06 Thursday Mar 2014
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2 Corinthians 2:16 is a very interesting passage, To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? As believers we should become comfortable either being a breath of fresh air or a reminder of this world’s need for Christ. Paul asks, “who is equal to such a task?”, but we must keep in mind our adequacy comes from God alone and not from our own efforts. God does not need us, He chooses us and there is a definite difference.
23 Monday Dec 2013
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The verse that stood out to me in today’s reading is Isaiah 61:10, I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. This verse most likely refers to the Messiah prophesied by Isaiah. However, this verse can also refer to us being clothes in the righteousness of Christ when we believe in Him.
13 Friday Dec 2013
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Isaiah 53 is one of the greatest prophetic descriptions of Jesus Christ as the messiah. How can we not see Christ’s description especially when we read some of the initial verses in this chapter. Verses 2-4 says, 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. These are some powerful words written hundreds of years before Christ and yet they describe Him perfectly. Each time I read this chapter in Isaiah I am in awe of its prophesy.
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.
13 Sunday Oct 2013
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Even though there is punishment for sin, God still mourns when it happens. In Jeremiah 48:36, God shows sorrow (lament) for Moab “So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe; it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth. The wealth they acquired is gone.” God’s desire is not to punish us, but he is just and requires righteousness. We can rest assured it breaks His heart to see us suffer. His desire for us is to live a life of peace.
12 Saturday Oct 2013
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The people of Judah failed to learn from their mistakes, which in turn, assured they would fail again. In Jeremiah 44:9-10 it says, 9 Have you forgotten the wickedness committed by your ancestors and by the kings and queens of Judah and the wickedness committed by you and your wives in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? 10 To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence, nor have they followed my law and the decrees I set before you and your ancestors. When we fail to learn lessons from our failures, we risk repeating our mistakes. Your past is your school of experience. Let your past mistakes point you to God and His righteous path.
02 Wednesday Oct 2013
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In today’s reading the verse that caught my eye was, Jeremiah 17:11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end they will prove to be fools. Jeremiah is saying there is a right and a wrong way to do everything. No matter what we do, whether work, school, or play, we should strive to do everything with integrity as a reflection of Christ.
01 Tuesday Oct 2013
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The verse that got my attention today is Jeremiah 13:23, Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. Our attitudes and and patterns for living can become so set that we can lose our desire to change. We must never lose sight of what is right and good.
16 Monday Sep 2013
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As we continue to read in Job we begin to see Job growing weary in his suffering. In chapter 24 Job seems to be arguing with his friends and begins to question if it is his lack of righteousness that is at fault for his suffering. We all have these thoughts at times, that it is our fault we suffer. Sometimes our suffering comes due to the consequences of our sin. However, sometimes suffering comes simply because we live in a fallen world. All we can do is look to God and ask Him for comfort, peace, and protection. It is easy to kid ourselves into thinking it is possible to get through this life without pain, but we are all destined to experience pain and suffering. Thankfully we have God at our side; loving us through it all. Lean on Him and He will guide you through.
27 Tuesday Aug 2013
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Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem prepared to find a broken wall that needs fixing. He also finds broken lives that need to repentance and a return to righteous living. With the help of Ezra, who read God’s law, the people repent and promise to change their lives by obeying God’s word. No matter where we are, we are always at risk of falling away from living a righteous and godly life. We must constantly check our behavior against the standards God has placed in the Bible. If we are faithful to follow God’s word, we will be less likely to suffer from the consequences of sin in our lives because it is meant for our protection.
Daily Devotion 