Tag: Devotionals

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God Given Authority

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ~ Genesis 1:26KJV

From the very beginning, God’s intention was to create a world where His most prized possession (man) would have dominion or be in control. The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it, but He has given the authority or the rulership of earth to man. Now that man possesses this vested interest in the affairs of earth, God expects him to take dominion over all the jurisdiction that He has given him and to bring all of creation under the subjection of Almighty God. It is, therefore, our job to ensure that all of God’s creation obeys His rules and regulations and to bow at His throne.

But man gave it all up in the fall, and it fell into the hands of Satan, which he made very clear to Jesus when he told Him that all the kingdoms of the earth were given to him and he could give them to whomever he chose. But the good news is that Jesus bought it all back for us on the cross and gave it back to us again. Jesus came with the sole purpose of dying for mankind and giving them back life and life more abundantly.

During this time of the year, Easter time, we remember the suffering that Jesus went through. We remember the cross that He died upon. We remember His death and resurrection. We remember all of the great promises He has made to us; like when He promised us, “Ask whatever you want in my name, and I will do it.” So, what are you waiting for? Call those things that are not as if they are; you are in authority upon the earth. Stop acting like a second-class citizen. You are a child of God, blessed and highly favored.

Throw your hands up and praise God now for your God-given authority. Then fall on your knees and change your circumstances through prayer.

Father, I come in agreement with every prayer that is of You and ask that You would not only hear but that You would answer as well. That You would change the circumstances for the better for this brother or sister. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Drenched In Blood

it on all sides of the altar. 13 They brought him the burnt offering piece by piece, along with the head, and he burned them on the altar. 14 He washed the entrails and the legs and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar. ~ Leviticus 9:12-14CSB

When we think about forgiveness, oftentimes, we only think of the picture-perfect love of our Heavenly Father embracing us. Rarely do with think about the extremely painful price that had to be paid. There was never a time when forgiveness didn’t cost someone something. An innocent animal had to be slaughtered so Adam and Eve’s shame could be covered. Innocent animals had to be slaughtered in order to cover the sin of mankind after the flood. Innocent animals had to be slaughtered in order for Israel’s sin to be rolled over another year. Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God, had to be slaughtered on a tree in order to wash clean the souls of those who would accept forgiveness.

Forgiveness isn’t pretty. It isn’t sweet. It’s a cold and broken hallelujah. The moment we realize the true cost of our actions is when we begin to understand the price Jesus paid for us. The image of the altar of the Old Testament can be seen as a foreshadowing of the body of Christ. No longer does God come down on the Mercy Seat to meet us; He dwells in us. No longer do we sprinkle the blood of an innocent animal on the altar; God covers us in His perfect, blameless blood.

Love isn’t sweet and innocent. It’s painful and heartbreaking. Jesus had to take the sin of the entire world onto Himself and die in order to cancel the debt of sin. Then after He rose again, He had to cover us in His blood.

The cost of sin isn’t cheap. It’s the cost of a life. One day, we will all stand before the LORD, and on that day, He’s looking for His blood. Those who aren’t covered in His blood will have to pay their own debt. They’ll have to spend eternity in Hell away from the LORD. But to those who have been covered in the blood, they will dwell with Him forever and ever on the new earth that He will create for us and Himself.

Dear LORD, please help me not to be ungrateful for the price that You paid on the cross so that You could cancel my debt. Thank You that You gave Yourself for me so that I might escape my well-deserved fate. Thank You for Your love. Help me to realize the weight and severity of my own sin. Teach me to love You with all my heart, mind, and soul. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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A Justified Enemy

9 How much more then, since we have now been justified by His blood, will we be saved through Him from wrath. 10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life. ~ Romans 5:9-10CSB

Christ died for us while we were still His enemy. He didn’t die for the righteous because there was none to die for; no, instead, He died for the unrighteous—the sinner and betrayer—the very ones who put Him on the cross and the ones who would blaspheme Him in the future. Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, died for His enemy.

This is the reason salvation is so important because, without it, you will die as an enemy of God. What does that mean? Jesus refers to Hell as a place of gnashing of teeth. This isn’t because of the pain that the people will be in, but that they’ll be tortured in Hell. That there are torturers who are tormenting those in Hell because they’ve chosen to be an enemy of God. So, those torturers are gnashing their teeth against those in Hell on behalf of God.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for every temptation I have given into. Please continue to wash me clean and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Thank You for Your blood that washes me clean. Thank You for Your sacrifice because I don’t deserve it. Thank You for Your perfect love that keeps me safe from all evil. Thank You, LORD, for calling my name and forming me into a new creation in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Get Rid of The Old Yeast

6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. ~ 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

The NIV says, “Get rid of the old yeast.” In Scripture, yeast, or leaven, represents sin. In this passage, Paul is dealing with sexual immorality in the church there at Corinth. One of their members has taken his father’s wife as his own wife. Therefore, Paul instructs them to get rid of the yeast. Get the sin out of their midst because if they do not, it will infect the whole church, one by one, and soon, the whole batch will be infected with sin.

