Tag: Devotionals

Posted on

Talk

“1When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. 3And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

6The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, ‘The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.’ 8So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, ‘What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?’ They answered, ‘Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.’ So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there.” ~ 1 Samuel 5:1-8

Notice how they saw that the God of Israel is greater than their god, they saw that the God of Israel is a greater God, yet the one thing they didn’t do is repent and beg forgiveness and try to serve the God of the Israelites. Isn’t that how we are in today’s world? We see that God is God. We see that there is none greater than Him. We know the truth, but instead of turning from our sinful ways and serving Him, we send Him away. We try to get rid of Him as soon as possible.

We refuse to give up the gods that we have grown accustomed to, even though we know they will lead us to death. We hold fast to these inferior false gods, even though we know that they cannot give us life. We cling to this feel-good, live how you want, everything you do is justified ideology, even though we cannot defend it. Even though we know our argument makes no sense. Even though we know our foundation has crack after crack, we still cling to it because we want to live the way that we want to live.

We refuse to learn/accept the truth by refusing to have a conversation about it, because we know that what we believe and the way we want to live is not okay. It isn’t right. And when we feel under attack, we throw up verses like ‘only God can judge me’ or ‘ye who is without sin.’ But what we fail to realize is that by doing this we are not only killing ourselves, but anyone who listens or looks up to us. We forget that on Judgment Day there are no more chances for forgiveness. On Judgment Day there is no redemption. On Judgment Day, that’s it. However, you chose to live your life will be set in stone. No matter if you believe or not, it doesn’t matter, because just as Dagon fell before God Almighty and was judged, so will all of us.

I urge each and every one of us to go out and seek the truth. Not the “truth” that tickles our ears. Not the “truth” that allows us to sin. Not the “truth” that feeds our flesh and crushes our spirit. But the actual full, Jesus stamp of approval TRUTH. This can only be achieved by conversation. This can only be achieved by submission. This can only be achieved by having a relationship with The Holy Spirit. Because without the absolute truth, you are now teaching others (even if you don’t realize it) and condoning others’ sins. By doing this, you have now just added their sin onto you. The Scripture says that “if I say to a wicked man you shall surely die and you don’t warn him or speak out to change his ways, then that wicked man will die for his sin and I will hold you accountable for his blood.” We can’t hide the truth in order to spare feelings to someone who doesn’t want to live the life of a Christ Follower. We cannot hide the truth from ourselves because we don’t want to live the life of a Christ Follower.

Sin tastes good in the beginning, but its end is a burning pain like no other. Eternity is forever, once you enter it, there is no going back. Once you take your last breath, there is no do-over. Don’t wait for God to judge you, let man judge you while you still have time to change, for iron sharpens iron.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Talk.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Similar Content

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Remember

21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ~ Matthew 27:21-22

2000 years ago, Jesus took the place of Barabbas, a notorious murderer, but who did Barabbas really represent? Jesus an innocent man, pure of heart and blessed by God, took the place of a rebellious murderer, us. Barabbas represents us. We were the rebellious murderer Jesus took the place for. We were the ones released from our prison of sin, forgiven of our debt, and set free in eternity.

Just like us, Barabbas didn’t deserve to be set free. Just like us Barabbas deserved his punishment, but thank God that Jesus has taken our place. Thank you, Jesus, for taking my yoke upon your shoulders. Thank you, Jesus, for taking my place on the cross. Thank you, Jesus, for shedding Your Holy and Precious blood so that we may be cleansed of all unrighteousness. We overlook Jesus taking the place of Barabbas because we don’t realize that Barabbas stood 2000 years representing us. We don’t realize the pain and suffering He went through for us. We don’t realize how much we don’t deserve to be free. We don’t realize the weight that was lifted off of us and put on Him.

Today as you remember the price that Jesus paid for us all, give Him the recognition He deserves. When you teach your children why we celebrate this day, don’t change the story. Don’t sugar coat it. As children, my sister and I were shown the Passion of The Christ, and every year we watch it as a family on this day to remember just what Jesus did for all of us. It wasn’t a few scratches and scrapes that He received. He was beaten until He was unrecognizable. He had to carry His cross to Golgotha (Calvary). He was spit upon and cursed. He was stripped naked. He was mocked and abused. A crown of thorns was pushed down onto His head. He was nailed to a tree. And He died. There is no easy way of saying this, and any less devolves just what He went through. Today I urge you all to take the time to truly remember what Jesus did for us and give Him the praise and the glory that He truly deserves.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remember.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Similar Content

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Fulfill Your Promise

“15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.’ 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.” ~ Genesis 22:15-19

This promise was already promised to Abraham before Isaac was born. A lot of the time we assume that when God promises something to us that we don’t have to do anything to get it. We don’t have do anything to fulfill it, but in actuality, God has promised every one of us something, but only few of us actually see the actual promise fulfilled.

