Tag: Devotionals

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Shift The Focus To Yourself

John 15:1-2 CSB

[1]  I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2] Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.

As I continue my journey, I found focusing on myself and less on others an instrumental part of growth. Now, on the surface, that sounds selfish, so let me further explain. When things happened, such as an argument or hurt feelings, or any negative situation, when I prayed about it or thought about it, everything was focused on what the other person did to me and their behavior. This just caused more and more resentment and anger in me. Why? Because I was focusing on that person and their actions instead of focusing on myself.

See, you can’t control how someone else will act, respond, or even treat you. You have no control over anyone but yourself. So, instead of my thoughts and prayers focused and centered around the other person, I make myself the center. If I’m hurting, I say, “LORD, I’m hurting. Please comfort me.” If I’m angry, I breathe in then out and say, “LORD, I’m angry. Please calm my spirit.” I don’t focus on how I’ve been wronged or mistreated. Instead, I focus on moving forward and the first step is fixing my mood. So that’s exactly what I do.

The more I do this, the more I feel genuine joy, peace, and comfort. Why? Because I’m no longer dwelling on how I’ve been wronged. Instead, I’m turning the other cheek, forgiving, letting go, and moving forward. Matter-of-fact, I find myself not getting angry, upset, annoyed, frustrated, or hurt by things people do that used to really bother me. The more I focus on me, the more God fixes me. The more God fixes me, the more I feel His love, and in return, the more I love. The more I love Him, the more I love life, and the more I love those around me.

This life we have is very short. It can all be over in the blink of an eye, so don’t live it focusing on the wrong that’s been done to you. Use it to focus on yourself and how you can love so that your life might consist of more love, joy, and peace.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Shift The Focus To Yourself.

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Let God Live

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ~ Galatians 2:20NIV

Lately, I’ve been trying a new approach at life. I’ve been letting go of me, and welcoming in more of God. In other words, I’ve been putting up more of a fight to allow Christ to live through me, instead of allowing my flesh, feelings, emotions, etc. to dictate my life. Now, this is much easier said than done, but it has been working significantly in my life.

When things would become difficult and overwhelming the screams of “give up” “you can’t do it” “you’ll never succeed” used to blare so loud I could only panic and give up. Or when I was hurt shouts of “you’re never good enough” “no one cares about you” “you’ll never be enough” “no one really loves you” would get so loud depression would begin to sink in. Now, I simply pause.

I take a moment no matter where I’m at. No matter what I’m doing and I just pause. In that pause, I refuse to listen to any voice, and I just pray. I lift up that exact situation and my exact feelings to God and pray for peace. Throughout my day, I sing worship songs to keep me in a state of worship. When I feel anger or resentment begin to try to grab a hold of me I pause, breathe, and remind myself that this life isn’t mine. I was bought by a price. It’s no longer I who live, but Christ who lives through me. Therefore, if I have been wronged, Christ will defend me. Christ will vindicate me. My role is to simply forgive and keep going.

This hasn’t been an easy journey to get to a place where I feel genuine joy, even in stressful and overwhelming situations, but it has been a journey that is worth it. Each day, I wake up laying my whole life in the hands of God. I lift up things I’m stressed about before Him, and I leave it there at His feet. When it wants to try to stress me out because it hasn’t happened yet, I tell myself, no, God hasn’t failed me yet, so He won’t fail me now. And I keep moving. Every night, I thank Him for His mercies and His grace. I thank Him for all that He has done for me. Then I lay each and everything weighing me down, and I lay it at His feet. And then I just allow His love and His peace to consume me as I drift off into sleep.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let God Live.

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Keep Bearing Good Fruit

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ~ Matthew 3:7-10

This is John the Baptist speaking. He was speaking to the religious people who thought that their religion would save them. They were not bearing fruit, well, at least, they were not bearing good fruit. They were walking around in long flowing robes and even praying long, loud prayers in the public place. They believed that they had all that they needed, not realizing that they needed the very one they would plan later to kill.

