22 Saturday Jun 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
There are plenty of examples of Kings in the history of Israel who tried to do what was right. The problem was that many of these kings failed to remove everything that was evil in the kingdom, which simply gave evil a foothold to come back. This is a great example for our lives. When we choose to do what is right, we must choose to eradicate everything that could have a foothold in our lives. This is how we move forward. Anything less will have a temporary affect.
16 Sunday Jun 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
Forgiveness, Grace, Mercy, Obedience, Relationship, Repentance
Today we read the story of Jonah. Jonah is very much like most of us. God has a plan and wants to use us to fulfill His plan, but many times we fight Him on it. We make excuses and find ways to avoid doing what we know He wants us to do. In the end, Jonah was finally obedient to God and when God blessed Jonah’s effort by turning the people of Nineveh from their evil way, Jonah became resentful of God for allowing the people of Nineveh to be forgiven. We can sometimes be like this too. There are people in our pasts who have hurt us or caused pain in our lives and God has blessed them. This is sometimes a hard pill to swallow, but it is God’s prerogative to forgive who he chooses to forgive. It helps to remember that God forgave us too. None of us is exempt from a sinful life and all of us need His mercy and grace to come into His presence.
We also read Psalm 84 today. The beginning of verse 10 is one of the most beautiful passages I have ever read, Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. We are nothing without God’s presence in our lives. If we could only be in God’s presence for a single moment, it would be enough. Thankfully God desires for us to be in His presence on a constant basis. It is up to us to take advantage of that desire and choose to be with Him.
12 Wednesday Jun 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
This part of the story of the kings of Israel is always sad to me. It seems like the leaders are confused about how to lead God’s people. Instead of working in the basics and following God’s laws, they choose to mix what they know is truth with what they hope to be true. The lesson for us is to know that following God and having a relationship with Him is not that complicated. It is simply a matter of obedience and trusting God to be all we need.
11 Tuesday Jun 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
Even though God granted Solomon his request for wisdom, in the end, Solomon failed to use his wisdom to make wise choices in guard his heart. This is actually one of the hardest things for us to do. We must look to God for wisdom and strength so that we can protect our hearts against evil influences. Had Solomon protected himself against having so many wives who did not have his same convictions and love for The Lord, his life probably would have ended under happier circumstances. More over, the sins of his life affected his children and generation to come after him.
09 Sunday Jun 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
In today’s reading we see Solomon building the temple of God. I always find it interesting to know that God would not allow David to build a temple because of the amount of blood on David’s hands. While David shed the blood of others out of necessity and obedience to God, it still kept him from being able to build the temple. The lesson here for us is to always remember that obedience to God is always intended for His glory, not ours. God may ask us to do something we are not comfortable doing. While I doubt He will ever ask us to do something immoral, unethical, or illegal; we may be ask to do something uncomfortable or that may cause us to be rejected by people around us. Our comfort here on this earth is not guaranteed by God. Our comfortable lives are a blessing, not a promise. If we are obedient to Him in all we do, our reward is in heaven and that is the only promise he has given us.
28 Tuesday May 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
In 2 Samuel 7 we see David wanting to build a place of honor for the ark of God. But God tells David it is not necessary. As God explains it, His ark has been in a tent since the day the Israelites left Egypt. God is not concerned with the things of this world. He does not need the same physical things we think we need. He is concerned with the hearts of men and their obedience to His commands. We should remember this when we think we need fancy buildings and creative worship “experiences” in our churches. God doesn’t need or want any of those things. If we are available to Him with open and obedient lives, God will use us more than any cathedral ever could.
17 Friday May 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
In today’s reading, the Israelites beg for a king. Up until now they have had judges to rule over them. Samuel warns the people of what it will be like to have a king over them, but they want it anyway. While Israel had some good kings, there were many times when the kings led the people to corruption and sometimes even captivity. In the end, the Israelites should have been satisfied with God’s leadership. This is a great example for us. We should be looking to God for guidance and not man. There is a place for human leadership, but if we are not weighing it against God’s desires, we will miss the mark altogether.
14 Tuesday May 2013
Posted in Reflection
This video simply made me think. I’m 45 years old and the older I get, the more I think about eternity. The truth is that none of us make it out of this life alive. We have to be OK with knowing this life is temporary but the things we choose to spend our time on have eternal consequences.
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.
09 Thursday May 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
When we focus on the things Christ commanded of us, there is not enough space in our lives to please our sinful nature. Romans 14:14 says, Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. By covering our minds, and in turn our lives, with Christ, there is no room for the evil desires of our heart. When we study who Christ is and how we can exemplify Him, we reflect him through us. May each of us strive to be more like Christ, and not necessarily what other people tell us to be like, but by studying His words and following His commandments.
28 Sunday Apr 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
I don’t have a lot to say about today’s reading. The obvious observation is that the Israelites continue to fall away from God and run to Him when things go wrong. Some times they have major breakdowns where a judge blatantly turns from God. But sometimes it is something minor and a small choice that leads them down a wrong path. The lesson here is to not assume it is just the big things that make us turn from God. Most of the time it is a minor decision that leads us down a wrong path. Consistency is the key to leading and maintaining a righteous life.
Daily Devotion 