WEEK 6
Monday – 3/30
“Is it possible for a mother, however disappointed, however hurt, to forget her nursing child? Can she feel nothing for the baby she carried and birthed? Even if she could, I, God, will never forget you. Look here. I have made you a part of Me, written you on the palms of My hands. Your city walls are always on My mind, always My concern.” Isaiah 49:15-16
I am not a fan of voluntarily exposing myself to pain. Therefore, I had never been eager to get a tattoo. However, I gave in when my eldest granddaughter came to me asking that we get matching tattoos before they moved four states away. I now have a lovely sunflower tattoo slightly above my right ankle. (Yes, it hurt a bit but not anywhere near what I was expecting.) Every time I see my tattoo I think about
my granddaughter.
I have read the above verse numerous times but something new stood out to me recently. I was doing a study and the author referred to this verse and stated that my name was tattooed on the palm of God’s hand. Wow not only does God promise to never forget about me, but my name is also tattooed on the palm of His hand! I know that whenever I see my tattoo, I think lovingly about my granddaughter. And when God sees my name written on His hand, He thinks lovingly of me. His love for me and all mankind was forever expressed in Jesus’ death and resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Dear Father God, thank you that You never forget me; that my name is written on the palms of Your hands. I am in awe that I am always on Your mind and that You attend to all my concerns. Help me to remember this promise even when I feel I’ve failed or disappointed You.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Tuesday – 3/31
“Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. (Haggai 1:8)
In the mountains Abraham met with God, who gave him a ram to sacrifice. In the mountains Moses talked with God and received instructions. In the mountains Jesus went for prayer with His Father and there he called his 12 disciples. The mountains often symbolize God’s presence. While the original book of Haggai was directed to the Jewish leaders in 520 BC, I believe God can use such Scripture to quicken a new and personal meaning to those who seek Him. About forty-three years ago, God used Haggai 1:8 to speak to me and my bride-to-be. God encouraged us to meet with Him and to receive the timber for building our house of marriage. Just as timber provides form and
strength to a physical house, we believe God asked us to listen and apply God’s Word, so He would form and strengthen our house of marriage.
For what purpose? I have seen many scriptures that address how a house built poorly can be a problem, such as collapsing in a storm. But this verse speaks of the end goal of honoring and pleasing God. Such an awesome promise from an awesome God! I do not know anything more fulfilling than pleasing God. Of course, honoring and pleasing God does not mean we escape problems. We have had some hard trials. God got us through these as we continued to trust Him. And we still believe He is honored and pleased when we ‘go up into the
mountains’ to meet with Him.
So is this life verse only for me and my spouse? Are we the only ones God can quicken this verse for? I doubt that. I am sharing this because maybe you also need to recognize God speaking to you about your house. Maybe it is not about marriage, maybe about a different sort of house – maybe the house of your career, your health, or your extended family. In this last few days before Easter, is God asking you to ‘go up into the mountains’ to meet with Him and to bring down his timbers, His building materials?
Lord, help me hear whatever You may be saying to me. Help me commit to meet with You and to listen through Scripture and prayer. And help me to use Your timber in my house for Your pleasure and honor. Amen.
Wednesday – 4/01
“If you are right with God, He strengthens you for the journey; the Lord will be pleased with your life. And even though you trip up, you will not fall on your face because He holds you by the hand.” Psalm 37:23-24
As a rule, we usually do not trip over the big stuff; we do not trip over the couch, or the dining table, or our nightstand. We do, however, trip over the little things, the toy car, the backpack left on the floor, or the hastily discarded shoe. Spiritually, we are very often tripped up by the seemingly ‘small stuff’. We skip our devotional time one morning. We dwell on an unkind thought about a brother or sister. We tell a ‘little white lie’. When we trip up over even the smallest thing, we lose our spiritual equilibrium. Equilibrium is the balance of competing influences.
We daily live under the competing influences of our flesh and the Spirit of God. Any trip up can give the influence of the flesh the upper hand.
