14 Sunday Apr 2013
Posted in Reflection
For our reflection day, I thought I would share this short video. It is a great reminder that God doesn’t require great sacrifices, but little things in a consistent way. He is God and He can make great things out of the smallest of sacrifices.
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.
13 Saturday Apr 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
Today we are finishing up the book of Joshua. This book is the fulfillment of God’s blessing on Israel with the delivery of the promised land. Joshua, Moses’ protege, has lead the Israelites into the land and conquered it. As he is about to end his time on earth he gives the Israelites a final challenge and asks who they will serve. In Joshua 24:14-15 it says, 14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” I love the way Joshua takes a leadership stance with the statement, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Sometimes we simply need to do what we know is right, regardless of what anyone else is doing.
11 Thursday Apr 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
In today’s reading in Psalm, David writes about a time when he was fleeing from his enemies. Think of the despair David must have been feeling and yet, he knew he had to praise God through it all. Psalm 57:9-10 says, 9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. When we feel the most alone, we must always remember that God is faithful to us. he never leaves us, nor keeps us from His protection and blessings if we trust in Him.
09 Tuesday Apr 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
God never leaves us on our own to accomplish anything according to His will. He expects us to do our part, but He is always there for us if we allow Him to work with us and through us. A great example of this is in Joshua 10:12-14, 12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel! This miracle literally stops the earth from spinning for 24 hours. God promises He will be there for us when we act according to His perfect plan and this is a prime example of how He can show up in a very big way.
07 Sunday Apr 2013
Posted in Reflection
I had a friend this past week who called me up and said they were struggling and were simply worn out with the grind of this life. A few hours later when I was reading through my Twitter feed I came across someone who posted this video with the caption, “If you are feeling worn out, I hope this help.” I immediately sent my friend the link. A few minutes later they responded and said this song expressed exactly how they felt. If you are feeling worn out, I hope this helps you too.
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.
06 Saturday Apr 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
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In today’s reading, I love the scene in Joshua 5 where the Israelites are camped on the plains of Jericho and are getting ready to begin conquering the promised land. They begin by celebrating Passover, just as they did before leaving Egypt, and they enjoy the fruits of the promised land for the first time. The food God had been providing the past 40 years, the manna, also stopped. It is a good reminder to us that God will always provide for us when we are in need, but He also provides the means for us to provide for ourselves. Having a strong faith in God is important, but it is not excuse for assuming we don’t need to do our part. Just as prayer is not an alternative to preparation and execution with our God-given abilities and talents.
03 Wednesday Apr 2013
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Today we start the first of two days in the book of James. This is a letter written by Jesus’ half brother James who became one of the leaders of the early church. James wrote this letter to expose hypocritical behavior and to teach how believers should live their lives. The letter also tells believer they should expect trials and they should consider it a privilege to know they are found worthy to have their faith tested. James 1:2-3 says, 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
02 Tuesday Apr 2013
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Today we finished the fifth and final book of the laws. There is so much information to grasp, but the big message I kept hearing over and over was how much God loves His people. I know it sounds like a ton of death and destruction and consequences, but the main message to me is that God never leaves His people. He even told Moses in Deuteronomy 31:16, And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. Even though God knew these people would turn their backs on Him repeatedly, God never left them. The same thing goes for us; God will never leave us no matter how bad we are or how far we stray. He loves us and wants nothing but what is best for us.
27 Wednesday Mar 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
As we read all of these individual laws, I can’t help but notice how many of these commands are common sense to us today. God does not give us laws to punish, but to protect. Yes, He wants obedience, but like a father to his children, He wants nothing more than to protect and give what is best for us. When we choose to disobey sound instruction from our Heavenly Father, we place ourselves in the presence of potential danger. Let us not ignore God, but let us obey Him and His commands because He knows what is best for us.
21 Thursday Mar 2013
Posted in Reflection
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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.
Daily Devotion 