Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about respecting the Holiness of God. We are forever in the presence of the Lord, because He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere. As His servants, we believe that He is the Creator of all things, and the reason we breathe each day. Knowing this, why don’t we live as if He’s the core of our life? We sometimes get comfortable with the fact that He’s always there, and also lose sight of that same fact. I too am guilty of that, because I talk to Him all the time, but one minute I’m praying, and the next I’m singing along to latest Jamie Foxx song—these two things conflict. God wants us to recognize that He’s Holy, and He lives within us, which in turn makes us Holy. He wants us to respect His holiness to the point where we’re always aware of His presence. In every decision we make, and every word we speak, we should have Him in mind. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but He does expect us to try, for His sake. He expects us to repent for our sins, out of respect for His Holy place, and as a result, we would be less and less susceptible to sin.

How many of us change our demeanor, the way we talk, and dress when we go to church on Sunday? You know you were the same person, who the night before, was at the club wearing your shortest skirt, and lowest cut blouse, letting it all hang out. We know how to conduct ourselves accordingly when we go to church, because it’s considered a Holy place. We go there looking for answers, and to spend time with fellow believers, praising the Lord. The same amount of respect we give to the church house, our fellow Christian peers, and our Pastor on Sunday, need to also be given to ourselves every day of the week. We too are the “church” of God, which Jesus gave His life to protect. It’s written: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. (Eph. 5:25) Jesus died to afford us His holiness, and we have that living inside of us, but we must learn how to respect that. We’ll be able to tap into so much power once we learn how to respect His presence in our life.

What God asks us to do, and how He expects us to live, is by no means easy. If it was easy, everyone would be perfect, and we know, just by looking in the mirror, that that isn’t true. However, Jesus took care of the hardest part, and through Him we find freedom, choices, and chances. Through Him we’re giving the option to choose life over death, and that’s not just a onetime choice, it’s a moment by moment choice. Each opportunity, choice, scenario, etc. has the option to choose life or death, right or wrong, God or the enemy. If we keep that in mind, we’ll be able to make better choices, and be aware of our weaknesses and strengths. We must have a plan for everything in life, including how we’re going to live—of course everything in life doesn’t go as planned, but does that mean we just stop planning altogether? Trust me, if you wake up in the morning and plan to obey God, and to pay better attention to your choice of music, who you associate with, how you dress, the way you speak, etc., those things will eventually become a habit. Also, you are respecting the Holy Spirit inside of you, by not only planning to do right, but also trying your best to stick with those plans.

Peter lays it all out in his first epistle, where he encourages us to live an upright life, or in other words with respect for the Holiness of God. He wrote: So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as “foreigners in the land.” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. (1 Peter 1:13-19 NLT) Peter points out some key things here, by simply saying know who and Whose you are, and conduct yourself accordingly throughout the time of your stay here.

There’s so much going on in this world, and evil often prevails, but we can overcome it, if we choose to. Respect is a strong word, and I used it because everyone can relate to it. Everyone wants to be respected, including God. He places rules in our life to keep us in order, so that we could have His best in life. To follow Him, is always going to be a great thing, and you aren’t losing out on anything, but you’re gaining more than you could ever imagine. Don’t be obedient to God only because you have to, but do it because you want to. You respect people who are worthy of your respect, and no one is more worthy than Him. If you don’t know Jesus as Lord, then you need to take the first step today. Please take a few moments to take the God Quiz right now, I promise, it’ll be the best decision you’ll ever make. My favorite verse today is: Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (2 Corinthians 6:16)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY MONDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about living each day as if it’s your last (in Christ). I’ve heard the saying, “live each day as if it’s your last” many times before, but there usually isn’t any spiritual inclination behind it. It’s usually people saying live life to the fullest, by having fun, fun, and more fun. You often think of partying, traveling, and just having a good time, with few boundaries. However, the biblical definition of live each day like it’s your last would be to be conscious of the way you conduct yourself, because at any moment of any time, Jesus could return, or we could die. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying life, and having fun, but you must do it in a way pleasing to God, and there must be a healthy balance. We must take advantage of the time we have here, by doing our part to strengthen the Kingdom of God. We can do that by following God’s will for our life, and answering when He calls. Rest assured that when we’re living a life pleasing to God, we’re going to be blessed beyond what we could ever imagine.

If you knew that you only had one week to live how you would spend that week? That’s a hard question to answer, because neither of us really know how we’d react. I guess I’d try to enjoy some of the things I missed out on, and make amends for anything, or to anyone I’d wronged in the past. I’d also let all of my loved ones know just how much I love them, stay in the Word of God for comfort and strength, and live each moment that I have for God. In all actuality, we should live like this each day, regardless if we know we’re going to die or not. This means treating each moment as if it’s the most precious moment of our life, which is necessary to grow in Christ.

