07 Saturday Apr 2012
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Verse 23 sums it up for me, Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Our heart dictates how we live because we always find time to do what we enjoy. We need to guard our hearts to make sure we only allow things that are pleasing to God. We need to keep our eyes, heart, and mind focused directly at our goal of having a relationship with God and not allow ourselves to be distracted by other things in our lives. God want our full attention and we need to give it.
06 Friday Apr 2012
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Verses 5 and 6 are words for all of us to live by, 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. The more I trust in my own ways the more I realize I need God to lead me down the path. If I simply put God in front of everything I do, He will lead me down the straight path. Keep in mind the straightest path does not necessarily mean a straight line, it means the most direct path to our intended destination. Going straight over a mountain may be the shortest path, but the most direct path requires us to navigate around the rocky peaks.
02 Monday Apr 2012
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As we approach the end of the Gospels, I can’t help but think about Jesus’ final days on earth; and how the disciples experienced the ultimate miracle of experiencing the Risen Savior. I also can’t help but think of everyone after that time and the amount of faith it takes to believe everything we read in scripture. Jesus Himself states in verse 29, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” He is talking about us! We are 2,000 years removed from Jesus’ resurrection and we believe. I know we don’t live in a vacuum and it is definitely not all by our own will, which is why I am thankful to God for blessing us with the Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit we have the constant reminder and helper to keep us in the presence of God and know He is truly the Risen Savior.
13 Tuesday Mar 2012
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In verse 14 where it says, “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’standing where it does not belong–let the reader understand–then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”, it is talking about acts of desecration of the temple. There were several times the temple was desecrated before Christ; in 597 BC when Nebuchadnezzar looted the temple and took Judea captive; and in 168 BC when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig to Zeus on the temple alter. This past summer I participated in a study of the book of Daniel and much of the book prophesied about the coming Messiah and the history before and after. Verse 14 is a reinforcement of prophesy of events that would end up happening in 70 AD when the Roman General Titus (no relation to the book of Titus) will place an idol on the site of the burned out temple. What is important to see here, in my mind, is that God knows, for the most part, the people of this earth don’t respect Him. Hard times for believers will come and we should not be a surprise. God knows what is coming and is certainly not surprised.
07 Wednesday Mar 2012
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I struggled In today’s reading when I got to verse 24 where it says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” When I read this passage It always makes me think I do not have enough faith to move mountains, and while I think it is sometimes true, I think there is more to this story. Motives for our prayers and desired outcomes are important. Our faith should always be focused on God and not in the object of our prayer. If we focus only on the object of our requests, then if God refuses we are left with nothing. Our focus should always be on God and the desire to further His kingdom and the realization that He has a perfect plan.
05 Monday Mar 2012
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I tend to get hung up on what God is actually capable of doing. The truth is that I limit God to the things I think are possible. Verse 27, Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” I have to honest here… Sometimes I lose sight of God as the creator of the universe. There are times I put God’s abilities on par with what I’m able to accomplish on my own. I need to be better at remembering that I am never alone and that God never leaves me on my own. He is always there and He wants me to rely on Him for all things not just the big things.
25 Saturday Feb 2012
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In verses 28 – 30 Jesus paints a very clear picture of what happened when we do not count the entire cost of following Him, “28 Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Too often we will say that we will follow Christ no matter what, but the reality is that we don’t really know what that truly means. We must be prepared to experience difficulties when following Jesus, but we also need to realize we are never alone. More importantly, our eternal reward is worth it.
23 Thursday Feb 2012
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Verse 25 is a simple verse with a very important thought, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Every time I read this passage I think about how profound it is and how much wisdom it gives us. Worrying is something that produces zero (0) results, yet we engage a tremendous amount of energy into it. I need to remember that the more I trust in God and His perfect plan, the less I need to worry about the things I can’t control.
21 Tuesday Feb 2012
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Once again there is a lot of information in today’s reading. The verses that stick out to me are 9 and 10 where it says, “9 So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Our Father in heaven wants to bless us, He really, really does! We need to be bold in asking Him for blessings and know that in His plan He has nothing but the best in store for us, even when it’s not necessarily what we think we want.
11 Saturday Feb 2012
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It is funny how we always think we know best. In verse 22 Peter tries to convince Jesus that He will not be killed by the Jewish leaders and says, “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” The problem is that Jesus was following God’s perfect plan and in His plan the sacrifice was necessary to fulfill the bigger picture. Jesus’ replay in verse 23 was, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” He knew that Peter’s response came from the desires of Satan not wanting God’s plan to be fulfilled. I don’t think Satan knew what the plan was, but the truth is he doesn’t need to know what it is; he is a disrupter and that is all he wants to do. For this reason it is imperative that we listen and follow God’s leading in our lives. He has the big picture and we need to trust and know He has it under control.
Daily Devotion 