Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY THURSDAY!

Today's scriptures are about Jesus, in whom salvation is possible. Last week we celebrated what most call "Holy Week". We're meant to reenact the last week of Jesus' life. Actually, the Lent season is meant to reenact/celebrate the last few months of Jesus' life, but Holy Week, is what salvation is all about. I think most of us celebrate Easter, and don't know the meaning of it, because it's a nationally celebrated holiday, so why not eat some ham, candy, and dye some eggs? How many of us really take into account that Jesus is the reason for the season? Easter is almost as commercialized as Christmas, which are two major celebratory days in the life of Jesus Christ--the day He was born, and the day He was resurrected. What does that mean to you personally? What does that mean to the world as a whole? For those of you who don't realize, Jesus is life! Jesus is forgiveness, salvation, healing, redemption, resurrection, and all things alike.

Palm Sunday marked that glorious day when Jesus entered Jerusalem, riding on a donkey--as it was prophesied years before--as the Messiah. Then we skip to Munday Thursday, where we celebrate the Last Supper, where Jesus washes His disciples feet, prophecy about the things to come, and prepare His followers for His death. Good Friday was the day that He was beaten, hung on the cross, and His side was pierced, for virtually no reason at all. He was an innocent lamb, who was slaughter for the life of His beloved. He loved us so much because He and God was one, and God loves us because we're His children. Jesus was part human, and He had a choice whether He wanted to live or die--God gave Him free will, just like each of us, but Jesus CHOSE to lay down His life, because if He hadn't He not only would've disobeyed God, but He would've let down the entire Human race. Besides, He knew that that pain and heartache that He had to endure was only temporary--it was only one day of suffering compared to an eternity of bliss. He understood, that that one day of suffering would also lead to an eternity of bliss for anyone who sought righteousness. He knew that God's will was the only thing worth living for, and not going through with what He was instructed to do, meant death and destruction for all mankind. On that Good Friday (or whatever day it was), Jesus chose us over Himself. Hallelujah!

Easter Sunday, in my opinion, is one of the most important days of the year! It's the day that Jesus' work was done, and He was resurrected from death. Rejoice and celebrate that Jesus is ALIVE! This was all a part of God's plan from the beginning of time, and so of course it went off without a hitch. Jesus had been allowing us to get to know who He was, and the power He held, throughout the entire Gospel. He once said: “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” (John 10:17-18) So you see, Easter is such a glorious day, because by His God-given power, Jesus was able be resurrected and made whole, and now sits, very much alive, on a throne, at the right hand of the Father. He's there to offer Salvation to anyone who believes in Christmas, Palms Sunday, Munday Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter! He's there to make intercession for us, so that we can complete the will God has for our lives, just as He did thousands of years ago.

Jesus saves us from sin, death, hell, and most importantly He saves us from ourselves (our flesh). All we have to do is call on His Name, and anything we need is done, by faith. Before He left this earth, He gave us this great promise: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:1-6) Now this is the true definition of Salvation--there's nothing more to be said. Now I'll ask you once again--what does Easter mean to you?

If you don't know Jesus as Lord, you aren't saved. However, because of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you can be. First you must believe that He is who He says He is. Faith, confession of your sins, and inviting Jesus into you life as Lord and Savior, will ensure that Jesus has prepared a place for you in His Kingdom. He doesn't require anything but your faith and love, and once He gets that, He goes to work in you, to create a clean heart and a right spirit. I urge you to trust Him right now; take a few minutes to take the God Quiz today! My favorite verses today are: Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38-39)

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Daily Devotional Day &Night

HAPPY THURSDAY!

I pray all is well with everyone and you're enjoying this beautiful Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday eve. I'm doing well, filled with the Spirit of the Lord. As I was researching for today's devotional, I learned a lot, in so little time. Today we celebrate the last Supper, which is when Jesus gathered with His friends, for one last meal during Passover. At this celebration, He started started off by washing His followers feet, which is a great sign of respect. He than broke bread and drank wine with them, and He taught several life lessons. These stories can be found in the book of John chapters 13-17. Tomorrow we celebrate Good Friday, which is the day that Jesus was betrayed and killed. It's said that He was killed on the day, which was traditionally the day that the Lambs were to be slaughtered for the sacrifice, during Passover. Which is why Jesus is called the Lamb of God. The stories about His crucifixion can be found in chapters 18-19. Jesus went through a lot for us, and it's important to learn the history of it, to better understand our "Christian roots". The Internet is a precious tool, because you can “Google” just about anything, and find a vast array of wisdom. You may not hear from me again until Tuesday, so Happy Easter to you, and be blessed family!

