Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY THURSDAY

Today’s scriptures are about trusting God to provide everything that we need. Majority of stress related illnesses could be resolved if we simply learn how to trust God for everything that we need in life, especially the bare necessities. There isn’t a day that goes by that God isn’t blessing us with something that we need or want. However, majority of the time, we’re too caught up in our own abilities, or lack thereof, that we lose sight of the fact that God has already worked it out for us. I was speaking with one of my best friends on the phone tonight, and she told me that someone close to her told her to always remember that she’s already won. That statement is so simple, yet profound. The day that we choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior, is the day that we won. No one can ever take that victory away from us, but it’s up to us to walk in victory. My friend also told me that it’s my duty to pay it forward, so always remember that you have already WON! All you need to do is as it’s written: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Prov. 3:5-6)

I struggled with this for so many years. I knew that Jesus is real, and that God loves me, but somehow that didn’t register in my heart. I grew up with a sense of independence, where I didn’t know how to trust or rely on anyone, especially God. Some people would say I picked up that independent attitude, because of the “Middle Child Syndrome”, which is a commonly known character trait that a child picks up, when their born in between an older and younger sibling. There’s some truth to the psychiatric evaluations on this subject, however for me, this is partially how my independence was formed. As I grew, it made it hard for me to depend on God, because I had assumed that I picked up the ability to make things happen for myself. I believe in hard work, persistence, and putting your best foot forward, in order to accomplish things in life. My motto was, “If I don’t get it done, then who’s going to do it?”, but those are bigger shoes to fill than I thought, because you cannot accomplish anything worth accomplishing without God. I’m referring to the point of being obedient to God, by completing the will that HE has for your life. It may help you complete the goals that you’ve set for yourself, but in the end, if it isn’t done for and with God, then it will eventually become another empty accomplishment.

Life is so exhausting when you attempt go at it alone. It doesn’t have to be that way, because as victors in Christ, and mighty children of God, we have it all and then some. We have the best the of the best, the crème de la crème, and that’s a reason to rejoice in the Lord. It’s written: Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. “Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name. (1 Chron. 29:11-13) King David was not only a great warrior and King, but an extraordinary Psalmist, and his complete and utter love and trust for God radiates in His words. We can learn allot from him, because he, being just a man, was in love with God, and tried his best to live everyday of his life for Him. Because of that, he was blessed beyond measure, and this too can and will happen to us, once we learn how to cast our cares upon the Lord, ask, seek, knock, and live with unwavering faith.

A life of freedom depends upon your faith in the one and Only God the Father, and trusting His Son Jesus with your life. If you haven’t confessed Jesus as Lord, then that’s the missing link to total fulfillment and peace. If you don’t trust Jesus, then you don’t trust God; the two are inseparable. If you aren’t sure where you stand in your faith walk, please take a start by putting a little faith and trust in Jesus Christ, and He’ll turn your entire life around. Whether you’re saved or unsaved, freedom is a choice, not a given. Please take a moment to take the God Quiz right now! My favorite verse today is: Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. (Isaiah 59:1)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I pray all is well with everyone, and you're enjoying the end of another workweek (for most). We finally made through the week, and I'm drained, but I still feeling good. TGIF! I'm happy that I'm learning how to find the positive in everything, because that truly does change your entire outlook on life. I used to be that "I know but" type of person, who always chose to see the worst in things. Someone would say, "that's nice car" and I would say, "I know but it burns a lot of gas". I guess I still have a little bit of the "but" mentality in me, however God's helping me work on that, especially when it comes to myself. I guess in being a semi-perfectionist, I see things as, “that's good but it could be great”. That's a gift and a curse, because on one hand it helps me strive to do my best in everything, but on the other, it causes me sometimes set unreachable goals, and when I fail, I then become a procrastinator. How do you overcome that? There are several ways I'm sure, but I find answers in the Serenity prayer, "Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference". Overcoming procrastination and being a perfectionist, is only possible by having the wisdom to know the difference between the things you can and cannot change. Accept and love who you are, because that's exactly who God created you to be, and continue to work on your own greatness, for you and God, and not because the world deems it important, special, or beautiful. Enjoy your weekend family, and be blessed!

Today's scriptures are about the light that leads us. Life is full of exhale moments. You know the times in life when something bothers you, or has you in bondage, and it seems like you're always holding your breath? When you finally overcome those things, or reach a solution to the problem, it's like you can finally exhale. Throughout my Christian faith walk, I've had moments when it felt like I just wasn't growing. It was like I was stuck on this emotional rollercoaster that was going nowhere fast. I was frustrated because the more I tried to do right, bad things would happen, which would lead me right back to doing wrong. It was a wilderness moment, and a time of refinement. Dr. Stanley said, in one of his teachings, people are too busy trying to change their life, or become a better person, before they surrender to God. He went on to say, “the truth is, we're incapable of doing that on your own”. After I heard Him say that, I exhaled. Once I found out that we're incapable of becoming righteous without Jesus, it gave me hope. It allowed me to let myself off the hook a bit, in order to focus more on learning the ways of God. At first, I was beating myself up, because I thought I should be, or do better, but I was doing the best that I could do on my own.

Jesus taught us, in the Sermon on the Mount to, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matt. 7:13-14) How do we learn how to stay on that narrow road, which leads to the narrow gate Jesus is referring too? We live in a dark world, which has great influence over the flesh, and it's very easy to sin; that gate is very wide. If we aren't purposely focusing on serving the Lord, we could easily stray from the righteous path. For example, how many Christian broadcast TV or radio stations are there, versus secular stations? Enticements are always at your fingertips, and when you're not committed to serving the Lord, you're more likely to succumb to the world.

