Tag: Devotional

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LORD LORD

21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ~ Matthew 7:21NIV

I’ve noticed throughout the years that the identity of Christ becomes more and more skewed. More and more people twist, manipulate, and straight up lie about the identity, personality, and person of Christ. Why? To ease their own minds.

Jesus is often portrayed as a chill, peaceful, hippy who loved everybody and just wanted everyone to be happy. Others portray Jesus as an outlaw, biker gang type man who surrounded himself with only other outlaws and whores. I can’t lie, whenever I hear anyone make either of these arguments it infuriates me to my core. Why? Because each of these false representations of Christ would be corrected if only the person opened up their Bible and read even one Gospel in its entirety.

There are Christians being beaten, imprisoned, persecuted, and even murdered for reading their Bibles. Whereas we, over here in the West, especially in America, a country built on Christianity, won’t even read our Bibles to make sure our idea of our LORD, Savior, and God is Biblically accurate and sound. That infuriates me. We have so much freedom here in the West, yet we use that freedom to spout absolute foolishness about Jesus on our extremely large and influential platform and never once open the Bible to check if what we are telling our millions of audience/followers is true or not. It upsets me that we waste our time pushing a Jesus that doesn’t change anybody. A Jesus that doesn’t demand that we pick up our cross and follow Him. A Jesus that hangs out with sinners and says, “No. No. Don’t bother changing. I love you as you are.”

We no longer know Christ in the Church because we no longer read His Word to get to know Him. Jesus didn’t embrace sinners dwelling and enjoying and pushing their sin. Not one single time did Jesus ever do that. Jesus embraced every sinner that ran to Him, fell at His feet, and sought mercy. Then what did He do? He told them to go and SIN NO MORE, yet we don’t talk about that. Why? Because then we wouldn’t be able to use Jesus to defend our sinful way of living.

One day, we will all have to stand before the throne of Christ. Very early on in His ministry He was very clear, just because you know His name and believe He is the Christ the Son of the Living God, does not mean you will enter into eternity with Him. How you live your life matters.

Dear LORD, I’m sorry for all the time I’ve wasted not getting to know You. I’m sorry for every time I’ve made an excuse for my own sinful ways and tried to justify it by falsely representing who You are. I’m sorry for any time I have refused to let go of something corrupting me. Please wash me clean. Give me a new heart and renew a right spirit within me. Hear my prayer, oh LORD, and reveal Yourself to me through Your Word. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. 

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Crucify, Crucify

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ~ Galatians 5:24NIV

Yesterday, I got a massage with the massage gun for the first time in a very long time. As that pulsing gun hit my hamstring, I screamed, spun, pushed it away. I did anything I could to get away from it because it hurt. It was more than just unpleasant. Why? Because the massage guns break up muscle tension and knots. They even break down scar tissue and adhesions. So, when you haven’t felt that kind of pain in a while, it shocks your system and your brain screams “run,” which I did indeed try to obey.

This is much like crucifying the flesh. That first nail in the flesh causes it to scream and try to run away. It tries to convince you that it’s not necessary to do it. It’ll try anything to get you to stop, but just like the massage gun, the more you allow the pain to happen, the less it hurts.

The more we crucify our flesh, the easier it becomes. The more we crucify our flesh and then build up our spirit, the more we walk in the ways of the Spirit. Therefore, don’t stop at the first flinch. Don’t stop at the screams. Keep crucifying the flesh, so that the passions and desires of the flesh can no longer control you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Crucify Crucify.

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Dangerous Desires

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. ~ Ephesians 4:17-24

If you ask the majority of Christians why they believe that Satanism is dangerous, they’ll tell you because they worship the Devil. Yes, that is dangerous, but I don’t believe that is what makes it such a dangerous belief system, though. Throughout Paul’s writings, he admonishes us to crucify the flesh. He tells us that if we are in Christ, we no longer walk in the desires of the flesh. Why? Because there is nothing more dangerous than freely indulging in the flesh without reservation or restraint.

Satanism doesn’t blatantly tell its followers to worship the Devil. That’s extremely discreet within the religion. However it does follow Crowlianity’s most dangerous teaching “Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole of The Law.” To freely indulge in the desires of the flesh without restraint or reservation is a recipe for disaster. When we allow human’s desire’s of the flesh to go uncheck, sin will abound even the more.

Our flesh isn’t a saint. It posses no good quality. It is wicked in all its ways.

[16] But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17] For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
[19] Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21] envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:16-17, 19-21

The works of the flesh lead directly to death. Satan doesn’t have to get you to blatantly bow down and worship him at his feet in order you completely and entirely corrupt you and others through you. No. All he has to do is convince you to freely give into the desires of your flesh without reservation or restraint. That’s it. With nothing more and nothing less he can and will corrupt all of mankind and kill off and destroy all who refuse to give in to his teachings.

