God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Deuteronomy 7:9
The Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

Thoughts on today’s verse

God is faithful and his covenant is a covenant of love. He will not forsake us and will treat us better than we deserve just as a loving parent treats a rebellious child better than s/he deserves. But our hearts must be tuned to honor God as God, not as just a good luck charm or a weekly guest into our otherwise busy lives. What we do must be done in awareness that it is done before and for him!

Prayer:

Faithful God, thank you for loving me so sacrificially and steadfastly. Thank you for the way you preserved your promises to the Israelites and brought Jesus just as you promised. I trust your promise to send him back to bring me home to you. Please receive the deeds and words of this day as my thanks to you for your covenant of love with me and those I love. Through Jesus, your gift of love, I pray. Amen.

From Heartlight.org

Why do you think they call it "True North?"

The one who lives with integrity lives securely, but whoever perverts his ways [acts deceitfully] will be found out. Proverbs 10:9

None of us is perfect. That state of being is reserved for us in eternity after we turn in these used earth suits. But we can be sincere and truthful, and behave according to the truth of the Gospel. Christian integrity is solid ground. It’s a very comfortable place to live and prevents much of the stress that would otherwise occupy our minds. Proverbs 2:7 tells us, “He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity.” And in Psalm 84:11, “…The Lord gives grace and glory; He does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity.”

But there IS a second half of the verse we started out with … that part about perverting our ways. It’s a completely different ending if our lives are characterized by deceit, folly, tricks and just plain wickedness. It may not be today or even next year, but God promises that the misdeeds will be judged. “There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, nothing hidden that won’t be made known.” (Luke 12:2).

“With integrity you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide.With integrity you will do the right thing,so you will have no guilt.With fear and guilt removed you are free to be and do your best.” Zig Ziglar

This is what it's about.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

Righteousness … there’s not a big demand for it by today’s standards. But if the Bible really is God-inspired then it represents much more than the “casual reading” volumes occupying the remaining space on our bookshelf. And thus, the very tool by which we can be “trained” in righteousness should be the encouragement we need to bring its pages before our eyes on a regular basis.

In John Darby’s commentary on this passage, he says of the scriptures, “They teach, they judge the heart, they correct, they discipline according to righteousness, in order that the man of God may be perfect, that is, thoroughly instructed in the will of God, his mind formed after that will and completely furnished for every good work.” That’s a pretty compelling argument for making God’s Word an integral part of our daily activities. And to add some depth to the persuasion, Paul informs us in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

There are times when the “walking in them” part seems overwhelming. We live in a world that offers more distractions than perhaps any other period in history. Yet, our unchangeable God has instructed us to keep righteousness and good works in their proper place, regardless of our outward circumstances.

Martin Luther describes the task like this: “This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health, but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it, the process is not yet finished, but it is going on, this is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified.”

There is no joy more satisfying than knowing our life is focused and directed by the will of God. Every day is a journey for which He has promised guidance and blessing … if we will merely stop for a few moments, read the instructions and have a chat with the Author.

Metamorphosis ... a complete change.

“. . . that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Have you checked out the “Self-Help & Self-Improvement” section of your local book store? There’s Addiction & Recovery, Emotional Healing, Personal Growth, Meditations and everything in between. At Barnes & Noble’s online store there are nearly 14 thousand selections in the Psychological Self-Help category alone!

In his bestseller, Wishes Fulfilled, author Wayne W.Dyer tells us that “…your wishes, all of them, can indeed be fulfilled. By using your imagination and practicing the art of assuming the feeling of your wishes being fulfilled, and steadfastly refusing to allow any evidence of the outer world to distract you from your intentions, you will discover that you, by virtue of your spiritual awareness, possess the ability to become the person you were destined to be.”

Apparently, the market for ideas offering advice on how to change for the better is booming. And what could be any more noble a calling than to help us become a better person? But among the thousands of words represented in thousands of books, few address the primary need of the human soul … the permanent transformation of our sinful condition through the redemptive act of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Paul the Apostle wrote of this transformation in his letter to the Romans, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3,4).

This change that Paul speaks about is not the latest psychological window dressing for a stressed out world. It is a permanent change at our life’s deepest level … our soul. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul again tells us, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” This is not merely a renovation … it is a TRANSFORMATION.

The Greek word for “transformed” is “metamorphoo,” which means “to change into another form. Another word which we understand more clearly is “metamorphosis” – the process by which a caterpillar is changed into a butterfly. And as 2 Corinthians 5:17 confirms, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

And just as my pastor is fond of saying, “God is all about taking a mess and turning it into a miracle.” But even with our destination clearly established, God wants us to participate with His Spirit in aligning our behavior to His purposes. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2. Any change in our lives apart from this truth is purely superficial. We should set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:1-2). We should focus our minds on the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5). We should feed our minds with God’s Word, prayer and fellowship (Acts 2:42).

Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen in one evening or even in one year. The cutting and polishing of a diamond takes time. And, of course, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6. God will be at work “in” and “through” us.

Make a personal commitment today to study, pray, and meditate in the Word to better take on the mind of Christ. There is a strong propensity in each of us to live the Christian life using our own wisdom and strength. But to truly become what God desires for us in this life, we must slowly and surely loosen our grip on everything that is holding us back from the complete transformation into the image of Christ.

The pavement on the Christian road of life.

Short and sweet … easy to rattle off when the trouble belongs to someone else, isn’t it? But it doesn’t take long for a genuine Christian to discover that life isn’t a bed of roses. And all of a sudden “faith” becomes a rather thorny issue: is it the same faith that brought us to Christ? Or was it simply an emotional “bridge” that carried us over a time of trouble in our life?

