Tag: Devotionals

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Look To The Eastern Sky

“17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

I heard a man once say that we need to stop preaching End Times messages. Enough with the rapture messages, because we are only taking away hope from our up and coming generation. Oh, how The Church has strayed… Paul said, “encourage one another with these words.” How can it be taking away hope if it is encouragement?

The message that we aren’t forgotten, that soon enough the Bridegroom will return for His bride, now that, that’s encouraging. We always get caught up with the things of this world. And why shouldn’t we? It was perfectly designed for us, but we messed it up. We continuously talk about how horrible the Earth is. How wicked humanity has gotten, yet the thought of being taken away to a better place for celebration and everlasting joy, is taking away hope. I don’t think so.

It’s not even that we will be with the LORD forever. Or that we will get a new perfect Earth. It’s that even though we ruined God’s masterpiece. Even though we destroyed ourselves and this beautiful Earth that He gave us, He didn’t just abandon us here to rot. He promised that He would be back. Jesus even went the extra mile and gave us clues on when this would take place. If it isn’t encouraging that the God of the entire universe would think us valuable enough to come back for us and save us from our own mistakes, then I don’t know what is.

At the end of the day, everyone will have their own feelings about this, but I do implore you, don’t get caught up in this world. Don’t get stuck seeking out the things of this world if it causes you to no longer desire His return. Because this, this is all temporary. This won’t last, but what He wants to give us, now that, that is worth putting up with this crazy, messed up world for. Jesus returning, now that is the most encouraging thing I can think of.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look To The Eastern Sky.

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Choose To Be Happy

“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” ~ Psalm 118:24 KJV

The Psalmist is saying, “We WILL rejoice in this day that our LORD God has made,” not necessarily because we are happy or because everything is going our way, food is on the table, bills are paid, and all our enemies have called a truce and decided to support our endeavors. But because it is a gift from our God. Therefore, rejoicing is a choice, we choose to be happy or to let the enemy steal our joy.

Psychologists suggest that if we are angry on the inside, but smile on the outside and act happy, our equilibrium will soon match and we will become happy on the inside. Same is true with the opposite. If you’re happy on the inside but act angry and look angry on the outside, you will soon become angry on the inside as well. Being happy is a choice we can all make daily. So choose to be happy, choose to rejoice because of the gift of life and salvation that is freely offered to us all. Always see the glass as being half full instead of half empty.

Heavenly Father, make us an instrument of peace and encouragement, and a source of joy and comfort that others may see and hear and live and not die, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

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Be A Dreamer

“But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. ‘Here comes that dreamer!’ they said to each other. ‘Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.’” ~ Genesis 37:18-20

Joseph had two dreams that he told to his brothers. They didn’t appreciate the gesture at all. And so it is still today. When you excitedly tell others about your dreams and what God spoke into your life, they will not feel the same excitement as you do. They will find a way to discourage you and to successfully kill the dream. But God keeps watch over His Word to ensure it comes to pass.

Don’t lose hope, and don’t be discouraged no matter what people may say, for God is able to bring to pass everything He has said and everything He intends to happen, we just have to be patient and obedient.

Heavenly Father, thank You that You who watches over us and keeps us neither slumbers nor sleeps. Neither are You swayed by popular opinion, but rather, You use the simple to confound the wise, and the weak to overcome the strong. Thank you that Your Word will not return unto You void, but will accomplish everything You desire it to accomplish. In Jesus name, I pray, amen.

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Plant

“4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” ~ Proverbs 13:4

We, as a Church, tend to have a problem with those who thrive spiritually. Signs and Wonders follow them. Prosperity wherever they go. The sick are healed. The Spirit flows. We see these things, and we get upset. Why? Why do we feel some type of way when someone else is Spiritually rich? Is it because we are Spiritually poor?

