Devotion John 1:15-18 The Law, The Gospel And The Baptist
As we have seen John has not come to give testimony about himself, but to tell about the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. He had clearly, emphatically and always stated that he himself was not the important one but the One who was to come was pre-existent and before the Baptist. John had no power but to tell of the soon to arrive Messiah and the Messiah was the one to bring grace to all who would come to Him. Upon the person who received grace through Jesus would come grace upon grace, in other words, grace every time grace was needed, which is continual and always. The grace of God is like the waves of the ocean, they come one after another. In an infinitely surer manner, the grace of God comes in wave after wave. The grace of God is infinite and inexhaustible. Jesus promised the Samaritan woman “living water” that need be received only once. (John 4:14) It is right to think about that as we think of “grace in place of grace already given.” Once had, grace is always in place. The bounty of it knows no ends, and we praise God for that.
The law was given to Moses and the end of the law is Jesus as He stated that He did not come to end the law but to fulfill it. (Matthew 5:17) The law was given to us as children who lacked understanding. But the law had its cycle and that was, and is, to wet nurse us till the appointed time. A wet nurse breast feeds the child of another. In ancient times this could be done to save the child of mother who could not, or would not, nurse the child. The child needed the wet nurse to supply life to it. The Law was our wet nurse that nursed us toward life in God. Before the coming of Jesus, it was the law or die. (Galatians 3:23-26) But there came a time for child grow up and spiritually our time was when Jesus came. There is a time to grow up. (Galatians 4:1-7) The Law is for children, the Spirit is for those who move beyond childhood and become mature. Within the Spirit is the law that never expires but instead of becoming a law that is without, becomes something that lives within those who walk in the Spirit. A child is taught rules and once that rule becomes alive in the child, what has been learned no longer is a work to accomplish but a law that lives within and is done as a part of the person’s nature. A child learns not to touch the hot stove and after learning the lesson, obeys it without thought. That child will teach others to do likewise. So the law came through Moses to lead us to the truth and knowledge of God. It prepared us to receive the Savior and Lord Jesus. So the law bloomed in the grace of God through Jesus Christ which gave us eternal life.
No one has ever yet seen God. The Greek work “pópote” means “ever yet” or “at any time.” It does not mean that man shall never see God, but that man had not “yet” seen God. Jesus said that when Philip saw Jesus he had seen the Father (looked upon, experienced, perceived and discerned). (John 14:9) So the Father has been seen by those who saw and perceived Jesus. They have never seen the Father with the physical eye, but He can be known and seen through the spiritual eye that has become alive and ever maturing by the work of the Holy Spirit within). This same word is used in Luke 19:30, John 5:37, and John 6:37.
“Has ever seen” meaning physical sight, perception and discernment. It is speaking that no one had seen God the Father with the physical eye, up to that time. Mankind was blind and did not understand who and what God was, people could not discern who He truly was. They couldn’t because they did not have the Spirit within. But being redeemed by God, and with the Spirit within, God Himself is revealed through the Spirit who opens up the meaning of the Word. We should know the presence of God, hear His voice, and learn to see Him. He does that for His children. None other have that privilege. God in us, teaching us, revealing Himself to us.
John the Baptist was used to light the path to God. He never thought that He was anything but who He was. Who people thought that he was did not weigh upon Him. He only wanted to be what God called Him to be. So what he wanted was to point to Jesus, and that He did. He praised the Lord before all men. So should we. What an honor! Praise God.
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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Devotion John 1:14 Immanuel, What A Promise!
John 1:14 – The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Do we get the point that through John God is driving home (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21) the point that Jesus was God in the flesh among us. Jesus was Immanuel, God living among us, as prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 and confirmed in Matthew 1:22-23. In John 1:1-14 we are being told that Jesus is God in the form of man on earth, and that for exact divine purpose. The Father God is clearly, emphatically, and proudly pointing out that Jesus is His Son and that salvation for mankind has arrived and it has arrived only in the form of Jesus! Family and Friends, Almighty God is, in these fourteen verses saying to us, “here is your Savior and Lord, all who want to be saved, run to Him.” Let there be no doubt that Jesus is Savior and Lord, that He is Immanuel, God with us.