Today's scriptures are about Joy. What a wonderful word, JOY! It makes me smile at the thought of it. The word Joy is defined: the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation. Who Jesus is, what He's accomplished, and how He loves, should bring great joy to all mankind. By definition, joy is an emotion, but it’s also a state of mind, because Jesus had a joyful state of mind. During all the turmoil He faced, throughout the last few days of His life, He was satisfied with the fact that He was following the will of God. He was pleased about offering Himself as a sacrifice, because He would bring peace to the entire human race. His passion brought Joy to His heart, as well as the Father’s. God revealed to Jesus, early in life, that He would suffer many things, which will lead to His death, and He still kept a joyful outlook. He didn’t constantly complain, nor did He give up on life, but He rejoiced in completing God’s will. However, He had His moments, because the flesh is weak. When it came closer to the time of His crucifixion, He went to the wilderness to pray, and took His disciples with Him. It's written: ...He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” (Matt 26:37-38) Jesus went off into the wilderness on His own, and fell on His face and prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” A second and third time He prayed, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” (Matt 26:42) I loved my study of the Gospel of Christ, because it gave me something real, and tangible to hold on to. When we solely depend on other's to teach us, we're at the mercy of their knowledge or wisdom. However, we're attempting to build a "personal" relationship with God. We’re working to be “like Christ”, in order to truly experience the joy of life, so we must seek His wisdom for ourselves. Jesus taught using "real life" scenarios, because He understands our mindset. The fact that God allowed us to see Him in such a vulnerable state, allows us to understand that it's okay. However, God is so powerful, and loves us so much, that our hearts shouldn't be troubled with the facts of life. We should have great joy, because our rewards are greater than we could ever imagine. In the Old Testament, God lead Ezra to preach His Word to the people of Jerusalem. This was a group of people who were from all walks of life. They spoke different languages, and came from different cultures, yet they had one thing in common, pain and sorrow. They all sat and listened intently to Ezra, even though many of them didn't understand his language, but God gave them a way, and they helped each other understand. The word of God instilled hope in their hearts, and that hope turned into Joy. Ezra ended his sermon with these words, "Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10) The Joy of the Lord got Jesus through His horrifying ordeal, and it’ll get us through anything we’ll face in life as well. We must learn to constantly count our blessings, because things could always be worst. Suffering for the Lord, means we'll experience tremendous joy with the Lord. Again, Joy is a mindset, and the fact that we have victory by the blood of the Lamb, has allowed it to have a permanent place in our heart. Remember, with God our joys will always outweigh our pains, but the beauty of a life with Christ is that we can still experience joy through them. If you don't know Jesus then you have yet to experience true joy. Get to know Him today, but start by inviting Him to be Lord and Savior of your life. He was crucified for you. My favorite verse today is: Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; ... for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame. (Hebrews 12:2)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY MONDAY!

As of yesterday, we've officially entered into Holy Week. This week represents the last week of Jesus' life on earth. Yesterday, my Pastor preached about the hope that the death and resurrection of Christ brings to our life. I try to watch the movie “Passion of Christ” every year around this time, to get a sense of what Jesus’ death was really like. This helps keep me centered, because I know He suffered all of that pain for me. This is the last week of the Lenten season, and I hope you've grown closer to Christ, because that's one the most important reasons for this forty-day journey. Jesus taught us how to have a stronger and deeper faith, as well as a trusting and open relationship with God. His death on the cross, over 2,000 yeas ago made that possible, and it's time for some self-examination. Jesus gave up His life for us, what have you given up for Him? Through this week, walk with Christ as He faces the end, and the beginning of His life. Yesterday, we celebrated his entrance into Jerusalem, which is called Palm Sunday. Maundy Thursday we celebrate the His last supper (day before death), Friday is "Good Friday" (crucifixion day), and Sunday is Easter (resurrection day!). There are many different ways to celebrate, and it's different with each denomination. Just know that Jesus' passion was love for all mankind, and that includes you. Have a wonderful day, and be blessed family!