How often to do we pray? How often do we seek after God? Is He the first thing on our mind and the last? Do we spend time with Him during the day? Do we read our Bible? We want to have such a strong spiritual connection with God, but we don’t want to for it. We want God to do all of the work, and we simply accept the benefits. A harvest with labor doesn’t exist. No matter how badly we want it to, it will never happen. We have to plant our own seeds. We have to water them, protect them, tend to them, and in due time the harvest will be ready. But a harvest will not come out of thin air.

If you don’t see a harvest, ask yourself these questions: Do I pray every day? Do I spend time with God every day? How much time do I spend with God? Do I take the time to read my Bible? How much time do I sit in the presence of God and wait to hear His voice? How often do I worship God? Do I only ask God for things, or do I give Him the thanks, praise, and honor He deserves?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Plant.

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Parent

“13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” ~ 1 Samuel 3:13-14

We have gotten to the state in our society where parents no longer correct their children. We make excuses for our children saying that they were born this way, or they’re just going through a phase they’ll grow out of it, or boys will be boys, or they’re just kids testing the limits.

We make excuses for our children not realizing that one day that kid who’s just being a kid is going to grow up to be an adult just being an adult. We no longer discipline our children because it’s now child abuse to spank your child, or to simply tell your child that they are in fact, a girl even if they feel like a boy. We no longer are parents, but instead, we are letting our children parent themselves. We let our children choose their gender from young ages like 3 years old, we give them counseling and hormone therapy just because they feel that they are the opposite gender.

We do this not taking into account that they are 3. They don’t know what they are. At 3 years old they still believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny. At 3 years old they wanna put their hands on the hot stove not realizing that it’ll burn them. They wanna play with the outlets. They want to be princesses and pirates and helicopters at that age. How can we allow our children to dictate their own life with zero guidance?

We constantly say that the human mind is not fully developed until around 25 years old, so why can a small child know that they are not the gender that they are. We’ve stopped parenting because we believe our children know what’s best for them. A child may see a pretty snake and want to play with it, but as a parent, you should tell them, “no, honey, that’s a coral snake, very dangerous.” We need to correct our children when they are wrong. We need to be parents again, guiding them instead of letting them blindly run through the dark.

Eli never corrected his boys, and they grew up to be men who did not know the LORD. Eli didn’t teach his sons how to respect the LORD, so they didn’t. Eli didn’t teach his sons how to love the LORD, so they didn’t. Eli wanted to be his sons’ friend instead of their father. Eli failed as a parent, which lead to his entire household was punished. Both of his sons were killed on the same day, and Eli was to die and have no heirs. His family lost everything all because he refused to be a father. What is your family losing?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Parent.

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Praise Him In The Bad

“10 And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” ~ Job 42:10

Sometimes the LORD will allow us to go through times of difficulty, sorrow, pain, and suffering, so that the accuser may test us. See Satan accuses us day and night, and the LORD allows for him to take us through hardships that we don’t think we’ll be able to make it through. But that only lasts for a season, and if we still hold on to God. If we still trust in Him and give Him the praise and glory He deserves, He will take us through to the other side. And once we enter that other side, there will be a reward like we haven’t seen before. Whatever the devil took, God, will repay us, but with interest. Thank the LORD. For Job didn’t just receive back what was given to Him, but He received twice as much as before.

Times of trouble will come in each of our lives, but it’s how we react to those times of trouble that matter. It’s who we become in those times of hurt and pain that determines where we will end up, whether it be on the other side with less or on the other side with more. Don’t turn from God, for His benefits are everlasting. Praise in the good. Praise Him in the bad. And see if things will not change before your eyes. God honors the righteous.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Praise Him in the Bad.

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The Garment of Praise

“to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.” ~ Isaiah 61:3

When we go through times of difficulty, we usually do everything in the book except praise. We cry. Scream. Yell. Rant. Get angry. Get counseling. Pray. Talk to each other. But we never stop and start praising. I understand why it’s hard to praise when your world comes crashing down on top of you. When you’re overwhelmed, and you can’t seem to get it together. It is hard to praise! But it’s necessary.