If the desires of the flesh have become the god of people, then those who oppose the desires of the flesh and say, “crucify it. Crucify it.” are a direct threat to the god they have created for themselves. And if the flesh is of this world, the people of the flesh will indeed fight. They will indeed destroy all who stand opposed to their god threatening it. Therefore, be mindful of the tactics of the enemy. Do not give in to his subtle lies and help usher in an era of unrighteousness like never before seen on the earth.

Dear LORD, I’m sorry for all the times I have given into my flesh instead of crucifying it. I’m sorry for every time I have replaced You as God and LORD of my life with my own wicked flesh. Please, give me the strength, desire, and discernment to crucify my flesh daily and build up my spirit that I might one day be united to You. So that one day I might hear the words, “well done my good and faithful servant.” Open my eyes that I might see that that the things of this world is ever fleeting and that works of the flesh only lead to destruction. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Thank You For Love

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. ~ Psalms 107:1NIV

The Psalmist calls us to gratitude, reminding us that God’s goodness and enduring love are reasons to continually give thanks. Even when he feels like the whole world is crashing down on you, God is good. Even when situations have risen out of your control, His love endures forever. What good is that if my world is falling apart?

God works all things out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. We love because He first loved us. Therefore, we give thanks for He is good and His steadfast love is forever.

Than You LORD for loving me. Thank You, LORD, that You have blessed me all the days of my life, even though I may not notice always notice them. Thank You for being good to me and loving me. Thank You for showing Your steadfast love. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. 

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Cast Your Bread

1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. ~ Ecclesiastes 11:1

King Solomon tells us to cast our bread upon the water and it will return to us in many days. This, in many ways, is King Solomon’s version of ‘you shall reap what you sow.’ Now, I realize that this portion of Scripture is normally applied to finances in specific, but it can also be applied to other things in general.

What if we applied this verse to soulwinning? Let’s consider this thought for a moment … Jesus is the bread of life. He said plainly that He was the living bread that came down from heaven in John 6:51. As a matter of fact, all through the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus identifies Himself as either the True Bread or the Living Bread. In fact, several times in this chapter, chapter 6, He refers to Himself as the Bread of Life (John 6:33, 35, 48, 51, 58).

So, with that in mind, what if we cast Jesus, the Bread of Life, upon the waters, with the waters representing people, what would that look like? In other words, what if we shared the Good News of Jesus with people that we meet, and people that we know?

And the many days would represent the end of time, when Jesus comes back to judge the quick and the dead. Those who eat the bread that you cast upon the waters will be there to receive life from Jesus, and you will get the credit. So, in many days, because Jesus’ return is close at hand now, all your hard work will pay off, and you will reap a great reward for soul winning.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cast Your Bread.

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Because Jesus Lives

1 Nowon the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.” ~ John 20:1-9 ESV

On that first Easter morning, darkness still clung to the earth, and despair still gripped Jesus’ followers. They had watched their LORD suffer and die on a brutal cross, bearing the weight of our sins (Isaiah 53:5). Mary Magdalene approached the tomb with a heavy heart, expecting death, not life. But the stone was rolled away, and the tomb was empty! The grave clothes, once wrapped around a broken body, lay folded—a silent testimony that Jesus had risen by His own power. Peter and John ran to see, their hearts stirring with a fragile hope that would soon become unshakable faith.

His resurrection changed everything. Jesus didn’t just endure the cross for us; He conquered death and the grave to make us whole. Now, we have the promises: by His wounds we are healed, and with the chastisement that was placed on Him, He brought us peace (Isaiah 53:5), and His rising ensured our eternal hope. The empty tomb declares that no sin is too great, no sorrow too deep, for Christ’s victory to overcome. On this Resurrection Sunday, let this truth sink in: He is risen, and because He lives, you are never alone, never without hope, never beyond His love.

What does the empty tomb mean for you today? It means He is risen, He is risen indeed, and we are forgiven, and we have hope! Perhaps you’re carrying grief, guilt, or fear. Jesus calls your name, as He did Mary’s, inviting you to see Him—not as a memory, but as the living Savior. Let His Resurrection awaken your heart to trust Him, worship Him, and share His love with a world that needs hope.

Take a moment to reflect on a burden you’re carrying—something that feels like a sealed tomb in your life. Write it down or share it with God in prayer. Then, picture the stone rolled away, the tomb empty, and Jesus alive, offering you freedom and peace. Today, during Easter worship or communion, pause to thank Him for His sacrifice and victory. Consider one way you can share the hope of the Resurrection this week—perhaps by encouraging a friend, forgiving someone, or serving in your community.