Why? It’s not because God is unwilling to fulfill His promise, but because we are unwilling to give up something. We are holding back something from God. We are placing something above God. If we hold on to other things that separate us from God, we will lose out on our promise. If we put something, even something good, above God, we will lose out on our promise.

For instance, if we are blessed with the gift of music, but we only use this gift to make us famous, or we use it for anything else than to glorify God, we will lose out on our promise. If we have been blessed with athletics, but put sports above spending time with God, we will lose out on our promise.

These things in themselves are not bad, but the way we use them will determine whether we will lose out on our promise or not.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fulfill Your Promise.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Similar Content

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Follow

“1On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’

5And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word, I will let down the nets.’ 6And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ 9For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’ 11And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.” ~ Luke 5:1-11

Jesus came down to their level. Jesus grew up studying in the Temple around Rabbis learning and teaching, but He came to lowly fishermen. He made His message simple and to the point that they would be able to understand. When He spoke in parables, He took the time to explain it to them so that they wouldn’t be left in the dark. He took them from being slaves to being His friends.

Jesus doesn’t try to trip us up. He doesn’t try to make the question so hard that no one passes. Jesus comes to us with something that we understand, and He turns it into something so much more. He doesn’t discriminate against your sin, your ethnicity, your race, your beliefs, your desires, your job, He comes down to all of our levels, so that He may make Himself known to us. But it’s up to us to put down our nets and follow Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Follow.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Eternal Praise

“13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’” ~ John 12:13

The LORD Jesus came to Jerusalem on a donkey. He was greeted with shouts of acclamation. He was greeted with love and acceptance. On this day He was chosen as the perfect sacrificial lamb of God. He entered Jerusalem as a King but would be crucified as a sinner before the week was over. Yet Jesus boldly entered Jerusalem fully knowing what would be the end result for Him. He fully knew that the same people who were blessing Him and loving Him today, would be the same people prepared to crucify Him the next, yet He continued. He didn’t stop because He knew that they needed Him. He knew that there was no other way for them to enter life unless He did this. This was the only way for the world to be saved, so Jesus continued on, and boldly entered Jerusalem.

The times have not changed in the last 2,000 years. We get really religious and love Jesus when everyone else does. We get really religious and love Jesus when we need a healing or a miracle. We get really religious and love Jesus when it’s Sunday morning, but as soon as the world turns on Him, so do we. We go from shouting ‘Hosanna. Hosanna.’ to ‘Crucify Him. Crucify Him.’ And Jesus knew that. 2,000 years ago Jesus knew we, in today’s world, would crucify Him, as they did in His day. Jesus knew 4,000 years ago that we would crucify. He knew 6,000 years ago. He knew before He even created Earth, yet Jesus still entered Jerusalem and accepted the praises of those who would soon be crucifying Him.

Today we have the chance to change our paths. We don’t have to continue the cycle of praising Him, then crucifying Him. Today we can choose to praise Him, and when He is crucified, we can take Him down. When our media, our city, or our government crucifies Him, we can take Him down by defending Him. We can take Him down by living like Him. Don’t let this day continue as just another symbolic day, let today be the day that begins your eternal praising.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Praise.

Back to Praise?

Back to Daily Bread?

Similar Content

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Clear The Room

“23 And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, ‘Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.” ~ Matthew 9:23-26

Even Jesus needed to remove the naysayers in the room. Even the Son of God needed to have the room cleared of all doubters. If Jesus needed it, why don’t we? Why don’t we clear the doubters from the rooms? Why do we allow them to stay, slowly feeding on their doubt, until we have started to doubt, ourselves?

We expect a miracle to happen, but we are without faith. We want it to happen, but we don’t truly believe it will happen. Our faith is weak, and our doubt is strong. We hold to things that don’t help us when God is saying just clear the room. Don’t look at the current circumstance, look at what could be.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Clear the Room.

Back to Cleansing?

Back to Daily Bread?

Similar Content

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Bless

30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.” 32 His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” 34 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” 38 Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. ~ Genesis 27:30-38

The blessing of children was very important, so important that Esau wept when his brother got his blessing. Keep in mind that Esau is not a child, he is not a teenager, he is not a young adult. Esau is a grown man, and he wept when he did not receive his blessing. They knew the power of the tongue was great and mighty. They knew that life and death were in the tongue and they used their words very carefully.

When they blessed their children, they had no doubt in their mind that that child would be blessed according to the blessing that was spoken over them. They held to it. But today, in our culture words mean nothing to us. We say whatever we want, not realizing that even though we can’t see our words there is much power in them. We should bless our children daily. We should have faith in that blessing and as children we should receive it.

God spoke many blessings over anyone who would just accept His Son and receive the blessing, but the sad truth is many of us who are saved don’t hold to the blessings that were given. We don’t receive them. We don’t accept them. These blessing came from God Almighty, yet we don’t fully believe they will come to fruition. Imagine if we did. Imagine if we all fully accepted and held onto the blessing in the Bible. Imagine the amount of blessings that Heaven would pour down upon us.

