Devotionals Archives

January 26, 2022January 26, 2022

The Kingdom of God Has Come

¹ O Lord, who shall sojourn in Your tent? Who shall dwell on Your holy hill? ² He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; ³ who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; ~ Psalms 15:1-3

The Psalmist is asking God a very pertinent question.

LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?

In other words, who can live in Your anointing? When Jesus came, He introduced us to the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is where the power is. For He said that if He drove out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God had come upon them.

This is the question the Psalmist is asking. This is the question we all want to know the answer to.

How can I get that power?

God answers the Psalmist immediately. Why? Because He wants His people to have access to the power of His kingdom. Because without it, what are we? Think about it. We obey an officer of the law not because of them but because they have the power of the state backing them. So, it is with us. On our own, we are nothing. We are powerless. But when we have the kingdom of God behind us, we have all the power of the Holy Spirit behind us.

So, we must:

Walk blamelessly
Do what’s right
Speak Truth in our heart
Refrain from slander
Do not plot evil against our neighbor
Do not think bad/evil thoughts against your friend
No backbiting
Rather we are to love our neighbor as ourselves

If you do these things, you will walk in the anointing and the power. It’s all about the relationship. We can say whatever we like, but when it comes down to it, if we have no relationship with God Almighty, we have nothing.

LORD God, help me to seek out a relationship with You. Search me, oh God, and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Remove all malice, hurt, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander, sexual immorality, depression, fear, or anything that can hinder my relationship with You. Teach me Your ways and Your statutes. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I might walk in the paths of righteousness and work in Your Holy Kingdom. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.

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Beware of Complacency

⁹How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? ¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, ¹¹and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. ~ Proverbs 6:9-11

When we stop desiring the things of God, and we stop seeking Him, we become complacent in our walk with God. When we become complacent with God, we stop moving forward. If we aren’t running the race set before us, then we’ll never reach the finish line. We’ll never find our Promised Land. We’ll fall asleep right where we stand and eventually die of hunger and thirst.

This is where a lot of us are. We’ve slowly stopped reading our Bible. We’ve slowly stopped praying. We’ve slowly become distant from God without even realizing it. We don’t have forever to get it right. We only have today; tomorrow is promised to no one. We have to constantly check our spiritual temperature lest we fall asleep, allowing poverty and want to sneak up on us like an armed robber.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Beware of Complacency.

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Bring To Memory

¹ On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. ²And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. ³And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” ~ Esther 6:1-3

Sometimes restlessness comes upon us out of nowhere. In those moments, it’s easy for God to seem far off and distant. It’s easy for our minds to be deceived during this time. When Eve was tempted by the Serpent, he didn’t call her away from the other side of the garden; she was right next to the Forbidden Tree, possibly eyeing it. When David was tempted by Bathsheba bathing in her tub, he wasn’t at war with his army; he was walking on the top of his roof.

When we find restlessness overcoming us, we have to combat it with the Truth of who our God is. We have to remind ourselves that our God is the God of Peace. We do this by bringing to remembrance His promises over our lives so that we might not be distracted by the things of this world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Bring The LORD To Your Memory.

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Be Aware of His Presence

¹⁰Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. ¹²And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! ¹³And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. ¹⁴Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” ¹⁶Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” ¹⁷And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” ~ Genesis 28:10-17

The LORD was with Jacob, but Jacob had no idea God was with him that He was. The LORD had to give Jacob a dream so that he understood that he was in the presence of God Almighty. This is how we are. We understand God is within us, but we don’t know His presence the way we should. We can walk into a room and never realize the presence of Almighty God is in that place, just waiting for His people to enter into His presence and see miracles.

It’s in His presence that miracles take place, that salvation and forgiveness are given, and freedom dwells. Yet even seasoned Christians miss the presence of God Almighty. And in doing so, we miss blessings and miracles. Therefore, wake up and take notice. Take notice of the presence of the LORD. Take notice of what He is doing in your life and those around you. Take notice of all His promises and all of His characteristics.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Aware of His Presence.

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The Separation From God

⁴⁵And when he came, he went up to Him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed Him. ⁴⁶And they laid hands on Him and seized Him. ⁴⁷But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁴⁸And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? ⁴⁹Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” ⁵⁰And they all left Him and fled. ~ Mark 14:45-50

The disciples walked and talked with God made flesh. They witnessed miracle after miracle. They even laid against His chest and listened to His heartbeat. They were His closest friends, but fear jumped on each of them, and when Jesus needed them most, they abandoned Him.

Each of us will one day face our fears for being a Christian. We only have today to prepare for it. So don’t waste the time you are given to train in Christ Jesus. Don’t waste the time you are given to strengthen your faith so that when fear comes at you with great force, you will stand firm in Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stand With Christ.

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Don’t Break Faith

²⁸Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’ ²⁹Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. ³⁰The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, ³¹and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ ³²Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the Lord your God, ³³who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go. ~ Deuteronomy 1:28-33

Within each territory, there are Territorial Spirits; there are strongholds that keep its victims in generational curses. The people of Israel were no different. They were a chosen people that God Himself spoke to and led, yet the strongholds of the land still called to them. It’s easy to follow God when He’s present and active, but the moment we feel God is taking too long or that He’s too quiet, we revert to our old selves. We return to the strongholds of our ancestors. We turn to the gods of the land that seem to be present and mighty. That seem to be giving their worshippers their hearts desires. But when we turn from God to another, we miss out on the blessings God has for us.

