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A Psalm of Praise, My soul longs for the courts of the Lord.  Blessed are those whose strength is in the Lord, those who trust Him to lead them , guide them, and deliver them from all circumstances, knowing God is their true strength as they travel through this world.  The world we live in is a rough place, it is dark, it is full of all kinds of evil, it is living contrary to God's commands, and you and I, without God, do not have the strength to endure it, our strength comes from the Lord.  This Psalm begins with "How lovely is your dwelling place", for those who trust the Lord, who rely wholly upon Him, it is their heart which is set on that highway to Zion, destined for your dwelling place.  Today, set your heart on the Lord and His great love, ask Him to give you His strength to get through this day for He is all you need, Jesus Saves!

The writer of Hebrews gives some really encouraging and uplifting advice to us as followers of Christ Jesus for the race of life we are running, a race he ran as well.  There have been many people who have run this same race before we have and they ran it with endurance and they made it, they finished.  Back in the time when this was written, runners in big races, like marathons and such ran completely naked, there was no extra weight or anything to interfere with the runners ability to run freely.  We are to think like that, eliminate everything from your life that is a hindrance to running the Christian race, be it sin, worries, or other things that weigh us down.  We have been chosen by God to be in this race, we follow or run through faith, faith that strengthens us to keep running, and by the grace of God we will keep running until the end, until we complete our race.  At the end of this race is a prize beyond human comprehension, a paradise that cannot be known or understood in human terms, so therefore run with all endurance the race that has been set before you, Jesus Saves!

God has given us all that we need for salvation, therefore let us grow in His Grace unto eternity.  We are human beings, we do have limited power, limited strength, and limited abilities, but God is limitless in every way, He is our power, He is our strength, and He is every ability we need to live a Chrst centered life.  God did not call us to Himself because we had it all together, that we were perfect and righteous... Not at all, God called to be saved, in the condition we were.  But God also calls us to be sanctified in Him, a process of change that will take all of this life and then perfection as we enter eternity with Him.  Just like what Jesus told the apostle Paul when he prayed for relief from his thorn in the flesh, 2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest  upon me"  No matter what might be happening in your life today, God's grace is sufficient for each and everyone of us, Jesus Saves!

What a Mighty God we serve.  No matter what is going around us, in our lives, or any place in the vast universe, our God is Mighty.  And every one of us can without a doubt say, "He has done great things for me", God created you, He knew when you were being knitted together within the confines of your mothers womb and He knows you today.  In context, this is the virgin Mary's song to the Lord, better known as the Magnificat, a song of great praise for all God had done in her life.  God had just turned Mary's world upside down, her life was changing forever, she would never be that same innocent little girl, but highly blessed as well.  And Mary, as can we, says, Holy is His name, Holy, Holy, Holy is our God.  Today, let us ponder just how great God is in our lives, count your blessings, and praise God, the Mighty One to save, praise His Holy name, Jesus Saves!

God from the beginning desires that His people care for and tend to those who are in need, He set forth guidelines to allow the poor to come and gleen from the outer edge of grain fields, it was a requirement. As we read through the Prophets, those generations had forgotten God and His care for the less fortunate, and they ignored them and mistreated them, and it cost them everything.  Today, we as Christians are still called by God to care for those in need, widows, orphans and the poor, it is our duty.  Here the apostle Paul reiterates what Jesus had said to His disciples during His ministry, "It is more blessed to give than to receive".  Giving is a true blessing, it fills the heart to overflowing, it is an act of love that the Lord presented to many, and we too can be the recipient of that blessing by giving of our time, talent and treasure as we have, Jesus Saves!

The Lord is Good, good seems to be so lacking in describing God, the word is truly a simplistic complimentary word meaning "to be desired of, approved of, having the qualities required for a specific role, and that which is morally right, righteous".  Yes God is all of those but so much more, God is God, He is perfect in every way.  The Prophet goes on to say God is a stronghold in the day of trouble, a place where we can go when the world is closing in on us, when problems overwhelm us, when we need the comfort of a loving father.  For God knows those who take refuge in Him, yes He does for those who come to God for refuge are in a relationship with Him, they know Him, and He knows them.  We serve an Awesome God, one who loves you, cares for you, and desires that you have a place of comfort, rest and refuge in Him always.  Come to the Lord in your time of trouble, He is your refuge and peace, Jesus Saves!