V14 clearly states that the Word of God became flesh. This is contrary to the heretical beliefs of the docetics who denied that Jesus had a physical body. The point in these first verses of the Gospel was God was manifested in the flesh. There was no illusion of flesh, but real human flesh. Let no-one deceive us. In these days there are many who introduce old lies as proclaimed new knowledge. Many modern “new revelations” are merely old lies that were long ago disproven. It is wise to know the Word, the Truth, and in knowing these when anyone presents something as truth but is different than we have in scripture then we know it a lie. (2 Timothy 2:15) We know there is one truth and if someone presents something contrary to it, then we know it is a lie. Basic. (Galatians 1:6-9)
The statement that the Word, who is Jesus, made His dwelling among us is again a statement of Him being with us and it fulfills a promise of the Messiah coming. Exodus 25:8 “then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.” The sanctuary was a type of the Messiah dwelling among His people to protect, provide and guide as He lived among them. As He would one day come and live among us. As always the type is lesser than the reality. This verse revealing that God desires to live with us as He did in Eden, but better. Then men were required to come to the sanctuary or the Temple to have a priest present their offering to the Shakina Glory of God. There was the place that God’s presence dwelt. But then men must come to the sanctuary to plead before God, but in Jesus God came to men so that they may know Him. In the days before Jesus there was a veil to keep men, except for the appointed times, from being in the presence of God, a large curtain was a barrier between God and men approaching His Holy presence. Then when Jesus died to tear down all barriers between God and men the curtain in the temple was split torn in half from top to bottom. (Matthew 27:50-51) As John 1:1-14 states, God reached out to men, after all He first loved us and His plan of salvation existed before time. (1 John 4:19, John 17:24) Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise of God dwelling among us. During the exodus He dwelt with them in a tent that He told them to build for His presence to dwell in. In Jesus was the fulfillment of Jesus to save us from the condemnation we were born into. Both the tent and body of Christ were real, and both were temporary. But Jesus came to live in our hearts and souls forever. Jesus had a human body that died and was resurrected to an eternal body. Jesus was indeed Immanuel, God with us, for us.
At the time the Gospel was written by John along with him were others who were still alive who had seen the glory of God in Jesus. He came from the Father (Philippians 2:7-8, Acts 7:55) and returned to Him after His ascension.
Jesus came full of grace and truth as God was described to Moses (Exodus 34: 6) He brought the grace of God to all of mankind, to those who would willingly receive (John 3:16-18) We see that the God of Grace and Truth was not only revealed in the New Testament but also within the Old Testament.
Let none of us doubt or be confused by the assertions of the rebellious, the neophyte or the ignorant with assertions of something other than the truth. The Truth is that Jesus came from His throne next to the Father in Heaven to live as a man to redeem us from the lost state that all babies are born into. Jesus came with the full love and truth of the Father to bring us everlasting grace and peace with God Almighty whom He had been with. Jesus, God with us, Lover of our souls, King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus, our Jesus, always good and always loving us. Our Jesus! Praise God! Our Jesus forever!
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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Devotion 1 Kings 19:1-13 What Are You Doing Here
1 Kings 19:1-13 – 1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” 3 Elijah was afraid a and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
The above story happened right after we read the powerful way that God used Elijah in 1 Kings 18. We see that the Lord had used Elijah to prove that the gods of the world are no gods at all. It was an overwhelming victory as the priests of false gods tried to call down fire on a sacrifice to prove that their gods were truly gods. When they could not Elijah then asked the Lord God to give a display that would show that He indeed is the only God. He prayed to God to show His might and to burn up the sacrifice. Then “With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” 34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. 36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that You, Lord, are God, and that You are turning their hearts back again.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—He is God! The Lord—He is God!” (1 Kings 18:32-39)
There had been a drought on the land. After Vs. 32-39 Elijah told King Ahab that a heavy rain was coming to break the drought. The rain came as God had told Elijah and as Elijah had told the king.
