Posts with the category “daily-devotion”

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:2  Yesterday, we looked at how we can share our testimony with others. Your testimony is your account of the story of your encounters with Jesus. It’s how your life was before Jesus, and how it is now as a...  Read More

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” - Ephesians 2:8-9  Yesterday, we talked about being consistent in your relationship with the Lord every day. As believers or followers of Jesus Christ, it is our responsibility to show up every day for Christ. We should be growing in our personal...  Read More

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” - 1 Corinthians 15:58  When you hear the word, “consistent,” what does your mind go to? Are you a consistent person? Most people will immediately think of the things they are passionate about. That is where you will show the most con...  Read More

“But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. And remember that those who do not have the Spirit living in them do not belong to Him at all.” - Romans 8:9  When you give your life to Christ, His grace and mercy are extended to you. There are so many privileges and blessings of following Jesus Christ. There is no gre...  Read More

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9  Have you ever had a friend or maybe even a family member who, once you messed up, never let you live it down? You might have made a mistake and even apologized. But they just continue to bring it up and remind you of your shortcomings.  It is like no matter what you do...  Read More

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9  Did you know when it comes to the love of the Father, you cannot mess up? That’s right. No matter what you do wrong, He is ready and willing to forgive you. This does not mean that we won’t sin, but what it means is that when we do, the Lord will forgive us. John tells...  Read More

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.” - Revelation 3:20  If you have been following along with us, the last few days we have been talking about how God’s got us. He’s got us in many ways, but what this means when He says, “I got you,” is that He will take care of us. He will help us through life...  Read More

“Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the Lord loves justice; He will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.” - Psalm 37:27-29  When you give your life to Jesus and place your faith and trust in Him, He promises you something. What is that promis...  Read More

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.” - Ephesians 1:17-18  If you are His child, I have good news for you: God’s got you. Over the ...  Read More

“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” - Romans 6:6  Over the last couple of days, we have talked about how as our Heavenly Father, God’s “got us.” What that means is that He works on our behalf, in our situations, and in our favor. He is orchestrating everything in our lives in ac...  Read More

“No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.” - Isaiah 54:17  Did you know that when you belong to God, you belong to the most powerful being in the world? Yesterday, we looked at the story of a normal guy who could not...  Read More

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” - Jeremiah 29:11  I was watching a TV show one time in which one of the characters, just a normal guy, was trying to get into this club. The club was throwing a party for his very famous best friend, and he was most definitely on the list. As he approached the bouncer, he ...  Read More

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” - John 15:13  When your will differs from the will of God, what do you do? In other words, when your plans are not the same as His, which way do you ride? Do you go with the God of the universe who created you? Or do you cater to your own wants and desires? Over the last week or so, we have been looking at the wil...  Read More

“For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything.” - 1 John 3:20  Why should I obey God? Over the last few days, we have looked at the will of God. Sometimes, God’s will (His plans and purposes for our lives) are in conflict with our own will (what we want for our life).  The question is, when what we want isn’t what God wants for us, what should we do? I...  Read More

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” - Proverbs 15:3  If you have been following along with us, you know we have been talking about receiving God’s ultimate blessing. The will of God is His perfect plan poured out in our lives. When we are obedient, we can experience the will of God and all that He has in store for us. But how do we know that God’s pla...  Read More

“’My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’” - Isaiah 55:8-9  If you want to receive the blessings of God, you must come to grips with a brutal reality: you are not God. What we want for ourselv...  Read More

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” - Galatians 2:20  Are you waiting on God to bless you? Maybe you have been praying for a long time, waiting for God to do something in your life, and it just seems like He is never going to answer....  Read More

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.” - 1 Peter 1:14  Have you been praying to God and asking for a blessing that just seems like it’s never going to come? If you want to be blessed by God, you cannot continue to live in sin. Or another way I like to say it is “if it don’t work in your home, it ain’t going to work in heaven.” Have your kids ever aske...  Read More

“For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” - 1 John 5:4-5  Over the last couple of days, we have discussed choosing obedience over sin. In simple terms, we’ve been talking about good over evil. A decision to obey God or disobey God really comes d...  Read More

“Loving God means keeping His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.” - 1 John 5:3  If you love God, you will obey Him. It is through obedience that we show God our love. When we obey His commandments, we are choosing God over our own selfish, sinful, human desires. 1 John 5:3 says, “Loving God means keeping His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.” It is the endi...  Read More

