This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.  On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.  Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. 

2 Corinthians 1:9-11 NIV

Pray or prayers, what awkward words these are for so many of us.  We often are not sure how or what to pray for, therefore we miss much of the joy in relationship with our Lord and the blessings that can be given to others.  Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.  In God’s grace that is through Jesus Christ, prayer becomes a natural response from us to the Lord who raises the dead.  In prayer we can express our thanks for a life that is described as a new creation.  When thanksgiving is our foundation of our prayer, we will find ourselves delighting in our Lord.  Today may you begin with a prayer of thanksgiving to your Lord.  What comes next in your heart and mind, bring before him with the assurance that what you are praying is now in the process of being accomplished for others.  Then many will give thanks and want to know the same grace and life that is yours.  Enjoy!

God made him (Jesus the Christ) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  2 Corinthians 5:21

Sometimes through our life we seem to be confused about God’s grace in Jesus Christ.  We may think that it is some kind of religion by which we judge ourselves and others. That is so far from reality. Here is the results of God’s grace, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  He took us, with all our sin and put it all on Jesus Christ, so that we might become the righteousness of God.  God’s righteousness delivers us from the penalty and power of our own sin so that we can live our life as a new creation which he calls the righteousness of God. Today may you in the depth of your heart experience the renewal and life of his grace.  Allow his grace to be yours in every detail of your life as you choose to rejoice before him.  May those who meet you today experience the kindness of our Lord through your words, your actions and your expressions. in His righteousness there is no condemnation!!! It is a great way to live.  Enjoy!

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

This Psalm is one of my favorites.  To delight is a very energizing thought and emotion.  It does not say - exhaust yourself, strain yourself, worry yourself, or condemn yourself;  it says delight yourself in the LORD.  To delight means to find enjoyment, pleasure in and experience joy.  What is so refreshing about God’s grace is that it creates a genuine delight for the Lord and that changes the intent of our desires. Today let His Grace penetrate your soul and you will find yourself delighting in the Lord.  If you will allow this grace of delighting yourself in the LORD to be who you are each new day, things will happen in your journey that will be overwhelming with joy. Those around you will experience that life that is called eternal.  Smiling and refreshment will be just who you are and each day will seem like you opened a new gift.  Enjoy!

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.  Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.  Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.  And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:16, 17 NLT

When we were young we began to learn the importance of who we are and what we are called.  Our name and the name of our family became important.  A good question to ask is - "When someone uses your name, what comes to their mind?" In the grace of Jesus the Christ there is a freedom, a richness and a joy in who you are.  Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.  In fact grace creates new emotions which sound like – sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. Today enjoy the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.  Think of who you are now because of the grace of our Lord.  Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks... This message of grace in Jesus Christ can give refreshment  and rebirth in relationships to those around you. Today is a good day for people to know your name.  Enjoy!

It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High.  It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening. Psalm 92:1,2 NLT

The emotions of always giving thanks are at all times good for us. It is good to give thanks to the LORD.  Almost everybody on the planet wishes to have relationships that can be called good, yet many of us are groaning from the inside out because our relationships within our family and friends are not good.  Many relationships are broken not because the giving of thanks but because of words and actions that had nothing to do with being thankful.  Well, here is some very good news.  God's grace can heal emotional wounds, so that grace becomes what we are to our family and our friends.  Grace frees us up to give thanks and proclaim his unfailing love in the morning and his faithfulness in the evening.  That carries over into all areas of our life.  Today may you choose to give thanks and proclaim your unfailing love to the LORD in the morning and the evening.  This day will bring the beginning of making all things new in your journey with family and friends.  Enjoy!

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.  Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin  

Psalm 51:1, 2 NLT

Here in these words we have a man who has become exhausted from all the choices he has made and there results. Most men and women usually think of God as seeing all their failures, all their irritations and then offers nothing but condemnation.  Many do not think of God according to his great compassion, which is His grace. Here is what His grace can do for all of us. blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. Grace is his unfailing love (NIV) given through Jesus Christ that accomplishes this forever.  Here we experience, compassion, kindness, peace and a life that is absolutely breathtaking.  Today are you willing to experience His great compassion that removes all the shame of your sins and your guilt? When God’s grace penetrates your heart like this, your nature is changed. May words like delight, rejoice, praise, thanksgiving and encouragement be words used by everyone you know, to describe you. In that condition your hope will be a full cup. Enjoy!

Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises?  Absolutely not!  If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it.  But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.  

Galatians 3:21, 22 NLT

What is so amazing about God’s promise is that it gives something to us that we cannot ever accomplish or obtain by ourselves. If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. So we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.  It is called grace and known as a new life.  This new life is given through what God promised his grace would do through Jesus the Christ.  Sin is the conflict of our soul and it has no ability to love; it can only lust because it is always self-seeking.  The law says do, Grace says done!  The freedom of God’s grace lets us choose how we will respond to our opportunities.  We can now see clearly the difference between new life (freedom) and being a prisoner to our sinful emotions.  Today let your heart be refreshed in who you are because God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.  His grace lets you choose what direction your thoughts and emotions will go.  We now know why we sing – “Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me.” Enjoy!

The man said, "This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man."  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.  The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. 

Genesis 2:23-25 NIV

This is how life started in a relationship for the man and the woman, The man said, “This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh;” and then sin came.  In sin things became shameful, embarrassing, confussing and sexual immorality became normal.  Man began to be angry, irritated and lustful instead of loving and in so doing the relationship with his wife became difficult.  The woman had emotions for something different and things became exhausting.  Sin always desires to overrule God’s plan even in marriage. But Grace can renew all of this and can give a man or a woman a new place to start. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife.  Grace (the nature of God’s love) gives the freedom to love and encourage. Being overwhelmed by God’s grace is truly the most renewing way to live through this life. It recreates our nature for holiness, it can heal the wounds of the past; it can give a new beginning every day for marriage and family.  Today please allow yourself to enjoy the life of being overwhelmed by his grace. The victory you are looking for is found in his grace, that is Jesus Christ.  It is a love that expresses itself without condemnation or shame and therefore refreshes the one you are with. In grace, words of kindness, praise and encouragement come naturally. You will find that grace is everything you have hoped for and everything you could desire. Enjoy!

Praise the LORD, O my soul and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.

Psalm 103:2-4 NIV

Sometimes during the hurriedness of our days we forget the magnificence of all the benefits of God’s grace that have been given to us. Praise the LORD, O my soul and forget not all his benefits.  If we forget all His benefits, graciousness usually leaves our emotions and in comes a less than stellar attitude to replace it.  Think of the rejoicing we can have over our ability just to see, to hear and to feel His benefits!!!  God’s grace has been given in Jesus the Christ so that we may receive forgiveness, be redeemded and crown us with love and compassion. Think of this, that because of his grace there is now no condemnation for those in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1) .  Living with a heart and attitude of love and compassion could refresh all our relationships and change the direction of our home, our community and our nation.  Today delight in his grace for all that you are, all that you have and all that has been forgiven.  Then feel free to do to others what he has done for you.  Enjoy!

From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. John 1:16, 17 NLT

In all the busyness of life may we all remember that God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus the Christ.  Even the thought of being loved gives emotions of being valued and in some sense importance. Yet even here our sin nature brings heartache, complaining and at times a desire for something else.  We see it all through our daily life, with anger, immorality, divorce and unpleasant words of all kinds.  Living in God’s grace changes all things, for it is God’s unfailing love that is given through Jesus Christ.   When we receive His love through his grace, a new nature begins within us and it is called eternal.  Today celebrate, give thanks for his unfailing love and faithfulness for you. Allow yourself to be a gracious blessing to others. In fact, his grace will give you emotions of joy, kindness and encouragement for yourself, which will naturally affect others in a very good way. Enjoy!

