24 Thursday May 2012
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While we started off as slaves, we have become actual heirs through Christ’s sacrifice. Verse 7 puts it very simply, So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. According to the notes in my Bible, under Roman law, an adopted child was guaranteed all legal rights to his Father’s property, even if he was a former slave, he was equal to the other sons. By being adopted by God through His son we are full heirs.
22 Tuesday May 2012
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Today we read another one of my favorite passages in the Bible. Verse 20 says, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Because Christ died for our sins, we are no longer condemned. Our life, as a believer, began when in unity with Christ, we died to our sins. We can not take this for granted. Regardless of how we choose to live our lives, we must remember that this is the foundational truth of what makes us believers in Christ.
13 Sunday May 2012
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Ahhh, I just love the book of James… Did I mention that already? Anyway, in James 2 there are some powerful words about faith and works we Christians love to wrestle with. There are some of us who like to believe that faith alone is sufficient. Then there are those of us who think works are necessary for either salvation or proof of a changed heart. My humble opinion is there is more to the story. Verses 17 – 19 bring a lot to the discussion, 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder. Faith alone implies that belief is sufficient and in verse 19 it clearly states that “even the demons believe”. Our faith and our belief should lead us into relationship with God, which in turn should compel us into action and to serve Him. We simply can not take Jesus’ sacrifice and accept it as the end of our responsibilities when He clearly commanded us to be His hands and feet. Remember Matthew 25:44-45?? 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ If we are not producing action and following His commands based on our faith then as verse 17 says it is dead. For some reason there are Christians who believe that works somehow cheapens Christ’s sacrifice for us. I believe that our actions reinforce the power of a changed heart that can only come from His sacrifice and perfect love for us.
19 Thursday Apr 2012
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This is one of the most powerful stories our faith. Stephen, a man with a serving heart and bold spirit, was not afraid to speak the truth. Even to the point where is cost him his life, he was willing to speak the truth. The thing I love the most about Stephen is that he was the perfect reflection of Christ. I hope that I can somehow do the same no matter what the circumstance.
07 Wednesday Mar 2012
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I struggled In today’s reading when I got to verse 24 where it says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” When I read this passage It always makes me think I do not have enough faith to move mountains, and while I think it is sometimes true, I think there is more to this story. Motives for our prayers and desired outcomes are important. Our faith should always be focused on God and not in the object of our prayer. If we focus only on the object of our requests, then if God refuses we are left with nothing. Our focus should always be on God and the desire to further His kingdom and the realization that He has a perfect plan.
01 Thursday Mar 2012
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I know we often take this verse out of context, but I love what Jesus says in verse 26, Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” The truth is there are a lot of things that are impossible for us as imperfect humans. With God there are no impossibilities. He is the creator of the universe and as such He can do anything and everything. We need to remember that we do not stand alone. When we think we cannot do something, we need to remember that with God anything is possible.
07 Tuesday Feb 2012
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Verse 3 says, “He told them: “Take nothing for the journey–no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.” Jesus asked His disciples to trust that all their needs would be provided. It took a great amount of faith on the disciple’s part to trust in the provision of all their needs. We were just talking tonight in our small group at church about this very topic. We took some time to pray that God would provide a bold prayer for audacious faith and boldly asking God to provide for us. I actually had a hard time thinking of something. The problem for me is I know that everything I want and everything I need is actually attainable through my own efforts. I think sometimes as Americans it is harder to trust in God for His provision because we have so much. It is easy to look at all that we have and think of it as something we attained for ourselves. I want to have the kind of faith where I can take nothing with me and trust God to provide all my needs. My wife Nancy put beautifully when she said we should never put God in a box. God is so much bigger and more capable that my simple mind can comprehend.
05 Sunday Feb 2012
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In this chapter, my focus was turned to Jesus walking on the water. Peter’s experience is very much how I am with Jesus in my own walk sometimes. When my eyes are focused on Him, I can handle any of life’s obstacles. But when I focus on the waves crashing all around me, I struggle dealing with the issue at hand. God never asked me to suck it up. He asked me to trust in Him and know that He will never leave me alone. When I stop long enough to see this, my level of understanding leaves me at peace. The other day a friend posted the following dialog on her Facebook page…
Me: God, can I ask You a question?
God: Sure
Me: Promise You won’t get mad…
God: I promise
Me: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do u mean?
Me: Well, I woke up late
God: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start
God: Okay
Me: at lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait
God: Hmm
Me: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call
God: All right
Me: And on top of it all off, when I got home, I just wanted to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. BUT it wouldn’t work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?
God: Let me see, the death angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that
Me (humbled): OH
GOD: I didn’t let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me: (ashamed)
God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn’t want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn’t afford to miss work.
Me (embarrassed):Okay
God: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn’t even let you talk to them so you would be covered.
Me (softly): I see God
God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a shortage that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn’t think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I’m Sorry God
God: Don’t be sorry, just learn to Trust Me…. in All things , the Good & the bad.
Me: I will trust You.
God: And don’t doubt that My plan for your day is Always Better than your plan.
Me: I won’t God. And let me just tell you God, Thank You for Everything today.
God: You’re welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I Love looking after My Children…
04 Saturday Feb 2012
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This chapter’s theme is about being ready for persecution of our faith. Jesus made it clear that we would be persecuted, which means we should never be surprised when we are. As Americans we have no idea what true persecution looks like. I hope if I am ever truly persecuted I will be able to withstand whatever comes my way. Verse 39 makes it clear, “9 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” I need to always remember that honoring God is the most important thing I can ever do because my blessing will be for eternity.
30 Monday Jan 2012
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In this chapter Jesus spends a lot of time going through a bunch of parables. The one that stood out in my mind was the parable of the Four Soils. The part of that parable that caught my eye was in verse 13 where it says, “13 This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.” I find it amazing how much this verse applies to our current world. How many people choose to ignore God in our present age. When Jesus was talking to the people at that time, I’m sure He already had in mind that our current world would reject Him as well. I praise God that He has blessed me with the knowledge of His existence and the importance of who He is in my life. I don’t know what I would do without Him.
Daily Devotion 