Tag: Devotionals

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Seek To See The Spiritual

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” ~ Matthew 2:3-6

King Herod went to the chief priests and scribes to find out where the Messiah would be born. The chief priests and scribes knew the answer immediately; they didn’t have to search the Scriptures or discuss it amongst themselves. No. They knew it immediately and could even quote the prophecy by memory, yet they weren’t in the slightest way curious why these wise men traveled so far following a star because they were searching for the Messiah. They had been waiting so long that the hope of seeing the Messiah in their time that they had spiritually fallen asleep.

Never does the Scriptures say that these men went in search of the Messiah. It doesn’t even hint to it, yet they were the ones that advised the king of the prophecy. This is how the Church is today. We know the Scriptures. We can teach it and explain it, but we’re like them, who couldn’t recognize the spiritual signs around them. They missed the star. They missed the prophecies. They missed it all. Just knowing the Scriptures isn’t enough. You have to have a relationship with Jesus Himself. The Holy Spirit has to dwell in you for those Scriptures to mean anything to you.

This Christmas, let’s look past the surface level of the Scriptures and let us look at the Spiritual signs around us. The Christ has been born. We live in a time period like never before, when the Spirit of God has been poured out on all flesh, so anyone who calls on Him can be saved. The Savior of the world is just one step away. And now the times are changing again, for the Messiah is soon returning. The signs are all around us. We see prophecies that we know by heart are being fulfilled, yet they don’t mean anything to us. This Christmas, let’s seek the Spirit of the LORD, that He might open our spiritual eyes so that we might see the signs around us. So that we might not miss out on His second coming.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek To See The Spiritual.

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Seek The Messiah

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” ~ Matthew 2:1-2

The wise men followed the star from the East to Jerusalem. They didn’t know where the Messiah was to be born. They didn’t know where they were going, but they knew they were seeking the only Messiah to save them and anyone who sought Him. Today is no different. Not all of us know the Messiah, who He is, and where He is, but we’re following His Word until we find Him. We follow what we know to be true. The Messiah has come, the Bible is His Word, and we must follow Him to receive eternal life.

This Christmas could be our last. We never know what tomorrow holds. We can’t change yesterday, nor can we control tomorrow, but we have today. Today is the day of Salvation. Don’t allow yourself to miss out on the Messiah. Follow His Word, even if you aren’t sure where it’s taking you because the LORD promises that those who ask for wisdom will receive it just as the wise men received wisdom and understanding on where to find the Messiah. And just as the wise men found the Messiah, so does the LORD promise that anyone who seeks Him finds Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek The Messiah.

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A Son Is Given

6a For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; ~ Isaiah 9:6a

When Isaiah prophesied that a child would be born, but a son is given, he was actually describing the Messiah. When he said a child is born, he was speaking about Jesus’ natural birth. He was describing His human nature that He inherited through His earthly mother, Mary.

Jesus could not come as God and die as God to save mankind. Jesus had to set off His Godliness so that He could come as a man and die as a man. Why? Because He was taking the place of mankind. Jesus took our sin upon Himself and died so that we didn’t have to. So that anyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.

Unto us a son is given, speaks about His divinity. Jesus was the second member of the Godhead before His incarnation and remained the second member of the Godhead after His death and resurrection. When Paul wrote, “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,” he was saying that Jesus did not count, think, or consider being equal to God, something that was obtainable by mere human beings. We do not and cannot obtain Godhood.

Then the Word emptied Himself is the Greek word kenosis meaning to empty. So, what Paul was explaining is that Jesus, although He was God and is still God, did not take advantage of being God, but rather, He emptied Himself of it, or in other words, put it to one side so that He could operate as a mere man, but still retain His Godhood. And that is the reason the prophet said, unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given. Because Jesus Christ, our LORD and Savior, is both God and man.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept His Free Gift of Salvation.

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Remember The True Reason For The Season

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2:10-12

One of the most important questions we can ask is, what is the real meaning of Christmas? We’ve all seen the sign or the memes that say, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” And yes, Jesus is the reason for the season, but what is the real meaning of Christmas? Why do we have Christmas at all?

The answer is the Word of God, Jesus Himself, because it was Him that got off His throne, put aside His Godhood, put on flesh, and became a human by entering this world as a helpless tiny baby born of a virgin. Thus, ushering in peace on earth and goodwill toward men on whom His favor rests by reconciling man back to God. That is the real meaning of Christmas is that God became a man in order to give the gift of life.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remember The True Reason For The Season.

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Cling To The Christmas Hope

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” ~ Matthew 1:20-21

This world strips hope; Jesus gives hope, yet the world will not receive Him, nor will they accept Him as their Yeshua, their hope, their salvation, their Messiah, their Savior. That is what His name literally means. That’s why the angel said, “And His Name Shall Be Called Jesus because He will save His people from their sins.”

Jesus will save you from your sins. If you are burdened down with a load of care, cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you. If you are lost and cannot find your way, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to Father except through Him. If you have lost all hope. Jesus is the true and real Christmas Hope. He is the only way to salvation. He is the only way to eternal life.

Every day the world tries to darken the Light that is Christ the LORD, but the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome. They may be able to quiet some. They may be able to temporarily kick God out of the schools, cities, states, and even the country, but God is still God. He is still the King of kings, and He is still the LORD of lords. He is still seated on His throne, awaiting the appointed hour when He will break that eastern sky and bring judgment upon the world. But to those who have clung to His promise and His salvation, He will rescue them from that wrath. And where He is, so we will be with Him forever.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cling To The Christmas Hope.

