Devotionals Archives

March 4, 2024March 3, 2024

Don’t Let Fear Suffocate

³⁶ Their father Jacob said to them, “It’s me that you make childless. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me!” ~ Genesis 42:36^CSB

Jacob was now an extremely old man. He had little over a decade of his life left. Joseph was gone, and in his mind, Joseph was dead. Now that there is a famine in the land, and they go to Egypt to get food, Simeon is left behind until they return with Benjamin. Jacob’s whole world seems to be crashing down. His faith that his sons will be okay is seemingly completely gone, and, in its place, fear has overtaken him. Little did Jacob realize God was trying to restore his sons that were gone to him once again, by forcing him to face his fear and have a little faith.

Today, the Church is in the same position as Jacob. We’ve seen our children fall into darkness and taken from us, and we begin to lose hope of them ever returning. We begin to have fear of our children we still have being taken from us as well. We allow fear to control us instead of walking by faith and not by sight.

See, Jacob never saw Joseph’s dead body; he came to the conclusion that his son had been ripped to shreds and was dead. Now, Simeon had been kept in Egypt until they brought Benjamin before him. Fear had completely consumed him, but God had a plan not only to redeem Joseph to him but to rescue his entire family from dying of starvation during the famine.

Sometimes, you have to face your fear in order to see a breakthrough in your prayers. You have to walk by faith and not by sight. Your child may be far off and led astray by the world, but as long as their heart is still beating, there is hope. So, don’t give up. Don’t let the enemy convince you that he’s won the war by showing you all that’s gone wrong. Instead, look to God, who turns everything to good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for every time I’ve given into fear. Please strike fear from my heart and help me to build my faith. Teach me how to build my faith in You so that I might be perfected in Your love. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Recognize The Weight

⁷ During His earthly life, He offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. ⁸ Although He was the Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered. ⁹ After He was perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him, ¹⁰ and He was declared by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. ~ Hebrews 5:7-10^CSB

Though Aaron was given the role of High Priest and then it was passed on to his descendants, because of Aaron’s sin, his descendants wouldn’t remain as high priests forever. The priesthood was given to the descendant of Judah, who didn’t fall under the order of the Levites but under the order of Melchizedek because of his faithfulness to the LORD.

The hand we are dealt doesn’t always seem fair; nevertheless, the same is true for our descendants. Our faithfulness to God will directly impact our descendants for either good or evil. Moses’ descendants aren’t remembered or even of high standing. Aaron’s descendants are the ones who had Christ crucified and the priesthood taken from them.

Our decisions on this earth matter, not just for our eternity but for the generations to come.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Recognize The Weight.

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Cleanse Before Partaking

²⁰ But the one who eats meat from the Lord’s fellowship sacrifice while he is unclean, that person must be cut off from his people. ²¹ If someone touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, an unclean animal, or any unclean, abhorrent creature, and eats meat from the Lord’s fellowship sacrifice, that person is to be cut off from his people. ~ Leviticus 7:20-21^CSB

Both the author of the book of Hebrews and Paul explained that the Law was a shadow of good things to come. No longer do we give the LORD physical burnt offerings but spiritual burnt offerings. Paul warned that if we take Communion while we are dwelling in sin, then we are opening ourselves up for spiritual attack from the enemy and even could allow the Spirit of Death to take our soul before our time.

We take for granted having the privilege of entering the presence of the LORD, so we remain in our sin. We continue doing whatever we want, refusing to fully submit to the LORD because we don’t think God will punish us for our sin. We think the love of God will overlook sin, but from the very beginning sin cut us off from God. It separated us.

Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden. Cain and his wife had to leave the presence of the LORD. Those who sinned under the Law were cut off from the entire congregation of Israel. Today is no different. If we would just bow our knees before the LORD, we could see that, yes, Jesus loves us, but He won’t overlook our sin. Think of the price He paid for our sin. Why would He do that if our actions mean absolutely nothing and His love alone can save our soul?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cleanse Before Partaking.

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Follow The Light While You Still Can

¹³ Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ~ Matthew 22:13^CSB

Jesus describes Hell as a place of outer darkness. Paul explains that darkness has no light in it. And light has no darkness in it. He then explains that the fruit of light is doing what is good, right, and true (Ephesians 5:8-11). Therefore, the outer darkness that Jesus is speaking of has absolutely no light in it. This is now beginning to make a little more sense.

God is light (John 1:4), Hell is outer darkness. Therefore, Hell is outside the realm of darkness that has no light in it because to die in your sin would be to die without God.

