Devotionals

July 9, 2018

2 Corinthians 12:2-10 New Living Translation (NLT)

The Apostle Paul consistently instructs the Corinthian church about staying focused on the path of God; to follow Jesus in spite of the hard places and difficult people. In our passage, today, Paul shares about having a very mysterious encounter with God.  It is off the charts amazing, but even with that mountain top experience he continues to face other human challenges.  When we experience difficult times and people, God is still ready to reveal wonderful mysteries about his love and plans for us.  

Paul calls his difficulty a thorn in the flesh.  Many theologians believe that thorn had something to do with getting along with difficult people. Yet, God used the challenge to keep Paul humble and reliant on grace.  Give God your challenges and ask him for an abundance of grace; it’s more than enough to cover every weakness.  

Read more

July 6, 2018

2 Corinthians 10:7-11 Good News Translation (GNT)

Because we are human, we tend to look at this world first through human eyes, but what would happen if we spiritually saw beyond this temporal world to understand the deeper realities of the growing Kingdom in our midst?  As you walk through each day, please focus on the beauty and positive things around you rather than the negative things that try to possess you.  Scripture teaches God is providing good things every moment.  It may look one way with the natural eye, but is really quite different as we look beyond it to the spiritual realm.   We should not deny the presence of evil nor the difficult places we may find ourselves, but in the midst of those things lies a Kingdom and a God seed of grace that is waiting for the Spirit to multiply by our praise and by our actions.  We say we believe these things with our witness, but we must put action to that which we say or it is meaningless to the advancement of the Kingdom and void of the Spirit’s power.

The Apostle Paul continues to write to the church in Corinth; to give them instruction as to what it takes to belong to Christ and the authority that can be accessed from that spiritual connection.  He explains it clearly to those who profess Christ.  He essentially tells the Corinthians and us to put gospel action to our words and we will access the power to manifest the Kingdom.  God gives His children authority when we have chosen to live, move, and have our being each moment in Christ.  That means there is no hypocrisy between what we say we believe (Christ the Living Word) and how we live each day. This is instruction and truth that can easily offend those who want to profess Christ but live according to the world’s standard.  Have a blessed weekend…

Read more

July 5, 2018

1 Corinthians 4:8-13 The Message (MSG)

If you know Jesus, you have direct access to Almighty God.  You don’t need anyone else to be a go-between.  You have more access to God than you realize; more power at your disposal than you could ever imagine. What are you doing with that access?  That power?

The Apostle Paul tells us we have become Messiah’s misfits; we just live differently than most people because we are driven by the powerful love of Messiah.  Paul and his fellow Christians worked endlessly to bring the gospel of Messiah to the attention of others.   Last night we celebrated our independence as a country.  But, each day we should celebrate our independence as people who have chosen to live for Messiah and work to share divine love with others.  Loving this way is counter cultural.  You will be perceived as culturally odd. But, God will smile!

Read more

June 27, 2018

Psalm 30  The Message

Who gets the credit for your life?  You?  Somebody else?  David knew who should get the credit for the good things in his life and who should get the credit for the mess.  When things are going great, please give God praise; ascribe to him the credit.  When things are not going well, draw close to God and call on Him for help.  He has promised to dry our tears and return the joy of our salvation; to turn our grief into “whirling dance!”  Praise God, today!

Read more

June 27, 2018

Mark 6:45-52 Living Bible (TLB)

Jesus is constantly directing us to trust His Word imparted to our hearts; He is Truth and he cannot lie.  If Jesus (Living Word) imparts it, He will make sure that Word is accomplished in our lives.   In birthing terms, we become spiritually pregnant with the Word and we will deliver or manifest the Word in the appointed time.  It’s a promise.  With that in mind, we must remember, in the midst of the promise, Satan comes to catch us off guard and get us to be filled with fear or doubt and halt the Word.  We must “want” to believe and press on in faith.  May the Word today minister to your heart and make you spiritually stronger.

Read more

June 26, 2018

Acts 27:39-44 Living Bible (TLB)

Today, we continue our reading from yesterday with the Apostle Paul, a raging storm,  and the plight of the ship transporting him and other prisoners to Rome.  Even though Paul told the pilot and crew the ship would go down, they still did not believe.  They lowered the rudders like one digging in his or her heels.  We are a stubborn creation and we are sure we can save ourselves.  They thought they saw a clear way—between the rocks—of escaping the shipwreck prophesied, but they never counted on the sandbar which they could not see.

