Week of April 1, 2019
Photo by Diana Simumpande
MONDAY
Jeremiah 18:1–6
The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah: “Go down to the potter’s workshop and I will speak to you there.” So I did what He told me and I found the potter working on the wheel; but the vessel that was forming was not as he expected, so he crushed it and started again.
Then the Lord gave me this message: “Can I not do with you what the potter did with the clay? In the same way that clay is in the hands of the potter, so you are in My hands.”
Today God says that even if you have gone wrong, if you feel destroyed, and if others say that you are no longer useful, He takes your life—the old, the ruined, what others despise—and with the same mud makes a new vessel.
God will not discard you. He takes you just as you are and makes something new and good.
Pray like this: I put my life in Your hands like that vessel. I need You to “do it again.” I think a new time is beginning for me with You. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessed Monday!
TUESDAY
John 11:17, 19, 23–25, 43–44
When Jesus arrived in Bethany, He was told that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days and many people had come to console Martha and Mary for the loss of their brother.
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will be resurrected.”
“It’s true,” said Martha, “he will be resurrected when everyone is resurrected on the final day.”
Jesus said to her: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even though he is dead.”
Then Jesus shouted: “Lazarus, get out of there!” And the dead man came out of the grave with his hands and feet wrapped in burial bandages and his head rolled up in a cloth. Jesus said to them: “Take off the bandages and let him go!”
At that time, there was a belief that if one died, he could be resurrected on the first or second day; some even extended it until the third day. Jesus appeared on the fourth day and against all possibility resurrected Lazarus!
If something in your life has died—company, family, relationships, economy, dreams, projects, health—do not bury it just yet. Call Jesus now, because everything that Jesus touches receives life. He is life and what is dead will live!
Pray like this: Lord, I believe that You are the resurrection and the life. That’s why I seek Your help. I put my life in Your hands so everything that is no longer—can be again. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessed Tuesday!
WEDNESDAY
John 15:7
If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you can ask whatever you want, and it will be granted!
If you believe in the word of Jesus and are willing to remain in obedience to Him, you can ask Him for your health, family, work, company, the city, and its authorities, and it will be granted.
For us this possibility seems exaggerated, but for God everything is possible! The limits are only in your mind. Break them through faith!
Pray like this: Lord, I believe in Your Word and I am willing to remain in it. That’s why I ask and seek Your blessing. Help me break all boundaries and by faith see the miracle. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessed Wednesday!
THURSDAY
Genesis 45:4–5, 7
They approached, and he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold as a slave in Egypt. But do not get upset or angry with yourselves for selling me. It was God who sent me to this place before you, in order to preserve your life. God sent me before you to save the lives of you and your families, and to preserve the lives of many more.”
Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, sold as a slave, and imprisoned for his integrity, but he eventually became governor of the most important nation of that time and second in importance after Pharaoh.
All of Joseph’s suffering served so that his family and thousands of others were saved from the hunger that would come upon the earth.
God had a purpose for Joseph that he might not have reached if his life continued on an unimpeded path.
Sometimes God allows you to “blow up” your way so that you can find the extraordinary plan that He has for you.
Go grab your Bible or download the YouVersion app, and read Joseph’s full story.
Pray like this: Father God, I understand that my ways are not Your ways and Your thoughts are so far from mine. That’s why I put my life in Your hands today, so You can guide me to know Your will. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessed Thursday!
FRIDAY
1 Corinthians 13:1–3
If I could speak all the languages of the world and of the angels but I didn’t love others, I would just be a noisy gong or a cymbal that resonates. If I had the gift of prophecy and understood all the secret plans of God and had all the knowledge, and if I had a faith that would make me capable of moving mountains, but I didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast of that; but if I did not love others, I would not have achieved anything.
If you include love in all your actions, everything has real meaning.
You know why? Because intelligence without love makes you perverse. Justice without love makes you unyielding. Diplomacy without love makes you a hypocrite. Success without love makes you arrogant. Beauty without love makes you ridiculous. Authority without love makes you a tyrant. Work without love makes you a slave.
God is love. That is why you can only truly love if you receive Jesus in your heart.
Pray like this: Father God, now I understand that without love, everything I do has selfish motives. I open my heart to receive You and ask that You fill me with Your love, so my actions will have real meaning. I ask You in the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessed Friday!
SATURDAY
Romans 12:2
Do not imitate the behaviors or customs of this world; rather let God transform you into new people by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good, pleasing and perfect.
Gandhi said something similar: “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with dirty feet.”
Every time your mind takes you into negative thinking, guide it gently toward transforming thoughts. When your mind tries to focus on the difficulties, ask God for a way out, remembering that His will is good, pleasing, and perfect.
If you allow the Lord to change your way of thinking, you will change the way you talk and act, and your whole life will be transformed!
Pray like this: Father God, I renounce all negativity, believing that everything is possible with You. Help me to see life as You see it, to find heavenly solutions to my earthly problems. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessed Saturday!
SUNDAY
Matthew 5:14
You are the light of the world, like a city on the top of a hill, that cannot hide.
We are living in times of confusion, darkness, and discouragement. But if God gives you light, you can see the way out and show the way to others.
When you allow Jesus to guide your life, in addition to illuminating your own path to make correct decisions, you also begin to enlighten all those around you.
That light is so powerful that while everyone else sees an insurmountable difficulty, you see it as an opportunity to prosper.
Pray like this: Father God, I renounce every kind of darkness, and I receive Jesus to enlighten my life. I want to be a light for those around me. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessed Sunday!