Devotionals Archives

June 26, 2022July 27, 2022

Minister

⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. ~ Matthew 25:44-46

Today is the day that we remember victims of torture. This day should be especially important to us as Christians because, according to Jesus, unless we minister to those (other Christians) in prison, then there will be no room for us in the sheepfold. How do we minister to them? We pray for them.

We bring them up before the LORD in prayer and supplication. We pray for their peace, patience, love, and endurance not to run dry. We pray for their physical body to receive supernatural healing and that they might be strengthened to endure all that is laid before them. We pray that they might lead as many to Christ as possible by their words and actions. We pray for our fellow Christians.

When we begin to pray, it may not even be out of love, but the more we do it, the more our flesh weakens, and our spirit is strengthened. Then after a time, our hearts will be filled with love for them, and our prayers will become more powerful and more discerning of what they need for prayer specifically. This praying isn’t just for them; it’s for us (the ones praying) as well because what we sow, that we shall also reap.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Minister.

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Speak Up For Life

⁵ Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. ~ Jeremiah 1:5

Yesterday, June 24th, 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned. This was something that many said would never be done, but by the grace of God, the LORD is raising up a new generation of men and women ready to stand up for life. We are called to speak up for those who can’t speak up for themselves. We’re called to be a voice of the LORD in the world. A light in the darkness.

So, let this be the beginning of the Church standing up for what is right. The beginning of the Church saying that a life is a life regardless of how small. Let this be the beginning of the Church taking its rightful place as the light of the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Speak Up For Life.

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Let Go of Yourself

²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ~ Philippians 1:21

When Saul encountered Jesus for the first time, that was it. His entire life changed. He never looked back. Not even once. It didn’t matter the persecution he suffered nor the tribulation he would have to endure. Saul understood that no matter what might come his way from the world, whether good or evil, he knew it could never compare to his encounter with Christ. In fact, after he became Paul, he went as far as to say it was no longer he that was living his life, but it was Christ, and if he were to die, then it’d be gain.

Today, every decision we make is with us at the center of it. We’re focused on our own goals and our own desires. We live our lives for us instead of for Jesus. See, Paul was ready to not only give up everything he wanted in life, but he was also ready to give up his very life as well.

Today, we can’t even give up a few minutes of our time to read our Bible or pray; then, we wonder why we no longer see signs and wonders or why our prayers aren’t being answered. If we want to hear from God, we have to seek Him. If we want to see the power of God, we have to have a relationship with Him. When we stop living for ourselves, and we start living for God, that’s when we will begin to see a change. That’s when we will begin to see the hand of God move in our lives as it did so many years ago.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Go of Yourself.

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Reveal Yourself To God

⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ~ Genesis 3:8-10

Adam and Eve lived what one could only describe as the perfect life. There was no pain, no suffering, no hurt, no disease, no death. They had everything they could ever want or need, yet it wasn’t enough. Eve’s eye caught sight of what she couldn’t have, and that forbidden fruit looked better than any other fruit given to them by God Himself. When she and Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, they gave birth to shame and fear. We’re no different today.

When we allow temptation to overcome us, it invites fear and shame into our lives that then take root in our lives. So when the Spirit of God comes looking for us, and we hear His voice, we run and hide from Him. Sometimes, we allow shame and fear to take hold of us so that we never reveal ourselves to God. So that we don’t go to Him for forgiveness and we remain in our sin.

When we allow fear and shame to take over, we give into the lie that God doesn’t love us. See, God doesn’t take pleasure in punishing us, even when we deserve it. God only wants God things for us because He loves us. He even gave Himself for us so that we might live and not die. Don’t allow fear and shame to keep you from the forgiveness Christ already paid for. We weren’t given a Spirit of Fear, so don’t allow that spirit to keep you from what God has given you, life.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Reveal Yourself To God.

Back to Fear?

Back to Daily Bread?

Watch What You Invite Into Your Life

A lot of us are like Adam and Eve. The LORD gave us instructions, a plan, and all that we could ever need, and yet we desire that forbidden fruit that leads only to death. When we give into temptation, we give birth to shame and fear that then takes root in our lives. God had no intention for mankind to be plagued with fear or shame. It wasn’t a part of God’s plan, yet because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve welcomed in the spirit of fear. God even assures us, through the Apostle Paul, that He did not give us a spirit of fear.

Just because God has good things planned for you doesn’t mean that you will see those good things. God planned for everlasting life for Adam and Eve, but they never knew what it was like not to die. God never set in His plan for man to die, yet both Adam, his wife, and all of their descendants have/will taste death. Our actions dictate what comes into our lives. Whether we obey or disobey will be the deciding factor for whether or not we will receive blessings or curses. Our lives are literally in our own hands. Each one of us writes our own stories, we can either allow God to guide us or we can forge a path for ourselves. We can either choose life or choose death, so choose wisely.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch What You Invite Into Your Life.

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Speak to the Wind

²³And when He was entered into a ship, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but He was asleep. ²⁵And His disciples came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. ²⁶And He saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. ²⁷But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him! ~ Matthew 8:23-27^KJV

Jesus and His disciples were in the ship crossing over to the other side. Now, we’re not sure if all twelve of the disciples were present or not, but we know the fishermen were present. The seasoned seamen, yet they were afraid. So, this wasn’t just any storm; this must’ve been a terrifying storm to have the seasoned fishermen cry out to Jesus, saying that they were perishing.