John advised them, “Look, you better start bearing good fruit. That is what bearing fruit in keeping with repentance means. Good fruit. Remember that the word repentance actually means to stop what you are doing, change the direction you are going in, and start heading in the very opposite direction.  You do not continue in the type of lifestyle you used to live. You begin living for Jesus now. Repentance requires work. You are not saved by works, but you are judged by your works. Therefore, bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Do not presume that God loves you too much to reject you if you stop bearing fruit or if you turn away from Him.

Look at what John ended with, “Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” This is a very serious matter; one day, we will all spend eternity in one place or the other. One place is blissfulness, and the other place is eternal punishment in a lake of fire. The fire is never quenched, and the flames are never extinguished. It is a place of eternal torment.

Here is what I suggest. I suggest that you begin taking inventory of your own life and noting those habits that are unprofitable. Then, change them. Those thoughts that lead you astray, change them, and begin living for Jesus, He is our only Hope.

Heavenly Father, please help me to change the things in my life that are unfruitful. Prune me so that I can bear even more fruit. I want to be ready for You when You return to get us; in Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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A Bit of Boasting

[13] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.”  [14] Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.  [15] Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” [16] But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 
(James 4:13-16) CSB

I bet you did not realize that God considered it boasting to say that you’re going to do such and such, in such and such place, at such and such time.

God considers it boasting because you’re actually bragging that that is what you’re going to do. When in reality, God holds your very breath in His hands. It is only by His tender mercy and His great grace that we are even saved.

Jesus gave up all of heaven and was obedient to the Father. Now, He expects us to be submissive and to be obedient to Him as well. So, the next time you’re talking about a future event, you need to say, “If God is willing.”

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Work Out Your Own Salvation

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. ~ Philippians 2:12-13

I don’t understand churches that teach that you can live any old way you want because you have absolutely no responsibility in your salvation, when obviously Paul said, yes, you most assuredly do.  You have a big part to play in your salvation. Matter of fact, you have all of the responsibility in working out your salvation.

Look at what he wrote. He commended them for their obedience; then he encouraged them to continue in that obedience. But notice, it was not just continue, it was continue much more, working out their own salvation with fear and trembling. Now, how can they say we have no responsibility in our salvation?

Listen to what he wrote to the Roman Church, 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Romans 2:13

In other words, it doesn’t matter how much you go to church. It doesn’t even matter how much you read the Bible. I know that sounds a little out there, but it’s true. You can go to church every day and twice on Sundays and read your Bible for hours on end, and it will not matter when you stand before God’s throne if you are not obedient to God’s Word. Paul warned us it is not the hearers that are righteous but the doers that are justified. In other words, it is not the churchgoers; it is not the Bible readers, but only the obedient that will be justified.

So, I want to encourage you today to put some effort in your Christian walk. Get involved with your own salvation, and work it out with fear and trembling. Do not be a hearer only, but be a doer. Be who God has called you to be. You are called for much more than just a benchwarmer. You are called to do a mighty work for Jesus, but you can’t if you are just sitting on the bench, or if you are wavering between two opinions. You are either hot or you are cold. The lukewarm will be spewed out of God’s mouth.

Heavenly Father, thank You that You are a forgiving God and are not waiting in heaven for me to make a mistake so that You can swat me. But in great love and abounding mercy, You forgive all who repent. Thank You that You remember that I am but dust, and You look at me with compassion. Help me to live my life for You, working out my salvation with much fear and trembling. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Do Good Works

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. ~ 1 Peter 2:11-12

Peter writes, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles…” A sojourner is one who is just passing through. For them, it’s just a short stay, like a vacation or a short stopover. That is who we Christians are. We are aliens here on this earth because we are not of this world; we have been redeemed out of the world by the blood of the Lamb. So, we live like this is not our home because it is not. John said that this world is passing away along with its desires (1 John 2:17). This world is temporary; therefore, we Christians do not get attached to this world. We do not love the things of this, nor do we put our hope in the things of this world. We put our hope in Jesus. We look to Him, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Our focus is on doing God’s will because there are greater things in store for those who put their faith, trust, and hope in Jesus.

