Devotionals

John 13:31-35 TPT

The Bible is God’s Testimony of Love; the Word teaches about the God kind of love. In the Old Testament, the Lord instructs his people to love God wholeheartedly and love their neighbors as they love themselves (Lev. 19:18). In the New Testament, Jesus—God’s Son—reveals the standard of love by his actions. Now, we are to love our neighbors the way Christ loves us (John 13:34). If we are going to love this way, we must first receive God’s love. As believers, we need grace to help us extend agape—sacrificial love—to love others. We may need to sacrifice being angry, holding a grudge, bearing false witness, or even seeking revenge because we are born from above and we now love like Jesus. Without a doubt, Christ holds a high standard for love, but grace and the work of the Spirit makes it possible. Will you walk in agape, today?

John 13:31-35
34 “So I give you now a new[e] commandment: Love each other just as much as I have loved you. 35 For when you demonstrate the same love I have for you by loving one another, everyone will know that you’re my true followers.”

Prayer: Lord, you have loved me with a sacrificial love; help me to love others as you have loved me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 15 The Passion Translation (TPT)

I have always loved the song, “Lord, Prepare Me to Be A Sanctuary.” The lyrics of the song are powerful about the work of the Spirit in our lives. Here are the lyrics: “Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy tried and true. And with thanksgiving I’ll be a living sanctuary for you.” The Word of God inspires and prepares us and the Spirit empowers us to submit to the holiness of Jesus Messiah who lives within the hearts of believers—we are God’s sanctuary.

In our passage today, King David sings about the presence of God and how only the Lord can make our hearts a holy dwelling place. Notice the emphasis that is placed on the integrity of words. If we desire to abide in the shining place of God’s glory, slanderous and insulting words cannot find life with our tongues. Listening to or perpetuating gossip and rumors is not the work of the Spirit; it is not the image of Christ. Believers must wholeheartedly speak Truth in love to live in the Shining Place. Do not allow yourself to speak slanderous or insulting words about others; kindly excuse yourself from the presence of those who do. Otherwise, you will grieve the Spirit and hinder your witness of Christ who lives within you.

Psalm 15 Living in the Shining Place
A poetic song, by King David
1 
Lord, who dares to dwell with you?
Who presumes the privilege of being close to you,
living next to you in your shining place of glory? [sanctuary]
Who are those who daily dwell in the life of the Holy Spirit?
2 
They are passionate and wholehearted,
always sincere and always speaking the truth—
for their hearts are trustworthy.
3 
They refuse to slander[speak evil] or insult others;
they’ll never listen to gossip or rumors,
nor would they ever harm another with their words.
4 
They will speak out passionately against evil and evil workers
while commending the faithful ones who follow after the truth.
They make firm commitments and follow through,
even at great cost.
5 
They never crush others with exploitation or abuse
and they would never be bought with a bribe
against the innocent.
They will never be shaken; they will stand firm forever.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for putting a watch over my mouth that I would not grieve your Spirit nor wander from your shining presence. Help me to submit to your holiness that is within me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Luke 1:67-75

God has promised to bring us the strength and power we need when we call on his name for salvation. It is the work of the Word and the inspiration of the Spirit to develop us in our character; we are to grow in the likeness of our Savior. Jesus causes us to defeat our spiritual enemies—anything that rebells against God’s rule in our lives. God is always going to fulfill his Word to his people; we can completely trust in God and his love for us. He is our Hero!

In our passage today, we witness the fulfillment of the prophecy given to Zechariah regarding the Messiah. Jesus—God’s Son—came to fulfill the promise God made to set us free. Now, we must let him renew our minds and refashion how we live as his holy priesthood.

Luke 1:67-75 Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 Then Zechariah was filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit and he prophesied, saying:
68 
“Praise be to the exalted Lord God of Israel,
    for he has seen us through eyes of grace,
    and he comes as our Hero-God to set us free!
69 
He appears to us as a mighty Savior,
    a trumpet of redemption [strength and fighting power] from the house of David, his servant,
70 
Just as he promised long ago
    by the words of his holy prophets.
71 
They prophesied he would come one day and save us
    from every one of our enemies
    and from the power of those who hate us.
72 
Now he has shown us the mercy promised to our ancestors,
    for he has remembered his holy covenant.
73–75 
He has rescued us from the power of our enemies!
    This fulfills the sacred oath he made with our father Abraham.
    Now we can boldly worship [serve] God with holy lives,
    living in purity as priests [holy priesthood] in his presence every day!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for fulfilling your promise to provide a mighty Savior. You help me overcome my spiritual enemies by providing me strength and fighting power. You help me to grow in godly character, so I better reflect your image. Thank you! You are my Hero-God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Philippians 2:12-16 The Passion Translation (TPT)