Now, when He helps them by calming the storm, they marvel. They could hardly believe what they had just seen. Maybe it took them by surprise because they weren’t expecting that. Maybe they were expecting Jesus to grab a bucket or pan and start bailing out water. Or grab an oar and start rowing.

Whatever they were expecting, it certainly didn’t seem to be Him speaking to the storm and the storm obeying Him. They weren’t ready for this level of power and authority. They weren’t expecting to see the miraculous. When His disciples saw that, they were completely and totally amazed. So much so that they exclaimed in amazement, in unison, “What Manner of Man is This?”

Today, we’re in the same boat. We’re seasoned Christians. We’ve been serving the LORD for years upon years, yet when a storm hits us (even a huge storm threatening to sink the ship), we become fearful and forget who is in the ship with us. It wasn’t that the disciples didn’t know who Jesus was. It wasn’t that the disciples had never heard that Jesus was the Messiah; that’s why they were following Him. When the winds and the waves began to roar, and the ship seemed as if it was going to sink, their faith began to sink in the midst of the storm.

Life isn’t always going to be sunshine and light rain. Sometimes life throws us storms that threaten to overcome and sink everything that we have. Sometimes this includes our own lives, but that doesn’t mean that we allow fear to replace our faith. Just as the disciples weren’t alone on the ship, we aren’t alone in life. God Himself abides in us. The power of God flows through us. The creator of the wind, waves, and our ship is right with us. And if we allow Him, He will calm the storm for us; all we have to do is speak to it with the authority given to us in His name. Peace. Love. Go Forth and Speak to the Wind.

Back to Fear?

Back to Daily Bread?

Don’t Stop His Promises

⁴³So the Lord gave to Israel all the land He had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. ⁴⁴And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as He had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. ⁴⁵Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything He had spoken came true. ~ Joshua 21:43–45

All of God’s promises are yea and amen. If He has promised, you can believe and stand on the promises of God. There will be many obstacles standing in our way. There will be many roadblocks that you will have to go around and maneuver through, even hindrances, but none can prevail against the Word of the LORD. There is nothing that can stop the hand of God. Nothing that can cancel His words or prevent His promises but you yourself.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Stop His Promises.

Back to Faith?

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Lead Me

¹¹I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths. ¹²When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble. ¹³Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life. ~ Proverbs 4:11–13

Fathers, it’s our job to teach our children wisdom and to lead our family in straight paths. Sanctus Real has a song called, Lead Me. In the song, his wife is asking him to lead her with strong hands and to stand up when she can’t. Then it’s the children’s turn to ask for leadership and direction. Then it is the father’s turn to ask for strength and wisdom from our Heavenly Father in order to lead them. He says, “Father, lead me cause I can’t do this alone.”

As fathers, we have to come to the realization that we cannot do this without our Heavenly Father. It is by His strength. It is by His might. It is by His wisdom that we lead and guide our families.

Our Heavenly Father, take us by the hand. Guide us and teach us how to lead our families so that they may walk in the ways of righteousness and not be held back. Help us lead and guide them that they may run and not stumble. May they take hold of our good instructions and not let go of them. May they guard our Heavenly Father’s instructions, for they are the key to life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Back to Growth?

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Love Our Compassionate Father

¹³ As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. ~ Psalms 103:13 ESV

So many of us have a misunderstanding of what it means to fear God. The fear of the LORD isn’t about being afraid He’ll smite you down as punishment for wrongdoing. It’s about fearing Him as you would fear your earthly father. I get that many still can’t understand because they had poor earthly fathers, so let me try to paint a picture of our Heavenly Father.

God the Father loves us so much that when we betrayed Him and chose death over Him, He did everything in His power to save us. Instead of only blessing those who love Him, He blesses all people with good gifts from above. In fact, even when we push Him away and run after destruction, He seeks us out and calls us back to Him. See, fearing the LORD isn’t about being so afraid to mess up that you stop living your life, God the Father isn’t abusive. He gently corrects and guides us back onto the path of righteousness when we fall astray. The fear of the LORD is truly about loving Him, for He is a good good Father.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Love Our Compassionate Father.

Back to Growth?

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Lead Them Into Blessings

⁷The righteous [man] who walks in his integrity—blessed are his children after him! ~ Proverbs 20:7

Fathers pave the way for their children. Their actions and decisions affect their children. Abraham believed God and followed Him with all of His heart, and generation after generation after generation, his descendants are still being blessed because of this. God says He blesses to the 1000^th generation of those who love Him. Imagine that just loving God would bring blessings upon not only your children and grandchildren but 1000 generations.

Your life isn’t your own. You not only affect the lives of those around you, especially your children, but you pave their way. What they see you do, they do. How they hear you speak, they will speak. You are the leader of your family, so don’t allow anything of this world to take away from your children and your children’s children. Love the LORD, seek Him, walk in His ways, and teach your children to do the same.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Lead Them Into Blessings.

Back to Growth?

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Tag: Devotionals

Minister

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