05 Thursday Jun 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
I love 2 Timothy 4:7-8, 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. My hope is when I reach the end of my life I can say the same thing.
04 Wednesday Jun 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
We live in a fallen world. It has always been a place where evil exists. In today’s reading Paul talks about the things we should look out for in the end times. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 says, 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. It is easy to read this list and say, “we are here”, but the timing for God is His and His alone. Many of the things on this list have always been here and will always be a part of our human existence. We must be aware of the things that distract and take people away from God. It is our job to reflect the love and existence of God and allow ourselves to be used by Him to draw people closer to a loving relationship with Him.
03 Tuesday Jun 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
Anything that has value also has a struggle attached to it. Paul gives some examples in 2 Timothy 2:4-6 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Just like soldiers, we must be disciplined to complete the tasks that are set before us by those who lead us. Athletes must follow the rules and work hard in preparation or they won’t deserve the victors crown. And a farmer works hard for months at a time to reach the time of harvest and receive his reward for toiling over his crops. In the end, no reward comes to anyone who is unwilling to put in the work. There is a reason why most lottery winner end up worse than they were before winning, it’s because there is no effort and in turn there is no value. When we work hard to achieve our goals, we value the reward that much more.
02 Monday Jun 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
Today we begin the second letter Paul wrote to Timothy. 2 Timothy is meant to give final instruction and encouragement to Timothy who was at this time the pastor of the church in Ephesus. The letter was written some time between 66 and 67 A.D. while Paul was a prisoner in Rome. Paul was released from prison briefly and then imprisoned again and executed by the Roman Emperor Nero. The key verse in this morning’s reading was 2 Timothy 1:8, So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. The truth is, we all suffer. God never promised us doing the right thing would be without suffering. But He never leaves us and is always there by our side.
01 Sunday Jun 2014
Posted in Reflection
Tags
We are a reflection of Christ and we are called to be like Him. While the video does not have a direct spiritual message, it is a great example of how we should be striving to treat others. Have a tissue handy.
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.
31 Saturday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
God is all we really need in our lives. With Him we can face anything this life has to throw at us and face it with confidence that our God is bigger. Hebrews 13:6 quotes from Psalm 118:6 and says, So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Our confidence and and protection comes from God. Our lives are under his protection from now until eternity.
30 Friday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
The very last verse in today’s reading is an incredibly powerful picture of God. Hebrews 12:29 says, for our “God is a consuming fire”. This is not the same thing as the flame from a candle; it is the light and heat from a raging fire that is all consuming and beyond our control. God is like a consuming fire and we cannot force Him to do anything, though He is a God of compassion and He ultimately wants us to experience His love fully.
29 Thursday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
Today we read the “Faith” chapter, which starts with one of the most powerful verses in the Bible, Hebrews 11:1 Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. The author gives numerous examples from throughout the scriptures of men and women who exemplified their commitment to God through their faith and subsequent actions. The author uses two words to describe faith: sure and certain. While we do not have evidence of deliverance, through faith we can be both sure of God’s character and certain He will deliver on His promises even when we don’t see them materializing yet.
28 Wednesday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
In today’s reading, Hebrews 10:31 took me a bit by surprise, It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. At first I thought the verse was talking about everyone, but it is actually talking about those who have rejected God’s mercy. For believers who have accepted God’s grace and salvation through Christ’s sacrifice, death is of no consequence and have nothing to worry about.
27 Tuesday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
Because of Christ, the work is done for our salvation through His perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 9:14 says, How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! We are no longer expected to work and go through the work of sacrifices through priest for the atonement of our sins. Christ was the perfect sacrifice once and for all. We must learn to live in that state of cleared conscience He has provided us.
Daily Devotion 