Devotionals

If there is one thing that I am very concerned about in all areas of life is the idea of safety.  I believe that safety and protection is what is currently lacking within the church.  We have seen and heard in the news about the different shootings that take place all across the country: in schools, in malls, in public areas, and even within the local churches and synagogues.  It is absolutely horrific.  People are so genuinely concerned about safety.  There are some people who are afraid to step out side of their house because they fear that they are not safe.  

While people talk about safety in the physical world, people don’t or rarely think about their spiritual safety.  A lot of times, we are in a position where we are in spiritual danger.  It is in those moments where the enemy will sneak right in and attack.  In today’s passage, the psalmist David is describing how God is our refuge during times of stress.  Here’s a truth nugget for us: God is always going to be there for us no matter what.  He will make us feel spiritually safe when we are feeling unsettled.  

Challenge

Let’s always turn to Him.  When we are feeling at our lowest, He is there to lift us up.  Always remember to turn to your refuge in Him rather than turning to other things.  

Prayer

Thank you for all that You do for us.  Continue to reveal things that need to be revealed.  Give us strength and wisdom to make it through our day.  Help us to not be spiritually blind by the things of this world.  We known that the enemy is the author of confusion and will do everything he can to keep us away from You.  Help us to be strong and to resist him.  Help us to be prepared.  No matter what takes place in our lives, thank you for loving us unconditionally.  Help us to go to You during times of chaos and confusion.  Strengthen us and help us to be stronger than what this world has to offer.  In Jesus name, amen.  

Psalm 16

“1. Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge. 2. I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.” 3. The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them! 4. Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of their gods. 5. Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. 6. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance! 7. I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. 9. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. 10. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. 11. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”

Have you noticed that people are always searching for something?  Whether they are looking for something specific like finding something in their local grocery store or looking for a new pair of shoes (even though they may have over 100 pairs of shoes) but I digress.  While people are looking for something specific, have you thought that there are individuals who are looking for someone?  People are looking for other people.  For instance, the men and women who serve in law enforcement look to bring people to justice for their crimes.  In the political arena, people are looking for each other to have meetings and different things of that nature.  In the spiritual world, people are looking for some kind of deity who can help them when they need him.  Christians are constantly looking for God and seeking after Him.  

In today’s passage, the psalmist Asaph is writing this psalm to explain how he cries out to the Lord.  How many times have we been in that same boat?  Even during our day to day life, we still have moments where we are calling out to Him.  In verse 2, he says that he was searching for the Lord when he was in deep trouble.  While he has his hands lifted up towards heaven, his soul was not comforted.  Perhaps he wasn’t comforted because he didn’t find Him instantly.  The truth of the matter is that God is always comforting His children.  Since we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20), He truly comforts His children.  Here’s another truth: God is always listening.  In verse 1, Asaph mentions that he shouts out to God hoping that He would hear him.  He is always listening to Him.  He is always there listening to us.  Because of this assurance, we can always go boldly before the throne of God (Hebrews 4:16).  

I challenge you to never doubt God.  While we may think that He is not listening, He is there.  We cannot be microwave Christians and expect to receive blessings from Him on our time.  That’s not how He operates.  Dr Tony Evans once said, “You can ask God questions but don’t question God.”  In other words, don’t question His methods.  He knows what He’s doing.  All we need to do is trust Him and place our faith in Him.  

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Thank You for always listening to us.  We know that we go through different phases and different seasons of our lives and sometimes we would begin to doubt, but help us to remove those thoughts of doubting You.  You have given us the assurance time and time again that You are always there for us.  Help that assurance resonate within us and let us come boldly before You without any hesitation or fear.  In Jesus name, amen

If there is one thing that people in today’s world like to do is to complain.  People complain about a whole lot of stuff.  Whether it is about the food that they eat, the service that they received, their favorite sports team losing the game, their political beliefs and view points are being attacked, or anything else of that nature, people just want to find a reason to complain.  Majority of the time, people complain about the big things as well as the small things.  I remember being in high school and my peers would start complaining about everything.  It was remember hearing that and thinking to myself that there’s more to life than always complaining.  The apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2:14 where it says to do all things without complaining or grumbling.  So, throughout high school and I would hear classmates complain.  I told them to look up Philippians 2:14.  When they asked me about what that verse meant, I told them to simply look it up.  Then they understood.  