The Israelites missed out on blessing after blessing because they gave into the strongholds of the land. They never overcame the places above each and every stronghold because of Christ Jesus. And because the Holy Spirit dwells in us and the blood of Jesus covers us, we can tear down any stronghold in the name of Jesus. Nothing can stop the people of God unless we allow it to.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Break Faith.

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Seek Good

¹⁴Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. ¹⁵Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph. ~ Amos 5:14-15^NIV

The desires of our heart are what leads us in our actions. They are what define our character. Therefore, we must seek good that we might live and not die. That in our weaknesses, God might have mercy on us. Because when we dwell in God seeking good and we become weak in our sin, God lifts us up on His shoulders that we might be strong through Him.

Don’t fall into the traps of the enemy that tell you your past struggles define you. Your past doesn’t define you, but your present does. Your current actions are what define who you are, and in turn, the destination you will reach. When we only focus and desire evil, we choose the same death that Christ Jesus saved us from.

We willingly choose Eternal Death by giving into the strongholds in our life that have replaced God and, in turn, have become false gods. We have become enslaved to them. But if we set our hearts on good and our desires are to please God, then our actions will change, and chains will begin to break because of the reddening blood of Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek Good.

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Guard Your Heart

¹ From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. ²And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. ³But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” ⁴Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? ⁵Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” ⁶Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. ⁷Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” ~ Genesis 20:1-7

Abimelech wasn’t a Jew. He wasn’t a Hebrew. He wasn’t one of God’s chosen people, yet God kept him from sinning. God doesn’t show partiality. He doesn’t give a chance to one and take a chance away from another. God gives each and every one of us the chance to do what is right. And when our heart is pure, and desires aren’t bent on evil, God honors that and nudges us in the direction of holiness so that we don’t corrupt ourselves.

If our desires are for evil, then evil will follow us. If our desires are for good, then good will follow us. The desires of our heart are what lead us to our final destination, for every action we commit comes from our the desires of our heart. So, guard your heart that God might find you seeking Him and not the world. So, that when trials and tribulations come your way, your heart might not be easily swayed towards vengeance or any other kind of evil.

God promised that He would write His word on our hearts that we might not sin against Him. The only way we can do that is if we actually know what His word says. We have to spend time in His word. We have to spend time in His presence, seeking wisdom and understanding.

Don’t be fooled by the lie that you don’t need the Bible to know who God is because if the Bible wasn’t written, you wouldn’t know of Him at all. The only reason we know God is because of our Bible. So, spend time in His word and learn who He is. Memorize passages for times of trial and tribulation. Prepare your heart for war.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Guard Your Heart.

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Watch The Stars At Night

¹⁵When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. ¹⁶Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. ¹⁷And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. ¹⁸Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” ¹⁹Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. ²⁰And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. ²¹He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ~ Genesis 21:15-21

Ishmael and Hagar were out in the beating sun. They were hot and dehydrated. Ishmael couldn’t go on anymore, so Hagar completely gave up. She set her son down under a bush and walked far enough away so that she didn’t have to watch him die. The moment she set him down to die was the moment she completely gave up all hope, and she spiritually died.

Where hope abounds, there is life, but the minute that hope is snuffed out, death comes. Hagar’s hopelessness wasn’t the beginning though, that’s not where she started. Hagar started with discouragement, then that led to sadness, then that led to depression. When depression proved too hard to battle anymore, complete and utter hopelessness overcame her, and her spiritual self died.

It doesn’t say that God placed a well there. It doesn’t say God caused a well to spring up for Hagar. It says God opened her eyes to see the well that was already there. Hagar’s hopelessness caused her to miss the very thing she needed to stay alive. It caused her to almost miss her saving grace.

It’s always darkest right before the dawn; that’s why when things get really dark, and you feel like you can’t take it anymore, you have to look for the light and focus on it. God will never allow us to just walk through completely hopeless situations where there is not even a glimpse of light to hold on to. Look at the night sky. No matter how dark it gets, the moon and the stars still shine in the sky, giving us the hope that the night can never prevail over the day because soon the sun will rise again, and the night will have to retreat until dusk.

When things get dark, we can’t give in and lose our spiritual sight. We have to hold onto the light so that when we get to our well, we can see it and rejoice.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch The Stars At Night.

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Consecrate Them

Hagar and Ishmael were just thrown out of the house of Abraham. They were trekking through the wilderness when they couldn’t go anymore. So, Hagar set her son down and went far enough where she didn’t have to watch him die, but God heard the cries of the boy. Though Hagar was older and no doubt wiser, God didn’t hear her cries. He heard the cries of the boy.

God honored the boy and was with the boy because of his father, Abraham. It could be because Abraham circumcised him under God’s covenant. It could just be because God promised Abraham he would be a great nation. What we know for sure is that God was with Ishmael because of Abraham.

How many of us today can say that God shows mercy to our children because we are a friend of God? Or that God hears the cries of our children because we are so close to God? We have to build a relationship so strong with the LORD that when our children are out of our sight and in physical or spiritual danger, their cries can be heard from God. That even if they don’t know they are in danger, the Holy Spirit cries out to the Father on their behalf.

We have to raise our children with the love and the fear of God, that they understand what it means to dwell in His presence and seek His face. So they understand right from wrong. So that God may dwell with them even when they are grown. Now is the time to teach them how to pray, worship, and fast. We have to teach the ways of righteousness them before the world can corrupt them and then wonder where it all went wrong. Make a stand to consecrate your children in the LORD, that even when they are old, they will still abide in His love.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Consecrate Them.

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Tag: Devotionals

The Kingdom of God Has Come

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Beware of Complacency

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The Separation From God

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