Tag: Devotional

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The Three-Strand Sacrifice

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened ~ Luke 11:9-10

Jesus had just finished telling “The Parable of the Persistent Friend.” In the parable, a man goes to his friend’s house at midnight and bangs on his door. When no one comes to the door, he yells, “Friend, lend me three loaves.” But the friend, probably a little annoyed at the late-night interruption of his sleep, yells back, “Go away, I’m sleeping, my children are sleeping, my family is sleeping, I’m not opening my door for you!”

But instead of taking no for an answer, he continues banging and asking, probably even begging, because he is a desperate man in need. He needs his three loaves. Jesus concludes His parable by saying that the friend of the man will not get up and open his door and give him what he needs or asks for, just because he is his friend, but because of his persistent, continuous banging on the door, and his relentless asking to borrow the three loaves. He will not leave until he gets what he came for.

Here is the thing. Far too often, we Christians miss out on a blessing or on an answered prayer because there is no answer, and we drop our heads, turn around, and walk away, leaving the answer behind.

Now, I want you to notice that the man had a friend but asked for three loaves. If it is one friend, why not one loaf? But he asks for three loaves. Why? It’s a parable about our consistency in prayer and our doggedness in asking. We are offered a three-strand cord according to Isaiah 53:5.

5            But He was pierced for our transgressions;

He was crushed for our iniquities;

                         upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with His wounds we are healed.

Here we see that because of His redemptive and atoning work, Jesus offers us Salvation, Peace of Mind, and Healing for our bodies.

This is Jesus’ three-strand sacrifice that we can have; all we have to do is ask. We don’t need to be sick and harassed in our minds. We don’t need to be condemned to eternal punishment. We have salvation, peace, and healing.

Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die for us, and then raising Him from the dead as a sign. Thank You, LORD Jesus, for being willing to suffer and die so that we might have life and life more abundantly. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.

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Don’t Create A New Religion

3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. ~ 2 Timothy 4:3-4

Jerome is often revered as an important early Church father. I used to feel that way as well, until I began to actually read what it was that he wrote. See, Jerome argued for the perpetual virginity of Mary, abstinence over marriage, shrines to the saints, as well as a few other controversial beliefs. Now, controversy isn’t really the problem. Jesus was more than controversial, and He is the founder, perfector, and forerunner of our faith. So, that’s not the issue. I think my biggest issue with Jerome is that he is known for saying, “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”

See, when we begin to push ideologies that are contrary to the Word of God, regardless of how insignificant they seem, we are sprinting down a very slippery slope. As soon as we begin to compromise with one thing, no matter how small, it will grow to larger and larger compromises.

These teachings helped define the Roman Catholic Church doctrine that has led many astray. They have separated mankind and God once again. They’ve forced all leaders in their church to remain 100% celibate and forbid them from marriage, only to have the majority fall into some form of sexual sin. They’ve not only welcomed idolatry or even condoned it, they push and force it upon anyone that would be a part of their church through the rosery (praying to Mary) as well as praying to the saints.

When we allow ourselves to make what seems like insignificant changing of Scripture, we open ourselves up to spiritual blindness that will keep us from seeing the Truth.

So, when you read your Bible, pray first. Seek the LORD and ask Him to open your eyes that He might show you His Truth and that you might see it. Do your best to read His Word unbiasedly. Allow Him to guide you and not yourself or another. Scripture will always defend and explain Scripture. Therefore, let Scripture speak and not what you want it to say. When you read and come to a conclusion, question yourself. How did I come to this conclusion? Is there anything wrong with that belief? Is there any verse that contradicts this belief?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Create A New Religion.

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Begin To Uproot It

Matthew 5:43-48,

[43]  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ [44] But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. [46] For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? [47] And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? [48] You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Hatred is a dangerous root. It blinds you from the Truth, allows you to stumble over obstacles, holds you back, and eventually, hatred consumes you. See, hatred doesn’t always come in a form we expect. Sometimes, it’s subtle. A slight annoyance whenever someone’s name is mentioned or you see them. Overly harsh towards them. Falsely accusing them and refusing to acknowledge evidence.

We, as Christians, are held to a higher standard. It’s not always easy. In fact, most of the time it’s hard. It’s an uphill battle. It’s having overcome the world while you also have to fight your flesh. See, the enemy will subtly plant seeds of hatred within you by sending you excuses that don’t sound and at all. He’ll tell you, “You don’t hate them. You just don’t like them.” “Even God hated Esau.” When we begin to make excuses and try to justify our hate, roots of anger, bitterness, rage, defensiveness, and pride begin to dig into us.