God promises in Psalm 37 that He will strengthen us for the journey (our journey toward holy living) and keep us from falling on our face. Though God promises His help, we have our part. In this week leading to Easter, let us recognize and deal with the ‘small stuff’ that can trip us up, so it does not become a stumbling block to our spiritual equilibrium. When we trip over the same small thing again and again, it can
become a big thing. Missing our devotional time once turns into missing our devotional time for a week or more. Our unkind thought about a brother or sister can morph into a critical spirit. The small things need our attention, so they do not become the big things.
Dear Father, help me to recognize and deal with the ‘small things’ that so easily trip me up. I thank you that You strengthen me for the journey and keep me from falling on my face. In Jesus name, Amen.
Thursday – 4/02
“So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word.” Hebrews 10:22-23 (Message)
Our son did competitive swimming with a community team while in elementary school. He enjoyed it and did quite well. As he was entering middle school, we moved to a different state. We signed him up with a community swim team in our new state. It was a knock-down, drag-out to get him to practices. When he did go, his performance was well below what it had been previously. What was the difference between his experience with the old team versus the new team? The coach. His original coach believed in him and instilled confidence in him despite the fact that our son was not always easy to work with (our son has Asperger’s, a high functioning form of Autism). Our son was able to keep a grip on the belief and confidence the coach had in him, even when he was uncertain in his own abilities.
This experience with our son illustrates for me the essence of the above verses in Hebrews. God believes in me and has confidence in me, inside and out, even when I question or doubt myself. He promises to be with me (Matthew 28:20); He promises to uphold me (Isaiah 41:13); He promises to give me strength (Philippians 4:13). These are but a few of God’s promises that I keep a firm grip on. God is the ultimate coach
who cheers me on and keeps me going with His magnificent promises. As Easter approaches, let us celebrate the fulfillment of God’s magnificent promises in Jesus.
Dear God, thank You for always believing in me and instilling Your confidence in me. I am so grateful for Your promises that keep me going forward. Help me to keep a firm grip on Your promises, especially when I doubt myself. In Jesus name, Amen.
Friday – 4/03
“And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure.” 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
We all know we should keep our vehicles in good repair. If the oil gets low, we take it for an oil change. If the check engine light comes on, we take it to the garage to be find out what might be amiss. If we ignore these warning signs, we may find ourselves paying out for costly repairs or find ourselves stranded on the side of the road.
Our relationships, like our vehicles, need to be kept in good repair. To keep our relationships in the community of faith in good repair means that the members are well taken care of; it means the relationships function as they are intended to function. We need to heed any warning signs. Have you missed seeing someone for several weeks? Does your sister-in-Christ seem distracted or preoccupied? Is one of the members of your small group not responding to attempts to get in touch with them?
Relationships in the community of faith are kept in good repair when people’s spirits are being strengthened and built up, when harmony and peace are a priority, and when we can lovingly agree to disagree. As with a vehicle, it is better to keep our relationships in good repair, rather than waiting till there is a costly breakdown and, possibly, unrepairable damage is done. Easter is a good time to check on the
condition of our relationships in our community of faith.
Dear Father God, help me to keep my relationships in good repair by making harmony, peace, and mutual encouragement a priority. Let me be aware of any warning signs and address them in Your spirit of love and peace. In Jesus name, Amen.
Saturday – 4/04
“On the last day, the biggest day of the festival, Jesus stood again and spoke aloud. 'If any of you is thirsty, come to Me and drink.If you believe in Me, the Hebrew Scriptures say that rivers of living water will flow from within you.” John 7:37-38
We have all most likely experienced dehydration. It is the condition of losing more fluid than your body takes in. Dehydration upsets the balance of necessary elements in your body and interferes with normal functioning. You experience muscle weakness and severe muscle cramps. You become abnormally fatigued. Your thinking is affected; you suffer headache, confusion, and often a sense of delirium. We become dehydrated when we neglect to consume the needed amount of water. We become busy and distracted and proper hydration is ignored.
We frequently become dehydrated spiritually. Spiritual dehydration, like physical dehydration, upsets our spiritual balance and function. When we are not regularly taking in the living water of God’s Word, our spiritual muscles become weak and eventually atrophy. Spiritual dehydration causes our thinking and decision making to become confused and unreliable. This is a result of giving out more than we are taking in. And when we neglect spiritual intake due to the busyness and distractions of life.
