Devotion Job 13:15 Never, No Not Ever, Never Stop Trusting God
Job 42:1-6 – Then Job replied to the Lord: 2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
Who are our heroes? Actually my only true hero is Jesus. He was perfect and no one else has ever been. As a child I always thought that if I were to have a hero it would have to be the one whom I thought was the best, the strongest, the most able, and the one who most wanted, deep in their heart, to protect and save. So my childhood hero was Superman, at least until I moved from knowing about Jesus to knowing Jesus. Then I began to throw away childish things from my life and began to cling to reality and Truth, that being Jesus and God’s message of salvation found throughout the entire Bible.
A man I have long admired is Job. Not a perfect man, but a man of great faith. As I awoke this morning I was feeling such great love and gratitude to our God. So thankful for His faithfulness to me and all of mine, and to all of us. So grateful for all He did to save all of us. Even now my heart overflows with praises to God and love for Him. Now, as always, He is with me and my heart sings. Praise God! Oh dear Lord, praise You!
Job was a man greatly blessed by God. The richest guy around. He had wealth and family and friends that he greatly loved. There came a day when, for reasons he knew nothing about, in spite of his lived out faithfulness to God, he lost everything. Family and material wealth were gone. Then even his health was gone and he suffered horribly. He was sitting in the street, scratching his open itching wounds with a piece of broken pottery and a dog licking his wounds. He was hurt, suffering, missing his children and lamenting his turn of fortune. Then he had friends, whom I believe meant well, but did know as much as they thought they did. They were trying to convince him that he had obviously committed some heinous sin and so he needed to repent. They were arguing with him. They were wearing him down. Suffering Job then said words that have echoed in my heart ever since the first day I read them “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him.” Oh how deeply these words found root in my heart and mind. Yes, I will trust God no matter what comes. I was determined, but in my new faith I was determined with a shiver, hoping I would live up to those words.
Then Job said the next words “I will surely defend my ways to His face.” In his saying that he revealed a couple things. The first thing revealed was that he was absolutely certain that he had served God to best of his ability and knowledge. This was not braggadocio, but rather a sure knowledge of his sincere heart. The second thing that was revealed is that he did not have the wisdom, knowledge and perfection of ways that he thought he had. His “friends,” unwittingly being used by the devil, and even his wife had been used against his faith, began to wear him down. He never abandoned his dedication to God, but the sharp edges of his faith were getting rounded. Oh my, how terrifying a statement. Job was a sincere man of faith, but then he spoke foolishly. Just as people today will say things like “Well if God is real, when I see Him, I have a few things to get off my chest to Him!” As if they can scold God! Foolishness in the highest degree.
When God appeared to Job, yes, God scolded him, but really it was an intervention. His heart would have no more of Job’s crushing testing. God was reaching out to Job and restoring Him. In fact He was completing the remaking of Job that made him wiser, more knowledgeable, with more faith, and just a better believer than he had previously had been. God gifted him with more kids and greater wealth. That was only the earthly blessings, the real blessings was the greater awareness of and knowledge of God. Even in God’s correction of Job, God was loving Him. In God’s presence Job realized the foolishness and vanity of questioning or doubting God in any way. It is always wrong, always a sin, to doubt God as Romans 14:23 states that whatever is not of faith is sin. That’s not an opinion, but a stated fact in the Word.
Job, being questioned by God was humbled and repented of questioning God. For the rest of his days (one hundred forty more years) God manifestly displayed His love for Job as He abundantly blessed Job in all his ways. God is truly wonderful!