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving the world so much that You gave Your only begotten Son. Thank You, LORD Jesus, for Your obedience. Thank You for Your stripes. Thank You for pouring out Your blood as an offering, a sacrifice for many. I love You, LORD, for first loving me, in Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

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An Eternity In A Night

Leviticus 16:20-22 NIV

[20] “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. [21] He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. [22] The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

The night Jesus was betrayed, He and His disciples went up to the Mount of Olives. He asked the eight to stay there, but He took Peter James and John with him to pray a bit farther away. Then Matthew says He began to be sorrowful and troubled (Matthew 26:37). Then He tells these three disciples

My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.

Matthew 26:28

Then He went a throw away from them and prayed (Luke 22:40-42). Luke records that Jesus prayed earnestly til His sweat became like drops of blood on His head (Luke 22:44).

Now, Jesus has already faced the flogging, crown of thorns, and cross. I want you to understand that no matter how hard His mission was on this earth, that wasn’t what He was sweating blood over asking His Father to let pass from Him if possible. Think about it for a second. There’s Christians that have been skinned alive. Others have been impaled on a pole, covered in tar, and set on fire, all still while being alive. There’s others who have been ripped to shreds by wild animals. Christians have suffered much over the years. His own disciples have been boiled alive in burning oil, yet someone survived (John the Beloved).

Jesus would not expect us to carry a burden that He Himself tried to get out of. That He Himself sweat blood over. No. Jesus was sweating blood over fulfilling (well partly fulfilling) the Day of Atonement, which was to take the sin of the world upon Himself and carry it away to Azazel. Away from the presence of God.

There’s only one place in the afterlife described in such a way, Hell. Jesus was sweating blood because of Hell. He had to endure those flames of Hell itself in order to take away the sin of the world from us. So, the LORD Himself has to go to eternity outside of time and carry such a great sin away. This eternity didn’t feel like a set time but like eternity. Christ’s sacrifice didn’t end on the cross. His work wasn’t finished. He still had to carry away the sin of the world.

Dear LORD, thank You for taking my sin away from me. Thank You for freeing me from such a cruel slave master, such as sin. Thank You for loving me enough to sacrifice Yourself for me. Thank You, God, for Your never-ending love for me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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A Man of Sorrows

Isaiah 53:3-12

[3]  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [4]  Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. [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. [6]  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. [7] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. [8] By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? [9] And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. [10] Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. [11] Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. [12]  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Jesus has now been betrayed, condemned by the chief priests, turned over to Pilate, flogged mercilessly, and forced to carry His own cross up to Golgotha. On His way the cross becomes too much for Him and He is physically unable to carry it any further, so they get Simon the Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross for Him. As if that wasn’t enough, they then strip Him of His clothes and nail Him to a tree.

Everyone around Him is mocking Him and reviling Him. Even those on the cross next to Him are mocking Him. People passing by are ridiculing and spewing hatred His way. It’s not until after Jesus drinks the sour wine and is almost ready to die that one thief on the cross realizes He is in fact the Messiah and changes His attitude before Him.

His body is raw from being flogged. His strength is gone from within Him and He is slowly and painfully suffocating to death. In order to get any ounce of breath into His lungs He has to push against the nails in His feet and His raw back against a wooden cross. He did this fully knowing that those around Him, the majority, would never repent. They’d never accept His sacrifice, but it didn’t matter. He did it willingly out of love, even go as far as to pray on their behalf for the Father to forgive them. From 9 am to 3 pm He hung on that cross in agony, never once taking the easy way out and giving into pride and showing them who He is by coming down off of that cross. Still, He turned the other cheek and showed them and the world love.

It’s easy to overlook what Christ did for us. It’s easy to just take it for granted. This is the importance of truly understanding what Christ did for us. I’ve watched the Passion of  the Christ ever since it first came out. I flinch at each whip that hits His body so viciously and every nail that pierces His flesh so mercilessly. I have loved ones who refuse to watch it because it’s too gruesome. I used to believe that this portrayal was what Christ would’ve looked like on the cross, but after reading Isaiah, I realized it wasn’t gruesome and painful enough.

14 Just as there were many who were appalled at Him— His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and His form marred beyond human likeness—

Isaiah 52:14NIV

Isaiah says He was beaten beyond recognition so much so you couldn’t even tell He was human. Let that sink in. While Mel Gibson’s depiction was gruesome and is by far the best depiction we have of Christ’s crucifixion today, it doesn’t even come close to what Christ actually went through on the cross.

Christ’s sacrifice was so much more than what we feel and think it was. How can we refuse to look at something that doesn’t even come close to the true sacrifice of Christ Jesus because it’s too gruesome, but we want to accept the benefits of that sacrifice?