How often do we complain?  Sometimes we complain about events and people.  There are occasions where we would complain about God or to God.  God can’t give us things that we cannot handle.  We need to understand that because He loves us unconditionally.  In today’s passage from Psalm 64, we see that David is writing out a prayer to God asking Him to hear his complaint (verse 1).  He is talking about how others around him were saying bitter words and attacking very fearlessly.  The enemies have been plotting and attacking with their words and different things of that nature.  He is assuring the people that God will fight back against the enemy.  Not only will He fight but the people of God will find shelter in Him (verse 10).   I want to ask this question: are you in the shelter of the Lord?  I pray that we, as the people of God, should always find shelter in His wings (Psalm 91:4).  

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for always having our best interest at heart.  Father, we know that this life is very challenging and can have different seasons.  We ask that You will help us to not complain about different things when they begin to surface.  Help us to pray to You rather than complain.  Help us to change the way we think when it comes to the different seasons we experience.  No matter what happens, continue to remind us that You have our best interest and You know what we need rather than telling You what we want.  Thank You Father for loving us unconditionally.  

In Jesus name, amen

Psalm 64

“1.  O God, listen to my complaint.  Protect my life from my enemies’ threats.  2. Hide me from the plots of this evil mob, from this gang of wrongdoers.  3. They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows.  4. They shoot from ambush at the innocent, attacking suddenly and fearlessly.  5. They encourage each other to do evil and plan how to set their traps in secret.  “Who will ever notice?” they ask.  6. As they plot their crimes, they say, “We have devised the perfect plan!”  Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning.  7. But God himself will shoot them with his arrows, suddenly striking them down.  8. Their own tongues will ruin them, and all who see them will shake their heads and scorn.  9. Then everyone will be afraid; they will proclaim the mighty acts of God and realize all the amazing things he does.  10. The godly will rejoice in the Lord and find shelter in him.  And those who do what is right will praise him.”  

If there is one thing that this world needs in this world today, it is peace.  Too often, we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the stress of what is going on in the world that we are missing out on the peace of God.  When we get stressed, our minds are focused elsewhere and we are in the state of fight vs flight.  In other words, people would either fight the situation or avoid the situation.  Let me put it in another way: in majority or all of the IKEA stores, there are shortcuts or a faster ways to see the inventory.  People would go through those shortcuts to bypass some of the busier areas of the store.  How often do we do that in life?  Do we take shortcuts?  

As mentioned earlier, we definitely need to have peace take over our lives.  In today’s passage from Ephesians 2:11-22. The apostle Paul is talking about the idea of oneness and peace of Christ.  In verses 13-14, it says “13. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus.  Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.  14. For Christ himself has brought peace to us.  He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.”  It is because of Jesus that we have the peace.  It is because of Jesus that we have been made united with Him.  One of the many things that this world today is focused on is hostility.  In other words, they want to bring division and chaos.  In verse 14, Paul says that when Jesus died on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility.  Other translations would say that Christ broke the “dividing wall” (NASB Translation).  We need to remind ourselves that Jesus is going to break the wall of labelism and grouping.  He brings people together, Jews and Gentile, regardless of what differences we may have.  We have all been made one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).  

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I thank You for all you do.  Thank You for continuing to show us Your love and grace to us.  Help us to not take shortcuts in life.  When we feel like we are in a jam or don’t know what to do, help us to fix our eyes on You.  You know what is best for us and show us what You have for us rather than following our own plans.  For we know that this battle is not ours, but Yours (2 Chronicles 20:15).  Help us and strengthen us so that not only we can make it through the day but also through our everyday lives.  

