Tag: Devotionals

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Love God First

34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ~ Matthew 10:34-39

These words are hard to grasp. In fact, I’d venture to say this is one of the hardest teachings Jesus has given us. It’s not just denying our own flesh but choosing Him above all others, including those we love most. See, a common theme we have in the Church today is Christians standing firm on the Word, until a loved one decides to live in sin. So, instead of loving the person, not the sin, they embrace the sin and begin to justify it, even by twisting and cherry-picking Scripture. Their love for that person overrides their love for God. When we choose others over God, we end up causing ourselves to never truly love anyone.

God is love. Without loving the LORD above all, we fail to truly love anyone. That love we feel we have for our loved are living in Sin that causes us to affirm their sin, isn’t true love. True love doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but in Truth. Christ is Truth. Teaching what the Spirit of Truth authored through the Scribes of the Scriptures is Truth. Someone’s feelings, emotions, thoughts, or desires aren’t Truth. And affirming these things isn’t love. It is hate in disguise.

Hatred will disguise itself as love and lead many to Hell. It will convince you that to do anything other than to accept and affirm is hatred. False love. Loving others more than the LORD God leads to a reprobate mind. The LORD demands we love Him above all, not because He wants to divide the family, but because He understands that He alone is perfect and is love itself. So, when you love Him first and put Him first, you will learn how to truly love others, just as God loves the World.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Love God First.

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Remember Whom You Serve

23 “Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the same time. 24 Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord. ~ Jeremiah 23:23-24

Ancient Israel and the modern-day world and Church are complete opposites. What do I mean? In today’s world, we are constantly preaching that the LORD is near. That He isn’t far away. That He is close to us. Ancient Israel, the LORD had to remind them of the opposite. Why? Because God interacts with us today differently than He did back then. In the days of Ancient Israel, God would come down in the cloud when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies. If they were unclean, fire would come out from the Ark of the Covenant and consume them. The LORD was physical when He spoke to and responded to Ancient Israel’s actions.

Today, God works less blatant. He works in us. He doesn’t physically come down in a cloud or fire. He changes us from the inside to the outside. Ancient Israel felt that if God was in one place, then He could not be in another, all at the same time. So, they felt they could sin in secret, and the LORD wouldn’t know. That He was in the Temple or even the synagogues, but not their private dwelling. Not their secret places. So, the LORD had to remind them that He wasn’t just near, but far off.

We today, need the opposite reminder. We need the reminder that the LORD isn’t just far off but close. That He dwells in us and through us. That He walks with us and talks with us. That He is close by. He may interact with us differently today, but who He is has not changed. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is a God who is near and a God who is close by. He is a God who fills the Heavens and the earth. He is the Almighty.

Therefore, don’t be like Ancient Israel by forgetting one quality of the LORD for another. He is far, but He is close. He is unseen, but He is seen in all that is around us. He does not change.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remember Whom You Serve.

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Identify To Root

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” ~ Mark 9:25-29NKJV

I have really bad allergies. I suffer all year round with no break. From Spring to Winter, allergies. So, I always have allergy tablets with me. In fact, usually, three different kinds at all times. Why? Because one size does not fit all. It all depends on the root of my issues in that moment, whether it’s pollen, some type of grass or plant, trees, or even food. Different root issue, different tablet. It doesn’t matter how many tablets I take; if it’s not the right kind, it will not work. The symptoms might all be very similar or even the same, but the source or root is the key.

See, my symptoms often present as a cold or flu, but again, no matter how many cold and flu tablets I take, my symptoms are not going away because they are never addressing the root or source of the problem. The spiritual realm is exactly the same way. No matter how many times you pray, if you do not fast, that mountain is not going to move. No matter how many times you pray, if you never worship, that harassing spirit is not going to loose you. No matter how many times you go to church, if you never spend time with God, you are not saved. There is no one-size-fits-all. No, one verse for every situation. You need to first identify the issue and then the source or root.

Too often, the Church just blindly says let’s pray about it and nothing else. Or come to church, and Jesus will fix it all. Yes, the Church is intended to be a hospital, but just like a physical hospital, you cannot cure each sickness, each illness, with the same prescription. You have to first identify the issue and then attack its root or its source. You can’t just say a prayer and expect everything to be fixed. Some things take fasting, some worship, others Scripture, others communion, others confession, and all overcoming is rooted in faith, prayer, and a relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Identify To Root.

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Let God Define You

John 20:24-25 ESV

[24] Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. [25] So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

A lot of the time, one moment. One action or reaction. One statement will follow you for your entire life, regardless of how you’ve changed or grown. Regardless of how far you’ve come, that one mistake will mark you to the world. Thomas was marked by the stain of one statement of doubt:

Unless I see … I will never believe.

