Tag: Devotional

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Plug Your Ears

Lamentations 1:12-16

[12] “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger. [13] From on high he sent fire; into my bones he made it descend; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all the day long. [14] My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; they were set upon my neck; he caused my strength to fail; the Lord gave me into the hands of those whom I cannot withstand. [15] The Lord rejected all my mighty men in my midst; he summoned an assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah. [16] For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my spirit; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.”

Jeremiah starts the book Lamentations mourning for Judah going into exile and Jerusalem being destroyed and ransacked. Then he says to the people “Is it nothing to you, all who pass by?” Jeremiah then switches his focus to himself and those pass by him without care, worry, or concern.

See, Jeremiah had just spent years prophesying warnings to the people of Judah and they did not listen, now God’s judgment had fallen on them. He had been persecuted by their own hands for his prophecies, and now that they have come to pass, they still have no care for him. Today, the Church is very similar.

Missionaries go to places we don’t want to go in order to share the Gospel, yet we, as a whole, have no care for them or their anguish. Some of us even belittle them and if they die, say it’s their own fault. It has become nothing to us to see the Church persecuted, oppressed, and/or killed.

We turn a blind eye to it. Why? Apathy. If it does not directly affect us, we don’t care. Our love has begun to grow cold. Jesus said, “They (the world) will know you by your love for one another,” yet, we love only ourselves. We are like those who passed by Jeremiah without even giving him out the situation a second thought.

See, apathy lulls its victims to sleep so that they never even feel their own spiritual death. It’s like the scene in the Jungle Book. Mowgli is lulled to sleep by Kaa so that when Kaa went to strike and devour Mowgli he was unaware. Completely subdued, unable to fight back or defend himself. It takes Bagheera intervening to save Mowgli.

Apathy is a dangerous foe. It doesn’t beat you down like other strongholds. It plays the ally as it seduces you. So, quiet its lullaby. Follow the words of Christ and love your brother/sister. Pray for missionaries and the Underground Church. Don’t turn a blind eye to them or their pain.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Plug Your Ears To Their Lullabies.

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Guard Like Bees

6 Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? ~ 1 Corinthians 5:6

Bees are a lot more interesting than I thought they were. They have this thing called “guard bees.” When the worker bees return with nectar, they have to pass the smell test from the guard bees before they. An enter the hive. If any bees return with fermented nectar, they’ll be barred from entering the hive. Sometimes, they will be severely injured or even killed. Why?

Because nothing can contaminant the honey. The guard bees enforce the rules of the colony to ensure the safety of the hive and its honey. See, these Honey Bees understand that a little leaven leavens the whole pot. One Honey Bee with contaminated nectar will contaminant all the honey in the hive.

This is how the Church should be. We need to stop allowing sin into the Body of Christ. We are called to perfection, therefore, we need to strive for perfection. We struggle. We fight. But we do not give into sin. We do not dwell and remain in our trespasses. We have to stop making excuses for ourselves and others. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Guard Like Bees.

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Be Found In Faith

8 I tell you, He will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth? ~ Luke 18:8

As humans, we are hardwired to have faith. To believe in something. We have to have faith or believe that what we are told or taught is true. Every human has some measure of generic faith. That’s why from the very beginning, civilizations had gods. They had a belief system.

That’s why children absorb everything they’re told, taught, and see. We are programmed to have faith and believe in something. Distrust, doubt are learned traits. So, that begs the question, how then can Jesus ask if He will find faith on the earth when He returns? Jesus isn’t looking for generic faith. He is looking for the faith of His elect. Active faith in Him. Faith that changed you and the atmosphere around you. So, then shouldn’t it be easy for Him to find that faith, since we’re hardwired for faith?

Not when it’s active faith in Him. See, our faith is often attacked. It’s the only key to eternal life so the enemy does everything in his power to snuff it out. Whether through oppression, tribulation, or persecution. Whether through deception, twisting, and misconceptions. It doesn’t matter. Any means necessary, the enemy will try to destroy your active faith.