Genuine faith is a commitment to the God who saved us in the first place. It is a choice of the will empowered by the Holy Spirit that gives confidence to our Christian experience. The apostle Paul referred to this in his 2nd letter to Timothy: “But I am not ashamed, because I know the One I have believed in and am persuaded that He is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12 HCSB).

So what about you? Are you a “grin and bear it” sort of Christian? Or have you really placed the length and breadth of your life in God’s Hands … by faith.

“You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials so that the genuineness of your faith—more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6,7 HCSB)

“Faith is that which is woven of conviction and set with the sharp mordant of experience” (James Russell Lowell)

Romans 5

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
6 ¶ For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

++++ Prayer for the Day ++++

Most gracious heavenly Father, You are my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust! You deliver me from the snare of the trapper and from deadly pestilence. Under Your wings I can seek refuge. You have promised that Your faithfulness will be my shield, and You are indeed trustworthy. Remind me that I do not have to be afraid. For even though trying times come, You will see me through them. You have said that if I do indeed make You my God, even the Most High my dwelling place, that no real evil can defeat me! You have said that if I truly love You, that I may call upon Your name, and that You will answer! Oh Lord, in the days ahead, help me to give You honor and praise daily, and to be the means by which others may come to know You. And help me to be as faithful to You in my commitments as Your have promised to be to me.

Dear Lord! accept a sinful heart,
Which of itself complains,
And mourns, with much and frequent smart,
The evil it contains.

There fiery seeds of anger lurk,
Which often hurt my frame;
And wait but for the tempter’s work,
To fan them to a flame.

Legality holds out a bribe
To purchase life from Thee;
And Discontent would fain prescribe
How Thou shalt deal with me.

While Unbelief withstands Thy grace,
And puts the mercy by;
Presumption, with a brow of brass,
Says, “Give me, or I die!”

How eager are my thoughts to roam,
In quest of what they love!
But ah! when duty calls them home,
How heavily they move!

Oh, cleanse me in a Saviour’s blood,
Transform my by Thy power,
And make me Thy beloved abode,
And let me roam no more.

–William Cowper

++++ Prayer for the Day ++++

Dear Lord, as I seek Your direction for my life at the beginning of this new year, I hear You asking, “What did you do with last year’s directions?” Oh Lord, help me to humbly take stock of my life and find areas that need to be more consecrated to You. Help me to sincerely want to go deeper into Your Word, to pray for others, and to serve in my own “personal mission field.” Empower me with Your Holy Spirit that I may have the strength and power to change, so that I may reflect You each day of my life.

In the name of Jesus I pray.

Amen.

Christianity is exclusive in that the God of heaven will change man's heart ... it is His work, completely without human works.

Unlike any other religion, Christianity represents a forgiving God Who seeks to change man’s heart … it is supernatural and requires no works:

From TimelessTruths.org:
If you are interested in finding what is really truth—what the Bible really teaches, then the subject of this article will be of great interest to you.

After dealing with the backsliding of the children of Israel, warning them of sure judgment for their sins and transgressions, the Lord promised a remedy for their unconverted and hardened hearts. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”* (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

We see from this promise that God is in the business of actually changing people’s hearts. God is able to operate on the cold, hard, stony heart with no love for right or for Him and change it into a soft, warm, responsive heart, full of love for the things of God and everyone else. What a mighty God we serve! A willful, wicked heart into a submissive, obedient heart. Praise His Name!

…

A Godly Life as Distinguished From a Good, Moral Life

Many people are trying to live a Bible life without a changed heart. They are attracted to the beauty and virtue of a godly life and try their very best to live such a life. It does not work as it reads in their Bible. Their faith stands in the wisdom of men instead of the power of God (I Corinthians 2:5). The blessing is not there as it should be. There is no real victory.
The Changed-Heart Religion.

READ MORE AT THE LINK.

Book of the Bible

This letter is the most biographical and least doctrinal of Paul’s epistles. It tells us more about Paul as a person and as a minister than any of the others. That being said, there are a few things we can take from this letter and apply to our lives today. One thing is stewardship, not only of money, but of time as well. The Macedonians not only gave generously, but “they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will” (2 Corinthians 8:5). In the same way, we should dedicate not only all we have to the Lord, but all that we are. He really doesn’t need our money. He is omnipotent! He wants the heart, one that longs to serve and please and love. Stewardship and giving to God is more than just money.

READ MORE HERE.

Book of the Bible

This letter is the most biographical and least doctrinal of Paul’s epistles. It tells us more about Paul as a person and as a minister than any of the others. That being said, there are a few things we can take from this letter and apply to our lives today. One thing is stewardship, not only of money, but of time as well. The Macedonians not only gave generously, but “they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will” (2 Corinthians 8:5). In the same way, we should dedicate not only all we have to the Lord, but all that we are. He really doesn’t need our money. He is omnipotent! He wants the heart, one that longs to serve and please and love. Stewardship and giving to God is more than just money. Yes, God does want us to tithe part of our income, and He promises to bless us when we give to Him. There is more though. God wants 100%. He wants us to give Him our all. Everything we are. We should spend our lives living to serve our Father. We should not only give to God from our paycheck, but our very lives should be a reflection of Him. We should give ourselves first to the Lord, then to the church and the work of the ministry of Jesus Christ.

READ MORE AT GotQuestions.org