So, what are we to do? Start with the determination to change. The determination to love my brother and my enemy. To love all people. And remind oneself that we are to be Christ to the world. That we are now the light of the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Begin To Uproot It.

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Seek While You Still Can

[6]  Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon him while He is near; [7] let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. [8] For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. [9]  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ~ Isaiah 55:6-9

Many people believe the Bible is boring or a tough read, but honestly, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. See, the Bible is like an onion it has many layers and with each layer the potency of who God is becomes stronger and stronger. When it comes to God and His Word, there are layers. Each story, character, event, punishment, reward, proverb, song, saying, word in the Bible was specifically chosen by God for us in order to lead us to His salvation and reveal to us who He is.

When you begin to understand that there are more than just the basic surface level teachings and reasons for the recorded events and reasons for the recorded events and people in the Bible, that’s when you begin to understand there’s so much more to the surface level meaning you’re reading. Why? Why are there so many layers?

Because God is a God you have to seek out. You have to seek Him to find. Call on His name to hear from Him. He’s laid it all out for us but it’s on us to seek it out. This is because even though you may have a high IQ and are naturally gifted, it doesn’t mean you’ll understand the spiritual aspects of these stories. You need God’s Spirit through His Son Jesus in order to begin to understand and get to know Him.

See, our wisest things we can come up with can’t even compare with the foolishness of God. So, in order to tap into that understanding, you need God to help you and guide you into it. And because God is so far above us in wisdom and understanding we, in this finite state, will never truly understand every layer of every verse in the bible.

Now, don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying there’s no way we’ll understand the Bible. I’m saying there are several secrets and mysteries that we won’t understand or receive a revelation of, in this lifetime. But I do believe on that day when He returns and we are caught up to Him in the air and we are changed in the twinkling of an eye into the perfect incorruptible body we long for, all will be revealed.

God’s Word is layered so that we might seek Him out and for to know Him. There’s never going to be a time you know everything you need to know about God, so study His Word. Seek wisdom and understanding while you still can.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek While You Still Can.

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Work To Rest

[1] Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. [2] For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. [3] For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. [4] For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” [5] And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.” [6] Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, [7] again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” [8] For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. [9] So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, [10] for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. [11] Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. ~ Hebrews 4:1-11

The author of the book of Hebrews says that Joshua, though he led the people into the promised land, he never actually gave them their day of rest. See, when before they even fully entered the promised land they had to go to war with those in the promised land. Why? The people occupying the promised land at that time had corrupted the land. They were sacrificing their own innocent children to their demon gods. They were polluting the land with innocent blood and the LORD God said He had had enough of the senseless bloodshed. So, when Israel went into the land, they had to remove the wicked who were occupying that land and polluting it with their wickedness.

So, never did Joshua usher the people into a day of rest. They never had the pleasure of enjoying that promised day of rest, so what then? Is the promise forgotten? Is it too late? By no means. This day of rest will come for all who believe and follow Jesus the Messiah. That is what we are working to. The second coming of the Messiah when He will gather us to Himself and then at the very end of the age establish His throne on this earth and rule for 1000 years. That will be our day of rest. A time of peace when our God literally comes down to us and rules the earth from His throne.

So, how can we be sure that we will one day enjoy His promised rest? By working for Him today. We are to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. We are to build the Church by encouraging each other, helping each other grow, and winning souls for Christ. That is our work. We aren’t to keep Christ secret and tucked away in our hearts. He, the Light of Men, is to show through us every single day and lead others out of darkness and to Him.

So, this Labor Day, as you rest from your physical work on this earth, I want you to think about your spiritual work and that promised day of rest. I want you to truly think about and judge whether or not you are truly working for Christ. Are you building His Church? Are you winning souls? Are you discipling? Are you working?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Work To Rest.

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Acknowledge The LORD Your God

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. ~ Revelation 5:13-14

This is a beautiful scenery of all creation, every creature in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and in all the sea acknowledging Jesus as the LORD of Lords, and the Father as God Almighty who is glorified forever and ever. We know that there is a day coming when every tongue will be required to acknowledge that Jesus is LORD, that God is real, and He is Almighty, but the greater blessing is for us who now acknowledge this fact out of love and adoration for our God.

For now, God is being patient with His creation, waiting and beckoning, not willing that any should perish, but that we all would acknowledge the LORD our God as Savior. His Name is the only name given by which we must be saved, for it was only He, the LORD Jesus, who left the splendor of heaven to bear it to dark Calvary to suffer and die on a Roman cross.

