Devotionals

Hebrews 6:13-20 TPT

God’s Faithful Promise
13 Now when God made a promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater than himself, he swore an oath on his own integrity to keep the promise as sure as God exists! 14 So he said,
“Have no doubt, I promise to bless you over and over,
    and give you a son and multiply you without measure!”

15 So Abraham waited patiently in faith and succeeded in seeing the promise fulfilled.

I just love the passage for today. God makes a faithful promise or oath to Abraham, as well as his descendants and seals it by swearing to the reputation of his own name. God is incapable of lying or not fulfilling his Word. What he says is Truth and he places his integrity on the line for generations of people to witness until Christ returns to set up his Kingdom on earth.

I am so grateful our pledge or oath of allegiance to the flag (to the Republic it represents) still bears the phrase “under God,” so as to remind us of the integrity of God. According to our passage, if we honor God’s ways, we can experience multiplied blessings based on his oath alone. When people take an oath of office it may include “so help me God,” but many states have asked for the phrase to be removed. It is perceived as specifically “religious” and therefore culturally divisive and offensive to some. The message of such an oath “so help me God” is to communicate a greater degree of seriousness and accountability in the performance of one’s duty; taking the oath before the One with flawless integrity who will one day serve as Judge. That does not seem religious to me, but of course the name of God is involved and instead of being viewed as the essential Creator, Savior, and Guide for humanity in every area of life, God is viewed by some as religious garnish.

The states that have removed the phrase “so help me God” prefer an affirmation “I swear” or “I affirm” which is only as valuable as the level of that person’s integrity; without the work and grace of God it is sinful and self-serving at best. I am waiting patiently to see how God is going to justify (prove) his perfect integrity to a country that was formed under his authority and yet has employed government leaders, judges, representatives, and lawmakers, as well as state and civic leaders and workers that devalue God’s Word or oath and reject his righteous Ways. I pray all the time for mercy and forgiveness, because I know one day we will all give an account for our allegiance, love, and devotion to God, as well as how our “deeds” to love our neighbors have actually aligned with his will. My duty is to vote; my name and integrity is on the line before Almighty God in that moment. Please pray for our country, leaders, representatives, officials, law enforcement and first responder heroes, and for people’s hardened and unbelieving hearts to be open to the goodness of Almighty God, his ways of love, and the blessings he has given his oath to extend to those who call upon his name.

Prayer: Lord, I take a deep breath today in your love, goodness, and the hope of my salvation found in Jesus Christ. Please guide me in the duties to which you have called me. Keep me accountable as I serve you and my neighbors. I pledge my life so help me God! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hebrews 2:1-4 (TPT)
A Warning Not to Drift from Truth
1 This is why it is so crucial that we be all the more engaged and attentive to the truths that we have heard so that we do not drift off course. 2 For if the message of the law spoken and confirmed by angels [who participated in giving of the Torah] brought a just penalty to every disobedient violation; 3 then how would we expect to escape punishment if we despise the very truths that give us life? The Lord himself was the first to announce these things, and those who heard him firsthand confirmed their accuracy. 4 Then God added his witness to theirs [disciples]. He validated their ministry with signs, astonishing wonders, all kinds of powerful miracles, and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which he distributed as he desired.

The author of Hebrews set forth a series of warnings for the early church: 1) do not drift away from the truth of salvation (Heb. 2:1-4); 2) do not fail to enter the faith-rest life (Heb. 3:7-4:13); 3) do not diminish in your devotion to God throughout your earthly life (Heb. 5:11-6:12); 4) do not willfully sin after you know the truth (Heb. 10:23-39); 5) do not be surprised at God’s discipline (Heb. 12:1-17); and 6) do not close your heart against God’s voice (Heb. 12:25-29). Believers are to cling to and obey the truths found in God’s Word; otherwise, we may drift off course from the Truth of eternal life.

Prayer: Lord, to be adrift is to be neither moored or steered. I want you to be my Rock and my Captain, so I will remain attentive to the truths found in your Word. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Matthew 13:10-13 (TPT)
10 Then his disciples approached Jesus and asked, “Why do you always speak to people in these hard-to-understand parables?”

11 He explained, “You’ve been given the intimate experience of insight into the hidden truths and mysteries [revelations into the nature and ways of God] of the realm of heaven’s kingdom, but they have not. 12 For everyone who listens with an open heart will receive progressively more revelation until he has more than enough.[habitually abounds with understanding] But those who don’t listen with an open, teachable heart, even the understanding that they think they have will be taken from them, 13 That’s why I teach the people using parables, because they think they’re looking for truth, yet because their hearts are unteachable, they never discover it. Although they will listen to me, they never fully perceive the message I speak.