The good news is you're not alone. God created us this way and He understands our weaknesses. He's given us salvation through Christ, which allows us to live life in abundance. Just because we live in a dark world, we aren’t necessarily of it. God has instilled a light within us, and He also lights out pathways. When we look to Him for guidance, we'll see everything so much clearer. We should pray before we make any decisions, big or small. Remember whenever we ask, He answers, so when we ask for guidance He'll show us the way. As soon as I awake in the morning, I first thank Him, and then ask Him to guide my path for the day; it’s become a habit. When I'm really confused, or faced with a big decision, I spend extra time in the prayer room. There are always times when the answers aren't really that clear. When that happens, we must spend quiet time with Him in prayer and meditation. In some cases we could fast, which helps us truly focus on Him. There are also times when we could speak in tongues, by asking the Holy Spirit to pray through us. Either way, God will show us the way, no matter what we're going through. There isn't anything too large, or too little, for Him to handle.

Do you notice a trend here? The bottom line is, life is what you make it, and you get out of it what you put in. Jesus told us to "Enter" by the narrow gate..., which requires us to take some steps. God isn't going to wave a magic wand and we’ll become this wise and powerful person. Yes we all have the light, but we have to learn how to seek it, and most importantly how to use it. Our Christian life is all about growth, remember we're once "babes in Christ”, and if we don't seek the knowledge and wisdom to grow from that point, then that's where we'll stay. I find myself straying off of the path of righteousness when I'm not into the Word of God everyday. If I go even a week without praying, reading my bible, and being surrounded by the Word in some type of way, I feel lost and in the dark. That will happen to any believer, whether you're a babe in your Faith walk, or you're a Minister who preaches in the pulpit. We're all still in the flesh, but the key to avoiding the gate that leads to destruction, is to live by the Spirit, for the Spirit, and in the Spirit.

Jesus said: "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21) Jesus never asked us to be perfect and without sin, He only asked us to love Him, and surrender. Only then could He shape and mold us into the righteous children of God we were intended to be. Remember if you've accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, you've been chosen from the beginning of time. If you haven't chosen Jesus as Lord, then now is your time; God also chose you! If you're not sure what you believe, take some time to take the God Quiz today. My favorite verses today are: When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light. (Proverbs 6:22-23)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Today's scripture are about the glory of the Lord. The word Glory is defined: very great praise, honor, or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown. This word and our Lord Jesus Christ go hand and hand, because He deserves all the glory, honor, and praise. When we think about what He's done for us, and His love, glory should be the first thing that comes to mind.
The first time I read the Gospels of Christ, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in it's entirety, I was amazed and fascinated at how humble Jesus was (and still is). He taught with love, and always reassured us that we're loved children of God. He spoke the truth, and warned us of the predominance of sin, but never condemned anyone. He never judged a person because of his appearance, vocation, race, religion, or family background, but He saw people for who they where in their heart. He lived a menial life, with very few possessions, and worked day in and day out to strengthen the Kingdom God, for generations to come. It's because of Him that we not only have the option of being freed from sin, but we have the ability to be closer to God, and better understand His ways. Jesus taught in a way that was easy to understand, and He used "real world" examples, using parables that helped us better understand God's commands. He understood the plight of the weakness of man’s flesh, yet still lived in the Spirit. If you ever need guidance, or good advice all you need to do is pick up the Holy Bible, and read from the Gospels of Christ.
The thing I learned most from studying His life are the possibilities to completely stay in tuned with God, yet still live a peaceful life, despite my circumstances. He taught me the glory of contentment, and humbleness. I know that no matter what material possessions I own, or lack there of, I'm still cared for, and love by God. He taught me the glory of being grateful for life itself, and appreciating the small gifts that God gives us, in addition to the large. It's so important to understand that the along with our spirit, physical things in this world also transform and fade away with time, which includes our flesh, so we cannot get ourselves wrapped up into chasing false or temporary hopes and dreams. We must seek FIRST the Kingdom of God, and all of His Righteousness, and He’ll bless with everything we could ever want or need. We must be careful not to sacrifice our integrity for anything or anyone.
There are stories in the bible that follow the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which we can also use to learn His glory, from the lives and teachings of His disciples. These are men who walked with Him physically and spiritually, made great sacrifice, and showed unconditional loyalty to His Name. Jesus choose the less likely leaders, so that we can greater see the testimony, or authenticity in His ability to save and transform. He glorified these men so that they could glorify Him, and spread that glory through lands and generations unknown. Who knew that Paul, a man who persecuted, beat, and crucified Christians would be one of His greatest teachers? Or Peter, who was just a fisherman that led a menial life, would go on to make such an impact. There were several others, like Matthew, Luke, Stephen, and John, who all signed up as soldiers in the Army of the Lord, because they were able to witness His glory first hand. I love the teachings of Paul, because he taught with such conviction and truth, but his message was always clear. He taught the importance of living in righteousness, and never turning our back on God, or each other. Paul believed in brotherly bond, because together, we'll shine so much brighter, and glorify God even stronger.
In the following passage Paul explains the difference between life with the glory of Christ, and life without it. Those of us, who believe in Jesus, no longer wear a veil, but can see clearly the love of God, through His Holy Spirit, so appreciate that, and be sure to continue to keep hope in the glory of Christ all the days of your life. It's written: Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read (by the lost), a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:12-18)
Jesus made an awesome sacrifice for every living and breathing human being to have eternal life. He doesn't care who you are, or how much or what types of sins you've committed. So don't wait another day, pray and ask Him to be Lord of your life right now! If you need a prayer partner please let me know, I can be reached via e-mail anytime. My favorite verses today are: God ... hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. (Hebrews 1:1-2)

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