Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY TUESDAY!

Today's scriptures are about all things working together for our good. Did you know that ALL things are in God's control, and moves by His power, and His power alone? He has dominion over all things, which we have inherited through Christ Jesus. At the same time, we must learning to trust in Him as well. To trust is one of the greatest gifts to give, but the easiest to waiver. For example, one hint of turbulence on a plane makes you lose faith in the pilot, yet you truly trusted him the moment you booked your flight. God is the one and only infallible Pilot, and when we trust Him with our life, He'll never let us down. We'll get to our destination better than we were when we left.

It's not as easy as one my think to surrender to God, because we're born in this flesh-centered mindset, and before we knew Jesus, it was all about us. As we're growing in the spirit, we slowly shed that flesh-like thinking and adopt Christ-like thinking. Along the way, our faith could be very fragile, so it's easy to withdraw from the Lord during tribulation, because we don't yet understand that this too shall pass, and we'll gain something positive from it. The enemy's main purpose is to keep us in bondage, because he's attempting to stop the work of the Lord. However, God has put us here for Him, for companionship and communion, and nothing or no one could stop that. He's present in every aspect of our life, and devotes every minute of every day to shaping and molding us into perfection. No matter how your life looks right now, God has a plan for you. Do you believe that?

The world could be a cruel place, and it's getting more and more indignant as years pass. There's nothing but sex, drugs, corruption, murder, and any other wicked thing in the news. So where does God fit into all of this? I was listening to some contemporary Gospel music today, and thinking about the way artists like Kirk Franklin, Tonex, and Tye Tribbett has revolutionized Gospel music. I was a little taken aback by it, but when I saw children in the audience Praising God, as I once saw Elders in the church do, I realized that God is definitely at work there. He's moved Gospel music along with the times, and made something the enemy meant for evil, and used it for good. I applaud the boldness it takes to step outside of the box, and that's what God is all about. He's revolutionized the world for a reason, and we're definitely reaping the benefits of it.

God has given us free will, yet at the same time He's leading and guiding our footsteps. Even the bad choices we make, end up being good things for us, when we trust Him. We must choose to see Him in all things. It's written: And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left. (Isa. 30:20-21) Just know that in most cases adversity is meant to give you wisdom and make you stronger, so chose to learn from those “teachers”. If there's something you don't understand, or you do but need a little more clarity, ask Him, and He'll reveal it to you. Remember, we're created just for Him, so He wants us to come to Him anytime for anything.

Our heart, trust, and love are most important to God, so when we give those things to Him, He’ll open a world that we never expected to see. As we grow in the Spirit we become more meek and mild-mannered, and the world will test us. We'll become more sensitive and prone to attacks from the enemy, but we must stand firm against him. Jesus said: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me." (John 15:18-21) This may seem scary at first, because none of us want to be hated by anyone, but people will test our faith, but what they meant for our harm, God meant for our good.

You may be going through a really hard time right now, and the last thing you want to hear is, "there's a reason for everything". I know when I was in some dark places in my life, and couldn't for the life of me figure out why I didn't want to hear that. However, as quoted by a good friend, "Hindsight is 20/20 vision". When God finally revealed the reason for the pain in my life, I immediately dropped to my knees and Praised Him. I thanked Him for all that He had done, and for the wisdom received through that ordeal. Nevertheless, had I trusted Him enough to praise and thank Him while going through it, it would've alleviated a lot of that pain and heartache. There's a saying, "Your arms are too short to box with God", stop fighting and let Him in.

Without God you're lost and alone, and even though you may not see it, believe me you are. If you’re reading this message, God is working it out for you right now. Jesus said come to me and I will give you rest. If you want to experience the living water, which is the Lord, so you will never thirst again, take a few moments to take the God Quiz right now. I promise you will never regret it. My favorite verses today are: My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:2-4) ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2455461&dtype=Scripture
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I love you!