Now let’s understand that Job’s faith was not tested by God. It was tested by the devil. God had no need to test Job, He knew of Job’s great faith in Him. No, God did not test Job, He proved Job. What was in Job, his great faith in God, was shown, and recorded, for all the world and all generations to see. And what the enemy meant for evil, God meant for good. Today, we can be sure that Job is in Heaven. We can also be sure that all his family is in heaven. So the upshot of it all is that Job went through a most horrible trial, but he and his family all ended up in heaven. Family and Friends that is the most fabulous ending! The moral of the story is to trust God beyond understanding, beyond circumstances, beyond our senses, to always trust God. He is worthy of it. To be able to do that, draw near to Him and know Him more and more every day. The more we trust God the more we know God and the more we know God the more we trust Him. God is our hero! Praise God! Yes, 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, O 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 Acts 27:1-12 No Fear Have Ye Part 3
Acts 27:1-12 – When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. 2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. 3 The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. 4 From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. 9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement. So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.
“Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement.” As previously mentioned, they were late in the season either into September or October, past the season for safe sailing.
“So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.”” Did Paul receive a divine revelation about coming trouble (that did come to transpire)? Or did Paul, though not a professional sailor, but had traveled previously by sea, just express a commonly known fact that at that time it was dangerous to be at sea. It sounds like the centurion had a strong voice, if not a determining one, about whether to sail of not. Instead of heeding Paul’s advice, he heeded the advice of the pilot and the owner of the ship. If the advice from Paul was not divine, then surely the pilot and owner of the ship would have known what he said was true. They, being the experienced sailors, could weigh all the factors and decide. Besides, the centurion could have wondered if Paul was having second thoughts and trying to delay his arrival in Rome. After all, if the circumstances they were to face were naturally foreseeable why would the pilot and the owner of the ship risk the destruction of the ship, the death of those on board, and the loss of the cargo? Actually, as we see from this statement and Paul’s subsequent advice, and his sure knowledge about what would bring death and what would not, it is much more likely to deduce that the Lord was speaking to Paul, certainly we know that the Lord spoke to him.
People who are not of the Faith want to listen to scholars and experts. A wise decision on usual occasions. Sometimes though, the Lord gives wisdom to those who earnestly seek him and their words ought to be heeded. This is foolishness to the world (1 Corinthians1:18-25), but we are not of the world, we understand things of the Spirit. Right?
Family, since we love God, let’s trust Him. We show that we trust Him by seeking His counsel in all matters. (Psalm 32:8, 33:11, Proverbs 8:14) The wisdom of seeking the counsel of the Lord will be shown in our lives by our actions and by the blessings of God in our lives. God is good and He loves us…all the time! 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, O 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 Psalm 8:1 Beauty Before Me
Psalm 8:1 – Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Habakkuk 1:12a – Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die.
Psalm 42:7 – Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
With my feet on the edge of the cliff, while looking to see what is coming, a strong wind from behind me palpably pushes to destroy me on the rocks below. The wind attempts to worry me, to cause me to fear. However, the wind is not the story. The beauty before me is the story. The wind cannot push me off because the Beauty before me is greater, it is the strongest force and is infinitely more than anything behind me.
Behind me is hurt and sorrow. Also Beauty. I have been silent in the mighty desert and relished the beautiful waterfall. Now, before me I look to the end that even now has begun. Does a curve in the road discourage me because it is not a straight line? No, the curve is in the design. So, as I look ahead, straight ahead to the Beauty before me. As I walk I keep my eyes focused straight ahead on Beauty. In the walk the path sometimes bends. Bends and curves are not discouraging, they are part of the path I am to walk. The bends and curves do not obscure the Beauty before me. He, the Beauty, is always before me. His song beckons me forward. I hear it from the future as it simultaneously sings in my soul. Oh the Beauty promises such beauty. I once hoped, but now I see. Now I grasp. Now I hold tightly.
Sometimes I stumble. It hurts. Yet Beauty lifts me and calls me to continue, and that I do. Always I follow Beauty.
How majestic in the Beauty! Eternal and beyond compare it is. How blessed I am to be called to the Beauty and to hear the Beauty within my spirit. Deep calls to deep. I hear you Beauty. I see you Beauty. I come Beauty, I come. Where you call to, I go. Where you lead I follow. Dear Beauty, I come.
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, O 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 13:16 Turning Things Around
John 13:16 – Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
Job 38:1-3 – “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? 3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.”
