Search the devotional

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Ephesians 3:18-19


What  words can describe, or  fully understand, How does the clay ever attempt to understand the potters? God tells us in  Isaiah 55  God's reminds you and I that His thoughts are as far from us as the east is from the west. l God's love is greater than words have the ability to communicate. It is impossible to put into language.

God's love for us was demonstrated in redemption. God took our place and suffered what we deserved, so we could be forgiven and go free.Secondly  God proved that He loved us more than He loves Himself. He did not spare Himself to help us. The Creator dies for his creation, if that is not love please tell what is love?
Every good thing in life was created by God for you because of His great love for you.


How can we explain the unexplainable? How can we know something that is beyond the ability of human knowledge to comprehend? You would have to be God Himself to fully understand why He loves us the way He does. Don't expect to ever understand it. But we can accept it. You can believe it.
We can experience it and enjoy it a perfect love, God will never forsake nor leave you he pay the price for you and I. Paul calls himself a bond servants because he knew the Price Christ paid for him.
God's love for us is also evident in creation.


Know this for certain," and I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is.  Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you (Ephesians 3:18-19).

Sunday, March 24, 2013

PSALM 107:1


It seems the more people have the less thankful they become, now these are not just words but the story of Willis Henry, when I  drove  and lived in the some of the finest homes and had expensive watches an other toys, I believed in God but I didn't really need him because I had  the things I needed.Today complaints are abundant, but thanks being given to God is few. Being thankful is not optional for a Christian. If it was
impossible, God would not have told us to do it. So, why are people not thankful?  Gratitude is a mark of maturity. Ingratitude is a mark of immaturity. Babies are never thankful. Neither are proud people thankful. Why? Because their mindset is that they deserve not just everything they have, but even better. "Why be thankful for something less than what you deserve?" describes their thinking. A funny thing you will notice if you consider it: un-thankful people are never happy. In fact, the more thankful a person is, the happier they are. You will not be bothered with depression if you act on the Word of God and "be thankful." The cure for unhappiness is being thankful. Try it. But how can you overcome the bad habit of ingratitude? Only by
changing your core beliefs. As long as you believe you are getting a raw deal, or less than you deserve, you will never become a thankful person But if you realize that you deserved punishment and eternal
separation from God  yet in His mercy God instead gave you what He deserved, and EVERYTHING you have including every breath you breathe  is a gift then you will become a thankful person.





1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever (Psalm 107:1).

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

1 John 4:4


God now has His dwelling place which is in every believer who has accept him as Lord and Savior!  We don't have to "try to reach God." He is right there! What we need to do is to cultivate an awareness of His presence. This, along with communication, is the way to develop a closer relationship with God closer relationships come about via prayer, reading the word and acting upon the word of God. Knowing that God lives in us, and that He loves us, should banish all fear from our life. Fear of failure should have no
place. Fear of what other people think should not bother us. Fear of problems that may come up should be of no concern. We have God dwelling with us !  The God, Who dwells within us, is greater. Greater than any
problem. Greater than any difficulty. Greater than the devil. Greater than anything we will ever face. This is the Word of God. We must embrace God's truth  and live in the light of it. We must meditate on God's word and speak it. We must resist any contrary thought the enemy might try to place in our minds. Trust if God and Him for God will not forsake nor leave us.





4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).


Monday, March 18, 2013

PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11


No matter what it may seem like at times, Jesus Christ is Lord. He is ruler, boss, king: the One ultimately in charge. He just hasn't exercised His prerogative and taken charge of everything yet. Jesus is not currently micro-managing everything on earth. He is not responsible for every mistake, accident, and bad thing happening in the world. God has allowed mankind to "try things our way" so we may see the folly of going our own way in rebellion to God. But this won't last forever. God has a plan with a limited amount of time allotted for this part of history.
Although God has set certain boundaries, basically human beings are now in control on earth. We are free to choose. Because we are free to choose, we bear the responsibility for the consequences of our chosen actions.
All that is bad in the world today is the result of choices people made. God is not to blame. His only blame is that He allowed us the freedom to choose. One day Jesus will exercise His authority and put a stop to all
evil. Not only that, but He will eliminate the curse and all its effects. He will make all things new, whole, and sound again. One day everyone will see and acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ. You have that privilege today.




