Tag: Devotionals

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First Put On Your Oxygen Mask

1 Corinthians 9:27
[27] But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

If you’ve ever been on a plane, you’ve heard the flight attendants tell you “in case of an emergency, put on your oxygen mask before assisting a child or another person in need.” This line of thinking can also be applied to salvation.

We can’t try to save others unless we ourselves are saved. Why? Because if our oxygen runs out, we’re no help to anyone, not even ourselves. We’ve now become a liability for someone else. A burden for someone else to have to carry because without oxygen we are asleep. If, LORD forbid, the plane goes down, we risk drowning if we don’t have the oxygen mask on.

Everything that we could have helped with, now we are needing help with, and therefore, adding to the stress of others. Therefore, secure your own salvation first, and then the Holy Spirit will be your oxygen mask. He will guide you, protect you, and keep you, as you lead others to Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and First Put On Your Oxygen Mask.

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All In Plain View

37 You yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. ~ Acts 10:37-38

The things Peter began to explain to Cornelius and to those he had gathered in his home to hear what Peter had to say about Jesus were things they already knew. He said, “You yourselves know what happened throughout Judea.” What Jesus did was not obscure. He did not do His good works in secret so that no one knew what was going on. Instead, He Himself testified to the high priest when he questioned Him about His disciples and His teaching, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.”

The things Jesus did were all done in the open, in public spaces; He did nothing in secret or in hiding. Everything was done in plain view for all to see. Therefore, when the testimony of the early Church was proclaimed, those who heard could easily verify what was being said because everything was done in plain view for all to see. That means that the letters and the accounts that we now have were written down by eyewitnesses and verified by those who were there and could testify to the authenticity of the reliable accounts. Therefore, we have no need to feel unsure or skeptical about what was handed down to us.

We, today’s Church, the body of Christ, must do the same. We must let our light shine so that others may see and glorify our Father who is in heaven. But Today’s Christian is obscure; it’s like they are in hiding, and so they go unnoticed. I used to work with a certain woman who turned out to be a Christian woman. I had no clue that she was. She didn’t partake in any of the office gossip or anything like that. She just kept to herself, never spoke about her faith, and she didn’t seem to be very happy. I later found out that she was a Christian.

What I’m encouraging you to do today is share the Gospel with someone. Smile, let others see your joy because the joy of the LORD is our strength. Encourage others, be light in your dark corner of your world. For the love that you show will be the love that someone else needs, just like the light that you shine is the light that will cause someone else to see and not to stumble. Be like Jesus, who did all His good works in plain sight for all to see, and so did His followers.

Father, help us to show Your Son, Jesus, in our day-to-day actions and proclaim His Name in our day-to-day interactions. We want to be a witness for You, but we cannot be a witness in silence. Therefore, give us boldness to speak loud and proud about the goodness of Jesus. Thank You, Jesus, for Your bold statements. Help us to be like You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Remember God Sees

10 You felt secure in your wickedness; you said, “No one sees me”; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” ~ Isaiah 47:10

The Scripture says that ‘you felt secure in your wickedness.’ That word wickedness pertains to that which is not morally pure or morally good, nor is it morally right. It further implies that this evil hinders or severs a relationship with a person or principle that is proper or has morals.

For instance, it is morally wrong to take the life of a defenseless little baby still safe and secure in its mother’s womb. Yet, some in the Church will fight you tooth and nail to defend a woman’s right to murder her own child. It’s her body, after all. But I digress.

Now, according to the definition of wickedness that we just read, it should, at the very least, hinder a relationship or, at best, sever the relationship with those who have proper principles or good and proper morals. Yet, that is not what we are seeing in the Church today. Morals are thrown out the window, and identity politics are led in the front door.

It’s not what you stand for, it’s how you look, or what party you associate with. The Scripture implied that those who felt secure in their wickedness felt like they would never get caught. No one will ever know because “No one sees me,” they said. But, rest assured, God sees. Therefore, cling to righteousness, lest you be separated from Christ for all eternity because of wickedness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remember God Sees.