As believers, we have been created to engage in the realm of the Spirit; learning to be led by indwelling Truth. That means we must get beyond a purely intellectual knowledge of God by opening our hearts to understanding his holy character and the nature of his righteous ways. The Word of God gives us a foundation of understanding that is spiritually essential; we learn how our holy God has interacted with his faithful, as well as faithless human creation in the past. We learn from the life of Christ how to abide with the Father and be led by the Spirit.

The Spirit makes faith in God practical for believers; we are invited to develop the fruit of the Spirit—experiential learning of God’s nature—so we can become aware of his power and indwelling presence to guide our lives. God is holy and he releases the revelation of his holiness to us as we are open to receive glimpses of his divine character and align our actions accordingly. Therefore, the first step is a biggie; we would have to confess we don’t know it all. If we have already made up our minds about who God is and how he is displayed in the world, then we may actually miss the greatest message of Truth and revelation he has for us in the Spirit. Well-meaning people may even distort his true message by calling good evil and evil good (Is. 5:20). Be determined to keep your heart open—humble and repentant—so you can engage and in the realm of the Spirit by living in Christ’s love. You will find and enjoy the reality of our glorious King and his Kingdom there.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the work of your Spirit in my life and thank you for helping me open my heart up to the revelations of your love and grace which surround me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Ephesians 4:24-32
24 And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.
25 What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.
26-27 Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.
28 Did you use to make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can help others who can’t work.
29 Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.
30 Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.
31-32 Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

Because of the work of the Holy Spirit in believers, we have learned Christ. In other words, we do not have to guess how God feels about things, we have God’s Voice speaking to us inwardly and witnessing to his will for our lives. Our part is to listen and obey. It truly is a new way to live. Before we invited Christ to enter our lives, we did what we thought was best, made sense, or what our flesh desired to do. Now, we belong to Christ, so we live by faith and according to the Spirit’s leading. Therefore, our thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors will all be examined and sometimes challenged by the will of God. The Apostle Paul reminds us in our passage today how strongly God in us—Christ—feels about reflecting his character and integrity in the world. In the God-fashioned life, there is no room for lying, angry rage or revenge, stealing, foul or profane mouths, gossiping, spreading rumors, or unforgiveness. That really gives us a lot to consider, today, doesn’t it? May the Holy Spirit help us to be containers of his presence that actually reflect his heart and integrity.

Prayer: Lord, as your daughter, I am called to allow you and your beautiful Spirit of holiness to live out of my physical being. Help me to ponder these aspects in your Word today and grant me the grace and power to apply them according to your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 (MSG) You’re God-Taught
4 1-3 One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life.
Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity.

4-5 Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God.

6-7 Don’t run roughshod over the concerns of your brothers and sisters. Their concerns are God’s concerns, and he will take care of them. We’ve warned you about this before. God hasn’t invited us into a disorderly, unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful—as beautiful on the inside as the outside.

8 If you disregard this advice, you’re not offending your neighbors; you’re rejecting God, who is making you a gift of his Holy Spirit.

The Christian life is one of being made holy or sanctified by the Holy Spirit who works within us. In our passage today, the Apostle Paul reminds us that even our sexuality is to be under Christ’s control. As believers, our bodies are no longer our own; we belong to Christ and serve as containers of the Holy One. God requires that we invite holiness to invade every aspect of our lives. The fruit of self-control is a sign that Christ is Lord of our lives; it is developed as we choose to die to the demands of our flesh.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the work of your Holy Spirit to keep me in your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

John 12:48-50 (TPT)
48 If you reject me and refuse to follow my words, you already have a judge. The message of truth I have given you will rise up to judge you at the Day of Judgment. 49 For I’m not speaking as someone who is self-appointed, but I speak by the authority of the Father himself who sent me, and who instructed me what to say. 50 And I know that the Father’s commands result in eternal life, and that’s why I speak the very words I’ve heard him speak.”

Yesterday, we shared about how every human being will either accept or reject God’s Word. There are only two choices offered. Well, today Christ teaches it is the Word of God that will one day actually judge us. Jesus is the Word made flesh and we—as his disciples—are to made in his likeness. Think about it this way, the Word of God is eternal and he stands in perfect righteousness as God’s standard of love for every human life. For salvation, Christ died and rose again, so his Spirit can be the Word abiding within every accepting heart. The work of Christ makes us spiritually alive to the Father. We are then asked to follow Christ’s teachings. We are to remain—live life by spiritual power—in Christ and his Words or teachings are to remain in us—be revealed in our character and actions (John 15:7). So, with that in mind, how important is the Word of God to you?

