Devotionals

October 12, 2018

Hebrews 4:1-11 New Living Translation

Just as the Israelites turned back from their Promised Land due to fear and spent 40 more years in the wilderness, we as Christians can turn away from the promised rest we have been offered in Christ.  Rest is about trust; trusting Christ, surrendered to his authority, and then doing what he says.  We live in the Sabbath rest of Christ when we believe and trust the Lord to finish the work he has begun in us.  The Life Application Bible has this to say about spiritual rest, “To enter his rest, you must believe that God has this relationship in mind for you; you must stop trying to create it; you must trust in Christ for it; and you must decide/determine to obey him.”  We cannot have control and rest at the same time.  So, surrendered to the work of the Master, because he created you and knows where you are to go.

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October 11, 2018

Hebrews 3:7-14 New Living Translation (NLT)

I continue to pray for my sisters and brothers in the panhandle of Florida and the southern states that are suffering from the arrival of Hurricane Michael. May God use even this storm to bring attention to the condition of people’s hearts and may the Spirit help them turn to receive the love and provision of God.

The writer of Hebrews seeks to gain the attention of all believers in Christ and exhort them in their faith. The letter (which reads more like a sermon) encourages believers to press on to follow Christ into a place of rest (peace with God and their inheritance in Christ).  No matter what we are going through, we must not harden our hearts and set ourselves against God, because that hardness leads to separation from the One who can save us.  Faith is what enables Christians to face trials; it is our confident trust in God’s love for us.  Genuine faith includes the commitment to stay true to God when we are under pressure.  Our commitment causes our character to grow, as well as our faith to mature in endurance.  Whatever you are facing, today, reach for God and enter his rest.

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October 10, 2018

Psalm 90:12-17 New Living Translation (NLT)

For many years, I enjoyed listening to Billy Graham share the Word of God.  He always seemed to bring forth such wisdom.  I ran across this quote from Billy Graham and I felt it was worth sharing as it connects with our Scripture for the day.  

“There comes a moment when we all must realize that life is short, and in the end the only thing that really counts is not how others see us, but how God sees us.”  Billy Graham

May God truly help us grow in wisdom and realize our great need for him, because only God’s love can renew and satisfy a life.  Blessings!

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October 9, 2018

Matthew 15:1-9 New Living Translation (NLT)

Centuries after the Israelites were released from Babylonian captivity, they were still teaching and practicing religious rituals that had been added to God’s law during their captivity.  The laws God handed down to his people were about fostering a loving relationship with Him and with everyone else; a picture of a worshiper.  God’s fifth commandment is: “honor father and mother so your days may be long…,” yet the traditions of man, in our reading, had strangely become equal with the commands of God.  

Every day we must invite God to cleanse us from incorrect thinking and impure motives; to lay our lives down as living sacrifices holy and acceptable to God.  Our worship of him depends on the Truth we are willing to believe and live.  Worship is agreement and oneness with God.  Worship is an internal individual action based on the authority of Christ we are willing to yield to with our daily lives.  Clearly, we are either in agreement with God’s Word as worshipers or our worship can sadly become a farce.

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October 8, 2018

Psalm 112 New Living Translation (NLT)

The fear or reverence of the Lord leads people toward wisdom in honoring God which brings about blessing for the family and compassionate outreach to the community.  Wisdom causes us to imitate our loving Heavenly Father in every area of our lives; that wisdom guides us toward righteous acts of generosity and compassion.  Our honest dependence upon God keeps us strong and unshakable, because God watches over our minds and action when our hearts are truly fixed on keeping his commands.  The strongest place you and I can ever find ourselves is to prayerfully and reverentially abide in the presence of the Lord.  Pray and ask God to fill your heart with Himself.  Spiritually cling to Him and praise Him for being your Rock, today!

