Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about serving the Lord with humility of mind. I didn’t read today’s passage, before I wrote the opening paragraph. Isn’t it awesome how the Holy Spirit works?! This leads me right into what we’re discussing today, serving God with humility of mind. What does this mean in the life of the believer? It means for us to know that it’s not us, but God who’s doing all of the work in our lives. God grows everything in our life at its proper time—there’s a time to sow, and a time to reap what has been sown. We must keep that in mind in our day to day life. There’s nothing by chance, and God is always in control. When there’s a calling on your life, take heed, because He won’t stop until He gets what He needs from you. He’ll bless you with as much “stuff” as you need to successfully achieve what He’s set out for you. He’ll also remove as many things from your life as necessary.

We have a bad habit of thinking that our life is in our hands, and the positive things, and growth that happens in our life, strictly comes from our hard work and determination. Unfortunately, that is a horrible way of thinking, and I urge you to stop right here, and turn that around. Praise God, because He didn’t have to allow you to be where you are. At the same time, when doors are closed, and things just don’t seem to go the way you planned, praise God, because He has something better for you. He’s setting you up to receive a great amount of wisdom, through your circumstance, and He’s never through with you. You should worry if He isn’t chastising you, because that means He’s put you up on a shelf. When that happens, it’s up to you to find your way back to that close relationship, through repentance and lots of one on one time with Him.

We often tell people who become successful in life, not to “forget where you came from”, because your past has made you who you are. There are so many people who were great Servants of God, and when blessed with an abundance of earthly gifts, they forget who they came from. There are many leaders who have hardened their heart, because either their role became a bit overwhelming and stressful, or they forget to give it all to God. When that happens, they start relaying on their natural self to solve problems. That can happen to anyone, especially the ones who think that it’ll never happen to them. People say that you can tell when someone comes from “new money”, maybe by winning the lottery, or gaining fame and fortune seemingly overnight. Those are the people who don’t know how to act, because they’re newly rich. Well there are some Christians who have just grown into the “teenage” stage of their faith walk. You know how we get to a certain age and think we know it all, but we don’t. We walk around all “holier than thou”, and think that we’re the best Christian walking. We start to judge other people, because we think that we have it all together. I remember that stage, and it happened not too long ago. God quickly shut me down every time. I can remember convicting someone for what they were doing, and God tested me with the same exact situation, and I failed each time. He truly taught (and is still teaching) me humility. I must say, I’m so grateful for those lessons.

The most important lesson in living in humility is to know that everything isn’t for everybody. We understand that we need to stop comparing ourselves to the growth of our brothers and sisters, asking God why we aren’t where they are. We must learn how to stop asking “why me”, and ask “why not me”. I don’t know how many people say “I’m 30 years old so I need to be here, or I’m almost 40 and I need to be at this point in my life”. It’s okay to set goals, but you have to remember that everything works in God’s perfect timing. We must stay in the mind frame of Jesus, when He prayed, “Not my will, but your will be done”. It’s only by Him that you live and breathe, and He’s behind all things. As long as you’re doing your best to live right, and walk according to His Word, He blesses you with everything you need. It’s written: There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. (1 Cor. 12:4-6). (I love what Paul teaches in this passage entitled “Concerning Spiritual Gifts”.)

Do you know Jesus, I mean really know Jesus? If you answered no, or not really, then spend some time with Him. You’ll find that Jesus was the most humble man you’ll know. He lived the life of a common servant, but had the mind and attitude of a King. Keep that in mind when you’re trying to find your way through life. You are a lowly servant of God, and serving Him is all that matters, everything else is vanity. However, you are joint heir to the throne of God, so you are royalty, and everyone who looks at you will know it, without really knowing it. If you want to learn more about becoming an heir to the throne, take a few moments to take the God Quiz today. My favorite verse today is: When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. (Luke 17:10)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY TUESDAY!

I pray all is well with everyone, and you're enjoying another beautiful "Terrific Tuesday". I'm doing well, a little sore because last night was my first night back in the gym after a 3-week hiatus. I've been so busy with my dad, and other things, I haven't found the time to go. I felt really good while I was in there, and even this morning when I woke up, but as the day goes on... Owwie! Well you know what they say, "no pain no gain", so I have to get back in there and work it out tonight. I spoke to my Grandmother this morning, and she's feeling a little better today, thanks for your prayers. We're hoping she'll be home soon, but she doesn’t want to come home until the infection is all cleared up. We need a miracle, and God is the only One that hands those out regularly, so let’s keep her lifted up in prayer. Dad is making his way around town, but getting lost in the process. Thank God for cell phones! Sometimes getting lost is best because you learn the areas around you, and not just how to get to your destination. Continue to keep him in your prayers as well. Have a wonderful day, and be blessed Family!

