Devotionals Archives

July 26, 2022July 27, 2022

Listen For His Voice

² Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says: “The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me. ³ Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care— but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.” ~ Isaiah 1:2-3^NLT

Many see the Bible as just a rule book of do’s and don’t’s. They see it as a book of bondage and chains because it plainly lays out right from wrong. What they fail to realize is that the Bible is so much more than that. The Bible is God’s written word to us that we might know the way to freedom and that we might know His heart. God desires for all to be saved, for all to know His voice and follow Him, yet even those who call themselves His children struggle.

The Church today is led astray by culture’s demand for politically correct thoughts, ideas, and actions. They claim that Jesus would support this, and He would support that without giving any Scripture to back their claim, and the Church falls for it. The Church has forgotten the voice of our Good Shepherd. We miss the meaning of true love. We buy into the lie that judgment is wrong and evil without realizing that without judging a tree by its fruit, we’ll never know what kind of tree it is.

One day, Jesus will break that Eastern sky, and He will gather all who know His voice to Him. Don’t miss out on His return because you no longer know His voice. Don’t miss out on Eternal Life because you no longer hear His gentle whisper. Don’t miss out because the world claims to know right from wrong better than Jesus. Don’t let anything cause you to miss out, for eternity without Christ is unlike any pain we could ever experience on this earth.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Listen For His Voice.

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Don’t Miss Out

³ When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. ~ John 14:3^NLT

2,000 years ago, Jesus came to the earth, died for our sins, rose again, and ascended on high. Since then, the world hasn’t physically seen Him again. It’s easy to get discouraged that our God has forgotten about us or that He’s taking too long to return, but God is never late, and neither does He forget about His people.

2,000 years ago, only a small portion of the Jews were prepared for the Messiah to come. Only a small portion of them followed Him. Only a small portion of them could recognize the Messiah when they saw Him.

Today, the Church is just as Israel was 2,000 years ago. Only a small portion of the Church knows who Christ truly is. Only a small portion of the Church follows Him and awaits His return, while others say that His return removes the hope of our next generation. Jesus warned that the world would try to lead the Church astray so that we weren’t ready for His return, just as the Jews weren’t so many years ago. Don’t miss out on the return of Jesus. Don’t miss His second coming, for He will return for His people and gather them to Himself to be with Him always.

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

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Go Before The Throne of Grace

²³In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. ²⁴Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. ~ John 16:23–24

Ordinary men were not allowed to go straight to the Father and ask for anything because they were not allowed to go into that intimate place with the Father. But after Jesus’ death, the veil was torn, and now we have access to the Father and can ask Him, Himself in Jesus’ name, for anything we desire, and He will give it to us.

The key is asking in the Name of Jesus. We no longer need a man, or a high priest, as a go-between for us. We, with unveiled faces, can boldly approach with confidence the Throne of Grace and ask for whatever we desire. So, don’t be afraid to go before the Throne of Grace in confidence.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Go Before The Throne of Grace.

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Hold The Faith

⁹ The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. ~ 2 Peter 3:9^NLT

Many of us have been given promises that we feel are taking too long to come to pass. In fact, many of us never see the promise come to pass because we stop it from happening. We stop holding on to those promises and move on because we think God is taking too long or He forgot. The LORD doesn’t forget, nor is He ever late. If He made you a promise, the only one that could stop the promise is you. God will fulfill all His promises at the perfect time; it’s up to us to hold to those promises and keep the faith.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Hold The Faith.

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Play No More

²⁷Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? ²⁸Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? ~ Proverbs 6:27–28

The Proverbs ask if you can hold fire to your chest and not get burned. Or if you can walk on hot coals and your feet not be scorched. The simple answer to both of these questions is no. No, you cannot carry fire next to your chest, and your clothes not get burned. Neither can you walk on hot coals, and your feet not get scorched. If, for some dark reason, someone can do that, it is not natural.

The same with sin. You cannot play with sin and not get caught in its grasp. Many will say that’s the Old Testament; we now live under the new and better covenant. The only problem with that is that the New Testament says the same thing. Even Paul says just a little leaven will leaven the entire pot. You can’t play with sin and not expect to be influenced, changed, and affected by it. Sin isn’t a toy that you can just play with. Sin is a dangerous predator seeking out prey to destroy. Don’t be fooled by the guise of sin; it’s more than just a thought. It’s more than just a game. It’s your soul, your entire eternity, that you’re playing with.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Play No More.