9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (
PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11)

Sunday, March 17, 2013

PSALM 103:11


;

If we understood how much God loves us  our lives would be different. Fear and worry would have no power over you any longer. Fear has no torment for someone basking in the sunlight of Almighty
God's love. This passage in Psalm 103 attempts to picture the size or extent of God's love. It is not portrayed as simply big as the highest mountain. No, no  far more. As high as the sky is above the earth. That is the picture God wants us to see when we think of how great His love is for us. How do we know this? Just from what the Bible says. And from what God did in and through Jesus Christ to redeem us. He paid a mighty price for us  because His love for us is so great. But, we may ask, "Why is my life going so poorly if God really does love me so much?" This line is one I've uttered a lot late nights as I'm endeavor to last through a personal storm in my life right now. To me  that is a valid question, but not the same one as whether God loves us. The quick answer is that God has made provision for us but most of us are not taking
advantage of the help He offers. Put another way, we are not acting on God's instructions whether out of ignorance or for some other reason. When we don't follow a proven recipe we cannot expect a good outcome. God has no desire to condemn us for our failure, but instead desires to invite us into His fellowship and His way of doing things. It is through His Word that this will happen in our lives. So, read the Bible to see how much God loves us, but also remember that it is because of His great love for us that He gave us the instructions found in the Bible. They are for our benefit  not God's benefit.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him (Psalm 103:11).

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Getting what you deserve Thank God We didn't


What if God gave each of us what we really deserved, I can't speak for you but  the most I would get is death for you see the price of sin is death.  So thank God that I didn't get what I deserve! The good news in Grace and Mercy pay the price for you and I . Because justice demanded our lives, Jesus stood and spoke saying grace and mercy which is I already paid for their sins with my life.Do you really want what you deserve? Maybe you should first find out what you really deserve. People clamoring to get what they deserve are really in the dark. God is the judge and He declares that we have all fallen short
 none of us deserves good. But the wonderful news is that God loves us so much that He is not giving us what we deserve. But it doesn't stop there. It gets better. Believers are actually going to receive what Jesus deserves!  Jesus took what we deserved punishment (death). And now, because of
His great love, offers us what He deserves  freely as a gift of love. How can you not respond to Someone like that!


PSALM 103:8-10 NIV
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger,
abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger
forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us
according to our iniquities (Psalm 103:8-10).


Friday, March 15, 2013

Luke 8:10-15


We discovered that God's Word is a seed (Luke 8:11). Now we see that the Bible says that we, as believers, are God's garden the place where seed is planted. The question for you to consider is: who determines the harvest? God, or you? The harvest I speak of is the fruit, or result, of the Word of
God. The harvest of blessing that God's Word produces in your life. I suggest that the harvest is mainly controlled by the one who determines what seed is planted. Would you agree? If wheat seed is planted, it is unreasonable to expect a harvest. If only a few seeds are planted, it is unreasonable to expect a large harvest. Wouldn't you agree? Yes, you are God's field, but He allows you a lot of freedom to
choose what will be produced in your life. And the main way you choose is by choosing what seed will be planted in your heart and mind. You can choose something other than God's Word. You can also
choose different areas of God's Word. Planting different scriptures will produce different results in your life.
If all you ever plant are scriptures on the new birth, you cannot expect to have a huge harvest of healing or financial blessing in your life. The choice is yours.



10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience (Luke 8:10-15).

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Forgiveness is as much for the other person as it is for you




We must forgive others  no matter what they have done to us. Not forgive hurts us. We must forgive.