As believers, we are called to live an ascended life; a life trusting in the loving care of our heavenly Father. Wisdom teaches, “A cheerful heart puts a smile on your face” (Pro 15:13). Would you describe yourself as having a cheerful heart; being a cheerful person in the care of Almighty God? A cheerful person is happy and optimistic. In fact, I will go so far as to say a cheerful person has the power to dispel gloom and worry; the cheerful are lights in a darkened world. Jesus makes a cheerful heart. In our passage today, the Apostle Paul reminds us we can remain cheerful by staying focused on Jesus.

Philippians 2:12-16 Believers Shine Like Lights in the World
12 My beloved ones, just like you’ve always listened to everything I’ve taught you in the past, I’m asking you now to keep following my instructions as though I were right there with you. Now you must continue to make this new life fully manifested as you live in the holy awe of God—which brings you trembling into his presence. 13 God will continually revitalize you, implanting within you the passion to do what pleases him.

14 Live a cheerful life, without complaining or division among yourselves. 15 For then you will be seen as innocent, [mature] faultless, and pure children of God, even though you live in the midst of a brutal and perverse culture. For you will appear among them as shining lights [enlightened ones] in the universe, 16 offering them the words of eternal life.

Prayer: Lord, I am cheerful in your care and each day I see how you love me in a perfect way. Thank you! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Ephesians 5:6-10 TPT Living in God’s Light

Darkness is biblically defined as both ignorance of God, as well as sin. Jesus wants us to be released from our ignorance and respond to Kingdom revelation; we can awaken to the Truth of God’s heart and invite Jesus to give us light for living. God is Light, so “if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of His Son Yeshua purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Not only does Jesus want us to leave sin behind in our personal lives—cease to practice sin—the Lord desires to bring us opportunities to shine the light of God’s goodness into a world that remains ignorant of his heart. That means we will be called to take a stand for righteousness…shine the Light in the darkness.

In our passage today, Paul reminds the Church—the people of God—assembled at Ephesus that responding to Christ’s love means we trust him and embrace his mission. Christ’s Kingdom mission actually becomes our mission if Christ is the Lord of our lives.

Ephesians 5:6-10
6 Don’t be fooled by those who speak their empty words and deceptive teachings telling you otherwise. This is what brings God’s anger upon the rebellious! 7 Don’t listen to them or live like them at all. 8 Once your life was full of sin’s darkness, but now you have the very light of our Lord shining through you because of your union with him. Your mission is to live as children flooded with his revelation-light! 9 And the supernatural fruits of his light[a] will be seen in you—goodness, righteousness, and truth. 10 Then you will learn to choose what is beautiful to our Lord.

Prayer: Lord, help me to respond to your light of Truth each day. Your Word teaches Truth and your Spirit brings revelation. Therefore, I can bear witness and stand in righteousness, peace, and joy—Kingdom Rule with King Jesus—through the work of the Spirit. In Jesus’ name.

Psalm 27:5-6

Jesus makes it possible for us to hide in the holiness of God. The blood of Jesus covers us and “smuggles” us into this beautiful and protected place in God’s loving care. When you face your spiritual enemies—the devil, world, sin, flesh, and even death—remember Jesus holds you in a safe and secure place in his love. Stay in this holy place with the Lord by obeying the Word of God and you will have victory over anything that comes to defeat you. Praise his holy name!

Psalm 27:5-6
In his shelter in the day of trouble, that’s where you’ll find me,
for he hides me there in his holiness.
He has smuggled me into his secret place,
where I’m kept safe and secure—
out of reach from all my enemies.
Triumphant now, I’ll bring him my offerings of praise,
singing and shouting with ecstatic joy!
Yes, listen and you can hear
the fanfare of my shouts of praise to the Lord!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for hiding me in your holiness. Continue to teach me your ways and help me to obey. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 27:1, 4 The Passion Translation (TPT)

Faith is powerful and it pleases God when we live our lives trusting in His love to care for us (Heb 11:6). We all face dark places and our faith has to rise up to stand confidently against the pressures of fear and doubt. Christ is the Light our faith needs; he alone can bring us salvation. So, we must crave his presence and invite Christ to encircle us with his glorious love and grace. Our flesh can crave all kinds of things that never bring us anything eternal. If we will open ourselves up to the love of God, we will begin to crave the glory of his presence above all things. Then, the Lord Almighty becomes our Defender; our faith becomes fearless.