Jesus, the Light of the World, the one who created light, the one who brought the light of men into this dark world, it is He who has filled you with His light.  Here Jesus says to those who have believed in Him through faith, let your light shine in the dark world, let people know that you are a child of God, a disciple of Christ.  People whom you come in contact with every day should see the light of Christ in you, in your actions, in your words, just in how you display hope and a peace as you walk through this life with Jesus.  As this world continues to fall deeper into darkness, the light of Christ through you will shine ever brighter, and as others experience that light, they too will give glory to God as they see the goodness and righteousness of God in you.  Today, as you go out into the world, be the Salt and Light Jesus taught you to be, be a testimony of the Saving grace of Christ Jesus, Jesus Saves!

The Prophet Isaiah brings Good News to the afflicted nation as he proclaims a day, far in the future when Jerusalem will be the center of the world when Jesus returns in all His glory to guide those in that place through eternity.  A new world, a new earth, and new Heaven and a new Jerusalem, all being given light by the Lord Himself as there will be sun, but the Son, the Light of the World.  The Glory of the Lord will be the light that has come, the light that shines upon you.  Today as in the times in which Isaiah lived are dark, there is a lot of despair, injustice, godlessness, and many disasters are occurring all around the world, many people are without hope.  But there is a light coming, arise and shine for your Lord is coming, the salvation of the world, His return is imminent.  This same sentiment is reiterated by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:14 "for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” ~ Jesus Saves!

     The return of Jesus, people have been looking up for His return for many years, and many were certain it would happen during their lifetime.  But we know He is coming back, and we know it will be soon, very soon.  Therefore we must be ready, storing up treasures in Heaven, working for the Kingdom of God, telling others of His great love.  Sure, there are many signs that tell us it appears as though Jesus might return at any moment, but even if He does not come back in the next year, or ten years or one hundred years, He is coming back.  
       We cannot allow this life to dominate our thoughts and our time, there is far too much at stake to not be attentive to the Lord and His call upon our life.  What priorities do you have in your life?  What does each day look like?  Is Jesus the biggest part of your days, or an afterthought?  Life is short, death is sure, sin is the problem, and Christ is the cure, Jesus Saves!

Solomon writes of a woman who is beautiful, and it is her inward beauty that matters most, the fact she fears the Lord.  As Solomon writes of her, he states charm is deceitful; it can be turned on and turned off, it can be a facade to cover up a great deal.  And beauty, well beauty if vain and it is fleeting, for most people beauty fades with age, and beauty does not reflect the real person .  The real person comes from the heart, a person who loves God with all her heart, and her life reflects that love of God in every way, in every aspect of her life.  But this truth and reality applies to men and women, as we live in a sex charged, beauty oriented world, people strive to look like someone who doesn't exist, the person on the television or in a picture, as both have been highly doctored to reveal a very phony beauty.  Jesus spoke of this very thing to the religious leaders, He said you look great on the outside all polished up, but the inside is full of dead men's bones, for there was no love of God to be found in them.  Love God, love others, let who you are be visible through your heart for God, Jesus Saves!

What is the first thing Jesus says we must do if we are going to be His disciples?   We must first deny ourselves, take me out of the picture and put Him first, above everything else in life.  And the Lord does not give us an option to remain in the world, in sin, in inappropriate relationships, No, He says I want you, all of you.  And unless and until you deny yourself, you will not be able to take up your cross as the Lord instructs, you must be willing to follow in His footsteps no matter where it leads.  Bearing your cross is knowing and understanding that this path of salvation could very well lead to persecution, trials, tribulations.  But we can also know that Jesus paved The Way, He has walked this path before us, it is narrow and can be lonely, but it is worth everything it costs.  It is time to now deny yourself, give up your will for God's will, give up your desires for God's desires, deny the flesh and follow the Spirit, Jesus Saves!

This is a most amazing statement of truth from God, that while you and I were still alienated from God, enemies of the Lord most high, sinners... Christ died for us.  The tremendous, never ending, Eternal love of God, it is beyond anything we can even imagine, no one has ever known love like the love of God.  We as human beings have a hard time loving each other even when we have a small  disagreement, yet alone loving another enough to lay down our lives for them.  But God, God sent His son to come and live among sinful people and sacrifice His life in the most horrendous manner known to man, crucifixion.  God did that, God loves us that much, that is a love that looks beyond every fault, every mistake, every shortcoming, every sin no matter its depth, and says I died for you.  Never forget God loves you right where you are, Jesus Saves!

