Devotional Archives

July 24, 2020July 20, 2020

Be Humble

“⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, ⁷casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” ~ 1 Peter 5:6-7

This is why we don’t see what we think we deserve at a certain time. We think we deserve it now, we even try to make it for ourselves and wonder why it hasn’t happened yet. We as Christians, who want to move on and go to the next step the next level must first humble ourselves. If we can’t be humble with the minor things how will we be able to be humble with the major things? We wonder why it takes so long to get to a certain point, sometimes it’s because we are not ready.

When a door is closed, we don’t need to become angry or discouraged or take it into our own hands. We don’t need to try to kick it down or pick the lock ourselves, instead, we need to take a look in the mirror and see why we’re still stuck in this hallway. It’s almost like you are walking through a hallway and every time you get to an open door, to exit the hallway, the door closes. It’s like those Cheez-It commercials you can’t go on until you have matured enough to pass the test before you. Sometimes that takes years, sometimes it takes months, but it will never be rushed. Perfection cannot be rushed, it is a tedious and sometimes slow process. Abraham had to wait 14 years before he got his promised son, Isaac. Could it be that God wanted to get Abraham to a place where he would hold nothing back from God because he trusted and loved God so much?

Sometimes we have to wait because our hearts aren’t in the right place. Sometimes God keeps us in the hallway so that He can fix us because where He’s taking us will be difficult or impossible to overcome in our current condition. Don’t be discouraged by the closed door, in due time it will be opened for you. In due time that prayer will be answered. In due time that God-given dream will be handed to you, but your heart has to be in the right place. You have to be humble, meaning that your desires are to build the Kingdom, not yourself.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Humble.

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Take Your Promised Land

“¹Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. ²And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! ³Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?’ ⁴And they said to one another, ‘Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.’

⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. ⁶And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes ⁷and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, ‘The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. ⁸If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. ⁹Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.’ ¹⁰Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.” ~ Numbers 14:1-10

We look at the people of Israel and say, “How could they grumble against God? How could they be so hateful towards Him? How could they do all of those things? Serves them right that they didn’t get to enter the Promised Land.” But what we don’t realize is that that’s exactly what we are doing today.

We allow fear to turn us against God. We allow fear to control us. We allow fear to say what the truth is, instead of believing what God tells us. We turn away from God and grumble and accuse Him of doing us wrong, instead of taking the time to try to see it through His eyes. But how do we do that?

We have to seek Him. We have to read our Bibles. We have to pray. We have to build a relationship with Him so that we can build faith. So that when the Spirit of Fear tries to jump on us. When he tries to take us over. When he tries to turn us away from God, we will be able to stand strong as Joshua and Caleb did. Are you willing to miss out on your promise because of fear? Are you willing to sacrifice your peace to bow down to fear? We have to stand firm in our faith. We have to trust God Almighty, for if God is for us, who can be against us?

I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. I’m not saying you’re not going to have to face giants. What I’m saying is that God is on your side. He promised that He would fight for us, we need only be still. We only have to have faith. We only have to believe. Fear is a liar. He’s already stolen your peace, don’t let him steal your promise land too.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Take Your Promised Land.

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The Benefits of Praise

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—” ~ Psalms 103:1-2

Did you realize that there are benefits in praising the LORD? Here are a few

Forgiveness of sins
Healing
Eternal life
Crowns, or blesses us with love and compassion
Satisfies our desires with good things
Renews our strength
The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed
Compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love toward us
Does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities
Shows us a great and steadfast love

And there are so many more benefits in praising the LORD, like the favor and the blessing of success. So, with a pure and sincere heart begin to praise the LORD right where you are for being who He is, and for loving us so. We’ve done nothing to deserve such love and kindness. We actually deserved death and punishment. Instead, we received blessings and benefits. So, why not lift up your voice and shout a shout of praise. Sing melodies in your heart to the LORD for He is good.

Father, please help me to realize that there are benefits in serving You. Keep my heart true no matter what may befall me and help me to continuously praise You no matter my circumstances. Take my hand and lead me ever guiding me along life’s bumpy highway. Help me to have the courage to share these benefits with the ones I love and with those I meet. Come to Your people bearing Your benefits, and help us to recognize Your benefits. Thank you so much for not treating us according to what our sins and iniquities deserve. Let Your steadfast love surround us today, that we may be encouraged when we praise You.

In Jesus name, Amen.

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Rise Above

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” ~ Isaiah 43:2

It is plain that we will have trials, temptation, and hardships. We are not promised a rose garden with only sunshine and blue skies. No, there is also rain, weeding, sweating, and hard work. But the good news is, when we go through it, hard as it may seem, we will pass through, for our God is with us. He will not let our circumstances defeat us, or destroy us. He is there with us shielding us and protecting us.

Sometimes we feel like we are the Lone Ranger as we pass through the waters, and through the rivers, and through the fire, like no one is there, and there is no end in sight. But please notice that it said when we pass through, God does not intend for those situations to be perpetual, He does not intend for us to go through those situations alone. He intends for us to learn to grow and to draw closer to Him as we pass through.

Heavenly Father, please grant Your comfort and Your peace to those who are troubled today. Grant them peace where there is no peace. LORD, bring Your people safely through whatever troubles they may be facing today. Send Your hornet before them to clear their pathways, and may the confidence that You are their God and their protection, be a source of comfort to them today.

In Jesus name, I pray, Amen.