Today's scriptures are about receiving our Eternal resting place in Heaven. The one thing we can count on, upon our death, as believers of Christ, is a mansion in Heaven. Jesus said: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:1-3) From the beginning of the creation of the world, God has called us to be His children, and when we accepted His calling on our life, we were given a permanent place in Heaven. Through Christ we are all Heaven bound, and that's a reason to rejoice! By faith we can accomplish anything on this earth, because Jesus has already conquered death, so there's nothing else holding us back from victory. When we were old sinful beings, we had everything to fear, because sin was the weight around our neck, which caused us to drown in the world of deceit, lies, envy, malice, addiction, and any other evil we can think of. When Jesus died on the cross He took on all sin, once He was resurrected, He was renewed and restored. When we choose to believe in Christ, we receive “salvation”, which is the restoration and renewal of our Spirit, and includes the security of our Eternity. Paul wrote: In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Eph. 1:11-14) We’re “joint heirs” of the Kingdom of God, so when Paul refers to our “inheritance”, he’s referring to the promise Jesus made long ago. As long as we believe, we’re going to receive our “purchased possession”. Jesus paid the price on the cross, and we’ve been signed, sealed, and delivered into the hands of God, by His blood. His Holy Word says that this is a “guarantee”, and cannot be removed. We’ve been redeemed, and when our time is up on this earth, we’re going to His glory. God loves us so much that He gave His one and only Son to die for our redemption. He loves us so much that He sacrificed Himself, so that we could live all eternity with Him in Heaven. He loves us so much that He’s forgiven every mistake we’ll ever make, and all He asks in return is our love. Heaven is far more beautiful than I could ever explain I’m sure, but as long as I’m with both God and Jesus, nothing else matters. Neither I, nor anyone else can offer you salvation, but I can show the way, through my Holy Spirit. The first step is to confess to God that you’re a sinner, and then ask Jesus to come into your life as Lord and Savior. As long as you believe that He lives, I look forward to seeing you in Heaven. Prayer, through Christ, is your only connection with God until you get Heaven, so do it earnestly, lovingly, and most importantly, often. My favorite verse today is: There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

I pray all is well with you, and you're enjoying this breezy and cool "hump day". I'm doing great, despite the fact that I didn't get much sleep last night. Grandma came home from the hospital yesterday; praise God. She said she's feeling a little better, but still have a little cough. I'm looking forward to the weekend, especially since I'm off Friday. I'm looking forward to my meeting, and mapping out a positive course to get the book completed by the end of the year. That doesn't give me much time to work with, but God willing, I'll get it done. I changed a few things on my website, check it out and let me know what you think, www.divinecuisineepc.com. As usual, I'd like to thank you for your support and continued prayers. I thank God for each of you, because you have or will play some part in my life. If you joined the group (information at the end of each devotional), send you prayer requests, or if you have a thought that you would like to share, be sure to do that. I look forward to building relationships in Christ. Have a wonderful day, and be blessed family!

Today's scriptures are about the death of Christ for All. The basis of Christianity is the Passion of Christ. The Passion is a description of what Jesus did for us, when He gave up His life to atone for the sin of mankind. Jesus said in John 6:51: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” Did you notice He said, “I shall give”? Jesus was God in the flesh, so no man could've taken His life, but He willingly gave it. Because of His love for us, He endured enormous heartache, pain, and strife. Can you imagine dying the way that Jesus died? If you saw the movie The Passion of Christ, you can picture some of the tortured He had to endure. People can be so cruel and evil, but Jesus wanted to show us that we, through Him, could rise above anything that the enemy could throw at us. People tried to destroy Him, for no apparent reason, but at the end of it all, He forgave them, and He prayed and asked God to forgive them as well. How awesome is that? Jesus was a sweet, humble, caring, and meek man, that was killed because of His love for us. Through His death, everyone who believes in Him gains Salvation, and He only thing He asks in return is our love. The beauty of this entire thing is that He overcame evil and sin, so we wouldn't have too. He took on that burden to free us, and give us a wonderful life, on earth and in Heaven. No matter what we do on this earth, if we've Confessed Jesus as our Savior, we'll always have a spot in Heaven. We can live our entire life never doing anything good for anyone, but as long as we believe in Jesus, we still have our spot in Heaven. That's a little extreme, but it's true. However, when Jesus comes into our hearts, He starts to transform our life, from the inside out. No matter how hard and evil you may be, once Jesus' love fills you, the transformation will happen. Some people transform over night, and for some it's a daily building process. We each have a personal relationship with Christ that works together to strengthen the Kingdom of God. He even died for the people that don't believe in Him, and curse His Name. He's open to all who will receive Him, so there is nothing we can do so terrible that would make Him stop loving us. When He dropped His head on that cross, and gave up the Ghost, once and for all, it was done. God did all of this for a reason, and we will never know the mysteries of God, until we reach Heaven. He shared some things with John, in Revelations 21:6-8: And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Do you understand what this means? If you've committed any of these sins, but "Overcome" them through Jesus Christ, you shall inherit all things! God said He would give us Life freely; all we have to do is ask. However, is you're cowardly and unbelieving that second death is inevitable for you. Don't take my word for it, but take the living word of God. Jesus is real and He lives, but most importantly, He's waiting on us to come to Him, so He could give us rest. Are you ready to receive peace, love, and joy that exceed all expectations? Well God is waiting to hear that prayer from you, whether it's to accept Him as Lord, or to confess and repent your sins and reconcile with Him. My favorite verse today is: It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:10)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY MONDAY!