Jesus invites us to come to Him when we are spiritually thirsty. We are encouraged to drink deep and long from the living water of the Word. Instead of being spiritually dehydrated, we will be overflowing with living water; refreshed and able to refresh others. Easter is the perfect time to be spiritually refreshed.
Dear Father, thank you for Your Word which is the source of my spiritual strength and well-being. Make me aware when I am becoming spiritually dehydrated. Lord, let your living water flow in me and through me not only at Easter, but every day of the year.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Easter Sunday – 4/05
“Nothing they did bothered you; nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.” Hebrews 10:35-36 (Message)
It is exciting to begin a new project. Your confidence and motivation are in high gear. Great ideas are swirling around in your mind. As you start, you just know this is what you should be doing and that it is going to turn out great. Then, you run into a minor snag; no problem, you keep on moving forward. Next, someone makes an unsolicited comment, maybe not even directly about your project, but a seed of
uncertainty is planted. Your confidence wanes and you are not as excited and determined as you were at the beginning.
The above scenario is all too common; I know I have experienced it on numerous occasions. It is especially too common when we are undertaking something new for God. We start out full of confidence that this is of God. Initially, we are not bothered by minor obstacles or setbacks. However, as we continue to move forward, the enemy attempts to erode our confidence; a negative comment for someone here, a couple of steps back there. We begin to question and doubt ourselves. We may even entertain quitting.
The above verse gives me such encouragement, God’s encouragement to keep moving forward to completion. Anything undertaken in God’s plan is a sure thing. We can be confident in that assurance. It does not mean it will always be smooth sailing, but it does mean that we can keep going through obstacles and setbacks. God pledges that if we keep working within His plan, we will certainly reach the promised completion. Just as God continued to work out His plan of salvation which came to completion in Jesus on Easter Sunday.
Dear God, thank You that You bring new and exciting things into my life. Let me finish those things with the same excitement and motivation with which I began. Help me rely on the confidence I have in Your plan and promises. In Jesus name, Amen
Monday – 3/30
“Is it possible for a mother, however disappointed, however hurt, to forget her nursing child? Can she feel nothing for the baby she carried and birthed? Even if she could, I, God, will never forget you. Look here. I have made you a part of Me, written you on the palms of My hands. Your city walls are always on My mind, always My concern.” Isaiah 49:15-16
I am not a fan of voluntarily exposing myself to pain. Therefore, I had never been eager to get a tattoo. However, I gave in when my eldest granddaughter came to me asking that we get matching tattoos before they moved four states away. I now have a lovely sunflower tattoo slightly above my right ankle. (Yes, it hurt a bit but not anywhere near what I was expecting.) Every time I see my tattoo I think about
my granddaughter.
I have read the above verse numerous times but something new stood out to me recently. I was doing a study and the author referred to this verse and stated that my name was tattooed on the palm of God’s hand. Wow not only does God promise to never forget about me, but my name is also tattooed on the palm of His hand! I know that whenever I see my tattoo, I think lovingly about my granddaughter. And when God sees my name written on His hand, He thinks lovingly of me. His love for me and all mankind was forever expressed in Jesus’ death and resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Dear Father God, thank you that You never forget me; that my name is written on the palms of Your hands. I am in awe that I am always on Your mind and that You attend to all my concerns. Help me to remember this promise even when I feel I’ve failed or disappointed You.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Tuesday – 3/31
“Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. (Haggai 1:8)
In the mountains Abraham met with God, who gave him a ram to sacrifice. In the mountains Moses talked with God and received instructions. In the mountains Jesus went for prayer with His Father and there he called his 12 disciples. The mountains often symbolize God’s presence. While the original book of Haggai was directed to the Jewish leaders in 520 BC, I believe God can use such Scripture to quicken a new and personal meaning to those who seek Him. About forty-three years ago, God used Haggai 1:8 to speak to me and my bride-to-be. God encouraged us to meet with Him and to receive the timber for building our house of marriage. Just as timber provides form and
strength to a physical house, we believe God asked us to listen and apply God’s Word, so He would form and strengthen our house of marriage.