The world’s passions are passing away, John said, that is why Peter encourages us to abstain from the passions of the flesh, because the passions of the flesh come from the passions of this world, and they wage war against our soul. Meaning that they separate us from our Savior. The passions of the flesh causes us to stray and wander away from the will of our God. We don’t partake in the things of the flesh because they defile us. Rather, we keep our conduct honorable and pleasing to God. We keep our deeds good, walking righteously with our God. And even though evildoers may slander us, they cannot deny our good deeds, they may hate us for our good deeds, but they cannot deny our good deeds and will glorify God on the day of His visitation.

There is coming a day when Jesus will break the eastern sky on His way back to get us, and His return is very near. Therefore, we must hold on to the things of God so that unbelievers will see our good works and glorify our God on that day. So, be encouraged, Jesus loves you. He is coming back for you. He will not leave you here forever but will come and take you to be with Him so that where He is, there we will be also, forever and ever.

Father, thank You for loving me. Thank You for always watching over me. Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to die for me. Help me to do good deeds and act pleasing and according to Your will, in Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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All Praise To Our God And King

1 I will extol You, my God and King, and bless Your Name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless You and praise Your Name forever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. ~ Psalms 145:1-3

The word extol is a fancy way of saying praise, or magnify, or glorify. Therefore, the Psalmist is saying, I will praise Your Name, O my God. I will magnify You because You are my God and my King. I will glorify You with my life, and I will sing Your praise forever. I choose to honor You because I admire and adore You for all that You have done. I will worship You forever. See what the Psalmist says, “Every day I will bless You and praise Your Name forever and ever.”

And why does he do that? He tells us. It’s because the LORD is great and greatly to be praised. Because of all the wondrous things the LORD has done. So much so that they are too numerous to list and too many for us to even know all the wonders that He has performed. Just think, He created the world and all that is in it. He formed us and created us in His own image. He took all of our sins upon Himself and carried them away from us as far as the East is from the West (Psalms 103:12). God is a great God. He is a loving and kind God, and His steadfast love will never end. God is a good, good Father.

God is a God that truly cares. A God that truly loves. For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only begotten Son (John 3:16). He will never leave us nor forsake us. He will never turn His back on us. So, the next time you feel alone or forsaken like no one cares about you and no one loves you, remember that Your Heavenly Father loves you. He adores you. Jesus gave His life for you so that you can have eternal life with Him. You are loved. So, that is why we extol the LORD our God and our King. That is why we bless His holy Name. That is why we will bless Him every day and praise His Name forever because we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much. Thank You for dying on the cross for us. I purpose in my heart to extol You and bless Your great name every day; as long as You give me breath in my lungs, I will praise You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Sow Seeds of Blessings

Proverbs 28:27 CSB

[27] The one who gives to the poor will not be in need, but one who turns his eyes away will receive many curses.

I heard a preacher once say that giving to the poor doesn’t come with any increase or a blessing, but only tithe does. Now, I’m not anti-tithe. I tithe every month faithfully, as I believe all believers should, but I do have a problem with this teaching. Everything we do has either a reward or a punishment that we can expect in return. Each and every action we make is sowing seeds. When we give to God, we’re sowing seeds of obedience, and we will reap a reward. When we give to those in need, we’re sowing seeds of charity, and we will reap a reward. When we’re stingy with our money and we don’t give to anyone, not even God we are sowing seeds of selfishness.

Each seed bares a tree of either blessings or curses. Yes, there is a blessing that comes when you tithe, but there is a blessing that comes with giving to those in need as well. The LORD blesses those who want to be a blessing to others. Our cup doesn’t pour over just so that we can’t contain it and it goes to waste, but so that we can bless others around us as well.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Sow Seeds of Blessings.