If you think about it, that is basically what is happening in the church today. We tolerate the leaven in our church because the person is a celebrity or they are a good tithe payer, and we don’t want to upset them. Or the church simply bows to the political pressures of society, ignoring God’s commands to us. But that is not Paul’s instruction to the Corinthian church. He told them straight up, get rid of the yeast that is in your presence, or it will infect your whole church.

It is the same thing that God instructed the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land. Get rid of the sin in the land. Smash their sacred altars. Breakdown their Asherah Poles. Destroy anything that is used for idol worship. If you do not get rid of all of that, it will be a snare to you. They will be like briers in your eyes. Because a little leaven leavens the whole batch.

It is the same with the new Christian. God does not expect you to get saved and then change overnight, but He does expect you to seek holiness, without which no man shall see God. That means you don’t keep making the same mistakes you made last year or even last month. You don’t use grace as an excuse for your own slackness. God understands, or I know I’m not living the way I’m supposed to, but thank God for Grace. No, God wants you to mature because His Son suffered and died so you can live a higher life.

Paul puts it this way: Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed; therefore, let us get rid of all the yeast, which represents sin, out of our lives so that we can pursue holiness. So, this Easter, make it a point to get rid of the yeast of malice and evil out of your life. Get rid of quick-temperedness, course joking, slack-talking, cussing, watching things Christians have no business watching, and whatever else that prevents your spiritual growth.

Father, help me to live the things I believe, to practice what I preach, and to be an example to those who watch. Help me to let my light so shine that others may see my good works and glorify You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Unclean To Clean

31 You must keep the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling my tabernacle that is among them. ~ Leviticus 15:31CSB

In the Law of Moses, God explained that certain natural bodily functions were unclean; some even required a sacrifice at the end of the days they were unclean for. At first glance, this sounds unfair and quite mean of God, but when you take into account that God is preparing them for the new and better covenant, it begins to make sense.

See, in the Law of Moses, bodily functions out of our own control made us unclean, but today our fleshly desires that feel natural and out of our own control, are what make us unclean. No longer are the things out of our control what is separating us from God. Instead, no temptation that has ever come to us not tempted someone else. In fact, we overcome because Christ first overcame.

No longer is our own uncleanness out of our control. Now, we have been given the power, authority, and weapons to overcome all temptation of the enemy. No sin is who we are. No sin did God plague us with. We are called out of darkness into His everlasting Light so that we might be transformed by the renewal of our mind and be the very dwelling place of God Himself.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for every sin I’ve given into. Please forgive me for every sin I’ve claimed as just who I am. Cancel my words of death, lies, and separation from You, for You created me to be with You. Your desire is for my good and not for evil. Please fill me with the Spirit of Discernment so that I might know the difference between Your Truth and the lies of the world and my flesh. Please cover me in Your precious blood and protect me from every attack of the enemy. Teach me to put on the full armor so that I might stand strong in the day of temptation. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Be A Willing Vessel

20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. ~ Acts 11:20

Simon of Cyrene was forced by a Roman soldier to carry Jesus’ cross. Simon didn’t just go back to his everyday life after coming in contact with the Messiah. No. After this, his two sons became disciples of Christ. Men from the same city as him found Christ as well. So much so that when they came to Antioch, they preached Jesus to the Hellenists.

Today, the Church desires and attempts to keep their encounter with the Christ a secret in the name of tolerance, respect, and love, but this isn’t the purpose of the Church. We are to be the light of the world, for we are to tell and lead people to the Light, Jesus. We are to state the good news and all that He’s done for us. We are to be like Simon the Cyrene, who didn’t keep his encounter to himself but instead told all willing and allowed Christ to shine through him as a willing vessel.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be A Willing Vessel.

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A Paid Cleansing

29 What is left of the oil in the priest’s palm he is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed to make atonement for him before the Lord. 30 He is to then sacrifice one type of what he can afford, either the turtledoves or young pigeons, 31 one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, sacrificing what he can afford together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the Lord for the one to be cleansed. 32 This is the law for someone who has a skin disease and cannot afford the cost of his cleansing.  ~ Leviticus 14:29-32CSB

Imagine sin is a spiritual skin disease. It causes you to be unclean, to be separate from those who are clean, and to only be around those who are unclean. See, not everyone could pay the price to be cleansed from their skin disease under The Law, but God didn’t leave them hopeless. He created a way for them as well. This is the same with sin.

God knew none of us could pay our debt, so He sent His Son, Jesus, born of a virgin without any sin, within Him in order to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He gives us salvation free of charge. Our debt has been canceled, and our future secured; all we have to do is follow Jesus. There’s never a time that God doesn’t give us an opportunity to receive salvation. Today is the day of salvation; tomorrow is promised to no one.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept Your Cleansing.

