Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about respecting the Holiness of God. We are forever in the presence of the Lord, because He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere. As His servants, we believe that He is the Creator of all things, and the reason we breathe each day. Knowing this, why don’t we live as if He’s the core of our life? We sometimes get comfortable with the fact that He’s always there, and also lose sight of that same fact. I too am guilty of that, because I talk to Him all the time, but one minute I’m praying, and the next I’m singing along to latest Jamie Foxx song—these two things conflict. God wants us to recognize that He’s Holy, and He lives within us, which in turn makes us Holy. He wants us to respect His holiness to the point where we’re always aware of His presence. In every decision we make, and every word we speak, we should have Him in mind. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but He does expect us to try, for His sake. He expects us to repent for our sins, out of respect for His Holy place, and as a result, we would be less and less susceptible to sin.

How many of us change our demeanor, the way we talk, and dress when we go to church on Sunday? You know you were the same person, who the night before, was at the club wearing your shortest skirt, and lowest cut blouse, letting it all hang out. We know how to conduct ourselves accordingly when we go to church, because it’s considered a Holy place. We go there looking for answers, and to spend time with fellow believers, praising the Lord. The same amount of respect we give to the church house, our fellow Christian peers, and our Pastor on Sunday, need to also be given to ourselves every day of the week. We too are the “church” of God, which Jesus gave His life to protect. It’s written: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. (Eph. 5:25) Jesus died to afford us His holiness, and we have that living inside of us, but we must learn how to respect that. We’ll be able to tap into so much power once we learn how to respect His presence in our life.

What God asks us to do, and how He expects us to live, is by no means easy. If it was easy, everyone would be perfect, and we know, just by looking in the mirror, that that isn’t true. However, Jesus took care of the hardest part, and through Him we find freedom, choices, and chances. Through Him we’re giving the option to choose life over death, and that’s not just a onetime choice, it’s a moment by moment choice. Each opportunity, choice, scenario, etc. has the option to choose life or death, right or wrong, God or the enemy. If we keep that in mind, we’ll be able to make better choices, and be aware of our weaknesses and strengths. We must have a plan for everything in life, including how we’re going to live—of course everything in life doesn’t go as planned, but does that mean we just stop planning altogether? Trust me, if you wake up in the morning and plan to obey God, and to pay better attention to your choice of music, who you associate with, how you dress, the way you speak, etc., those things will eventually become a habit. Also, you are respecting the Holy Spirit inside of you, by not only planning to do right, but also trying your best to stick with those plans.

Peter lays it all out in his first epistle, where he encourages us to live an upright life, or in other words with respect for the Holiness of God. He wrote: So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as “foreigners in the land.” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. (1 Peter 1:13-19 NLT) Peter points out some key things here, by simply saying know who and Whose you are, and conduct yourself accordingly throughout the time of your stay here.

There’s so much going on in this world, and evil often prevails, but we can overcome it, if we choose to. Respect is a strong word, and I used it because everyone can relate to it. Everyone wants to be respected, including God. He places rules in our life to keep us in order, so that we could have His best in life. To follow Him, is always going to be a great thing, and you aren’t losing out on anything, but you’re gaining more than you could ever imagine. Don’t be obedient to God only because you have to, but do it because you want to. You respect people who are worthy of your respect, and no one is more worthy than Him. If you don’t know Jesus as Lord, then you need to take the first step today. Please take a few moments to take the God Quiz right now, I promise, it’ll be the best decision you’ll ever make. My favorite verse today is: Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (2 Corinthians 6:16)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY THURSDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about trusting in the Lord’s leadership. I believe trust is a big issue for every human being, just because of our very nature. If we cannot be completely faithful to God, then we surely won’t be completely faithful to each other. Let’s look at the word trust for a moment; it’s defined: reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence. It’s a known fact that another person will hurt or fail you at some time in your life, and when that keeps happening, it weakens your ability trust. When we begin to lose our trust in everyone around us, then it’s safe to say that we’ll have trust issues with God as well. However, God proves that He’s trustworthy when He wakes us up each morning—if He’s done that, than you can trust Him to have a hand in everything that you do, and guide you in the right direction. It’s up to you to seek, listen, and follow His instructions, because He has already worked it out for your good.

One of the most wonderful things about that Lord is that He knows our heart, and thought process, because He created us this way. He understands how much faith it takes to even believe in Him, when everything and everyone in this world is trying to prove Him wrong. It’s just amazing how He’s always on time. I remember the really dark moments in my life, when all I could hear Him say to me was, “trust me Saundra, I will never leave you”. During the tribulation that I experienced in my marriage, when I was in Portland, I remember going to the Alter, at my church, for prayer. My heart was so heavy that I felt like I couldn’t take another breath. I spoke with a woman named Marilyn (I’ll never forget her), and I explained to her that my marriage was in trouble, and what God told me through her was to trust Him to lead me in the right direction. Marilyn never told me what to do, or how to handle the things in my marriage. She simply wrote the verses Isa. 30:18-22 and 61:1-4 down on a follow-up card, along with her phone number, and said if I ever need to talk, to feel free to call her day or night. That was nearly four years ago, and I still have that follow-up card in my bible, tucked in the book of Isaiah.

