Tag: Devotionals

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Do Not Detest The Shepherds

1 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.” 2 He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?” “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” 4 They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.” 5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.” ~ Genesis 47:1-6NIV

Joseph was in the land of Egypt, second in command only to Pharaoh when his brothers showed up. God had made a way for all of His people to be saved from the famine by turning the evil that Joseph’s brothers did to him into good for all people. Pharaoh saw who the real God was because of Joseph and all that God did through him, yet Pharaoh was still spiritually blind. When Joseph’s family came to the land of Egypt, he told them to tell Pharaoh they were shepherds so that Pharaoh might allow them to stay in the land of Goshen because shepherds were detestable to Egyptians. Now, I want you to think about this, shepherds were detestable to Egyptians, but Pharaoh still wanted any skilled shepherd to take care of his flocks. Isn’t that how the world is today?

The things of the Church are detestable and offensive to them, but when things go wrong, they ask for the prayers of the Church. This isn’t a characteristic that strictly affects the world; the Church today is inundated with this characteristic. We’re offended when we’re told that certain actions are sinful. We’re offended when we’re told that certain actions/illnesses are spiritual. But we want prayer. We want counseling, but we don’t want deliverance. We have become Pharaoh. We have become like the Egyptians; the shepherds have become detestable to us. Why? Because Jesus is the Good Shepherd. When we are offended by what Jesus has said, we are really being offended by the Good Shepherd Himself.

Dear LORD, please help me to not be offended by You. Help me to not be offended by Truth but to always seek it out. Break my heart for what breaks Your heart. Teach me Your ways and write Your laws on my heart that I might not sin against You. Help me to love You the way that You deserve. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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The Time of Trouble

22 In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the Lord—this same King Ahaz. 23 For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. 24 And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and he shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 In every city of Judah he made high places to make offerings to other gods, provoking to anger the Lord, the God of his fathers. ~ 2 Chronicles 28:22-25

In his deepest time of distress, King Ahaz didn’t seek help from the LORD his God; he sought out the gods of the nations that defeated him. He forgot the LORD who brought his fathers out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery. When you’re in trouble, who do you go to? Is it the LORD or another avenue?

Who or what we go to in our time of trouble determines who our god is. It determines who we serve. King Ahaz chose the wrong god, and he died in his sin. Never did it say that he repented. Never did it say he was restored. Never did it say he was saved. Instead, it was the ruin of him and all of Israel. Our actions affect more than just us. It affects those around us, just as King Ahaz’s decision affected all of Israel.

Dear LORD, help me to always turn to You in times of trouble and distress. Help me to always seek Your righteous right hand to uphold me. Teach me to never lean on anyone but You. Teach me to have faith in You and trust You with all that’s within me. Help me to be a light in this dark world by letting my light shine before all who I come into contact with. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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We Fall

13 Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the Lord your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the Lord. 14 Return, O faithless children, declares the Lord; for I am your master… ~ Jeremiah 3:13-14a

If we acknowledge our own guilt and confess that we have rebelled against the LORD our God and that we have placed things above Him and not obeyed His word, and if we will only return to Him with a repentant heart, He will forgive us. Why?

He’s a good, good Father. If it could be said that God had a weakness, which He does not, but if He did, it would have to be His love and mercy for mankind.

God loves us so much that He is willing to:

  • Forgive
  • And forgive
  • And forgive
  • And then forgive again

But make no mistake, God is also a God of vengeance and a God of justice. He will not leave the guilty unpunished, nor will He let the lawbreaker go free. Please understand that we were all guilty; we were all transgressors of God’s law (Proverbs 11:21), but because of His great mercy, He has paid our debt Himself for us and has forgiven us by the shedding of His own blood.

Now, He expects us to turn from evil, even from the very appearance of evil, and turn to Him with a whole heart.