God has perfect vision and we need to trust him.  Life will carry us into unfamiliar places; things we have never before faced.   We must be comforted that God knows exactly where we are and how to bring salvation.  We need to fall on our knees and ask for God’s help when we are facing the storms of life.   He will bring us into a safe place.  

Read more

June 25, 2018

Acts 27:13-38 Living Bible (TLB)

What begins as a perfect day, does not always end as a perfect day.  In our lesson from the Book of Acts, the Apostle Paul is a prisoner; falsely accused.  As a Roman citizen, he uses his right to appeal to Caesar.  His appeal is granted and plans are made to have him transported to Rome by way of a sailing vessel. Paul encourages the pilot and crew to abort their plans of sailing.  But the ship’s owner does not want to stay in this location for the winter. They set sail anyway.

At first the wind seems favorable for sailing, but in a very sort time a deadly storm arrises. Paul begins to pray for wisdom and guidance.   Satan does not want Paul to reach his destination so he sends a storm; Paul will speak truth to too many influential people if he is able to reach Rome. But Paul is led by the Spirit of God and the Spirit tells Paul he is going to reach Rome and stand before Caesar; he is not to allow fear to overtake him.  God is in charge of this journey; this is the Lord’s battle.  Enough said; Paul believes the word of the Lord.

If you are facing difficulties because you are serving the purposes of Christ, stay strong in the Lord.  Live for Christ and hold fast to His Word.  This spiritual battle you are encountering belongs to the Lord.  He will fulfill his Word to your heart.

Read more

June 22, 2018

Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32

Today is a Fantastic Friday; we are loved and valued by a liberating God so we should rejoice!  

Throughout Scripture, God is the Deliverer of His people; he liberates and saves us from our spiritual enemies: The world, our human flesh, and Satan.  The human exalting world has not willingly placed itself under God’s authority, so it will reject the Word and we will feel the spiritual battle outwardly if we choose to pursue life in Christ.  Our spirits have been redeemed in Christ, but our flesh (which prefers sin) must learn how to live under God’s authority; we will feel the spiritual battle on the inside as the Spirit calls us to surrender to God’s holy will for our lives.  Lastly, Satan and his demons are on a mission to defeat those who have accepted God’s salvation in Christ; his purpose is to hinder the growth of our faith by causing us to quit and give up our quest for the truth; we will feel the spiritual battle waged against our minds.

The world, our flesh, and Satan all desire for us to live as if this life is all that matters.  But God has delivered us from the power of all of these things, so we may live for his eternal purpose.  You are more than a conqueror in Christ; stay the course and hold onto your joy!

Read more

June 21, 2018

Job 29:1-6

In our Wednesday LIFE Lessons study, we have been reading the Book of Job.  Job lived a very abundant life before Satan secretly began robbing him of the things he valued.  God was still watching over Job, but with Satan actively attacking him it no longer felt the same.  Have you ever looked back at life and said, “I miss the old days?” Job did.

What can we learn from this short passage of Job’s recollection?  It is very important to never lose track of the many blessings God brings into our lives. But let’s not confuse blessing with an easy road or path in life.   Blessings can come through laughter, success, failure, and even tears if it bring us closer to God.  The goal of the Christian life is to live and remain in the wisdom of God.  Wisdom comes when we apply God’s Word to our lives; wisdom is applied Truth.  Whatever teaches us wisdom is a blessing.

Read more

June 20, 2018
Luke 6:43-45 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

The Bible serves to teach us and the Spirit makes divine connections for us regarding the spiritual life. We know in this world we can find the presence of both good and evil. People are free to choose to share words and deeds of goodness or words and deeds of evil acts. 

In our passage today, we notice the heart and the mouth are connected to spiritual production: it’s called fruit bearing. What comes out of our mouths is connected to what we have stored in our hearts. That is why it is so important to forgive and extend mercy to others, because if we hold onto unforgiveness and judgment in our hearts, it is just a matter of time before our mouths are going to speak evil and our hands reach to manifest it. Choose to be a tree of righteousness; allow righteousness to fill your heart and your mouth will speak the heart of God.

Read more