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Withstand

¹³ The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. ~ 1 Corinthians 10:13^NLT

All of us go through some temptation of some kind. We may not go through the same temptations as each other, but none of us are the only ones struggling with a certain kind of temptation or sin. No person struggles with a sin that isn’t common to man. No person struggles with a sin that is unique to them, and no one else can relate to.

And just as we aren’t the only ones struggling, we aren’t alone in the temptation either. God is with us. He is guiding us through the temptation so that we might not fall prey to it but instead overcome it. No temptation will overcome you if you put your trust in the LORD God Almighty and follow His lead. Write His word on your heart by memorizing Scripture. Quote it in times of need. Withstand that Devil, and he must flee.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Withstand.

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Plant Many Seeds

¹⁵ Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. ~ 1 Peter 3:15^NLT

We live in a world that doesn’t know God, nor does it desire to know God. In fact, it desires to shut God out and silence His believers. The world tries to put us on the spot and intimidate us into not believing by mocking our beliefs in front of others, but don’t let them get the best of you. Stand up for your faith. The message of the cross is foolishness to the unbeliever, but to us who believe it is the very power of God. And who knows, maybe a seed will be planted that will one day grow into a fruitful tree of faith.

This is the importance of knowing your Bible. This is the importance of knowing and understanding why you believe what you believe. How can the unbeliever ever understand and come to acceptance if the believer doesn’t know or understand what they believe? We have to be ready to explain our hope in God. We have to be ready to explain our love for God. We have to know what we believe and why. The only way we can do that is if we read our Bible and strengthen our relationship with God. We have to go deeper than just a Sunday Christian. We have to be an everyday Christian who seeks and worships God every day. We have to lead the world to the light; if the light in us is dim, how can we lead anyone through the darkness? So, strengthen your faith so that you may lead others to Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Plant Many Seeds.

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Stand on the Rock

²⁵ When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation. ~ Proverbs 10:25^NLT

On the outside, physically speaking, the Church may look no different from the world, but when you look on the inside and take a look at the soul, you’ll see the difference. The world relies on the strength of themselves, idols, false gods, mankind, kings, etc., while the Church retired on God Almighty.

We don’t rely on idols, false gods, or even angels of God. We rely on The Almighty, who created all things. We build our lives on the Rock that cannot be moved. So when trials and tribulations come our way, we are not moved. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). We may look like the world on the outside, physically, but on the inside, we are completely different, for we stand on the Rock that cannot be moved.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stand on the Rock.

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Enter Into His Rest

⁸ The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. ⁹ For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did. ¹⁰ For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ ¹¹ So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’” ~ Psalms 95:8-11^NLT

For forty years, the people of Israel sought other gods, complained to God, complained to Moses, and never once did they stop and thank God for all that He had done for them. God had just rescued them from 400 years of slavery. He showed them His power and His glory, yet they were not moved by this.

Today, we are the same way. We seek the world instead of God, and when things go wrong, we blame Him. Then when He comes to our rescue, we return to our old ways. We rarely give Him the glory and honor He deserves. If we continue in our ways and refuse to be thankful and give God the praise and honor He deserves, we’ll end up like the Israelites of old. They walked around the desert for 40 years, yet they never entered into the rest of the LORD. Jesus is coming back real soon. If we aren’t careful, we’ll miss out on His rest. We have to be thankful. We have to praise Him. We have to follow Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Enter Into His Rest.

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Praise God’s Name

³⁰ Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor Him with thanksgiving. ³¹ For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle, more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves. ~ Psalms 69:30-31^NLT

The LORD doesn’t desire that blood be shed. He doesn’t desire that the innocent should die so that the wicked can be saved. God doesn’t desire sacrifices of blood because an innocent life must be given in order for blood to be shed. God desires for us to be obedient. He desires for us to choose life and not death. Goodness and not evil. God formed each and every one of us by hand. He knows the number of hairs on our heads. You are worth more to Him than all the sparrows in the sky, so choose life and not death. Rejoice in His goodness. Praise Him, for He loves you more than silver and gold.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Praise God’s Name.

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