Dear LORD, please help me to remove all iniquity from within me. Help me to flee evil and all of the ways of the world. If my foot stumbles, catch me that I may not fall, but help me to my feet. Teach me Your ways. Strengthen my spirit man that my flesh may not control me. Help me to never think that I am perfect and, therefore, do not need to grow. Show me my flaws and help me to remove each and every one of them. Thank you for always forgiving me and being patient and kind towards me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Refuse To Let Go

24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” 31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon. ~ Genesis 32:24-30NIV

Christians want the blessing but don’t wanna wrestle with God for them. Jacob wrestled all night with God and refused to let Him go until God blessed him. Christians today, myself included, are spiritually lazy. We struggle to read our Bibles once a week, let alone once a day. We can’t even pray for an hour without being distracted or falling asleep. Our spirit man is so weak he can’t fight the flesh. See, if our spirit man is too weak to wrestle with God for our blessing, then we’ll not only fall into temptation, but we’ll bring a curse upon ourselves and miss our blessing.

God doesn’t just give us everything He has in store for us. He expects us to fight for it. We have to prove ourselves worthy servants of Christ, unshakeable and unwilling to give up on the promise and/or blessing. The Promised Land was promised to the people of Israel, but those who refused to fight and instilled fear into the others, they didn’t see it. Only those who had faith. Only those who refused to give up. Only those who have held tightly on to the LORD and refused to let go.

Many of us are there. It’s closing in on midnight. The LORD is telling you to let go. Your eyes are seeing the Nephilim. There’s so much going against you, even your certain things seem to fail, but this is the time you hang on even stronger. This is the time you refuse to let go. You have to force your spirit man to fight. You have to feed him daily. You have to exercise him. You have to refuse to give up.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Refuse To Let Go.

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Seek the Eternal

11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Timothy 6:11-14

Paul wrote several letters, each unique and focusing on the struggles of the recipient. There was no one-size-fits-all. Each letter was personalized in order to build up and instruct the brother(s)/sister(s) on the receiving end. For instance, he instructs Timothy to “take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession.”

Paul understood that they only had one opportunity to get it right. One opportunity to build up treasure in heaven that lasts for all eternity. People work so hard here on earth, building up treasure and wealth that someone else will get instead of building up true wealth that lasts forever.

Jesus warns us not to work for wealth that fades but to build true wealth so that we will have a good eternity (Matthew 6:19-21). In other words, don’t waste your time working for fool’s gold. The only thing you will have in eternity is what you send on ahead. If you send nothing on ahead of you, you will have nothing.

Well, I’m sure you will have something, but nothing compared to what God has in store for you. We need to work now to build up our treasure. Don’t miss out on the best and most profitable investment ever, YOUR ETERNITY!

Paul understood the gravity of the situation when he told the Corinthian church that he worked harder, was imprisoned more, and had more hardships than the other apostles. Paul was sure of what he had done. He did not waste his time with useless things. He did not get distracted by temporal wealth and position. He was hyper-focused on the eternal.

We only have this one life to do God’s will and impact the world. We can’t waste our time working to gain the world. The harvest is ready, but the laborers are few. These temporal things won’t last forever. We can’t take that into eternity, but what we can take into eternity is what we do for the LORD. Each soul we impact for the better, each life we change, each soul we harvest, each seed we plant, and each trial we make it through is building up eternal treasure. Don’t be distracted by the things of the world. Instead, focus on the things of God and His Kingdom.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek the Eternal.

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Dwell With Him

1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or His ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. ~ Isaiah 59:1-2

We’re promised in the book of Isaiah that the LORD’s hand isn’t shortened that He can’t save us or His ear dull that He can’t hear us. Then we’re hit with a hard pill, but our sins hide us from the face of God so that He doesn’t hear us. In fact, Paul goes as far as to say that sin makes us enemies of God in Romans 5:10. This is what Hell will be like, a place without God.

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.

Some may say that this is impossible because God is omnipresent; therefore, He is everywhere, but Cain’s punishment was to go away from the presence of God. So, it is definitely possible to be away from God. In fact, look at how Paul says that those who go to Hell will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of God (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

This isn’t God’s plan for our lives. God has no delight in the destruction and punishment of the wicked but desires that all repent and come to salvation in Christ Jesus. God’s dwelling place is with mankind, the only creation He died for. The only creation He made in His own image after His own likeness. The only creation He set aside His Godliness for in order to take the form of so that He might save all who believe. God doesn’t want us to burn in Hell; His desire is for us to dwell with Him for all eternity. That’s why He created a way for us to return to Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Dwell With Him.