After these two tremendous displays of God working through Elijah, showing that God’s favor was with him, after that the evil Queen Jezebel had vowed to kill him and Elijah became afraid. It’s almost hard to believe that Elijah became afraid after what God had just done, but he was. So he ran off and we have the story in 1 Kings 19:1-13.
Elijah, full of fear, fled for his life. He said he was tired and just wanted to die and go to eternity with God. He fled to an isolated place and prayed “I have had enough, Lord.” He then, waiting for God’s response, fell asleep under a broom bush.
Notice God’s response to Elijah’s fear. He did not chasten or scold Elijah, but sent an angel to bring food and water to him. God was kind and as Elijah was fearful God reminded him that His hand was still with him. God knew exactly what Elijah needed and out of his love He provided what Elijah needed. He was gentle with Elijah and Elijah was released from his fear and doubt and brought back to being ready to serve the Lord again.
The first words the Lord spoke to Elijah was “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah repeated his lament to the Lord. Then the Lord God began to further strengthen him. God answered with a gentle response, preceding it by strong occurrences. Finally Elijah responded to the Lord’s whisper and went out to meet with the Lord at the mouth of the cave. The Lord asked him again “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah must have had a realization like Peter had when the Lord three times asked him if he loved the Lord. (John 21:15-19) The Lord spoke to both and encouraged them and gave them something to do. He does the same with us.
If we are sad, seek the Lord to be used and He often leads us to pray for and minister to others who are sad. The same thing is we are worried, or if we feel unloved and hurt. As we minister to another we minister to ourselves. If we are wallowing in sorrow, worry or hurt the Lord will come to us and say “What are you doing here Beloved?” He soothes us and heals us and that is by continuing to do what He called us to do. He reminds us of who we are in Him. He gives us back our identity and purpose in Him.
It is never the circumstance or physical location that matters. It is the circumstance of being in His presence and remembering who the Lord is and what He has done that matters. Our physical location does not matter, our spiritual location matters. It is wise to always acknowledge, remember and be grateful for all the good things that God has given us. As we do that fear, worry and hurt fade. Whom shall we fear if God is with us? (Psalm 27:1) Since God is with us, why should we worry? (Matthew 6:25-34) And knowing that He loves us and wants us to come to Him so He can comfort and build us back up blur and mitigate other hurts? (Matthew 11:28-30) You know when we are hurt and can’t be found, He finds us. (Luke 15:8-10, Genesis 3:8-9)
So what is troubling us today? Let us not dwell with it so that the Lord would need to say “What are you doing here Beloved?” It is better to take it to Jesus so He will heal us. He who loves us and is the salve that heals all wounds. Trust Him in all ways. If you truly know and trust Him He will never let you down. Think about it. Praise our God! Praise the beauty of who He is! Praise God!
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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Devotion Matthew 6:10 Bowing To Him
I am not sad. Discouragement never entered my mind. Although disappointment would like to latch onto me I purposefully and forcefully push it away. In my faith I believe that God is in control. I have professed that in the past, and I today profess it as truth as adamantly as ever, or more so. God is in control. Since I love the Lord God Almighty I praise him for all things including for today. As the will of the Lord has been done I pray that He will protect and guide our nation as we always pray that He does. I pray that in spite of my scant understanding that He will protect and guide our new president of the United States.
In my life I always pray Lord not my will but yours. Today I say the same. Do I know all the ways of God and all of His plans? Do I know the end of all of them? Of course not, just as nobody else does. So I say dear Lord God I trust you, I know with my head submissively bowed before you that it is Your will I seek. I say that it is Your will that I want above all anything else. Please protect and guide all of America. In today I see unfolding is your great will. And I praise you! Please bring our whole nation back to you in ways that I cannot foresee or fathom. Somehow, Lord please create love and unity in this nation with all knees respectfully bowed to you.
Lord God please make my heart pure so that I need not be careful with my words but let my heart flow freely with the love that you have placed in there. Please change my heart from something sinful to something that properly represents you. And more than that change it to show who you are and what you want it to be. Who know what Jubilee moment may lay ahead. Dear God Almighty, where You lead I will follow. From here to there and maybe back again. Lord, I follow you.
