Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about looking forward to the fate of our eternal life. Death is such a gloomy subject to talk about, because it brings such sorrow and pain. However, it should be the one thing that a believer should look forward to. Not in a way that we want to die each day of our life, but we shouldn’t fear it. At the same time, we’re only human, and have never been anything but, so it’s natural for us to question, and even fear, the unknown. Even Jesus briefly feared death. He understood the things He had to suffer, but the human side of Him couldn’t fathom the amount of pain He would endure. He prayed to God, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matt 26:39) He understood better than anyone, what had to be done, and He stood on the promises of God. He knew what waited for Him on the other said, so that gave Him strength to complete the will of God.

Jesus truly lived by the saying, “obey God and leave the consequences to Him”. He was obedient up to death and now He’s King over all mankind. He’s been given power and authority—a Name above all Names. He received this power because He survived human life sinless, and with unwavering Faith in God. He endured the temporary pain and suffering in the flesh, because He understood that one day it’ll all end, and He would be able to experience eternal bliss. He gave up His life to free us from the fate of the wicked man. He offered himself in the place of our sin, and willingly shed His own blood for us, so that one day we’ll be with Him. What’s so awesome about this news is that it’s all free! If you simply believe in Jesus Christ, you will enter into the Kingdom of God when your flesh perishes. You’ll be able to give Jesus the biggest hug you can imagine. God will tell you how proud He is of you, and you will never hurt, hunger, stress, be depressed, or cry again. Can you imagine a life like this?

Jesus taught us that: “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35), which is just the way God does things. I always wondered why God says throughout the bible the last will be first and the first last. I questioned whether if it was wrong to have an abundance of success and wealth on earth. I’m now learning that when God said the “last shall be first”, He means being last at heart. It means living your life as a humble servant of God. It means not putting the wealth and desires of the world, before the work of God. Servants are humble, meek, and subservient, and want nothing more than to please their Master. They put themselves last and their Master first, in hopes of pleasing Him, and in return the Master will blessed the servant tenfold. We are servants of God, and He comes first in our lives. He’ll bless us with much if we learn how appreciate little. The more we humble ourselves, and put His will before our own, the greater our reward would be in Heaven.

There’s also a hierarchy in Heaven, and the more we serve God on earth, the more we have to look forward to in Heaven. As if eternity with God isn’t enough, those of us who put in the work while here, are storing up treasures in Heaven as well. It’s said that once we reach Heaven, and we go through our judgment, we’ll receive an “Incorruptible Crown” (1 Cor. 9:25). In this crown will be jewels, and the amount of jewels you receive, represents your level of prestige. I love the example my Aunt gave me years ago, she said, “it’s like if you have one jewel in your crown you’ll be a janitor, and if you have fifty jewels you’ll be a King or Queen”. I’m sure it’s not exactly like that, but this can give you an idea of how it works. The amount of work you put in here on earth, does matter when it comes to your eternity. There are many people who think that just believing in Jesus is enough, and you can go through life sinning with no regard for Him, because you know that He’ll forgive you. I beg you, for you own sake, to turn away from that thought process, because we’ll each stand judgment.

The one thing we can rest easy in knowing is that Heaven is the final destination of any, and everyone, who believes in Christ. No matter what you go through in life, make sure you acknowledge Him, and quickly repent for your sins. 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) These scriptures give me so much peace, because I know that God is in control of my life now and forever. If He is with me, who can be against me? Can you honestly say the same thing? If you’ve accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, then yes you can, and don’t let anyone tell you any different. If you don’t believe in Jesus then you can’t, and there is no mansion for you. That can be changed right now, by confessing to God that you’re a sinner, and asking Jesus to be Lord of your life. Repent and follow the ways of the Lord! For more information, take the God Quiz right now. My favorite verse today is: He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth. (Isaiah 25:8)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Today's scripture are about the glory of the Lord. The word Glory is defined: very great praise, honor, or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown. This word and our Lord Jesus Christ go hand and hand, because He deserves all the glory, honor, and praise. When we think about what He's done for us, and His love, glory should be the first thing that comes to mind.
The first time I read the Gospels of Christ, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in it's entirety, I was amazed and fascinated at how humble Jesus was (and still is). He taught with love, and always reassured us that we're loved children of God. He spoke the truth, and warned us of the predominance of sin, but never condemned anyone. He never judged a person because of his appearance, vocation, race, religion, or family background, but He saw people for who they where in their heart. He lived a menial life, with very few possessions, and worked day in and day out to strengthen the Kingdom God, for generations to come. It's because of Him that we not only have the option of being freed from sin, but we have the ability to be closer to God, and better understand His ways. Jesus taught in a way that was easy to understand, and He used "real world" examples, using parables that helped us better understand God's commands. He understood the plight of the weakness of man’s flesh, yet still lived in the Spirit. If you ever need guidance, or good advice all you need to do is pick up the Holy Bible, and read from the Gospels of Christ.
The thing I learned most from studying His life are the possibilities to completely stay in tuned with God, yet still live a peaceful life, despite my circumstances. He taught me the glory of contentment, and humbleness. I know that no matter what material possessions I own, or lack there of, I'm still cared for, and love by God. He taught me the glory of being grateful for life itself, and appreciating the small gifts that God gives us, in addition to the large. It's so important to understand that the along with our spirit, physical things in this world also transform and fade away with time, which includes our flesh, so we cannot get ourselves wrapped up into chasing false or temporary hopes and dreams. We must seek FIRST the Kingdom of God, and all of His Righteousness, and He’ll bless with everything we could ever want or need. We must be careful not to sacrifice our integrity for anything or anyone.
There are stories in the bible that follow the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which we can also use to learn His glory, from the lives and teachings of His disciples. These are men who walked with Him physically and spiritually, made great sacrifice, and showed unconditional loyalty to His Name. Jesus choose the less likely leaders, so that we can greater see the testimony, or authenticity in His ability to save and transform. He glorified these men so that they could glorify Him, and spread that glory through lands and generations unknown. Who knew that Paul, a man who persecuted, beat, and crucified Christians would be one of His greatest teachers? Or Peter, who was just a fisherman that led a menial life, would go on to make such an impact. There were several others, like Matthew, Luke, Stephen, and John, who all signed up as soldiers in the Army of the Lord, because they were able to witness His glory first hand. I love the teachings of Paul, because he taught with such conviction and truth, but his message was always clear. He taught the importance of living in righteousness, and never turning our back on God, or each other. Paul believed in brotherly bond, because together, we'll shine so much brighter, and glorify God even stronger.
In the following passage Paul explains the difference between life with the glory of Christ, and life without it. Those of us, who believe in Jesus, no longer wear a veil, but can see clearly the love of God, through His Holy Spirit, so appreciate that, and be sure to continue to keep hope in the glory of Christ all the days of your life. It's written: Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read (by the lost), a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:12-18)
Jesus made an awesome sacrifice for every living and breathing human being to have eternal life. He doesn't care who you are, or how much or what types of sins you've committed. So don't wait another day, pray and ask Him to be Lord of your life right now! If you need a prayer partner please let me know, I can be reached via e-mail anytime. My favorite verses today are: God ... hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. (Hebrews 1:1-2)

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