Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about walking in the ways of the Lord. Yesterday I wrote about how to follow the Lord, and shared with you the Sermon on the Mount. Did you take some time to read it? In Jesus’ sermon, we learn what He expects from us, and how to live according to the Principles of the Word of God. Today we must learn how to take action, by walking in the way of Jesus Himself. Reading the gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (you don’t have to read them all in one sitting), gives us an account of His life. It teaches us how He handled everyday situations, faced adversity, temptation, and gave His unrestricted love to every human being. I know what you might be thinking – “Jesus was perfect, so how am I supposed to follow that?” – Well I’ll tell you how… Try your best!

Okay, let’s go over some important facts about Jesus: He was perfect –the only man who walked this earth that never sinned against God, He had power to perform miracles, and let’s not forget that He was the wisest man who ever lived. God proclaimed His love for His Son openly, when Jesus was transfigured in front of Peter, John, and James on the mountain top. It’s written: While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matt. 17:5) Now if our goal is to be righteous, and to make God proud, who better to follow than Jesus Christ? It’s not rocket science, and you don’t need to be a Theology Scholar to figure out the best ways to please God, and how to have an abundant life, the answer lies right here. How many of you have role models; people you look up to, and reverence? We all have people we admire, and wish we could be more like. For some of us it’s an old teacher, for others it’s our Pastor. Most people look up to, and admire, their parents, siblings, or grandparents, but for me it’s a combination of many, but not really based upon man at all. I admire anyone who’s following the will of God for their lives, those people who loves generously, and gives unselfishly. I admire those who make a difference in the lives of others, and help people who are less fortunate. I love to be around people who have positive attitudes, and an unspeakable joy in their heart, because those things come from Jesus Christ, and His position in their life. I strive to be like Christ, and pray that each day I become a step closer to pleasing Him.

It’s really very simple, get to know Jesus Christ, and in the words of God Himself “Hear Him!”, furthermore do your best to be like Him. Jesus taught us: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matt. 6:24) The reason why Jesus, and so many other righteous men and women that follow Him, are able to stay that way is because they know who they are–loved Children of God. They’ve chosen to serve God, and not the flesh. It’s written: This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7) Jesus had a direct connection to God, because He is a part of the Holy Trinity, which gave Him an amount of power that was underestimated by everyone around Him, but He still served and loved God with all of His heart. The reason so many of us fall short so often is because we don’t realize that we too have an underestimated amount of power, by the Blood of Christ. As long as we stay focused and follow His lead, righteousness will come, and we’ll be able to teach others who come after us.

In the story of when Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, and the scribes and Pharisees brought him the woman who committed adultery, wanting to stone her. Jesus told them, “He who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7), so they all dropped their stones and left. When He found that no one had condemned her, He said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:11) What do you think Jesus meant by telling her to “sin no more”–do you think He really expected her not too? If we were capable of never sinning, Jesus wouldn’t have had to die for our sins; nonetheless, He genuinely wanted her to try. Jesus died to give us freedom from sin, not a license to sin and get away with it. He went on to say: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Salvation rests in the blood of the Lamb, who was the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. When we’re living a life full of sin we walk in darkness, but Jesus can, and will, bring us back into God’s marvelous light, by any means necessary. If you’ve never confessed Jesus as Lord, take a few moments to do it right now. If you have, but feel like you’re stuck in darkness, then repent, and follow Jesus back into the light. Take a few moments to take the God Quiz, and see if it’ll help answer more of your questions. My favorite verse today is: The ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein. (Hosea 14:9)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY TUESDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about being followers of Christ. Carrying the title “Christian”, brings so much controversy these days, and I have to admit, there are some good reasons. We have all types of Christians - the money hungry Christians, the backsliders, the bible thumpers, the judgmental Christians, the liberal Christians, and let’s not mention the “mega church” Christian scandals. I believe that people are just that, “people”. We’re all human, and when we lose focus on what’s right, we have the potential to carry any one of the aforementioned titles. I for one am proud to be a Christian, because to be a Christian simply means that I’m a follower of Christ. It means to believe that Christ is the only way to salvation, and that no man can go to the Father except by Him. It also means that you believe that Jesus was a perfect man, who walked this earth preaching the gospel - was killed, resurrected, and now live in Heaven with God, making intercession for us. If you believe all of these things, then you are a Christian (follower of Christ), no matter what title you claim.

The title we carry is nowhere near as important as the life we live. Jesus came so that we could have life more abundantly, and He taught us the way to claim, and live, that life. We can learn valuable life lessons from every Word written, that came out of His mouth, as well as by His actions. He never sacrificed His values, beliefs, or integrity, because of the strong opinions, and sometimes hatred, of the people around Him. He realized how important spreading the gospel was to the life of every human being. Jesus understood that it wasn’t about all Him, but there was a bigger calling on His life. He understood that as a Child of God, His actions would not only affect Him, but every believer that followed Him, for generations to come. He loved God with all of His heart, and loved us He loved Himself, and He went to His grave preaching that.