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Don’t Miss Out On Salvation

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” ~ Matthew 1:20-21

Jesus lived, died, and was raised to life again. By this, He purchased our salvation. And if that was all, that would be enough. But not only did Jesus purchase our salvation, but He purchased our peace and our healing. Through His name, we have been given authority to cast out demonic and evil spirits. In His name, relationships are restored. In His name are all of the blessings that are found in God.

All we need to do is to call upon the name of Jesus, our LORD and Savior, and our Salvation, and He will make everything right.

But please understand I’m not saying that life will magically become a cakewalk. Jesus, in fact, warns us that there will be many troubles, trials, and sorrows while on this earth, but He didn’t stop there. He didn’t leave us hopeless. Jesus goes on to encourage us by saying, “Take heart, for I have overcome the world (John 16:33).”

Jesus doesn’t promise us all sunshine and rainbows. He tells you like it is, “You will have many trials and many sorrows.” But in His name, we can have peace. In His name, we can overcome. This is why He came. To save mankind. To save the world. To bring peace. To bring hope. To bring salvation.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Miss Out On Salvation.

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Hope In His Name

30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” ~ Luke 1:30–31

We read right over that without noticing the profoundness of what the angel said to Mary. He said, “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son…” To us, that is no big deal because we just take it for granted, but it is a big deal.

You see, Gabriel was explaining to Mary that she would become pregnant with child but not in the ordinary, natural way, but she will conceive in her womb in a miraculous way. Please understand that women, according to medical science, do not conceive in their wombs but conceive in their fallopian tubes and then move down to the womb, which wasn’t discovered until the 1500s by an Italian physician by the name of Gabriel Fallopius.

 And just for the record, isn’t it strange that the angel’s name that first announced it was named Gabriel, and the physician who discovered it was also named Gabriel? Just an interesting thought…

So, Mary wouldn’t be impregnated the natural way because the baby was not to be conceived the natural way, but supernatural. Therefore, baby Jesus was conceived in the womb because a man was not needed, but it was the seed of the womb who was to make restitution for the whole world.

Therefore, His name shall be called Jesus. Old Testament Joshua or Yeshua. New Testament Jesus or Iēsous. These names mean Salvation or Savior. That in itself means Hope. Jesus or Yeshua is our Christmas Hope. It’s only that name that gives us hope. Hope of life eternal. Hope of peace that passes all understanding. Hope of joy, unspeakable joy, and full of glory. Hope that the world certainly cannot give, and neither does it try to give.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Hope In His Name.

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Embrace God

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). ~ Matthew 1:23

Jesus is also known as Immanuel because He is literally “God with us.” You see, God, Jesus, existed from eternity. There was never a time when Jesus did not exist. But there was a time when Jesus put aside His divinity to come to this old dusty world to save those who hated Him with a passion. Why?

Jesus being born in Bethlehem is literally the Christmas story. He is our real and true Christmas present from Almighty God. You see, Jesus didn’t come into this world because He had to come, well, at least NOT for Himself. He did not come because we loved Him and wanted Him to come. No! The Word of God says:

11 He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.

John 1:11

Matter of fact, the Word says that although He made the world, the world did not recognize Him. We did not know who He was, yet He came anyway and was mistreated and abused. Knowing this, He still chose to give His life for us sinners.

So, it wasn’t because of our love for Him that He came, but because of our “desperate need” for Him that He came. We were utterly lost without Him. Jesus already existed; He didn’t have to come in order to exist. He shared the Father’s glory for past eternity, but nonetheless, He chose to put all of that aside to save us. He literally became ‘God with us.’

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Embrace God.

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Seek A Sign

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. ~ Isaiah 7:14

So many of us are walking around refusing to ask the LORD for a sign because we’re afraid we’ll have to change our lifestyle for Him. We don’t want to put our trust in the LORD but instead in ourselves or the things around us. So, when we refuse to get personal with God, God goes general for everybody so that we don’t have a choice but to see the sign we were trying to avoid.

God doesn’t allow anyone to go with an excuse. None of mankind has any excuse not to know God. Why? Because God Himself sent the ultimate sign of His love for all of mankind. There is no longer any excuse to miss out on knowing God because He gave a sign for the entire world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek A Sign.

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Believe In Your Purpose

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ~ John 6:35

God makes no mistakes or does nothing without a reason. For instance, it’s not a coincidence that the Bread of Life was born in the city called the house of bread. God strategically planned every aspect from before the foundation of the world. We serve a great and mighty God.

Not only that, but God wanted to make sure there was no doubt in anybody’s mind about who He was talking about. Therefore, He said,

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah…”

God made sure that Bethlehem of Ephrathah was distinguished from the Bethlehem of the tribe of Zebulun. Why? Because Bethlehem Ephrathah, in Judea, is the birthplace of King David. The same Bethlehem that belonged to Judah. The ancestral tribe of Jesus. Thus, He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. A descendant of Judah, the son of Jacob, the grandson of Isaac, and the great-grandson of the patriarch Abraham.

Everything God does has a purpose, which includes creating you. You weren’t a mistake. You weren’t an accident. You were hand formed by God Himself. He created you and created a plan for your life. Everything was intentional, down to where you were born, just like Christ Jesus. So, be encouraged today; you were not a mistake but divinely designed.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Believe In Your Purpose.

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