15 Sunday May 2016
Posted in Reflection
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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.
14 Saturday May 2016
Posted in Daily Reading
The circumstances of our lives should never dictate our joy. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Paul says, 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. If we are able to obey these three things, we begin to see people around us and the circumstances of our lives in a whole new light. Additionally, when we live life according to God’s plan for our lives, we will find it much easier to be joyful and thankful for all we have.
13 Friday May 2016
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Much like our current culture, morality in the Roman Empire was very low. Paul recognized that perfection is impossible, but striving to be holy is not. In 1 Thessalonians 4:7 Paul says, For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Allowing sin to run unabated in our lives leads to harsh consequences; physically, emotionally, and Spiritually. Only through trusting in God and leading of the Holy Spirit can we combat the desire for sin in our lives.
12 Thursday May 2016
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If God’s love truly lives in us, it will be overflowing to those around us. In 1 Thessalonians 3:12 encourages the believers, May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. It is not just being “nice” to others, it is an active outpouring of love to everyone around us as a reflection of God’s love for us.
11 Wednesday May 2016
Posted in Daily Reading
Paul spent time in today’s reading thanking the Thessalonians for their ability to hear God’s word for what it was instead of just words coming from men. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul says, And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. When we open ourselves up to listening to God’s word, we allow ourselves to be opened to allowing it to influence every part of our being. God gave us His word for our benefit, but we can only be influenced by it if we spend time reading and allowing it to direct us.
10 Tuesday May 2016
Posted in Daily Reading
Today we begin the first letter from Paul to the church in Thessalonica. The beauty of Paul’s letters is they are applicable for all time, including our present circumstances. In this letter, Paul wrote to the Thessalonians to help strengthen their faith. This particular church was very young (less than two years old) and they needed to continue to mature in their faith as they allowed themselves to be distracted by things that had little value in serving Christ in their present circumstances. This letter is applicable to us because we do the same thing every day. We allow ourselves to be distracted by our present circumstances and lose site of the process God that leads us through the fabric of His eternal plan. Let us take the time to trust in Him to lead us through the hard times knowing we are part of something much bigger than us.
09 Monday May 2016
Posted in Daily Reading
After everything Christ had done and everything the disciples tried to do to bring the Jews into believing Christ was the Messiah and savior of the world, they still rejected the truth. In Acts 18:6 Paul says, But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on you own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” It is because the Jews thoroughly rejected Christ that Paul finally decided to fully concentrate on reaching the Gentile. It is because of this that the rest of the world found Jesus. The Roman Empire (aka Gentiles) became the perfect vehicle to spread the Gospel throughout the rest of the world. It may not have always been pretty, but it was effective and something we should all be thankful for because ultimately it reach us.
08 Sunday May 2016
Posted in Reflection
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Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing moms out there. May we never take for granted all you do for us.
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
07 Saturday May 2016
Posted in Daily Reading
It is sad to watch how many people find more comfort in putting their trust in the unknown rather than the known God who created us and loves us all. In today’s reading we see how Paul addresses this same thing with the Greeks in Berea in Acts 17:22-23, 22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. Right after college I spent a summer in Thailand. While I was visiting Buddhist temples I saw this same inscription under a statue in the corner of a temple one day. I was overwhelmed with sadness to know there was so much uncertainty they felt the need to cover all their bases with this “god”. How thankful and comforting it is to know exactly who our God is.
06 Friday May 2016
Posted in Daily Reading
It is hard to continually do good and see little to no results. But in Galatians 6:9 Paul challenges us to keep going, Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. God’s plan and timing are perfect. If we trust in Him, He will provide the harvest for our hard work in due time.
Daily Devotion 