If you die without God, then you will be without God forever. You will continue in darkness, the kind of darkness that has no light whatsoever. There isn’t even the hope of Jesus being somewhere in that darkness and you being able to find Him. This darkness is outside the world; it’s outer darkness. So, the Light of the World isn’t in this darkness. There is no hope there. None whatsoever.

Dear LORD, thank You for delivering me and saving me from this eternal punishment away from You. Thank You for making a way for me and shining Your Light into this present darkness so that we might find our way to You. Please open the eyes of all of my unsaved loved ones so that they might escape this coming destruction. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Choose Now Your Eternity

¹¹And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. ~ Revelation 14:11

Hell is eternal because God is eternal. If Hell is like falling into the hand of the Living Everlasting God, then that punishment would last for all of eternity. The debt or wages of sin is death. If we can’t even change our hair color at will, how can we give ourselves life? Therefore, Hell is an eternal punishment.

I saw a comment that stated that Hell may be eternal, but those in Hell will die just like those in prison on earth will one day die and leave the prison cell empty. Here’s the thing. The soul is eternal. It doesn’t die. It doesn’t fade away. It is eternal, lasting forever.

This is what we face if we refuse to follow Jesus. Why? Because there are only two options in eternity. Eternity on the New Earth with Christ as a child of God, or eternity within Hell with Satan. If we refuse to be a child of God, then we are actively choosing to be a child of Satan. If Satan is our father, then we will dwell with him in his home, which became Hell when he was thrown from Heaven in Revelation 12, according to Jesus in Matthew 25:41. Therefore, choose now whom you will serve and follow, and flee from false doctrines that tickle your ears or ease your fears; your eternity depends on it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Choose Now Your Eternity.

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The World Deceiver

¹⁴ And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ~ 2 Corinthians 11:14^CSB

I’ve heard many say that the enemy’s greatest weapon is convincing people he doesn’t exist, but I have to disagree. I believe Satan’s biggest weapon is convincing people he isn’t evil but is good. In the Garden of Eden, Satan deceived Eve into thinking he was trying to help liberate her from the constraints around her mind that God had set. Today is no different.

Satan convinces people that what he did in the Garden was an act of love. That he tried to give knowledge to humanity instead of keeping them in the dark like God. People who don’t even believe he’s a real person follow his example and name their religions after him. Some even believe he and God are one.

The enemy doesn’t care if we believe he exists or not; he cares whether we believe his lies or not. This is why he is the Deceiver of The Whole World. He isn’t an angel of any kind. He’s a betrayer of mankind and an accuser of the Church. He isn’t for us but always against us.

Dear LORD, please help me to see the difference between good and evil. Help me to discern right from wrong. Fill me with the Spirit of Discernment that I might be able to see through the deception and lies of the enemy. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Prepare For Future Battles

²² You are to keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out. ²³ You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and I abhorred them. ²⁴ And I promised you: You will inherit their land, since I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God who set you apart from the peoples. ~ Leviticus 20:22-24^CSB

When evil rises up, and the righteous cry out against it, God always raises up good to replace the evil. The problem is that once you’ve been raised up to that position, it doesn’t mean temptation ceases. In reality, temptation becomes more and more prevalent. Now, you not only face the temptations of your past but also the temptations of those who came before you that the LORD removed.

The people of Israel had to fight the temptations of the Egyptians of their past and the Canaanites of their future. Israel was to replace the Canaanites in the land because of their great wickedness, but Israel eventually fell prey to the very temptations that caused the Canaanites to be destroyed and removed from the land.

The LORD may be preparing you for a new position, but it’s on you whether you fall or succeed. You are the one who has to build up your spirit man, so that you don’t fall prey to your predecessors. You are the one who has to fight the good fight and finish the race to show yourself approved. The battle is in your hands.

So, what do we do when we see someone fall into temptation, are exposed, and removed? We pray for their redemption and humble ourselves before the LORD, lest we fall prey to the same stumbling block. The LORD will never elevate and use the proud, but instead, only those who humble themselves. Instead of rejoicing in the downfall of those before you, pray for their redemption and pray for your own protection from temptation.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare For Future Battles.

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Find Balance

⁹ Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, ¹¹ for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. ~ 2 John 9-11

I saw a man speaking into his megaphone across the street from a concert by a popular Gospel singer he didn’t agree with. Into the megaphone, he condemned the Gospel singer for not condemning the award show he attended in his thank you speech. The Gospel singer proceeded to walk over and then say they could sit down and discuss it at the end of his show. The man agreed to speak with him but refused to shake his hand because of these verses.

