Tag: Devotionals

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Embrace His Joy

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ~ Hebrews 12:1-2NIV

Paul tells us that Jesus endured the cross and all that came with it for the joy set before Him. What was the glory set before Him? I never really used to think about it. Before, I always kind of wrote it off as His throne, Glory, title, Heaven, etc., but then the other day, it randomly hit me out of nowhere. Jesus didn’t need to endure the cross for those things. He already had all of those things prior to the cross, prior to creation. In fact, He set those things aside for the cross. So, what was that joy set before Jesus that kept Him going and gave Him the willpower to endure the cross? Us. We were the joy set before Him.

Jesus got off His throne, set aside His Godliness, and willingly endured pain, shame, mockery, hatred, rejection, and every form of disrespect for us. We were once separated from God. In fact, we were once enemies of God, doomed to an eternity apart from Him, but Christ showed His love for us by enduring the cross.

Whenever you feel unloved, rejected, alone, and unwanted, remember Jesus endured the cross for you. He endured the shame, ridicule, and mockery for you. He could have easily taken Himself off the cross. He could have easily shown them who He is. He could’ve shed that weak, broken, hurting, aching human body and picked back up His Godliness at any moment in time, but He didn’t. One reason and one reason alone, you. You are His joy, and He is ours. The joy of the LORD is our strength. The joy of the LORD is in you. He endured everything for you, so lean on that strength, and encourage yourself in the knowledge that the LORD loves you and will do anything to protect you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Embrace His Joy.

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Keep The Faith Pure

6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as LORD, continue to live your lives in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through your faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. ~ Colossians 2:6-12

In this passage, Paul urges all believers to stay firmly rooted in their faith in Christ, encouraging them to grow in Him and overflow with gratitude, while cautioning against deceptive philosophies grounded in human traditions rather than in Christ’s truth. Like preaching that Jesus was out of order 85% of the time. Or preaching a message of racism and bigotry.

He highlights that Christ embodies the fullness of deity in human form, meaning that all the attributes, power, and essence of God—His wisdom, authority, and divine nature—are perfectly and completely present in Jesus, even as He walked the earth as a man, bridging the divine and human in a way that reveals God fully to us.

We reject any religion that displaces Jesus from His rightful place as the second member of the Godhead. Likewise, we do not embrace any belief system—even one professing to be Christian—that diminishes Jesus’ divine role as Creator God to merely a human figure, or that elevates His earthly mother or His followers to the status of deity.

We keep our religion pure by not being polluted by the philosophies of this world, as James advised us to do (James 1:27). Paul goes on to use vivid imagery like spiritual circumcision and baptism to show how faith in Christ transforms believers, stripping away our sinful nature and uniting us with His death and resurrection, securing victory over sin and death through His supreme authority over all powers.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Keep The Faith Pure.

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Live A Strong Testimony

3 And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know Him” but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Him: 6 whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked. ~ 1 John 2:3-6

Paul explained to Titus that people can claim to know Jesus, but yet deny Him with their works, or with their actions. Actions do indeed speak louder than words. Just like you witness with more than just words, you deny God with more than just words.

Paul had some choice words for those kinds of Christians. He called them insubordinate, empty talkers, deceivers, liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons, detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work. In verse 11, he writes plainly that these kinds of lying teachers must be silenced, because they were upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

That was Paul’s own words. And you know what? We still have the same kind of preachers doing the same things today. They preach for shameful gain. Others… preach to spread a false narrative, throwing whole communities… not just families, but whole communities into confusion by preaching a lie, and thus, leading countless many astray.

They preach a lifestyle that is contrary to the Word of God. And the work that they were called to do, they won’t do. That is to keep His commandments and make disciples, teaching them to obey all that He taught us to obey (Matthew 28:20). There is no alternative lifestyle for the Christian. We will be judged on what is in the Bible, and not on what man deems is right or wrong.

Look, real love does not deceive, but rather, real love tells you the truth even if it hurts. I know that you’ve been taught that if someone does not confirm your actions, or your lifestyle, they obviously hate you, or at the least, they do not like you. And that person, or persons who tell you the truth, are judged to have a phobia. But nothing can be further from the truth.

True love corrects with love, respect, patience, and hope. True love will never watch as another soul walks towards destruction and never once open their mouth to point them to Christ. As Christians, our testimony isn’t just what we say. Our testimony is how we live our lives. Therefore, live your life in a way that when you tell others about Jesus or correct them in their sin, they will know it is from a true place of love and not one of hatred or hostility.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live A Strong Testimony.

