Tag: Devotional

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Act To Set

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. ~ James 2:14-17

I was recently rewatching one of my favorite childhood shows, and one of the episodes reminded me a lot of the Church. There was a certain town that followed an older woman who would tell them their future. Because she told them the town wouldn’t be destroyed by the volcano, they ignored the outsiders who told them that the volcano was going to erupt, and if they did nothing, the town would be destroyed. The outsiders had to go to great lengths to get the fortune teller to change her prediction in order to get the townspeople to react and prepare for the volcano to erupt. When the town was saved, they said, “Well, her prediction came true. The town wasn’t destroyed.” They completely ignored the fact that they had to do something in order for that prediction to come to pass. The Church today is much like that town and its people.

God has given us promises. Many promises. Victory over the enemy. Answered prayers. Healing of all sickness and disease. Prosperity. Blessings. Redemption. But more times than not, we don’t want to do our part. We don’t want to fight the battle, run the race, or climb the mountain. We just expect these promises to come to pass without any work on our part. But that isn’t how God works. We have to put in the time and effort. We have to run the race set before us with endurance. It’s not enough to just claim promises. We have to set them into motion by our actions.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Act To Set.

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Seek To Find Truth

Hebrews 13:8-9a

[8] Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. [9] Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings …

I read a comment on a video where someone said that their Christian pastor explained one Sunday that everyone’s trying to reach God, but we all have different ways of getting to Him. I always think it’s weird when someone says their “Christian pastor said x, y, and z” as an excuse for something. Though pastors are necessary for the building of the Church, they are not the final say for God’s Word. God’s Word is the final say for God’s Word.

Jesus said:

[6] Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

He also said:

[1]  Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. (John 10:1)

Jesus didn’t say, “there are many ways.” No, He said He is the only way. He didn’t say “some come through me.” He said, there is no other way to God the Father than through me. We cannot override Christ, no matter our opinion or position. And those who don’t follow this teaching of Jesus, but teach a different Gospel, is a thief and a robber. They aren’t Christian pastors, but liars who rob and thieve.

We can try to twist Scripture, take it out of context, and manipulate it to what we want it to be, but at the end of the day, we cannot change it. The Truth will remain the same. And those who desire Truth, will seek it and find it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek To Find Truth.

 

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Be An Alien

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” ~ Revelation 21:1-4

I was listening to a song the other day that said, “Maybe I’m an alien, Earth is hard.” I’ve just been thinking about that lyric since. We aren’t of this world; we’ve now been called out of this world and set apart. This life isn’t easy. It’s hard and difficult. It has ups and downs. Obstacles and victories. Hills and Valleys. You have to work for everything. This earth is not our home. One day, we will live with Christ on a new and better earth where there will be no more pain, tears, suffering, fear, etc., where all things will be made new.

So, don’t grow attached to this earth, it won’t last forever. Neither grow weary, so that you might last forever on the new earth with your Creator and God. He has good things in store for you that we could never even imagine or dream of.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be An Alien.

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Learn Self-Love

Matthew 22:36-40

[36] “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” [37] And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. [38] This is the great and first commandment. [39] And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [40] On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

We recently got a comment on a Sunday Morning Message from about three years ago, which usually never happens, so I go to read the comment and it’s just another person spewing hatred among the races. These kind of comments usually don’t find their way to the Sunday Morning Messages, usually they’re all on our Bible Studies, pertaining to certain videos. This one, however, found its way to a Message sharing the importance, necessity, and call by the LORD Jesus Himself to evangelize. To go into the world and share the good news that LORD Jesus has come, died, and rose again on the third day to save the entire world.

The comment pushed the narrative that the white race are going into the fields in eternity to be the slaves of black people. Imagine typing out two random verses, take both out of context in order to condemn an entire, race to damnation because of hatred. To me, this kind of hatred is one of the most impossible to correct because of how deep the hatred goes. It consumes every ounce of your being so that everything about you has been corrupted. Your eyes, ears, mouth, hands, and feet all no longer strive for Truth, but instead strive to validate your own hatred. Your own wicked desires.

