Daily Devotion

On Shaky Ground

 

"The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: "Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?"  Isaiah 33:4

 

Good afternoon! 

 

What happens to buildings with cracked foundations?  What happens to buildings made of poor materials during an earthquake?  What happens to unstable shacks during a tsunami?  They all fall down like the little kid's song.  Nothing built on a foundation of poor faith, a relationship without love, a person without God's guidance...it all will fail.  That's no threat, a guarantee.  The Israelites were not redeemed until they acknowledged that without God they were nothing.  It's like Jesus says here in Matthew 15:14 "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit."  Its like the blind leading the blind, it will fall.

 

"Then panic struck the whole army--those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties--and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God."  1 Samuel 14:15

 

In Acts 16:26 when Paul and Silas were in jail, God caused an earthquake to come and shake loose the doors of the prison.  They were jailed for preaching the Gospel to the Romans.  But because jailing them was not what God wanted, was not in God's will for them, He caused the weak foundations to be broken and them to be set free.  The jailer came and fell at their feet, asking them what he needed to do to be saved in Acts 16:30.  After the jailer cared for them, and he and his whole family were saved, Paul and Silas were freed the next morning to continue doing God's work. 

 

So if there is anything you value in your life not rooted and grounded in God--faith in His word, walking in His love, and spreading the Good News, rest assured it will crumble.

 

"Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, "or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken my warning to heart."  Malachi 2:2

Daily Devotion #2

Get Understanding

 

"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding."  Proverbs 4:7

 

God has His way of making you do what He says.  I wasn't even gonna write another devotion; I was gonna prepare my first notes for my first online bible study.  But Lord says write this for everybody. 

 

The saying "Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see" is wrong.  See, what its supposed to say is, " Listen to what you hear, acknowledge what you see, and seek God for the wisdom to understand what you need to keep and what needs to be thrown away."  --I'm gonna have to copyright that one if I do say so myself, going into the file, lol.  But anyway, this is so true.  We cannot be too apt to apply the word to our lives without first understanding why it was written.  The same scripture above in  the New Living Translation says:  "Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment."  And also from the Contemporary English Version: "The best thing about Wisdom is Wisdom herself; good sense is more important than anything else." Amplified: "The beginning of Wisdom is: get Wisdom (skillful and godly Wisdom)! [For skillful and godly Wisdom is the principal thing.] And with all you have gotten, get understanding (discernment, comprehension, and interpretation).^"

During my senior year in high school, me, my mom and brothers were reading through the Bible.  I of course always wanted to read ahead because the Bible was like a big story to me.  I loved reading and God has always fascinated me.  We were reading in the Old Testament when God was giving instruction on what was right to be eaten, and what was not.  I read that we are not supposed to eat pork!  I was absolutely blown away.  Because if anybody knew me, I loved me some ham!  Nothing like it!  Plus that old country bacon...Satan!!  Anyway, I decided that I would no longer eat it right then and there--but of course at some point I went back to eating it--I told my mom, "The Bible says we are not supposed to eat pork, so I'm gonna stop eating it."  Her reply was something along the lines of that it was no longer a sin, I can't remember the exact words.  But my spiritually young mind went on; I told everybody at school that I was close to that we were not supposed to eat pork.  Fast forward to only a month or so ago, when I found the scripture for my linesister: Matthew 15:11 "What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'"  But after staying with my cousin in California and not eating it for about 6 weeks before junior year, I stopped eating it anyway.  I then went to church and learn of the demons called Legion that were cast into pigs--THIS is why I will never eat pork again, I don't want demon possessed food!

 

The moral of that story is, you cannot just take what someone says, you read or hear without seeking understanding.  Ms. Sylvia, I have to thank you for that one, because only God can give you the understanding you should have--what He wants you to have.  Understanding--discernment, insight, clarity--come from communion with God.  Don't accept part of the story; get the whole thing.  Pray to God for wisdom, because in James 1:5 "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him."  He will gladly give you wisdom; He will make your paths straight! (Proverbs 3:6)  In Philippians 3:15 Paul says that God will make it clear to you--"Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you." 

