Devotional Archives

July 20, 2021July 20, 2021

Don’t Waste Your Salvation

⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing. ~ 2 Timothy 4:7–8

He was sure he had run the race successfully, and he had finished the course completely. There was nothing he had left undone. No regrets. Now, I realize that everyone has regrets. Things that they wished they had done, or things that they wished they hadn’t done. Paul didn’t have regrets after he accepted Christ as LORD and Savior, he was laser-focused on what God had called him to do, and he let NOTHING distract him.

He said, “I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also, I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” He had one thing on his mind, doing God’s will.

Paul didn’t consider salvation to be a one-time thing and done. He understood that it took a lifetime. Every day we wake up and plug away to attain that which we were apprehended by Christ Jesus to apprehend. That is, eternal life and to bring others with us.

In the Old Testament, God said several times, “None shall appear before me empty-handed.” Every time He described or talked about the Feasts, He mentioned it.

None shall appear before me empty-handed.

Do you suppose that was written only for those Feasts that was only a shadow of that which was and is to come? No, it was written about soul-winning as well. When we stand before God, we must have something to show for our labor. Whether it was because of our prayers or because of our witness, we must not stand before the God of the Feasts empty-handed.

We are not saved to go into hibernation. No, we are saved for good works, for winning souls; we are saved to be a blessing to others. It is not about us; it’s about pleasing God by being a blessing to others.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Waste Your Salvation.

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Don’t Let Time Run Out

^27b …it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. ~ Hebrews 9:27b

Short, but powerful. It hits home. It is appointed unto man once to die. We do not have multiple opportunities to get it right. I realize there are religions that teach different concepts of reincarnation, where at death, the body dies, but the soul continues to live and comes back in a different life form or some other type of animal.

The soul continues the life and death cycles until it has enough merit that it reaches perfection and is united with “The One,” the ultimate being. But God, the Great Creator, said from the very beginning that we are all destined to die one time, and there is no coming back, but only the Judgement.

God does not give us any indication or suggestion that there are multiple lives. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it; we are all destined to die. As they say, “No one gets out alive.” What does that mean?

So, please, please understand that we have ONE shot at getting this right. ONE opportunity to get all of the ducks in a row, so to speak. The time is flying by so quickly now that it seems like one day is morphing into the next and that one right into the next, and so on, until it is just a blur.

Don’t let your life pass you by. We’re all given an allotted amount of time to get things right and build a relationship with God, don’t let that time run out. Today is the day for salvation; tomorrow is promised to no one.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Let Time Run Out.

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Think About Tomorrow

¹¹But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ¹²Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, ¹⁴to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Timothy 6:11–14

Paul instructed Timothy to “take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession.”

Paul understood that they only had the one opportunity to get it right. One opportunity to build up treasure in heaven that lasts for all eternity. People work so hard here on earth building up treasure and wealth that someone else will get instead of building up true wealth that lasts forever.

Jesus warns us not to work for wealth that fades but build true wealth so that we will have a good eternity. This life won’t last forever. Tomorrow is promised to no man. Today is the day of Salvation.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Think About Tomorrow.

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Think About Others

¹¹Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. ~ Joshua 7:11

There was no distinction between Israel and Achan. God saw the community as one, and if one fails, they all fail, and if one wins, they all win. I’m sure the Israelites began to question and deny doing it, and if you look at it from their point of view, they didn’t physically do anything. Yet, one man’s sin caused the whole community to suffer.

Sometimes we say, “It is my business; it’s not hurting anyone.” Or “He’s only hurting himself; leave him alone.” But on the contrary, no one lives to himself, but all are in this fight together. No man is an Island. We must be conscious of other members of the family and our community.

No one knew the reason; they just couldn’t figure out or understand why. How could this even happen to them? Who would do a thing like that? Who would take the dedicated things of God?

After the men of AI beat up the Israelite army, Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD. He and all the elders of Israel stayed there until that evening. Then Joshua started questioning God about His intentions concerning the Israelites. And you know what God told him? That the entire community of Israel was guilty and had sinned because of one man.

Nothing has changed today. Today our actions still affect those around us. So, when we act, we have to think of the potential consequences that could fall on those around us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Think About Others.

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Where’s Your Focus?

²⁴And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ ~ Luke 16:24

Just a few days earlier, he was ignoring poor Lazarus, who longed for the crumbs that fell from his table. The Bible didn’t say Lazarus ate, but he longed to eat. The rich man probably despised Lazarus. So, it is entirely possible that the rich man was so mean that he refused Lazarus even the crumbs that fell from his table.

Now when he is face to face with eternity, all his riches and all his wealth and the social statuses don’t seem so important anymore. He is now willing for that sorey, dog-licked finger to be dipped in water and to be touched on his tongue. What seems important to us now will not mean a thing one hundred years, ten years, two years, or even a year from now, much less ten seconds into eternity.

