Tag: Devotionals

¹⁵ Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth. ~ 2 Timothy 2:15^CSB

When I was younger, a movie entitled “Think Like A Man” came out. The plot, from what I remember, was a group of women who bought a book by Steve Harvey explaining the way a man thinks and how to get the most out of a relationship with a man. There were about maybe five different men with different personalities and faults, but the book explained how to deal with and get the most out of the relationship with each one. This group of women was so desperate that they bought the book, read it every night, highlighted it, and put it into practice daily with faith and hope of results. And you know what happened? They saw results. This is how the Church should be.

Today, the Church barely knows what’s in the Bible, let alone lives it. If you go online, the majority of people hate the Church. They hate any form of Christianity. We’re seen as lowlives, scum, cheats, the worst of the worst. When someone questions our faith, the majority of us can’t defend why we believe what we believe. The majority of us have never read the Bible all the way through before. The majority of us don’t have any kind of prayer life. The Church has a bad reputation in the world, so what are we going to do about it? How can we fix it?

We take a page from that group of women who wanted to see a change and we start with ourselves. We study the Scriptures daily to show ourselves approved. We spend time in prayer and worship putting our flesh into submission. We put into action what Jesus commanded and we start living for Christ instead of for ourselves.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Show Yourself Approved.

Back to Spiritual Warfare?

Back to Daily Bread?

Similar Content

¹ And He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. ² He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. ³ And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” ⁶ And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. ⁷ And will not God give justice to His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over them? ⁸ I tell you, He will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” ~ Luke 18:1-8

Jesus told this parable in order to teach them the importance of persistent prayer. In the parable, the judge was not interested in giving the widow justice against her adversary. Every day she came with the same complaint: “Give me justice against my adversary.” And every day, it was the same thing: “You have no case.”

She came the very next day saying, “Give me justice,” and again, it was the same answer, “There is nothing here.” But the woman did not give up; she kept coming day after day after day. Soon, all the members of the court, even those who just came to watch the court proceeding, recognized her and knew her name. I can imagine people gathering early in the morning before court even started to place their bet. “I have ten dollars here that say Ms. Rosie ain’t coming today.” And others would jump on that, “I have twenty that say she will.” And sure enough, Ms. Rosie would show up to court to the amusement of those who bet on her. “Give me justice,” she would call out to the unjust judge.

The judge was getting weary with her coming and said to himself, “I better give her justice, or she will wear me out with her coming.” And he did give her justice.

Jesus said that if that unjust judge who neither feared God nor had respect for man would do what is right, how much more would our Heavenly Father do right by us?

It is our Father’s good will that we enjoy peace, joy, and justice. It is our Father’s good pleasure to give us good things, but we must stay persistent in prayer. We can’t come one day and not the next. We must bombard heaven with our coming. Give Him who promised no rest until we receive what we ask for. Believe me, God wants to give us good things.

What if Daniel had given up after two weeks? I suppose we would not have Daniel chapter ten to be encouraged with.

Next time a problem bombards you, you bombard heaven, and God will see that you get justice.

Heavenly Father, I ask You to help me not to give up so easily but to be persistent in my prayers. Hear me when I call on Your great Name. Thank You that You not only hear us but that You answer us as well. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Back to Spiritual Warfare?

Back to Daily Bread?

Similar Content

¹³ Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins; do not let them rule me. Then I will be blameless and cleansed from blatant rebellion. ¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. ~ Psalms 19:13-14^CSB

Oftentimes, when we willfully sin, shame begins to take root in our lives. It tells us lies that we should stop praying, stop seeking God, and stop reading our Bible because we’ve just disgusted God too much with our actions. Many of us believe those lies. I’m no exception. When I give into a temptation that I know I should and can overcome, but I give in anyway, the lies of shame really get to me. I feel like I have to fix myself before I can dare come before God again. This lie only separates us further from God because we can’t fix ourselves.

God doesn’t want us to do it alone; He just wants us to be willing to fight for righteousness. Look at how David prayed. He prayed that God would keep him from blatant intentional sins and that God wouldn’t let them rule him. He went on to pray for his mouth and his heart. What we meditate on is what will soon be our words and our actions. This is the reason shame tells us not to pray, seek God, or read our Bibles. If we meditate on the Word of God and spend time in prayer and worship seeking the face of God, those temptations that we gave into in the past will no longer be the temptations we succumb to in the future.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Continue Praying.

Back to Spiritual Warfare?

Back to Daily Bread?

Similar Content