He was dead and buried for three days and three nights, no one stood with Him during His betrayal or His suffering, but He was forsaken by all. Even in death, He was numbered with the transgressors, though He Himself had done no wrong, nor was there any deceit found in His mouth or upon His lips. Because of His steadfast obedience, He was raised to life in power and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. He is coming back in all of His glory to administer justice to all evil doers, and to hand out rewards to the righteous.

Have you acknowledged Jesus as LORD? Don’t wait for His return to be forced to acknowledge Him, but submit yourselves now to the One who can and will save you. It was His shed blood that has set us free from the power of sin and the grave and given us the privilege of inheriting eternal life.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love in sending Your only begotten Son to die so that we might live. Grant me the grace to live for You as I pursue Your kingdom and Your righteousness. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Stop Mourning Tammuz

[3] He put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. [4] And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the valley.

[14] Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. [15] Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these.” ~ Ezekiel 8:3-4, 14-15

In the Book of Ezekiel, God takes Ezekiel to show him 4 abominations the house of Israel was committing in the Temple. With each abomination God showed Ezekiel, the abomination got worse. It started with an idol in the temple, moved to elders worshipping with incense carvings on a wall of beasts and creeping things in secret, then public worship of Tammuz, and finally open worship of the sun. Now, the worship of Tammuz is very interesting to me.

See, it’s 2nd on the list of worst abominations the Israelites were committing. Tammuz was the Babylonian shepherd god of fertility and the cycle of life. He was married to Ishtar, the Queen of Heaven. Now Ishtar goes to the Underworld and is killed. When she returns, she finds her husband, Tammuz, is not mourning her death but instead enjoying life, so she calls demons to drag him away to the Underworld to take her place. Every year for 6 months he remained in the Underworld and then was allowed on earth for 6 months. During those months he was in the Underworld, the people mourned his death, including the Israelites.

It got so bad that they even named their month corresponding with our June/July after him because it was the beginning of mourning for him. Now, this worship was considered the second most wicked abomination they were committing in the time of Ezekiel. But why?

I believe it’s because they had not just welcomed another god into the temple and their nation, but because they replaced the Messiah Himself with a false one. In Judaism, they believe there will be two Messiahs: the suffering servant (Messiah ben Joseph) and the redeemer or establisher of Israel (Messiah ben David). Now, the prophecy of the suffering servant dates back to the time of Isaiah, about 100 years before the people of Israel began worshipping Tammuz.

So, they were so spiritually blinded and believing the lie that the LORD had abandoned them (Ezekiel 8:12) that they corrupted their own prophecies from God for false hope in a false shepherd who was only the sacrifice as a punishment. Imagine God tells you, “I’m going to do this for you,” and you don’t see it in your lifetime and neither did your parents or grandparents, so you start trying to fulfill it yourself with pagan gods and rituals. This isn’t just idolatry or paganism—this is replacing God and His promises with false gods.

We do the very same thing today. When God takes too long, in our own eyes, to fulfill something, we try to force it to happen. Or if God isn’t working the way we feel He should work, we introduce outside sources. Or if God doesn’t move the way we expect Him to, we add in other acts of worship of other gods and repurpose them. God has promises for us. Promises of generality for all people. More specific promises for the church as a whole. Then specific unique-to-you promises—but the catch is, if you’re not willing, He will find someone who is.

The name of the LORD is jealous. It is our strong tower, our safe haven. When we try to go outside of the name of the LORD and dip into other religions, we are no different than the women of Ezekiel’s day who were mourning as an act of worship for a pagan god that neither hears them nor cares for them.

When things don’t go as planned, who do you turn to? Is God your constant? Is He your safe haven? Is He your source of life, or do you slowly replace and mix Him with paganism that you’ve deemed not really evil, but beneficial?

I challenge you today to truly and honestly examine yourself. Bring your heart before the LORD and ask Him if there is anything within you that needs to be removed. If there’s any false gods or idols you have accumulated over the years. If there’s any pagan rituals that you didn’t realize were separating you from the LORD God. Today is the day of salvation—tomorrow is promised to no man. Don’t put off getting right with God. Take the time today to do so.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stop Mourning Tammuz.

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Leave The Past For The Future

[8] Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. [9] He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” [10] The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. [11] From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and [12] Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. ~ Genesis 10:8-12

Nimrod is often labeled or painted as an evil tyrannical dictator who forced the people of his time to build the Tower of Babel in rebellion against God. The Bible, however, gives us an entirely different man. In Genesis 11, it states that all the people came together and decided to build the Tower of Babel. Nowhere in Scripture does he say or even hint that Nimrod forced anyone to build the Tower of Babel. His one crime? The city was the beginning of his kingdom, which was never finished.