LORD God, help us to focus on Eternity rather than on the present world around us. Fill us with Your Holy Presence so that we may be able to live our lives for You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Accept the Favor of the LORD

¹⁰ Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.” ~ Nehemiah 4:10

Let me tell you, too much rubble will stop the building. Too much rubble will stop the growth. We have to clear the rubble to build and grow, but sometimes we need help to clear the rubble.

It’s been 141 years since the walls were broken down, the city pillaged, the people led into captivity, and the royal line has been dissolved, so to speak. And now Nehemiah, being of royal descent, graces the scene. But he doesn’t just kind of appear in Jerusalem; he has some encounters to overcome and tests of the LORD’s favor before he is released to come.

Now, what do I mean by that?

Well, Nehemiah was of royal descent, as I said, but he was born in captivity, but nonetheless, he held a very high-ranking and important position in the government of the Persian Empire. He was Cupbearer to the king. To us, it sounds like a lowly butler, but his position was actually a really high one. According to some scholars, the job came with great responsibility. He had full access to the king, and the king knew him pretty intimately since he realized that something was bothering Nehemiah.

He recognized a change in Nehemiah’s countenance and seemed genuinely concerned about what was bothering him. Nehemiah wasn’t just another employee to the king. The king liked him a lot and trusted him immensely,

This is called the favor of the LORD. When we submit to God, God will open doors and opportunities for us. God doesn’t leave us in our rubble; He gives us favor with those who can help us out of our rubble. No person is an island; we all need help sometimes. Iron sharpens iron.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept the Favor of the LORD.

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The Fear of the LORD

¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. ~ Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the LORD is no longer taught in our churches or homes. Instead, we teach that God loves everyone no matter what we do, so we don’t have to worry about living in sin. Why? This is often because we don’t understand what the fear of the LORD is. We don’t truly understand what it means to fear the LORD.

The fear of the LORD is not the kind of horror you feel at the sight of a mob of vicious men walking toward you and your family bent on total destruction and annihilation. But it is the fear of the LORD, mixed with a love and reverence for the LORD, that keeps you from sinning because you know that His judgments are true, yet His mercies are renewed every day.

LORD God, help us to fear You the way You deserve. To fear You the way that a child fears their father. Teach us to love and revere You in all that we do. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Let the Blessings of the LORD Flow

²⁷But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” ~ Genesis 30:27

Laban, Jacob’s uncle, realized that God had blessed him abundantly because of his nephew Jacob, and he wanted him to stay so he could enjoy the blessings of the LORD. It goes both ways with God, not just bad, but good, blessings also. Even though Laban was an idol worshiper, he was blessed because of Jacob.

Potiphar also realized that he was being blessed because of Joseph. He was an Egyptian. He was not a part of the covenant. As a matter of fact, he owned Joseph as a slave. But when the blessings of the LORD begin to follow, it flows high, and it flows low, and all in its path are blessed.

In the account of the flood, it was Noah who found grace in the sight of the LORD, and not his family, yet it was 8 of them saved from the flood.

- Noah and his wife
- Shem and his wife
- Japheth and his wife
- Ham and his wife

They all entered the Ark on Noah’s ticket. What we do affects others, sometimes in a bad way but also in a good way. God will bless those who bless you. When you serve the LORD, He isn’t stingy with His blessings. When He blesses you, He will also bless those around you.

As the Syrophoenician woman said, even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table. You can’t stop the flow of the blessings of the LORD.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let the Blessings of the LORD Flow.

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Remember Your Family

²⁴And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. ²⁵And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. ~ Joshua 7:24–25

I want you to notice that Achan’s sin affected his whole family. Achan was the only one that committed the sin, but his whole family, along with all his animals, paid the price. They even took his tent and burned it along with his family.

When everything was over and done, there was not a trace or a remembrance of Achan and his family or his stuff. It was like he never existed. What you do affects those around you. Don’t let your whole family pay the price for your selfishness or your greed.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remember Your Family.

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Watch Your Faith Grow

¹⁹You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. ~ James 2:19

James is saying that it’s not enough to just believe that there is one true God, but you have to be obedient to His commands as well. There’s so much more to Christianity and a relationship with God than just believing that God exists. Many believe that there is a God, but they have no relationship with Him.

It’s not just about sin either; it’s about your level of faith. You can’t say you have faith in God, but live your life in fear, constantly worrying. Sure, fear and doubt will come, but you must overcome them. You have to a stronger faith in God than you do in your fear because what you listen to and what you give into is what you have faith in. Fear is a liar, but God’s Word is true.

When He said He will save you, He will save you. When He said He will protect you, He will protect you. He watches over His Word to make sure it completes all that He sent it out to do. And He has written that Word on our hearts. We have no reason to fear, for our God is greater than any fear or any doubt. Build your relationship with Him and watch your faith grow.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch Your Faith Grow.

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