Devotionals Archives

March 18, 2021March 18, 2021

Give Thanks In All Circumstances

¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Many people believe that God is saying that we have to be thankful for all of our circumstances, or even that we have to be happy about all of our circumstances, but is that what Paul is saying? Does God really want us to be thankful for all of our circumstances? No, of course not.

God doesn’t expect us to be thankful for all of our circumstances. He expects us to be thankful IN all of our circumstances. There are things in this world that we can’t control, loved ones dying, losing our job, finding out a loved one, or we have cancer. When His plan for us is for our good and not for evil, God doesn’t want us to be thankful for cancer. He wants us to be thankful THROUGH cancer. In spite of cancer. So that we can fight through cancer.

God doesn’t give us hardships, but He allows us to go through them. He allows us to suffer for a short time, but He always gives us the strength to make it through to the other side. The Joy of the LORD is our strength. That doesn’t mean that we’re happy about our situation, but instead that we’re gonna put our trust in the LORD because He loves us. When we trust in Him, we can make it through anything.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Give Thanks In All Circumstances.

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Turn Back

¹⁹ Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, ~ Acts 3:19

When we sin, it’s as if we are killing ourselves over and over again. Sin is the road that leads to death. It doesn’t matter if your sins seem to be ‘less sinful’ than someone else’s sin; both of your sins lead to death. Both of your sins take you to the same place. But no matter what you’ve done. No matter how far you’ve strayed, forgiveness is still an option for you.

Jesus came to save all of mankind. He paid our debt because He knew we would never be able to pay our own debt, so He took our place. When we repent, we are accepting His free gift of Salvation. Because of His great love for us and His great mercy and grace, He blots out our sins. He washes us clean. He molds us into a new creation. After we have accepted His salvation, our sins no longer have any hold on us.

We can become whoever we want, and we can achieve whatever we want. Salvation not only frees us from our past but it also gives us a future. So, never give up on your dreams because who you were yesterday isn’t who you are today. You can overcome any obstacle in your way because Jesus has already overcome the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Turn Back.

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Choose Your Destination

¹³Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. ~ Matthew 7:13-14

Many people don’t look forward. They don’t want to think about the future, only about the now. While the present is important, the future is just as important, if not even more important. Because the present won’t last forever because the future will become your present sooner or later. Not knowing what you want or where you are going is like putting on a blindfold and entering an obstacle course. Because that’s what life is, it’s an obstacle course filled with uphill battles, downward spirals, but most importantly, a finish line.

People love to say, “It’s not the destination; it’s the journey that counts,” but what’s the point of a fun journey if it lands you in jail? To some fun is drugs. Setting fires. Stealing. Murder. Sure those are extreme cases, but what’s the difference between drugs and sleeping around? They both land you in the same place, Hell.

We love to look at others and compare our sins to justify our behavior as better than others, but what good is being “better” if you’re going to the same place as them? We don’t like to talk about it because we don’t want to change, we don’t want to do hard things, we don’t want to let go, so we don’t want to think about the most important question, Where Will You Spend Eternity?

Eternity isn’t avoidable; it’s inevitable. Every one of us will have an eternity, and only we can decide where we will spend it. It’s our choice. But how can we choose if we don’t know the requirements? We love to say we’ll get saved when we get married, or when we hit a certain age, or when we get a certain amount of success. But what if those days never come? Tomorrow is promised to no person, so don’t wait for tomorrow. Accept your salvation today.

What seems important now won’t seem important in eternity. Those things that we want now that are holding us back aren’t going to mean anything when we’re in eternity. Life is precious; we only get one chance to get it right. So choose today to decide where you want to go. Don’t just wait for tomorrow because tomorrow never comes. Do it today.

Peace. Love Go Forth and Choose Your Destination.

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Leave Them Behind You

¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 3:13-14^ESV

I believe it would be fair to say that we are not where we want to be, neither have we achieved all that we’ve planned. The goals we set for ourselves (plans to move our careers forward, ideas to promote and market our businesses) can sometimes feel daunting; set back by no’s, not now’s, and not interested.

But forgetting those things that are behind you can make your ways seem clear. When we let go of the past, we can move forward because they are in the past, they’re over with, they’re done with, they’re over. The past has no hold on us; we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Now we grab hold of today, and we press on, always moving forward toward the goals we have set for our success.