For what purpose? I have seen many scriptures that address how a house built poorly can be a problem, such as collapsing in a storm. But this verse speaks of the end goal of honoring and pleasing God. Such an awesome promise from an awesome God! I do not know anything more fulfilling than pleasing God. Of course, honoring and pleasing God does not mean we escape problems. We have had some hard trials. God got us through these as we continued to trust Him. And we still believe He is honored and pleased when we ‘go up into the
mountains’ to meet with Him.
So is this life verse only for me and my spouse? Are we the only ones God can quicken this verse for? I doubt that. I am sharing this because maybe you also need to recognize God speaking to you about your house. Maybe it is not about marriage, maybe about a different sort of house – maybe the house of your career, your health, or your extended family. In this last few days before Easter, is God asking you to ‘go up into the mountains’ to meet with Him and to bring down his timbers, His building materials?
Lord, help me hear whatever You may be saying to me. Help me commit to meet with You and to listen through Scripture and prayer. And help me to use Your timber in my house for Your pleasure and honor. Amen.
Wednesday – 4/01
“If you are right with God, He strengthens you for the journey; the Lord will be pleased with your life. And even though you trip up, you will not fall on your face because He holds you by the hand.” Psalm 37:23-24
As a rule, we usually do not trip over the big stuff; we do not trip over the couch, or the dining table, or our nightstand. We do, however, trip over the little things, the toy car, the backpack left on the floor, or the hastily discarded shoe. Spiritually, we are very often tripped up by the seemingly ‘small stuff’. We skip our devotional time one morning. We dwell on an unkind thought about a brother or sister. We tell a ‘little white lie’. When we trip up over even the smallest thing, we lose our spiritual equilibrium. Equilibrium is the balance of competing influences.
We daily live under the competing influences of our flesh and the Spirit of God. Any trip up can give the influence of the flesh the upper hand.
God promises in Psalm 37 that He will strengthen us for the journey (our journey toward holy living) and keep us from falling on our face. Though God promises His help, we have our part. In this week leading to Easter, let us recognize and deal with the ‘small stuff’ that can trip us up, so it does not become a stumbling block to our spiritual equilibrium. When we trip over the same small thing again and again, it can
become a big thing. Missing our devotional time once turns into missing our devotional time for a week or more. Our unkind thought about a brother or sister can morph into a critical spirit. The small things need our attention, so they do not become the big things.
Dear Father, help me to recognize and deal with the ‘small things’ that so easily trip me up. I thank you that You strengthen me for the journey and keep me from falling on my face. In Jesus name, Amen.
Thursday – 4/02
“So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word.” Hebrews 10:22-23 (Message)
Our son did competitive swimming with a community team while in elementary school. He enjoyed it and did quite well. As he was entering middle school, we moved to a different state. We signed him up with a community swim team in our new state. It was a knock-down, drag-out to get him to practices. When he did go, his performance was well below what it had been previously. What was the difference between his experience with the old team versus the new team? The coach. His original coach believed in him and instilled confidence in him despite the fact that our son was not always easy to work with (our son has Asperger’s, a high functioning form of Autism). Our son was able to keep a grip on the belief and confidence the coach had in him, even when he was uncertain in his own abilities.
This experience with our son illustrates for me the essence of the above verses in Hebrews. God believes in me and has confidence in me, inside and out, even when I question or doubt myself. He promises to be with me (Matthew 28:20); He promises to uphold me (Isaiah 41:13); He promises to give me strength (Philippians 4:13). These are but a few of God’s promises that I keep a firm grip on. God is the ultimate coach
who cheers me on and keeps me going with His magnificent promises. As Easter approaches, let us celebrate the fulfillment of God’s magnificent promises in Jesus.
Dear God, thank You for always believing in me and instilling Your confidence in me. I am so grateful for Your promises that keep me going forward. Help me to keep a firm grip on Your promises, especially when I doubt myself. In Jesus name, Amen.
Friday – 4/03
“And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure.” 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
We all know we should keep our vehicles in good repair. If the oil gets low, we take it for an oil change. If the check engine light comes on, we take it to the garage to be find out what might be amiss. If we ignore these warning signs, we may find ourselves paying out for costly repairs or find ourselves stranded on the side of the road.