Psalm 27:1, 4 Fearless Faith (A Psalm of David)
1 
The Lord is my revelation-light to guide me along the way;[b]
he’s the source of my salvation to defend me every day.
I fear no one! I’ll never turn back and run from you, Lord;
surround and protect me.

4
Here’s the one thing I crave from God,
the one thing I seek above all else:
I want the privilege of living with him every moment in his house,[his presence]
finding the sweet loveliness of his face,
filled with awe, delighting in his glory and grace.
I want to live my life so close to him
that he takes pleasure in my every prayer.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the confidence your presence brings to my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Matthew 9:14-17 (TPT)

I like to sew and make new things, but I am not a big fan of mending nor altering. Presently, there is a pair of John’s jeans sitting in my sewing room waiting to be hemmed. I’m not sure how long they will sit there. lol…

In our passage today, Jesus uses a sewing analogy to teach a lesson about a spiritual reality. He uses it to let his disciples know he did not come to patch up an old powerless religious system. He did not come to promote empty rituals. He came to offer something new and exciting that could never be contained in such manmade things; he came to offer humanity a relationship with Almighty God. This powerful reality Jesus offers must be held in new hearts; hearts reborn from above.

Matthew 9:14-17 Jesus Brings a New Reality
14 The disciples of John the Baptizer approached Jesus with this question: “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast regularly, but not your disciples?”

15 Jesus replied, “How can the sons of the bridal chamber[a] grieve when the Bridegroom is next to them? But the days of fasting will come when the Bridegroom is taken away from them. 16 And who would mend worn-out clothing with new fabric? When the new cloth shrinks it will rip, making the hole worse than before. 17 And who would pour fresh, new wine into an old wineskin? Eventually the wine will ferment and make the wineskin burst, losing everything—the wine is spilled and the wineskin ruined. Instead, new wine is always poured into a new wineskin so that both are preserved.”[b]

Prayer: Lord, thank you for making my heart new and bringing the Spirit of love and power into my life. I am blessed to be a container for this new reality. In Jesus name. Amen.

Isaiah 53:1-3 The Passion Translation (TPT)

How do you handle insults or rejection? Certainly, it can be a hard place for our emotions; a place of emotional pain. Such cruelty is rooted in human sin and many times aimed at Christ’s followers. In the Wisdom book of Proverbs, we are taught a wise person ignores insults (12:16). Do you need to get better at ignoring insults?

In our passage today, the prophet Isaiah refers to the character and work of Messiah—Jesus. He reminds us that Jesus was the most emotionally whole human being to ever live, yet he suffered insult and rejection. Jesus is acquainted with and understands emotional pain. Therefore, we can identify with Jesus. He becomes our role model for how to handle put-downs. Jesus did not absorb the insults or rejections of his neighbors (those around him). Instead, he stayed focused on who God made him to be and the purpose he came to fulfill. Pleasing the Father remained his first priority, so when he was insulted by others he was able to overcome it.
Isaiah 53: 1-3 
1
Who has truly believed our revelation?
    To whom will Yahweh reveal his mighty arm? [power]
2 
He sprouted up like a tender plant before the Lord,
    like a root in parched soil.
    He possessed no distinguishing beauty
    or outward splendor to catch our attention—
    nothing special in his appearance to make us desire him.
3 
He was despised and rejected by men,
    a man of deep sorrows
    who was no stranger to suffering and grief.
    We hid our faces from him in disgust
    and considered him a nobody, not worthy of respect.

Prayer: Lord, when I am a target of insult or rejection, help me to make a decision not to absorb those things meant for my harm. Instead, help me to keep the right priorities and overcome evil by focusing on pleasing you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 40:6 The Passion Translation (TPT)

A reason explains why we do certain things. For example, what is the reason behind why we go to church? What is our reason for tithing? Have we done something because we have heard the Spirit of God speak to our hearts? Has our action come from our desire to glorify God? Is our reason for a certain behavior based on our commitment to obey God’s Word? As believers, God is interested in the reasons behind our actions. He knows whether or not we do things for the “righteous” reasons. Because we are servants of Christ, we must do the will of God from the heart (Eph 6:6).

In our passage today, we will enjoy a psalm of David as he reminds us God is not looking for empty rituals; nor does he take delight in things that we have not taken to heart. God is interested in our motives or reasons for why we do things. Our reason for how we live must flow out of love for God and others.

Psalm 40:6 
It’s not sacrifices that really move your heart.
Burnt offerings, sin offerings—that’s not what brings you joy.
But when you open my ears and speak deeply to me,
I become your willing servant, your prisoner of love for life.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for reminding me, today, to think through the reasons for the things I choose to do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.