11 Monday Feb 2013
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There is so much information to digest in today’s reading, but the big thing that stood out to me was Acts 5:41, The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. How powerful of a statement is that? May we all find ourselves worthy of suffering for the Name!
10 Sunday Feb 2013
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Today is a very exciting day because we get to start one of the most exciting and powerful books of the Bible, Acts! This is such a powerful book because it is foundational to all believers. This is our heritage, it is the place where it all started for our faith. There is also a lot of controversy in this book. There are some things that believers, and non-believers alike, find difficult to accept. But, if you can get past all that, you can find this book to be a guide for what God intended us to be and do as a result of Christ’s sacrifice for our sin. There is instruction, judgement, grace, and forgiveness in this book. Let us all strive to learn and apply the things this book means to teach us.
09 Saturday Feb 2013
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Proverbs 8:34 caught my attention today, Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. May we always be the ones who wait at the doorway of God for His instruction. The time we spend each day reading through His word is what is being talked about here. We are waiting at His doorstep for Him to open His words to us as we read. What a powerful picture this is to me.
08 Friday Feb 2013
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Today was another day of tedious reading which covered the first half of the details behind the building of the Tabernacle. While it is difficult to read through all of this information, it is important to understand the precision involved behind each part and its specific purpose. God does nothing by accident or to simply give us busy-work. When it seems like we are not arriving at a solutions quick enough, it is important to trust God and know the details and the lessons from the journey are just as important as the destination.
07 Thursday Feb 2013
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I came across the picture below and I was reminded how much this world can beat on us. There are so many events that happen in our lives and people who can tear us down and cause us to question who we are and why we were created. But what speaks to me clearly through the picture below is two things: 1) Only God can provide us true rest. No amount of sleep or distraction from our everyday pain can give us the rest we need. And, 2) Only God can define who we truly are. Listen to God and be reminded that He loves you just as you are. No one can take away the beauty and perfection of who He sees in His eyes when He looks down at you through His perfect mercy and grace. May each of you have a blessed day.
Enjoy your day of reflecting on Him. We will get back to our reading list tomorrow.
06 Wednesday Feb 2013
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I couldn’t sleep so I decided to have an extra early time of Devotions today. The passage that stood out to me on this early morning was the second part of Exodus 33:19, …I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. We are not entitled to know God’s will, but we must trust and know that he has a perfect plan. It is never easy to fully trust anyone. We all know people are ultimately capable of letting us down. For that reason we must know that God wants what is best for His kingdom. We don’t need justification from Him, we just need to know He’s got it under control.
05 Tuesday Feb 2013
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The last part of today’s reading in Exodus was a great reminder to keep the Sabbath. There are definitely some practical reasons to keep the Sabbath, such as restoration both mentally and physically. However, we must not forget that this is our weekly opportunity to be restored spiritually. Yes, we are to spend time with God daily, but without focusing and reflecting on God with deliberate intent, it is difficult to set the proper direction for our lives. The Sabbath should be our time to course-correct our path each week. It is no wonder that we arrive at a place sometime in the future and can’t figure out how we got there. The application of today’s reading for my life is to take the Sabbath each week to deliberately review where I’ve been and properly set my path for the coming week (not the coming year). It’s easy to set lofty goals, but if we cannot focus on the here and now, we will miss that mark every time.
04 Monday Feb 2013
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As I read this mornings passages in Exodus, I kept thinking how tedious it was just reading it. Then I realized how tedious it must have been to actually build it. I like to do woodworking when I have a spare moment and I know how much effort it takes to build something of quality and precision. How much more it must have been to build something to the glory of God? It’s not enough to do things for God as a “check mark” and to simply say we completed a task. We must remember when we do things for a righteous God we are doing it for His glory. We must take the time and effort to bring glory to Him and be a reflection of His perfection.
03 Sunday Feb 2013
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This morning’s read was a tough one, but it is necessary to fully understand God’s grace. Without the full understanding of God’s law, it is difficult to grasp the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for our sins. This is not the last time we will read about the law. In fact, it will become far more tedious than today’s read, but I challenge you to read it with eyes that point back to God’s righteousness and the mercy He has on us in showing grace through the redeeming power of Jesus’ blood.
02 Saturday Feb 2013
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Sorry for the late post, but its been one of those Saturdays where you start early and the next thing you know you are having a crappy day and you finally realize its because you failed to make your first priority time in God’s word. Now that I’m here, my day feels much better. Anyway…
In today’s reading, we are following Moses as he receives timely advice from his father-in-law. Moses has been attempting to be all things to the people of Israel and as Jethro observes, he steps in and suggests that Moses spread some of the burden of responsibility to other righteous and respected men of Israel. What stood out to me was, once Moses was able to get away from the day-to-day tactical aspects of his time, he was finally able to spend time with God to receive the Ten Commandments. This is an applicable example to me because it made me realize how much God will not trust me with more if I cannot take the time to lift myself out of urgent, yet not important, tasks and follow His leading to what really is important. God wants me to do the things that matter most, not just the things that fill up my time. My prayer today is for God to calm my spirit and reveal to me what matters most to Him so I can do that above all else.
Daily Devotion 