The faith Jesus is looking for. The faith that influences, guides, and determines your actions. Jesus is looking for those who will carry their cross and follow Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Found In Faith.

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Be Rich Towards God

19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” ~ Luke 12:19-21

I saw a video of people finding some ancient jars that were buried underneath a lot of layers of dirt. When they cracked open those large jars, they found ancient coins in them. The coins were filled to the very top. Someone’s entire life savings hidden away and kept safe. Never used. Never spent. Just kept away hidden in a jar. They could not take those coins with them. They died and are forgotten, lost to history, but their money was left here.

We can acquire as much wealth as we want, but we can’t do anything with it once we’re gone. Money doesn’t help us in eternity. It doesn’t help us in the next life. It cannot prolong our lives or cause us to be immortal. Is it necessary to survive? Absolutely. Is it everything? Absolutely not.

I see multiply millionaires and billionaires who have a lust for money. Who take away from their employees, instead of giving them their fair wage. Who would rather use child slaves in other countries, than to pay someone here a fair wage to do the same job. Money is no good to us if it is our love. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

Don’t let Mammon consume you. Don’t let Mammon control you and your actions. It cannot save you. When your life comes to an end, you cannot take it with you. It will be left here, and others will claim it for themselves. So, yes, make money, there’s nothing wrong with that, but don’t love it. Love the LORD, for He alone can save you when your soul is required of you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Rich Towards God.

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Don’t Be Distracted

6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. ~ Proverbs 22:6

I recently saw a short of a rabbit who was lured out of its den by a large carrot. As the rabbit nibbled on the carrot, people reached into its den and took out its young babies. This is how the enemy works. He distracts us from protecting, raising, guiding, and leading our children. Work, life, entertainment, etc. gets in the way.

If the enemy can keep us distracted, then he can be the one to raise our children. And once he had the children, he has the world. It takes one generation to completely change society. Children don’t just raise themselves. Someone or something always has a hand in guiding them.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Be Distracted.

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Have Much Hope

23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” ~ Mark 9:23

I remember reading that a pastor had committed suicide a year or so ago. When I heard that, I went to his social media page to see more about him. He had been struggling with depression for a while. Some of his posts and comments were things like, “Jesus doesn’t save you from depression. That’s not how that works.”

He would become annoyed or even angry at comments suggesting otherwise. Thinking about it, it reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite series, The Hunger Games.

Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective. A lot of hope is dangerous.

These were the words of the main antagonist explaining the purpose of having 24 kids kill each other in an arena and broadcast it live on national TV for all to see. Snow, the main antagonist of the series, is much like the enemy here. He understands that a little hope is enough to control, but too much hope will lead to a rebellion. What do I mean?

That pastor had hope that Jesus could save him. That he had eternal life in Christ. That God could forgive him of his sins and redeem him, but not that He could give him peace. Not that he could give him a renewed mind. Not that God would be able to give him the strength to tear down all the tormenting thoughts that had a hold of him. He had hope, but not enough to change him. Not enough to heal him. Not enough to redeem him.

This is how the enemy wants all of us. Just enough hope that we remain compliant with the enemy’s plans. Just enough that we don’t fight back. Our God can save us and wash us clean. There is nothing too great, too difficult, too much for Him to help us with.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Have Much Hope.

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Let God Uproot

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ~ Hebrews 12:15

I’ve recently been watching shorts of a guy who cooks hotdogs on a griddle to sell them. He has great customer service and seems to genuinely enjoy what he does. What struck me as crazy was his comment section. People were commenting how he thinks he’s a chef cause he flips some hotdogs. They mocked his tossing of the jalapeño in the air with his tongs turn catching it in the other hand with the plate.

See, the enemy will do whatever and use whoever it takes in order to try to bring you down. He uses miserable, empty people in hopes spreading their venom and taking the joy away from you. But don’t let him. Don’t let the enemy steal your joy.

