New Life- I always love when God reminds me.....

The new covenant has two parts to it: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26). God removed your old heart when he circumcised your heart; he gives you a new heart when he joins you to the life of Christ. That’s why Paul can say “count yourselves dead to sin” and “alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11). 

The story of the Incarnation is the story of a descent and resurrection . . . one has the picture of a diver, stripping off garment after garment, making himself naked, then flashing for a moment in the air, and then down through the green, and warm, and sunlit water into the pitch black, cold, freezing water, down into the mud and slime, then up again, his lungs almost bursting, back again to the green and warm and sunlit water, and then at last out into the sunshine, holding in his hand the dripping thing he went down to get. This thing is human nature. (C. S. Lewis, “The Grand Miracle”) 

The Resurrection affirms the promise Christ made. For it was life he offered to give us: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). We are saved by his life when we find that we are able to live the way we’ve always known we should live. We are free to be what he meant when he made us. You have a new life—the life of Christ. And you have a new heart. Do you know what this means? Your heart is good. 

(Waking the Dead , 66–67)  John Eldredge 

Rahab

Read Joshua 2-Rahab shelters two spies and helps them escape from the city of Jericho.

INSIGHT
God will meet any person, any time, any place. There are few people who seem to be further from the Lord than a harlot. Yet, in the course of her everyday life, Rahab finds herself keeping a divine appointment with two strangers in need and, in the process, meets with God. The kind of risks Rahab takes will not be taken without a searching heart. In her own way, she takes a step of faith; God meets her. Her reward is not only eternal life, but also the honor of being included in the messianic lineage. Wherever you are in your life, God will meet you there.

PRAYER
Offer to the Lord this psalm of praise as you remember all He has done for you:
You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name (Psalm 97:10-12).

As you ponder the wondrous holiness of the Lord, pray this confession to Him as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
"Come now, and let us reason together,"
Says the Lord,
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord who will protect you:
When the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved us,
through the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-5)

Proverbs 2

I read the proverbs every day- there are 31 Proverbs- 1 for every day of the month!
I am going to take you through how I read, pray, and apply them daily. I hope it is a helpful tool as you learn to seek our Jesus with all of your heart.

I will outline the first 4 and you apply what you learn to the last 4!

1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,

God help me to accept your words of wisdom and correction even when it is hard. Give me revelation to understand your commands- to love you and others.
      
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,

How can I turn my ear to your wisdom today? Find 3 ways to apply what I am learning today; write it down in your notebooks so you see and are reminded of it all day.

3 and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,

Hear I check myself to make sure I am crying out to God with a pure heart and not just because it is the "right" thing to do.

4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,

I watch National Treasure and see how they hunt for treasure of this world because of its value.  How much more should I be hunting for the treasures of who God is and how he loves me.  Then I pick one thing that I usually pursue "in the world" and I give it up that day so I can pursue God and seek the deep things of him that day.

Now you try it.  Try to pray the verse outloud into your life and find practical ways of applying it to your life.

5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.

Now imagine if you did this everyday as you read through the bible.  Your "Jesus Time" would transform into a hang out time with a very close father and friend.