For our new president, may he and I have a single pursuit to do the will of God. For to You we will both will answer. We must bow to Him, now or later, let it be now. And also our nation. Praise God!
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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Devotion John 1:10-13 For All, For The Few
John 1:10-13 – He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.
The Word of God made the world and all that was in it. So although the Word came to the world He was already spiritually in it and had, in Christophanies made appearances on it. At the perfect time He came to the world to be its Messiah. (Galatians 4:4, 2 Galatians 6:2) The Word God was always here, after all He is omnipresent (Psalm 139: 7-10) At just the right time He, the Word of Truth and the Light of the world (John 1:14, John 8:12) came to the world as one hundred percent God and also as one hundred percent man. God who pre-existed the world, who made the world, and who could not be physically seen by the people of the world, came physically to the world to be the Light of the world that brings mankind to restoration with God.
How ironic that the Creator was not known by the world that He had made. But the world (the unbelieving world) did not know Him because they resisted knowing Him. It was not that they could not know Him, or that they could not come to know Him, but that they rejected knowing Him. (John 3:19-20) So not knowing Him was a choice. What is worse is that His people, the Jews, even though they had the words of the prophets, willingly and purposely refused to know Him. Since the Lord is omniscient we know that He came even though He knew that most of His people would refuse Him. Yet, He also knew that many would could come to Him, so for those He came, He suffered and died. It is true that salvation was offered to all, even to those who would reject Him. But if He did not know the truth that though most would reject some would come to Him, why should He come? He came for those who would receive Him, though they were a small percentage. He taught to His Apostles that few would come to Him, but He nevertheless came. (Matthew 7:13-14) The few are precious to Him.
Yet those who would receive Jesus the Word, to those who would let the Light illuminate the Word to understand, to all of them they would become the children of God because they believed in the name of Jesus, because they believed in Him. Now those who follow and know the Light are willing and joyful servants of it. These are they who are born not of the fleshly union of a man and woman, but are they who are born of the will of God. For it is not for the flesh that Jesus came to die to save, but for the eternal soul of a person. (John 3:16)
Family it is for those who love the Light and the Word that Jesus died. He died for you and me. The Creator, the Word, and the Light came to save us and to give to us what God has always wanted for us, a free, complete, loving union with Him. His salvation is for those who would choose Him because they recognize who He is. It for us who call out “Abba Father” to our dear, personal and loving God. To our Abba Father we cry out to in love and confidence. We know Him because we choose to. And that because of God. Great is God and His ways that are so far beyond us! Praise God!
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace,
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Devotion John 1:9 True Light To True Life
John 1:9 – The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
The “True Light” is not a light by name and resemblance, but is the very nature of what light is and beyond that, is Light itself. The properties of light such as comes from the sun are not the source of original light, but is a lesser example of it. The original and only true light is the Light that came into the world from the Father above.
Traditionally the Olympic flame, dating back to the ancient Olympic days in Greece, is lit not by a match but by a Skaphia (crucible) that was their version of a parabolic mirror. It harnesses sun rays to focus at an exact point that can reach an extreme heat and cause an item such as paper or flammable material to burst into flames. Therefore the Olympic flame did not come from the belly of a cooking stove but was ignited by the purity of the light of the sun. So it appears their thoughts were that the source of the fire was the sun and so they figured this was the purest fire, and thought from their gods. It was as “pure” a flame as they could obtain.
Jesus was more than something obtained from the source (such as the sun). He was in fact The True Light that came from Heaven. He did not receive light from heaven and carry it down for the benefit of mankind but was actual light from heaven. He was not harnessed light from Heaven. He was not second generation light, but the original Light. The Light was knowledge and wisdom that came from God to mankind to illuminate the darkened earth. Only people who received the light and then looked out upon the earth could see it in its fallen state. If a person does not receive the Light of God that came from Heaven then they cannot see true reality upon earth. Jesus was the pure Light that dwelt in Heaven and came down by the unified will of God to illuminate the dark minds of mankind.