But - "When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.  He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.  He generously poured out his Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior."  Titus 3:4 - 6. NLT

When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, which resulted in – He washed away our sins.  Think of his mercy that is revealed here with words such as - his kindness, his love, he washed away our sins, he gave us a new birth and a new life, he generously poured out his Spirit upon us, WOW!  Does that not sound like a brand new restart? Today rejoice in living in the new life of his love, kindness and mercy.  Grace comes as a gift, with hope and joy which are always renewing.  This day is a good day for expressions of thanksgiving and praise, so let it happen through your life and mouth.  By your example, everyone around you will experience the power of his grace and mercy that brings about a new life.  His kindness and love are yours forever. Enjoy!

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  Romans 5:8 NLT

Sometimes we discover that those we would hope could find their greatest joy in who we are and what we are trying to do, have emotions and actions towards us that have nothing to do with what we might hope is love. But even in emotional disappointment God’s grace may overwhelm us. You see that we were once in a condition where we did not care about him (God) yet he showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. For his love is given through his grace, it is given without ridicule, embarrassment or shame. The Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.  Psalm 32:10 NIV Today enjoy being his kindness, his passion and his joy to your family, your friends and anyone you meet along the way.  You may be the visible and emotional expression of the grace and love of God.  So go ahead and enjoy who you are because of his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  Enjoy!

This is what the LORD says - your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.  Isaiah 44:24 NIV

Sometimes things happen in our lives that in reality, flat out overwhelm us.  It may be choices we have made that we wish we would have never made.  While in this condition grace can awaken our hearts to what the LORD says. This is what the LORD says – your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb.  Grace brings the meaning of your Redeemer to life which changes what we love and therefore our choices become, shall we say, a lot more enjoyable.  Today enjoy the power of his grace in your life.    Grace will let you celebrate your life and experience the blessing of being renewed in the love of your Redeemer.  There is nothing in your past that he cannot transform for his glory and your blessing.  People around you will experience the beauty and newness of his life through you on this day.  Enjoy!

Create in me a clean heart, O God.  Renew a loyal spirit within me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.  

Psalm 51:10, 12 NLT

Have you ever been in a place in your life where you wish you could start over?  One of the first results of God's grace being received is the desire for a new nature, in which only the Lord can provide. Create in me a clean heart, O God.  Renew a loyal spirit with me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.  For God's grace does not just forgive our sins it begins the creation on a new nature that has its foundation in the grace and joy of God’s salvation.  This is not being religious at all, for God’s grace renews our thinking and emotions with the result of a life without guilt, shame or regret. God made him (Jesus the Christ) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV.  Today allow yourself the freedom of his grace to create a clean heart within you, with expressions of thanksgiving.  Because of his grace may your heart desire to say – make me willing to obey you!  Enjoy!

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 had of the Majesty in heaven.  Hebrews 1:3 NIV

Our sin nature is always in a wrestling match in what God says is the truth.  What is amazing about the grace of God is that it changes us from wrestling with the truth to knowing and living in the truth. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.  Grace brings about a joy in the depth of our soul which produces a heart of thanksgiving to God that is absolutely overwhelming.  Grace lets you know who Jesus the Christ is and then experience the impact of him providing purification for our sins. God's glory of Grace is magnificent. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:29 NLT  Today may his grace give you the desire to celebrate this verse as the truth that set you free.  Enjoy!

Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right.  Proverbs 20:11 NLT

What we call character is what either builds or destroys relationships.  Character is more than just a family name; it is the foundation for building life in a family, a neighborhood,  a church, a community,  or a nation.  For some it can be about themselves first, how they feel, what they want or how they see things.  In this place no one is really happy and wounded emotions can take individuals down roads of adultery, divorce, drunkenness, and survival modes of every kind.  Here families are wounded and broken, businesses fail, churches split and communities are in disarray.  God’s grace given in Jesus Christ is much more than saving someone so that they may go to heaven someday.  Grace brings a new character which is called freedom in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, Romans 14:17 NIV Grace has no jealousy, no bitterness, no regret and no unforgiveness.  It is described as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in Galatians 5:22, 23 NLT. Today let yourself enjoy the life given to you through Jesus the Christ.  His character is now yours, right now in the place where you find yourself.  Your freedom is at hand, his blessing is now yours and you can be the blessing of God to your family, your business, your neighborhood, your church and your community.  Today is a good day to live in the salvation of your character. Enjoy!