This might be one of the most overlooked verses in the New Testament, as it follows one of the most well known verses in all of Scripture, John 3:16.  But this is a continuation of Jesus' statement to Nicodemus.  Jesus has told this Religious leader you must be born again, you must be born of the Spirit, you must believe, and Jesus continued and explained that the Son of Man would need to die for the sins of the world.  Jesus gives Nicodemus the Good News, and though we do not see this man's faith played out until the end of John's Gospel at Jesus' death, it becomes readily apparent Nicodemus was a believer in Christ Jesus.  This verse has a very simple and poignant message,  Jesus came into the world to save people.  Jesus came to save, to help, to heal, and deliver, all through His sacrificial death on the cross, He did not come to condemn this world, but to save it, Jesus Saves!

Throughout time people have dealt with frustration, disappointment, and exhaustion dealing with overwhelming circumstances that seemed like sure defeat.  In our world today we are living in times like that, it appears that evil and wickedness are winning at every turn, and no matter how hard we fight for righteousness, we seem to be getting pushed back.  Many Christians have lived in times like these and have fought the good fight up to the end of their life, they did not give up, they did not throw in the towel, they kept fighting for good and did not grow weary of doing good.  A great example of this is a Christian hero of many, Deitrich Bonhoeffer, he fought against the evils of the Nazi regime in Germany during World War II.  He fought the good fight, yes he lost his life in his fight for what was right, but he did not grow weary of doing good, he stayed the course right up the moment they ended his life.  Let's fight the good fight for what is right in God's eyes, not taking our eyes off the prize to be had in Heaven, Jesus Saves!

Jesus having been filled with the Spirit of God was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.  Jesus was put through a series of temptations by Satan to strengthen His humanity, as He 100% man, and 100 % God.  He was learning human obedience to the Father, and He was preparing for the ministry mission that His father had sent Him to complete. But also, this is a learning lesson for all believers to show us the proper manner in which we can overcome temptation like our Lord and Savior did.  We, like Jesus, are to take every thought captive and replace it with the Word of God.  There is no temptation that you and I cannot avoid, and we can know that the Lord always gives us a way of escape.  We like Jesus must feed our Spiritual needs before we feed our physical needs, “What digestion is to the body, Meditation is to the soul”, get into the Word of God, and the Word of God will get into you, Jesus Saves!

As Christians we are to keep the right mindset and the correct attitude about our current earthly life and our future home in Heaven.   Jesus tells us to look up for our redemption is near, and we know this to be true, we are most definitely in the end of times, Jesus could swoop us up into Heaven at any moment.  But, as long as we are still here on earth among the many people who do not know Jesus, we have work to do, we cannot be negligent of our commission.  This life here on earth is only temporary, we are only passing through, as James puts it, this life is like a vapor, it goes by quickly.  Therefore we must be about our Fathers business and at the same time keep our eyes on what is Eternal and not on what is temporal.  If we keep our eyes on Jesus and our focus on living a Christlike life, we will be attending to all the tasks He has given to us.  Let the Lord guide your life and you will always stay on that narrow path, Jesus Saves!     Today, the Lord is telling us the same exact thing, keep my word upon your lips, meditate upon my word day and night, keep my word in your heart, live by it day by day.  The word of God is living and active, it leads, guides and lightens the path of righteousness that God has placed in front of those who believe, Jesus Saves!

People often, especially those who do not know God, say why is He still not coming, where is He?  They look at God as being slow or maybe He isn't coming at all, when in fact He is doing what God does best, He is patient, with a desire to see all people come to faith.  Rabbi Pesach Wolicki wrote this about a future and a hope, "If God told you that the Messiah will come shortly after your own life ended, would you still rejoice over the Good News of the Messiah's imminent arrival?"  So, when we look at the time it has been since Jesus said He was coming back, yes it seems like a very long time, but  to God a day is a thousand years and a thousand years is a day, God lives outside our time domain, He is not slow.  God has a love for all people, and God does not want any to miss the opportunity to be saved, redeemed, to become children of God, Jesus Saves!

     This moment is the culmination of forty years in the wilderness, it has been quite a learning experience, a generation of people have died and now it is time to enter into a new place, the promised land.  The new leader of these people is given instructions as he leads them into the land flowing with milk and honey, Joshua is told to keep all they have learned, that being the Torah, keep is upon your mouth, keep it in your heart, and meditate on it day and night, make it an integral part of your life. And he is also told to live according to all that is written in this book, it truly is God's plan for life, God's plan to prosper you and help you be successful.  
     Today, the Lord is telling us the same exact thing, keep my word upon your lips, meditate upon my word day and night, keep my word in your heart, live by it day by day.  The word of God is living and active, it leads, guides and lightens the path of righteousness that God has placed in front of those who believe, Jesus Saves!

