Devotionals Archives

December 16, 2020May 28, 2021

Praise Until You Find Peace

“⁵Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation ⁶and my God.” ~ Psalms 42:5-6a

When we are depressed or mourning, the last thing we want to do is praise God. For the majority of us, we want to go deeper into depression. Go deeper into mourning. We don’t want relief because, for some reason, it begins to feel comfortable having a pity party instead of moving forward. But why?

The Devil’s mission in life is to destroy the Children of God, and if he can’t do it physically why not mentally? He sends little thoughts into our minds so that we dwell on them and sooner or later, it becomes our only thoughts. It begins to consume us and we stop moving forward. Mourning is good, but only for a time.

Don’t let your mourning overcome you as it does so many of us, including myself. You just want time to stop and because it can’t, you stop moving forward. But don’t let the enemy win. Fight back. Praise. Worship. Because God abides on the praises of His people. And where the Spirit of The LORD is, there is freedom.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Praise Until You Find Peace.

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Seek Not Vanity

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” ~ Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon, a man who had everything. 700 wives, 300 concubines, all the wisdom in the world, yet with everything he had, he was never satisfied. He was never happy. To sum-up Ecclesiastes in three words, everything is vanity. But if you get to the end of the book he explains, everything is vanity apart from God.

We go seeking happiness in success, relationships, books, TV shows, movies, video games when none of that will bring us anything other than a temporary happiness. When God, full of joy, is waiting for us to come to Him. Solomon said the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. But we’ve strayed from this idea. We’ve sought after earthly things and broken images to satisfy us and fill us up. When none of that will ever satisfy us, but instead always keep us wanting. God wants us to enjoy life, but not at the cost of losing sight of Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek Not Vanity.

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Strive To Give Hope

³The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst ⁴they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. ⁵Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” ⁶This they said to test Him, that they might have some charge to bring against Him. Jesus bent down and wrote with His finger on the ground.

⁷And as they continued to ask Him, He stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸And once more He bent down and wrote on the ground. ⁹But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him. ¹⁰Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” ~ John 8:3-11

We’re always so quick to be on the defense when people correct us when we’re sinning. We usually bring up this verse…. but what we don’t realize is that Jesus doesn’t just say this because we’re not supposed to “judge” each other; He said this because we normally don’t see our own sin but are so quick to point out and condemn others. So it’s not the “judging” part that is the problem; it’s how they were doing it. Correction isn’t the problem. Hypocrisy is.

And when Jesus said, “neither do I condemn you,” He didn’t just stop there; He didn’t just allow her to continue in her sin, which is what a lot of us think. We think that oh Jesus loves me, He’s not gonna condemn me, but Jesus said to turn away and sin no more. That’s the part we always seem to miss because we don’t want to admit that we are in the wrong. See, once we admit we are in the wrong, then we have to change, which means denying our flesh, which we as humans don’t want to do. So the next time we get corrected, we should accept that and look at our faults because it could be a life or death situation.

And if we’re the one who is correcting another, let us check ourselves first. Let’s live as Jesus did, not as the Pharisees did. Instead, let us be an example to the world by showing mercy, love, forgiveness, and always leaving those we meet with the hope Jesus gave to this young woman.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Strive To Give Hope.

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The First Noel

“⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2:8-12

As we celebrate, on this 25^th day of December, the birth of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, we reflect on the first Noel that was declared by angels to lowly shepherds. The angels were excited to share the good news of great joy. The long-prophesied, the long-awaited Messiah, was born. Not in some palace or ritzy dwelling, but in a foul-smelling, animal-filled stable.

God Himself humbled Himself and was born of a woman in order to become man so that He, through His own death, might redeem man. That is the good tidings of great joy. But it was not just for the shepherds, or the Israelites, or the rich, or the poor for that matter; it was for all people. Whomsoever will…, can come to Him.

As I mentioned, the angels were excited to share the good news that, incidentally, was not for them. How about you? Are you excited to share the good news of great joy? Are you excited to tell others, or are you intimidated? This Christmas, amidst all the celebrating, remember to put Jesus first. It’s His birthday we are commemorating. Yes, yes, I realize that Jesus was more than likely not born on December 25^th, but it’s the day we commemorate His birth.

