Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about Understanding what the will of the Lord is (Eph 5:17 How many countless Christians are clueless as to what God’s will is for their life. I have to admit that even I get confused sometimes. On one hand I love to write [and some of you seem to think I’m pretty good at it], and on the other hand I love to cook, and that too brings me joy. I also love to serve and teach, and I feel so at home when doing both—so what is God’s true will for me? I’m sure I’m not the only person who wonders whether your gifts and talents, are what you’re supposed to use to complete God’s will for your life.

Just to be clear, God’s will is the same for each of His children—to love Him and fellowship with Him, to love His Son Jesus Christ, and to strengthen His Kingdom. At the same time, the path to accomplishing these things is different for each person. The way you show you love may be different from the way I show love. I show my love through feeding someone a good meal, and you may show your love by singing to them to uplift their spirit. You have a gift to sing and I have a gift to cook. To strengthen His Kingdom, I was called to write daily devotional emails, and serve as a Deacon at my church. Yours may be to show Jesus through you, by speaking uplifting words to those in need, or doing mission work in underprivileged countries. Ultimately we’re each Disciples of Christ, and just as it’s written: Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)

God created us for His own personal reasons, so there’s a purpose or will for our life, and your part is just as important as mine. He wants us to stay near to Him at all times, so He gives us the resources to receive all of the wisdom and knowledge necessary to complete His will for our life, all we have to do is seek Him. Praying without ceasing allows us to keep that connection, and avoid being vulnerable to sin. Studying His Word allows us to truly know what He expects from us. As we know, His will could change each day, so we must look at each day as a present, a hidden treasure or gem, because God has something special planned for us that day. You are the light of the world, and He will place you on top of a hill where for many to see, so that those who are in darkness will turn toward the light (Matt. 5:14).

Following God’s will is an awesome responsibility, but it comes with great rewards. In one of my favorite verses in the bible it’s written: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Eph. 1: 3-6) God has blessed us with EVERY Spiritual blessing in heavenly places, just because we believe in Jesus Christ, so our faith and works is a very small price to pay, for such a grand reward. The beauty of all if this is that we’re blessed no matter what. As long as we believe, we’re blessed even when we mess up or fall short, because He already knew you and everything you were going to do before He chose you. As we learned yesterday, don’t allow mistakes and sin to allow you to give up, because He’s still here, life goes on, and you have a job to do. Repent!

See, it isn’t that complicated after all? All God wants from you is love, but how you show that love is something the He’ll show you in due time. Jesus says to love Him is to do whatever He commands of you. I love the story of when Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler—this man had every earthly desire, and was asked to sell all of His possessions, give it to the poor, and follow Jesus; the man went away unsaved. I used to be at point in my life where I honestly thought about it. If I was the rich man, and didn’t know anything about Jesus, would I have made that sacrifice? Back then I honestly said no, but today I can seriously say that I would rather face being penniless, homeless, and without food, to spend one day with Jesus Christ, than to have all of the riches in the world. You may think that that’s extreme, but I know in my heart that as long as I’m following Jesus [which would no doubt be in God’s will], I’ll have everything I could ever desire for all eternity.

Do you get it now? Dr. Stanley said it best, “Obey God and leave the consequences to Him”. The only way to know Gods will is to first accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Take a few moments to take the God Quiz today! My favorite verses today are: The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ... give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe. (Ephesians 1:17-19)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about being cleansed of our iniquities. Look around you, and then look at yourself in the mirror. Do you notice the iniquities of the world, let alone the iniquities inside of you? I could go on and on about the state of the world, and how the moral values have faded, and integrity is at its lowest point, but we don’t have much time for that. Sometimes it isn’t good to dwell on the negative, but we should acknowledge it, and try to find a solution. The world’s sins start on the inside of each individual. We must be held accountable for our own sins, because that’s the only thing that we can really control. I just thank God for Grace and mercy, because without His favor, where would we be? It’s hard to imagine, but things could always get worst. The irony of the state of sin, and the commotion it causes in our heart, is that it doesn’t have to be that way. From the day that Jesus died on the cross, our sins were exonerated. Jesus offered us living water, so that our sins could be easily washed away. Jesus said: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 6:37-38) Upon acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior, He’s instilled in our heart, and His living waters flows within us. His blood makes that possible, and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. We simply need to ask for forgiveness, and it’s granted. Notice He said, “if any thirsts, let him come to Me”, so it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, when, where, or why you’ve done it, you will be forgiven. All that’s needed is at that very moment, go to Him, by praying to God in His Name, confessing your sins, and asking for forgiveness. Now you may be thinking, “if it’s that easy, why should I stop sinning?” and I have the answer to that. Jesus’ death saves us from the eternal consequences of sin, not the moral consequences. Remember, you reap what you sow, more than you sow. Sin causes an overwhelming sense of discontent and anguish in your heart. Most sin will bring pleasure for the moment, but will ultimately lead to destruction. I started off today referencing the sins of the world, so I’m going to acknowledge some of the consequences. The earth is essentially deteriorating at the core, because of our blatant disregard and abuse of the earth and it’s natural resources. It seems like each day there’s a new form of cancer, and life threatening and incurable diseases like the AIDS virus are spreading like wildfires. The family value system is broken (for lack of a better word), because we don’t value the sanctity of marriage, and we neither respect our precious bodies nor ourselves. Need I say more? These are all the affects of sins, so yes, you can pray and ask for forgiveness and still get into Heaven, but your life is worth much more than that. While you’re here, you’re expected to strengthen your personal relationship with God, as well as the body of Christ. You’re meant to share your light, and the living water that’s in your heart, with unbelievers and the people who’s lacking. You’re meant to spread God’s love across ALL nations (Matt 28:19). How can you efficiently do that if you covered in sin? It’s written: Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “ I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go. Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea… “ There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” (Isa. 48:17-18, 22) Commit that last verse to memory; it’s so good, I’ll write it again, “There is no peace for the wicked”! Did He say no salvation? No, He said no peace, and next to salvation, peace is the most precious gift we could ever receive. God will willingly cleanse you from all unrighteousness whenever you ask Him, because He loves you that much. However, He does require repentance in order to restore your peace. Jesus is the source of all love, peace, joy, and happiness, because through Him living water flows. If you haven’t confessed Him as Lord and Savior, then you should stop what you’re doing, and do it right now. It’s a quick, yet sincere prayer, asking God to forgive you of your sins, and inviting Jesus into your heart as Lord and Savior. If you haven’t said this prayer yet, and feel like something’s missing in your life, then that’s the only answer. Allow Him to restore your peace. My favorite verse today is: I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. (Jeremiah 33:8)

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