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Praise The LORD

1 Praise the LORD. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens. 2 Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness. 3 Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise Him with the strings and pipe, 5 praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD. ~ Psalms 150:1-6

This is a hymn of praise to the LORD. The Psalmist is imploring everyone everywhere with everything to praise the LORD. In the little church that I grew up in as a young boy, we did not have musical instruments like electric guitars and drums; everything was done a cappella. But that is not God’s way; He wants us to praise Him with all of our instruments; Psalms 100 says to make a joyful noise unto the LORD…come before His presence with singing. Look also at the last verse of the Psalm we just read, Psalm 150:6, which says, Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

I was on vacation one time and visited a church. They, too, did not have musical instruments, but they even took it a step further. No one in the congregation raised their hands in praise or worship. No one said, “Amen,” in agreement with what the pastor was preaching, or even utter a word of encouragement for him. But God didn’t even make a distinction between the Christian or the sinner; in fact, He was very specific; He said let EVERYTHING that has breath praise Him. If you have breath in your body, you ought to be praising God.

The thing to remember here is not to get confused with intercessory prayer and praise; they are different. Prayer – except for the prayer of repentance – is for the saints; praise is for everyone, so go on and praise Him today.

Heavenly Father, I lift up a shout of praise to You today for all the blessings I enjoy, all the prayers You have answered, and for all the times that You have been there for me when no one else understood. I praise You, LORD, for who You are and for what You have done for me. I praise You and give thanks for the great work of salvation that You so freely give to everyone who will accept it. LORD, may Your great and matchless Name be lifted up in my life and among the nations, and may Your praise never depart from my lips. May songs of rejoicing continually be in my mouth, and may You be exalted in all the world, for You are good, and Your mercies endure forever. Be glorified in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

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God Is Concerned About You

7 The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.” ~ Exodus 3:7

Have you been crying out to God? Has He not answered yet? Maybe you feel like He doesn’t love you or even care about you. Please be assured God HAS heard your cries, and He IS concerned about you. The time will come when He will rend the heavens and come down to see about you. He will send you a deliverer, someone who is in a position to help you or to open a now-closed door. He may send someone just to encourage you, to lift up your spirit, or to let you know you are not alone.

The Father has done it before, and He will do it again. He will come to your rescue. In times past, He saw our misery, even though we ourselves did not see it, but our sins and iniquities had condemned us to an eternity in the Lake of Fire with no chance of release or parole. We needed a Savior, but there was none. The Father knew and understood that we needed a Savior, and so He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the Cross for us. We were all lost because of sin. We were all separated from God because of disobedience, but in the fullness of time, God sent His Son to die so that we might live. We had no hope, but the Father gave us Hope in the form of His Son, Jesus, who was crucified but was raised to life on the third day.

Make no mistake—God knows where you are. Keep trusting, keep doing good, keep on keeping the faith, and know for sure your good deeds are not in vain in the LORD. Since the Father sent Jesus to die so that we might live, do you think He will withhold any good thing from us? The answer is no. No, He will not withhold any good thing from those who seek His face and call upon His name.

Heavenly Father, I pray for persistent faith today. The type of faith that overcomes all adversities, crushes all obstacles, and cannot be moved but can move mountains. LORD, revive the faith that may be dying or has died, and breathe life into our dry and thirsty souls. Let Your Holy Spirit be known, and let no doubt remain that it is profitable to serve You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Blessed To Sleep

4 When the Lord your God drives them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘The Lord brought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.’ Instead, the Lord will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness. 5 You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the Lord your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to fulfill the promise he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. ~ Deuteronomy 9:4-6CSB

It’s very easy to justify sin when you’re seeing a harvest of plenty. Everything you do seems to be profitable. You have no lack, nor do you have fear. So, when you’re corrected, you justify your actions by the way you’ve been blessed. Blessings from God don’t always mean you have His favor and support for your life choices and decisions. How is that possible?

Jesus said that the Father pours out rain and sends the sun to shine on both the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45). Blessings from God don’t always reflect our standing with Him, but sometimes they are the fulfillment of prayers, promises, and gifts from the generations before us. Sometimes the LORD blesses us and elevates us, not because of us, but because of the prayers and faithfulness of our ancestors and the promises the LORD gave to them. And if we’re not careful, these generational blessings will lull us into a spiritual slumber because of the false safety they fill our hearts with. It lies to us, having us believe the darkness in us is actually light. If the light in you is actually darkness, how great is that darkness?

Even though we receive blessings from the LORD, we can still be outside of His covering blood. We can still be outside of His love and on our way to an eternity without Him. This is the importance of continually asking the LORD to search you. To bring anything that is unclean to the forefront that you might remove it from you and from your life all together. We will never reach perfection on this earth, but we never stop seeking it because if we aim for perfection but miss it, we will land among excellence.

Dear LORD, thank You for all the times You blessed me, and I didn’t deserve it. Thank You that no matter what I do, You always want me to come home to You. There’s never a time You abandon me or discard me as unimportant or undesirable. Please search me, and show me anything within me that must go. Please remove from me anything that isn’t of You. Please give me a Spirit of Discernment that I might rightly discern good and evil. That I might have a heart for the things of God and not the things of the world. Please awaken my spirit man within me that I might overcome the flesh. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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