Let the Lord Jesus be your example.  He stepped out of Heaven, humbled Himself. lowered Himself and lived as a  man among sinful people, not for His own gain, but to save His people from sure death and destruction.  Now that is humility, that is forgetting about anything self centered and doing and giving all for others.  The apostle Paul here in this epistle, says if you are going to live a Christ centered life, you must live like this, filled with love, compassion, and being of one accord, Spirit filled and Spirit led.  Do all things in full humility, doing nothing with bad motives, selfish ambition, nor conceit of any kind.  But rather, count others as far more significant than yourself, be humble, put them first.  Let us all be servants like Jesus, serving others and not expecting anything in return, let there be love shared among us always, Jesus Saves!

This sounds like common sense, you know what the right thing is to do, you do it, right?  Not so simple, have you ever known, this is what I know I should do, but you intentionally do not do that certain thing?  Sometimes out of fear, or selfishness we choose not to do what is right, well God says that is sin.  Oftentimes in our own minds we can justify not doing what is right, this is easier, this will save me time or money, sometimes doing what is right is costly...  There are those times when the Lord will put a task on our hearts to take care of, but we in our own infinite wisdom decide not to do it for whatever reason, that is wrong, that is sin, that is disobedience.  Trust the Lord, follow the Lord, Jesus Saves!

The Lord says a lot in most every statement He makes, as Jesus speaks to the crowd again, He reiterates something we were told at the beginning of John's Gospel, Jesus is God, Jesus is the creator of all things ever created, and Jesus is the giver of life.  Jesus is the Light of the world, it is He who created the light, here He is talking about Spiritual light, light that illuminates our path and our way as we walk in His righteousness as we walk with Him.  Darkness is loved by the world because darkness covers sin, they hide in the darkness, bars are dark to hide the sin, crime happens frequently at night to hide the sin, darkness though cannot hide from the light.  Followers of Jesus walk in the light, live in the light, for they have been delivered from the darkness of a sinful past.  Jesus is the light of the world, walk in the light and live, Jesus Saves!

Do you feel as though the whole world is closing in on you?  Do you have problems, crises, worries, cares, and many other issues piling up on you and you just feel overwhelmed?  Well, you need not be in that place, for you have one who cares for you and wants you to be able to walk through this life without all those burdens, the Lord Jesus, cast your cares and burdens upon Him, He wants to carry them for you.  When we are heavily burdened, it weighs us down, to a point where we become much less effective in life, Jesus wants to sustain your life and fill it with peace and joy.  And for the believer, the Lord says, I will not let the righteous to be moved!  Like a tree planted by the waters, you shall not be moved, Jesus Saves!

God is God.  Know that the Lord your God is the only God who exists, there is no other God, the one true God of Israel, the creator of all, He is God.  And the one true God is faithful and true, He always keeps His covenant, His promises are true, He keeps them all.  And the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, it is eternal, as is He.  God loves those who love Him and those who keep His commandments, the Lord Jesus said, If you love me you will keep my commandments.  And all this is not temporary, it is eternal, it is forever, God never changes nor does his promises, He is the Rock of Ages who stands firm for a thousand generations.  God is the only thing in this life you can know will not change over time, everything else is fleeting, God is a Hightower, a refuge, a fortress in a lost and dying world, Jesus Saves!

In this letter the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Colossae, he is encouraging those believers to live a Christlike life, to get rid of the old self, the old life and live as you have been called.  In the verse prior to this one, Paul gives them some attributes of a Christian life, that all of us should have and live by, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  And then he tells the reader to bear with one another, to be loving toward all people, even those who are difficult, even those who might have wronged you.  If someone has a complaint against another, forgive them, let it go, life is far too short to waste precious time wading in Bitterness.  We are told to forgive others just as our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus has forgiven us, through His infinite mercy and grace, God has forgiven your sins, do the same for others.  The Lord doesn't give us an option as to whether or not to forgive, He says forgive them.  May we all live more like Jesus as the days grow short, Jesus Saves!

As we read through the four Gospels, we see a different approach in each of them, Mathew wrote from a Jewish perspective showing that Jesus is the Messiah of Jewish prophecy.  Mark wrote showing Jesus as the servant of God, Christ the redeemer.  Luke, a Gentile, wrote a very thorough message showing the compassionate and caring side of the Savior.  And John, a man very close to Jesus during His ministry, shows the deity of Christ, the God man.  And we are told here, even as we can read and plainly see this truth in all four Gospel accounts, Jesus is a servant of all, He did not come to earth to be served, but on a mission to serve and to save His people.  Jesus was born of woman on earth with a cause that was a straight line to the hill of Golgotha, a cross of death to pay the ransom for all people.  Jesus, He served, He healed, He forgave, and He died to bring about salvation for all who believe, Jesus Saves!

