06 Thursday Feb 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
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I loved reading 1 Thessalonians 3:12 today, May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. When God’s love is great in our lives, it is overflowing. God has so much love to give it should spill out over our lives and to the lives of other. When I feel like I am low on loving others, it is usually because I am lacking in my ability to openly feel God’s love in me.
30 Monday Dec 2013
Posted in Reflection
It’s not about being a good person. It’s about being like Jesus. This video challenges each of us to reflect on and examine how we live each day… and how we love others.
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.
29 Sunday Dec 2013
Posted in Reflection
From the video’s description on YouTube:
“John 3:16 – The Story of Love” came from the movie Most (The Bridge), a beautiful Oscar-nominated movie and winner of many prestigious film festivals that tells the story of the close relationship between a bridge operator and his young son and the fateful day when both try to head off an impending rail disaster. This video is narrated by Reggie Dabbs through his sermon at Planetshakers Conference 2007.
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.
26 Thursday Dec 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
There is only one true God. Since the beginning of time, there is only one God who can do all He has done. Isaiah 64:4 says, Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. God’s greatest desire is to have a relationship with us and to be our protector and provider. All the judgement and suffering we read about in these passages comes from our disobedience and rebellion from God. Let us remember that God is a loving God. He also requires justice, but He never stops loving us.
25 Wednesday Dec 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
Merry Christmas everyone! May you have a blessed day. While the words we are reading may seem heavy, they are the culmination of what we celebrate today. What began in a simple manger will ultimately lead to complete victory in Christ.
20 Friday Dec 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
Isaiah 59:1 hit me right between the eyes today, Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. When we think no one can help us, we must remember that God is able. He may choose to wait, but He is able to do anything including perform miracles. We must never stop asking God for help and we must never stop expecting God to act in our lives. No task is ever too big or too small because He loves us.
09 Saturday Nov 2013
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Love, Peace, Power, Protection
We have finally come to the end of the book of Ezekiel. The book started by describing the holiness of God that the people of Israel had grown to ignore. God’s presence left the temple as a result of their rebellion. In the end, the book details visions of the new temple in a new city and new people, all of which continues to describe God’s holiness. Our imperfect lives may cause us to lose focus on God and only see the here and now. But we must always return to God’s presence in our lives. If we let Him, God will never let us feel alone. When things are at their worst, always remember God is with us.
29 Tuesday Oct 2013
Posted in Reflection
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Compassion, Love, Peace, Trust
Three years ago this past Saturday, my dad passed away from a relatively short battle with cancer. While both of my parents have always meant a lot to me, I always credit my dad for making me the man that I am today. The memory of his life is always one of respected and honor. But the memory of his last year with us is painful. To watch this man suffer and experience the tremendous amounts of pain he endured burns sadness in my heart.
The day before the anniversary of his death, I came across a post on Facebook with the following article. It painted, in pictures, the journey one man took watching his wife succumb to breast cancer. In the three years since my dad’s death, I have never found a closer representation (though far from exact) of what we went through watching my dad suffer. The author warns of the last three pictures, not because of anything graphic, but because he said “the last 3 photos destroyed me”. It destroyed me too.
This Guy’s Wife Got Cancer, So He Did Something Unforgettable. The Last 3 Photos Destroyed Me.
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.
20 Sunday Oct 2013
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The verse that stood out to me the most today was 2 John 1:6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. Loving one another is a recurring theme throughout the Bible and it is a reflection of Christ’s love that we are to show one another. There are many hurting people in this world and it is easy to forget that not everyone knows Christ’s love for us. It is our responsibility to be that reflection of who He is and how much He cares for us.
18 Friday Oct 2013
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Today we begin the first letter of John the Apostle. The letter was written to no church in particular, but to all Christians to encourage them in their faith and to counter false witnesses. It was written around 85-90 AD.
One of the false lies we like to tell ourselves is that we do not have sin as bad as the next guy. The truth is our sin, in God’s eyes, is the same no matter how big or how small. In 1 John 1:8 it says, If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Let us not deceive ourselves or think we are deceiving others, including God, with our own delusional perceptions of our righteousness. None of us can claim to be better than anyone else. Our only boast is in the knowledge of Christ’s saving grace.
Another thought from today’s reading comes from 1 John 3:18 where it says Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. We can say kind words and tell those around us how much we love them, but if our actions do not match what we say, it is meaningless. I have heard it said many times, Love is a verb. Let us love others with our actions instead of our prideful words.
Daily Devotion 