Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY FRIDAY!

It's Mother's day weekend, a time to give thanks to all mothers. Although I'm not officially a mother, I know the plight of moms everywhere. Motherhood is a privilege, given by God, to protect, nurture, guide, and give total care to His children. That deserves to be celebrated! Cherish your mom, or the person who played that role in your life, and thank them, and thank God for them. Some of us are fortunate enough to have several mother figures, but most of us only get one, so cherish her, and tell her you love her this weekend. I'd like to wish each mother (or mother figure), a happy Mother's Day! Enjoy your weekend, and be blessed family.

Today's scriptures are about trusting in the Lord in times of calamity. The world has experienced some vast catastrophes, and I’ve witnessed a few in my adult life. We've had the 9-11 terrorist attack, gulf wars, middle eastern wars, Hurricane Katrina, Tsunamis, devastating earth quakes in Haiti, South America, China, just to name a few, and it seems like it just keeps getting worst. However, when men and women of God come forth, to assure other believers that God allowed these things, because of punishment of sin, there's this great uproar. Let's make sure that we're clear on this, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever more, so everything that's happening now, is no different from the numerous stories found in the Old Testament of the bible. There were great prophets including Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Samuel, just to name a few, who gave active accounts of great wars and calamity due to disobedience and spiritual warfare. In my opinion, the entire world, especially our culture, is in a terrible spiritual state. The religions are split greater than ever before, and there are hundreds of false prophets. People are defiling themselves and children. The lands are polluted, and resources are vastly depleting. We've turned into a technology driven world, and things are moving so fast, that we forget to slow down and spend time with God. The enemy is running rampant, which shows in everything around us. In American culture, you turn on the television and see people, who were once role models, blatantly defiling themselves, through explicit songs, movies, and television programs. Marriages are falling apart at the seams, and drugs, alcohol, adultery and fornication is not only glorified, but also promoted. Looking at all of these things, why do you think the earth is deteriorating right under our feet? Jesus said: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. (Mark 13:5-8) God is a God of righteousness, love, peace, and salvation; however, He's still a God to fear, if we continuously disobey His commandments. Eventually, He'll say enough is enough. All of these "natural disasters" have reasons behind them, but our main concern is not to try and figure out why, and try to avoid the next one, but it's time to get our relationship right with Christ. We cannot walk this earth, day by day, in fear, because that's not what God intended for us. If you know that you've accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and believe with all your heart that you are saved, then you have nothing else to worry about. The world could be crumbling around you, and all you have to do is pray for deliverance, and God will see you through (Psalms 91 is a great resource to help strengthen you in times of fear). I'm going to leave you with the warning from Jesus, it's written: "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!' " (Mark 13:32-37 NIV) Wow, Jesus ended with such a powerful word, "watch!” I love that. What will be will be, and you're in charge of your own destiny. God has destroyed this entire earth before, but He vowed not to do it again. However, this time, it's us who are destroying it, little by little, piece by piece. God gave us warning signs, so that we could be free of worry or sin, and endure the brunt of the storms. Most importantly, so that we could inherit our "promised land", when it's all over. Don't stop living your life because of fear, but start living your life for Christ. Just as we heard from the story of Jonah the other day, sometimes it only takes one person to warn others about the destruction ahead, so that they could be redeemed. Don't forget, be ready, or you will be destroyed with all of the others. I don't say that as a threat, but as warning to those of you who are "teetering" with your faith, and are "still deciding" what you want to believe. Take a look around you, and notice, that you don't have as much time as you think you do. Take a few moments and take the God Quiz today. My favorite verse today is: He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting the Lord. (Psalms 112:7)

ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2455324&dtype=Scripture
http://www.intouch.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter.asp?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=4943547
http://www.intouch.org/site/pp.aspx?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=4943197

I love you!