I thank God for the people like Marilyn, who trusts Him to use them as vessels, because I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done, had it not been for the conversation and prayer she had with me. God proved Himself faithful and trustworthy to me at that point. After I ran home, picked up my bible and read those verses, I was filled with so much joy and peace; I couldn’t help but rejoice with the Lord. I decided that day to trust God to do what was best for me and my marriage, and low and behold He did. He helped me understand the different seasons of life, and that this particular season as changing, and that I had to follow Him. He never forces us to choose Him, but He will give us every opportunity to complete the will He has for our life. I realized then that most of my stress, depression, and heartache came from not surrendering to God’s will for my life—I wanted to do what I wanted to do, based upon the world’s views.

I struggle every day with trust. I honestly used to live by the motto “I’ll trust anyone, until they give me a reason not to”. I still live by that in most cases, but my guards are way up, so that I won’t go through unnecessary heartache and pain. I must admit that because of the pain in my past, I find it hard to freely trust as I once did, but I still stay open to everything God has in store for me. I read an article today entitled 10 Tips for a Fearless Life written by a practicing Buddhist, Susan Piver, which deeply penetrated my heart. Susan wrote: "The truth is that 99% of humanity is good. When you are vulnerable, people actually want to protect you." [This came from the third tip, “Ask for help]. From the little I know about Buddhist, they believe in trust, peace, and tranquility, and how to put positive thoughts and energy into the Universe, and you’ll receive positive things back. Some of their beliefs aren’t that different from Christian beliefs; however they’re missing the most important component, Jesus Christ.

Jesus always taught us to love and trust God, and each other. He preached peace, happiness, and having faith that could move mountains. He taught us how to focus on the important things in life, and that’s having a strong personal relationship with God. This can only be achieved by trusting in and talking to Him, as well as meditating on His word. When you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, you’ve taken the biggest and most important step of all; you trusted Jesus to be Lord of your life. Just because you did that freely, you can now live a stress free life, because God will have your back, for all of eternity. Whatever happens in life, God will be there, all you have to do is follow His lead. If you don’t know Jesus as Lord, I suggest you take the God Quiz right now. My favorite verses today are: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about the road to redemption. With everything in life there’s a beginning and an end. In most cases, like math—you’re given an equation, and there’s only one answer, but several ways to get it. God has always given us freedom to choose the way that we go in life; however, He has a will for each of us. First and foremost, He’s called us to be a part of His Kingdom, and there’s only one way to get there—redemption by the blood of Jesus. Once we’ve received redemption, we’re working towards our reunion with the Lord. We’re storing up treasures, as well as doing our part to strengthen the Kingdom of God. No matter how you look at it, as children of God, and joint heirs to His Kingdom, we’re each given a path to follow, some may vary, but they all will end up at the same place.

Let’s think of the road of life for a moment. It’s written: In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death. (Prov. 12:28) We know that when we choose Jesus, His blood cleanses us of all inequity, and we’re considered “righteous” in the eyes of God. Nonetheless, this doesn’t excuse us from the consequences of sin, because we still “reap what we sow”. The truth remains that there is no condemnation for the righteous, but we still have try our best live righteously. When we chose the path that leads us to Jesus, we’re redeemed; however, salvation is just the beginning. From that day forward we start on life’s journey, which is referred to as our “faith walk”. Jesus instructed us to: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14)

Life is challenging for every human being, it’s simply the way of the world. The flesh wants what the flesh wants, when it wants it, but through Jesus, we’re no longer a slave to it. That freedom doesn’t stop the temptations of the flesh; it just offers us the option to live above it. Remember, we must choose to live right, but as a wise man recently told me, “If it were easy everyone would be doing it”. Jesus said Himself that difficult is the way which leads to life, but He died so that we can be lead in the right direction; all we have to do is choose Him. There are no longer any road blocks or barriers between us and God, so we can talk to Him any time day or night. We can ask for anything we want or need, in Jesus’ Name, and He’ll answer. We are forgiven of our sins, as soon as we ask, because of the blood of the Lamb of God.