Forgiving  for a deep hurts seems to be one of the hardest things a human being can do. In fact  very few are successful in forgiving. Yet, in the Bible God commands us to forgive. Is God overly
demanding?  He commands us to forgive.God knows how terribly destructive it is for us to harbor unforgiveness. Not forgiving someone can literally kill us, stress, high blood pressure and even a heart attack sleepless night loss or gain of weight and even depression all because we are unable to forgive another who harmed us. Knowing that, God strictly tells us to forgive. But how can we?
We are just human, and we don't feel like forgiving when someone has hurt us to very bone.
 God's help,  will enable you to forgive, which goes against the flesh.
We must  ask God to help us forgive the person who hurt us. Having done that, we must make a firm decision to quit holding anything against that person. Forgiveness is not a feeling but a decision to quit holding
something against someone. When we forgive we must be ready and able to release the pain and give it to God, He tells us in Matthew 11 to come to him with our burden and he will take them from us, so stop carrying what God has already said give it to me and be free. Free of the pain free of the burden and anger etc.. You might be pondering how can humans forgive each others just as God has forgiven us is the answer to that question. For through Christ Jesus all things are possible forgiveness is necessary for your healing as well as theirs because until you forgive them Christ will not forgive you. Perhaps that anger is all you got its what wakes you up in the morning and tucks you in at night, its the food you eat and fuel that you run by.
Sometimes we forget its not  impossible to forgive someone who hurt us. With God it is possible. He never asks us to do something we cannot do. So trust Him and let go of all that garbage  you been holding onto.





13 Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do (Colossians 3:13)


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

1 John 4:16


Although I have endeavored to walk with the Lord for decades, only in recent times have I started to really believe God loves me. My problem was that I kept focusing on myself, instead of God. I saw myself in my immaturity with all my faults and failures. I was not looking at Jesus the perfect sacrifice, but focused
on myself and my shortcomings. Even though I preached messages on the love of God, I never had
confidence that God truly loved me just as I was. Instead I thought more in terms of God tolerating me, but not being too happy with me. I was trying my best to do what I thought God wanted, not really realizing that I could never earn God's love. Now I am realizing that God's love is not dependent on me, but
is entirely dependent on God alone. He does not love me because I am lovable, but because by nature He is perfect love. As long as I thought God's acceptance of me and good standing with Him was based on my performance, it made it hard to believe God loved me. I could believe God accepted me, that He didn't want me to go to hell. I could believe God tolerated me. But I did not believe God was happy with me. I did not think He took any delight in me. Have you ever had a child? I can tell you, as a parent, that it is a great delight! Every child, no matter how many you have, is very special to you. You love them so deeply it is difficult  to express. So I have decided to believe the Bible. God is my Father. He is the perfect father, so He loves me! Nothing else needs to be considered. Because He said He was my Father, and every good father loves their child. There is another major reason I know God loves me  what He did for me through Jesus  who was God living in a human body. He died for me! No greater love can be shown than to die for
someone.





16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him (1 John 4:16)

Friday, March 8, 2013

Thy Will Be Done


By understanding these verses we can see that those who tell us God is sovereign and everything that happens on earth is God's will, are clearly wrong. It is true that God is sovereign. He can do whatever He wants to do. No one is higher than God and can tell Him what to do. But God voluntarily and freely, without any rush or pressure, chose to speak words expressing His sovereign choices. And now He will not do anything contrary to what He has already spoken, because that would make Him a liar, which is against His
nature. So we can trust God's Word, the Bible, and know that it expresses His will. Jesus told us to pray that God's will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. That means some things happening on earth are NOT
God's will. Just because something happens does not mean it is the will of God. The way we can know God's will is from the message of the Bible. In heaven God's perfect will is always done. Is there sickness in heaven? No! Then clearly it is not the perfect will of God for there to be sickness on earth either.
Is there poverty or lack in heaven? No! Then clearly it is not the perfect will of God for there to be poverty or lack on earth either. Is there sadness in heaven? No! Then clearly it is not the perfect will of God for there to be sadness on earth either. God's Word reveals that believing prayer makes a difference. We do have a part to play. Our prayers are not just vocal exercise, but make a difference. (Matthew 21:22, James 5:17-18)


22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Matthew 21:22).

17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit (James 5:17-18).

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Acts 10:38



Before Jesus of Nazareth came into the world, the human concept of God was a bit fuzzy.
But Jesus perfectly revealed to us what God is like. He was Heaven's perfect representative. Notice that Jesus went about DOING GOOD not doing bad. Not hurting people, but helping people. After all God is love, Jesus told His disciples that if they have know Him they have also know the Father. Do you know Jesus as your personal savior???  Jesus reflected His Father to all that He can into contact. He made himself of no reputation but point everyone to the Father. Who does your life point to? How many can say when they see you they can see Christ shining through you? By the love you have for others. Who shall show the world what God is like? How shall they come ot know his love? unless it through his children.



38 "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him (Acts 10:38).