I pray all is well with everyone, and you're enjoying the beginning of another workweek. I'm doing well, had a good weekend, looking forward to a good week. I made the Tortellini with Crab and Gorgonzola cheese over the weekend, and it was wonderful. It's such an easy dish to make, and took me all of 20 minutes to do. Today is my Sister LaSheda's birthday, happy birthday sweetheart; my baby sister is growing up, the older she gets, means the older I get. My grandmother is doing well, she's looking good, and is up moving around, thank you for your prayers, I've planned a trip for us for the July 4th weekend, I pray she'll feel up to going. Have a wonderful day!

Today's scriptures are about our death and resurrection in Christ. It is written that we should be “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), what does that mean to you? When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we die to sin, and receive eternal life in Christ. In that process we die to our old life, and lifestyle. In some cases it could be painful, because we're being refined. It could be very difficult to change a person’s ways. God has a lot of work to do, so we're going down with Christ, and then rose back up in Righteousness with Him. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all (Psalms 34:19). Think of Jesus' crucifixion, it was a lot of physical pain and suffering, but we rejoice in this act of great courage and strength, because it freed us from the penalties of sin. Jesus never complained, and lived a life full of peace. God is Who He is, and He never sugarcoats anything. As I read certain stories in the Old Testament, I see just how powerful and mighty He is, yet He's also merciful, kind, and very patient. We could see this in the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. This may seem like a heinous act, but the compassion behind it is the only thing we should be concerned with. The love of God is real, true, uplifting and comforting. The sacrifice of Jesus was necessary to free all mankind. Now He is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, His hard work is done. Dr. Stanley wrote in his devotional today: The Lord’s ultimate purpose for each believer is that he or she will learn to think, act, and speak like Jesus (Rom. 8:29). This requires our old self to die, and our new self resurrected. We are the body of Christ, and He is one with us, as the Father is one with Him. We must commit to learning His ways, so we could complete God's will for our lives, with peace, joy, and happiness. We must have peace in knowing that God's Will shall be done, so it's easier for us to seek and follow Him. Jesus is the ultimate teacher and friend, and it’s because of Him that we're made new. Every new thing has to be created, there's a purpose for everything, and our rebirth in Christ happens at the right time, place, and season in our lives. Sin equals death, and before we find Jesus, we're dead to righteousness. We have no real connection with God, unless by the blood of Christ. I could say this everyday, and some people still don't get it. This is why we must constantly stay in the word, and exercise the Power of Christ that lives in us. If we don't live according to His word and His ways, then we sin, and when we sin something dies. Everything has its consequence, and we know that by our Earthly laws. If you break the law you're punished. Some crimes carry larger penalties than others, but they cost a price. Whether it's your freedom, time, or money, you will pay a penalty, and something is lost. Our main job is to learn the laws, and follow them. In John 3, Nicodemus was obviously curious about all that he'd heard and seen from Jesus and he went to Jesus inquiring about His role, starting in verse 2: This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus went on and questioned Jesus until he understood what He was talking about, because he just didn't get the phrase "born again". Jesus replied in verse 7-8: "Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” There are a lot of things that we cannot understand in the flesh, and that includes the word of God. Being "born again", is necessary to be able to understand, hear, see, and feel the Spirit. We cannot do anything without Jesus. Once we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we experience a rebirth, and start off as newborn Spirits. It doesn't stop there; we then need to learn whom we are in Christ, and start to rebuild. If you don't know Jesus, I suggest you get to know Him as soon as you possible because Sin=death, but Christ=Life. My favorite verse today is: If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

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