As Christians, our main focus should be trying to be like Christ from the heart, because Jesus is the only person who truly had life figured out. After all, He was “the Word that became flesh”, so He had a direct connection to Judge and Creator of the law. Jesus was a very humble and meek man, who walked according to the Word of God. He consistently quoted scripture from the biblical scholars, prophets, and men of God, who came before Him. He lived by God’s promises, just as He quoted to the devil, when He was tempted in the wilderness: But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matt 4:4) He understood that we cannot adequately grow without nourishment from God, which can only be found in His Word. Jesus taught every sermon, and based every parable, on the Word of God, to instill in us the importance of following the principles, and Will of God. The only reason that we’re able to have this conversation today is because Jesus followed the principles, as well as God’s Will for His life. He expects the same from us, because He paid a great price to give us that privilege.

Jesus’ greatest lessons that teach us how to live a righteous and bountiful life can be found in the Sermon on the Mount. If you’ve never read these chapters, please take a moment and read them today. I promise they will change your life forever! Ask the Holy Spirit to help you truly “hear” the Word from the Lord, and fashion your life by it. Jesus will never lead us astray. Life is just as simple as He lays it out here: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:3-10) Did you notice that Jesus never said, “blessed are those who are perfect, and without sin”? To sum it up, “Blessed are those who are after God’s own heart”.

Jesus gave His life so that you could have one, because He knows that none of us are perfect. He understands that we’re going to fall short, and He wanted to encourage us to keep pressing towards righteousness anyway. He’ll do His part to make sure that we reach it. Because of His bloodshed, we wear a veil of righteousness, and that’s what God sees when He looks at any believer, regardless of the “status” of our life. However, if you’re not a believer in Christ, then your sins are all that God sees. Take a few moments to take this God Quiz today. Those of us, who are believers, have the precious privilege to repent and be forgiven of our sins, but you don’t – not until you confess Jesus as Lord. My favorite verses today are: For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; ... but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. (1 Peter 2:21-23)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about conquering worry with faith. I don’t know one person who doesn’t worry about something, at one time or another; it’s a natural thing to do in the flesh. At the same time, worry shows a lack of faith in God. The only thing that overcomes worry is trust, and that is true when it comes to everything. In a relationship, if you don’t trust your spouse, you’re going to worry about them being faithful. That lack of trust comes from a past failure, mistake, or a breakdown in communication. The same goes for your relationship with your children, because you know they’re growing, and you can’t always trust them to do things that are above their maturity level, so you end up worrying about them. It will come a time where you’ll have to trust them, so simply pray, let go, and trust God to care for them. No relationship will work without trust, and that’s especially true in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. God asks us to stay close to Him, by praying without ceasing, reading His Word, and meditating on it. If we’re doing these things, we have nothing to worry about, because we’re building a strong relationship with Him. His Holy Spirit works within us to teach us the things we should know, in order to compete God’s will. He also helps us pray, it’s written: Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27) Doesn’t this all sound so simple? Especially since we hear it every day when we read our devotionals, or every Sunday when we go to church. Those who hunger for God will be blessed beyond imagination. There’s no need to want for anything, because God promised to grant our every need, as well as some wants and desire. Yet stress is the leading cause of sickness, disease, and even death. My mom and grandmother had this saying, “you’re gonna worry me to death”, and in all actuality, that is such a true statement. I can truly testify to that, because stress, depression, and sickness, all had a strong hold on me, just a few years ago. It wasn’t until I truly surrendered my life to God, that He delivered me from that. There’s a section in the Sermon on the Mount, which Jesus preached about worry. I was drawn to this section, because worry ruled my life. I used to worry from the time I woke up in the morning, until the time I laid down at night. I couldn’t sleep, because as soon as I closed my eyes, thoughts started swirling around in my head. I was thinking, “How am I going to do this?”, “who’s going to take care of that?”, “what if I do this?”, “where is this going to take me?”, “why did I do that?”, and this went on and on, until my peace was completely gone. All I could do was open my bible and read, and most nights prayed until I fell asleep, and the Holy Spirit always led me right back here, so I’m going to leave you with this:

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature (or one hour to his life)?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:24-32)

Now, if God makes the flowers beautiful, and they’re thrown out tomorrow, how much more will He do for you? If He makes sure that the birds eat, and have homes, what more will He provide for you? I wasn’t going to share this entire passage, but I know that someone needed to read it from the Word of God. This passage changed my life, and I hope it does the same for you. Have faith in God, simply because He loves you, and will never let you fall. Thank Him every day, because even when it seems like He isn’t there, He working on your behalf. Ask Him for everything that you want, need or desire, and if you have faith, it’s yours, period. He won’t ever give you anything that will cause you more worry, anger or pain, but He will allow certain things, in order to reach out to you. Don’t take my word for it; you have it from the mouth of Jesus Christ himself. He’s the key to strengthening your faith, because through Him, all blessings flow. Start praying right now, and ask God for the answers through Christ, cast your cares upon Him, and leave them there. Believe me as long as you’re faithful in seeking Him, He’s faithful in answering. Don’t forget about the God quiz, it may shed some light for you. My favorite verses today are: O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. (Psalms 34:9-10)

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