I personally know people who believe this way. One thing I’ve noticed is that the hatred of the other race comes from a hatred of themselves. They hate themselves, their ashamed of their past, and they don’t understand the love or grace of God. See, they have to make those whom they want to blame for their own poor decisions unredeemable and hated by God, so that they can Justify their own hatred. Then they have to make themselves the only ones redeemable by God because of bloodline and because of humbling yourself before Him. It becomes a no choice, no free will type of scenario so that they can feel some kind of superiority over others as they hope to quiet the conviction they feel about their past mistakes.

When we allow self-hatred to consume us, that’s when we allow the enemy to completely control us. We need to learn to forgive ourselves and love ourselves, so we can love others. And that we can learn to be Christlike to the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Learn Self-Love.

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Be Their Safe Space

8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. ~ 1 Timothy 5:8

One of my favorite childhood cartoons was “Code Name: Kids Next Door.” Throughout the show, a group of kids who are a part of a greater operation battle adult tyranny. The villains were all teenagers or adults who tried to harm children in one way or another. The Boss who kept parents at longer hours so they couldn’t go home to their kids. The scary cat lady down the street, whose cats are vicious like her. The grandma who tries to make you eat gross food like liver, mystery meat, etc. The spanking vampire, who spanks all naughty Children who break the rules. But the scariest villain of all was Father. I never really thought much of it as a kid, just that he was scary, but the other day, while watching the movie, it made sense.

Father was the scariest villain, not because all dads in the show are evil; in fact, all the dads in the show are loving and caring for their children. I believe Father was the scariest villain because if your Own father is against you, you truly have no safe place. It’s one thing to be afraid of Strangers, it’s another thing to be afraid of your own father, or for him to be against you. See, the Boss had children, and even he was a good dad to them, but Father was another story.

As a kid, it doesn’t matter who’s against you. It only matters if your parents are for you. If you’re scared, it’s Dad you go to to protect you, to defend you, to keep you safe. If your Dad is against you, then you no longer have a safe place.

Fathers, you have an obligation to your children to be their safe place. A place they can go to when they’re scared, nervous, or unsure. So many people struggle with the love of God because of their relationship with their fathers. You are a representation of our relationship with God, so don’t take your role lightly.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Their Safe Space.

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Don’t Be A Fool

14 But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? ~ Romans 10:14NLT

There’s a Sumerian Proverb that says:

He who knows but does not speak, is a fool.

The vast majority of Christians keep their faith to themselves. They don’t share it with others. They don’t want to offend anyone with their beliefs, so they keep it quiet. They keep it tucked away in themselves. And if another Christian says, no I have to share my faith. I have to witness to others. I have to spread the Gospel. I have to warn them of what happens in eternity without Christ, they are upset at that Christian. They are angry and annoyed that they would dare share the Word of God with an unbeliever. They do this completely ignoring that that is what we are called to do.

Paul asks a simple question to the Church in Rome. How will they know unless someone tells them? Knowledge and understanding doesn’t come just by opening our eyes. We have to be taught. We have to be guided. Discipled. Trained up in the faith. We have to be told. Yet, Christians will keep their faith to themselves. They’ll keep their faith quiet. They’ll keep it subdued, refusing to let others see or hear about it because they don’t want to offend anyone or make anyone uncomfortable.

To me, this is a prime example of one of two things:

Either they don’t fully believe that Jesus is the only way to an eternity with Him or they don’t love their neighbor enough to care about their eternal soul.

We are called to love others. To love our neighbor as ourselves. Not a single one of us would send ourselves to Hell. Would remove our choice of hearing the Gospel so we could receive salvation and escape the wrath of God, yet we have no problem doing that to others while acting as if we are so much better than those who do.

Jesus warns against keeping anything He has given to you to yourself in The Parable of The Talents. The one who buried his talent and kept it secret, and refused to grow it, multiply it, etc., his talent was taken away from him and he was thrown into Hell with the unbelievers. Our faith is to be the salt of the earth and light of the world. You can’t do either of those things by keeping it to yourself.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Be A Fool.