For those who know God, not just know about Him or have heard about Him, but those who know God, this statement is just an affirmation of what we already know, God is perfect, God is love, and God desires righteousness and justice.  The Biblical definition of righteousness is; Holiness; purity; uprightness; rectitude, all attributes of God.  From the beginning, God has desired His people to live in righteousness, live Holy lives with Him.  And as well God demands justice for all people, not some as our world sees justice, but all, young, old, rich and poor, everyone deserves justice.  Righteousness and justice both flow naturally from love, and God's steadfast love fills the earth, for God is love.  Sadly, our fallen, sin filled world cannot see the goodness of God, they cannot see His love, they refuse to understand His Holiness, His righteousness, and His Justice is unreachable for so many.  But there is Hope, Christ is coming back soon, very soon, Jesus Saves!

In context, Hannah, a barren woman, unable to have children, an outcast among women has prayed and God answered her prayer.  She has conceived and given birth a boy child, a child that she promised she would bring back to the Lord if he so answered. And here, this is Hannah's prayer to the Lord, a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to the only God who could and did answer her request.  There is no God like our God, there is none Holy like our God, as a matter of fact God is the only God, there are no other Gods.  Elijah, on Mt Carmel proved this fact once for all, there is no God other than Jehovah, people make up gods all the time, but they are impotent, truly non-existent. There is no Rock like our God, God is the rock of all we know and believe, He is the Firm Foundation of upon which we place our faith, He is the one who is our very existence, the giver of life and the keeper of life,He is our salvation, Jesus Saves!
A song for you:
 https://youtu.be/fKAPHjficIc?si=NIGcDCowlir7GW9h

We do need to realize there is much more to this life we are living, there is Spiritual power at work behind the scenes that are causing havoc when and where they can.  We can read of these battles in the book of Daniel, where the Angel tells Daniel, I was delayed as I fought off the forces of evil.  Satan and his minions desire nothing more than to see you and I fail in every aspect of our lives, don't let him win, fight back, love others, and do as Paul tells us in the verse following this one, put on the full armor of God every day!  We live in a sin filled fallen world, a world that thrives on lies and mistruths, a world that is full of evil deception and wickedness, for the Prince of this world is at hand working night and day to try to defeat God and His children.  Victory is God's, He wins this war in the end, but there is tribulation in the meantime, put on the full armor of God and as Paul says "praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication" Jesus Saves!

The Prophet Jeremiah had been delivering God's word to the people of Judah for some years now, and here in Chapter thirty-one, he gives them a message of hope, and joy in the morning, and then brings them a promise from God for a New Covenant.  God tells these weary people, a group of people who will soon be taken away to a foreign country, that He will satisfy their weary souls, this is what God does.  And every languishing soul, God will replenish, the Lord is in the business of restoring broken, weary, hopeless people everyday, all you need to do is call on Him, ask Him to come into your life and satisfy and replenish your weary soul.  This message from God through Jeremiah is fulfilled in Christ Jesus as He came to save His people, to restore them, to replenish them.  For He tells all who will believe in Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied"  Jesus, the Savior of the world, come to Him for rest, for restoration, for Salvation, Jesus Saves!
A song for you:
 https://youtu.be/fKAPHjficIc?si=NIGcDCowlir7GW9h

Jesus said that in this life will have tribulation, life can be a struggle, especially for the follower of Christ Jesus.  And here the apostle Paul reiterates the same point but adds a very bright reality for the believer as well, there is coming a time when this short vapor of a life will not even compare to the magnificence of Eternity.  Over the course of a lifetime we will suffer loss through death, heartache because of broken relationships, distress over financial and other life experiences, health problems we just cannot understand all of which none are pleasurable.  But when we look at the future Glory that will be revealed in us, when that day comes and we are in the presence of our Lord and Savior, this life will pale in comparison.  Yes, life can be difficult, disappointing, hard to comprehend at times, but a day is coming soon and very soon when all of this will be gone and over with, a New Day is coming, Jesus Saves!

As I thought about this verse, Corrie Tenboom came to mind, as a Holocaust survivor she wrote a book, The Hiding Place, and this is one of the quotes from that book, "If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God, you'll be at rest"  Lord you are that one place that I can go where the worries, cares, and troubles of this world cannot get to me, you are my hiding place, a place of protection, for in you nothing can harm me.  And Lord you are my Hope, although I cannot see the end of this story, I know it is there.  For what I do see is only temporal, but that which I cannot see is eternal, life beyond this short existence on earth.  When I am in your word my heart is filled with hope, Jesus Saves!