“We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey His commandments. Loving God means keeping His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.” - 1 John 5:2-3  Have you ever loved someone to such a degree that you just wish you could show them how much you love them? It’s like saying it just isn’t enough. You appreciate all that they do and how much they mean to you. So you just wan...  Read More

“Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.” - Proverbs 4:25-27  I want to ask you a question today: what controls your life? This might be something you never actually think about, but when we really get down to it, there are a lot of things that could be ...  Read More

“And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest.” - Hebrews 3:1  As you go through life, are you living in a way that points others to Jesus? Or are you just going through the motions? As we start a new year, it is easy to think that nothing has actually changed...  Read More

“Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and what he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he.” - Ecclesiastes 6:10  Did you know that, as a Christian, you have the privilege of knowing your fate and future long before it ever happens? Unlike some religions where you are constantly working and trying to do good and seal your fate, God operates in an ent...  Read More

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” - Hebrews 4:12  Are you regularly accessing the Word of God? With this question, I am not asking if you just regularly read the Bible. What I am asking is, when life gets difficult and times g...  Read More

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7  I want you to know something today...love wins. I know, I kno...  Read More

“God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” - 1 John 4:9-10  I want you to know something today: if you are a believer and a follower of Jesus Christ, you have a friend. And you don’t just have any ...  Read More

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” - 1 John 2:1  Did you know that when you give your life to Christ, you permanently have someone in your corner advocating for you? There are a lot of people who feel alone in this world. They just wish someone would care about them...  Read More

“’Get out of here, Satan,’ Jesus told him. ‘For the Scriptures say, You must worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.’ Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.” - Matthew 4:10-11  When it comes to facing temptations, Jesus gave us the perfect blueprint to follow. As we have seen over the past few days, Satan tempted Jesus on three different occasions. And here we are,...  Read More

“For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.” - 1 John 2:16  Over the last few days, we have talked about the forms in which the devil tempts us. The devil uses three major appeals to draw us into sin. He uses the desire of the flesh (FEEL), the desire of the eyes (HAVE), and the pride in p...  Read More

“Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ‘I will give it all to you,’ he said, ‘if you will kneel down and worship me.’” - Matthew 4:8-9  As we come to the end of Satan’s three temptation tactics, we continue to look at how Jesus responded to him. Remember, if you have followed along with us the last couple of days, ...  Read More

“Then the devil took Him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order His angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” - Matthew 4:5-6  As we continue to look at the three ways Satan tempts us, we go back to a time in Matthew...  Read More

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights He fasted and became very hungry. During this time the devil came and said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.’” - Matthew 4:1-3  When it comes to temptation, we have the ultimate example set before us. Jesus, both fully God and fully ...  Read More

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights He fasted and became very hungry.” - Matthew 4:1  Yesterday, we looked at the amazing perfection of Jesus’ life. If you do not know, Jesus lived 33 years on earth. Before He died on the cross for all our sins, He walked the earth completely blameless. He never sinned...not once. ...  Read More

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” - Hebrews 4:15  Over the last week, we have talked a lot about forgiveness. We have looked at it from all angles: our need to forgive others, our need for God to forgive us (He has), and our need to forgive ourselves. After all, we have all m...  Read More

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” - Ephesians 2:8-9  Mercy and grace. The two limitless gifts God has for those who have trusted in Him and given their life to Him. You know what? God has more mercy and grace than you have sin. But what are mercy and grace? Mercy is when God withho...  Read More

“But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” - 1 John 1:9  Have you ever done something so bad that you just don’t see how God could forgive you for it? You have read all the verses trying to believe it. You have prayed a thousand times because you think if you just pray enough maybe one day, He will forgive you. You go ...  Read More

“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He removes our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. - Psalm 103:10-13...  Read More

“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” - Proverbs 10:12  Are you struggling to forgive? We have talked over the last couple of days about forgiveness. If you are a believer who has spent any serious amount of time in the Word, you already know what the Bible says about forgiveness.  You say, “But pastor, you don’t know what they did to me.” You are right, I don’t. And you know wha...  Read More

“Then Peter came up and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.’” - Matthew 6:14-15  When someone has done you wrong, are you quick to forgive? Or do you let anger build inside you? Do you make a case against that person as to why they should not be forgiv...  Read More