2013 Day 132 – Ephesians 1-3, Proverbs 23:19-35

12 Sunday May 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

In today’s reading, my favorite part is the prayer found in Ephesians 3:16-19, I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Paul is praying for two things here: 1) That we may have the power of Holy Spirit so we can experience God’s glorious riches, 2) Through the power of the the Holy Spirit we can grasp how big the love of Christ is for each of us. The reason why this is such a big prayer is because our simple human minds cannot grasp the immensity of Christ’s love for us. We may think we know how much, we may think we can correlate it to the love we have for our spouses or children, but in the end, without the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, we simply cannot grasp it.

2013 Day 131 – Ruth, Proverbs 23:1-18

11 Saturday May 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, ,

I love the story of Ruth. If for no other reason, I love it because it tells part of the story of the line of David, which ultimately is the line of Christ. The story itself is a story of mercy and redemption, much like the story of Christ. Boaz showed mercy on these widows and took care of them when they needed it most. While these women needed to do their part, by being faithful and doing what was required of them, Boaz redeemed them and blessed their lives. This is very much what our lives in Christ is like. We must do our part to be faithful in all we do, but in the end, Christ is faithful and takes care of us in all we do.

2013 Day 130 – Romans 14-16, Proverbs 22:17-29

10 Friday May 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

I love reading Romans 15:13, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. The more we trust in God, the more we can have peace and joy in our lives. I have often thought about how different my life would be without God in my life. I honestly do not know what my life would be like without Him. He has given me comfort through some of the worst times in my life. When I felt all alone I always knew He was right there beside me with His arms wrapped around me and telling me it would be ok. May we always feel God’s presence in our lives no matter how alone we may be.

2013 Day 129 – Romans 12-13, Proverbs 22:1-16

09 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, ,

When we focus on the things Christ commanded of us, there is not enough space in our lives to please our sinful nature. Romans 14:14 says, Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. By covering our minds, and in turn our lives, with Christ, there is no room for the evil desires of our heart. When we study who Christ is and how we can exemplify Him, we reflect him through us. May each of us strive to be more like Christ, and not necessarily what other people tell us to be like, but by studying His words and following His commandments.

2013 Day 128 – Romans 9-11, Proverbs 21:17-31

08 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Sorry it too so long to post today, it’s been a nutty day. In today’s reading, the big verse that stood out to me was Romans 9:21, Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? The important thing to always remind ourselves is God does not answer to us. He is the creator of the universe and it is His plan that matters, not ours. When things go badly for us, it is easy to question God and trust His will. While it may not make sense for us in the microcosm of our lives, it is the macrocosm of God’s will that matters. We need to understand and accept our existence is for God’s purpose not our own.

2013 Day 127 – Skit Guys: The Mom Song

07 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in Information, Reflection

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

This is the 500th post for the Daily Devotion blog!

For this week’s reflection, I thought I would do something a little light-hearted. Don’t forget Mother’s Day is this Sunday.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there!

 

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.

2013 Day 126 – Romans 7-8, Proverbs 21:1-16

06 Monday May 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Romans 8:1 is such a powerful verse, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Imagine if you were on death row and you heard these words? Well, that is exactly what Christ did for us on the cross. We are all justly condemned to death, but through Christ’s blood we are pardoned of our sin.

2013 Day 125 – Romans 4-6, Proverbs 20:16-30

05 Sunday May 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

I guess one could argue, if God loves to forgive, why not give Him more to forgive. Romans 6:1-2 says, 1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? The purpose of salvation is to free us from the power of sin and the hold it has on us. Once we are saved, we should no longer want to be controlled by sin. Does this mean we need to be perfect? No, but we should seek righteousness through the saving power of Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

2013 Day 124 – Romans 1-3, Proverbs 20:1-15

04 Saturday May 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Yes, we are saved through grace. Yes, Christ’s sacrifice atones for all our sin. But we are still called to be a reflection of Christ and to be changed by His mercy and grace. In Romans 2:6-8 it says, 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. We must be persistent in doing good because it honors God and glorifies Him.

2013 Day 123 – Judges 19-21, Proverbs 15-29

03 Friday May 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

We finished the book of Judges today. I don’t have a lot to say about the reading, but I do have a couple of observations. First, God requires total righteousness. The mistake comes in thinking we can achieve righteousness on our own without the saving grace of Jesus. In the book of Judges, they had to be righteous on their own and relied on the sacrifices by the priest. We are fortunate and blessed that we have Jesus’ to sanctify us from our unrighteousness. The second observation comes from the very end of the book where the author talks about the fact that Israel had no king to rule over them. As we progress in the Old Testament and begin to read about all the Kings of Israel, it is important to realize that God never intended Israel to have an earthly ruler. He gave Israel a ruler because they wanted it, but God was supposed to be ruler of His people. The same goes for us when we look to earthly leaders such as pastors. While pastors are ordained to shepherd God’s people, we must never forget where their authority comes from. God is our authority and we should always make Him the ultimate guide for our lives.