In Jesus name, Amen

Some of you may know this, but as a reminder, Psalm 119 contains 176 verses, and the chapter is divided into 22 stanzas. Each stanza is titled with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet. Today we are digging into the Truth of the fifteenth stanza which is titled with the fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Samekh, meaning to lean upon, to uphold, or to support.

In today’s passage, we can clearly see that the psalmist understands his great need for God’s support. He is so focused on lovingly obeying and honoring God by upholding His Truth (God’s Word), that he hates when individuals are divided in their loyalty between God and this world.

At first, it might seem ungodly or unloving for the psalmist to use the word “hate”, however, the psalmist is not saying that he does not love individuals who are different from him or who do not know God, he is stating that he hates those who choose to be double-minded because he loves God’s Word and understands that by choosing God, he must deny this world. The psalmist will not allow anyone to stand in the way of his devout love for God, he knows he needs the support of the indwelling Spirit of Christ (the Holy Spirit) as he endures this world and upholds his faith. The Apostle James gives us clear instructions on faithful endurance. He tells us that we need God’s wisdom, and you and I get that when we ask the Holy Spirit for divide guidance and support. “But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” (v. 6 – 8)

Friends, we cannot be double-minded, we must place our loyalty in Christ Jesus, alone! We cannot choose God and this world; it doesn’t work that way. By choosing both, we are standing against God. Dig deep into His Word, share it with others, and reject Satan.

Psalm 119:113-128 (NLT)

Samekh

113 I hate those with divided loyalties,
but I love your instructions.
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
your word is my source of hope.
115 Get out of my life, you evil-minded people,
for I intend to obey the commands of my God.
116 Lord, sustain me as you promised, that I may live!
Do not let my hope be crushed.
117 Sustain me, and I will be rescued;
then I will meditate continually on your decrees.
118 But you have rejected all who stray from your decrees.
They are only fooling themselves.
119 You skim off the wicked of the earth like scum;
no wonder I love to obey your laws!
120 I tremble in fear of you;
I stand in awe of your regulations.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for imparting Your Spirit within us. We need Your wisdom to guide us. Help us to press deeper into Your Word, every single day, to grow closer and closer to you and further and further away from this world. Forgive us when we’ve waivered, we do not want to be divided in our loyalty, we want to be firmly planted on You and our roots to grow deeper and deeper into Your Truth. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

One of the things that I try to do is that I try my best to stay healthy.  Part of the process is going to the doctors and seeing what I am doing right and what I need to improve on.  One kind of doctor that we tend to not think about is the eye doctor.  Our eyes are just as important as any other part of our body.  We go to the eye doctor to see if our eyes are healthy as well.  They will examine them and see if they are healthy or not.  They also check and see if we need a new pair of glasses or contacts.  Needless to say, it is very important to go to the eye doctor to make sure you’re healthy in your eyes.  

How does the eye doctor tie into today’s passage?  In Matthew 9:27-34, it talks about how Jesus had healed the blind.  Not only did He heal them, but He also healed a man who was possessed by a demon.  Going to the two men who were blind, they were yelling for the Son of David to have mercy on them.  Jesus asked them if they believe He can make them see.  When they assured Him that they do, He reminded them that because of their faith, it will come to pass.  Once they were healed, Jesus sternly instructed them to not to tell anyone about this.  Instead of obeying His instruction, they decided to do the exact opposite and started telling others about Jesus.  After that, there was a man who couldn’t speak because he was possessed by a demon.  He was healed and the crowds were amazed at what Jesus did.  Of course the Pharisees were greatly concerned about the fame that Jesus was getting.  

One of the things that happens to us quite often is that we would become spiritually blind.  While people think that we can see, but they are talking about their physical condition.  It is very rare for people, particularly Christians, to talk about their spiritual health.  In 2 Corinthians 13:5, the apostle Paul reminds us to examine ourselves to see if our faith is genuine.  In Matthew 9:29, Jesus mentions the idea that the two blind men will receive their sight because of their faith.  It is important that we have faith for God to open our spiritual eyes to see and to be aware of what Satan is up to.  His mission is to rob, steal, and to kill (John 10:10) and he will be stalking like a lion (1 Peter 5:8).  We need to be aware of this so that we can be prepared for those attacks (Ephesians 6:10-18).  

