Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I pray all is well with everyone, and you're enjoying the end of another workweek (for most). I'm doing well but fell behind a lot today. I’m looking forward to starting my weekend of fun filled packing. It's been a long week, but I've been blessed to get through it in good health and good Spirits. Despite anything that's going on in my life, God is always good to me, and I can't complain about anything. It's so refreshing when you have those types of epiphanies. Sometimes we must take time to count our blessings, and then praise God for them. Things could be, and in most cases, have been worst. I love my life, and I wouldn't want to be in anyone else’s shoes. God has allowed me such a heart that I've learned to be grateful for everything. Enjoy the remainder of evening, and have an even better weekend. Be blessed family!

Today's scriptures are about preparing for the end. The one thing that's for certain in the life of every human being is the fact that it will end. There will come a time when our number will be called, our flesh will perish, and we'll go on to eternity. This will happen in one of two ways, we will physically die from some type of ailment or physical harm, or Jesus will return to receive those of us who love Him. None of us know when either of these will happen; I could die in a freak accident an hour from now, and go on to meet the Lord and stand Judgment. As well as, Jesus could appear, just as it's written: Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matt. 24:30-31) With this being said, the one very important question you need to ask yourself is this, “Are you one of His Elects?"
I know so many people who are called, but choose to wait until they're "ready" to surrender to God, and that is very dangerous. Why put off until tomorrow, what you can do today? Maybe you've been mislead to think that you have to be "ready" to receive Jesus as Lord, but that is far from the truth. One of my favorite gospel songs is "Me Again", by J. Moss. He begins this song with, "Forgive me oh Lord, it's me again, I've disobeyed your Word, slipped out of your will, remorseful I stand, me again." The first time I heard this song, I felt a sense of relief, because it helped me realize that it wasn't just me. Here is this man of God, who's dedicated his life to God's work, confessing how imperfect he is in a song, and God still uses him to do His work. I learned a lot from the last line of this song as well, he said, "I stand before you broken, I want to fixed today, do it for me again". God loves the righteous, and part of being righteous starts with admitting that you're broken, and surrounding to Him daily, with complete humility, asking to be fixed. You don't have to be without sin to be saved, simply come as you are. Jesus will be right there to receive you. It's written: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. (Psalms 51:17) If you aren’t saved, or have strayed away from God because you thought you wasn't good enough, or perfect enough, then don't use that as an excuse anymore, because time isn't on your side.
We only have one life to live, so we have to make the best of this life. Everything we do counts towards our eternity, whether good or bad. God is a fair and just God, and will never go back on His Word, so He allows us to freely choose our path. He has a will for us, but He won’t make us chose Him. It's our responsibility to make sure that we're being good representatives of Him, because He's always watching. Also, we never know when Jesus will appear, and we don't want to be caught doing something that's displeasing in His sight. When we grow in our Spirit, we become more and more aware of everything we do. My dad once told me to "always remember, ignorance is never a defense for breaking the law". Jesus is more lenient on those who don't know any better, but at the same time, we're instructed to seek the truth.
Remember, this life is a Race to the finish, and we're all going to reach the same goal, at different times. I like the way Paul explains it: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor. 9:24-27 NIV) The most interesting thing about this race that we're running is that we're essentially competing against our flesh, and only one could win. Jesus said: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (Mark 14:38)
When it's your time, don't you want to be as confident as Paul? He wrote this in his letter to Timothy near the end of his life: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2Tim 4:7-10) If you haven't accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, you haven't been running this race of life to win. In order to come out victorious, you must accept Jesus as Lord. Take a few moments to pray to God. Confess that you're a sinner, and let Him know that you want to be forgiven. You can even tell him "I stand before you broken, I need to fixed today", and He'll do just that. Remember, you are incapable of changing your life on your own, that's why Jesus lives today! Ask Jesus to be Lord of your life; don't wait another day, because you may not see tomorrow. My favorite verse today is: The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. (1 Peter 4:7)

ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2455401&dtype=Scripture
http://www.intouch.org/broadcast/today-on-radio
http://www.intouch.org/magazine/daily-devotional

I love you!