There’s nothing like living in the moment of an expected blessing.  I can still remember those days as a child when I was commanded by my mother to stay home because she was expecting a package to be delivered.  It was usually a package that was too large or bulky to be carried on a bus (our primary means of travel).  But knowing the day that the package was going to arrive was exciting.  The anticipation during the days leading up to its arrival caused anxiety.  But knowing and finally experiencing the day of the arrival of the packages was intense.  There was always a certain level of joy once everything was delivered and safely in the house.

         We can only imagine what it might have been like for David to acknowledge the day of his salvation coming.  If it was anything like our understanding of who Christ is to us, or the importance that day would mean for our eternity, then maybe we’re able to say as David said, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  Our blessing is that we have the privilege of witnessing to that truth each and every day.  God’s grace and mercy realized in Jesus Christ is a constant reminder of God’s unending love and mercy.  The prophet Jeremiah tells us, “His mercies are new every morning!”  That gives us every reason to give praise to our God and proclaim, “This is the day!”

• How do you celebrate the newness of God’s grace and mercy each day?
• When does it become clear to you that “this is the day” of God’s grace and mercy offered and realized in you?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Thank you for the gift of salvation that comes wrapped in my knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and savior of my life. This allows me to praise you and proclaim each day as a day of Your salvation.

         Time matters a lot to most of us.  Many people often find themselves waiting or looking for the perfect time or day to act.  Or we’re waiting for something to occur.  That period of time is magnified by the idea that what is going to happen will be exciting for us.  I can remember as a child, the idea that Christmas was coming was almost unbearable.  It was because I knew that on that day, something good was coming my way.  But there is always that period of waiting.  Maybe we’re looking or waiting for just the right time to maximize our moments of opportunity.  But time — when it is unspecific — can also carry with it the image of hope.  It can open the door to a future of blessing or disaster, to a calming period or storm.  Isaiah’s words to God’s people, “In that day …” opens the door to the promise of God’s blessing and hope.  And while the time is not specific, the age in which it is to occur becomes a day of grace and blessing for all of God’s people — a time of heightened excitement as they look forward to God’s blessings of grace and forgiveness to be revealed in their midst.

         Of course, for those of us to whom the Messiah has already been revealed, the day we’ve been waiting for has already come.  Today is the day.  With each new day we’ve experienced the grace of God in and through Jesus Christ — a grace that allows us to claim Christ as our strength and our protector in the midst of life’s crippling events.  And we’ve at times made good faith efforts to let the world know who Jesus is, what he’s done for us through God’s grace and exalted his name because of it.  So, for those who don’t know what time or day it is, we’ve come to understand that this is that day (both the time of excitement and expectation) to embrace our relationship with God and sing and shout out our praises for all God has done.  We acknowledge that the Holy One of Israel is among us.  He is our Emmanuel — our God with us — not just in the future, but today is the day of our salvation.

• When did you come to realize the blessing of God’s presence in your life and begin to give praise to God because Christ was among us?
• How do you currently express your understanding that today is a day to give praise to God for all God has done?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Gracious and loving God, help me to embrace, celebrate and openly testify about Your grace. Empower me to tell the whole world about your love story of salvation and that today is the day to praise You.

         One of the most difficult things to do is to learn a new language.  Following the learning of that language is the knowledge of the language necessary to speak to others as if it were your native tongue.  As those who are invited to speak, doing so as if we are speaking the very words of God requires study, understanding, humility, and a wisdom that comes from none other than the author of life itself.  That degree of language facility requires a certain level of relationship that opens the door to that skill level.  But that skill level can only be achieved through acts of service — service in which one immerses themselves in both the language and work such that our service to God and the facility of the language of God enables us to live within the Spirit of Christ.  It also allows God to receive praise through Jesus Christ who opened the door to our relationship.  In some ways, it sounds terribly complicated.  But with God, all things are possible.  It simply takes commitment on our part to accomplish to skills necessary to transition into our new life with Christ.  That’s where living within the Spirit of Christ comes into play.  It’s a relationship of growing to be like Christ so that our every word, and every action emulate the One who is God’s only Son.  And it is through that relationship that others will see and recognize the transformation in us that resembles Christ more and more each day.  When we give credit to God, then by our words God is praised and receives the glory that comes from living within the Spirit of Christ.

• How has living within the Spirit of Christ enable you to speak as if you speaking the very words of God?
• Do you believe quoting Scripture in context is in some way, you speaking as if speaking the very words of God?
• How is God praised by your knowledge and understanding of God’s word?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, empower me to so live within the Spirit of Christ that your words flow freely from my lips and you receive all the praise and glory.