Mark 6:31 (GNT)
There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn’t even have time to eat. So he said to them, “Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone and you can rest a while.”
Jesus told his disciples, “Take time to rest.”
Is He saying the same thing to you? Make time to obey.
Good morning, Lord. As I sit here in the comfort of my couch in the early morning peace and quiet, I do not know what this day will bring. You do. Lead me away from temptation (Matthew 6:13) and guide me into paths of righteousness (Psalm 23:3).
Protect me from my own bad choices. Show me how to encourage others by my example, words and actions.
Matthew 26:41 (ESV)
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.
Temptations surround us.
Lord God, open our eyes to the plans of the enemy. Open our hearts to Your wisdom. Fill our minds with the truth of Your Word. Teach us to watch and pray–for ourselves and for those around us. 
It’s a new year. We make resolutions, we make plans. We find some realistic advice in the book of James.
James 4:14 (GNT)
You don’t even know what your life tomorrow will be! You are like a puff of smoke, which appears for a moment and then disappears.
Not that we shouldn’t plan ahead — we should. But we must hold those plans loosely, because our times rest in God’s hands, not ours.
Good morning, Lord. It’s a new year, a fresh start, with new mercies. What is it You want me to do this year, this month, this day? Teach me to check my desires, my resolutions and my to-do list against Your Word and the Spirit’s nudge. Your will, not mine, be done today and throughout the year, in Jesus’ name.
Galatians 4:4 (ESV)
But when the fullness of time had come,
God sent forth his Son.
God’s timing is always just right. It’s no accident that you are living here and now. This is your “fullness of time.” Resolve to use it well.
“Thy love divine hath led us in the past;
in this free land by Thee our lot is cast;
be Thou our Ruler, Guardian, Guide, and Stay,
thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.”
Daniel C. Roberts
God of Our Fathers, 1876
“May the Christmas morning
make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening
bring us to our beds
with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven,
for Jesus’ sake.”
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
