Devotionals Archives

April 26, 2024April 25, 2024

Deep Within Me

¹² Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults. 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 19:12-14^CSB

David, though he was a man after God’s own heart, prayed to the LORD about his heart. David didn’t just pray about sins he knew he struggled with; he prayed specifically about sins within him that he didn’t even know about. Secret sins hiding within his heart.

David didn’t just look at the speck in his brother’s eye and ignore the log in his. He sought God desperately to show him the log in his own eye. The log that was blinding to him.

Each and every one of us has sin in us. We each have sin that we’re battling that we are well aware of, but we also have hidden sin that we don’t even recognize.

David yearned to be cleansed by God. He yearned to be close to God. So what did David do? He watched his mouth and his heart. In other words, David didn’t allow filth to flow out of his lips. To ensure that he didn’t meditate on or continuously think about filth. He did his best to control his thoughts, for the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart.

Dear LORD, thank You for making a way for me to approach the Throne of Grace without fear but with confidence. Thank You that even the tongue is the hardest member to control and the heart is the most deceitful, You have given me tools to overcome their faults. You purchased me with Your own blood and washed me clean so that I might be able to overcome the world through You. So that I might be able to hold every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and be transformed by the renewal of my mind. Thank You, LORD, for such a great work You are doing in me and all that You will do in me. Please cleanse my heart from all unrighteousness and open my eyes to the faults within me that I don’t even know are there. Show the log in my own eye so that I might better help my brother. Please continue to pull at my heart that it may always desire You. Let my soul pant for You as a deer pants for the water. Because You, oh God, are the only everlasting water. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Remove The Leaven

¹⁸ You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. ~ Exodus 34:18

The Israelites were not allowed to eat any bread with leaven in it during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Matter-of-fact, no leaven was to be seen or found within their borders. They had to completely get rid of all of the leaven from their homes and out of their land. They were to celebrate the feast for seven days.

Now, as I mentioned before, leaven represents sin and it also represents false teaching. Therefore, this is a picture of God’s plan for Christians. Once we have accepted Jesus as LORD and Savior, we must remove the leaven from our lives. In other words, stop purposefully or willfully sinning.

Have you ever noticed some people who are in a desperate situation? The first thing they do is to turn to God and make all kinds of promises and all kinds of vows to God if He would only help them? They are in church every time the doors are open. They are praying and reading their Bibles and living like they have really taken the leaven out of their lives. When He does answer, and they are back on their feet again, they forget their promises and forget their vows. Church sees them less and less, and soon, they are right back where they were before the crisis. The leaven has been mixed into the batch again.

This is not how Jesus wants us to live. He wants us to take even the very appearance of leaven out of our lives. He wants us to seek Him. To seek holiness and chase after righteousness. He wants us to show love and mercy to our fellow citizens of the world, especially to our fellow Christians. This Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread, let us make an effort to live like Jesus wants and expects us to live.

Heavenly Father, please forgive our lukewarm actions and help us to live wholly for You. Provide for our needs and give us the strength and the desire to live like You have called us to live and to love like You love; in Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Stay Under The Blood

²¹Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. ²²Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. ~ Exodus 12:21-22

Moses told the elders of Israel to go and select the Passover lamb and then to slaughter it. They were to take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the basin where they had caught some of the blood of the sacrifice and then paint it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of their homes. Then he says,

None of you shall go out the door of his house until the morning.

Why was that?

Because the blood represented the blood of Jesus, even though He had not been crucified as yet, God had a plan to redeem us through the righteous and spotless blood of His Son. The blood represented protection from God’s wrath and from God’s judgment as long as they stayed under it by not going outside.

What they did with the blood of the sacrificial lamb on Passover is the same thing we must do today with Jesus’ blood since He is our Passover Lamb. We must apply it to our lives, the door of our hearts, our eyes, the windows to our souls. How do we do that? By accepting Jesus as LORD and Savior of our lives. Once we have accepted Jesus as LORD and Savior, then we remain in Him, and He in us.

That is what the statement ‘no one is to go outside until the morning’ represented. If they came out from under the blood by going outside, then they would suffer death just like the Egyptians or anyone else who did not have the blood on their doors because they came out from under the protection of the blood.

It is the same with us. If we are going to make it through the night, the night being this time that we are living in, and the morning being the Second Coming of Jesus, then we must stay under the blood by keeping the commandments that Jesus gave us to keep. We must love the LORD our God. We must love each other. We must live like we are living in the days of Unleavened Bread when no leaven, which is sin, was to be found anywhere in their borders. We must remove sin from our own lives and live a life worthy of being called Christians, not in and out of sin, which is represented by going out the door before morning.