Praise isn’t for God. He doesn’t need our praise. God doesn’t suddenly get weak, or His glory grow dim because we stopped praising Him. Praise is for us. When we praise, God hears us. And if God is hearing us, then He will answer. Things begin to change when we praise because we’re no longer looking at our own self, we’re no longer looking at our own problems, we’re now completely focused on God. That’s when He can heal what’s been broken, breathe fresh life into us, and change our point of view. Depression has to flee when you praise. Suicide has to flee when you praise. Anxiety has to flee when you praise. Illness has to flee when you praise. Don’t stay defeated, put on the garment of praise, and watch your new outcome take place!

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Praise.

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Submit

26Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27And, a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28And Joshua, the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” 30And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. ~ Numbers 11:26-30

Isn’t this us today? We get envious because someone else is doing great things in the Church and we try to discredit them. We doubt where it comes from. Or if we don’t understand why God gave them a gift that we feel they shouldn’t have or anyone should have, we doubt. We try to stop them. We try to shut them up. We try to quiet the spirit all because we do not understand. Because we don’t get it.

We get this false humility that tries to weaken the Church, but what we don’t understand is that God wants the Church to be strong. God wants His Spirit to rest upon all of us. He wants to use all of us. Why? Because that’s how He shows His glory. We are God’s biggest threat. Why? Because we are the only ones that can limit Him.

We limit Him with doubt. The lack of faith. Fear. False humility. A Judgmental Spirit. The lack of prayer. The lack of understanding. The lack of fasting. The lack of trust. The lack of belief. We limit God. We would have a much different world if we wouldn’t limit and hold back God. If we submitted to Him fully.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Submit.

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Sit At The Table

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” ~ Psalms 23:5

As Christians, Psalms 23 is one of the first verses we memorize. We all know it by memory, but do we fully understand it? Specifically, Psalms 23:5. What exactly was David getting at? What exactly was David trying to say? I believe David was trying to combat his fear. He was saying, when I’m surrounded by my enemies, you still prepare for me a table. No matter who is against me, no matter who is watching, no matter how much the world hates me, you still prepare for me my fill. You still give me more than enough. No matter how afraid I am. No matter how many there are of them, I am still given my blessing. I am still going to reap my harvest. I am still going to receive my just rewards.

David is overcoming his fear. He said to fear even though you speak loud, I will only keep my eyes on God. He said that it is God who anoints my head with oil. Why? Because in the midst of his enemies, God has chosen him. God has separated him and called him to a purpose. His cup overflows from the blessings God has poured out for him.

Fear will surround you and tell you, you’re not enough, and you’ll never be enough. But look to God, for He has set a table in the presence of your enemies so that you may eat and be made full. So that you may be chosen and anointed. So that you may drink and never go thirsty again. Don’t allow fear to keep you held back from the table, but walk boldly towards your call.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Sit At The Table.

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Wait

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” ~ Acts 2:1-4

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples went into the Upper Room together. They were in one accord. They were waiting patiently. They could feel something happening in their atmosphere. And at the perfect time, The Father sent down the Holy Spirit, and He filled them. Things changed for each of them after that day. Death was no longer a fear for them. People were healed just by their shadows. Great things happened.

In our day and age, we don’t see that same greatness very much. The Holy Spirit didn’t change. Jesus’ promises didn’t fail. The Father didn’t suddenly change the rules. So what changed? The Church. We did.

We changed because we no longer wait upon the LORD, we no longer gather together, we no longer seek, we no longer follow Christ’s words, we have turned towards the world and allowed them to dictate to us what is important and what is right. On the Pentecost Sunday, I implore you to seek the LORD, to wait for an answer, and to follow His word. Don’t look to the right or to the left, look to the LORD for He is good and His plan is perfect. His ways are just. Don’t be distracted by church tradition, but let us come as one body because when we are united, there is nothing we cannot do.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Wait.

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