10 Saturday Sep 2016
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Peter is very clear about what is waiting for the sinful man in 2 Peter 2:17, These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. You cannot expect reward when all you do is evil.
09 Friday Sep 2016
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Our ability to grow does not come from our own efforts, it comes from a relationship with God and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 2 Peter 1:3 says, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Christ called us to to a relationship with Him first, not the other way around. It is through His power we receive everything we need.
08 Thursday Sep 2016
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As we finish this second letter from Paul to Timothy, Paul gives some final instructions starting with 2 Timothy 4:2: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. Paul tells Timothy to “correct, rebuke, and encourage”. All three of these things are difficult to do, but if we want to grow closer to the Lord, we must be willing to do all three.
07 Wednesday Sep 2016
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In today’s reading, Paul begins with a very detailed warning to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1-5: 1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. If we read this thoroughly, it reminds us of the world we live in today. Sadly, it is the same world we have always lived in. It is not meant to be perfect, but God is and He loves us and protects us just the same.
06 Tuesday Sep 2016
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Our faith in God should be reflected in the way we defend our faith to others. If we resort to arguments and scoring points, then we lack faith that God is working through us. In 2 Timothy 2:24 Paul warns: And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. There is no reason to quarrel with people about our faith. We know the truth and the truth will be revealed to others when it is God’s will and for His glory. It is not an attack on us when people reject Christ. We are simply an instrument willing to be used by God.
05 Monday Sep 2016
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Since when do we as believers start bowing to the demands of our society? We are commanded to love others as Christ would love them, but we were not given the command to fit our beliefs into societal norms. As we begin Paul’s second letter to Timothy, we read in 2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. There is nothing timid about our commands from Christ. He commanded us to love others and to boldly share His truths in that love. Christ is the savior of the world. There is nothing timid about that.
04 Sunday Sep 2016
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We hope you enjoy today as a day of reflection and worship. This is a great day to catch up on reading and spending time with family and friends.
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.
03 Saturday Sep 2016
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As a reminder of God’s faithfulness, Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 31:6 in Hebrews 13:5b “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” God is not only there for us on occasion or just when we need Him, He is there for us always. God’s promise was true yesterday, today, and always.
02 Friday Sep 2016
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In today’s reading, Paul reminds us of the “great cloud of witnesses”, which are those who have come before us and paved the way of obedience. Hebrews 12:1 says: Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. The men and women listed in Hebrews 11 were faithful because they were able to shed the things that held them back and/or pushed them away from their relationship with God. When we remove the distraction of this world, we are able to follow God’s will for our lives more easily. Let us remove the distractions and focus on God’s plan for our lives instead.
01 Thursday Sep 2016
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Today we read Hebrews 11, also known as the “Faith Chapter”. One of the examples of faith from today’s reading that stood out to me is Hebrews 11:4, But faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. The reason this passage stood out to me is because even though Abel did the right thing, he still died for it. Too many people complain about how unfair this life can be, but if God can use the bad to show the good, is it not worth it? By Abel’s death we still speak of his righteousness and see a wonderful example of faith. If bad things in our life can show others the good, then maybe it is all part of God’s plan.
Daily Devotion 