Job 40:2 – “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”
Job 42:1-6 – Then Job replied to the Lord: 2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
One does not ask why the greater does not conform to the lesser. One asks why the lesser does not conform to the greater. It is natural for those without true and, or, mature knowledge to ask why doesn’t the Bible conform to science. That is not a correct question. The correct question is why science doesn’t conform to the Bible. Science cannot disprove the Bible, instead the Word of God shows the error of whatever attempts to contradict it! Family, for us who have been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age (Hebrews 6:4-5), it is great folly to let the world shape the discussion about God. They wave their philosophy and their science about and are shocked when we care not for their argument. Even those who sit in the seats next to us at church fall into the weakness and shamefulness of believing that the Bible must give account of itself to human philosophy and human understanding of the rules of the universe. Don’t let the majority error sway you from the true knowledge of the narrow path. (Matthew 7:1-14) Those of the world think that they can, with the brains that God gave to them, philosophize a way to overrule or discredit the very existence of the one who gave them their brain? They think that they can tell of the universe, how it was created, how it exists and what its future is, to the one who created it, sustains it, and has set a schedule for its demise? How arrogant and foolish! Family who is anyone of mankind to say that their wisdom and knowledge is greater than the wisdom and knowledge of God. It is outrageous for the very ones who will stand before God to be judged by him to attempt to judge the Judge. Their lack of understanding is as obvious as one who walks naked down the busy boulevard. God is the judge of all. All that a person thinks, says and does will be judged by God. (Romans 2:16, Ecclesiastes 12:14) Let’s not let their foolish questions be ours. God is higher and greater than anyone or anything. So when someone asks us to justify the Word of God to their science or philosophy, let us tell them that they err. To be correct, they need to find the wisdom and knowledge in science and philosophy that actually aligns itself with the Word of God and not vice-a-versa. Right does not need to correct itself to be wrong. Wrong needs to correct itself to be right!
Isaiah 55:8-9 – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God is greater than all. We can only understand the fact that God is infinitely greater than us but we cannot know how that is or how much it is! Praise God! Honor God! 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, O 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 Genesis 50.20 God Is Good And He Loves Us
Genesis 50:20 – You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Let’s consider a subject that really has books written about it and cannot be fully discussed in a short “devotion” piece. The subject is whether it is possible that God is simultaneously and always good, always loving, and always omnipotent (all-powerful). What is written here cannot be exhaustive, but rather a concise consideration that is hoped will be a blessing.
God is always good (Exodus 34:6, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 25:8) and He always loves us (John 3:16, Jeremiah 31:3, 1 John 4:16). Until we know that beyond a doubt we will never understand what is possible for us to understand about God. Once one knows beyond doubt that God is innately good and that He is love, not with a knowledge that is only what has been taught, but is what is treasured as the highest bit of knowledge one may have, then we may begin to grasp some of these difficult topics of the Bible. In fact, many of the most difficult topics become not even a speed bump in the road for those who absolutely have beyond doubt, conversation stopping, doubt stopping knowledge. That knowledge brings a peace that cannot be disturbed. (Philippians 4:7) But the knowledge of His goodness and love must be complete. Not completely understood, but completely and absolutely embraced and known as the highest bit of knowledge we can have. That must be a completed as in “The case is closed” truth. It is for me.
There are other absolutes that we must know and we find these first in His Word. His Word is revealed to us by His Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:10, John 16:13) And His Spirit also uses experience to reveal His Word to us. (Proverbs 4:11, Matthew 11:29-30) We must know that revelations of experience are revealed in His Word and these revelations must agree with His Word, by the Spirit. He reveals Himself spiritually and supernaturally by revealing His Word to us. Absolutes we must hold onto are that God is omniscient (knows everything, always has, always will) (Psalm 147:5, 1 John 3:20), that He is omnipotent (all-powerful to bring about anything and everything He desires to) (Job 42:1-2, Matthew 19:26, Jeremiah 32:27), and that He is omnipresent (He is simultaneously everywhere at all times) (Jeremiah 23:24, Psalm 139:7-10). These “omni” characteristics of God, along with the knowledge of the intrinsic parts of who He is (good and loving) are in and of themselves also huge topics too big to fully cover here. But we can state that these things must be fully and utterly held onto, they must be completely accepted.
