23 Saturday Mar 2013
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In today’s reading, the first two verses in Psalm 42 are some of the most poetic in the Bible (in my opinion), 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? It is such a powerful picture of what our longing for God should be.
22 Friday Mar 2013
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The message of salvation is not lost in what Moses is telling the Israelites. While God’s grace provides us freedom from sin, out of our love for God, we must work to keep His commandments and show honor to Him. Deuteronomy 6:17-18 says, 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord ’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers. The key phrase in verse 18 is “so that it may go well with you”. It’s not about salvation, it’s about perseveration of who God wants us to be so we may be blessed in this life by Him.
21 Thursday Mar 2013
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Today for our reflection day, I was inspired by a friend’s blog post that I read this morning to find something that related to our story and how it relates to our relationship with God. I came across this video and thought it was worth sharing. I’ll be honest, I am not sure of its origin and I hope its OK that I have chosen to ignore it in order to look to the message it delivers. In Psalm 139:14-15 it says, 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. This is the importance of the message, that we are made for a purpose and to take part in the wonderful story of God which continues on to eternity. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think in the comments section below.
If you ever come across anything you’d like me to post on this blog, please fee free to contact me at dino.evangelista@gmail.com.
20 Wednesday Mar 2013
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Today we begin the book of Deuteronomy. Much of this book is a summary of where the Israelites have been. God uses Moses to remind the Israelites of all the blessings He has provided and to encourage them to rededicate their lives to Him. God also uses this book to give assurances to the people that He will be with them as they take possession of the promised land. This is a good reminder to us and we should review all the things God has done in our past to lead us to where we are today. Whether it is good or bad our experiences, blessings, and trials are what have shaped us into who we are today. Be thankful for your past and use it as a reminder of God’s provision for the future.
19 Tuesday Mar 2013
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Today’s reading was packed with information. We covered the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Which is extremely important for us as believers to understand and allow ourselves to experience as spontaneous works of the Holy Spirit in us. These are character traits found in the nature of Christ that the Spirit produces in us. We then read in Galatians 6:9, Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. When we allow the Spirit to work through us, we are to do it with no expectation of reward. We are to recognize the Spirit working in us and realize there may not be an earthly reward, and yet we are not to grow tired. This is much easier said than done, but if we truly recognize where this comes from, and that our reward is in heaven, we can be more accepting of our reward in the end.
18 Monday Mar 2013
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Today we begin the book of Galatians. Paul, as the author of this book, was clear in his purpose for writing it, which was to refute the teachings of the Judaizers (who taught that Gentile believers should obey the Jewish law in order to be saved). Paul explains his position in Christ very clearly in Galatians 2:20-21, 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” No matter how hard we may try to fix ourselves by following a bunch of rules, we cannot attain salvation without accepting God’s grace through Christ’s sacrifice. When we try to make ourselves better for God’s acceptance of us, we throw God’s gift back at Him. While we should always strive for righteousness, it is not righteousness that saves us. Righteousness is a product of salvation, not the other way around.
17 Sunday Mar 2013
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We finally made it through the Book of Numbers! While it was tedious at times, there was plenty of great information and even some drama and action. Ultimately, the book of Numbers is about provision. Throughout the book, God ensures His people are taken care of; they are fed, protected, and are prepared to take possession of their promised land. The lesson from this book is that God is more concerned with us than we are of ourselves. The moment we realize how much He wants to do what is best for us, the better off we will be. The book of Numbers, along with the rest of the Bible, should remind us of God’s perfect plan for our lives.
16 Saturday Mar 2013
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I honestly did not get a lot out of today’s reading, but I did gain more respect for Moses and his relationship with God. God blessed him immensely with the personal relationship they shared. God even went so far as to tell Moses when he would be taken up to heaven. Moses knew, because of a previous disobedient act, that he would not see the promised land, but God still blessed him with the knowledge of where his limits would be. We should all strive to have the same type of close relationship Moses had with God.
15 Friday Mar 2013
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The reminder of the importance of our vows in Numbers 30 was very powerful to me this morning. I think we have become a society of “best effort” individuals with a lack of real commitment. We worry more about our personal happiness over making a true commitment to tough it out when things get a little sour. This is not to say there are not reasons to break off relationships at times under the proper circumstances, but I do think there needs to be more of an effort given to things, such as marriage, when we stand before God and make a commitment. Thankfully, I am blessed beyond measure with my wife of 17 years, but I would like to think I would do everything within my power to keep the vows I’ve made to her under any circumstance.
14 Thursday Mar 2013
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Today I want to share a short video with John Piper talking about a topic that hits very close to home in convicting me. While I have become very proficient over these last few years at spending time in God’s word every day, I am not good at memorizing His word. This video is a great reminder of why we should be memorizing scripture. I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
If you ever come across anything you’d like me to post on this blog, please fee free to contact me at dino.evangelista@gmail.com.
Daily Devotion 