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

Psalm 37:4 NIV

This Psalm is one of my favorites.  To delight is a very energizing thought and emotion.  It means to take great pleasure or joy in. It does not say - exhaust yourself, strain yourself, worry yourself, or condemn yourself;  it says delight yourself in the LORD.  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 a great joy in 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.  Kindness and encouragement will be just who you are and each day will seem like you opened a new gift. There is no one like the LORD! 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 grace there is a richness and a joy in who you are because of the Lord Jesus the Christ. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. When God’s grace has been received in the heart of a man or woman an eternal change has taken place.  So the word is given “Let.”  To Let means “to allow, give permission, authorize and to enable.” So when you “Let,” God’s grace in Christ creates new emotions which sound like – sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. Today Let 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 can give refreshment to those around you. Today is a good day for people to know your name.  Enjoy!

Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."  And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. 

Luke 23:34 NLT

Have ever wondered what the love of God looks like?   Just read these words.  Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.  This love is given by God’s grace and it is not religious at all, it is life and it is called eternal, holy and joy. Jesus had been falsely accused, punched in the face, spit upon, lashed with whips which had lead tips, carried his cross to the point of overwhelming fatigue, nailed to a cross and crowned with thorns.  It was in that condition that he said - "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."  Grace gives the love of God to the souls of men and women because that is what it is. There was and is no condemnation in the grace that is in Jesus the Christ.  Today, enjoy that life of his grace that allows you to bless, you to encourage and for you to forgive in such a way that the love of our Lord is seen and heard through your life. You will be so renewed that you will hardly be able to contain it and Lord willing you won’t contain it. It will burst for in praise and this will be a day to remember. Enjoy!

The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created.  He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.  He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.  Psalm 33:6, 7 NLT

Sometimes you have to ask, why the Lord tells us these things.  He spoke, he breathed, he assigned and in these words all things were created.  I believe it is so that we can know the power, the life and grace of his words.   You see the grace that is found in Jesus the Christ is given to create a new life in us. Living in grace lets us know the Lord who spoke, breathed and assigned is in the details of where we are just as he was in the details of creation.  Grace does much more than save us for heaven, it sets our emotions and mind free from the condemnation of our own sin to experience the love of God in the minutiae of our journey.  Today enjoy living right smack dab in the middle of his grace.  You can relax in his presence if you are willing to receive his grace in Jesus Christ and then you will know the whisper of his voice and the joy of his salvation that calls you son or daughter.  A smile in the depth of your soul is very natural in grace.  Enjoy!

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered!  I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!  And when I wake up, you are still with me.  Psalm 139:17, 18 NLT

What a great way to start a new day, the moment we wake up! How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  How relaxing it is to know God’s love in a personal way.  Your precious thoughts about me cannot be numbered!  His grace in Jesus Christ gives us the joy to experience his love which brings about a new nature in us.  Here gratefulness is alive in our emotions and thoughts, which become actions and words of encouragement to those around us. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!   This is what a heart of grace feels like.  Today may this Scripture not just be some kind of statement, but a true experience of who you are.  If that is the case, this day along with those that will come, will be overwhelmed with life, goodness and grace. When I wake up, you are still with me.  Enjoy!

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.  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 or woman who has become exhausted from all the choices he or she has made and there results. Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.  Most men and women usually do not think of God according to his unfailing love.  Here is what His grace can do for all of us. because of your unfailing love, because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.   Grace is his unfailing love given through Jesus Christ that accomplishes this forever.  Here we experience, compassion, kindness, peace and a life that is absolutely breath taking.  Today are you willing to experience great compassion that removes all the shame of your sins and the feeling of guilt, embarrassment and regret? Does this verse sound like the desire of your heart?  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. That is living overwhelmed by his grace. Enjoy!

A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.

Proverbs 15:1 NLT

Think of what relationships are and meant to actually be. Think what could happen to all the relationships that have been broken if this grace could begin. If our words and actions are gentle  just imagine the results. A gentle answer deflects anger. Think of how many fights, quarrels and divorces that would not have happened if words and actions of grace had been heard and seen.  Imagine how many relationships could start to be healed if someone who is acquainted with God’s grace begins to talk and act in gentleness.  God’s grace is his power in the human soul to become a new creation, to live in the life that is called eternal.  Today may you choose to live your life in the emotions and words of his grace. It is a freedom that is given in the grace of Jesus the Christ!  A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. It is your choice, grace brings a gentle answer, and your sin nature brings a harsh words. What nature would you desire to speak through you today?  There will be no regret or sorrow because of your words of kindness, gentleness, compassion and grace.  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 all 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.  When that happens 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, to feel and express love and compassion.  God’s grace has been given in Jesus Christ so that we receive forgiveness for all our sins. Think of this, 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, our churches and our nation.  Today delight in his grace for all that you are, all that you have and all that has been forgiven. Open your heart and your mouth, lift up your hands and praise your Lord!  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 important. 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. From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 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!