These words have followed him after death, even adding to his name as “Doubting Thomas.” Nothing else about him is remembered.

Thomas’ sorry doesn’t end there, though. When he sees the resurrected Christ, Thomas makes a bold statement:

My LORD and my God.

The doubt that once plagued him no longer had a hold of him. He was filled with faith. And according to tradition, he willingly died for his faith. It’s believed that he travelled all the way to India to preach the Gospel. To preach Jesus. He converted many to Christ. In fact, in South India there are still a strong group of followers who are called “St. Thomas Christians.” His death? Stabbed to death by spears. A gruesome and cruel death, but he never recanted. He never denied. He never lost faith again.

He died a hero of the faith, yet that one moment of doubt has been what he was remembered for. Here’s what I’m getting at. Mankind remembers Thomas for doubting, but God remembers him for believing. The world will label you by your mistakes but God does not. God doesn’t hold us to our past once we come to Him. He removes our past from us. He remembers them no more. You become a new creation in Him.

Even if the world keeps your mistakes alive. Even if they memorialize you as your sin. God does not. He never will. So, they might be here on this earth in the here and now, but in eternity, they will be no more. Why? The blood of Jesus has cleaned you and His Word has washed you clean. Your sin no longer defines you, instead He does.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let God Define You.

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Walk Blindly

1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where Helay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. ~ Matthew 28:1-8

1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. ~ Mark 16:1-8

1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered His words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ~ Luke 24:1-9

1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. ~ John 20:1-10

It’s now Sunday. Early Sunday morning. The dawn hasn’t even fully set, but the women are up. They’re awake, and they’re heading to the tomb. It doesn’t say any men went with them, just the women. To do what? Properly prepare Jesus’ body for burial. What’s interesting about that? Well, who was going to roll away the tomb? Remember, Jesus was laid in the tomb, and a great stone was rolled in front of the tomb, so how would they have gotten in?

Honestly, I believe the women didn’t quite know either. I believe they went in faith that they would somehow get the stone rolled away; they just needed to try. I doubt they slept much the last three nights. But it didn’t matter; their LORD was in that tomb, and He needed a proper burial. When they reached the tomb? The stone was rolled away, but Jesus’ body wasn’t there.

I can imagine the fear shooting through their bodies as they approached the empty tomb. The guards had abandoned their posts. And there before them sat an unknown man. And what does he tell them? Jesus has risen, just as He had prophesied many times. This group of women was the first to see the empty tomb. The first to hear of the good news that their Messiah had risen. That they were not wrong. That He indeed was (and still is) the Great Redeemer. Jesus was alive.

Sometimes, faith needs us to walk blindly. Not necessarily that we don’t see anything, but that we don’t see everything. They had no idea how they were going to get the stone rolled away, yet they went. Not empty-handed either, but with herbs and spices prepared to prepare His body properly for burial. They didn’t know what state His body would be in. Remember, Isaiah said He would be (and He was) beaten beyond recognition. Lazarus was in the tomb for 4 days before Jesus came to raise him from the dead, and Martha warned Jesus the body would have begun to stink when He ordered the tomb to be opened. So, imagine the smell of a body that had been beaten beyond recognition. That had been tortured and destroyed.

The women didn’t care, though. They had one mission and one mission alone. Give the LORD a burial He deserved. And when they arrived, the stone had been rolled away. Jesus wasn’t there, but two angels were. Two angels were before them, confirming what they had seen. Jesus has risen. He is risen, alive, and has come into His glory.

Faith requires us to trust. To walk without always knowing where, why, or how. To move even when it doesn’t really make sense. To act when we’re not sure how it will be done. Faith requires us to trust blindly. But, unlike the world, we aren’t trusting in men who can’t see what’s next. Or in demons who can’t assure our welfare. Or in princes, thrones, dominions, or rulers whose power is not their own. We put our trust. Our faith in the LORD God Almighty, who knows beginning and end. Who was, is, and is to come. Whose power is His own, and whose authority known can take away. He who made Heaven and earth. Who established them by His own might and strength.

We may not know the end. But He does. We may not know the how. But He does. All that we don’t know or understand. All that worries us and concerns us. All that keeps us up at night is all in His hands. He holds all things. So, let this Resurrection Sunday encourage you. Let it lift you up. Let it give you hope and strengthen your faith. Jesus did not abandon His followers then, so He will not abandon you now. You have not been left as orphans. You have not been forgotten. He is watching over you. He has and still is preparing a way for you. You need only follow it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Walk Blindly.