It’s written: In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Tim 4:1-2) This is the call on the life of every Christian. We each have a mission or ministry, which is a charge to teach the word of God, and help the lost and the wicked find their way. Because of this, we take on the great responsibility to be prepared in every season. We have to work on our personal relationship, and walk upright in Christ, before, and even during our attempt to bring others to Christ. We must rely on Jesus, without doubt, that He will see us through, and He will do just that. I challenge you to ask yourself a very hard question today— one that my previous Pastor posed quite frequently— “If Jesus came back right now what do you think He would say to you?” Would He say “well done good and faithful servant”, or “depart from me, I do not know you”?

Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow remains a mystery, so what are you going to do for God today? How will you show Him that you love Him? How do you stay on the path of righteousness? These are questions that we should pose to ourselves each and every morning we wake up. God created us to fellowship with Him, and has made us part of His great Kingdom, so we mustn’t take that for granted. There are times when I get sad or depressed, and I honestly have to remind myself that I am a beloved child of God, and there’s a greater calling on my life. This takes me into praise mode, because it allows me to drop that “it’s all about me” attitude, and take on the mind and heart of Jesus Christ. At the same time, God created me to be Saundra, and I have to be the best me I can possibly be. Sometimes that requires making hard decisions, and walking away from things that are no good for my spirit but my flesh loves.

I have peace in knowing that if Jesus calls me home tomorrow, I’m ready to go. I haven’t been a perfect person, a great missionary, or a famous Pastor of a mega church, nor have I touched millions of lives, however, I love God with all of my heart, and make sure that everyone I come in contact with knows how much He loves us. In a nutshell, that’s all that He expects from us, but each of us have our own unique way of sharing His love. Never cease seeking Him and His will, and I guarantee you that you’ll be ready when the “chariot comes, to take you home” [flaws and all]. If you don’t know Jesus as Lord, then you aren’t ready. Please don’t waste another day trying to “figure out” what you want to do. Try the Lord for yourself, you won’t be disappointed! Take a few moments to take the God Quiz right now. My favorite verses today are: The just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:38-39)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about recognizing our mortality, and the reason we’re here. There’s so much going on in this world, and it seems like people are here today, and gone tomorrow, which helps us realize just how short life is. We are only human, and we bleed the same blood, and our hearts beat the same way. The only real difference between us is the saved and unsaved. In God’s eyes, you’re either with Him or against Him. We have but so many years, days, hours, minutes, or even seconds to complete God’s will for our lives, and it’s important not to waste time. We must live for Him each day, because without Him, we’re divided, and risk falling in the hands of the enemy. There are billions of people on this earth, and God loves each of us as if we’re the only one, we are that important to Him. It’s time that we make Him that important to us, by recognizing His presence and power in our life, surrendering to what’s right. Tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone of us, God could suddenly send a Tsunami our way, and what can we do about it? We must understand His place as the head of our life, and then a Tsunami doesn’t seem that scary after all, because we’re safe in the arms of God.

The enemy attempts to lead us away from God, because He knows that if we choose him over God, then he has us for all of eternity. That’s definitely not where we want to be. He uses everything that you could imagine to force us to waste time, and miss God’s callings, so we must also be aware of his presence at all times. He’ll use religion, money, envy, fear, lust, and all of the things that please the flesh, to attempt to draw us away. It’s important for us to stand strong as the vital part of the body of Christ that we are, in order to avoid division. Jesus once said: When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. (Luke 11:21-23) Remember, in the natural we are weak, the enemy is much stronger, and if given a chance, he’ll attempt to overcome us. However, through Christ, the enemy is defeated, and we’re no longer weak and frail, but we’re stronger than anyone or anything he can throw at us. The key is we mustn’t spend one day away from God.

I urge you to look around you, there are so many things going on that are so far out of our control. When I think of the current Tsunami in Japan, the major earthquake in Haiti, and even Hurricane Katrina that hit over five years ago, it helps me better understand how precious, yet frail, my flesh is. We’re talking thousands upon thousands of people wiped out, in a matter of minutes. If that isn’t enough to make you want to live right, I don’t know what is. When I first started seriously studying the Bible, I read stories of massive lost of life, in the Old Testament, and I questioned the love of God. However, He later helped me realize that He is God. All we can do is accept and love Him to the best of our ability. I cannot explain to you why God allows mass destruction to happen, however, I know that God is who He says He is, and loves us just as much as He says He does. What happens to the flesh isn’t as important as what happens to the Spirit once the flesh parishes. Spend more time focusing on storing up your treasures in Heaven, than hoping for more days on this earth. Trust me you cannot control whether your part of the world is hit with a massive Tsunami or earth quake, so don’t waste time worrying about it; all you can do is live. If you’re a follower of Christ, God will take care of you regardless.