When we water down the message of salvation and all that Christ did for us, we begin to be take the sacrifice for granted. His sacrifice wasn’t nothing. It was a great sacrifice. At burden so henry Isaiah rightfully calls Him a Man of Sorrows.

Dear LORD, I’m sorry for every time I have taken Your sacrifice for granted. Please forgive me, LORD. Thank You for Your sacrifice. Thank You for Your love. Thank You for Your grace. Thank You, LORD, for giving Yourself without reservation. Help me to proclaim Your death until You return or call me to You. Help me to live a life worthy of being called Your servant. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. 

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A Weary Spirit

It was now late at night. Jesus had just eaten. He had washed the disciples’ feet. He had instituted the LORD’s supper. They had sang a hymn on the way to the Mount of Olives, and now He was on the Mount of Olives. I never really thought about it before, but the LORD didn’t sleep His last night before this death in less than 24 hours.

Think about it. If it was your last night, what are you doing? Many would say all the things they hadn’t done that they could do in that last night.” Others say they would make sure their family knew they loved them.

Think about it for a second. Jesus did none of that. Jesus spent His last night before His death with His disciples preparing them for what for what was to come and in prayer to His heavenly Father. He didn’t go see His mother. He didn’t go see His siblings. He prepared His disciples and prepared Himself for what was to come.

How many of us would spend the last night of our lives on earth forsaking our freshly desires? I’m sure Jesus would’ve loved to be with His mother reassuring her it was all going to be okay. I’m sure He was exhausted and could do with a good nap.

Think about it. He was stressed and just spent the previous night and day preparing His disciples for the future. All of that would stress anyone out. It would cause anyone’s body to be exhausted, yet He didn’t sleep. He spent the night preparing. Jesus forsook the needs and desires of the flesh to tend to the desires and needs of the Spirit. Jesus understood His call. He understood His call.

A weary body can be dealt with, but a weary spirit, that’s something else.

Batman

Dear LORD, I’m sorry for all of the times I’ve put the desires of my flesh above the needs of my spirit. Thank You for never leaving me nor forsaking me. Please help me to love You with all my heart, soul, and mind. Help me to pick up my cross and follow You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

 

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Are You Betraying Jesus?

22 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people. 3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. 4 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd. ~ Luke 22:1-6

It’s Wednesday, and Jerusalem’s still buzzing from Jesus’ grand entry on a donkey, hailed as king just three days ago. He’s been teaching daily, pouring out truth and love, even as the religious leaders plot against Him. But today, something darker stirs. Judas, one of Jesus’ closest followers, makes a choice that changes everything—he agrees to betray his Teacher for a handful of silver, 30 pieces. Can you imagine? Walking with Jesus, seeing His miracles, hearing His words, and still turning away. Luke says Satan entered Judas, but Judas opened the door, letting greed or disappointment take hold. Thirty pieces of silver—about four months’ worth of wages—was enough to trade the Son of God for a fleeting gain. It’s a heartbreaking moment, showing how close someone can be to Jesus and still miss His heart.

Yet, even on this day, Jesus keeps on teaching, keeps on loving, even though He knows He will be betrayed today. He knows that it is Judas who will betray Him. Around this same time, He might’ve shared the greatest commandment teaching: love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:28-34). While Judas chose betrayal, Jesus called for devotion, showing us the way to true life.

Today, Wednesday, three days after celebrating Palm Sunday, let us look inside our own selves and ask, ‘Are we loyal to Jesus?’ Or ‘Do we let things like money, fear, selfishness, anger, or pride pull us away?’ Judas’ story isn’t just history; it’s a mirror. We all face moments where we’re tempted to trade Jesus for something less. Every time we are disobedient or break one of His commandments, we betray Him and sell Him out to the enemy, the devil. Even when we feel the urge to repent, but refuse, we betray Jesus all over again. But here’s the Good News, we have hope: Jesus knows our weaknesses, and He’s still calling us to follow Him, to choose love and loyalty before it’s too late. As the cross draws near, let’s recommit to Him, trusting He’s worth everything.

Take a few minutes today to identify at least one temptation that pulls you away from Jesus. Whether it is a habit, a worry, or a lingering desire, if it separates you from the Savior, repent of it and leave it behind. And pray for loyalty, so that you will not fall into temptation, as Jesus told His three disciples.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your steadfast love. Thank You that one day, because of Your great love for the world, You sent Your only begotten Son into the world, to die for us. Search my heart and see if there be any wicked way in me. Bring conviction on those things that I need to repent of and give me the strength to forsake them so that I might not betray the Savior with a kiss. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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