08 Wednesday Jan 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
Because of Stephen’s conviction and courage, he was martyred for his faith. At no point did Stephen avoid the facts or the truth. He knew the consequences of his faith and he looked up to heaven and accepted God’s plan for his life. I hope that in all circumstances I would do the same thing. My eyes should always turn to heaven and look to God for His plan for my life no matter the outcome.
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.
29 Friday Nov 2013
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John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. The following video is about Sir Nicholas Winton, who organised the rescue and passage to Britain of about 669 mostly Jewish Czechoslovakian children in an operation known as the “Czech Kindertransport”. Winton also found homes for these children. The children who were rescued were destined for the Nazi death camps before World War II. Sir Winton never talked about his humanitarian acts to anyone after the war. His acts of sacrifice and kindness were discovered by his wife when she found a detailed scrapbook in his attic in 1988. The video below is a clip of a BBC Program “That’s Life” which aired in 1988.
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15 Tuesday Oct 2013
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Today we finish up the book of Jeremiah. While it has not been an easy book to read, we must remember this book is not just about God’s judgement, but about God’s control over everything. When we think the whole world is falling apart around us, we must acknowledge that God is not surprised by any of it.
It is also important to realize that Jeremiah was unsuccessful in the eyes of everyone around him. He prophesied the destruction of the nation of Israel and yet no one listened to him. But in the end, his prophesies came true and he did exactly what God asked him to do. While the world’s definition of success may not show our lives as successful, we must look to God and His definition of success for our lives.
19 Friday Apr 2013
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I am sorry I’m so late in getting today’s post out. The verse that stood out to me today was Matthew 15:11, What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” We must always be careful with what comes out of our mouths. We don’t always have control over what is seen by our eyes, but we can certainly control what goes out and how other people perceive us.
25 Monday Mar 2013
Posted in Daily Reading
Unfortunately, I did not get a lot from today’s reading we have not already discussed. However, as I have said before, it amazes me at the level of detail God puts into the instruction He gives to the Israelites through Moses. I know we no longer live under the law to receive salvation, but there is a lot of wisdom in the commands given to the Israelites (including the command to not eat vultures). There is nothing listed in the Bible by accident or without purpose. We must continue to read and digest every word because it is important, if for no other reason than to point us back to our imperfection without God’s saving grace through Christ’s sacrifice.
22 Friday Feb 2013
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Sorry it too so long for me to post today. I completed the reading early this morning, but I was never able to return to write down my thoughts in the post. Unfortunately, I don’t have much of a comment on today’s reading except to say there is a lot of blood shed in the sacrifices described in the law. Ultimately there needs to be atonement for sin and it comes with a price. Never take it for granted that God demands atonement for sin, which makes Christ’s sacrifice that much more significant.
22 Tuesday Jan 2013
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Mark 8:35 is always a good reminder of what my priorities should be, For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. It does me no good to be concerned with self-preservation in this life, when the only life that matters is my life in eternity. As I start a new job today, this is a good nudge to remember my true purpose in this life. While I do not want to beat people with the gospel of Christ, I do need to be a reflection of Him in my life. I must keep Him in the front of my mind in all I do today and everyday.
14 Monday Jan 2013
Posted in Reflection
If you know me, you know I’m a huge Francis Chan fan. For this week’s reflection day I decided to share one of my favorite videos. It’s only 4 minutes, 20 seconds long, but it’s a powerful video that illustrates our lives in the light of eternity and asks the question, “What are you living for?” I hope you enjoy it. Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments of this post.
11 Tuesday Dec 2012
Posted in Daily Reading
We must always remember that our reward is in heaven. Verse 13 says, “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” This chapter shows the saints enduring tremendous persecution and suffering, but they knew they were living for God’s glory and not their own. Their suffering and labor was relieved when they found rest in heaven. We tend to get hung up on finding the easy life here on earth. The truth is it doesn’t exist. We will find rest in our promised reward when we go to be with The Lord eternally in heaven. Until then, remember it is all for His glory!
Daily Devotion 