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

John 8:31-32


Jesus actually said. It is not those who "start in the word" or "try the word for awhile" who will be
made free. You must continue in Jesus' message His Word. It must be His accurate message -- not just someone's idea of it, or tradition. Some translations use the word "abide" instead of "continue."
Abide means to stay somewhere continually. Either way, the meaning involves staying with it.
, "and you will know the truth," Just hearing the truth does not necessarily make you free. You must know that it is the truth. When you know something, you will act on it. If you are not acting on something, you do not yet truly know it. You act on what you know. Hearing the truth is not enough. Loving the truth is not
enough. Even speaking the truth is not enough. You must continue until you know that you know that you know that you know. Only then are you at the point where truth will make you free. The reason is that only then will you be able to act with faith and boldness on God's Word. The devil is against you and is intent on keeping you in bondage. Only when you know where you stand will you act in faith and overcome the strategies of the devil. You may ask, "How can I know the truth? I just have weak faith." Jesus gave the answer: continue in His Word. As you continue in the Word of God you will become convinced you will know you will have faith. When you reach the point of knowing something  you will act on that knowledge. In this way the truth will make you free. This works in every area of life: your relationships, your health, your finances everything. Continue in the Word of God in any subject  and you will eventually see the fruit of
freedom in that area of your life. God gave you His Word for your benefit  not for His benefit. He already knows the truth, and always acts on it. You are the one who needs help. Because God loves you, He gave you His Word.




31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31-32)

Monday, March 4, 2013

LUKE 18:1-8


Jesus told a parable about a widow and an unjust judge which some have misunderstood. We need not harass God until He finally gives in and answers our prayers. In verse one Jesus revealed why He told this story: to encourage us not to give up on prayer. The idea that we must keep on begging God for the same thing until He finally answers instills no confidence and gives us no encouragement to pray! God is not like the unjust judge. You do not have to come to Him repeatedly asking for the same thing until you finally
convince Him. Jesus is teaching persistence in prayer, but not persistence in praying for the same thing over and over. The literal meaning of the word translated "lose heart" in verse one is "not give in to evil." It means giving up in view of difficulty. Jesus' purpose in telling this parable was to impress on us that we must continue to pray to God and not give in to the evil we see around us. We should not be cowards who lose
courage and quit praying. Jesus told us that was His purpose, so we should not try to extract another meaning from this parable. Jesus' message is that God is nothing like an unjust judge, but infinitely better. So, if a poor widow can get help from a human judge who has no regard for what God thinks, much less
what people think  HOW MUCH MORE can we expect our wonderful Father God to provide help for us when we come to Him. After telling the parable, in verse eight Jesus gives us His interpretation: God will answer quickly! So we don't have to approach God like this widow did the unjust judge! It may seem to us that God is not answering our cries for help speedily. But Jesus said otherwise. God is working! Although God actually answers speedily, from our human viewpoint the answer may seem delayed. I think Jesus is saying, "Don't let circumstances cause you discouragement. You can have confidence in God. When you pray He will listen and answer speedily. So keep on praying." Why would people become discouraged and quit the practice of prayer? Only if it did not seem to work. If they always saw answers quickly, there would be no temptation to stop praying. That is why Jesus told this story, so we would be encouraged to
stand in faith no matter how long it took for the answer to show up. We can have faith because God is merciful, gracious, and dependable nothing like the unjust judge. God does not have to be convinced or coerced to help you. God loves you and desires the best for you. You can expect God to speedily help you. And don't worry about people hindering your provision. If a poor widow can influence an evil judge to do
right, how much more can your Father God influence people! So keep praying! Why do answers to prayer not always manifest quickly even when God immediately grants our request. God does not violate
people's freedom to choose. So, in answering our prayers, it may take some time for God to work with people to get them to change. But we can be confident that God is working on our behalf, even though we may not see any outward change yet. Instead of thinking it does no good to pray, because God probably won't answer anyway, this story was told to make us think the opposite. So, we are to pray in faith, and never doubt. We are to be confident and keep looking to God, knowing that God is working and our answer is on its way. When we know that, it would be foolish for us to "keep on asking" for the same thing over and
over. Jesus summary statement in verse eight, which concludes with a question about faith, has this idea: God will be faithful. You can count on Him. There is not any chance that God will not be faithful to answer the cries of His people. But will His people be faithful? Will they persevere in their faith in God? Will they keep trusting God and believing in His goodness, even when it seems like answers do not always immediately come? Will people continue to believe what Jesus said, that God will answer speedily? Or will people give up and think it is useless to pray to God?



