Monthly Archives: September 2014

2014 Day 273 – John 3

30 Tuesday Sep 2014

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John 3:16 is one of the most powerful verses in all of the New Testament. But John 3:17 is of equal importance, For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. God’s purpose for Jesus was salvation through His grace and mercy. He loved us so much that He gave us a way out of eternal death and into eternal life with Him. Verse 17 plainly states that God sent us a way to be saved if we just believe in Him. These are simple words with a simple plan if we just choose to accept it.

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2014 Day 272 – John 2

29 Monday Sep 2014

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The miracle of Jesus turning water into wine is important for a couple of reasons. For starters, it is the first miracle Jesus performs in public. Second, and far more important, it shows Jesus’ authority and natural ability to lead. When Mary asked Jesus to help, she probably was not asking for a miracle. But she recognized Jesus as someone who could take charge and figure out a solution to the problem. The same goes for the servants who probably didn’t know Jesus, but recognized Him as someone who could be followed. It is no wonder the disciples so readily followed Jesus. His compassion, leadership, and trustworthiness must have been apparent to everyone around Him.

2014 Day 271 – Jesus and Peter

28 Sunday Sep 2014

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The video below is the depiction of Jesus calling Peter to follow Him from the movie “Son of God”. The clip shows how Jesus does not call us to follow Him empty handed. Jesus wants to bless us and give us what we need for a full existence. God did not create us for a sub-par life. His desire is that we live our lives to the absolute fullest.

If you ever come across anything you’d like me to post on this blog, please feel free to contact me at dino.evangelista@gmail.com.

2014 Day 270 – John 1

27 Saturday Sep 2014

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Although Jesus called John the Baptist “the greatest of all prophets”, John himself did not feel worthy to be called one of Jesus’ slaves tasked with unfastening his shoes. John 1:27, He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. John should help each of us to be humbled and realize how much we must lay aside our pride and know how inadequate we are to serve Christ. Jesus chooses us to have the privilege of being used by Him and for His glory even though we fall short of being adequate for the task on our own.

2014 Day 269 – Luke 5

26 Friday Sep 2014

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One of my favorite pictures in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is His calling for Simon Peter, James, and John to follow Him. Just after Jesus tells Simon to drop his nets in the water and they pull out an enormous catch, Luke 5:9-11 says, 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. Like these men, when we choose to follow Christ, we do not need to be perfect or even fully equipped, we must simply be willing to do whatever He asks. Obedience, faith, and trust are the keys.

2014 Day 268 – Luke 4

25 Thursday Sep 2014

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There are many pieces of evidence that Jesus was God. One of the biggest is in this chapter is Jesus’ authority over demons. Luke 4:35, “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. God, and therefore Jesus, has authority over all things, including demons who are nothing more than fallen angels. No matter how hard life becomes, we must always remember God has authority and power over all of it.

2014 Day 267 – Matthew 4

24 Wednesday Sep 2014

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The first part of Mathew 4 shows how smart and crafty the “tempter” is. Jesus being the son of God was able to fight off the temptation, but unlike Jesus, we are not perfect. We require the help of the Holy Spirit to fight. When we face temptation and we try to fight it on our own, we act like fools. We are never alone and we should always act by trusting in the Holy Spirit to help guide and protect us.

2014 Day 266 – Luke 3

23 Tuesday Sep 2014

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I just realized I doubled last week’s reading with this week, so that means we are reading last week’s chapters again this week. Good thing these chapters are filled with information we can learn from.

This time around in Luke 3, the last sentence in verse 16 stood out to me, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Baptism with fire symbolizes the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing God’s judgement on those who refuse to repent. While God offers salvation freely, He does require us to repent and realize we cannot do it without His saving grace.

2014 Day 265 – Mark 1

22 Monday Sep 2014

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It is always so comforting to read about Jesus’ compassion and how willing He was to love and heal the brokenness in people. Mark 1:41 shows a great example of this, Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Just like the man with leprosy, Jesus never turns His back on any of us. He is always there standing by our side and never leaving us. We are the ones who fail to recognize His presence and willingness to be there for us.

2014 Day 264 – Derek Jeter

21 Sunday Sep 2014

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Most people who know me know I am a huge New York Yankees fan. I was born in New York City and have loved the Yankees my whole life. While I know the attached video is not a spiritual one, it shows Derek Jeter, who is retiring this year, as a man and player who is highly respected by anyone and everyone who loves baseball no matter how you feel about the Yankees. God can change any man or woman to be more like Him. And it takes special people like Derek Jeter to be examples of what it means to be a good man. I don’t know where Derek Jeter is spiritually, but I thank God that He puts men like him to show others what it means to be good. I hope you enjoy the video. #Jeter #Re2pect

If you ever come across anything you’d like me to post on this blog, please feel free to contact me at dino.evangelista@gmail.com.