October 22 - Forgiven and Free!

All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

Psalm 25: 10-11 (NKJV)

Thought for Today: We see a stark contrast in these verses; on the one hand, all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, on the other, David is asking for pardon.  Perhaps there is an indication of regret here for past iniquities.  

We often regret mistakes of the past, fearing that in some way we will pay for these mistakes.  God cannot look on our iniquities, because He is perfect.  Yet, He found the perfect way to forgive us, through the gift of His Son Jesus.  Father God can only see the perfection of Jesus when He looks on us, because of His great mercy towards us.

Do you have some things in your past that you regret?  Have you received God's free gift of salvation and forgiveness through belief in Jesus?  If you have, then those regrets have been forgiven, forgotten and cast as far as the east is from the west.  Rest in that assurance today, you are forgiven and you are free in Jesus.

October 21 - Humility

Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.

Psalm 25:8-9 (NKJV)

Thought for Today: What does it mean to be humble?  Perhaps images come to mind of one who puts others before himself.  Maybe a particular individual comes to mind.  In this psalm, David makes a correlation between learning the Lord's ways and humility.  The humble He teaches His way.  So, then, perhaps being humble means getting outside of ourselves enough to realize that we are nothing except for who we are in Jesus.  True humility is utter abandon to God.
Do you want to know the ways of the Lord?  Ask Him today to help you to be humble before Him, that you may know Him in a deeper way.

October 20 - Merciful God

Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses,
For they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

Psalm 25:6-7 (NKJV)

Thought for Today: Have you ever been deeply hurt by someone and chosen to walk away from the relationship?  In our humanness, we don't want to leave ourselves open for further hurt and we forsake the relationship.   God does no such thing.  When we are at our lowest, He reaches out to us in love.  In this portion of Psalm 25, we read of David's plea to the Lord to not remember his past transgressions, but to show him mercy.

Are there things in your past that you feel would cause the Lord to not love you? Know that, if you have received Him as your Lord and Savior, you have been forgiven and are forever in a right relationship with the Heavenly Father.  The choice is yours today: accept His mercy and forgiveness or dwell on the not so nice things in your life that you feel are outside of His mercy.  Which will you choose?

October 19 - On Waiting

Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
Psalm 25:4-5

Thought for today: We live in a society where waiting does not seem to be an option.  Everything is instant from gratification to groceries.  I teach at a college and find that students want to learn things instantly. Yet, in this psalm we see David indicating that He waits on the Lord all day long. This waiting is tied to being shown by God His ways. Perhaps, the more we wait on the Lord, seeking His face in prayer, the more we shall become like Him.  This day, may we all endeavor to slow down, waiting on the Lord and seeking to learn all of His ways.

October 18 - Lift Up Your Soul

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.

Psalm 25:1-2 (NKJV)

Thought for Today: David indicates in the opening verses of this psalm that there is a direct connection between lifting one's soul to the Lord and having victory over one's enemies.  What does it mean to lift one's soul to the Lord?  It seems that all we have to lift to Him on the level of the soul is prayer.  When we pray, we experience victory.  When we pray, our difficult circumstances, what we might call our enemies, cannot overcome us.  Are you facing something in your life that you are afraid will triumph over you? The only answer is to lift up your soul to God in prayer.  In Him will be the victory.

October 17 - Dry Places

The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the Lord, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
Isaiah 41:17,18 (NKJV)

Thought for today: A while ago I was hospitalized for a week, unable to take anything by mouth.  How the days and nights of thirst seemed to drag on forever until that magical day when I could have my first sip of water.  Nothing seemed to have ever tasted so good!

Perhaps you are going through a dry spell in your life.  Days and nights of despair seem to drag on without an end in sight.  Yet, the same God who promised deliverance for His people long ago also promises the same to us today.  We have to trust that He will indeed turn the dry places of our lives into wonderful pools of water, from which will flow praises to Him.  Can you give that dry place to Him today, trusting that He will indeed turn your circumstances into something beautiful?

October 16 - Do not be dismayed

But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Isaiah 41: 8-10 (NKJV)

Thought for Today: Do you feel dismayed by your circumstances?  The word dismay can be traced to the common Latin word exmagare, which means divest of power or ability.  So often, we can feel powerless in our circumstances, unable to fix things.  We can only come to a true place of strength and of peace when we realize that our job is not to fix the things in our lives that are not right.  Our job is to trust the One who calls us to be His, relying fully upon Him to sustain us.  He knows your circumstances, He knows your pain.  Will you give those to Him today in complete surrender, trusting in Him alone?