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Know What To Hope For

Luke 24:25-26

[25] And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [26] Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

Jesus had just been hailed as the Son of David just a few days prior, and now, their Messiah, their Christ, was dead. Two days have passed. It’s now the Sabbath. And it’s been just silence. No whispers. No shakings. Just silence. A heavy silence. Their hope had been shattered. Now, keep in mind, Jesus had prophesied His death three or so times before it actually came to be, but because that wasn’t what they wanted the Messiah to be, they didn’t understand when He told them.

See, they wanted the Messiah to restore Israel to its rightful glory. To restore the House of David. To overthrow the Roman Empire. To be the military force they had so hoped for, but instead of silencing His enemies, Jesus seemingly was the one who was silenced. And their hope was crushed. See, His disciples couldn’t see what He was doing. Their spiritual eyes were closed just as Elisha’s man-servant’s eyes were closed to the Heavenly army surrounding them. They couldn’t see what Jesus was doing in the Spirit.

They didn’t realize, at the time, that Jesus was acting as the goat that took the sin of Israel (now the sin of the whole world) away from the presence of God. Away from the people of God. Jesus’ seemingly horrid failure was actually a great victory. In His death, we too died (to sin). In His death He killed sin and took it far away. In His death, that moment of despair for His disciples, He was able to give the entire world what they lost that day. Hope.

Hope is easily killed when you don’t know what it is you are hoping for. The disciples were hoping for a military leader that would lead a great conquest to restore Israel to its former glory under King David. The Son of David was to take His rightful place on His father’s throne and rule, but instead they received the opposite. They received a Messiah that didn’t come for physical victory, but spiritual victory.

Jesus, in His death, made a way for all people of all walks of life of all backgrounds to be saved. To be redeemed. To be reconciled to God. That is a great military conquest. He fought and overcame our spiritual enemies, so that we might be able to be with Him in the spirit. And one day, when He comes back, we will be with Him in the physical as well.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Know What To Hope For.

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2,000 Years Ago

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth (Isaiah 53:7 NKJV).

2,000 years ago, around this very season, our LORD Jesus faced the darkest hour of His life. He would be betrayed by one of His twelve chosen friends and denied by one of His three closest friends, and deserted by all. Left to face the chief priests who accused Him of crimes He did not commit and sins He was not guilty of, He stood there alone, silent, and unhindered. This was the very reason why He came into the world to die for a lost world, and without His innocent blood, we would be lost.

By His shed blood, anyone who will come to Him will receive forgiveness and inherit eternal life. By the chastisement that was thrust upon Him, He brought us peace that the world cannot even comprehend. A peace that the world cannot give and the world cannot take away. And by His stripes, or by the wounds on His back, we are healed. Everything that we need for life and for excellence, He has provided.

2,000 years ago, Jesus stood silent, not answering, not retaliating, not even defending Himself—He stood silent. Isaiah prophesied that as a lamb is silent before its shearers, Jesus would be silent. And as a lamb which is led to the slaughter is silent, so would Jesus the Messiah be silent. Jesus did not rebuff one accusation but accepted all that they blamed Him for. And for the Joy that was set before Him, that is you and I and all who will come in repentance, He endured the cross. Scorning its shame, but not resisting its excruciating pain, Jesus hung on the cross, the very emblem of suffering and pain, for six hours for you and me. He took all our sin, all of our guilt, and all of our iniquity upon Himself and bore it on dark Calvary.

May the love that Jesus showed us 2,000 years ago on Calvary, may it shine in our hearts today. And may His blood not be shed in vain for us, but that we live as obedient servants, loving our God, and serving our Savior, for He died in our place so that we might live unto righteousness.

Father, thank You for Your blessings on us. Thank You for the privilege of being called sons and daughters of the LORD God, Most High, and thank You for salvation. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

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For The Joy That Was Set Before Him

12 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 (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV).

The author of the book of Hebrews says that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who are encouraging us not to give up and not to give in, but to keep on pressing on. And to throw aside everything that weighs us down, and discarding every sin that tries to cling to us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us. And whenever we get discouraged and heavy-laden, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith. He is our example. We don’t look to the world, or even to modern-day Christians, but we look to the One who was in all ways tempted and yet without sin. The One who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, scorning or despising its shame, and has overcome. It is He who encourages us to keep on keeping on, telling us that we can make it, because He overcame the world, we too will overcome the world.

Now, about the saying, for the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross. It’s a little jarring to think that the cross that was the most humiliating, the most excruciating punishment imaginable, designed by the Romans to not only humiliate, but to intimidate, and severely punish lawbreakers, was the joy set before Jesus. Because, after all, what joy was there in that? The joy is bringing new sons and daughters to the Father. His blood purchased you for the Father, and now you are adopted into the family of God. Therefore, the joy that was set before Him was you and me, and all who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. We are His joy and His pride.

