Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about recognizing our mortality, and the reason we’re here. There’s so much going on in this world, and it seems like people are here today, and gone tomorrow, which helps us realize just how short life is. We are only human, and we bleed the same blood, and our hearts beat the same way. The only real difference between us is the saved and unsaved. In God’s eyes, you’re either with Him or against Him. We have but so many years, days, hours, minutes, or even seconds to complete God’s will for our lives, and it’s important not to waste time. We must live for Him each day, because without Him, we’re divided, and risk falling in the hands of the enemy. There are billions of people on this earth, and God loves each of us as if we’re the only one, we are that important to Him. It’s time that we make Him that important to us, by recognizing His presence and power in our life, surrendering to what’s right. Tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone of us, God could suddenly send a Tsunami our way, and what can we do about it? We must understand His place as the head of our life, and then a Tsunami doesn’t seem that scary after all, because we’re safe in the arms of God.

The enemy attempts to lead us away from God, because He knows that if we choose him over God, then he has us for all of eternity. That’s definitely not where we want to be. He uses everything that you could imagine to force us to waste time, and miss God’s callings, so we must also be aware of his presence at all times. He’ll use religion, money, envy, fear, lust, and all of the things that please the flesh, to attempt to draw us away. It’s important for us to stand strong as the vital part of the body of Christ that we are, in order to avoid division. Jesus once said: When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. (Luke 11:21-23) Remember, in the natural we are weak, the enemy is much stronger, and if given a chance, he’ll attempt to overcome us. However, through Christ, the enemy is defeated, and we’re no longer weak and frail, but we’re stronger than anyone or anything he can throw at us. The key is we mustn’t spend one day away from God.

I urge you to look around you, there are so many things going on that are so far out of our control. When I think of the current Tsunami in Japan, the major earthquake in Haiti, and even Hurricane Katrina that hit over five years ago, it helps me better understand how precious, yet frail, my flesh is. We’re talking thousands upon thousands of people wiped out, in a matter of minutes. If that isn’t enough to make you want to live right, I don’t know what is. When I first started seriously studying the Bible, I read stories of massive lost of life, in the Old Testament, and I questioned the love of God. However, He later helped me realize that He is God. All we can do is accept and love Him to the best of our ability. I cannot explain to you why God allows mass destruction to happen, however, I know that God is who He says He is, and loves us just as much as He says He does. What happens to the flesh isn’t as important as what happens to the Spirit once the flesh parishes. Spend more time focusing on storing up your treasures in Heaven, than hoping for more days on this earth. Trust me you cannot control whether your part of the world is hit with a massive Tsunami or earth quake, so don’t waste time worrying about it; all you can do is live. If you’re a follower of Christ, God will take care of you regardless.

The Apostle Paul sums up exactly what I’m attempting to say in this devotional, in his letter to the Romans when he explained God’s everlasting love. Especially when he said, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom.8:32) In life there’s a time to reap and a time to sow; a time to live, and a time to die. It was so for the Jesus, and it will be so for us. What matters most is how we live while we’re here, which determines how we’ll live for eternity. God sacrificed His ONLY Son, so what makes us exempt? When you love God, and accept Jesus as Lord, you have salvation—if you were to die tomorrow, you’ll go on to spend a peaceful and blissful eternity with God in Heaven. I don’t think that’s such a bad thing, (if you’re a believer). If you don’t Jesus as Lord, then I suggest you take that step today, as you can see, you don’t have time to waste. Take a few minutes and take the God Quiz right now! My favorite verse today is: What is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (James 4:14)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY TUESDAY!