John 3:16 states “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Set this verse aside John 1:9 and we see that God sent Jesus to bring eternal life to us. But unless men knew the ugliness of the condition of their own souls, they would not be saved. So God brought light (truth, knowledge and wisdom) to the world that they may see what darkened souls could not see. Only Jesus, He Himself being true light, could bring alive the eyes of mankind to see the way to God. Only He is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6) and so by Him bringing us light to see could we could see the Way, that leads to the Truth of our condition, and that now illuminated truth will lead us to eternal Life. We know from John 3:18 all men live in darkness until the Light of God lives within them and rescues them from the darkness. People live in darkness and stay in darkness unless they receive the light. God does not plunge those who reject Jesus into darkness, but rather, because of their rebellion, they stay in darkness as they close the door to the Light.
Jesus the Light of the Word showed us truth that brings us to, and eternally keeps us with God. Praise the Light of the world! Praise Jesus!
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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Devotion Colossians 4:2 Devotion, Prayer, Maturity
Colossians 4:2 – Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Matthew 26:41 – “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
We are called to be devoted in prayer. Prayer to what, a broomstick? No, prayer to God. Like faith, the object of our prayer determines the usefulness of it. Let me fearlessly proclaim the truth that believing for salvation through any other person or way than through Jesus Christ of the Gospel, is useless. Mohammed cannot save, Buddha cannot save, Confucius cannot save, government cannot save, philosophy cannot save, science (pseudo or actual) cannot save. Only Jesus Christ can save a soul now and forever.
At work a co-worker once said that he had a tough year. He then added that it will be okay because he has hope and faith. I then asked him what he meant by that. He said that he had hope and faith that everything will be okay. He then added that everybody needs hope and faith. Continuing he said we all need to believe that things will get better. I agreed but specified that it is quite empty to have hope and faith in hope and faith. Hope and faith need to be attached to something. It is quite useless to ask a man with no food and no means of getting food for food. I wish that I then had more time to continue the conversation.
The something that we have hope and faith in should be something, or someone that has the power, the ability and the desire to fulfill and reward our hope and faith. We must put our hope and faith in one that is equal to the task. Likewise, prayer in and of itself means nothing if the receiver of our prayer is not God. Only He is able to receive and perfectly answer our requests, hopes and dreams. He alone can absolutely answer every prayer. He does so as He wills and what He wills is what is best for us. When praying, and in all our life, our will should be that His will be done because we know His will is what is best. If we don’t know that, we need to stop, go to the refrigerator, and eat a big piece of humble pie. It is best to let God guide us gently to humility rather than Him having to put a horse bridle on us. (Psalm 32:9)
Focused on God we devote ourselves to prayer. Pray until it becomes more natural than talking to anyone else. It is a way of life, a habit. But it is more than a habit or a way of life. We have many habits in life. Without any deep thought we brush our teeth. We must be in the “habit” of prayer, but not a mindless habit. We are to be purposeful and thoughtful in prayer. We should mature to a point where we have a perpetual awareness of the presence and love of God. Having that awareness, we don’t have to gear ourselves up to pray. Like talking to someone and then changing the subject. You don’t have to go through greetings again because the subject is changed. Likewise, every time we pray it should be an awareness of His presence, and a natural and continual flow of walking and talking with Him.
Most of us have been on long car rides with someone. When the trip is started, the conversation usually is flowing. After a bit of time perhaps we must navigate past a potentially dangerous section of the road. While we do this we don’t forget that the person in the car is next to us. We are aware of their presence though not talking to them at that moment. We can resume talking to the passenger of the car at any time and about anything. They are with us and we are aware of their presence. The passenger is on the same journey with us. God is the driver and we are the passenger and we can talk to the driver at any time. It is what we do. So, it is natural for us to just talk to God at any time about anything because it is a continual conversation with someone who is with us on this journey of life.
During our prayer, we should be watchful. We should be aware that the enemy is always about seeking to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8). We should bring a danger to us, and to others, to the Lord. We should bring the threats and the trials to the Lord. He is the one who loves and protects us.
