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Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the LORD, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. — Ephesians 5:19-20 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Paul emphasizes that hearts full of thanks make for good singing! With Jesus as the source of our salvation and the center of our future, how can we not sing? But singing is not just for God to praise God. God wants our songs to bless others, to speak to others, and to build others up in the hope we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. This means that singing is our ultimate spiritual talk. It blesses God and blesses others! So, let's speak to God in praise with our songs and singing. And let's speak to each other in those same songs and singing, so that we together can anticipate gathering with the saints of all time, blessing each other and God before his throne of grace. My Prayer... O LORD my God, you are awesome and wondrous. You...

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. — Proverbs 9:10 Thoughts on Today's Verse... We pursue so many things, but only one pursuit brings true wisdom: a reverent awe and appropriate respect for the holiness and greatness of God. The apostle Paul reminded the Athenians, who always wanted to appear wise, that God made us to seek him, find him, and discover that true wisdom is in him ( Acts 17:24-27 ). The wisdom of Proverbs keeps leading us back to knowing God and having deep, reverent awe of him. This is where wisdom begins! This is where true understanding finds its source. We can only understand life's priorities, purposes, goals, and directions when we recognize who the LORD is, walk with him in our day-to-day lives, and live before him with reverence and awe at his greatness and his grace! My Prayer... Holy, majestic, righteous, and eternal God, we confess that we know you so much less than you know us. That also mean...

A man finds joy in giving an apt reply — and how good is a timely word! — Proverbs 15:23 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Knowing the right word at the right time is a great gift to have and a great blessing to those with whom we share that apt word. However, even the best wordsmiths among Jesus' people admit that their words are not nearly as good as those the Spirit gives them to share at just the right time. Nevertheless, we must not excuse ourselves for insensitive speech, unkindness, or harsh silences that miss opportunities to bless others. Not paying attention to what was said is no excuse. Not being spiritually in tune with others' needs is a cop-out - it's a failure of our hearts. Not knowing Scripture well enough to bless others with gracious speech at the right time is self-deception and laziness. Listening to others after having listened to God in his Word and seeing the example of Jesus should tune our hearts to hear and bless others. When we do, our well-timed...

Carry each other's burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. — Galatians 6:2 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Sometimes I let myself feel so burdened by my problems that I don't even see others' struggles, trials, and hardships. But Jesus reminds me that if I am to be like him, truly JESUShaped, I will be a burden-bearer for others. This principle is implicit in the second greatest commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself" ( Matthew 22:39 ), and it's made clear by the example of Jesus! Jesus became one of us to lift our heaviest burdens. The LORD died and rose again to free us from the weight of sin, the fear of death, and the threat of hell. Jesus blessed us by carrying our heaviest burdens and now calls us to lighten the load of those around us. My Prayer... Compassionate Father, help me see the burdens weighing down those around me. Give me wisdom to know how best to respond with help and courage not to put off that help. I want to be...

I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. — Psalm 40:8 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Too many of us are paranoid about the word "law" and find it hard to hear a scripture like today's verse. However, we must recognize that the goal of the New Covenant of grace and the gift of the Spirit is that God's law is written on our hearts ( Hebrews 8:10 , 10:16 ) and demonstrated in our lives ( Romans 8:3-4 ). God is not concerned with the law being written on tablets of stone. He wants us to know his will in our hearts and live it out in our daily lives. Jeremiah prophesied of this day coming, a time when God's people desire to do God's will from the heart, with a passion to love what our Father loves and despise what he despises ( Jeremiah 31:33 ). Having been saved by our faith in Jesus based on God's grace and filled with the Holy Spirit, we can now say with confidence: I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. My...

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. — Psalm 51:12 Thoughts on Today's Verse... In the face of sin and separation from God, grace is God's refreshing stream that restores our salvation - making it existentially real to us. In our struggles with suffering, grief, and loss, only God's grace and his Holy Spirit ministering to our spirits can help us find a sustaining and willing spirit. This ongoing joy of salvation comes only when we realize and accept the forgiveness, grace, restoration, and Spirit-inspired refreshment God has given us - in other words, we get to drink from the stream of grace as the Holy Spirit wells up within us with heaven's living water to refresh us ( John 7:37-39 ). So we can say with confidence that God will restore to us the joy of our salvation, and he will grant us a willing spirit to sustain us!* * Psalm 51 is written as David's confessional response for his grievous and multiple sins in hi...