Tag: Devotionals

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Run the Straight and Narrow

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.3 Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. ~ Hebrews 12:1-3

The writer of Hebrews tells us that this life is a race. We can’t stop. We can’t turn left or turn right; we must run that straight and narrow path set before us. In a race, we don’t have breaks; we don’t have rests; we have to run with endurance. But the author doesn’t stop there; he goes on to encourage us that whenever we begin to grow weary or tired, to look to Jesus. To look to the Son of God who ran the race before us. The founder and perfecter of our faith who endured suffering and hostility for the sake of all mankind.

When we begin to grow weary, we can look to Jesus. Why? Because in His presence, we are renewed. Don’t be discouraged because though we are persecuted, we are not destroyed. When we are weak, He is strong. Hold on to the mighty hand of the living God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Run the Straight and Narrow.

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Look Beyond the Veil

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ~ Matthew 27:50-51

The New Covenant is based on better promises through God –Jesus Christ– Himself. Since the Old Covenant brought death, the new one brought life. God said He would write His new law not on tablets of stone like the Old Covenant but rather on hearts and minds. Therefore, Jesus had to die physically, thus breaking through the veil, which is His body, to let us into the very presence of God. Now we can gaze upon His beauty with unveiled faces to behold the glory of the LORD.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look Beyond the Veil.

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Live Your True Identity

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. 13 As a father shows compassion to His children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. ~ Psalms 103:8-13

A lot of us carry around the shame of our past, but we don’t have to do that. We don’t have to allow the past to keep us from our future. David said in the Psalms how amazing the love of God was; keep in mind this is pre-grace, so imagine how much more this is true today, during the time of grace. This was written during the time of The Law, but we are now under grace. Under faith. The Law of Liberty. So how much more true is this in today’s world?

Never let the world define your identity because they only want to focus on your past and your current struggles. But our identity isn’t found in those things. Our identity is found in our God. Why? Because our identity is Child of God. Not our sin that we struggled with. Not the sin that we struggle with now. But instead, we are Children of God Most High. We are confident Sons and Daughters of God Almighty.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live Your True Identity.

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Take His Yoke

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. ~ Matthew 11:29-30

Jesus encourages us by telling us that we can carry His yoke, but how is that less than the yoke we are given, as His yoke led Him to death? I believe Jesus was telling us that we can carry His yoke because He already paid the price, He already paved the way, we just have to follow.

Jesus already paid our debt. He paved the ground so that we have a road to run on; we just have to follow His path. Does that mean it’ll be easy? No. At times we will feel like giving up, but Jesus says that if we take His yoke and learn from Him, we will become more like Him. We will become humble, gentle, and most of all, we will find rest for our souls.

The yoke we are taking from Jesus is His peace, His love, His mercy, His kindness, His breath, His life. Through Jesus’ yoke, we can overcome. We are persecuted, beaten, crushed, but we are not overcome. We are not destroyed. Our LORD was persecuted and murdered, but He overcame and defeated death by rising three days later, and in doing so, we shall overcome and defeat death again.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Take His Yoke.

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Live Free

28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. ~ Galatians 4:28-31

We were once slaves to sin. We were once slaves to fear. We were once slaves in general, but now we are sons and daughters of God. We are now fellow heirs with Christ Jesus. We have displaced our mistress as we have become overcomers of the world. No longer having to bow down to sin, we are now free from our past mistress, the World. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live Free.

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Look Beyond

4b …lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. ~ 2 Timothy 3:4b

Paul said that the people of his time had their minds only set on earthly things, and nothing has changed 2,000 years later. They are so caught up in pleasure and satisfying the flesh they don’t even see evil being repackaged. They wrap it up in nice, beautiful wrapping paper and tie it off with gorgeous bows and people don’t see past it.

People are so caught up in their own self-pleasure and entertainment, that they fall for the same old tricks in the book. They refuse to look past the deceitful packaging and bows to see the sin inside. Don’t let them deceive you with charming words and tasty treats that lead to death. God has written in His word what is right and what is wrong, don’t let them deceive you into believing something has suddenly changed.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look Beyond.

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Start to Fight

24 When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first. ~ Luke 11:24–26

Evil spirits are real. The demonic is real. Possession is real. Do not be fooled into believing that it is all fun and games. Do not let the prettiness of evil all dressed up fool you.

Snow White was fooled by the pretty red delicious apple, but one bite sent her into a deep sleep that she could not wake up from. So, the Church is being fooled by programming labeled as family or children’s entertainment, but it is not.

The Christian Church must wake up. We must raise our standards. There is a war going on—a spiritual war for our very souls. We can’t bury our heads in the sand like an ostrich. We have to wake up and start to fight for not only ourselves but for our families as well. We don’t have much longer on this earth. In the blink of an eye, it can all come to an end, so make today the day of change. The day of salvation. The day of awakening. The day of fighting.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Start to Fight.

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He is Coming Back For Us

3 Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” ~ Jeremiah 31:3

In a time of great distress and hardship, it is easy to feel hopeless. It’s easy to feel alone. But we aren’t alone because God is with us. Even when we feel alone, God is still there. He is with us always. He never lets us go through the storm alone. Cry out to Him, and He will come to your rescue.

Why? Because God has loved us with an unbelievable love, a never-ending love. He has loved us so much that Jesus was willing to endure a horrific beating and death by crucifixion that we might live with Him in eternity. We are valuable and loved by Him. These are only the signs of the times.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look For His Second Coming.

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Overcome the Yoke of Slavery

12 But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. ~ John 1:12-13

We have been reborn of God. We are no longer simply flawed humans doomed to live in sin and filth for the rest of our lives. No, we are now cleansed, redeemed, purified children of God. We are no longer our old selves but instead a new creation in Christ Jesus. We have been redeemed, restored, and given a new life.

We have been set free from the yoke of slavery of sin and have been granted the status of sons and daughters of God The Father. So, we no longer have to give in to sin, but instead, we can overcome sin through Christ Jesus, for we overcome through the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony according to Revelation 12:10-11.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Overcome the Yoke of Slavery.

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Stop Eating Their Apple

12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. ~ Proverbs 14:12

If you have spiritually fallen asleep, you will not recognize that you are on the wrong path because the thing that is presented to you might feel good. It might even seem good, but the end of that road is death. Snow White had no clue the apple was poisoned. Otherwise, she would not have partaken.

You see, sometimes we get so caught up in the disguise that we don’t see the evil inside until we have taken a bite, and it’s much too late because the poison has already entered our body.

This is how evil is presented to us. Nice and beautiful. Delicious and sweet. Like a red shiny delicious apple and we take a bite, and we don’t even know that we have fallen asleep.

It is not presented as evil by the most wicked person we can think of. Neither does it come from a man with horns and a pointy tail, dressed in a red suit waving a pitchfork. But rather, it comes like an innocent old lady—a grandmother type with a basket of beautiful red delicious apples.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stop Eating Their Apple.

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