripple sponsoring the town dance.

A sack lunch satisfying five thousand tummies.What do we do with such moments?

What do we do with such a person? We applaud men for

doing good things. We enshrine God for doing great things.

But when a man does God things?

One thing is certain: we cant ignore him.

NE X T DO O R SA V I O R

What God things have you seen happen in your life or thelives of others? How do you respond to those things?

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The Foundation of CourageI will forgive their wickednessand will remember their sins no more.

H E B R E W S 8 : 1 2 N I V

herefore, there is now no condemnation for those who arein Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1 niv).

[God] justifies those who have faith in Jesus (v. 3:26).

For those in Christ, these promises are not only a source of joy.

They are also the foundations of true courage. You are guaranteedthat your sins will be filtered through, hidden in, and screened out

by the sacrifice of Jesus. When God looks at you, he doesnt see

you; he sees the One who surrounds you. That means that failureis not a concern for you. Your victory is secure. How could you not

be courageous?TH E AP P L AU S E O F HE A V E N

Why does God want us to confess our sins and admit ourneed of forgiveness? Is this for his benefit or for ours?

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E V E N I N G

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J A N U A R Y 7

We Need a Big GodI am Yahweh.EX O D U S 6 : 2 T J B

he Israelites considered the name Yahweh too holy to be

spoken by human lips. Whenever they needed to say

Yahweh, they substituted the wordAdonai, which means

Lord. If the name needed to be written, the scribes would take abath before they wrote it and destroy the pen afterward.

The name I am sounds strikingly close to the Hebrew verb tobehavah. Its quite possibly a combination of the present tense

form (I am) and the causative tense (I cause to be). Yahweh, then,

seems to mean I am and I cause. God is the One who is and

the One who causes.

Why is that important? Because we need a big God. And ifGod is the One who is, then he is an unchanging God.

TR A V E L I N G LI G H T

We have a big God who is an unchanging God. Describe howyou have personally experienced the wonder of God.

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Grace for the Moment: Morning and Evening Devotional Journal

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