Heavenly Father, help us to move forward from our past so that we can pursue our call. The call you have given us. Oh, LORD, help us to remember that we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Please show us the future you have planned for us that we may not stray from the path you have paved out just for us. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

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Take Correction With Love

¹³As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. ¹⁴If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. ~ 2 Thessalonians 3:13-15

Paul tells us to not grow weary of doing good multiple times. He not only tells us to do good, but he also tells us we need to help others remain in the love of Christ. Many of us take this as Paul telling us we need to correct others, which we need to, but Paul is also telling us we need to learn to take correction when we are in the wrong. We’re quick to correct others, but we don’t always accept correct from others. Why? Why don’t we like to take correction from others?

When we take offense from others correcting us, what does that mean for us? Are we filled with pride? Selfishness? Man-pleasing? If we are, what does that mean for us? None of those things get you closer to God. It doesn’t build up the Church. It doesn’t strengthen the spirit, so what does it do?

It brings division… and what does division bring…? well, Mark 3:25 says, “If a house is divided against itself, that house Cannot stand.” If the house cannot stand, then the house will fall; when that house falls, then we are without protection, without defense. As the Church, the body of Christ, we have to learn to give correction with love, but we also have to learn to take correction with love. Without correction, we can’t learn or grow. And if we stay where we are, never moving forward, we will become like stagnant water dirty and stink. We have to continuously grow so that we can grow closer to God. So that we can become more like Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Take Correction With Love.

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Use Your God-Given Gifts

⁷But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ~ Ephesians 4:7

Each of us was given grace in the form of the free gift of Salvation from Jesus Christ through faith, but we were each given spiritual gifts as well. Gifts of teaching, apostleship, prophets, evangelists, etc. In each of us is a spiritual gift given to us through the Holy Spirit. Our gifts can also be in music, sports, film, education, medicine, etc.

We don’t have to be a preacher in order to have a gift from God. Not all of us are pastors; if we were, we would all be one body part. If we are all one single body part, then we aren’t complete. God uses and utilizes every part of the body because each body part is important. And as each body part is important, each gift is important.

Peace. Go Forth and Use Your God-Given Gifts.

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Cling To His Divine Nature

⁴And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. ~ 2 Peter 1:4^NLT

God has called us to Himself so that we may be saved. When we are saved, we are changed. We are given a new clean heart and a right spirit. We are given a new life. We are a new creation. Because of this, God Himself lives inside of us and shapes us into His perfect image. This is why we must fight sin.

We can’t allow ourselves to be overcome by the very thing that God has just rescued us from. We have to set our minds to live in righteousness. God has given us everything we need in order to overcome sin and cling to righteousness. Put on your whole Armor of God that you can overcome every sin that comes your way and become more and more like God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cling To His Divine Nature.

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Rejoice In Your Drought

¹⁷Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, ¹⁸yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! ¹⁹The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. ~ Habakkuk 3:17-19

Even though we go through tough times, God is still with us. He doesn’t abandon us when things get hard. Before the drought even comes, God made a plan to get you through it. He is our strength. He carries us when we can’t walk for ourselves. He guides us when we’re lost. He is our light and Salvation. So, rejoice in the LORD even when everything seems to go wrong. He has never forsaken us. Put your trust in Him, and He will guide you back to your land of Milk and Honey.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Rejoice In Your Drought.

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Accept His Plan

⁹For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time—to show us His grace through Christ Jesus. ~ 2 Timothy 1:9

From before we even sinned, God planned a way for us to be saved. Before we were even born, before time was even created, God knew mankind would sin. God knew exactly how we would sin and how we would save us from our sin. There is nothing you could do that could make you too unclean to forgive.

God is waiting for you to come home. He’s waiting for you to call upon His name. No matter how far you’ve strayed, salvation is always only one step away. All you have to do is repent. Jesus already paid your debt. He already took your penalty upon Himself. Jesus didn’t die to save the ‘righteous’ because there aren’t any righteous without Him. Jesus died to save the broken, the needy, the hopeless, the sinner. Jesus died for you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept His Plan.

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Continuously Ask

²⁰So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. ²¹I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.” ~ Genesis 18:20-21^NLT

The LORD didn’t just destroy Sodom and Gomorrah out of nowhere. There was a great outcry against them for a long time. The people affected by Sodom and Gomorrah’s wickedness didn’t just cry out once; they cried out and cried out until God heard them. This is how we have to get God’s attention. We have to continuously bring our petitions before the LORD.

The majority of the time, nothing will happen after our first request. We have to keep asking God. We have to keep reminding God of His promises. The LORD doesn’t intervene unless we first pray and seek His intervention. We have to make the first move. We have to fight for our families, our dreams, and our lives.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Continuously Ask.

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