12 Monday Nov 2012
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In today’s reading both chapters talked about God’s deliverance of David from his enemies. Psalm 64:10 summed it up for me, Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; let all the upright in heart praise him! As the righteous children of God, we can take refuge in Him, knowing He will never leave us alone no matter how bad things get for us. In all things we are to give God the praise He deserves.
09 Friday Nov 2012
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My apologies for posting this so late today. In reading this evening, what jumped out to me is verse 2, Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction. Always be ready to serve God in any situation. I need to always be ready and never wait until it is convenient. “God moments” don’t always present themselves clearly. We must always be ready when they present themselves to us and we must act.
06 Tuesday Nov 2012
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No matter what our circumstances, God does not want us to be fearful. He gives us strength and courage to face any obstacle. Verse 7 says, For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self‑discipline. What caught my attention this morning is the word love. God doesn’t want us to bully our opinions into the world, He wants us to be confident about what we believe and where we stand. Most importantly, He wants us to show love throughout everything that we do and say as His ambassadors to this world.
04 Sunday Nov 2012
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Psalm 32:9 thumped me on the head this morning, Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. I should not be so stubborn about listening to God that He has to put a bit in my mouth and force me in the right direction. If I concentrate on building my relationship with Him, It will be much less painful and forced to go where God wants me to go. In the end, God’s plan is perfect; I just need to fight Him less on it.
01 Thursday Nov 2012
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Today we are in one of the most powerful chapters of the entire Bible. Hebrews 11, the “Faith” chapter, does an amazing job of outlining examples of faith throughout the Bible. This morning, I thought about being lazy and just talking about verse 1 because it is one of the most talked about verses in the Bible, Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. While this is a powerful and foundational verse that gives a clear definition of Faith, I read on as Paul gave several examples of faith and found verse 13 which says, All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. Sometimes faith is not about seeing the results of what we ask for. Faith is about trusting that God’s plan really is perfect and the results I desire and expect are not necessarily the outcomes I receive. It is about trusting God to deliver the results for His desires and not mine.
30 Tuesday Oct 2012
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In this chapter, after Paul talks about everything that had to be done for the atonement of sin prior to Christ’s sacrifice, he moves onto verse 14, How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Christ is the complete answer for the atonement of sin. There is nothing I can do to make it any more perfect or complete. When guilt grips me because of my imperfection, I must remember that Christ is enough. He is able to help me overcome the sin that attempts to control me and I must continuously lean on Him to help me fight for obedience to Him.
28 Sunday Oct 2012
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Everyday, as sin creeps into my life, I feel beat down by my shortcomings. I have to be reminded that I am incapable of perfection. I needed Christ in my life to forgive my past and present sins and I continue to need Him because He forgave my future sins. Verse 25 says, Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. It is a continual process. While Christ died once, He is continually interceding for us because of our ongoing imperfection. It is comforting to know I am not alone and the expectation is not perfection, but obedience.
27 Saturday Oct 2012
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Understanding and applying the basics of our faith is extremely important. But there comes a time when we need to move beyond the foundations of our faith and begin to build the structure of our intended relationship with God. Verses 1-2 says, Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. All these things are extremely important to our faith, but they are just the beginning. We need to move beyond the basics and into deeper relationship and level of obedience in order to fulfill the perfect plan God has for each of our lives.
26 Friday Oct 2012
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Verse 7 really stood out to me today, During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Even Jesus who was already holy while He was here on earth cried out to God when He was about to be put to death. As humans we would look at the situation God put Jesus in with bitterness. However, while Jesus asked for deliverance from the only One who could save Him, it was enough to know that God heard His cries. I want to be that kind of man; one who is satisfied to know God hears me, but who’s will is ultimately more important than my own.
20 Saturday Oct 2012
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The verse that stood out to me today was the only one that did not have a note directly associated with it in my Bible. So, I’m on my own in sharing my thoughts about verse 8, Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. There are a lot of things we can do to serve others and to serve God. However, if we do not do them with love then it doesn’t mean very much. Love matters in all things. Love changes the perspective for us in everything we do. It’s like the book my Bob Goff, “Love Does”, where he talks about love being the motivator behind everything. This one thing has the potential to change the way and frequency of following God’s command to serving others.
Daily Devotion 