Three things to take from this:

  1. Stop using your words lightly.
  2. Bless your children.
  3. Hold onto the blessings that have been given to you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Bless.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Similar Content

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Be Silent

“Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and there came a messenger to Job and said, ‘The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.’ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, ‘The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.’ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, ‘The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.’ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.’ Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” ~ Job 1:13-22

“So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.’ But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” ~ Job 2:7-10

Job lost everything he had. He lost his earthly possessions and every one of his children. He even lost his health, but in all of this Job did not sin with his lips. See I had this bad habit of speaking out of anger. I would say things I probably wouldn’t mean later on, but yet in the heat of the moment my mouth just started running, and I couldn’t seem to shut it up.

Proverbs 18:21 tells us that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Matthew 15:11 says “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” If we allow wickedness, hatred, evil to come out of our mouth, we have to check our spiritual temperature. Luke 6:45 explains it like this, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Think about it like this, if evil things are coming out of your mouth, then there is a lot of evil in your heart that you have to get rid of. There is a lot of hurt and hatred that you just have to give to the LORD so that while you are in a fit of rage, you won’t sin.

Here’s one of our biggest problems, we don’t have control over our emotions. When one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong, and our countenance drops. We allow our situations to dictate our attitude, to dictate our lives, to dictate who we are. If Job a man who lost everything he held dear to his heart could keep his mouth shut and not sin with his lips why can’t we do the same? When in the heat of the moment when your really angry quote Proverbs 4:4 “Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.”

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Silent.

Back to Strongholds?

Back to Daily Bread?

Similar Content

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Be Meek

“17So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. 19But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, ‘The water is ours.’ So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. 21Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. 22And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, ‘For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.’” ~ Genesis 26:17-22

It probably felt like every little thing Isaac did the people had a problem with, but he never fought with them over anything they claimed as theirs. Instead, he gave it to them and moved on until God made room for him. I wonder what we would reap at work, at school, even at home with our families if we didn’t argue with people and just gave them what they think belonged to them.

Right after I wrote that I jokingly thought to myself, “We’d be broke is what we’d be,” but that isn’t true… The Bible says “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth.” Isn’t that what Isaac was being, meek? He allowed them to take the wells his father dug that they then filled in and then he just dug it out again. Imagine if we were meek, sure people would think they’re walking over. They would think you’re a real pushover, but what would God think? Would He not bless you like never before? Would He not prepare a place for you at your job, or at your school, or even at home? Isaac reaped 100 fold the same year he sowed, why? Could it be because he was meek? Could it be that he didn’t think too highly of himself, but was humble? In order to be meek, you must first humble yourself or pride will speak for you.

I just wonder what would happen if Christians were meek… would we then inherit the Earth? Now, remember being meek is NOT staying silent when someone is doing something wrong or watching your country destroy itself and do nothing about. Being meek is exactly what Isaac did in these verses, give to the people what they felt was theirs without being annoyed or doing it begrudgingly. But simply saying that’s fine, take it MY GOD will provide for me when He sees fit.

Peace. Love. Go forth and be meek.

Back to Strongholds?

Back to Daily Bread?

Similar Content

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Be Humble

“6Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, 7casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” ~ 1 Peter 5:6-7

This is why we don’t see what we think we deserve at a certain time. We think we deserve it now, we even try to make it for ourselves and wonder why it hasn’t happened yet. We as Christians, who want to move on and go to the next step the next level must first humble ourselves. If we can’t be humble with the minor things how will we be able to be humble with the major things? We wonder why it takes so long to get to a certain point, sometimes it’s because we are not ready.

When a door is closed, we don’t need to become angry or discouraged or take it into our own hands. We don’t need to try to kick it down or pick the lock ourselves, instead, we need to take a look in the mirror and see why we’re still stuck in this hallway. It’s almost like you are walking through a hallway and every time you get to an open door, to exit the hallway, the door closes. It’s like those Cheez-It commercials you can’t go on until you have matured enough to pass the test before you. Sometimes that takes years, sometimes it takes months, but it will never be rushed. Perfection cannot be rushed, it is a tedious and sometimes slow process. Abraham had to wait 14 years before he got his promised son, Isaac. Could it be that God wanted to get Abraham to a place where he would hold nothing back from God because he trusted and loved God so much?

Sometimes we have to wait because our hearts aren’t in the right place. Sometimes God keeps us in the hallway so that He can fix us because where He’s taking us will be difficult or impossible to overcome in our current condition. Don’t be discouraged by the closed door, in due time it will be opened for you. In due time that prayer will be answered. In due time that God-given dream will be handed to you, but your heart has to be in the right place. You have to be humble, meaning that your desires are to build the Kingdom, not yourself.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Humble.

Back to Cleansing?

Back to Daily Bread?

Similar Content

Like and Share This:
Proudly powered by WordPress