We should also be watchfully looking forward to the answer to our prayers. We come to God with hopeful and sure expectancy. (Psalm 91:15) Knowing who He is, we should say to the Lord “help me” with the knowledge that He wants to help and is able to help. Not merely a mental assent but a deep down conviction that confidently expects an answer. We know that we are not praying into empty air, but to a loving God who wants to answer. We must be watchful and listening for His sure response. We may not “hear” the answer right away, and surely He may answer different than we expect, but we can be sure He is answering. (Matthew 21:22, Matthew 7:11)
We must be thankful. Firstly, being thankful is proper concerning the Lord. It is right to be thankful to God and out of that thankfulness, to praise Him. (Ephesians 5:20) Thankfulness means we have given God His due credit. Having given Him due credit, we are thankful for what He does for us. Being thankful builds faith. (Colossians 2:6-7, Colossians 3:17) It reminds us that He hears and answers our prayers. As we are thankful to God, our faith is built, then we are more apt to pray because we know it is not useless but useful. We have confidence in God and come in sure faith to a sure God. Our thankfulness belongs to God, we are giving to Him what is rightfully His. Thankfulness brings the growth of our faith. That brings us to God which is the goal, and the reward is eternal.
Epaphras was always wrestling in prayer for them. (Colossians 4:12) The word used here that is translated as “wrestling” is agonizomai. It is a term that was used referring to a contest, or a struggle. Even a struggle that could be dangerous. Epaphras contended spiritually for the people in Colosse, Laodecia and Hierapolis. He did not casually and quickly offer up a prayer for those He loved, he got into a spiritual tussle and rolled in the dirt fighting and contending for those he loved. Do we do that? Isn’t it so easy to be not fully committed to contending for each other in prayer? How easy it is to casually, even callously, say a simple prayer like “Lord bless them” and then move on. Now, remembering and saying a quick prayer may be all that one is able to do at certain times. Nothing wrong about that and, depending on the circumstances, it may be absolutely what should be done. However, there should be times when we labor in prayer for each other. Labor as in child birth labor. When we are willing to go through the hard work until the blessing is delivered. It won’t be easy, it’s going to hurt, but oh how sweet the blessing!
Our earnest desire must be the full will of God for our lives. It is easier for all of us to stand firm in His will if His will is our will in all things. To one hospitality comes easy, but sharing the Word is difficult. To the one who shares the Word hospitality at home may not be easy. How do we find the will of God? We find it in His Word and through a daily walk with the Holy Spirit. Our dependence on the Holy Spirit to reveal the Word and take us deep is absolutely essential. (John 14:26) The answers aren’t dropped into us, they are picked up along a walk with God. We need to yield all that we are to His full will. Brothers and sisters, doing this may seem scary, but as we do it, and as we receive the award of it, it becomes less scary and becomes more what we look forward to doing. Seek the full will of God and receive the blessing of walking in it.
Being thankful, walking and talking with God continuously will bring us to an increasingly mature complete knowledge of God. As that is true we know God more fully. As we know God more fully, we seek to fully and obediently walk with Him. It is a self-perpetuating cycle. The more complete knowledge of Him we have, the more mature in Christ we become, the more mature we become the more we desire to repeat the cycle.
Maturity in Jesus brings trust and faith in Him. If we absolutely know the Lord, then we know His goodness and love and are assured of Him. We are assured of the salvation He has given to us. We are assured that we are now in full possession of eternal life through Jesus and we are fully assured that He will never take it back from us. Also, growing in the knowledge of God assures us, through the joys and woes of life that He is in control. We are confident that He is good and that He loves us and, because of that, our souls may rest. We know the full victory for us is just ahead. A few steps more. A step more, or maybe we will receive the full victory before our next step falls. Praise God!
So pray, be watchful and thankful unto growth in the secure knowledge of His goodness and His love for us. Talk to God and in doing so, praise Him! Remember His goodness, dwell in His love and know Him evermore. Praise God!
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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Devotion Luke 12:49-53 Surprised? Why?
Luke 12:49-56 – I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. 54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?”