 

Quite frankly, I believe that you can be the most knowledgeable dumb person in the world, knowing so much but not understanding any of it.  I am pretty sure that is how cults get started, some people take what one human person says as law--because its in the Bible--and believes everything they say without question.  Seek God, question some things--better yet, yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit within you, verify what someone says by God's definition!  I don't listen to one particular person, but I consult the knowledge of many--seeking wise, mature counsel, then pray throughout and afterwards for what God wants me to know.  That's the only way to go folks!!  Good night and get wisdom!!  Those are the kinds of gray hairs you REALLY want.

 

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy."  James 3:17

Daily Devotion

Can’t Keep it to Myself

“Praise him for his mighty acts: Praise him according to his excellent greatness.” Psalm 150:2
“O Sovereign LORD, you have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do?” Deuteronomy 3:24
“Let every thing that has breath praise the LORD. Praise you the LORD” Psalm 150:6
Basically all of Psalm 150

As I sit here wolfing down one of my brownies, I just had to stop everything and write. Boy are y'all lucky, rather the people at work, that I couldn't find the lyrics to that song!! God is soooo good! I feel God’s spirit moving through me right now, I just feel like dancing and singing—but a mode of decorum here at work lol. When I thought about writing this earlier, it was only to celebrate the blessing of another year. One year ago I had a successful kidney transplant—I could have been dead and gone; but God favors me so I am alive, hallelujah! In spite of other illnesses and incorrect diagnoses, I am here and alive. I have been sooooo filled with excitement, peace and joy, today yes Glory! But God is not done yet! Another year to get right what He was trying to teach me last year… I got a nice bonus for enduring this last year to be received very soon! God does provide and He is faithful.

Sometimes you have to find that song or scripture, even a book that speaks to you, and praise God. Even if you can’t hold a tune, sing to Him because His ears are MORE than forgiving lol. God is soo good; there is nothing that He cannot do. He promises to sustain us through it all, and the only thing we have to do is let Him have control and do the driving. Yes that is hard, but think of how easy your life can be. Just take a minute to thank God for you’re simply being alive, like me. When all hope was gone, when my mind could not fathom what was happening to me, I just asked for God’s peace and it was done. Yes even in the times when I do not understand, when I want to just pull all my hair out and the only solution is crying, God is there. He hears our cries and when He can—that is if we step back long enough to let Him—He dries our tears and makes everything alright. Keep trusting God! I’m gonna praise Him now and continue to pray in the midst of happiness and struggles, because we must keep guard!

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. James 5:13

Daily Devotion #2

The Firing Process

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.” 1 Peter 4:12-13

“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:10

If you truly know me, you would know that I have ALWAYS loved art. If I could have went to art school and become a millionaire (smile) I would have. I love drawing, painting, and have a special place in my heart for sculpting and making stuff. I would always have my artwork entered into art contests and would always win something. But it was something about making a sculpture, be it a clay bust, a profile or bowls—I did not like coil pots lol! The clay in your hands; it makes me imagine the story of the potter. But the best part to me was once I got my work of art completed and ready to be baked, it went to the kiln and was fired. Before you got to that point, in the beginning, you have to knead the clay, get all the air bubbles out by rolling the clay and putting a little water on it to make sure it did not dry out before you made anything. Then you would make whatever you wanted, one time I’ll never forget, we made clay faces based on the American Girl Addy. We made her entire family. I still have one of my little sculptures—well my mom does. Next we would put them somewhere to dry for a day or so then they would get sent to the kiln. The firing process is serious because after that, you cannot go back. The only thing you could do is stain your work and seal it with a glaze—or you could paint it then seal it. To be sealed, it had to go back to the kiln. You had to make all of your changes before it was sealed.

We come from the dust of the earth—like clay—and are formed by God’s hands in our mother’s wombs. God shapes us and molds us with different situations, constantly working on us to get the imperfections out. Sometimes we go to the kiln and get ready for that glaze. Then He will notice that we need to go back and bake a little longer, still some imperfections in there. God kneads us and rolls out the air like dough. He irrigates us with the water to smooth away the lumps and sometimes He pounds us to make us into what He wants. All the while, at the finished result, He will be glorified. Resisting won’t make it easy; in fact it will make it much harder, like clay that has sat out one day too long without water or being covered up. God Himself perfects us—through suffering and trials. But He also guides us through by teaching us to trust His way.