Heavenly Father, teach us to number our days and to keep Your commandments so that we might find ourselves in Your good and perfect will. May we stay under the blood and inside of Your love and protection until You come back for us. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

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The Victorious Life

¹ Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. ~ Deuteronomy 16:1

The Passover is the foreshadowing of Jesus dying on the cross for all mankind. He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world according to John the Baptist in John 1:29. In other words, Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover. We do not need to sacrifice goats, or sheep, or bulls, or lambs any longer, because we have Jesus as our Passover Lamb according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:7. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world.

Passover was to be celebrated in the first month, which is in the Spring. Spring speaks of new life, new hope, new dreams, new beginnings, and that is exactly what Jesus did for us. He came that we would have life and have life more abundantly (John 10:10), meaning, that we can have all that was listed earlier, a new life, a new beginning etc. All we have to do is to accept Jesus as our personal LORD and Savior.

Then Egypt is indicative of sin. Just like God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, the land of slavery, Jesus has delivered everyone who believes in Him out of slavery to sin. You don’t have to be burdened down with a load of care. The Scriptures say to cast your burdens and cares upon Him, for He cares for us (Psalms 55:22 and 1 Peter 5:7).

Everything you need for a victorious life in Jesus is bought and paid for for you. There is no good thing that He will withhold from you. Trust Him today, He has your best interest in heart.

Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to die for me. I accept your free gift of life. Help me to serve You and trust You wholeheartedly. Right now, I give You all my cares and all of my burdens. I give You all the things that concern me right now, and I lay them all down at Your feet. Help me to turn them all over to You and leave them all there with You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Clean Some Leaven

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 5:7-8

The Israelites prepared for the Passover by cleansing the leaven out of their homes. This was a foreshadowing of the good and better things that have now come. Jesus, our Passover over lamb, has been sacrificed, and we overcome the world and its sin through Him.

No longer is it just a physical act; now, this action is also spiritual. We remove the spiritual leaven from our lives. The sins, false teachings and beliefs, strongholds, wrong relationships, etc. are all broken and cleansed from our lives through Jesus. This may not happen overnight, but it will happen through perseverance in Christ.

No longer does our sin have to separate us from God; now, through Christ, we are cleansed of our sin and forgiven. We are now reconciled to God. We are now a new creation being molded into the very image of Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Clean Some Leaven.

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Fear God

¹⁹ The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on Him at that very hour, for they perceived that He had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. ~ Luke 20:19

Jesus had just told the Pharisees a parable about the Wicked Tenants, and rightly so; they perceived that He had told the parable about them. So, what do they do? They plan to kill Him. But do you know what stayed their hand? The fear of the people is what stopped them from laying their hands on Jesus right then and there. Not fear of God Himself, but fear of man. Think about this: they planned to kill God, but they feared the people! Talk about having your priorities wrongly aligned. But that is the problem; there is no fear of God, plenty of fear of man, but no fear of God. Jesus said this,

But I will warn you whom to fear: fear Him who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!

Luke 12:5

People and ministries are running around with no fear of God, doing whatever pleases them as if there are no consequences. There are always consequences. Good or bad, there are always consequences to every action. God is not expecting you to live your life in fear and cowering, but He does expect you to fear the consequences of your wrong actions.

Remember, one day Jesus will judge the living and the dead and will assign to each their just reward. To those who make good choices, eternal life. To those making bad choices, eternal punishment away from His presence. I would encourage you today to fear God and not man. Do not worry about their threats or their accusations.

A time is coming when those who stand up for Jesus will suffer persecution. They will be thrown in jail and have their stuff confiscated, and some will even be killed, but know this: God will never leave those who love Him and fear His name. Jesus is soon coming back; be prepared and do not fear man.

Heavenly Father, teach me how to fear Your great and mighty Name. Teach me Your ways that I may always stand in awe of You and serve you wholeheartedly, in Jesus’ name, amen.

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Don’t Rely On Others

¹⁹ Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, ²⁰ even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness. ~ Ezekiel 14:19-20

No matter how good we think we are, we can’t deliver anyone but ourselves from the wrath of God by our actions. If, LORD forbid, we were to die tonight, it’s not based on our parents’, grandparents’, aunts’, uncles’, cousins’, or friends’ prayers for us that will save us. No one but ourselves can make the decision to follow Christ.

