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Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,
for I am trusting you.
Show me where to walk,
for I give myself to you.

Psalm 143:8 (New Living Translation)

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

Psalm 143:8 (New International Version)

If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice,
I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you.
Point out the road I must travel;
I’m all ears, all eyes before you.

Psalm 143:8 (The Message)

He will show you every step of the way if you will let him!

by Max Lucado

“The LORD loves you.”
Deuteronomy 7:8 NLT

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.

He loves you when you don’t feel lovely.

He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you. Always. No matter what.

This is his sentiment: “I’ll call the nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved” (Rom. 9:25 MSG).

This is his promise: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself” (Jer. 31:3 NLT).

Do you know what else that means? You have a deep aquifer of love from which to draw. When you find it hard to love, then you need a drink! Drink deeply! Drink daily!

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (New Living Translation)

To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (New King James Version)

There’s an opportune time to do things,
a right time for everything on the earth.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (The Message)

Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Lamentations 3:23 (New Living Translation)

They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:23 (New International Version)

They’re created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!

Lamentations 3:23 (The Message)

Once God has forgiven you, he doesn’t keep track of your sins. What great news! Your slate is clean. You are greeted daily with God’s mercies.

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;
those who help others are helped.

Proverbs 11:25 (The Message)

The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.

Proverbs 11:25 (New King James Version)

The generous will prosper;
those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

Proverbs 11:25 (New Living Translation)

The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,
the Holy One, says this:
“I live in the high and holy place
with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.
I restore the crushed spirit of the humble
and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.”

Isaiah 57:15 (New Living Translation)

For this is what the high and lofty One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Isaiah 57:15 (New International Version)

A Message from the high and towering God,
who lives in Eternity,
whose name is Holy:
“I live in the high and holy places,
but also with the low-spirited, the spirit-crushed,
And what I do is put new spirit in them,
get them up and on their feet again.

Isaiah 57:15 (The Message)

Even though God’s ways are beyond our understanding, he still cares deeply about us. But we must be willing to come before him with a humble, repentant spirit.

by Jon Walker

The Jewish leaders wouldn’t believe he had been blind … John 9:18 (NLT)

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When Jesus healed a man born blind, the Pharisees opened an investigation to determine exactly what had happened. Yet, it appears they decided ahead of time what the answer should be, so when the facts didn’t support their predetermined conclusion, they just kept searching until they found facts they liked.

The Apostle John shows us a sequence of snapshots related to the Pharisee’s investigation:

· They ask the man, formally known as blind, what happened (John 9:13-16), but in this story of a blind man, seeing is not believing to the Pharisees.

· They ask the previously blind man who had healed him (John 9:17), and then they attempted to undermine the credibility of Jesus.

· They ask the man’s parents what they thought had happened (John 9:19-23), and in the process, they began to question the formerly blind man’s credibility.

· They returned to the question: “What did he do?” (John 9:26), demanding an explanation. Their focus was on the “how” and not the “wow.” Instead of saying, “This man who was blind can now see! Wow, God!” they have to know exactly what happened and how it happened. They walk by sight and not by faith, the exact opposite of what we’re taught in 2 Corinthians 5:7.

· When they’re not getting the answers they want, the Pharisees begin to ridicule this man, who now had 20/20 vision: “Then they cursed him and said, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.’” (John 9:28)

· When the Pharisees cannot intimidate the man, frightening him into abandoning his testimony, they pass judgment on him and throw him out of the synagogue. (John 9:30-34)

A sign of our spiritual maturity is when we follow truth, wherever it leads, and we face the truth no matter how much it hurts or how much it costs.

We are called to come out of the darkness and to be obedient to the Truth, who is Jesus Christ, our Lord, who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6, HCSB)

What does this mean?

· Seek truth, don’t defend – When faced with something or someone you don’t understand, ask God to show you the truth and to help you let go of your preconceived notions or the prejudices you defend.

· Check the ridicule in you – If you find yourself ridiculing someone or his position, putting her down, vilifying another, then check with God. Ask him to show you the root of your attitudes and to guide you into a position of love.

Remain teachable – No matter who you are or what position you hold, there are always things you can learn. The Pharisees were unteachable, rejecting anything that challenged their preconceived ideas. God sends us teachers all the time; Let Jesus open your eyes so you are no longer blind to them.