And don’t let the enemy use you to destroy other people’s joy the way someone has destroyed yours. Bringing someone else down won’t lift you up. A root of bitterness will try to entice you to bring everyone else around you down so that you won’t be alone in your bitterness. Why? Because misery loves company. It’s a lie from the enemy trying to convince you that it will make you feel better to bring someone down. The only way to no longer be broken is by allowing the LORD to heal you and uproot that root of bitterness from within you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let God Uproot.

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Care About Your Destination

13 Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. ~ Matthew 7:13-14

One of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite stories, Alice In Wonderland, is the scene between Alice and the Cheshire Cat. It goes as follows:

Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don’t much care where.
The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.
Alice: …So long as I get somewhere.
The Cheshire Cat: Oh, you’re sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.

Some may see this as just bad advice, but I don’t really think it was. Their conversation doesn’t end there. He goes on to suggest to either go visit the Mad Hatter or the March Hare. When Alice is lost and in tears, the Cheshire Cat doesn’t just appear to her but comforts her. He then warns her of the Queen of Hearts’ temper, then shows her a secret passageway to the queen’s castle.

See, Lewis Carroll’s whole point of the very first conversation between the Cheshire Cat and Alice was that if you don’t have a true destination in mind, then the road you take doesn’t matter. If you don’t know where you want to go, how you live your life really doesn’t matter. You have to have a destination in mind. See, Lewis Carroll was a devout Christian. He was a deacon in the Church of England. His father was a highly-respected conservative Anglican church figure who heavily influenced him, especially as a child.

Everything Lewis Carroll wrote was directly influenced by his Christian faith in Jesus Christ. He knew and fully believed that there are two roads set before each of us. One that leads to life and one that leads to death. One that many are on and one that few even find, let alone walk. And if we don’t care about the destination, then the path we choose doesn’t matter.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Care About Your Destination.

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Beware The Other Attack

9 So Moses told the people of Israel what the LORD had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery. ~ Exodus 6:9 (NLT)

Notice what the verse says: they refused to listen anymore. It’s not that they couldn’t. Or that they struggled to. It’s that they wouldn’t. They flat-out refused—they would not listen anymore because of their dire situation.

Sometimes your situation and your circumstances can push you so far down. You feel like you can’t even get back up. It certainly did to the Israelites. They had become too discouraged. They didn’t feel like going to church. They didn’t feel like getting involved. I’ve got too much going on, brother. You don’t know what it’s like. You haven’t experienced this before.

That is what discouragement does—but God’s promises don’t stop speaking, even though we stop listening. Discouragement is one of the enemy’s favorite weapons—because he can’t. He cannot stop God. So, he tries to stop God’s people from listening and believing, and so he brings in discouragement. Things always seem to get worse just before they get better.

For Moses, slavery worsened. The people turned on him. Pharaoh’s heart hardened. See, discouragement makes us stop listening. It makes us doubt. It spreads like gangrene. Look at how it made the Israelites react. They stopped listening. I don’t care what you have to say, Moses. I don’t want to hear it. I’m done. They had lost hope.

See, if the enemy can get you to stop listening, he can get you to stop hearing, and when you stop hearing, your faith is stolen. So, keep your eyes on Christ. Keep your eyes on your promise. Don’t let the enemy steal your hope. Keep going. Fight for the promises the LORD has given to you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stop The Enemy From Stealing Your Promises.

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Live Chosen

6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints ~ Romans 1:6-7

We are all called to a universal calling, that is, a calling to belong to Jesus Christ. And in the same way, we are all called to be saints. In other words, we are all called to A Life of Excellence.

There is no excuse for us to be mean or abrasive with each other. We are called to live holy lives. Because we are all loved by God— For God so loved the world that He gave us Jesus. It was He who died on the cross to provide us with salvation so that we would not have to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire, which burns forever and ever, and the smoke of the torment of those who go there will ascend forever.

It is this calling that I would like to speak to you about this morning—a call to keep yourself holy and free from sin. Don’t believe the lie that you cannot live a holy life.

We are a chosen generation. A royal priesthood. A holy nation. A peculiar people. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live Chosen.

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