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Called To Him

6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints ~ Romans 1:6-7

When we each think about God’s call for our lives, we usually don’t think about the basic overall call the LORD has for each one of us. Salvation. We are all called to a universal calling, that is, a calling to belong to Jesus Christ. And in the same way, we are all called to be saints. In other words, we are all called to a life of excellence.

Because we are all loved by God. For God so loved the world that He gave us Jesus, and it was He who died on the cross to purchase our salvation so that we would not have to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire, which burns forever and ever, and the smoke of the torment of those who go there will ascend up forever.

 That’s not the eternity that God has for us. It was never intended for us but for the Devil and his angels. God intended for us to be with Him for all eternity in a place of freedom, love, peace, and perfection. A new and improved Garden of Eden that can never be corrupted, for we will all be made new.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Choose Christ.

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Strive For Excellence

10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ~ 2 Peter 1:10-11KJV

We are not called to live a mediocre life. We are called to live a life of excellence. The book of Hebrews tells us that there is a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us; some are cheering us on, some are watching, and others are hoping and praying that we stumble and fall.

So, let us throw off all that hinders and fetters us so that we can run this race with strength and endurance. We have all that we need to live a life of excellence by Jesus’ divine power so that we can be sure of where we are going to spend eternity.

In everything you do, always remember eternity is looming large in front of each one of us, and eternity is a long, long time. And during this long time, there is no second chance. Therefore, do all that you need to do today while on this earth.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Strive For Excellence.

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Silence Fear

1 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. ~ Genesis 20:1-2NIV

Abraham’s fears often influenced his decisions. Twice he was deceitful about his wife Sarah being his sister and never mentioning that she was his wife. It was in those times of fear that Abraham forgot the promise of God. See, God promised Abraham and made a covenant with him that he would have not only a son but descendants more numerous than the sand of the seas and stars of the heavens. Because Abraham believed this promise, it was counted to him as righteousness, yet, there were days when fear shook his belief and caused him to fall short.

Abraham was afraid that they would kill him if he claimed Sarah as his wife because she was so beautiful. Abraham didn’t take into consideration that he had a direct promise from God that he would have an uncountable multitude of offspring and the whole world would be blessed through him. He didn’t consider that God was with him, and he had a call on his life, so he had nothing to fear. That’s us today. We allow fear to yell louder than the call and promises of God. If God has promised you something, don’t allow fear to take it from you. What God has for you, someone, or something else can take it from you. Jesus warned the Church in Philadelphia to be careful not to let anyone take their crown (Revelation 3:11).

The enemy is a roaring lion on the prowl, seeking someone to devour. We have to be on guard. We have to fight against fear. We have to quiet his lies and silence his threats. We have to cling to the promises and call of God on our lives. We have to stand up and fight for what God has for us. This life is a race. It has obstacles, hurdles, and other runners. We can’t let any of them stop us from receiving all God has in store for us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Silence Fear.

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Seek The Hidden Well

17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. ~ Genesis 21:17-19NIV

Sometimes, we give up right before we reach our well of renewal. See, Hagar was at the end of her rope. She was so close to dying of thirst that she put her son under a bush and walked away because she couldn’t bear to watch him die. Then she sat down and cried. God heard the cries of the boy and opened Hagar’s eyes so that she could see the well in front of her.

Many of us are currently going through a dry season. A time of trials, tribulation, and lack. It feels like we can’t go any farther. Like the entire weight of the world is on our shoulders, and we have nothing left in the tank to keep going. That’s when you press in. You don’t wait until you can’t take another step; you cry out to God from the moment those thoughts enter your mind.

You pray, and you fast. You seek God and cry out to Him with all that’s within you. You remind Him of His promises and His call on your life. Then you believe. You have faith that He’ll open your eyes to a well of water to refresh you before it’s too late. You hold to the promises and believe with everything inside you that God is good, and He will never leave you nor forsake you. You quote those Scriptures you have memorized and encourage yourself in the LORD. Because when we cry out to God, and we seek Him with what’s within us, He answers.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek The Hidden Well.

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