O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.  You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.  Psalm 139:1-4 NLT

In our culture many find that their thought of God is less than awesome or magnificent. Although the creation is here and quite visible they cannot believe in the God who created it all. They come to their own conclusion that the creation created itself.  Yet in Romans 1:20 - For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen. Yet in the midst of all this the power of God’s grace in Jesus Christ can begin the creation of a new heart and mind. O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. In grace we may feel blessed in knowing the Lord is aware of everything going on in our lives. Today rejoice in your thoughts about what the Lord knows about you and allow yourself to rest, knowing he is in all the details of your life.  You will experience the thoughts and emotions of his grace, all of which come with no stress or regret.  Enjoy!

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure.  It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others.  It is full of mercy and good deeds.  It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.  James 3:17 NLT

What is described here is the attitude that grace brings to a man or woman who has actually received God’s gift of grace.  This gives some definition to Philippians 2:5 NIV   Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.  When God’s grace touches the human soul, thinking begins to  become transformed.  The wisdom from above is first of all pure.  That means – unadulterated, uncontaminated, clean and wholesome. With that in place there is no condemnation towards yourself or others, tension leaves the room.  Now that is a new creation in Jesus the Christ.  The emotions that follow the wisdom from above – peace loving, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, good deeds, shows no favoritism and is always sincere.  This is a glimpse into the wisdom of what is called eternal life and what it is to look like right where we live.  Today, If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5 NIV. Enjoy!

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV

Isn’t it amazing that God describes his Scripture, his Word as his breath.  Remember the impact of his breath on Adam?  God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.  Genesis 2:7. When the grace of God in Jesus the Christ penetrates the heart of a man or woman, then the Scriptures change from just words into his Breath.  His breath is meant to become our breath and we become a new creation without any condemnation in Jesus Christ.  Only then can we receive teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness from his breath. For without his grace we remain dead in our transgressions and consumed in our condemnation. Righteousness is deliverance from our guilt and from the power of our own sin.  This is the blessing of God’s Grace in his breath - God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV. Learning to live overwhelmed by His grace brings the benefit of his breath in teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness to the very fiber of our being.  Let His Breath become your breath and you will have no regret!  Enjoy!

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters.  But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13 NLT

Freedom is wonderful and our nation talks about it a lot. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.  Question -  where is the freedom in sexual immorality; where is the freedom in cursing or harsh words; where is the freedom in un-forgiveness; where is the freedom in anger; where is the freedom in drunkenness; where is the freedom in divorce; where is the freedom in a critical attitude; where is the freedom in stress?  In these things there is no love and there is surely no freedom.  Well, it is while in this condition that we may experience the amazing grace of God that is in Jesus the Christ.  Through God’s grace we are given a life that encourages, blesses and finds expressions of kindness, goodness and faithfulness. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  Today may you actually experience the freedom of his grace in how you feel and think.  No one will be upset because of your expressions of kindness and love for them.  Your family, your work and your community will never be the same when you live in the freedom of his grace. Do not use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.  Enjoy!

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.  He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation.  For God in all his fulness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. This includes you who were once far awauy from God. 

Colossians 1:15, 19, 20, 21 NLT

In the word of God “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God” which means what God promised he has brought to pass in his son.  The good news is that God loves us and has demonstrated it visibly through Jesus the Christ.  In this news we have been given life and health for our journey with our family, our friends and those we work with.  We can see that the nature of the gospel is to bring about the character of God in our lives and this is accomplished through his grace.  The life of his grace lets those around us see the beauty of the nature of God through our lives. To know Jesus Christ by His grace changes everything. Today let yourself enjoy the life of grace in how you see your opportunities.  Be willing to let your decisions and goals be visible expressions of the results of his grace in your life.  May your family and friends be blessed with the attitudes of Christ through you.  Enjoy!