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for all that You do for us.  Continue to reveal things that need to be revealed.  Give us strength and wisdom to make it through our day.  Help us to not be spiritually blind by the things of this world.  We known that the enemy is the author of confusion and will do everything he can to keep us away from You.  Help us to be strong and to resist him.  Help us to be prepared.  No matter what takes place in our lives, thank you for loving us unconditionally.  In Jesus name, amen.  

Some may know and some may not know but I work at a funeral home.  While it can be an eye opening experience, but it also is a blessing because I get to help and minister to families who are going through a difficult season in their lives.  One thing that I often hear as I work a service or anything else of that nature is “Why did they have to die?”  In other words, they were asking the why behind the what.  One thing that I have learned is that death is inevitable.  We cannot escape it.  It is going to happen sooner or later or when God calls us home.  What we need to understand is that everything happens for a reason within a season (Ecclesiasties 3:1) and that we called by God according to His purpose for us (Romans 8:28).  

In today’s passage from Isaiah 57:1-13, the prophet is talking about the idea that evil leaders will be rebuked.  In the first two verses, it talks about how the godly or the good people would pass away or die before their time.  Part B of verse 1 says that God is protecting them from the evil which is to come.  How interesting is that?  In other words, God calls us home so that He will protect us from what is going to happen on earth.  It goes back to what was mentioned earlier: everything happens for a reason.  In verses 3 following to verse 13, it speaks about how idolatrous worship will be condemned.  It is interesting how the wording is laid out for us in verse 13 where Isaiah says “Let’s see if your idols can save you when you cry to them for help.  Why, a puff of wind can knock them down!  If you just breathe on them, they fall over!  But whoever trusts in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.”  What’s unfortunate is that people are turning to other things for their source of salvation.  While people turn towards those things, we need to understand that man made things last for a temporary period of time.  God’s love and salvation lasts for eternity.  According to the Bible, there are two things that will last forever: the word of God (Isaiah 40:8) and people (those who will live forever, either with God or apart from Him) (Matthew 25:46).  While things may bring fulfilling and nourishment, only the love and grave and goodness of God will last for eternity.  

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I thank You for your love.  Without Your love, I don’t know where we will be.  Help us to receive nourishment from You and fulfillment from You and You alone.  We know that the enemy is trying to rob us and steal and destroy (John 10:10), but we ask for Your help to keep us filled with Your wisdom, goodness, love, and strength.  We recognize that we are human and we do make mistakes, however, we ask that You help us to learn from our mistakes.  

In Jesus name, Amen

One of the many things that brings division amongst the people is the idea of politics.  People today are solely focused on what political affiliation others have and either agree or disagree.  Not only that, but people are believing in the person rather than looking into the word of God.  This is not how we are suppose to behave.  We are behaving like children.  Because we are behaving like children, we are not listening clearly to the voice of God and start buying into the words of the leader rather than listening to God.  In Acts 5:29, the apostle Peter says that we need to obey God rather than man.  In other words, man’s word is not the last word.  They do not have the final say.  God has the final say.  He has the final word always and forever.  

In today’s passage from Isaiah 56:9-12, it is talking about how sinful leaders will be condemned.  In other words, their hearts are not in alignment with God and they are being led astray by their own greed.  We need to understand that we, as leaders, need to be in full alignment with God so that we are in that of showing others the same love that God gave us.  Some of us are spiritually blinded by what the world is telling that we fail to see God’s word at work in our lives.  I don’t want to see anyone of God’s children get wrapped up in the propaganda of the world that we miss out on the word.  

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I pray that we will not buy into the lies of the world.  Help us to grow closer to You each and every day.  Help us to realign our thoughts and our hearts to You.  Lead us in the direction where You want us to go.  Help us to not be so blinded that we miss out on what You have for us.  In Jesus name, amen.  