Our relationships, like our vehicles, need to be kept in good repair. To keep our relationships in the community of faith in good repair means that the members are well taken care of; it means the relationships function as they are intended to function. We need to heed any warning signs. Have you missed seeing someone for several weeks? Does your sister-in-Christ seem distracted or preoccupied? Is one of the members of your small group not responding to attempts to get in touch with them?
Relationships in the community of faith are kept in good repair when people’s spirits are being strengthened and built up, when harmony and peace are a priority, and when we can lovingly agree to disagree. As with a vehicle, it is better to keep our relationships in good repair, rather than waiting till there is a costly breakdown and, possibly, unrepairable damage is done. Easter is a good time to check on the
condition of our relationships in our community of faith.
Dear Father God, help me to keep my relationships in good repair by making harmony, peace, and mutual encouragement a priority. Let me be aware of any warning signs and address them in Your spirit of love and peace. In Jesus name, Amen.
Saturday – 4/04
“On the last day, the biggest day of the festival, Jesus stood again and spoke aloud. 'If any of you is thirsty, come to Me and drink.If you believe in Me, the Hebrew Scriptures say that rivers of living water will flow from within you.” John 7:37-38
We have all most likely experienced dehydration. It is the condition of losing more fluid than your body takes in. Dehydration upsets the balance of necessary elements in your body and interferes with normal functioning. You experience muscle weakness and severe muscle cramps. You become abnormally fatigued. Your thinking is affected; you suffer headache, confusion, and often a sense of delirium. We become dehydrated when we neglect to consume the needed amount of water. We become busy and distracted and proper hydration is ignored.
We frequently become dehydrated spiritually. Spiritual dehydration, like physical dehydration, upsets our spiritual balance and function. When we are not regularly taking in the living water of God’s Word, our spiritual muscles become weak and eventually atrophy. Spiritual dehydration causes our thinking and decision making to become confused and unreliable. This is a result of giving out more than we are taking in. And when we neglect spiritual intake due to the busyness and distractions of life.
Jesus invites us to come to Him when we are spiritually thirsty. We are encouraged to drink deep and long from the living water of the Word. Instead of being spiritually dehydrated, we will be overflowing with living water; refreshed and able to refresh others. Easter is the perfect time to be spiritually refreshed.
Dear Father, thank you for Your Word which is the source of my spiritual strength and well-being. Make me aware when I am becoming spiritually dehydrated. Lord, let your living water flow in me and through me not only at Easter, but every day of the year.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Easter Sunday – 4/05
“Nothing they did bothered you; nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.” Hebrews 10:35-36 (Message)
It is exciting to begin a new project. Your confidence and motivation are in high gear. Great ideas are swirling around in your mind. As you start, you just know this is what you should be doing and that it is going to turn out great. Then, you run into a minor snag; no problem, you keep on moving forward. Next, someone makes an unsolicited comment, maybe not even directly about your project, but a seed of
uncertainty is planted. Your confidence wanes and you are not as excited and determined as you were at the beginning.
The above scenario is all too common; I know I have experienced it on numerous occasions. It is especially too common when we are undertaking something new for God. We start out full of confidence that this is of God. Initially, we are not bothered by minor obstacles or setbacks. However, as we continue to move forward, the enemy attempts to erode our confidence; a negative comment for someone here, a couple of steps back there. We begin to question and doubt ourselves. We may even entertain quitting.
The above verse gives me such encouragement, God’s encouragement to keep moving forward to completion. Anything undertaken in God’s plan is a sure thing. We can be confident in that assurance. It does not mean it will always be smooth sailing, but it does mean that we can keep going through obstacles and setbacks. God pledges that if we keep working within His plan, we will certainly reach the promised completion. Just as God continued to work out His plan of salvation which came to completion in Jesus on Easter Sunday.
Dear God, thank You that You bring new and exciting things into my life. Let me finish those things with the same excitement and motivation with which I began. Help me rely on the confidence I have in Your plan and promises. In Jesus name, Amen