Kristi Burchfiel

VERSE: 2 Corinthians 4:15–For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. TRUTH: On this Friday before Resurrection Sunday we are reminded of the cost of this grace. God’s grace toward us results in such gratitude on our part for His loving-kindness and care. This brings glory to God. Have we glorified God by giving thanks for the grace He has given to us? RESPONSE: Lord, Your grace is sufficient for me. I am so thankful for your sacrifice to make Your grace available to me! Praise God!

VERSE: 2 Corinthians 3:17–Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. TRUTH: When we ask Christ into our lives to save us, He frees us. His Spirit works in and through us to give us freedom from all the sins that had previously enslaved us. Do we experience the freedom that the Spirit brings or do we seek out our old ways? RESPONSE: Lord, help me to live as one who has been set free from all the sins that used to enslave me.

VERSE:2 Corinthians 2:14–But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.TRUTH:Our relationship with God allows us to walk in victory through Christ. This relationship should be easily seen and recognized by everyone we come into contact with as as sweet aroma. Do we smell sweet to others?RESPONSE:Lord, I pray You will be a sweet aroma through me so that everyone around me today will know of my relationship with You.

VERSE:2 Corinthians 1:5–For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant in Christ.TRUTH:Christ did not have an easy, pain-free life. He was obedient and that brought on sufferings. If we are obedient to Christ we too will experience suffering. However, we will also have the same comfort that Christ had through it all: His relationship with His Father and the Spirit. Are we experiencing the sufferings AND the comfort of Christ?RESPONSE:Lord, help me to be obedient in all areas, knowing that sufferings will come, but also that Your comfort is abundant.

VERSE:Esther 10:3–For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and in favor with his many kinsmen, one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the welfare of his whole nation.TRUTH:Mordecai left a legacy of standing up for and helping others. What will our legacy be? What will people remember about us? Will we be seen as someone who stands up for people or not?RESPONSE:Lord, help to me love as You love and to act as You would act toward every person that I come into contact with.

VERSE:Esther 9:27–the Jews established and made a custom for themselves and for their descendants and for all who allied themselves with them, so that they would not fail to celebrate these two days according to their regulation and according to their appointed time annually.TRUTH:When God does amazing and wonderful works in our lives, do we make a way to remember and celebrate it with everyone? Do we share and remember all that He has done?RESPONSE:Lord, You have done such amazing and wonderful things in my life. Help me to set up ways to celebrate, remember, and share.

VERSE:Esther 8:6–For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?TRUTH:When we see injustice against our fellow man, do we sit idly by? Or, do we stand up for others and seek to show them the love and mercy of Christ? We must stand up for those who are hurting and cannot stand up for themselves.RESPONSE:Lord, help me to be willing to get involved and to fight against the injustices I see.

VERSE:Esther 7:10–So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.TRUTH:Ever have a plan backfire? Haman did. Are our plans based on the love of Jesus, or do we make plans based solely on ourselves and our desires? God’s plans never backfire; we must allow His plans to become our plans.RESPONSE:Lord, take my plans and replace them with Your plans. I want to do only what You have for me today.

VERSE:Esther 6:3–The king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” Then the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”TRUTH:Do we take the time to recognize those who have shown us kindness? Are we outwardly grateful for the blessings that God gives us through others?RESPONSE:Lord, help me to find ways to recognize those people who have treated me with kindness. Let me never fail to show my gratitude for the kindnesses of others.

VERSE:Esther 5:13–Yet all of this does not satisfy me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.TRUTH:Haman had so many things going for him. He bragged to his family about all of them. Yet he was so ungrateful that he allowed this one thing to upset him. Are we grateful for all the Lord provides for us, or do we constantly want more and more? Are we satisfied in the Lord?RESPONSE:Lord, help me to remain focused on You throughout the day and to be satisfied in You alone, not the little things I may or may not have.