01 Sunday Mar 2015
Posted in Reflection
I found this clip by J.I. Packer very interesting and accurate. The church is becoming something it was never intended to become. It’s supposed to be about bringing us into a true relationship with God and to truly know Him. Unfortunately, in many cases, we are failing.
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27 Friday Feb 2015
Posted in Daily Reading
Jesus loves us and wants a relationship with us. And like any other relationship, it requires selflessness and an understanding that life does not necessarily get easier; though it is more fulfilling. Jesus warned His disciples of what true relationship with Him meant in Mark 10:38, “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” Jesus wasn’t ridiculing His disciples for asking to be at His side in glory, but He did warn them that the road to glory would not be easy. Those of us who think this life and the path to eternity exists without obstacles are fooling themselves.
23 Monday Feb 2015
Posted in Daily Reading
Money is the great deceiver. It promises happiness and fulfillment, but often delivers neither; only God can truly do those things for us. In Luke 16:13 Jesus says, “No servant can serve two Masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.You cannot serve both God and money.” While money in and of itself is not evil, the love of money is. It can become a god that takes our attention away from serving God. If money, or the pursuit of money, keeps us from fulfilling God’s purposes for our lives, then we are focused on the wrong things. Whatever we choose to put into our lives should allow us to be more productive for the Kingdom of God, not keep us from fully serving Him.
20 Friday Feb 2015
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As believers, we are supposed to be the salt of the world. Without the knowledge of God and Christ’s sacrifice, this world has no meaning or purpose, which is why that knowledge brings flavor and meaning to our existence. In Luke 14:34 Jesus says, “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?” Even as believers, we can lose our “saltiness” and lose our impact on this world. This is the reason why a growing and healthy relationship with God is so important. Without His presence in our lives and constant guidance, we are at risk of losing our way, and in turn, losing the impact we are supposed to have on this world.
19 Thursday Feb 2015
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We like to think of heaven as a continuation of what we started here on earth. But the truth is the slate will be wiped clean and those who impacted the Kingdom of God the most will be first no matter how other men viewed them here. In Luke 13:30 Jesus says, “Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” Let us put God first in all we do so that we will be first in His Kingdom.
06 Friday Feb 2015
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Making the decision to follow Christ is the best decision we could ever make. However, it is not a one time decision to follow Him, it is a daily act of obedience. Luke 9:23 says, Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” We must choose to follow Christ and be led by him each and every day.
20 Tuesday Jan 2015
Posted in Daily Reading
When we realize how much God has forgiven us of our sin, it is easy to have an overwhelming sense of gratitude for all He has done. Conversely, when we rely on our own strength for obedience and righteousness we fail to fully see God’s presence in our lives. In today’s reading we clearly see the contrast of the two as a sinful woman overwhelmingly shows Christ her gratitude while the Pharisees feel entitled to being in Christ’s presence. In response to this Jesus says in Luke 7:47, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little love little.” It’s not that the Pharisees were less sinful in God’s eyes, it is that the Pharisees were less sinful in their own eyes. For this reason they failed to fully see God’s necessity in their lives. Let us always remember how much we need God, and therefore, pursue Him even more each day.
16 Friday Jan 2015
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Our reward for obedience and our relationship with God does not come in this lifetime. Our reward comes in heaven. In Matthew 6:19-20 Jesus said, 19 Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. When we worry about the things of this life we hold ourselves back from looking forward to our true reward in heaven and we limit our effectiveness for the glory of God.
15 Thursday Jan 2015
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The last verse in today’s reading can be very intimidating; Matthew 5:48, Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus does not expect us to attain perfection, but He does expect us to strive for perfection. He also does not expect us to strive for perfection on our own, but through submission to God’s will and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us spend our efforts looking to God for the power and strength to be more like Christ each day.
13 Tuesday Jan 2015
Posted in Daily Reading
When we are obedient to God, nothing else matters. This may seem harsh, but we must have the mindset that bringing glory to God is more important than anything else in our lives. Jesus modeled this in Mark 3:33 when His mother and brothers came to see Him, “Who are my mother and my brother’s?” he asked. When it came to serving God the Father, everything else came second. This is a hard notion to comprehend, much less put into practice, but it is the expectation from God’s perspective.
Daily Devotion 