Thomas Nelson - Inspired Faith: 365 Days a Year: Daily Motivation in Gods Word

INSPIRED
faith
365 Days a Year

Daily Motivation in Gods Word

2012 Simple Truths

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

Other Scripture quotations are from the following sources:

The New King James Version (NKJV). 1979, 1980, 1982, 1992, 2002 Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The English Standard Version (ESV). 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. The King James Version of the Bible (KJV). The New American Standard Bible (NASB) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1977 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. The Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT) 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, IL. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4003-2032-5

Printed in China

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Contents

A n apple a day keeps the doctor away.

The power of a daily habit is woven throughout our common-sense prescriptions for a better life. I dont know if an apple a day really keeps the doctor away, though Im pretty certain that eating ten apples in one day is missing the point of the proverb. Some medicine does its work all at once, in one dose. But most of the important things in lifea marriage, raising children, a career, a reputationrequire daily attention.

No wonder the power of our daily habits is woven throughout Gods Word.

Gods mercies are new every single day (Lamentations 3:23).

Gods strength is provided for us each day to meet the challenges of that particular day (Deuteronomy 3:25).

We are advised to put each of our days in proper order (Psalm 90:12).

Jesus calls us to follow Him daily (Luke 9:23).

If we were to list all the verses that talk about the importance of a single day and our daily activities, that list alone would fill up this book. Thats why spending time with God each dayin His Word, in prayer, in reflection of His love and plans for youwill make a tremendous positive difference in your life and spirit. Day by day you will be transformed.

This 365-day devotional is divided into motivational topics for each day of the week:

Sunday: First Priorities

Monday: Power to Persevere

Tuesday: Praise for Our Great God

Wednesday: Leading with Grace

Thursday: A Prayerful Heart

Friday: Serving Others

Saturday: Peace and Encouragement

Our prayer is that these Bible verses, short devotions, and prayer starters will be a special part of your time with God each day, and every day of the year.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. (Isaiah 55:6)

Faith asks us neither to destroy nor to exalt human desire but to gather it into an even greater desire: the thirst for God. (author unknown)

A Classic Devotion from A. W. Tozer

P ick at random a score of great saints whose lives and testimonies are widely known. Let them be Bible characters or well-known Christians of post-biblical times. You will be struck instantly with the fact that the saints were not alike. Sometimes the dissimilarities were so great as to be positively glaring. The differences are as wide as human life itselfdifferences of race, nationality, education, temperament, habit and personal qualities. Yet they all walked, each in his day, upon a high road of spiritual living far above the common way.

I venture to suggest that the one vital quality which they had in common was spiritual receptivity. Something in them was open to heaven, something which urged them Godward. I shall say simply that they had spiritual awareness and that they went on to cultivate it until it became the biggest thing in their lives.

Lord, I ask that You would help me be open to You. Help me to hear Your voice and do Your will. Amen.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. (1 John 4:16)

We are His beloved. Let us but feel that He has set His love upon us, that He is watching us from those heavens with tender interest, that He is working out the mystery of our lives with solicitude and fondness. (A. B. Simpson)

E vangelist and philanthropist George Mller once said that not once in his marriage did he pass his wife or see her enter a room without love filling his heart. He always saw her as a gift from God, and his love intensified each time they were near each other.

The kind of love between Mller and his wife is perhaps rare, but still stands as a marker, a reminder, of what God intends between husband and wife.

Whats most amazing is that the Bible refers to Christs church as His bride. He loves us more tenderly, deeply, and devotedly than the best husband on earth could ever cherish his beloved.

Life suddenly becomes more wonderful when we live in the knowledge that we are as precious to God as a beloved bride.

Thank You, Lord, for Your love for me, Your child. Help me allow Your love to fill my life with joy, and help me spread that joy everywhere I go. Amen.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3)

The beautiful thing about this adventure called faith is that we can count on Him never to lead us astray. (Charles Swindoll)

W e begin the New Year with resolutions only to leave them by the wayside by February. Unfulfilled promises and commitments leave us with feelings of guilt and failure for not living up to our own expectations. One obvious solution is to not try at all. Its probably wiser to frame our resolutions as goals, not promises.

But the real question is where we place our confidence. Is it in our own strength? Our own efforts? Start by accepting Gods unconditional love. Allow Him to work through you. You might end up accomplishing more than you initially set out to do!

Your outlook for the year will be much brighter if you begin by asking God first for direction, then for strength to accomplish the tasks He sets before you. Jesus called Himself our Good Shepherd. When we follow Him, we find green pastures and an abundance of joy.