It’s downright foolish not to choose Jesus, and yet we still choose the flesh. When you think of how much Jesus endured for us, and all that He offers us, it just makes sense to enter in that narrow gate. However most people think that easy is better. It’s written: The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, but diligence is man’s precious possession. In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death. (Prov. 12:27-28) The only way to stay on that road of redemption is to finish what we started. We must be diligence in our faith walk; because that’s the only way we’ll be able to live the type of life that Jesus died to give us. Jesus said all who thirst He will give them living water, so they will never thirst again. He has everything that we could ever need to be good and faithful servants of the Lord; all we have to do is seek it, and we’re guaranteed to find.

Jesus also offers us everything that we could ever need to be free; we must follow the path that He’s laid out for us. The road of life is the same for everyone—we’re born, we live, and we die, and the only thing we have control over is the way we live. We’re placed here for a purpose and Jesus holds the key to that purpose. The key is dangling right in front of you, just reach out and grab it. Salvation and redemption has never been a secret; there are people who will shout the way to Christ from the rooftops if given a chance, but there are way too many who don’t take the first step on that road. Probably because it requires action on their part, but either way you look at it, we’re always held accountable for everything that we do. Jesus has already taken care of the hardest part, now it’s up to you. If you’re ready to step onto that road of redemption take a moment and pray to God, confessing your sins, asking Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, and you’re well on your way. For further information, please take the God Quiz right now! My favorite verse today is: By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)

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Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY THURSDAY!

Today’s scriptures are about the sacrifice of Christ. We’re coming closer to the Lenten season, where we celebrate the sacrifice of the one and only Lamb of God. I hope most of you saw the movie The Passion of Christ, which gives a visual of what we read in the bible, about Jesus’ crucifixion. If you don’t have the movie, I strongly recommend you get it. Every time I’ve watched it, I was left speechless, sullen, and shocked, yet grateful, humbled, thankful, and filled with the Holy Ghost, because I realized that He endured all of that for me. When God sacrificed the one and only blemish free man, who also happened to be His Son, He placed the sin of all mankind on that Cross. He had us in mind when He made that decision, and I can’t help but praise His Holy Name! Oh what a friend we have in Jesus—He gave His life for me.

Jesus laid down His life, and took it up again, so that we would never have to worry about death again. He paid a great price so that we could be free to be who we were created to be, yet still choose Him. We’re blessed to be able to go to God day or night in prayer, in the Name of Jesus. We can always be in the presence of the Lord, without the need to find a “holy” place, nor a temple or High Priest to make a sacrifice or pray for us. The Old Testament gives us an account of just how difficult it was to receive forgiveness or let alone talk to God. The book of Leviticus goes through all of the different types of sacrifice rituals, and the reasons for certain ones. After reading a portion of that book, I am more grateful to have been born in the times that I am in. I never want to think about what I would do without my Savior, Brother, King, and most importantly friend. He’s the best and truest friend we could ever have, and all He asks of us in return is to Love our Heavenly Father and to love each other. It’s written: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. (John 15:12-14 NIV)

I came across this as I was preparing to write today’s devotional: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39) Here’s another one of those verses that makes you shout Hallelujah, because we no longer have to worry about ever being separated from God again. Do you understand how major that is? Too many of us call ourselves children of God, and can’t grasp that concept. We no longer have to do what the world is doing, or love like the world loves, because we’re one with Christ Jesus. The day that we accepted Him was the day that we were redeemed, and given permanent residency in the Kingdom of God. The best part of this is that we don’t have to wait until we die to live in the Kingdom, because we’re now of the Spirit.

The one thing life in the flesh will bring us is refinement, which includes tests and trials, but nothing more than we could bear. To suffer with Christ is a privilege and an honor, because through our suffering, we know that God is making us better. We can always question Christ’s suffering, and His brutal murder, but the only answer we can come up with is that it was in the will of God, only to uplift the rest of mankind. God sacrificed one, to save billions upon trillions of others. That’s all we really need to know, and all other questions will be answered as God sees fit, most of which when we reach Heaven. If Jesus completed God’s will without complaining, and with a spirit of thanksgiving, then why can’t we? We aren’t going through anywhere near what He had to endure, and the fact is that He never deserved it, however, most of the things we suffer from, is directly from a choice that we made. I implore you to take on a heart of gratitude, and drop the constant complaining, things could always be worst.

Life is just that—life, we’re going to have our ups and downs; that’s just the way life goes. At the same time, we can choose to rejoice in everything that life brings our way, and keep our peace, or we can choose to complain every time we hit a bump in the road. I don’t know about you, but I choose to rejoice, because Jesus has already taken care of the hard stuff, everything I’m facing is light in comparison. I have to always remember that suffering with Christ is a blessing, that some will never get to experience. Let’s hope that that is not you, so if you haven’t accepted Jesus as Lord, please take a moment and take the God Quiz right now! If you need someone to pray with, never hesitate to contact me. My favorite verse today is: Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. (2 Corinthians 4:17)

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