It’s not about the day; it’s about His birth. You don’t see the Commonwealth citizens up in arms because the queen of England’s birthday is commemorated on a day other than her natural birthday. So, let us remind our friends and neighbors and even family members who have forgotten what we are actually celebrating. The birth of Jesus Christ, who came to earth as a man, to live and to die, and to be buried, and to be raised to life on the 3rd day. He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He is coming back to get us soon. That is the First Noel proclaimed by the angels that day or night 2000 years ago.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of eternal life with You. Give us the excitement, the boldness, and the confidence to share this good news with others.

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Let God Use Your Weaknesses

“⁹But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9

Many times we feel as though God could never use us because of what we’ve done. What we can’t do, but God can use anyone with a willing heart. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to be the best. You just have to have the heart of a servant. The heart of someone willing to follow Jesus and God will lift you higher than your weakness. He will use all of those times you’ve messed up for good to help someone else who is struggling just as you were.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let God Use Your Weaknesses.

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Heap Burning Coals

“²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, ²²for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” ~ Proverbs 25:21-22

Many times when we are wronged, we want to get even and show the person that wronged us the same harshness they showed us. But Scripture tells us to help them when they need help because it would be like heaping burning coals on their head. The best revenge you can get is to forgive and move forward.

Forgiveness is probably one of the hardest things for us to do as humans, but it is the best thing we can do. Forgiveness isn’t for the other person; it’s for you. It’s the only way you will be able to move forward. And once you forgive, you will be able to help them in their time of need, even if they didn’t help you in yours. In doing so, God will reward you and lift you higher than before.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Heap Burning Coals.

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God’s Love

“²to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. ³For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” ~ Titus 3:2-3

Sin is a manipulative partner that only takes and makes you feel bad when you want something more. It manipulates your thoughts, actions, dreams, beliefs, everything about you. As the Church, we shouldn’t be shocked when sinners sin. Neither should we push them away, but instead, we should show them love, so that they may see the ultimate love of God through us.

Often times, we judge the world harshly. We forget that we were once led astray by various passions, and it took someone’s love for us to show us the right way. We forget what it’s like to be caught up in the world, and we begin to look down upon the world instead of showing the world love as Christ first showed us love.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let God’s Love Shine Through You!

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Fear Makes You Second-Guess Your Calling

“¹⁰But Moses said to the Lord, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.’¹¹Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹²Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.’ ¹³But he said, ‘Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.’” ~ Exodus 4:10-13

God just spoke to Moses, personally. He told him exactly what he would do, but Fear showed Moses everything that he wasn’t. Fear showed him all of his flaws. Moses couldn’t see his call because of fear. Even though God told him he would be with him, Moses couldn’t see it.

God said He would teach him to speak, but Moses couldn’t see past his flaws. He couldn’t see anything except what fear was showing him. Fear makes you doubt the call on your life. God told him He would be with him, and He would help him, but Fear made him doubt. Fear tried to take his call. Don’t look at everything you’re not; look at everything God says you are.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Go Towards Your Call.

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Let God Be Your Light

“Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” ~ Micah 7:8

Don’t be discouraged by failure or someone else getting the promotion you deserved, be encouraged for when you fall, God is there to pick you back up again. He will never leave you nor forsake you. When your life is in ruins, and you can’t find your way out of a dark tunnel, look to God, and He will be your light. He will guide you to your promised land.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let God Be Your Light.

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Be Cleansed

“¹⁴For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” ~ Romans 6:14

We live in a world that loves to label us by our past. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. Once an addict, always an addict. But is that the truth? Not according to the promises from God. Jesus promises freedom. He promises that you can overcome any temptation any sin. Overcoming means that sin no longer has control over. That sin no longer holds you down. It no longer controls you.

You don’t have to be your past. You don’t have to be labeled as your sin. So be encouraged by these promises. Don’t be discouraged by the world and the way they see you, but instead be encouraged by the way God sees you because you are made perfect by the cleansing power of The Blood Of Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Cleansed.

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