Matthew 24:4-14 – Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Jesus warned us. Let us see our times and not be surprised by circumstances. Brothers and Sisters, do you think that these things will not also come against us. Be ready. When these things happen don’t run from God, and don’t be in the place where you have to run back to Him. Stay close to Him. May we remain so close to Him that not air or light can be between us and Him. Be ready. Do not be surprised. Pray and keep our relationship with Him as our most beloved and treasured. Be ready. Let nothing shake us. Be ready. Be awake. Can you say Jesus won’t come today? Jesus said these things and so they will. Always, yes always praise God. Praise God!
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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Devotion Matthew 24:24 Light Overcomes
Matthew 24:24 “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
Once upon a time a man became convinced that darkness is stronger than light. He starting telling people what he believed. Almost everyone chased him away and said he was speaking insanely and should seek help.
The man did not give up his belief but only became more determined to change people’s minds. He stood on corners and preached his belief. He bought newspaper ads and radio and television ads. The man was extremely rich so he bought newspaper companies and news stations so that he could suppress contrary opinion and preach his message of the supremacy of darkness.
He got the attention of people, who mostly just laughed and shook their heads. His friends told him to get mental help. They told him to just one time prove that darkness stayed where light was. He never could but that did not dissuade him. He was convinced and no amount of evidence could change his mind.
Surprising people, something began to change. Because of his vociferous persistence people became curious why he persisted against obvious facts. So they listened more. Then people began to admire his efforts. Some, then increasingly more people, began to be persuaded by his persistence. They told their friends that they listened and were increasingly following him because he insisted and persisted so greatly. For him to do so he must know something that others don’t know. They began to believe what they thought they never would. They afterward began telling people that they would abandon all their previously held beliefs because this man was so persuasive. They became convinced that he must be right. More and more believed so faithfully in him that they said they would believe him if he told them that they had never really known their own real name. He told them that their own parents had misnamed them and that He knew what their real name and so he gave them a second name and they believed him and changed their names.
The man made a display of what he still held was truth. He created an exhibit in a large warehouse. He named it The Victory of Darkness. He put a very bright light at one end of the inside of the building. All windows were blocked off. Unless the light was on, the inside of the building was pitch black. Then he built a sliding wall that could be controlled to slide down and it would completely block the light from getting beyond the wall. The exhibit became very popular. He would bring in a group of people and the light would be on. Then a recorded speech was played to the people about his thoughts of darkness being greater than light. He would then move all the people to the other side of the wall. Once all were on the other side, he pushed the button to make the wall slide down and block the light from getting past the wall. Then in the pitch black the unnerved people were frightened by, the loudspeaker telling them “Behold! Darkness wins every time.” The spooked people left, some very concerned and others began believing the message of the supremacy of darkness.
The exhibit was wildly popular and stirred people’s thoughts of reality. One day a man came to visit the exhibit. He was telling all who waited to get into the exhibit that what was being preached was baloney. Some people scoffed at him. Some people wondered. Then, at the end of the display the announcement of “Behold! Darkness wins every time” played and as always, the people were confused and moved. Suddenly the doubting man shouted “Poppycock!” and he turned on the bright flashlight that he had secreted inside. There was no longer any darkness in the room. The man said to all “Now darkness where is your victory? See light appears in the stronghold of darkness and again darkness must succumb!” He then said that blocking light is not darkness defeating light. Denying light is not defeating light. This time all the visitors left while marveling at the silliness of the exhibit’s claim. They wondered how people could believe the obvious lie about darkness being stronger than light.
The owner of the exhibit became very angry. His error was exposed. Yet, being the stubborn man he is, he did not change his status. Instead he banned the man from coming back. He threatened every business, or newspaper or news station to not let anyone know what had happened. He threatened to put any business out of business that told what happened. He kidnapped the man with the flashlight to make sure that no-one ever heard his story again. The man with the flashlight was killed and his body hidden. The man who proclaimed darkness thought he had his victory. But truth, like light, rises to be seen. The man who had been killed had recorded what he had done in the exhibit. Seventy five million copies were made. The copies spread throughout the nation and the world. Truth overcame falsehood. Beyond the wall light broke free.
The man who preached darkness became a very small footnote in history and he was last remembered as a very silly man.