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Don’t Succumb

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ~ 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

There’s a show called Downton Abbey, and within this show, one of the main characters’ husband dies in a car crash right after she gives birth. He was on his way home to get the rest of the family to see their new baby boy, but he never made it home. That destroyed this main character. She was once strong and confident, but now she is scared and unsure of herself. She and her brother-in-law, who lost his wife (her sister) during childbirth, get into an argument of sorts one day, and this is what he told her:

You’re frightened of being hurt again. But let me tell you this. You will be hurt again, and so will I, because being hurt is part of being alive.

Pain is a part of this life. It was never intended for mankind, but it has become an unavoidable part of our lives since Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden. Pain is an unavoidable side effect of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden. We can’t erase it. We can’t run away from it. It’s something that each one of us has to go through. We have to endure, lest it consume us, as it did the main character of Downton Abbey.

She gave up on work as well as love. She just gave up in life, completely. The fact of the matter is life is hard. It’s easy to give up. It’s easy to allow pain and suffering to consume us, but that’s not our destiny. That’s not what God has called us to. Yes, pain and suffering is unavoidable, but succumbing to them is a choice.

We, the Church, the body of Christ, are blessed and highly favored. We are the very bride of Christ. We may be struck down, but we are not destroyed. We may be persecuted, but we are not abandoned. We are in the hands of the Living God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. He is the Good Shepherd who has given Himself for His sheep.

Therefore, when troubles come our way that begin to weigh us down and try to consume us, we have to lift the burdens off of us and lay them at the feet of Jesus. We have to cast our anxieties upon Him because He cares for us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Succumb.

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Obtain Truth

10 … your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” ~ Isaiah 47:10b

Secret knowledge makes one wiser than those who are in the dark. And that kind of ‘knowledge-power’ can make one arrogant, haughty, and overconfident.

There is a game played with a whole bunch of players called werewolf. In the game where everyone gets a card with the word ‘villager’ written on it, but two players get a card with the word werewolf written on it.

Then, someone runs the game to ensure that no one is cheating. Then the leader says, “Okay it’s nighttime everyone please close your eyes. Now, werewolves, choose someone to kill.” After the person is chosen, the one in charge of the game says, “Okay, it’s morning, and announces that a certain person was killed during the night.”

All the players now have a conversation about who the werewolf is and who they are going to kill. The game continues until either both werewolves are killed or all but two villagers are killed. More times than not, the werewolves win. What is the purpose of the game?

Well, the game was invented by a Russian sociology student who wanted to prove his thesis that an uninformed majority will always lose the battle of information against an informed minority. Which proves that someone having hidden information can completely manipulate a large group of people, and that’s what they have done, with the secret meetings.

Knowledge is power. As long as we refuse to seek knowledge, we will never have true freedom in this world. We have to seek to open our eyes to the truth. Obtaining truth is the key to fixing our world. Why? Because when we have truth, we won’t fall for deceitful lies.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Obtain Truth.

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Call On Jesus

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ~ Ephesians 3:14-19

I want us to fully understand what Paul is writing here because it is very important. Paul said, for this reason, I kneel before the Father. But for what reason? The reason is, the Ephesians were becoming a little discouraged because of Paul’s suffering for the Gospel. And if Paul, a mighty man of God, would go through such suffering, is it not worth it? So, it is for that reason, so that the Ephesians would not be discouraged about serving God because of Paul’s sufferings basically for them.

He wrote, “I want you to understand this.” Understand what? Understand the love that God has for us. Because if you can understand that love, and understand the width, the height, the depth of Jesus’ love that surpasses all knowledge, then you will be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

If you don’t understand the love of God, then you will think that God is always out to get you. He is up there just waiting in the wings of heaven waiting for you to mess up, and splat, He has you. But that is not how the love of God works.

God actually looks for someone doing what is right so that He can bless them. And those who are doing wrong? Well, He looks for an intercessor who will pray and intercede for the people who are doing wrong so that He will not have to carry out His swift and terrible judgment on them.

God never interferes with what is going on on earth, unless we ask Him to. He said the Heavens are His, but He has given earth to mankind. It’s our job to take care of the earth and those who dwell on it, and when we cannot get the job done, we call on Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Call On Jesus.

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Make It High Priority

22 How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? ~ Proverbs 1:22

There is none as blind as those who refuse to see. Even when the evidence stares them dead in the face they still refuse to see, or even take a look. The Proverb ends with God promising that whoever listens to Him will dwell secure and will be at ease and will be without dread of disaster.

