Tag: Devotionals

²⁰ You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. ²¹ In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel. ~ Exodus 27:20-21

Aaron and his sons were the high priest and priests of Israel. They were the only ones who could enter into the presence of the LORD and intercede on behalf of the people. We no longer have humans as our interceders between God and us, but God-Himself, Jesus Christ, intercedes on our behalf, and it is through Him that we go before the LORD God Almighty. But look at what the priests of old had to do. They had to keep the lamp burning, tending to it from evening to morning. The oil they used wasn’t just any old oil either; it was pure beaten olive oil.

Today, we try to fill our lamp with any old oil. We bring half prayers filled with drowsy words as we drift off into sleep. We bring pitiful worship that isn’t even for fifteen minutes. We bring half-read verses of Scripture that we forget within minutes. Our oil that we’re filling our lamps with isn’t pure beaten olive oil. It’s any old oil we find lying around. Is that the kind of oil that will bring light to our lamp? Is that the kind of oil that won’t burn out seconds after adding it? How often do you add oil? How often do you tend to your lamp?

We are the light of the world because Christ is no longer physically on earth but instead lives through us. His Holy Spirit dwells in us and with us, so what excuse do we have when we bring poor oil to fill our lamps with? Jesus is coming back very soon. The signs of the times are revealing everywhere. Don’t let the temporary things of this world distract you from the eternal treasures God has in store for His people. Spend time with the LORD every single day, making sure to light your lamp with only the purest beaten olive oil. Don’t waste what little time you have left. Prepare yourself for the master will soon be on His way.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Light Your Lamps.

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²³ As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. ~ 1 Samuel 12:23

Even though the people had become wicked and rebellious, Samuel saw it as a sin to stop praying for them. Today, it’s so easy for us to become offended and angry by other people’s sin and disobedience that we give up on them. When we see them make the same mistakes over and over again, it’s difficult to stand back and still pray for them. We want judgment, justice, and God’s wrath upon them because they fall into the same old traps as before. But where is the love?

We have to love people, even when they sin. We have to love people, even when we think that they’re living in sin and debauchery. And the biggest way we love people is to pray for them regardless of how we feel they should act. Never remove your prayers from the world. Never give up on people.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray For The Sinner.

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¹ Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the LORD rises to shine on you. ~ Isaiah 60:1^NLT

Jesus said that while He was in the world, He was the Light of the World. But if you’ve noticed, Jesus is no longer in the world. Jesus has ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He is spiritually fighting for us through His prayers of intercession. So, is the world now left in darkness since Jesus is no longer physically walking among us?

No. The world has not been abandoned, for His Church (His bride) has taken up His mantel and is now the Light of the World. It’s up to us to shine the Light of Christ in the darkness through teaching, preaching, disciplining, healing, giving, and loving. It’s now on us because Christ lives through us. It is no longer us who lives; it’s now Christ who lives in us.

Don’t hide your light from those bound in darkness. Set your light high up on a hill that all may see, and in turn, they may too come to the redeeming Light of Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Share The Light.

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⁶ But the servant said, “I’ve just thought of something! There is a man of God who lives here in this town. He is held in high honor by all the people because everything he says comes true. Let’s go find him. Perhaps he can tell us which way to go.” ⁷ “But we don’t have anything to offer him,” Saul replied. “Even our food is gone, and we don’t have a thing to give him.” ⁸ “Well,” the servant said, “I have one small silver piece. We can at least offer it to the man of God and see what happens!” ⁹ (In those days if people wanted a message from God, they would say, “Let’s go and ask the seer,” for prophets used to be called seers.) ¹⁰ “All right,” Saul agreed, “let’s try it!” So they started into the town where the man of God lived. ~ 1 Samuel 9:6-10^NLT

This is a concept that seems long forgotten in the Church today. We don’t believe in tithes and offerings anymore. But it was so important to always bring an offering just to see the prophet that Saul didn’t even want to go. He didn’t want to go before the prophet, who was God’s representative on earth, asking for something without having an offering to bring. So, the two men made sure to give everything they had with them.

God doesn’t ask for much, yet sometimes not even an offering do we lay down before him. Our possessions will one day fade away. Our houses will one day crack and crumble. Our cars will one day break down and rust. But the LORD and all that He has will never fade away. It will never perish. It will never be devoured or destroyed. It is Eternal.

So, why are we so focused on the temporal that won’t last; when God is offering His Eternal for just a pinch of our temporal? One day God will test all that we have with fire. Will your treasure that you have built up sustain the heat? Or will it melt as the fire blazes? We only have one chance to build our treasure; which treasure we choose is up to us. So, choose wisely. Give to God what belongs to God, and He will give you from what belongs to Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Bring Forth An Offering.

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² Joyful are those who obey His laws and search for Him with all their hearts. ~ Psalms 119:2^NLT

Freedom starts with calling on the Name of Jesus, but it doesn’t stop there. Now, the real work for us begins. We have to now fight our flesh. How do we do that? We start with our mind. There is no sin that we commit that we have never thought about beforehand. We have to entertain sin in order to give into it.

Just changing our thoughts sounds easy enough, but that’s not the case. See, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Imagine you’re extremely overweight and out-of-shape, but you now have to start training to complete an Ironman. That’s essentially what happens when we get saved. Sure, some of us start out more out of shape than others, but we’re all working towards that one goal, completing the Ironman.

So, now instead of sleeping in, we have to get up early to pray. Instead of binging another episode, we have to turn off the TV and read our Bible. And instead of spending another 3 hours listening to secular music, we have to worship. It goes against our very nature and will be extremely difficult, but don’t be discouraged; God is working on you from the inside out. You’re not changing yourself; He’s changing you.

When we set our desires on God, and we start fighting to have a true relationship with Him, the weight will begin to fall off. Our minds will begin to be transformed. Our heart will begin to melt from its state of stone. So, don’t give up or lose hope. Strongholds are broken, and the weight of sin will melt off; you just have to fight for it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Work Off The Fat.

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⁶ Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. ~ 2 Corinthians 9:6^NLT

The culture has vastly shifted over the decades. The 2000s brought a new outlook on life, specifically, the idea that everyone’s a winner and everyone gets an equal prize because we don’t want to hurt our children’s feelings. When we first look at this, it really doesn’t sound so bad, but what have been the effects? Entitlement. Microwave TV Dinner Syndrome.

When we remove the necessity of competition and hard work, we lower ambition and determination. We no longer have to fight for what we want; it’s handed to us. So, what happens? Entitled children become entitled adults, and nothing changes.

We can’t function, grow, learn, or contribute to anything with an entitlement mentality and/or microwave mentality. Nothing in life is free. You have to work for everything. I’d imagine a lot of us are agreeing right about now, but a lot of us don’t realize we’ve become Entitled Christians. We’ve been given salvation so freely that we forget that that’s just the beginning. Once we are saved, we have to work. We have to run the race set before us. We have to fight the good fight.

We can’t just say a simple prayer and then move on, expecting God to just do everything. What good are your prayers without any action? How many of us can say that we push deeper into praying and seeking God when we don’t get an answer the first time or even 5^th time. Elijah had to pray seven times for the rain to come, Jacob had to wrestle with God all night to be blessed, Daniel had to pray 21 days straight in order to get an answer from God.

Sometimes you have to dig deeper. Sometimes you have to wrestle with God, men, and the spirit realm all around us. We can’t afford to be entitled, lest we miss out on a large harvest because we only planted one seed.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Plant Generously.

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