One may cry out “Unfair, how are we to know these things unless we are taught.” Yes, that is true. But who will teach you the deep truths of God? It is God Himself who will. The truth of the goodness and love of God are not learned (to be held onto) except by very personably, earnestly and continuously calling out to God Himself to reveal Himself. He has already given us His Spirit and His Word to do that. Even how His Spirit and His Word, and experience (as understood by both His Spirit and His Word) are too long a subject to also be explored here. But it should be understood that God’s desire has always been for men and women to know His goodness and love in the most personal way. In fact, that even after Adam and Eve chose sin over Him He would give another chance to live in His goodness and love is proof of the very same. There is no doubt, God desires none to perish but all to know His goodness and love. (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9, Ezekiel 33:11) That is who He is. Oh praise our God!
Since God is good, no evil thought is generated in His mind. It does not happen, it cannot happen. His mind is so pure that He cannot create an evil thought. That would be against His very nature, against who He is. (Psalm 92:15, John 1:5) Yet let this knowledge be distinct from whether He sees and knows about evil and, whether or not He knows that evil is coming, and whether or not He could stop it. As we know He is omniscient so we know that He knows, and always has, the evil that has happened and will happen. Also, the devil who is evil, must come before the throne of God and give account of Himself (Job 1:6-7), so then God does see evil, but that does not make Him the author of it. (James 1:13) We also know that He is omnipotent so we know that He could stop the evil from happening if it was His will to do so. Now some here would argue that His goodness and love cannot truly co-exist within a God who knows evil is coming but does nothing to stop it. Again, that would take much more that what I can write in this “devotion” to God. Yet, let’s first understand, as God explained to Job, that man does not have the capability to judge God. Job confessed “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” Job concluded by confessing to God “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 38-42:6) It is hard for us to understand what it is we don’t know, that which we have never even thought about. How can we ask about a thought we have never had? Job, a wise and godly man, did not know what He did not know, and, neither do we. So humans must understand that they cannot fully understand everything about God and in like manner cannot fully understand all His reasons. So to say that one does not understand how a God who is good, loving and powerful allows evil is a true statement. However the fact that He allows for evil to continue does not ipso facto mean that He is not good, loving and powerful. No, it means what has already been stated, that we do not fully understand, if at all.
God loves us. He loves all of humankind and that is why humankind still exists. After all if the Lord, who holds all thing that exists together (Colossians 1:16-17), continues to do so, then that is evidence of His goodness and love. Does that sound mind-blowing? Yes, it is. Again, we cannot fully understand, we can only know that it is and that by the Holy Spirit and the Word. If God didn’t love He could simply have not willed for life to continue and it would not have. The most profound example of God’s love is that Jesus came to die for a people who were in open rebellion against Him. (Romans 5:10, Colossians 1:21) Most of the world had grown so distant to God that they would not allow their hard hearts to see and hear the Gospel message so that they would be saved. (John 3:18-21) Still God gave to all the opportunity. He did it through Jesus. (John 3:16, Acts 4:21) One only needs to focus on Jesus, to fully focus on Him and draw close to Him, and the love of God becomes increasingly and obviously manifest and self-authenticating so as to become an incontrovertible fact and living reality. God gave Jesus to people who for the large part, will reject God’s love. Still God loves. Man is without excuse because only those who don’t want to know don’t know.