One thing we can always rest assured of is God is for us and not against us. God always has our best interest at heart. He does not see dollar signs when He looks at us, nor does he look at us with disgust. But as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him (Psalms 103:13).

God will never deceive you, nor will He ever lie to you. We can fully trust Him. He does not have a hidden agenda. God wants us to be obedient to His commands, and to love Him and love each other. Have you thought about that love in terms of eternity? Have you placed it as a high priority?

What I mean is, have you consciously sat and considered the question, where will I spend eternity? Because you will spend eternity in one place or the other. Either you will spend your eternity in paradise with Jesus, where every need is supplied and every tear wiped away. Where there will be no more hunger and no more thirst, or even heartaches, because there will be no more sad goodbyes. Or the alternative is to spend eternity in a lake of fire being tormented and in severe anguish forever and ever with no chance of parole or ever getting out.

The bottom line is this, Jesus is coming back real soon, and His rewards are with Him. Those who know Jesus as LORD and Savior will be saved, those who have rejected Him, or who have just plain waited too long, will be sent to the Lake of Fire.

If you want to spend eternity in paradise with all of your needs met, now is your opportunity. All you have to do is repent and accept the free gift of Salvation that has already been offered to you. This is one action you don’t want to put off, as tomorrow isn’t promised to any person, but eternity is promised to everyone.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Make It High Priority.

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Let Truth Flourish

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15

If you will not search for the truth and believe the truth, you are destined to believe the lie. So, how do we overcome deception?

Be thankful to God, be sanctified by the Spirit, and believe in the Truth. God’s Word is truth. It is not nullified by science; science is nullified by God’s Word. Jesus is the Word that became flesh. Truth is the only antidote for lies, and lies cannot flourish where free speech prospers.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Truth Flourish.

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Check Where You’re At

4 … Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ~ James 4:4b

You have to understand, the world is not for you, unless you are a part of it. That means that if you are a child of God, the world does not care about you. Why not? Because we are not a part of it, or so James tells us. Therefore, if the world has embraced you, check your Christianity, it is likely you have made yourself an enemy of God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Check Where You’re At.

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There’s No Sacrifice Left

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. ~ Hebrews 10:26-27

The writer of Hebrews says, “Do not go on sinning, for if you do go on sinning, you will nullify the sacrifice of the cross. And if you nullify the sacrifice of the cross, you will void the salvation that Jesus has lavished on us. And if you void the salvation that Jesus has lavished on us, then there is nothing left to look forward to, except for the fearful expectation of the judgment of the Lake of Fire.”

So, what does it mean to go on sinning deliberately? The Scriptures says that if you know the right thing to do and you refuse to it, then you are sinning.

Therefore, it would be in your best interest to read the Bible to see what it says about right or wrong so that you will know what the right thing is so that you can do it. Do not rely on a man or a woman to tell you. Yes, listen to your preachers, listen to your pastors, listen to your evangelists, but do as the Bereans did and search the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul was teaching them was accurate. You, too, must read your Bible for yourself so that you will not be deceived or led astray.

There is so much deceitfulness in the world today, and it’s no different in the Church, therefore, your only hope of truth is in the Bible. Do not believe the lie that the Bible is outdated, or has changed to the point of being unreliable, or untrustworthy. Believe me, if God is real, and He is, He is more than able to preserve His Word and He did.

Listen to this, Jesus is the Word that became flesh, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He will not and cannot change; therefore, neither will His Word change. His Word is unchanging, immovable, indivisible, and infallible; it will remain the same forever and ever.

Therefore, do not listen when society tells you that it is okay to live a certain lifestyle; rather, read the Word of God to see what it says about what they said. Do not participate in everything that those who live to promote the pleasures of life say is acceptable to God or tell you that is what Jesus would do. Read the Word of God for yourself, and the Spirit of Truth will reveal to you and open your eyes because He has promised to fill those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Remember, the return of Jesus is closer now than ever before, and we must be ready to receive Him, so that He will receive us into His kingdom.

Heavenly Father, please open my eyes to see and recognize lies. Help me to see and recognize truth; Your Word is truth. Help me to cling to Your truth and obey Your Word. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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