When we go though life, sometimes we go through these different phases in our Christian walk.  One phase is the doubting stage.  This is the point where we would begin to doubt God when we exercise our faith.  Basically, we begin to question God and His methodology.  Dr Tony Evans once said, “There is nothing wrong with asking God questions, but don’t question God.”  Another phase that we go through is loneliness.  This is the stage where we begin thinking that we are alone in this life.  As we know, this is so not the case because we are never alone in this life.  Nevertheless, this is something that we tend to experience.  In today’s passage, the psalmist David is writing a song for the pilgrims who were ascending to Jerusalem.  In verses 1-5, it’s asking what would happen if the Lord was not by our side to begin with?  In verses 6-8, David assures us that our help comes from the Lord and no one else.  As we go through different phases and different events in our lives, we need to keep in mind that we are never alone and God has our very best interest at heart because God is Love (1 John 4:8 and 16).  There is also a worship song called “My Help Comes From The Lord” by the Christian group The Museum.  I encourage you to listen to this song as it describes how God is our true source that we need to turn to no matter what life seems to throw at us.  

Psalm 124

“1. What if the Lord had not been on our side? Let all Israel repeat: 2. What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us? 3. They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger. 4. The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us. 5. Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives. 6. Praise the Lord, who did not let their teeth tear us apart! 7. We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap. The trap is broken, and we are free! 8. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I come before You right now lifting our heart and our minds up to You.  Father, we know that we are going to face different challenges and obstacles in our lives.  No matter what we face, help us to not fall away from You.  You are our source of help.  You are the One who we should turn to during times of hardships.  Help us to turn to You when we are feeling weary or drained.  Help us to be fueled in You and help us to follow Your instructions all the days of our lives.  In Jesus Name, amen.  

In our passage today, Paul is concluding his letter to the Galatian churches, and this message remains Truth to the universal Church of believers today. In verse 11, which is the first line of “Paul’s Final Advice”, he points out that he is writing the letter himself and he does it in all capital letters. The usual practice of writing, at that time, would have been to dictate to a trained secretary who would have neatly printed the letter for public reading in the churches. By Paul writing himself and, in a caps, he is letting believers know the seriousness of this message.

Today’s eight verses summarize what Paul has been saying throughout the letter, that false teachers will try to persuade believers to submit to their flesh rather than to the Holy Spirit, and the sad part is that some of them do not even realize they are working against God’s Word and for Satan. That is why it is critical that you, me, and all believers remain in the Word of God all of the time. Paul uses the example of circumcision again to help believers understand the motives of false teacher’s hearts. The false teachers at that time would want to “look good to others” (not much has changed today, it might even be worse), but those teachers had an outward express of the Jewish system practices (the Law). Paul’s message is the exact opposite of living outwardly by our flesh nature, as he points you, me, and all believers to live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we seek to grow closer and closer in our relationship with Christ Jesus.

Friends, all that you and I do is for the glory of Jesus. Paul makes sure that we know he has no interest in this world, that all of his worldly interests have been crucified and died. That he has been transformed into a new creation because of Jesus. You and I have been transformed into a new creation because of our choice to lay down our earthly lives and to pick up our cross and follow Jesus.

Galatians 6:11-18 NLT

Paul’s Final Advice

11 NOTICE WHAT LARGE LETTERS I USE AS I WRITE THESE CLOSING WORDS IN MY OWN HANDWRITING.

12 Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.

14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. 15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.

17 From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.

18 Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for being our example. You laid down Your life for each one of us. Holy Spirit, help us to disconnect from our worldly desires, and to grow deeper in our relationship with You. Impart Your wisdom and discernment to our spirit to know when we encounter false teachers and those who seek to spread false doctrine. Thank You for Pastor Mary, who seeks to spread Your Truth, Your Word, and share Your message of eternal love. Cover her with Your protection and protect our spiritual Family so that we can continue to build Your Kingdom. In Your Name, Jesus. Amen.