John Cliver

[Judy Harder]

 7:10am Nov 18 
"Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth." John 17:17.

it is only by the entrance of Jesus into our hearts that we can ever really learn anything good. All other information is superficial and only benefits us in this life. His word, his truth makes us holy and makes us able to stand before God the Father now and in the days to come. Both the revealed Word – Jesus – and the written word – the Scriptures – will keep us safe and good. And only God can teach that to us. It comes through an open heart standing in humility before the God of the Universe

[Judy Harder]

9:11am Nov 19 
"Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night." Psalm 1:1-2.

So many men in jail will tell you that they are there because they were hanging around with the wrong people. They were out for a ride and the driver of the car they were in the backseat of decided to stop and rob a liquor store. They were out drinking and the group decides to rape a girl. They were out doing nothing in particular and one of them buys some crack from an undercover cop. They were out together... And you see the problem. They were with the wrong people. Some people will get you killed, either physically or spiritually. Having the right friends makes all the difference.

[Judy Harder]

8:57am Nov 20 
"Come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him." Psalm 95:1-2.

The whole idea of the season is that of remembering where what we have came from. When we come to God, we do not come with a sense of duty, or fear. We come with joy and thanksgiving, singing praise to the God who made the universe and who made us.

[Judy Harder]

9:07am Nov 24 
"And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7.

Finishing a week of thanksgiving passages with this one. just remember to continue in your thankfulness. Don't let it be something that you do only once a year, but let it be a lifestyle. When you let it be a rule of your life, you will continue to have strong faith and will continue to grow in all you do.

[Judy Harder]

 Nov 25 
"And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father." Colossians 3:17.

When we thank God, we do it because of and through the agency of Jesus Christ. Without his sacrifice, we have nothing really to be thankful. But through him, we have peace, we have joy, we have purpose, we have a point in it all. In him, we have life. Thanks be to God.



Nov 26 
"Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe." Hebrews 12:28.

The Kingdom of God is a serious thing. It is not just some side venture, or hobby. It is the primary vocation of any real Christ-follower. When we serve him the way we should, we show him the strength of our convictions. When we just throw some stuff out there for him out of our left-overs, we show him what we think also.

[Judy Harder]

8:02am Nov 27 
"Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts." Colossians 3:16.

The old expression was "you are what you eat." If you eat healthy and nutritious food, you will probably be in good health. But if you eat a lot of junk, even if you feel fine, you probably have a lot of nutritional problems. The same with life in Jesus and his grace. If you feed yourself liberally from the word, if you eat the Bread of Life, if you take in as much of Jesus and his grace as you can, you will be spiritually healthy. Things will still happen, of course. We are human. But you will be able to deal with them and fight off those diseases of sin. Be filled with him.

[Judy Harder]

8:18am Nov 28 
"Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done." 1 Chronicles 16:8.

Your relationship with God is personal, intensely personal. But it is not private. You need to tell others why you believe like you believe. That doesn't mean you carry an inflatable pulpit and sound system around and preach, but it does mean that your life shows that relationship. You let them know about your relationship with Jesus and his grace by your gratitude in life, by your actions at work and home and just in general by the way you live.

[Judy Harder]

:54am Nov 29 
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." Psalm 136:1.

There is nothing that will stop the love of God. You may quit loving him, you may turn your back on him, you may even move as far away from him as is possible, but nothing will stop him from loving you. And if you have left, he looks daily for you to come back. There is no sin great enough to turn him away from you.

[Judy Harder]

7:55am Nov 30 
"But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live," 2 Peter 3:10-11.

Life in Christ is a matter of perspective. Are you going to work all your life and spend your money on what will ultimately be flammable cardboard? Or are you going to invest in that which is truly important, in the kingdom of God and the things that belong to it. There is nothing wrong with having stuff, but one day all that stuff will burn up. Only what you have gained in Jesus and his grace will count.

[Judy Harder]

 6:49am Dec 2 
"Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe." Hebrews 1:1-2.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the four Sundays of watching and waiting for the coming of the Messiah it is the Sunday of Hope, the gift God gives us that makes us able to look toward an eternal reward in heaven with him. And it was he who told of his Son, Jesus, who would come as a human to give us life. He spoke of him all the way from the beginning and today we have that realized gift of hope when we give ourselves to him through Jesus.