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Forgive A Pawn

11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. 13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. ~ Ephesians 6:11-13CSB

I heard someone say that we can’t live our lives being right because the more right you are, the more miserable you’ll be. Now, on its own out of context, that sounds crazy, but once in context, it’s quite profound. See, he explained that when we focus on the physical person hurting us and causing us pain, we begin to blame that person and bitterness, anger, resentment build up inside of us, Now, not only are we carrying the heavy load of pain, now we’re also carrying around the chains of anger, resentment, rejection, bitterness, etc. All of these things weigh us down and cause us more pain as well as cause us to the cause of someone else’s pain. This can cause a domino effect, which often leads to generational curses. So, what can we do?

This wise man said we had to look past the physical person causing us pain, and see the spiritual being behind it, Satan. Yes, you’re right in saying this person has done this to me and that to me, They’ve treated me like this and treated me like that. Yes, you’re right, but the more right you are the more hold them to that debt) the more pain you’ll feel inside, So, the more right you are, the more miserable you’ll be, So, what do we do?

We look past the physical and into the spiritual. When we do that, we’ll realize something, each and every human soul on this earth is a pawn for one of two kingdoms: Jesus’ kingdom or Satan’s kingdom, Each move we make is influenced by one of the other, If we were to look beyond the physical and into the spiritual, we would see the person causing us the pain is being influenced and ultimately moved by Satan. When we truly understand, believe, and accept this truth, we will be able to forgive the person who has wronged us. This will allow us to heal, take off our heavy oppressive chains, and find peace as we dwell in love.

Dear LORD, You see the hurt in my soul and oppression that keeps me enchained in the past. Please, LORD, open my eyes that I might see and my mind that I might understand the true being behind my pain isn’t the physical person who has hurt me, but Satan, who came down in great wrath and now prowls seeking some to devour. Please heal my heart as I forgive the person who has been used by Satan. Please be with me always guiding my every move so I won’t be devoured by the enemy. In Jesus’ name,
I pray, amen.

Please repeat this declaration after prayer:

I forgive you [insert name here] for [insert wrong doing here]. I release you from this debt and choose to cancel it just as Christ canceled mine. I forgive you. I know and understand you are being used by the enemy, but I no longer will be. I forgive you.

Now this won’t be the last time you battle thoughts about this. The enemy will try to attack your mind with these thoughts until you have fully forgiven the person who has wronged you and completely let go of the hurt.

So, every time Satan tries to remind you of the wrong doing, stop the thought immediately and remind yourself who the true enemy is behind it all, forgiveness and peace may not come overnight, but they will come to those who are faithful.

Peace. Love. Go forth and Forgive A Pawn.

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Beware Warm Handshakes

4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ~ James 4:4

There is fear of speaking up. There is fear of telling the truth about what is really going on. Some say it is because of the fear of suicidal tendencies if you do, or the fear of getting a visit from the FBI, or at the very least, you offend people. I’ve seen the videos on the internet. I’ve heard the testimonies of those who lived it, and it is all for real.

But here is what Patrick Henry said, and I quote:

Should I keep back my opinions at such a time through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason toward my country and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

His fear of God and love for the Savior was stronger than his fear of man. It would seem that we are in the same boat, with warm handshakes and broad smiles and pats on the back, which deceives the brainwashed into overlooking the acts of war and the play for the subjugation of the American population.

As Patrick Henry said:

Suffer not your cells to be betrayed with a kiss.

We’re living in a time where we’d rather believe and bow to the lies of the world instead of standing on and for the Truth of our God. We are often beguiled by seemingly kind words of tolerance, peace, and unity when in actuality, all they are promising is to be an enemy of the LORD.

So, be on your guard. Awaken your spirit man, so that you might have a direct connection to the Holy Spirit so that He can guide you through the beguiling of the enemy.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for every time I’ve given into the world and its deception. Please awaken my spirit man within me that I might hear from you and discern right from wrong. Please give me the strength to stand for righteousness. Please guide me in everything I do, and be with me always. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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