Things that do not come out right after the firing simply get broken and thrown away. Whereas God never throws us away, He is the master potter and keeps working on us until we get to perfection. God does not throw us away; we throw ourselves away. We decide that we can go it alone and make it without Him. We cast ourselves into the world and the world's way of living, bringing much more harm to ourselves than with God guiding us.

“So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.” 2 Timothy 2:10

Daily Devotion

Follow Directions

‘But his mother told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."’ John 2:5

On my desk, on a little apple that I got at one of the career fairs I recruited at, I have a list of 5 things for a “Great, Blessed Day”. Attached to my monitor stand I have a variation of that list with a different title, “Steps To A Good Day”. I noticed that I have these directions for myself to avoid being angry or in a bad mood, that I don’t always follow. Here are the two lists:

Steps for a Great Blessed Day
1. Seek God first. (Matt 6:33)
2. Be positive. Find the good in every situation. (1 Thess 5:16)
3. Stop worrying. (Matt 6:34)
4. Realize that there are things for which you have no control.(Col 3:15)
5. Have faith, believe you have received it, and let it go.(Mark 11:24)
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:7

Steps To A Good Day
1. Remember you are blessed and highly favored(Prov 3:4, Prov 8:35)
2. God never puts more on you than you can bear (Matt 11:28, 1Cor 10:13)
3. God will give you the desires of your heart if His word resides in you. (Jn 15:7)
4. Have faith! (Mark 11:22, Matt 21:21, Heb 10:39)

Yes surprisingly I was able to find scriptures in support of all I have written, but honestly I didn’t follow the directions I set for myself. I allowed the things that happened some days to dictate how I would feel. I did not follow these basic, simple directions. I let my mind tell me what to do—obviously that did not work because plenty of days I would leave agitated or aggravated.

That is one of the first things we are taught to do in school. Follow directions. On homework assignments, in class, in dealing with other people, following directions is stressed. If you follow the directions on the assignment, you are likely to get a good grade. So why don’t we carry that over into our spiritual lives? Why don’t we do what God tells us to do? Why don’t we listen to Him like we listened to teachers and bosses? I won’t dare say parents because we all have disobeyed our parents at some point or another, or we have even done something we saw them doing. Why don’t we do what GOOD doctors say? For the men folk: why don’t we even follow the directions for putting something together?

If you read the passage John 2:1-11, you will see that the servants above followed Jesus’ directions and brought the wedding party the best wine afterwards. They did exactly what He said.

It is in our natural, fleshly behavior to be disobedient. Like a teenager, it is second nature to rebel against the instructions of a parent. How can you expect breakthrough if you don’t do what God says? How can you expect any of God’s promises to hold true for you if you are disobedient! I’m definitely talking to myself, because I wake up nearly every morning at 6:15am and go back to sleep when I should get up! But I want to keep growing, keep progressing, and keep moving forward so I cannot do the same things and expect anything but the same results. It’s time to change and read the directions, and follow through this time around.

‘If someone claims, "I know God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.’ 1 John 2:4

Daily Devotion

What are YOU allowing to Steer your Eternity?

 

"People won't be saying, 'Look! Here it is!' or 'There it is!' because now the kingdom of God is among you."  Luke 17:21

 

Hello everybody, and happy new year!  I had to think long and hard about this one because I want to be sure I have done everything that God wants me to do in His will.  We all have our vices or things that cripple us in life, but don't let them steer you in the wrong direction for eternity.  Salvation is a very important thing, and we are promised to eternity by accepting Christ. (John 3:16) Romans 6:22 says "But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life."  But how can you truly be in Christ if you are in the flesh, allowing fleshly things to run your life?  And by that I do not just refer to the things mentioned in Galatians 5:19-21 or Proverbs 6:16-19, but unforgiveness, bitterness, not caring for your neighbor or brother, etc.  Mainly unforgiveness--because unforgiveness of one minor thing turns into bitterness.  And Jesus says "But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:15)  Like pride or greed, unforgiveness in turn causes a lot of problems.  I will never forget the story about the ill man in the hospital.  His pastor came to pray for him.  He asked the man, "Do you want to be healed?"  The man said, "yes."  The pastor replied, "Then forgive."  The ill man said "No, I can't forgive, I can't."  The man died.