We like to try to preach people into Heaven after the fact, but those touching, heartfelt words mean nothing when we’ve lived a life of continual sin, never once clinging to the savior for help. We do this as a false sense of hope and relief for ourselves, but it further teaches others that it doesn’t matter how we live our lives; Christ still will accept us in the end.

The righteousness of Abraham didn’t help Ishmael be a part of the chosen people. Lot’s righteousness didn’t help his descendants be a part of the chosen people. Isaac’s righteousness didn’t help Esau be a part of the chosen people. Our actions are what we will be judged on. It’s our actions that will either save us from or condemn us to the Wrath to come. There’s nothing else that can save us but our own decision and action of accepting salvation and following Christ with all that is in us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Rely On Others.

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God Our Present Help

¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ²Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, ³though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. ~ Psalms 46:1-3

Have you ever been in a place in your life where you feel surrounded by strangers? Even though those around you are your friends and acquaintances, you still feel abandoned and alone, like no one loves you or cares about you? Proverbs 18:24 says that there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother, and that friend is Jesus. He is our refuge in times of stormy weather. He is our strength in times of weakness. He is our very present help in times of trouble.

It doesn’t matter what others might say about you. It doesn’t matter how they try to make you feel. Even when others insult you and say all manner of evil against you, there is one who will never leave you nor forsake you. Again, His name is Jesus. Even when all the world comes against you and the earth seem to give way beneath you. Wild things are happening all around you, things that cause the strongest heart to flutter; Jesus is your peace.

How do you receive such peace? First, you have to come to Jesus and accept Him as the LORD and Savior of your life. Then you must learn to trust Him with everything in your life. Trust that He will do the right thing by you even if it doesn’t feel like He is at the moment, trust and believe. You can only get to that point in your life if you learn His ways and learn who He is. How? By reading the Bible. The Bible is God’s written revelation of Himself to us. If you want to learn who God is and how He operates or works, then read His revealed word to us. You cannot trust someone you barely know. You must form a relationship with Him through constant prayer, through worship and through the study of His word.

So, the next time the mountains around you seem to shake and quiver, or even if they seem to be moved and fall into the heart of the sea and its waves roar and foam, remember God is for you and can and will deliver you, so trust Him to do what is right for you, and He will deliver you. Heavenly Father, thank You that You are my Help in times of trouble. Thank you that You hold all things in Your hands, and no one can pluck me out of Your hands. Help me to understand who You are and to know Your ways. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Fight Your Battle

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard: ¹⁶ “Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. ¹⁷ But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. ¹⁸ For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.’” ~ Jeremiah 39:15-18

We are currently in a spiritual war. A war between good and evil. The target of each side is for each and every person’s soul. You are the target of both God and Satan. The LORD God desires to protect and keep you from evil, whereas the Devil desires to corrupt and destroy you with evil.

These are our two options. These are our two choices. Freedom and everlasting life in Christ Jesus or slavery and eternal punishment in the Devil. Each and every choice we make here on this earth decides where and how we will spend eternity.

The enemy will try to overcome you with lies and temptations. In the moment, it will feel worth it, but as soon as it’s over, you feel full of regret. The lies of the enemy are to keep you bound away from God for all eternity, just as he will be bound away from God for all eternity.

We’re not just put on this earth to live our lives however we want. It’s to find God and seek a closer relationship with Him. It’s to be with God and He with us. Don’t let anyone fool you. There is a war going on for our souls and it’s up to us to fight each battle with the full armor of God and the Holy Spirit.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fight Your Battle.

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Be Changed By Faith

²¹ Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. ~ 2 Timothy 2:21

Many people believe that it doesn’t matter how you live your life; all you have to do is believe in God, but is that what Scripture says? Paul’s second letter to Timothy explains that if we want to be used by God, we have to first turn away from our sin. In other words, we can’t just live our lives however we want.

We can’t just claim salvation while continuing in our sin. We have to strive for righteousness. That doesn’t mean that we never sin again; it means that we don’t just dwell in sin but fight against it. We turn 180° and run towards holiness. That is the race set before us.

Christianity isn’t about talk or even belief; it’s about action. It’s about following Christ. It’s about change. If you believe the Word of God but don’t follow it, what good does that belief do you? Faith without action is dead (James 2:26). Therefore, your salvation may be attained through faith and faith alone, but it is maintained through how that faith changes you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Changed By Faith.

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