Obviously God knows of evil, He sees evil and He could stop it if He willed to do so. In fact He already has defeated evil through Jesus. (Hebrews 2:14, Colossians 1:13) Then why do we still see evil? Along with that question belongs the question of the atrophying nature of the universe, why are children not born healthy, why must our physical bodies die, why do natural disasters exist, etcetera. All this is the result of the fall of man, and all of creation, when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. All the heartache, all the woes, all the evil in the world exists because of that. God did not want that, it happened because man chose to believe the devil rather than God. (Genesis 3) Because man believed the words of the devil rather than what God had told him. God gave mankind rainbows as a reminder that He will never again allow the flooding of the entire earth as He once did. Rainbows are not only a reminder of God’s promise, but are also a reminder that mankind had become so evil that only a flood could save them.
Yet, mankind again began to (in large part) ignore God, turn to evil and even though reminded of the consequences of evil by the rainbows that are seen, turn from God. Man ignored the words of God in the Garden. Man ignores the goodness and love of God, and even though they have the reminder of rainbows. The greatest reminder we have of God’s goodness and love is the corruption of the earth and the presence of evil. If evil in all its forms does anyone doubt that every person who ever lived would make Adam’s same mistake? To doubt that is to be in ignorance or pride. It is evil itself that reminds of the choice we have and what are the consequences, or rewards, of the choice.
Evil in the earth should not cause us to doubt God but to remember that in the beginning God created a perfect paradise for all of us to live in His goodness and love. A goodness with no natural disasters, no pestilence, and no fear. The origins of all of us are traced back to a place of total joy, total peace and where fear, hunger, thirst, and harm were not even known. Before the fall Adam and Eve had no concept of evil. When we see evil we should long for what God truly desires for us all. To be with Him, in peace, forever. What He wanted for Adam and Eve. That is why Jesus came. Because God desires us all to be restored to eternal paradise with Him. Jesus gifted the sinner, the thief on the cross, with paradise forever with God. Jesus promised that the thief would be one of Adam and Eve’s descendants to be restored to the paradise that God had planned for all of us. And God has promised everyone to return to what we were created for, eternity with our God who is good and who loves us. The way to receive the promise is Jesus. Only through Him. And many continue to do so. Yes, Lord yes! 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, O 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 Psalm 71:5 I See You
Psalm 71:5 – “For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.” For over four decades God has been faithful to me. I had learned, as I have read in His Word that He is faithful at all times. Not once was God unfaithful to me. Yes, I have been seen unemployment, my food shelves have been empty, I have been sick, loved ones have died and I have had those who said they love me stop loving me, but You Lord, You Oh Lord, have always been faithful to me. Never have you stopped loving me. Oh Lord, I love those who stopped loving me, for their many had “good reasons.” But You Lord have never withdrawn Your love, Your presence, Your faithfulness. In all my years, even before I understood the expression of Your love, You loved me. When I was in rebellion, You loved me. Oh Lord, You are my Hope and my Confidence!
Matthew 16:15-17 – “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. Almighty God, knowledge of You is a gift from You. I would not know You had You not first actively loved me. You have made Yourself known to me. In eternal gratitude I hold to Your Truth and cling to you my Savior, my Lord, my God!
John 20:29 – Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Matthew 11:5 – The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” It is true that You revealed Yourself to me before I could see you. You Lord did not stop with a one-time revealing to me. You have continuously and constantly shown Yourself to me. I tremble at Your greatness! I walk by faith because it is Your work alone that saved me and keeps me. Yet now Lord as I walk in faith, I walk in spiritual sight as I see what You reveal by Your Spirit. So yes, I always walk by faith, but there is a time when faith shall become sight. Surely that is upon your return, and even so, it is now. (Hebrews 11:1 [KJV], Romans 8:24) Truly the evidence, which we can see, surrounds us! (Romans 8:20) You have not made me wait till Your physical reappearing, but have given me spiritual sight, which is true sight. Your hand in my life is clearly visible! Praise you God Almighty!
Psalm 96:2-3, 9 – Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. Lord God, I see You! I see Your works. In them Your beauty is seen. I see You Lord! It is Your gift to the world and especially to all those who love You! Thank you Jesus! Praise the Lord God Almighty!