 

This particular scripture says that the kingdom of God is within us.  God has blessed us with His presence through the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is here to guide us, to help us through, to intercede for us, and to lead us.  But how can the Holy Spirit do His work if there are road blocks all within us?  Praying to God, staying in the presence of the Lord through prayer, being around mature Christians, and just yielding to and reverencing Him can change things.  You can let others see God shine through you.

 

Good night!

"For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time--to show us his grace through Christ Jesus."  2 Timothy 1:9

Daily Devotion

Overthrowing Complacency

 

"And not content with these things, she fell down at the king's feet and wept, and speaking to him besought him, that he would give orders that the malice of Aman the Agagite, and his most wicked devices which he had invented against the Jews, should be of no effect. "  Esther 8:3

 

Hi everyone, and happy New Year!  I'm sorry to not have written anything in a while, but quite honestly I have been searching deep within myself to make sure I have the right motives.  To make sure that I am searching for the right things-- and I have indeed saw that I am heading in the right direction--through this process of seeking God and His will for my life, I have learned a lot.  And I contend with some advice I was given here: I have sought satisfaction from God, seeking out His plan for my life--because if you ask me, if you are not living in God's will, if you are not fulfilling the calling on your life, if you are not loving others as God does, how can you be content?  This whole process began because I wanted to get closer to God, to learn to love like Him, to love others the way He loves us all.  I wanted to overcome and knock down so many mountains in my life.  And again, I have made so much progress.  But of course you cannot allow yourself to develop in one area and neglect others.  You cannot become complacent in anything. 

 

Above Esther refused to accept the meager answer given to her by the king, and instead pleaded for her people.  Her sacrifice and decision to go where most women were not allowed and fall at the king's feet saved Israel!

 

I said that I had become complacent--complacent in not being happy with where I am and complacent in developing a relationship with God--only temporarily.  And that is where prioritization comes in.  I have never been a person to just settle for things. If I want something, I go for it.  I do everything I can to make sure that I get it and I do not allow anything to stop me.  But above all that, I have learned to pray that if it be God's will--for His will is supreme and means more than everything--for me to have, achieve, etc. whatever it is that I am pursuing, that He give me the tools to make it happen.  I find scriptures that align with whatever it is I am asking for, and I keep asking and thanking Him for it!

 

Now since I have decided to go forward with pursuit of the ministry--because the more I read from the Bible and the more I am fortunate to see the historical connections, the more fascinated I am and the more I want to bring God to the people I love.  I have decided not to just get comfortable with one level of being in God, but to instead allow God to show me the benefits of pursuing knowledge of Him.

 

As for you, don't get complacent with anything because quite frankly change is the only way to grow.  Whether it be through seemingly insurmountable mountains or impenetrable walls God gives us the prodding necessary to keep growing if we so desire.  Yes be content with what you have--but always seek opportunities to grow yourself because you never know where that can elevate you.  Esther allowed herself to grow and become someone she most likely would not have been otherwise--the Queen of the Persian Empire, who is the person responsible for saving all exiled Jews.  Challenge yourself and welcome that change!  Ask yourself, where can you stand to grow a little, be stretched a little more, in what way can you yield to God's direction and simply trust Him?  Following that dream He put in your heart?  Discovering what you have been called to do? Simply knowing and trusting Him? Or the one that hurts, what is it that you are doing right now that you need to stop in order to truly see growth? None of these areas are places to become complacent.  The hardest step is always the first.

 

In fact, to be distressed in a godly way causes people to change the way they think and act and leads them to be saved. No one can regret that. But the distress that the world causes brings only death.  2 Corinthians 7:10

 

...Don't you realize that it is God's kindness that is trying to lead you to him and change the way you think and act? Romans 2:4