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He’s Not a Tame Lion

“Then their father Israel said to them, ‘If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.’” ~ Genesis 43:11

This was a mere man that these men were going before, yet they brought him the best they could of what they had. Why don’t we do this with God? I mean we bring half offerings to God all the time: half prayers, half worship, 1-minute conversations, etc. Why? Why don’t we fear God the way they feared Joseph? I guess it’s because we constantly talk about how good God is and how merciful.

Though He is all of these things, we have forgotten that He is not safe. Let me explain… in the movie Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Susan asked if Aslan was safe and Mr. Beaver responded with “Safe? Who said anything about safe? He’s not safe… he is good.” Again at the end of the movie when Aslan goes away, Mr. Thomnas looks at Lucy and says, “You have to remember He’s not a tame lion.”

We don’t serve a tame or safe God. We need to bring back the fear of God. Until Isaac died when Jacob spoke about who God was He would say “The God of my Father Abraham. The Fear of my Father Isaac.” Why? Because Isaac feared the LORD, it kept his paths straight. It kept him in the favor of the LORD. What would happen if we stopped making excuses like, ‘God understands,’ ‘God will have mercy,’ ‘God forgives,’ ‘God loves me.’

Yes, God does all of these things, but don’t get it twisted if you live your life only giving half of you, half of what you are capable of, half of your beliefs, God will NOT forgive you on Judgement day. Stop making excuses. Stop living in deceit. Stop lying to yourself. What would happen if we stopped these things and just surrendered our all to Him? What would happen to the Church? What would happen to our relationships? What would happen to our jobs? What would happen to our lives? What would happen to our relationship with God?

Peace. Love. Go forth and Fear the LORD.

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Move In The Spiritual

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” ~ Ephesians 6:12

Right now, we have one common enemy, COVID-19. If all good things come from above from the Father of Lights, then all bad things must come from The Accuser. Therefore, this COVID-19 is not from God, but from our enemy, and we must fight it. How do we do that? We pray against it. When we pray, things happen in the Spiritual that manifests itself in the Physical.

When in Peter was in prison, and they began to pray, an angel freed him. When Elisha saw the young boy dead, he prayed for him, and the boy began to breathe again. When we pray, things happen. So no matter how silly it may sound, or how hopeless things may look, pray for the things that need to come to pass, and we shall see the physical move.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Start In The Spiritual.

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Let God Meet You

“He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.” ~ Isaiah 40:29 NLT

You don’t have to get everything right. You don’t have to be perfect. Because when you can’t, God will. He’ll lift you up when you’re too weak to lift yourself up. God will always be there for you. God meets us wherever we’re at.

You don’t have to fix yourself to come to God, come to God as you are and He will fix you. He will give you everything you need. The Prodigal Son came home with nothing. He was hungry, dirty, ashamed, but his father ran to him. He didn’t wait for his son to walk all the way home. No, the father so his son in the distance, and ran to him. He clothed him, fed him, celebrated with him, he through a party. He was filled with nothing but joy because his son was dead, and now he is alive.

When we come home, the Father runs to us. He comes running as soon as He sees us in the distance and He brings us home. He replaces our filthy rags with righteous clothes. He gives us food. He throws a celebration. He fills us with His love and His joy.

So, don’t be ashamed. Don’t give up. Come home to the Father. He’s waiting for you. He’s watching for the street to catch a glimpse of His Prodigal Child. So, come home.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let God Meet You.

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March 22, 2020January 17, 2021

Open Your Gift

“Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed.” ~ 1 Chronicles 22:13

How often do we pray for prosperity and nothing happens? How long do we pray for healing, and nothing happens? How long do we pray for a job promotion or even a job, and nothing happens? And so, we begin to doubt the sovereignty of God, but in reality, God has already given these things to us. He already gave us prosperity, that job, that promotion, that healing; all we have to do is unlock it. All we have to do is two things. Observe the statutes & the rules and ask. That’s it if we do that without any doubt, our world will change.

But what if I’m already obeying all the rules and asking, but it’s not happening? I guarantee there is a stronghold in your life causing you not to receive, whether it’s an idol you never acknowledged as so, whether it’s a grudge you never let go, whether it’s pouring faith in false teachings instead of God, false judgment, whether it’s an addiction (it doesn’t have to be drugs it could be something as simple as coffee, TV, video games, even music). When you have something in your life that takes precedence over God, it can cause you to lose out on the prosperity He has already given you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Open Your Gift of Prosperity.

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Do The Little Things

“If you see your neighbor’s ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don’t ignore your responsibility. Take it back to its owner. ²If its owner does not live nearby or you don’t know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it. ³Do the same if you find your neighbor’s donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don’t ignore your responsibility. ⁴If you see that your neighbor’s donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on its feet!” ~ Deuteronomy 22:1-4

Often times we can get caught up in ourselves and what we’re going through, and we forget about those around us. We forget that there are other people who need help. Your help. Sometimes we get stuck in our own little world and miss the people around us. God said it’s our responsibility to help others, so go out and help someone even if it’s just a small thing. Sometimes it’s the little things in life that mean the most.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Do The Little Things.

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He Makes All Things New

“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” ~ Revelation 21:5

Every year on Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, the sins of the nation were rolled forward another year, and everything was made new. This is our New Year, a chance for a new start, new opportunities, and new or renewed dreams. Let’s put the bad things, the hurtful things, and the things that caused us to lose heart or to lose sight of our dreams behind us and look forward to our new opportunities.

Father, thank you for new opportunities and for second chances. Make this a year for Your people to succeed and for dreams to come true. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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