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Keep Standing

Revelation 3:15-16 NKJV

[15] I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. [16] So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

I watched a video the other day of men who had been standing for over a decade straight. They refused to sit down. One man’s feet had gone black and were swollen large. Others would come and clean them for him and put ointment and treatment on them. The reason for refusing to sit? The believed they will see their god Shiva, and that is their hearts’ desire.

They’re willing to give up everything, including their very limbs for the sake of possibly seeing their god. Our God dwells in us, gave up His life for us, yet we won’t even sacrifice a little “me time” to meet with Him. He doesn’t even demand such extremes to see Him; all we have to do is call on His name and He will come to us.

As Christians, we’re lazy. We refuse to do what we need to do in order to see our God. The Living God. The Almighty God. The God of all gods. He doesn’t even ask that much of us. Spend time with Him. Read and study His Word. Pray and worship. Come together in fellowship with other believers. Give up this world. There’s people who refuse to sit. Refuse to put their arm down. Refuse to eat in hopes of seeing their god. They truly believe. They are true seekers. True believers. They are filled with passion. Why?

Because they don’t have the same grace we do. And we, as Christians, take advantage of it. We use it up and act as if it’s our get out of jail free card. As if we have no standard to measure up to. We act like the Nicolatians who sinned all the more because of grace. This is not the way. We have to become passionate for God, lest we fall deeper into lukewarmness and be spewed out of His mouth.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Keep Standing.

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What Are You Obsessed With?

20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. ~ Galatians 2:20NKJV

Paul was completely obsessed with the things of God. His every purpose, his every move, his every decision was based on…: “What would Jesus have me do?” We have to understand that obsession shapes our thoughts, dreams, hopes, and vision. Obsession consumes us in every way; in fact, it’s what gives life to our ambitions in life! They are what define us.

What are you obsessed with? What drives you? If Scripture puts you to sleep every time you read it, you’re not obsessed. If Church bores you, you’re not obsessed. What we are obsessed with will tell us our spiritual temperature. It’ll let us know whether we are hot, cold, or lukewarm. Christ was obsessed with us. It’s what kept Him on the cross when He could have gotten off. When He could have saved Himself. When He could have called twelve legions of angels to His rescue. Christ was obsessed with His creation. What are you obsessed with?

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Risk For Faith

Hebrews 11:31 NKJV

31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

I always find it interesting that Rahab’s one action of faith got her a seat in the Hall of Faith in the book of Hebrews. It wasn’t really even an act of faith in God, per se, but in the people of God. Faith that they would keep their word and leave her family and house alone. Not only did she make it into the Hall of faith, but she became an ancestor of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. God Himself came through her line. She trusted the spies, and they gave her refuge.

Hebrews tells us that we should show hospitality to strangers because in doing so some have hosted angels. Rahab didn’t know hosting those men would not only save her life, but her soul as well. She risked it all and the LORD honored her. What have we missed out on from the lack of hospitality? From the lack of faith? Rahab risked it all because she believed they would spare her life and the lives of her family members.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Risk For Faith.

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Pray For An Uproot

Proverbs 14:6 NKJV

6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, But knowledge is easy to him who understands.

Solomon describes a scoffer as the name of someone who is arrogant, haughty and who acts with arrogant pride (Proverbs 21:24). The dictionary describes scoffer as someone who jeers or mocks or treats something with contempt or calls out in derision. In other words, someone who thinks they are wise in their own eyes and mocks whatever disagrees with them. They can’t be corrected or shown Truth because they hate Truth. They hate anything that doesn’t agree with them.

This is why those who mock and jeer the Bible, read it and do not understand it. They take verse after verse out of context and never come to the understanding of Scripture. Why? Because they hate Truth because they are arrogant and prideful thinking they know better than God. So, they refuse to believe. They cherry pick in order to prove their point ignoring all of the evidence.

Pride is the root of a scoffer’s scoffing. It is pride that has built up a stronghold in their hearts. Pride is a difficult root to uproot. But thanks be to God, there is hope. There is how because of Jesus. So, when you come across a scoffer, don’t argue, debate, correct. Instead, remember their name and face, so that when you pray, you can pray for them. Only prayer can change the heart of a scoffer and only Christ can uproot that stronghold.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray For An Uproot.

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