So, if it’s the beginning of his kingdom, that’s now his jurisdiction that he will be held responsible for. What I find interesting is that after their languages are confused and they disperse, Nimrod goes and builds cities in the land of Shinar and Asshur (Assyria). See, these lands are more filled with men and women who don’t speak the same language as Nimrod. God had just confused their languages and they now cannot communicate with each other.

Nimrod, however, is still used by God to be the great bridge, if you will, between the language barrier. See, Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the LORD. To be before the LORD is to be in His favor. To be His, just as Isaac was before the LORD. Now, Nimrod’s kingdom, was like a bridge across the land of Shinar and Asshur (Assyria).

See, even when the LORD punishes us, He doesn’t remain angry. He always creates a way to fix everything. See, God didn’t necessarily want us divided, but He wanted us to go throughout the earth He created for us in order to populate it and keep it. The earth was created for man and man for the earth. When we gathered in one spot attempting to break into heaven, that’s where the LORD drew the line, but He gave us a way to still communicate. We know this because Nimrod built up these important major cities of the ancient world in land that weren’t his.

Just because you mess up doesn’t mean God’s finished with you. If you have a willing heart, God will use you. We all have a past. But we all have a future as well. God knows the plans He has for you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Leave The Past For The Future.

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Prosperity And Good Success In The LORD

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:8).

God was speaking to Joshua and commanded him not to let the Book of the Law depart from his mouth. He was to speak it constantly. Today’s society says that we cannot speak the Word of God outside our homes or our churches. It is not “politically correct” to talk about Jesus or discuss His salvation in the workplace. However, God has a different opinion. He believes that we should meditate upon His Word day and night, and we are to be careful to do everything written in it.

And is it for nothing? No, God says that for then we will make our way prosperous, and we will have good success.

Do you want prosperity? Do you want good success? Seek the LORD and read and study His word, and meditate on what you’ve read and what you’ve learned. Then your way will be prosperous, and your work will be successful, and at the end of time, you will inherit eternal life.

Jesus did not come to this earth to die such a cruel death for nothing. He came so that we might have life and life more abundantly. Make no mistake, Jesus is coming back. He is coming back to get those who wait, those who believe, and those who have been redeemed by His shed blood.

Are you ready for His return? Have you been reading and meditating? Do you believe? Then Jesus is coming back for you.

Heavenly Father, please give me the desire for Your Word. Give me the zeal to keep Your commandments. Please help me in my day-to-day life so that I might not falter or fail. Thank You for all that You do for me, in Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Who Is The LORD?

1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:1–2).

The LORD had sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh to say to him, “Let My people go.” But Pharaoh asked a very pertinent question: “Who is the LORD?”

It’s a question that is still being asked today. “Who is the LORD that we should obey Him?”

Unlike other famous personalities, such as Socrates, Homer, Plato, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and others, whom we only know about because of a few manuscripts that attest to their existence, with a combined total of less than 3,000. Whereas with Jesus, we have more than 24,000 manuscripts that testify to the truth of the Gospel and proclaim Him as God.

So, who is the LORD? He is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the living God. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed many signs and wonders, miracles, and incredible acts of healing. He raised the dead, healed the sick, cleansed the leper, the blind saw, and the lame walked because of the word of His power.

He suffered and died on a Roman cross, was dead and buried for three days, but on the third day, He was raised to life again. He was seen by more than 500 eyewitnesses who were still alive at the time the Gospels were written. He ascended into heaven in a cloud, and He is coming back the same way that He was taken up.

Jesus existed before time started, and He will still exist after time is no more. Jesus is the eternal God, the creator of the heavens and the earth. Paul said that there are many gods and many lords, “yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Cor 8:6).

Jesus is coming back one day to judge the living and the dead, and those who have rejected Him will be cast into the burning Lake of Fire, whose flames are never quenched, and the torment never ends. But for those who love Him and wait for His return, there will be peace and joy unspeakable and full of glory.

There will be no more hunger or thirst or pain or fear, or need, or want, for every need will be supplied and every wish fulfilled. Jesus is coming back. So, who is the LORD? He is the great God, the Savior and judge of the whole earth.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Son Jesus Christ. Thank You that You sent Him to die for me. Thank You, LORD Jesus, that You were obedient unto death, even death on a cross, so that I might live in eternity with You. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

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