Prayer: Lord, your Word is life and salvation for my soul. For this reason, I remain in your Word everyday and seek to allow the Word to remain or be lived out in me. In the power of the Word, teach me to do your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

John 12:44-47 (TPT) Jesus’ Last Public Teaching
44 Jesus shouted out passionately, “To believe in me is to also believe in God who sent me. 45 For when you look at me you are seeing the One who sent me. 46 I have come as a light to shine in this dark world so that all who trust in me will no longer wander in darkness. 47 If you hear my words and refuse to follow them, I do not judge you. For I have not come to judge you but to save you.

The Word of God will always face a measure of rejection, because Jesus taught, “God will blessed those who do not reject me” (Matt 11:16). The Word definitely divides people into two groups: those who accept and those who reject the salvation God offers. Even though Jesus teaches he did not come to earth to judge humanity, the Word of God will still be the Light of salvation for the human soul. Please don’t wander in the darkness. Come to the Light of God’s Word and let Christ save you.

Prayer: Lord, I realize salvation is offered to the whole world. Your goodness and mercy is perfect and your plan is all encompassing for those who hear the Word and do not reject it. Therefore, today I pray for every human heart to turn and accept the Light that leads to life in Christ. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 119:105 (NLT)

105
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
and a light for my path.

We do not have to look very far in order to recognize the existence of spiritual darkness in our world; sin and rebellion against God is all around us. God has an enemy and since we are committed to loving God and our neighbors we have an enemy, too. Without God’s Word we would all be struggling with the darkness that surrounds us in this fallen world. However, because of God’s great love for humanity, he told us the whole story ahead of time. In Christ, we learn how to allow the Word to Light our paths and help us navigate in the darkness; we do not have to stumble or lose our way because he is the beginning and the end. Christ has been made wisdom for us. The enemy tries to lure us toward pitfalls in our path, but if we allow the Word to guide us in wisdom our relationship will rest on righteousness and our faith will focus on the work of our first Love—Christ. The darkness is lifted by the Truth, so let Truth arise in your life by living the Word and Christ in you will be a light for others.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for telling me your testimony ahead of time; I am prepared to follow. I will allow the Word to guide me on the path of Truth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 131 (TPT) My Heart Is Meek
131
A song of the stairway, by King David
1
Lord, my heart is meek before you.
I don’t consider myself better than others.
I’m content to not pursue matters that are over my head—
such as your complex mysteries and wonders—
that I’m not yet ready to understand.
2
I am humbled and quieted in your presence.
Like a contented child who rests on its mother’s lap,
I’m your resting child and my soul is content in you.
3
O people of God, your time has come to quietly trust,
waiting upon the Lord now and forever.

The Lord has been teaching me off and on for some time about being a “resting child.” It is in a spiritual realm of rest that I can better understand God’s heart and wisdom; to receive revelation from the Spirit and to grow in meekness. I feel secure in this place with the Lord; I know God will take care of me and guide me well. He will do the same for you. Let’s not forget Jesus told his disciples the Kingdom of God belongs to those who come to him like children; otherwise, we cannot enter the Kingdom (Mark 10:13-16). So, today, think about that place of spiritual rest that belongs to the children of God; trust the Lord because he has everything under his control.

Prayer: Lord, I humble myself and come to rest in your care each day. Quiet my soul and spill your peace over me. Help me to enter deeper into the mystery of your amazing grace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Romans 1:18-25 (MSG) Ignoring God Leads to a Downward Spiral
18-23 But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

24-25 So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!

Truth is essential in our relationship with God. We cannot deceive God because he is the truth and, as believers, he looks for us to live in him—Immanuel God with us. To live any other way besides the truth would be to live a lie and it comes with horrendous consequences—finding oneself illiterate regarding life. Actually, many times it is the goodness of God that stands in-between his grace and our demands to have our own way. Jesus teaches he is the way, the truth, and the life with Father God, so we must be listening for his voice and willing to follow his guidance. Christ is our compass toward righteousness and if we want to live to worship the God who made us, we are free to do so. Conversely, if we desire to worship the god we create in our ignorance, we are free to do so. We will taste the results of our free will and choices. It really is a matter of choosing between right and wrong or truth and lies.

Prayer: Lord, I need you to provide my sense of direction each day; so, I am looking for your grace to guide me and your glory to fill me. I want your will; please be my Savior and my God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.