2016 Day 116 – James 3

25 Monday Apr 2016

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James takes time today to talk about how powerful the tongue can be. He uses the rudder on a boat to illustrate the tongue’s potential affect. Though both the tongue and rudder are significantly small parts of a greater body, both can have a tremendous effect on where and how they leads. In Jame 3:5 it says, Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The illustration of what a small spark can do to an entire forest is powerful when you consider the potential behind seemingly insignificant words. Words can be used to build confidence and esteem, and words can be used to crush and cause pain. The tongue is the most powerful part of our bodies and we must treat it as such when it comes to impacting others.

2016 Day 115 – Reflection Day

24 Sunday Apr 2016

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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.

2016 Day 114 – James 2

23 Saturday Apr 2016

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We do not need to do anything to receive salvation. Christ did it all through His crucifixion on the cross. So what is James trying to say in James 2:26? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. He is not talking about salvation. He is talking about a changed and obedient life. Christ saves us from our imperfect lives and gives us the freedom to not be enslaved by our sin nature. If we do not take advantage of that freedom to act for the benefit of others, then what was the point of salvation? Freedom gives us the ability to choose a life fulfilled and happy through Christ. If we don’t take advantage of it, we are wasting the gift of salvation.

2016 Day 113 – James 1

22 Friday Apr 2016

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No one likes to suffer under any circumstances, but in today’s reading James talks about considering it “pure joy” when we face trouble. James 1:2-3 says, 2 Consider it pure joy, my brother, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Notice how James does not say “if“, but “whenever” you face trials. We will all face trials of many kinds throughout our lives, but “joy” implies having a positive outlook because of the potential learning these trials can have in our lives. Ultimately, if we allow it, trials can lead us to develop perseverance (also called patience and steadfastness) in our lives.

2016 Day 112 – Acts 14

21 Thursday Apr 2016

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In today’s reading we find Barnabas and Peter perform a miraculous healing in Lystra. This caused the people to think they were Greek gods. But Paul and Barnabas corrected the men in Acts 14:15, “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. It is easy to take the credit for being awesome when we act with God’s help, but we must always remember it is God who gets all the glory in all circumstances. That doesn’t mean we can’t feel good about our accomplishments, we just need to remember the purpose of all we do in the end is to impact eternity.

2016 Day 111 – Acts 13

20 Wednesday Apr 2016

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Today we read about Paul’s start to his ministry. Paul goes through a lot of explanation about how and why Jesus came to us. Paul also explains why the gospel was made available to the Gentiles and not just the Jews. In Acts 13:46 it says, Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourself worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.” God planned the light to come from the Jews, but the light spread to all people. Praise God for allowing the light to spread to each of us so we could have eternal life.

2016 Day 110 – Acts 12

19 Tuesday Apr 2016

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When Herod addressed the people about their quarreling, they called him a god and not a man. The results are described in Acts 12:22-23, 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise  to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. Pride is a terrible sin and God chose to punish Herod immediately. While God does not punish all sin in this lifetime, He will bring all to judgement. Praise God for He gives us a way out if we simply choose to take it.

2016 Day 109 – Acts 11

18 Monday Apr 2016

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Our legacy as believers started in the early days of the Church. I love reading the last sentence in Acts 11:26 where it says, The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. This is where it all started. People can argue all they want about the genealogy of what happened, but they cannot argue about where we came from. We are Christians because we came from Christ. We should not be ashamed of that designation. But somehow being called a Christian is not acceptable any more and that is sad. I am proud to be called a believer, Christian, follower of Christ, or whatever you want to call me. Christ saved me; all to Him I owe.

2016 Day 108 – Reflection Day

17 Sunday Apr 2016

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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.

2016 Day 107 – Acts 10

16 Saturday Apr 2016

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Too often we give too much credit to the person doing God’s work instead of who they are doing it for. In Acts 10:25-26 Peter shows a great example, 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up, “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” Obedience is critically important, but glory must always be give to God. We are all nothing more than men and women who love Jesus and want to spread the good news about Him. This does not make us any more special, just blessed and privileged to be used by Him.