06 Sunday Jul 2014
Posted in Reflection
Tags
Where would I be without Jesus? That is a question I often ask myself. The video below by Shane and Shane reminded me how empty my life would be without Him. In the end, I could have it all and still have nothing if not for His saving grace and the Holy Spirit’s presence in my life.
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.
26 Thursday Jun 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
Today’s verse that stood out was Revelation 7:10, And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” There is only one way to salvation and that is through the saving grace of God through the perfect lamb of Jesus Christ and the guilt of sin can only be removed through Him.
28 Wednesday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
In today’s reading, Hebrews 10:31 took me a bit by surprise, It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. At first I thought the verse was talking about everyone, but it is actually talking about those who have rejected God’s mercy. For believers who have accepted God’s grace and salvation through Christ’s sacrifice, death is of no consequence and have nothing to worry about.
27 Tuesday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
Because of Christ, the work is done for our salvation through His perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 9:14 says, 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! We are no longer expected to work and go through the work of sacrifices through priest for the atonement of our sins. Christ was the perfect sacrifice once and for all. We must learn to live in that state of cleared conscience He has provided us.
24 Saturday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
In this chapter, the author talks about Melchizedek, who was the original model for the High Priest. From that original priest all priest followed the law of self-cleansing in the eyes of God before the cleansing of the people they served. Jesus changed everything and in Hebrews 7:26 it says, Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. With Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice, the need for priestly cleansing became unnecessary, as did the need for continual sacrifices to cleanse us from our continual imperfection. God’s grace sets us free from the work of purification and we must always remember this, not out of obligation, but because His loves deserves our love and commitment in return.
21 Wednesday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
We are never alone. God is always with us and nothing is ever a surprise to Him. When we struggle and need God, He is always aware and with us. Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. The same is true about our sin. None of it is hidden from Him and though we are forgiven by Jesus’ blood, we must still be mindful of the truth of who we really are. This is all meant to be a comfort to us and not meant to induce fear. Ultimately God wants what is best for us because He loves us more than we can ever know.
19 Monday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
One of the hardest things about becoming a believer is accepting that we are not called to be holy before coming to Jesus for salvation. Jesus never asked us to do anything for our salvation. He simply asked us to accept. More importantly, because He became human for us and suffered, He knows what we experience and how much we struggle. Hebrews 2:18 says, Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Jesus experienced everything here on earth that we experience. He is able to empathize, help, and love us through it all and he did it because He loves us.
17 Saturday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
Today we begin the book of Hebrews. The author of this book is unconfirmed, but many think it could be Paul, Luke, Barnabas, Apollos, Philip, Priscilla, or several others. While the author’s name is not given in the Biblical text itself, it does refer to Timothy as “brother”. The purpose of the book is to present the sufficiency and authority of Christ and was mainly written to the Hebrew Christians, but as with the rest of the Bible, has key applications for us today. In today’s reading the key verse for me was Hebrews 1:3, The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. The power of God Himself, the creator of the universe, is the same power that saves us from our sins. When it says He (the Son) sat down, it means the work was finished and Christ’s sacrifice was final.
15 Thursday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
I, like most people, will do almost anything to avoid suffering. But as a believer and follower of Christ we should be prepared to do God’s will no matter the consequences. 1 Peter 4:1 says, Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. Sin loses its power over us when we focus on Christ and His will for our lives.
13 Tuesday May 2014
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
Everything that I am and everything I have ever accomplished is in direct correlation to Christ’s presence in my life. When I am focused on the things this life has to offer, I am left with temporary satisfaction. But when I focus on Christ and what he has done for me through salvation and loving me, then I am left fully satisfied and with an eternal gift of life. In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter says, But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Because of Christ I have been permanently called out of darkness and into His light. My worth and value comes from Him and nothing else.
Daily Devotion 