The Apostle Paul sums up exactly what I’m attempting to say in this devotional, in his letter to the Romans when he explained God’s everlasting love. Especially when he said, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom.8:32) In life there’s a time to reap and a time to sow; a time to live, and a time to die. It was so for the Jesus, and it will be so for us. What matters most is how we live while we’re here, which determines how we’ll live for eternity. God sacrificed His ONLY Son, so what makes us exempt? When you love God, and accept Jesus as Lord, you have salvation—if you were to die tomorrow, you’ll go on to spend a peaceful and blissful eternity with God in Heaven. I don’t think that’s such a bad thing, (if you’re a believer). If you don’t Jesus as Lord, then I suggest you take that step today, as you can see, you don’t have time to waste. Take a few minutes and take the God Quiz right now! My favorite verse today is: What is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (James 4:14)

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3/15 is officially Grandma Day!

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY MONDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about how to conduct ourselves as children of God. We are the children of the most High God, and joint heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven. When we wear the title Christian, which means followers of Christ (or like-Christ), we have a responsibility to represent our Father well. One of the biggest things I learned about most of the men and a woman of God, written about in the Bible, is that they all lived their lives with reverence and love for God. However, none was perfect [except Jesus of course], but they all tried their best, and stayed obedient to God’s calling on their life. That’s what being a child of God is all about. Let’s think about the children of all of the Presidents of the United States, especially those who grew up in the White House. They’re all expected to live a certain way, because of who their father is. They’re not expected to be caught out in the streets drunk and gallivanting, because they’re representing their father. We are children of the MOST High, and we’re expected to respect that fact as well, and live accordingly, because our Father is “President of all Presidents”.

When I think of how faithful King David was to God, yet how very “human” he was, I see the compassion of God, even before Jesus was born. David was so faithful he took on a real live giant, with a sling shot and some stones, just because the giant the cursed the name of God. When he stepped up to face Goliath and the Philistine army, he said: “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” (1 Sam. 17:45-47) Do you notice just how much faith and authority David spoke with? He, without a doubt knew that God would bring him out of this fight, victoriously. By faith, we too can tell all the “Giants” in our life that “the battle is the LORD’s”, because God will, and has delivered us out of the enemy’s hands. The devil’s already defeated! I’m always amazed at the tremendous faith and bravery of David, and pray to maintain an ounce of his boldness each day of my life.

David was not a saint, and never claimed to be, but he was faithful to God. When we read the Psalms that he wrote to God, it shows the great compassion and love that he had for Him. He acknowledged God’s place in everything that He did, and He was the most successful King written about in the bible because of that. We are followers of Christ so can walk as if He’s always beside us, and talk as if we’re in a conversation with God Himself. We can respect others, even when they disrespect us. We can go to a party and not be the drunkest, loudest, and most disrespectful guest there, and still enjoy ourselves. We can refrain from cursing the cashier at the store, when they mess up our order, right after we leave church. We can avoid fornication and adultery, lying and cheating, coveting and being jealous of what someone else has—these things aren’t as hard as they seem, when our heart is in the right place. We can only take it one day at a time, and each day, we must be aware and conscious of Jesus’ place in our heart. Make a conscious decision to talk to God about everything, and quickly repent when you fall short. Be anxious to love, and not hate, give and not take, live and not die to who you really are.

The apostle Peter quoted Psalm 34:12–16 in one of his letters, and I think it truly sums up, step by step, how we’re to conduct ourselves as children of God. Peter wrote: Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:8-12) This is very simple to do, he’s simply saying think and live positively, and love everyone, even when they don’t love you. Expect people to be who they are, and love them anyway. Do you know how contagious love really is?

The great thing about living righteously is that we’re not expected to do it alone. The Holy Spirit will guide our every step, so all we have to do is follow. Never forget that Jesus is always right beside you, remember the foot prints in the sand—sometimes He even carry’s us, when we’re too weak to stand. Obedience, just as faith, is a muscle that you must exercise, to be able to walk in it, in everything you do. Start off trying your best, that’s all He expects from us; the more you try the stronger you’ll become. The first step is to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and then He’ll do the rest; all He needs is your love. Please take a moment to take the God Quiz right now! My favorite verses today are: Be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. (Philippians 2:15)

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