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Prepare For His Return For Us

18 The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor. ~ Luke 4:18-19

Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. That is who Jesus is, and He has done all of that for us. We are living in the year of the LORD’s favor, which speaks of the fiftieth year—the year of Jubilee, because of Him.

Jubilee was the year when all was forgiven. All debts were canceled, slaves were set free, and all property, the inheritance, reverted to its original and rightful owner … And it was Jesus who accomplished all of that for us. But He didn’t leave it at that; He gave us even more …

Eternal life with Him in blissfulness. No eye has seen. No ear has heard. No mind can imagine all that God has in store for us. He’s coming back to get us one day. The day that the Apostles and the early believers called the ‘Blessed Hope,’ or our ‘Blessed Hope.’ So, be encouraged. Kindle your flame. Build His Kingdom.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare For His Return.

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Love Sign

By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. ~ John 13:35

Our love for one another is a sign to the unbeliever. Why? Where hate divides… love unites. Where hate wounds… love heals. Where hate destroys… love restores. And know this: while hate may last a long time in the hearts of the broken, God’s love is eternal. It lasts forever. So, let us love one another and be as one, just as Jesus and the Father are One.

LORD, please help us to love one another and be an example to the world. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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LORD LORD

21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ~ Matthew 7:21NIV

I’ve noticed throughout the years that the identity of Christ becomes more and more skewed. More and more people twist, manipulate, and straight up lie about the identity, personality, and person of Christ. Why? To ease their own minds.

Jesus is often portrayed as a chill, peaceful, hippy who loved everybody and just wanted everyone to be happy. Others portray Jesus as an outlaw, biker gang type man who surrounded himself with only other outlaws and whores. I can’t lie, whenever I hear anyone make either of these arguments it infuriates me to my core. Why? Because each of these false representations of Christ would be corrected if only the person opened up their Bible and read even one Gospel in its entirety.

There are Christians being beaten, imprisoned, persecuted, and even murdered for reading their Bibles. Whereas we, over here in the West, especially in America, a country built on Christianity, won’t even read our Bibles to make sure our idea of our LORD, Savior, and God is Biblically accurate and sound. That infuriates me. We have so much freedom here in the West, yet we use that freedom to spout absolute foolishness about Jesus on our extremely large and influential platform and never once open the Bible to check if what we are telling our millions of audience/followers is true or not. It upsets me that we waste our time pushing a Jesus that doesn’t change anybody. A Jesus that doesn’t demand that we pick up our cross and follow Him. A Jesus that hangs out with sinners and says, “No. No. Don’t bother changing. I love you as you are.”

We no longer know Christ in the Church because we no longer read His Word to get to know Him. Jesus didn’t embrace sinners dwelling and enjoying and pushing their sin. Not one single time did Jesus ever do that. Jesus embraced every sinner that ran to Him, fell at His feet, and sought mercy. Then what did He do? He told them to go and SIN NO MORE, yet we don’t talk about that. Why? Because then we wouldn’t be able to use Jesus to defend our sinful way of living.

One day, we will all have to stand before the throne of Christ. Very early on in His ministry He was very clear, just because you know His name and believe He is the Christ the Son of the Living God, does not mean you will enter into eternity with Him. How you live your life matters.

Dear LORD, I’m sorry for all the time I’ve wasted not getting to know You. I’m sorry for every time I’ve made an excuse for my own sinful ways and tried to justify it by falsely representing who You are. I’m sorry for any time I have refused to let go of something corrupting me. Please wash me clean. Give me a new heart and renew a right spirit within me. Hear my prayer, oh LORD, and reveal Yourself to me through Your Word. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. 

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Crucify, Crucify

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ~ Galatians 5:24NIV

Yesterday, I got a massage with the massage gun for the first time in a very long time. As that pulsing gun hit my hamstring, I screamed, spun, pushed it away. I did anything I could to get away from it because it hurt. It was more than just unpleasant. Why? Because the massage guns break up muscle tension and knots. They even break down scar tissue and adhesions. So, when you haven’t felt that kind of pain in a while, it shocks your system and your brain screams “run,” which I did indeed try to obey.

This is much like crucifying the flesh. That first nail in the flesh causes it to scream and try to run away. It tries to convince you that it’s not necessary to do it. It’ll try anything to get you to stop, but just like the massage gun, the more you allow the pain to happen, the less it hurts.