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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Devotion Proverbs 3:3-6 Standing Fast When Trials Come
Proverbs 3:3-6 – Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
How do we never let love and faithfulness for God leave us? When the things that cause worry and fear seem to wash over us in waves how do we remain steadfastly in faith? What helps is to remember what we know and cling tightly to it.
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you.” Listen to the Lord. Praying every day is wonderful and necessary, but are we just talking and not listening? When we pray do we listen to Him? After all who is the Almighty Wise God, Him or us? Listen to God. Practice listening, it is the most important part of prayer. As we listen and watch for His response, we will begin to recognize when He responds.
If we want to become angry at God then all we have to do is trust ourselves more than Him. We tell God what it is we are concerned about. Then we are prone to tell our All-Knowing God the best way to answer the prayer. The exact way. Then if the prayer is not answered the right way, the way we have told God how to answer the prayer, then we get mad at Him. Folks, God is God and we are not. Either we know who He is or we don’t. Will we honor ourselves rather than God? Do we know what is best more than God does? Do we really think we know better than He? To keep a proper perspective memorize Vs 5-6. The Lord God is alone God and so we should trust on Him and not on ourselves. After all, if we trust ourselves most, why pray? We pray because God is God and we are not. From eternity past He has known everything that will happen, why it will happen, and what is best to happen. So shouldn’t we lean on Him who knows everything instead of ourselves who have very limited knowledge?
Psalm 34:8 – Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. Do we personally know God? Who do we say He is? How do we know that He is what we say He is? First and foremost because the Holy Spirit, because God reveals Himself to us. (John 16:13-15, 1 Corinthians 2:10, Matthew 16:17, John 15:26) We need the Holy Spirit to prepare our hearts and minds to receive and to instruct us and guide us. The Holy Spirit leads us to the Word and opens it up that we might know God. He brings us to intimacy with God and we increasingly know Him as we continue to seek Him. Only by the Holy Spirit of God and the Word of God can we know God. As we yield to the Holy Spirit God we read the Word and pray for understanding, as we yield to the Word of God, as we seek intimacy with God, we will come to increasingly personally know Him. (Jeremiah 29:13)
Daily cry out to God to know Him and His Word, as we yield to Him, we will, more and more, know God better and better. There are two truths known by all who love and seek Him. The two are that He is good and that He loves us. We must not know these merely as a doctrine or concept that we have been taught and can recite, we must know this as a fact that we know beyond all earthly facts. We must know these things more than we know our name, or where we live. Above all we must know that He is good and that He loves us. When a storm tears down our house, we may not understand why it happened, but the why will not matter. It will not matter because our trust is in our God whom we know, beyond all else that we know, that He is good and that He loves us. Since He is good He will allow only what is eternally good to us, whether we understand it or not. Since we know beyond all doubt that He is good and that He loves us, there is nothing that can happen in our lives that would cause us to doubt Him. For anything to be contrary to these two facts would be God contradicting Himself, it would be Him betraying Himself, and we know that He cannot do that. (2 Timothy 2:13)
Finally let’s test our love and trust of Him. Since we know who and what He is, since we know that He is good and that He loves us, then do we, as loving, trusting, and faithful servants of His say “Lord God, in all my life, in every way, may your will be done.” All of His will? What if it means that you will die? What if that means a loved one will die? Even harder, what if that means you and a loved one will faithfully live for Him and suffer for Him if that need be?
Since we know that God is always good and that He always loves us we know that we can trust Him. So the real question is can God trust us to be fully faithful and always yielded to Him? If these things are true of Him and of us, than why do we worry? Why do we doubt? Worry and doubt are not compatible with knowing these things about God and for those who love, trust and are yielded to Him. Let us not say we are only human. We who love Christ are human with God Almighty inside. We are not only human, we have divinity living within. So let’s ring in our hearts what Joshua said to the Children of Israel “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) Then we do not need to know why and we don’t need to understand. If we truly know and trust God then we always do. Oh, we are not perfect, but the more we yield to God and let Him make us into something new (2 Corinthians 5:17), the more perfect we become. Just as our God Almighty is.
Remember what we know about God and cling tightly to it. Praise God! Trust and praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withWarning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /homepages/4/d182552187/htdocs/b4g/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 399
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