 1.Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
2 saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.
3 "Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying,'Get justice for me from my adversary.'
4 "And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself,'Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
5 'yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'"
6 Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.
7 "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
8 "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:1-8).



Sunday, March 3, 2013

John 14:6-7


With His Word God gave us a firm foundation to base our life on. Something absolutely unchanging. Something God Himself will never change. So we can be certain about God's will. If we want
to know God's will, we only need to see what He said in His Word, the Bible.  The integrity of God is wrapped up in His Word; if He did not keep His Word He would be a liar  and that will never happen!  God will not change the words He has spoken. God will never break His Word. God will always do what He said He will do.  God never lies! He is always alert, making sure every word He has spoken is fulfilled. God's Word is more dependable than the stars in the sky and the ground you stand on. That will all eventually be changed, but God will never change any word He has spoken.



 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him (John 14:6-7).

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Are you a follower or a Fan????


My Savior bleed and suffered and died and rose again for a sinner like me. Marine says it God , then country and then marine Corp, what comes first for you? Jesus said to live like HIM, love like HIM but then does that mean we must be willing to die for HIM as he died for you and I?? SO are we followers or fans??? Have you lost something in following Jesus??? think about this before you answer  this question. Did you loose friends, family, a job, home, car??? What has following Jesus cost you?

 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul (Matthew 16:24-26)?
Are you okay with hearing the preacher on Sunday and but not feeling getting involved in church ministry? Well that for the deacons and the pastor not just a simply guy like you?  Ask Peter what  seminar did he attend, oh wait he didn't he trust in Jesus. Maybe that the issue that you trust him with prayers, but no such to use you as he wills?
 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions (Matthew 19:21-22).

Jesus was very clear about us taking up our cross and follow him, have you done that yet??? Perhaps you think God will send you and your family to Africa to live with a some native villagers ?  Or maybe Jesus will ask you to actually take a stand in your home and utter the words that Joshua said " As for me and my house we shall serve the Lord", which would mean you would have to start reading the bible to your spouse and children. Are you fan or a follower, you show up Sunday and you the know the words to many of the praise songs, you even have a fish own your bumper of your vehicle or maybe your a Klove listener. What would be willing to lose to follow Jesus??? What did Abraham, Moses, Job, Peter, Paul, lose to be followers of Jesus? Can we truly be followers of Jesus and be sitting on the side line? Is that where the fan sits on the side line?

Friday, March 1, 2013

Which Jesus do you serve????

 Its back again I will continue to repeat this till i know that each of us has answered this question for ourselves. This for me is probably the most important question that  I could ever answer for myself.  Father help me to be a earthly representation of Christ my Lord and Savior, I want to be more like Jesus and less like me. I want to ready willing to lay my life down for my wife as Christ did for the Church, not for just for a bullet but daily that she would know that I love her like Christ loved the church. I want to love my children like Christ love the little one's. I want to be a true brother to my brothers, by putting them first and even be willing to be servant to them. As Christ washed the feet of his disciples. That is the Jesus I want to serve what about you!!!!


Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

 The call to imitate God is a call to separate ourselves from the world though we may be in but not of it  (Ephesians 4:17-19) and how we have been made new (Ephesians 4:20-24) and then gave us specific ways to do that (Ephesians4:25-32).

Our call is to live with the same love that Christ has demonstrated.  Jesus laying down his life for us, was first of all an expression of his love for his Father. Jesus did it, not only because of his love for us, but because first of all he loved the Father and this was  the Father’s will. This ‘life of love’ is not to be something we do to make ourselves feel good or appear good, it is to come out of and be an expression of our love for God Himself.  When John says, “We love because he first loved us,” (1 John 4:19). The first thing we need to do in the Christian life is become utterly convinced of God’s love.

On Sunday they raise their hands to heaven and declare that it is Jesus that they serve.
Then why do we look so much like the world?
Did you know that the wheat and the tare, the world can't tell which is which and quite frankly neither can I. So I pose the question again, which Jesus do you serve?


Readers of the devotionals

Devotional Archives