John Cliver

[Judy Harder]

5:05am Mar 7 
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Psalm 139:23-24

Sometimes we can deceive ourselves and only God himself can show us where we do. When he comes into your heart, he gives you the ability to serve him. He shows you the path toward fulfillment in him. He gives you grace and life, if you will but let him show you.

[Judy Harder]

8:45am Mar 8 
"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.

We are like the moon. We radiate no light of our own, but we reflect that greater light near us. The comfort God gives us, we are able to pass on to others. That light that shines in our lives, we are able to reflect to other lives and give comfort to them.

[Judy Harder]

9:57am Mar 9 
"For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 1:9.

We were saved, not to benefit ourselves (although it does) nor to make us happy (although it does), but to bring us into God's plan, into that plan of grace that will both benefit us by making us children of God, and make us happy by giving our lives fulfillment. Only in him and his grace can we truly be benefited and happy. But his main purpose was to make us part of that plan. We are saved, we call others into the kingdom, they are saved and we are part of the plan.



6:14am Mar 10 
"Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it." 1 Peter 3:15.

Your faith is intensely personal, but it is not private. Our Lord wants you to be ready to share with others why you think like you think and be able to share it all with others. When you worship, let them know why you do, and why you worship the One you worship. Be ready to tell others what you are doing and why you are doing it.

[Judy Harder]

9:51am Mar 11 
"Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands." Deuteronomy 7:9.

If God says he will do something, he will do it. His faithful and never changes his heart. And he will love you forever.



8:50am Mar 12 
"And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires." 2 Peter 1:4.

He does not give us the promises because we deserve them. He gives them because he wants to. He give them to us in order to bring us back into that divine order that was present in the garden. They make us able to share his nature, that of holiness, and to escape corruption by the world. When we take those promises, we become more like him.

[Judy Harder]

8:23am Mar 13 
"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." Romans 8:28.

IF WE LOVE God and if we are called and do his will, everything will work together for good. That doesn't mean that everything is going to be fine anyway. It just means that if we are in God, everything will turn out like God wants. He will work out his will in our lives if we allow him.

[Judy Harder]

8:48am Mar 14 
"In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:5-8.

You build on a foundation. You start with a foundation of your own effort to do what God wants, then you add the stuff God wants you to add. The more you add, the more like Jesus you become, until you become. It is only when that happens, that you can achieve the foundation of his knowledge.

[Judy Harder]

9:11am Mar 16 
"Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." Colossians 3:12.

Like a uniform in the army, we wear the clothing of godliness so that when people see us, they will see that we are in the service of the King.

[Judy Harder]

6:29am Mar 17 
"The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name." Psalm 23:1-3.

What a day! I have the Lord on my side, he is with me to guide and show me his path and he renews my strength. What more do I need? With the Lord on my side, I have all I need, and I will take him, for sure. Thank you, Lord, for your goodness and your day!

[Judy Harder]

A beautiful psalm.

Psalm 121
A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

1 I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!

3 He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.

5 The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.

7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.


8:43am Mar 18 
"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13.

God is our Source of hope. He is our fountain of knowledge and wisdom. It is he who gives us all we need to be happy in life. If we but go to him, he will fill us with that hope through his power, enough so that others can latch onto it – our hope – and in that way be able to see God. He gives us confidence in our ability to do what he wants. He is our God, Lord Almighty.

[Judy Harder]

7:31am Mar 19 
"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" Galatians 5:22-23.

You can always tell what a person spends his time doing. It will always show. If a person is immersed in the world, you can tell. If immersed in things godly, you can also. You may be able to fool someone for a while, but sooner or later the source material will show. From one who is immersed in godliness will be these things, and they are good. But you always tell what nourishes that life, what makes that life move right. Make God your nourishment and everything will be fine.