Today's Verse - Job 37:5-6

God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, "Fall on the earth," and to the rain shower, "Be a mighty downpour."

—Job 37:5-6

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Aren't those beautiful words?! "God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding." Amen! Isn't that so?! Instead of spending a lot of time talking or thinking about how marvelous God is - if he is greater than our words can capture (And he is!) - let's praise him in prayer through what we do today; not just in words, but in words and deeds. Like the rain and snow, let's do what the LORD asks of us and bring refreshment to our dry and weary world!

My Prayer...

Holy, righteous, and eternal God, you alone are marvelous, mighty, gracious, and holy. God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - we can barely comprehend the distant "outskirts" of your ways,* but we do love you. We admire you. We worship you. You are so far beyond and above us on our best days. We can't quite understand why you would pay such a terribly high cost to redeem people like us and bring us into your holy presence. But, dear God, we thank you and praise you from the bottom of our hearts for loving us, redeeming us, and bringing us your refreshment. In Jesus' name, we praise you. Amen.

Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power, who can understand?

Today's Verse - Isaiah 1:18

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

—Isaiah 1:18

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Nothing stains and leaves a foul spiritual residue on our hearts quite like sin and rebellion against God. However, God's grace is lavish when we turn our hearts to him - when we hear his call to reason with him and receive his grace. When we confess our sins, God doesn't just forgive them; he doesn't just forget them; he cleanses us and removes both the sin and its residue (1 John 1:9, 2:1-2). Our sins are gone forever. Sin's stain is removed; our guilt is taken away. We are cleansed by his grace (Romans 5:6-11). "Come ... let us reason together," says the LORD. Well, let's listen to reason and submit to his grace!

My Prayer...

OH, the glorious joy your grace gives us, dear God! We can never thank you or praise you enough for rerouting our lives away from sin and destruction, and into your love and grace. We find our life, our hope, and our holiness in your grace. We do not take that grace for granted, but respond to that grace by living to honor your love, forgiveness, and redemptive purposes in our lives. In Jesus' name, we thank you and pray to live to honor your grace. Amen.

Today's Verse - Joshua 24:15

If serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.... As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

—Joshua 24:15

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Joshua's words to the people of Israel many centuries ago are as relevant now as they were then!
While we can't speak for everyone in our family, we can commit to what everyone in our family should desire: We will serve the LORD! But more than commit, let's set the example and lead the way for the rest of our families to follow. Let's not only say, "I will serve the LORD, TODAY!" Let's do it. Let's make serving the LORD our highest priority. Then let's set an example for our families to follow and challenge them to join us.

As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

My Prayer...

Please give us wisdom, O tender Shepherd, on how to lead our families to love, honor, and cherish you as LORD. Please bless those who are parents. Please give them courage and sensitivity to share your truth effectively with their children and grandchildren. O God, please also bless them as they seek to raise godly children. We yearn for our households to be places where you are known, appreciated, honored, loved, and obeyed. We also pray for those who are single in our family of faith and need reassurance that they belong to your family and are loved. We want to all serve and honor you as LORD, together. In Jesus' name, we humbly ask for these graces. Amen.