I pray all is well with everyone, and you're enjoying another terrific Tuesday. I'm doing well, had a wonderful start to the week, and a fresh start to life. When I woke up to this morning, the word resilience was in my heart, and it’s defined: the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity. The word was planted in my Spirit several months ago, when I visited my nephew's Art Exhibit, at his school. Resilience was the theme, and the first time I really took a good look at the word. For some reason it stuck with me, and I can now see why. The world does its best to try and beat you down, and if you don't have God in your life, it will succeed. I attribute my resilience to the almighty Lord. Just thinking about His grace and mercy, fills me with so much love, peace, and joy, that I can't help but share it. I’m always surprised when the world says one thing, but God shows me another. I feel like I've reached a milestone in my life, and a major leap in my growth, I give all the honor and glory to God. It feels so good to shout: I'm going to make it after all! Hallelujah! I'm going to make it after all, thank you Jesus! Have you ever been so deep in pain and heartache that you thought you’d never overcome it, but as soon as you stepped into the light at the end of the tunnel, you felt free? That's how I feel today, and I wanted to share that with you. No matter what you go through, and how life tries to beat you down, there's victory in Christ Jesus. Never rely on another person to give you 100% support, because they're incapable, put that type of trust in God, and watch Him work. I feel so much love in my heart that it's overwhelming, and it comes from that simple revelation. I thank you as well, because you've each had, or will have, an impact on my life, and your prayers make a huge difference. I’m grateful to fellowship with you in such a special way. Strength is a state of mind, and you're only as strong as your level of faith. My Grandmother can use your continued prayers as well; she had a little cough this morning, and it frightened her. Let's pray that the pneumonia will never come back, because she's been doing so well. Enjoy the remainder of your day, and be blessed family!

Today's scriptures are about sowing into God. Giving is always a hard thing for people. Let's face it; most humans are selfish because of the flesh. A wise person once told me that everyone does everything for some type of retribution. I guess that's the “reap what you sow” type of mentality. However, God always commands us to be people of integrity, and to work to uplift His Kingdom. Those who are believers of Christ are considered a part of the Kingdom of God, so He requires each of us to sow into each other. We're to plant seeds through love, ministry, volunteer work, money, and time. God requires our best, when giving offerings, because He always gives us His best. Giving money to the Church, through tithes and offerings is always a touchy subject in the world of "religion", because people have a lot of different views on it. However, what did Jesus say about the rich man? If you're not willing to sell all you have, give it way to the poor, or for the greater good of His Kingdom, then how strong is your faith and love for Him? Guess what? He doesn't ask us for all of that! He only asks us for a small percentage. Think about our churches, which are mostly non-profit organizations. They're built to help all who come, no matter if you're saved or not. A lot is required to run a church. I didn't realize how much, until I became a Deacon at my current church. There are so many things that are required of the church, to even open its doors on Sunday morning, let alone the different ministries offered on a daily basis. The church needs our contributions in order to adequately serve the people of God. The Pastor(s) or leaders of the church, often gives up their life for the church, and he or she needs to compensated for the awesome tasks given. The church needs our time and money. If you aren't an active member of a church, then sow into different charities, or simply help someone who’s in need. Don't have the attitude of giving someone your week-old leftovers, because you don't want them anymore, but cook a fresh meal and take it to a retirement home, or shelter. You never know how you can touch someone's life. Volunteer your time, by visiting someone, or taking a few minutes to call a friend that’s going through tough times. All of these things are showing God to those who may have no other outlet, and you'd be doing just as Jesus commanded of you. The theory of building a healthy relationship with God is putting Him first in everything you do. Do you wake up each morning, thinking, "what can I do for God today" or "how will I make a difference"? Well we all should. Some people think that you have to be rich in order to make a real difference, but that isn't true. Give what you can, and God will provide everything you'll ever need. The more you give, the more you're receive, it just as simple as that. Have you ever wondered why you’re lacking at times? It’s time for self-examination. God blesses us to be a blessing to each other, and that's His commandment, "love your neighbor as you love yourself". It takes more than saying you love someone to fulfill that commandment, but it requires your all. It's written: But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25) God is so good, and all He asks is that same passion in return. The first commandment to love Him with all your heart, and those who love His Son, loves Him. Allow Jesus to be Lord of your life first, and pray and ask God to allow you to be a cheerful giver. Give from your heart, and not out of obligation, and so many doors will be opened to you. If want to find out how to establish a true relationship with Jesus, please let me know, and I'll be happy to pray with you. My favorite verse today is: God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister. (Hebrew 6:10)

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