Today's scriptures are about God's blessings upon the humble. I was very intrigued by our opening scripture Daniel 10:12. So much so, I wanted to start with it, to reiterate its validity to the message I want to relay today. Here's the New American Standard Version: From the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come. I noticed that I pray as if I deserve God's blessings, and I not with a humbled heart. To be honest, I sometimes pray and not really expect an answer, or am not willing to wait on God’s answer. This first verse touched me because I don't think I'm completely able to "let go and let God" yet. I love the Lord with all of my heart, but I personally have issues with giving up control. It causes worry and anxiety, and in return takes my peace. As of today, I'm going to humbly set my heart on the power of Jesus Christ, because I cannot do anything without Him. Humbleness is somewhat a craft, which should be worked on to perfect, because it's so easy to lose. Especially when we convert to the world’s way of thinking, and lose sight of God. We often become so busy, that we don’t make time for God. How many of us schedule time for God? No matter what, at the end and/or at the beginning of our day, it's important to get centered with God. The scripture says "From the first day...” and based on what Jesus said in Luke 9:23: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me, each day we’re given is the “first day”. We must look to Him for guidance, wisdom, and understanding, and know that He is King. We must allow our flesh to be broken, and allow God to build up our Spirit. When we do that, we're more prone to follow Him, because He’s our focus. God will make sure that our every need is taken care of. Most importantly we'll have that inner peace that surpasses all understanding. We'll have the wisdom and compassion to help our fellow man. We'll see things the way Jesus sees them, and that allows us to live abundantly. In order to truly humble ourselves, we must address the issue of sin in our lives. When we come to God with a heavy heart, acknowledging that we've sinned, and that we understand the repercussions, and try not to sin again, that shows a great deal of humbleness. One day you’ll realize that going at life alone isn't the way to go, because when God is calling you, there is no ignoring Him. You’ll notice that all your peace and joy is gone, and the only way to restore that is to be humble before God, and allow Him to lead. It's written in Psalms 146:8: The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous. We're all at one point blind, but bowing takes more than we could imagine. Everything that God asks us to do is for our good. Everyday you read your devotionals or Bible scriptures He's feeding you, to help you have a better life. Jesus said I call you more than Servants, because a servant doesn't know what the Master is doing, you are a friend. If you don't know Jesus as Lord and Savior, then that's the first act of humbleness that required. Let God know that you need Him, and ask Jesus to come into your Heart as Lord and Savior. Then try your best to live with a contrite heart, because your quality of life depends on it. My Favorite verse today is: Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. (Psalms 138:6)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY TUESDAY!

I pray all is well with everyone, and you're enjoying another beautiful Tuesday. I'm doing well, looking forward to the weekend already. It seems like Tuesdays are the most uncelebrated day of the week. Every other day has significance, but there's nothing significant about Tuesday. We'll have to start our own Tuesday tradition.Thanks again for your prayers and/or presence. I love all of you, and each of you has touched my life in some way, thank you!

Today's scriptures are about Meekness. The word meek is defined in many different ways; we find it in Webster’s dictionary saying: enduring injury with patience and without resentment. As well as on Dictionary.com: humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others. Some synonyms are lowly, modest, docile, mild, tame, submissive, and moderate just to name a few. You may be wondering why I am going through all of this. Well it's written in Matthew 5:5: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. This being said, it's very important for us to know what the word Meek means, so we can do our best to take on that attitude, in order to please God. Now some my look at these definitions and synonyms and assume that being meek means to be weak. Well that isn’t the case at all. God merely wants to be solely dependent upon Him, and not submit or conform ourselves to the ways of the world. Jesus came to teach us the right ways to go, and He was by no means weak. He was very much a leader, yet very soft, humble, and caring. He picked and chose His battles, and He didn't allow anyone to take Him out of the will of God. No matter how He was beaten, taunted, teased, or tempted by the evil in this world, He never surrendered to it. He never allowed it to take Him out of His character. Down to His last breath, He was praying for the people who wronged Him. He never fought back, He submitted to the will of God at the time of His crucifixion, because that was what God had instructed Him to do. He was never afraid of anyone or anything. He was a man that walked around with great confidence and courage. There's the story in John 2:13-22, where Jesus came to a temple during His travels, and there were people there selling different merchandise, food, and animals, which was a disgrace, and disrespectful to His Father's house. It's written in verses 15-17: When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” He was very passionate about God, His Heavenly Father, and He did everything in His power to strengthen His Kingdom. His passion made Him angry at times, but most importantly it made Him meek; slow to anger and quick to forgive. His love makes Him understanding and faithful to making sure that we're taken care of, because God has given Him authority over us. We're made in His likeness, and we have similar responsibilities, and as "Christians", we've made a covenant to be "Like-Christ". Being meek just means you're passionate about the love of God, which allows you to be soft, humble, and caring towards everyone you come in contact with. It allows you to depend wholeheartedly on God, and not attempt to fight your own battles. It helps you understand that you're not of this world, and nothing anyone can do or say can change that. With that wisdom you're meekness will come naturally, and will give you compassion for your neighbor, allowing you to keep that great commandment. Have you ever seen someone who smiles all the time, and when you look at them you can see a certain glow about them? These people hardly ever get upset, or lash out at others, and are almost always easy going and lighthearted. This is the epitome of meekness, which is what God requires of us, in order to effectively make an impact on the unbelievers or lost souls. No one wants to be angry or upset all the time. We all are seeking peace, and most of the time we seek it in the wrong places, but God is the only way. It's written that we should take on the minds of little children, and eagerly await His wisdom and love. Pick up the bible to learn how to be like Christ. However, if you don't know Him as your Savior you need to say that prayer asking Him come into your heart as the Lord of your life, and God will complete an awesome transformation in you. Never forget that humility comes before meekness. My favorite verse today is: Take my yoke upon you and learn O me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. (Matthew 11:29)

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