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God, thank You for all of the wonderful things You;ve done in my life. Sometimes when my circumstances are hard, I can forget about Your goodness. In those moments, help me to trust Your goodness and love for me. Help me to keep my focus on You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

DAILY BIBLE READING: PSALMS 63-65 ROMANS 6 MY SOUL THIRSTS FOR YOU earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped. HIDE ME FROM THE WICKED Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult O GOD OF OUR SALVATION Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. DEAD TO SIN, ALIVE IN GOD We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. SLAVES TO RIGHTEOUSNESS you are slaves of the one whom you obey, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PHILIPPIANS 4:4-11 EXHORTATION, ENCOURAGEMENT AND PRAYER Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. GOD'S PROVISION 10I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. INSIGHT Philippians is one of the Prison Epistles (along with Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon) that Paul wrote while in prison. The letter to the Philippians is often referred to as the “joy letter” because of the apostle’s repeated emphasis on our joy in Christ. That’s striking by itself but made even more significant when we remember that he wrote this letter while in custody (1:12-14). He not only reflected on the joy we have in Jesus but also on what it means to have peace in Christ—even while in prison. This powerful truth can speak into whatever circumstances we might be facing. For some, that literally means being imprisoned. But regardless of our situation, Jesus is profoundly at work in our lives and the fruit the Spirit produces is joy and peace. By: Bill Crowder

PEACE IN THE RELEASE Kayla’s brow furrowed as she shoved yet another slip of paper into an overstuffed box labeled “Give It to God” on all four sides. Sighing deeply, she sifted through the written prayers she had previously placed in the box. “I read them out loud almost every day,” she said to her friend. “How can I be sure God hears me?” Chantel handed Kayla her Bible. “By trusting that God keeps His word,” she said, “and letting go every time you write or read a prayer you’ve released into His hands.”

The apostle Paul urged believers in Jesus to “rejoice in the Lord” and gave good reason to do so by affirming, “The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:4-5). He encouraged God’s people to trade anxious thoughts for faith-filled prayers, to believe He receives every request, and to praise Him while resting in the unfathomable peace of His never-ending presence (vv. 6-7).

The Prince of Peace—Jesus—guards our emotional and mental well-being when we turn our thoughts toward qualities that point to Him, things that are “true,” “right,” “pure,” and “praiseworthy” (v. 8).

The peace of God protects us when we trust that the God of peace is with us. Liberated from the burden of clinging to concerns, we can experience peace in the release of every prayer into God’s trustworthy hands.

By: Xochitl Dixon

REFLECT AND PRAY How has God used Scripture to help you trust that He hears your prayers? What concerns have you been clinging to instead of giving them to God in prayer?

Dear God, thank You for being my peace whenever I release my worries into Your hands. In Jesus' name, Amen.

12 DAYS OF GOD'S CHARACTER: OBEDIENCE We’ve talked about Mary for the last 2 days, but now, we are jumping into Joseph’s story - a story littered with deep obedience and adherence to the will of the Lord. Upon finding out about his betrothed, Mary's pregnancy, Joseph would have felt betrayed. Of course Mary couldn’t be telling the truth - the Messiah? Carrying the Messiah? Why her? And why did this have to happen to him?

One can only imagine what Joseph must have been thinking and feeling in these moments, but perhaps some of those questions could have been going through his mind. As he finally decides that he will divorce her quietly, an angel of the Lord comes to him in a dream and encourages him to do as the Lord says and take Mary as his wife.

And further, the angel gives Joseph the name “Jesus” for the Child - thus bringing him in as a part of the Lord’s incredible plan for the Savior of the World. Joseph chooses to believe in the Voice of God and walk in obedience, doing exactly as the Angel said.

WOW! Can you imagine the 180 from wanting to quietly divorce Mary to fully coming to terms with the Virgin birth of Jesus? Joseph surrendered to the Lord’s plan and walked faithfully in what God had for him!

So what does that mean for us? It means that we can look to Joseph as an example of how we deal with disappointments, outrage, disrespect, and confusion.

Joseph didn’t respond immediately. He thought quietly first and foremost. Had he immediately responded with anger or divorcing Mary - he may not have been part of the incredible plan to parent the Savior of the World. Let us also hold our tongues Joseph listened to God. The Lord spoke to Him through an Angel and Joseph LISTENED!! This means that he spent enough time in silence to truly hear the voice of the Lord - let us do the same!! Joseph was completely surrendered. How easy would it have been to say, “no, God. This isn't fair. Now everyone is going to think I married an unfaithful woman and it’s too hard”? But Joseph doesn’t say this, instead, “He did what the angel of the Lord commanded him…” (Matthew 1:24). Let us walk with the same trust and willingness. Take a moment to just rest in the presence of the Lord for 2 minutes. Set a timer if you have to!! What may He be putting on your heart for today or even this season? Go in peace, Child. Go in peace.