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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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Today's scriptures are about boasting in our weaknesses, because by faith, God will make us strong. We shouldn’t base the love of God upon the circumstances in our life, because God has purpose and plans for us. Just as He’s created each of us with gifts and talents, He’s also given us weaknesses. These weaknesses are put into place to not only keep us close to God, but to also allow Him to show His power and strength through us. Have you noticed that most of the people God used to do great things in the stories found in the bible were the most unlikely people? Most of them where what the world considered weak, but they all had very strong faith. This reminds me of the story of David and Goliath. There was a time when King Saul reigned over Israel, but he disobeyed the word of God and the Kingdom was about to be stripped from him. At this time, God spoke to the Prophet Samuel, and he delivered the news to Saul. It’s written: Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you. He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind." (1 Sam. 15:28) Take note of how Samuel described this person. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God described you in that way?
God then commanded Samuel to go to Bethlehem to visit a man named Jesse, because one of Jesse’s sons was going to be the new King. Samuel went, and when he met Jesse’s son Elaib he said "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD." (1 Sam. 16:6) It goes on to say: But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (16:7) Samuel then met seven other sons of Jesse, but he knew that the Lord hadn’t chosen either of them. He asked if there was another, and the last of Jesse’s sons, the youngest, was David. David wasn’t even considered to be “interviewed by Samuel, but was left outside to tend to the sheep. It’s written: So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one." (16:12). Why do you think, out of all of the sons, God chose the one lest likely to go; the one who was seemingly the weakest? I think it’s because the greater testimony could come out of using David, instead of the older, wiser, or stronger of the sons; and he had the most humbled heart. Samuel then anointed David with the Spirit of the Lord, and he went on to work with King Saul, as his right hand man, helping Saul in any way that he could. Mostly by praying with him.
The Philistines threatened to attack Israel, while they were still under Saul’s command. They had a giant named Goliath in their army, He was bigger than anyone they’d ever seen before; they referred to him as “a champion” in the New King James version of the bible. No one had come close to defeating Goliath, so he challenged Saul to a one on one fight with anyone in his army. He said, “if this man kills me, we will be your slaves” (17:9). The soldiers were very afraid, because they couldn’t think of anyone who could possibly defeat him.
These were the people of God; His chosen nation, so He wasn’t going to let them fall. At this moment of great weakness, whom do you think they turned too? There are times in our life when we’re going to face “giants”, but it’s all in God’s perfect plan. He allows these giants to help challenge our faith. Through these challenges, we’re strengthened.
The Philistines gave Saul some time to find a suitable warrior to fight Goliath, but the time was drawing near. Saul called to David, who wasn’t even a soldier in the Army, to come and pray with him. When David came to Saul, Goliath showed up. Everyone else ran away in fear, but David, the person lest likely to step up, was the only one who volunteered for the challenge. No matter how much people laughed at or mocked him, he stood firm on His faith in God. Even King Saul tried to talk him out of it, but he said: The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." (17:37) When Saul heard that, he gave him his blessings. I’m sure you know how this ends; David defeated this giant with a rock and a slingshot, how great and mighty is our God! David went on to be one of God’s greatest and most beloved Kings of Israel, as well as a great Psalmist. He was loved so much because He trusted God with all His heart, and never changed his mind. No matter how many battles he faced, he overcame them with faith, not by his on strength. He wasn’t perfect by any means, and fell short, but God knew his heart, just as He knows ours. Remember, stand on the love of God, and not on your own strength, because that’s the only way you’ll defeat the giants in your life. Most weaknesses are giants, because we cannot overcome them without God. Jesus is the way to this victory, so get to know Him today. Take the God Quiz right now! My favorite verse today is: I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. (Psalms 71:16)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY THURSDAY!

I pray all is well with everyone, and you're enjoying another Friday eve. I'm doing well, grateful to get an early start this morning. I'm starting to feel like I'm back in Portland, OR, with all of the rain. It's a lot better here, because we do get a few days in between with sunshine. The rain doesn't bother me much anyway, because I'm in the office all day. I'd like to ask for your continued prayers for my Grandmother, she's feeling better, and healing well, but the doctor may have found something else in her stomach, she's still waiting to hear from her doctor. I don't think it's too serious because they haven't admitted her back into the hospital. Thanks for all of your prayers. I'd like to wish my cousin Neitra a happy birthday, I pray you have a wonderful day! I pray for peace and blessings for all of you, have a wonderful day is well.

Today's scriptures are about entering into the Holy place of God. Take a few moments and think about who God is to you. We know that He's the Holy, righteous, merciful, Creator of all things. Now think about who you think you are. We know that we're children of God, born with a sinful nature, and live in the flesh, as mere mortal human beings. God is righteousness, and we are sin, the two cannot mix. When Jesus gave us His life on the cross, it created a veil for us. One definition for the word Veil is: something that conceals, separates, or screens like a curtain. We know in a traditional wedding the bride usually wears a veil over her head throughout the ceremony, and after saying their vows the groom lifts the veil and kiss the bride. The veil symbolizes a man's authority over a woman in this very sacred covenant. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:3: But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God (read the whole story in verses 1-16). Paul goes on to explain why a woman's head is covered during religious ceremonies. In the flesh we aren't worthy to be in God's presence, because of our sin. However, God could see our hearts through the veil that covers our sin. We could freely go to Him anytime or anywhere, with no restraints, as long as we come in Jesus' Name. We have the same power and authority as Jesus, so we could triumph over all of our enemies. It's written in Psalms 110:1: The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” If this applies to Jesus then it also applies to us, because we're joint heirs to the Kingdom of God. Yesterday we spoke about prayer, and today’s scriptures explains the reason why we have the authority to pray with confidence and Faith. Did you know that you’re always in the presence of God? It makes sense when we discuss it or read about it, but how many of us truly believe it? So many prayers go unanswered because of our lack of Faith. We have so much untapped power to change so many things, but we don't, because of ignorance. God has given us every opportunity to live a life full of peace, happiness, and joy, but we don't know how to exercise our Faith. The main reasons are fear, unresolved sin, guilt, shame, and other lies the enemy try to make us believe. The tools to overcome these things live right in our heart. We have all power through the blood of Jesus, and His blood washes us new! We could move mountains by Faith. I was reading the story in 1 Samuel 17, where David defeated Goliath, a giant that everyone else was afraid to challenge. David was a righteous man, who had been anointed by God, and he had faith in what God had promised him. He was confident that the God he knew and loved would give him the power to defeat this giant, without a doubt. Everyone else doubted him, but he went out, with no protective armor, a slingshot, 4 stones, and a lot of heart, and killed Goliath with one stone to the head. The key to David's victory was his faith, as you would find in verses 36-37, where he pleaded his case to King Saul before he went to battle: Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” Moreover David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” How wonderful is this? David knew without doubt that God would be there for him, not only because of his past experiences, but because he knew in his heart that God is Lord of all things. David didn't even have the power of the blood of Jesus as we do, we could all be like David in today's world. Jesus said in Matthew 11:27-29: All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. From today on, don't let anything stop you from completing God's will for your life, and being happy. Money, relationships, children, jobs, cars, house, or any material thing shouldn't dictate your happiness. Although hardships and pain may seem like giants, none of these things have authority over us, because we're children of God! We have all Power through the mighty Name of Christ. Start acting like the King or Queen you are in the Kingdom of God. You could make powerful things happen through Faith. If you haven't accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you must start by saying that very important prayer. God is waiting to hear from you, are you ready to receive His power, and gain freedom through the blood of the Lamb? My favorite verse today is: Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

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