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, O 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 with
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Devotion Acts 27:1-12 No Fear Have Ye Part 2
Acts 27:1-12 – When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. 2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. 3 The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. 4 From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. 9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement. So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.
“From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.” Remembering that they were traveling late in the season for traveling by sea (at that time) they were facing North/South and North/East winds which meant that they were sailing against the wind. Not just winds, but treacherous waves. So them passing at the lee of Cyprus meant that they were traveling on sea where the island protected them from the main brunt of the wind and waves. It is detailed that traveling against these winds and storms of the late season were very precarious, unless of course, God was protecting. Even then the waters were rough and winds a more than capable opponent when traveling against them.
Normally the ship’s captain may have not wanted to travel this route since pirates were known to be in that area. It would have normally been safer to not travel in the lee of Cyprus, but having a centurion, with soldiers aboard, surely eased their worries about taking that route. Especially since the winds were against them.
“When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.” Fighting the open sea was tough going and so they opted to land at Myra. This port was well known for the trading of valued purple dye. Landing here gave them a little reprieve from sailing their rough sailing.
“There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.” As previously noted their first ship was from northern Asia Minor and thus was headed in a different direction. So the centurion found a ship from Alexandria, Egypt that was headed for Italy and he put everyone on that ship.
“We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.” After leaving Myra, because of the wind, they were making little progress so they altered their course and headed for island of Crete in order to get some relief in the lee of Crete.
“We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.” The seas are usually not as rough nor the winds as fierce along the coast as in the open sea. After rough travel, they took port in Fair Havens.
We know that the will of God was for Paul to go to Rome (Acts 23:11). Considering the dangers and rough conditions of the journey, it would have been easy for those traveling with Paul to second-guess if indeed it was God’s will for Paul to get to Rome. However, we know that in this life, while doing the will of God, we will, and do, face opposition, just as Jesus did (Hebrews 12:3). Paul knew through experience that everything in ministry is not “smooth sailing.” (2 Corinthians 11:21-27) However if God strongly guides us, as He did for Paul, there is no reason for concern, as Paul clearly displayed. He was sure of what God called him to and so he knew that nothing in all the universe, physical or spiritual, could stop it. These precarious conditions did not make Paul doubt his mission, but proved what he already knew, that though the devil may oppose, the will of God will be done. And we dear Family and Friends, know the same thing. The will of God can be opposed, but He is undefeated in all He does. So, as Paul wrote in Romans 8:31 “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” 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, O 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 Isaiah 6:8 God Said It And So It Was Done
Dear Lord God my Savior, my Master, my beloved Lord, may I, all the days of my life, with great exuberance be one who raises my hand and says to you “Me Lord, me, me, me, please send me!
Family, when God is looking for someone to do His will, may we respond like Horshack from “Welcome Back Kotter.” https://youtu.be/ju-lptJweTc May we without shame, with all our hearts, in front of any and all, jump from our seat with hearts that say “Me Lord, please me! Oh Lord, please choose me!” May that desire not wane but ever grow stronger. As His children may our hearts be wise in knowing all good blessings come from Him (James 1:17) and so we are always grateful. As beloved children of God who know the sweet goodness of God and His ever-present all-satisfying love may we be straining at the bit, to lay our lives down at His feet and say to Him “Please Lord, use this life in whatever way you please. In that my life becomes the beauty that You created it to be.” May we know Him well enough to trust Him enough to say “Lord, not my will but yours. I give it all to You. I trust You more than me.”
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, O 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 Corinthians 4:3-5 We Are Loved
We love people and care about how we affect their lives. We are not callous or God forbid us from being arrogant. Yet, ultimately we care only for God’s estimation of us. We constantly evaluate our own actions and motives but do not even judge ourselves. That’s God’s job! We belong to Him. Family, enjoy the freedom of the grace of God through Jesus. We are loved! He is control and we have confidence in His love and faithfulness to us. God is good all the time and He loves us! 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, O 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 Psalm 91
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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