So when the Scriptures said, “For the joy of the LORD is our strength,” it is talking about that joy, the joy that was set before Jesus, it’s our saving grace. For the joy of the LORD, our LORD is our strength, because He strengthens us for good works.

Heavenly Father, I praise You for the good work that You have started, and I know that You are able to finish it. Thank You for the cross, LORD Jesus. Now, have Your way in my life, and help me live like the joy of the LORD is really my strength. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

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Prone To Stray

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way… ~ Isaiah 53:6a NKJV

My daughter has a Siberian Husky, and she is what we call an escape artist. If she finds even the smallest opening, she squeezes through it and off she goes, exploring. Now, she loves her family and her home, but for some reason, she loves to stray. Just wander off and explore like nobody’s business. We’ve spent countless hours looking and searching the neighborhood and the woods for that dog.

Sometimes she’s gone for a few hours before we find her, at other times she is gone for up to two days. Then someone on social media will contact my daughter and let her know that they have her dog. And when we drive over to that person’s home to get Venus, she is overjoyed to see my daughter. She comes bounding over, tail wagging, and something like a big smile on her face, if that is possible. But the thing is, she has never found her way back home. We always have to go find her. Thank God it rarely happens, but when it does, we have to go searching to find her.

You know, that is exactly how we are. The Scripture said, “We all like sheep have gone astray.” We are all prone to wander off the path following some dream, some excitement, some fantasy. Never meaning to stray, but straying we do, nonetheless. It’s not that we stop loving God. It’s not that we stop wanting to be in His Presence, but that we have this pull, a call of the wild, if you will. And if we are not careful, we will find ourselves on an unfamiliar path that leads us away from our Savior, and not toward Him, and we get lost and are unable to find our way back home to Him.

That’s why Jesus came, 2,000 years ago, to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to be bruised, for our iniquities, to have the chastisement of our peace placed upon Him, and to receive the stripes by which we are healed. With His own blood, He has given us a new and improved covenant. A covenant of love and peace and righteousness. He has given us the ability to live righteous and holy lives so that we need not stray ever again. For when we are tempted to stray from our God and our Savior, we echo the words of the Apostle Peter to remind ourselves, “Where would we go? For You alone, oh LORD Jesus, You alone have the words of life.”

There is nowhere we can go, and no one that we can run to, but Jesus, and Jesus alone, for it is He who has the words of life and Him alone.

Father, strengthen us and encourage our hearts today. Help us to remember and understand that it is Your Son, our LORD Jesus, who has the words of life. For in Him and in Him alone is the life and the light of men. Help us to run to that light and to remain in that light, in Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

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Don’t Miss His Second Coming

Matthew 21:14-17 ESV

[14]  And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. [15] But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, [16] and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” [17] And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

Matthew records that when the Chief Priests and the Scribes saw Him healing the people and the children declaring Him the Son of David, they were enraged. Why? They knew what those things meant. The Pharisees were those who studied the Law. They were supposed to know it the best. The Scribes were those who copied the Scriptures. They were the ones who were supposed to know the Law, the prophets, the histories. These are two groups of people who understood exactly what was happening and they despised every second of it. Why?

Jesus wasn’t who they wanted to be the Messiah. The Son of David. He wasn’t a great notable figure. He was born to just a regular mother. His father? A regular man. A carpenter. He wasn’t about starting a revolution. He wasn’t trying to overthrow Caesar. He wasn’t working towards establishing Israel to its former glory. He was simply a carpenter who had began preaching, healing, and casting out demons. Now, even the children saw who Jesus was and they couldn’t take it anymore.

This was not the Messiah they wanted. This was not the Messiah they were waiting for. See, they had a lot of head knowledge but they lacked one thing. The Fear of the LORD. Jesus checked all the boxes. Fulfilled all the prophecies, but because He wasn’t what they wanted or thought He needed to be in that moment, they refused to accept Him. They put their own ideas, biases, desires, feelings, etc. above the Scriptures. And in doing so, above God Himself.

Today, is not much different. There’s a lot of people who know the Scriptures, but because they have no fear of the LORD, they have no understanding of the Scriptures. They have no wisdom. They reject Jesus, just as the Pharisees and the Scribes did. This isn’t just the world, either. It’s not just atheists either. It’s pastors, bishops, deacons, worship leaders, church goers, etc. Jesus is being rejected by all who refuse to humble themselves before Him.

The Pharisees and Scribes missed the Messiah’s first coming. Instead of bowing down at His feet and worshipping Him, they crucified Him. They had Him beaten and scourged. They mocked and taunted Him as He hung on the cross in agony until He died. Jesus is coming back, but this time it’s not to die. This time it’s not to suffer.

When He returns it’s to gather His Bride from one end of the earth to the other. Then He will pour out His wrath on all who rejected Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Miss His Second Coming.

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