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October 5, 2018

Romans 8:1-8 New Living Translation (NLT)

In our flesh, we tend to compare ourselves to others. These comparisons can be physical, emotional, or spiritual.  But you know comparing ourselves to one another is really sinful.  It’s like saying one person is of greater value than another.  God never compares us to one another.  Never.  You see without being covered by the blood of Jesus, our sin causes us hostility with God; which demands the death penalty.  We are all guilty of sin.  The only person who would never deserve death is the one who actually gave his sinless life for us; Jesus.  When God looks at believers, he sees the blood of Jesus and blesses us for Christ’s sake.  Grace is such an extravagant and sacrificial gift!

Jesus wanted us to be able to enjoy life in the Spirit, as well as enjoy the Father.  So, he freed us from sin and death and gave us a new beginning. Be joyful for who you are because God celebrates you as his child.  Make your focus each day to please the Spirit. Value the gift of grace above anything this world has to offer.  Set your mind on things above; the things that lead to real life.

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October 4, 2018

Galatians 3:23-29 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

The Law of Moses was given to serve God’s people as a guard; but it was not a path to salvation.  It was a way to protect and prepare God’s people for salvation through faith in Christ.  The Law was given to keep people from straying into dangerous areas outside the will of God.   Now, faith in Christ leads to salvation.  Faith in his love. Faith in his sacrifice for our sin. Faith in his way of being born again.  Faith in his instructions to our hearts.  Faith to know if Jesus—the Word of God—calls for a change, it is necessary in order to live right before God.  Faith to know we will be given power to accomplish what Christ asks us to do. Faith in God’s promise of blessing and eternal life.  As children of faith, we do not live according to our own desires; rather, we live to please Christ because he is the good Shepherd guiding our new lives.

In our passage today, the early Christians in Galatia had trouble deciding how far the Law was to go now that Messiah had come.  Paul reminded them Jesus paid the price for sin and now everyone was invited on the same journey of faith to follow the same Shepherd.  No one was better than another; all were One by faith.  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

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October 2, 2018

1 John 2:18-25 New Living Translation (NLT)

Believing in the work of Christ is essential for genuine fellowship and life with God.  We cannot know Father God without knowing his Son, Jesus Christ the Anointed One. God is three persons in One: Creator Father, Savior Son, and Holy Spirit.  Because Christ is the only way to know the Father and the Spirit, Satan uses deceiving spirits (the spirit of antichrist) to influence people in order to minimize the essential need for Christ, his work of salvation, the need to connect to him for forgiveness, and the impartation of the Spirit of truth and righteousness. In other words, Satan knows if we connect to Christ we will have the privilege of standing in his authority, appropriating the resources of heaven, and using the power of his name with the purpose of bringing people to our life-changing God.  Satan is afraid of genuine believers; we know the value of allowing God to transform our thinking, bring us wisdom, so we can overcome evil with good.  Any religious group who denies Jesus is the Christ is going no further spiritually than religious expression; which is zero threat to the work of evil.

The Apostle John teaches us this morning about a separation in the early church that happened due to the spirit of antichrist. Satan’s goal is to deprive the Church of power.   As well, John reminds us that one day the Antichrist—the embodiment of evil and opposition to the triune God—will try to come to deceive the very elect—community of faith.  We need to guard our hearts—the temple of God—and stay fixed on God’s living Word—Jesus Christ.

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October 1, 2018

1 Peter 1:3-9 New Living Translation (NLT)

As I have been reading the Word of God today, I have been pondering the word genuine.  I think about the word genuine and the word real comes to mind.   I prefer genuine solid wood furniture, genuine friendships, and genuine food without all kinds of preservatives and artificial ingredients.  I want a genuine relationship with God and a genuine relationship with all of his creation.  As I love the Lord my God with my whole being, I want to receive all God has for me knowing he is a rewarder for those who genuinely seek him.   The Apostle Paul teaches that genuine Christians receive the gospel, they trust in him alone by laying down every idol, and serve God while waiting for Christ’s return.

The Apostle Peter tells us something similar in our passage today.  If we want a genuine faith, then we will be tested by fire.  The fire of God longs to burn up whatever is hazardous to our spirits; idols and lies that hold us back from being spiritually genuine.  We must be willing to give over to God those things which have the potential to hinder our faith and ultimate salvation in the genuine love of God.   

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