I’m neither a fan or supporter of either man, so I had no dog in this fight, nevertheless I found myself feeling annoyed with the man who refused to shake the other’s hand. We want judgment and condemnation so bad that we push away those whom we could correct and help return to the sheepfold.

Paul didn’t say don’t shake someone’s hand if they go to an award show and don’t condemn the entire audience; Paul said if they teach a different Christ than we taught you, don’t invite them into your home (meaning don’t have them speaking into your life, don’t have them speaking in your churches, don’t have them in your inner circle, don’t have them in your life) and then don’t give them any greeting. This word greeting is the Greek word chairō (χαίρω), which means rejoice; be glad. In other words, Paul is saying don’t encourage them in their lies. Don’t rejoice with them in their accomplishments through lies, not refuse to shake their hand because you don’t agree with them accepting an award.

Even if his problem was that the man previously said something blasphemous in a video or has been caught cursing multiple times or went to the award show in the first place, you could see his frustration, but not for his acceptance speech. When Jesus corrected people, it wasn’t until they brought it up. It wasn’t until they initiated that conversation. Jesus didn’t go throughout the streets shouting that all of those people who were in sin were gonna burn in Hell. No. Jesus taught those who followed Him. When it came to the Pharisees, He told His disciples to leave them alone because they were blind guides leading the blind, and both would fall into the pit.

The Church today is one of extremes, lacking balance between true love and correction. Either we condemn and hate, or we fake love and justify sin. There’s very few that can find the true balance of true love and correction. We’re to be the salt of the world but not the condemners of the world. We’re not to make others feel less than us, as if a handshake will somehow pollute us.

The love of God didn’t go out into the world screaming they’re all going to burn in Hell. The love of God showed its good works, the world saw it, and ran to the Light.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Find Balance.

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Dwell In Love

¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” ¹⁸ He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing at all will harm you. ²⁰ However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” ~ Luke 10:17-20^CSB

When the seventy-two returned to Jesus, they were excited because even the demons were subject to them in His name. Jesus, however, brought them back to what was really important: that it is by His name that we are saved. See, Jesus understood that casting out demons didn’t automatically mean that you were saved because the name of Jesus is that powerful. The seven sons of Sceva, who didn’t know Jesus, were still able to cast out unclean spirits using His name until they got to one that was too strong for them.

Yes, there is power in the name of Jesus, and we should seek out that power, but even more so, we should seek out the love that covers us in the name of Jesus. Because it’s that perfect love that protects us and keeps us until He returns for us. Paul explained that if we have every gift of the Spirit but don’t have love, then we have nothing and are essentially worthless.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for all the times I sought Your power before I sought for Your love. Please forgive me for all the times I took Your grace for granted and ignored Your call. Replace my heart of stone with a heart of flesh and renew a right spirit within me, that I might dwell in Your love. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Just Passing Through

² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. ~ Isaiah 43:2

There is no mistake or confusion; we are not promised a rose garden with only sunshine and blue skies. We WILL have trials; we WILL have temptations; we WILL have hardships. We WILL be called haters and bigots because we love Jesus and have a burning desire to ambitiously share His saving grace with a world that does not want to hear. We will face all manner of evil that is desperately trying to hush up the Gospel. So, be prepared for some rain. Plan to do some weeding, and be ready for a whole lot of sweating. In short, be prepared for some hard work.

But there is good news. For even though we go through the waters, even though we pass through the fire, they will not sweep over us; they will not set us ablaze; they will not overcome us. They will not defeat us. For the LORD, our God is with us and not against us. He is our buckler and our shield. His name is a strong tower that the righteous can run into and be saved. He WILL NOT let our circumstances defeat us or destroy us. So, we should not either.

Be determined beforehand how you will react to certain circumstances. Be bold and confident because He is there with us, shielding us and protecting us. For when you go through the stormy waters of trials, He is there. When you struggle through the fiery tribulations of life, He is there; when you face joblessness or closed doors, fear not, for greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. Our God will never leave you nor forsake you; He will even carry you if necessary.

My Heavenly Father, LORD God Almighty, please give my sister comfort in her troubles today; please grant peace to my struggling brother and provide for that family who is trying to make ends meet and finding it difficult. May their day be like no other day, with open doors and new opportunities. Please grant favor to Your children, and please open our eyes to see the way out that You have provided. Please bring Your people safely through whatever troubles we face today. In Jesus precious name, amen.

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