The more we crucify our flesh, the easier it becomes. The more we crucify our flesh and then build up our spirit, the more we walk in the ways of the Spirit. Therefore, don’t stop at the first flinch. Don’t stop at the screams. Keep crucifying the flesh, so that the passions and desires of the flesh can no longer control you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Crucify Crucify.

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Dangerous Desires

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. ~ Ephesians 4:17-24

If you ask the majority of Christians why they believe that Satanism is dangerous, they’ll tell you because they worship the Devil. Yes, that is dangerous, but I don’t believe that is what makes it such a dangerous belief system, though. Throughout Paul’s writings, he admonishes us to crucify the flesh. He tells us that if we are in Christ, we no longer walk in the desires of the flesh. Why? Because there is nothing more dangerous than freely indulging in the flesh without reservation or restraint.

Satanism doesn’t blatantly tell its followers to worship the Devil. That’s extremely discreet within the religion. However it does follow Crowlianity’s most dangerous teaching “Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole of The Law.” To freely indulge in the desires of the flesh without restraint or reservation is a recipe for disaster. When we allow human’s desire’s of the flesh to go uncheck, sin will abound even the more.

Our flesh isn’t a saint. It posses no good quality. It is wicked in all its ways.

[16] But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17] For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
[19] Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21] envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:16-17, 19-21

The works of the flesh lead directly to death. Satan doesn’t have to get you to blatantly bow down and worship him at his feet in order you completely and entirely corrupt you and others through you. No. All he has to do is convince you to freely give into the desires of your flesh without reservation or restraint. That’s it. With nothing more and nothing less he can and will corrupt all of mankind and kill off and destroy all who refuse to give in to his teachings.

If the desires of the flesh have become the god of people, then those who oppose the desires of the flesh and say, “crucify it. Crucify it.” are a direct threat to the god they have created for themselves. And if the flesh is of this world, the people of the flesh will indeed fight. They will indeed destroy all who stand opposed to their god threatening it. Therefore, be mindful of the tactics of the enemy. Do not give in to his subtle lies and help usher in an era of unrighteousness like never before seen on the earth.

Dear LORD, I’m sorry for all the times I have given into my flesh instead of crucifying it. I’m sorry for every time I have replaced You as God and LORD of my life with my own wicked flesh. Please, give me the strength, desire, and discernment to crucify my flesh daily and build up my spirit that I might one day be united to You. So that one day I might hear the words, “well done my good and faithful servant.” Open my eyes that I might see that that the things of this world is ever fleeting and that works of the flesh only lead to destruction. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Thank You For Love

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. ~ Psalms 107:1NIV

The Psalmist calls us to gratitude, reminding us that God’s goodness and enduring love are reasons to continually give thanks. Even when he feels like the whole world is crashing down on you, God is good. Even when situations have risen out of your control, His love endures forever. What good is that if my world is falling apart?

God works all things out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. We love because He first loved us. Therefore, we give thanks for He is good and His steadfast love is forever.

Than You LORD for loving me. Thank You, LORD, that You have blessed me all the days of my life, even though I may not notice always notice them. Thank You for being good to me and loving me. Thank You for showing Your steadfast love. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. 

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Cast Your Bread

1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. ~ Ecclesiastes 11:1

King Solomon tells us to cast our bread upon the water and it will return to us in many days. This, in many ways, is King Solomon’s version of ‘you shall reap what you sow.’ Now, I realize that this portion of Scripture is normally applied to finances in specific, but it can also be applied to other things in general.

What if we applied this verse to soulwinning? Let’s consider this thought for a moment … Jesus is the bread of life. He said plainly that He was the living bread that came down from heaven in John 6:51. As a matter of fact, all through the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus identifies Himself as either the True Bread or the Living Bread. In fact, several times in this chapter, chapter 6, He refers to Himself as the Bread of Life (John 6:33, 35, 48, 51, 58).

So, with that in mind, what if we cast Jesus, the Bread of Life, upon the waters, with the waters representing people, what would that look like? In other words, what if we shared the Good News of Jesus with people that we meet, and people that we know?

And the many days would represent the end of time, when Jesus comes back to judge the quick and the dead. Those who eat the bread that you cast upon the waters will be there to receive life from Jesus, and you will get the credit. So, in many days, because Jesus’ return is close at hand now, all your hard work will pay off, and you will reap a great reward for soul winning.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cast Your Bread.

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