Tag Archives: Trust

2015 Day 134 – 1 Thessalonians 4

14 Thursday May 2015

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God calls us to live in community and to help each other as much as possible. But He also calls us to be self-sufficient and to live a life worthy of Him. In 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 Paul talks about how we should live our lives to win the respect of others and how accomplish this, 11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you. 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. In the end, God calls us to live quiet lives that allow the Holy Spirit to not only work in us, but through us as well. When we get so busy with our own agenda, we miss the Holy Spirit’s leading and all God has planned for our lives.

2015 Day 133 – 1 Thessalonians 3

13 Wednesday May 2015

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Faith is contagious and we can be encourage by the faith of both seasoned and new believers alike; especially in the heat of battle. In 1 Thessalonians 3:7 Paul says to this relatively young group of believers, Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we are encouraged about you because of your faith. Watching young or new believers act faithfully to God is powerful to watch. We can see God’s hand working in them in a raw and tangible way. When we see it, we are reenergized and remember what it was like to be new in the faith and how much it changed us. Let us not forget what it was like to be changed and renewed by God. There is much work to be done and God can continue to work in us. None of us is perfect and will never be perfect, but in an authentic relationship with God, we can become more like Him each day if we are willing to be influenced by Him.

2015 Day 119 – Acts 15

29 Wednesday Apr 2015

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The Law of Moses was put in place to guide the people of Israel. They had no other choice but to try to follow the Law because it was the only way to stay in communion with our perfect God. But the Law was hard and it was impossible to keep fully and to the extent required by God. It was for this reason Christ died on the cross for us; to give us a way to God provided by grace. In Acts 15:10-11 Peter spells this out, 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are. It is a simple process to believe and yet we all know it is conceptually difficult for some. It all comes down to trust and faith in the love Christ has for us all.

2015 Day 117 – James 4

27 Monday Apr 2015

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Why do we worry so much about tomorrow? James 4:14 says, Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. When we spend the majority of our time worrying about what happens next, we miss out on what is happening right now. God has placed us in this life for a reason and we may never know what that reason is. But when we spend all our time working for the future, we may lose sight of the impact we can have in this world through our actions today. Trusting in God is more than just trusting He will take care of our future; we already know He has done that. Trusting in God is more about having faith that He will guide our steps. Let us all look to God in our daily lives and how we can influence others today.

2015 Day 116 – Peace

26 Sunday Apr 2015

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Peace comes from one source and that is from God. This is a great reminder for all of us. When we face situations that make us anxious, remember God can bring us peace and tranquility if we simply ask and have faith. Also, He does it in a way we don’t necessarily understand, but that is what makes it even more special and fulfilling.

PeaceIf 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.

2015 Day 113 – James 1

23 Thursday Apr 2015

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Today we begin reading in the book of James. As you will recall, we are reading the New Testament in chronological order of events. The book of James was the first book written after the gospels and lines up with events as they happened in the book of Acts. The author is obviously James who was the half brother of Jesus. There are some people who have a hard time with the book of James because, while he talks about grace that comes through salvation from Christ’s sacrifice, there is a lot of talk about actions. This tends to confuse people into thinking it is all about works. James simply brings into view the outcomes that should come from those who have been miraculously saved and are in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In the first chapter of James we find my favorite verse, James 1:12, Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. As we have seen in our past reading, God does not promise an easy and perfect life. But He has promised our reward of eternal life when we have stood against all this life has to throw at us.

2015 Day 110 – Acts 12

20 Monday Apr 2015

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The early church experienced more in it’s early existence than we could ever expect in our lifetimes. Many people believe this is because God does not work the same as He once did. I believe the reality is that we do not work the same way believers did in the early church. By the end of the New Testament, the apostles would each suffer and either die a brutal death or live the remainder of their days in exile. They were willing to lay their faith on the line and sacrifice all they had to spread the good news of Christ. The disciples sacrificed greatly, and in turn, God acted greatly through each of their lives. Can you imagine Peter as he was being rescued from prison by an angel? What would it be like to see locked gates open (before electronics) and hardened guards unaware of what was happening before them? In Acts 12:11 we see Peter’s reaction, Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.” God is able to do mighty things and when we put ourselves in a position where God is the only way, He does not let us down.

2015 Day 106 – Acts 9

16 Thursday Apr 2015

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Today in Acts 9 we read about the conversion of Paul from one of the biggest persecutors of early believers, to one of the main authors of the New Testament. Paul’s main objective was to try to end the spread of the Christian church. But God had better plans for him. Paul’s conversion was miraculous, but is was also preordained. We must always remember that God’s plan is perfect. There is no exception to that rule. When things feel the most hopeless we must remember this is when God’s power is most visible. Look to God and trust Him to lead us through the toughest times in our lives and He will never let us down.

2015 Day 105 – Acts 8

15 Wednesday Apr 2015

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One of the things I love about the book of Acts is the fearless and bold work of the believers. No task is too small or too big for any of them because they know they have the power of God with them. One of the other things I love about this book is we see the beginnings of the spread of the good news. In Acts 8:35 it shows this as Philip shares with the Ethiopian, Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Because of moments like these with foreigners like the Ethiopian, the good news started to spread to other parts of the world. It was because of boldness and trust in the will of God that the word spread. Let us be reminded daily of our responsibility as believers to be bold enough to share our faith in the good news of Jesus.

2015 Day 104 – Acts 7

14 Tuesday Apr 2015

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In today’s reading we learn about the martyrdom of Stephen. For the majority of the chapter Stephen spends time reminding the religious leaders of their history. He did not do this because he felt they lacked knowledge, but because he was setting up his main point; that throughout the Israelite’s history, they continuously rejected God regardless of the truth being giving to them on a continuous basis. Their rejection included most of their prophets, many of which prophesied about the coming of the Messiah. In Act 7:52 Stephen says to the religious leaders, Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him. When we blind ourselves to the truth we invite suffering and misdirection in our lives. Sometimes the truth is hard to accept, especially when it is not what we expected. But in the end our expectations matter very little. We must be open to God’s teaching in our lives and be willing to accept truth that sometimes is contrary to what we feel.