Category: Devotionals Page 15 of 50
You may be wondering what the above verse has to do with bad habits. Every year, people make New Year’s resolutions to break old habits and by the month of March, they discontinue their resolutions; they have given up.
People resolve to read through the Bible every year yet they give up in the middle of Leviticus. Why? If you met the woman or man of your dreams, you would want to know everything there is to know about that new love, wouldn’t you? It is no different with one’s relationship with God. You either love Him with every fiber of your being or you don’t.
Every page of our Bibles is filled with news and information about God and the Son He sent to die for us. If a total stranger saved your life, I would very well imagine that you would be indebted to that stranger forever. Jesus died for our sins and saved us from spending an eternity in the Lake of Fire! How much more indebted to Him should we be? Should we not anxiously look for letters from Him so we can learn everything we can about Him?
Friend, eternity is a long time and you will either spend it with Him or in the Lake of Fire. It is my desire that you will break your bad habit of going through life business as usual. There is no one who will love you more than Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour! First, get your relationship with Him settled. You can click on this link to learn how to be born again. Then once you are truly repentant and have accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, your desires will change (2 Corinthians 5:17). You will thirst after the Scriptures. THEN, God’s Word will open up and you will behold beautiful and wonderful truths. You will never go hungry; you will never thirst; you will be fed each time you open your Bible! It will be your shield for every bad habit you wish to break!
If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
Jealousy is a dangerous emotion in any relationship. Once it is introduced and it is not kept at bay, it is like a fast spreading fire through dry brush. It is not called the green-eyed monster for nothing! What exactly is jealousy? Noah Webster defines it as:
That passion of peculiar uneasiness which arises from the fear that a rival may rob us of the affection of one whom we love, or the suspicion that he has already done it; or it is the uneasiness which arises from the fear that another does or will enjoy some advantage which we desire for ourselves. A man’s jealousy is excited by the attentions of a rival to his favorite lady. A woman’s jealousy is roused by her husband’s attentions to another woman. The candidate for office manifests a jealousy of others who seek the same office. The jealousy of a student is awakened by the apprehension that his fellow will bear away the palm of praise. In short,jealousy is awakened by whatever may exalt others, or give them pleasures and advantages which we desire for ourselves. Jealousy is nearly allied to envy, for jealousy, before a good is lost by ourselves, is converted into envy, after it is obtained by others.
As we approach the Tribulation, we see this emotion more and more. The introduction of social media has exacerbated this emotion. We see people spending more time looking down at their phones than their surroundings. They can’t see who matters most to them. Our spouses, our friends take a back burner and realize that a cell phone has more importance than our relationship. Men have placed their own desires ahead of their families.
Is it any wonder that children act up to get their parents’ attention? Is it any wonder that a man wonders why his wife or girlfriend spends more time looking at her phone than paying attention to him? They are jealous of whatever means more to you than they!
Friend, if you are guilty of this, it is not what the Lord wants for you. Do you realize if you are, you are not only taking time away from your loved ones, you are also taking away from your time with the Lord? He is a jealous God and will not have you replace Him.
Check your relationships! What’s important to you? Do you want to be responsible for allowing jealousy to destroy your relationships? Are you the cause? Start with the Lord and that relationship in order. Repent and move forward to those relationships in your life that actually mean something.
If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
In this world filled with mind-boggling technology, people are lonelier than ever before. Science of People conducted a poll in 2019 which showed 58% of Americans found themselves lonely! How can this be? Social media is a platform to connect people, yet people find themselves lonelier!
I believe there are a couple of reasons for this:
- Social media connects people online but does not connect people in person. I attend a Zoom Bible study and it’s wonderful. But it would be so much nicer to be with those people in person! People need actual people in their lives. No man is an island, so they say.
- Secondly, people need the Lord. Everyone has a God-sized hole in their heart that can only be filled with a personal relationship with the Lord. I have seen people’s lives transformed once they were born-again and received the indwelling Holy Spirit residing with them every second of every day!
If you had a friend who was always there for you, right at your fingertips; a friend who would answer your plea and come running, you would not be lonely would you? Well, Reader, there IS someone who can be all these things. God wants to be your friend. He desires to have fellowship with you. When God created mankind, his initial intent was to have fellowship. We see this in Genesis when God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
However, when they willfully rebelled and disobeyed God’s warning, He broke that fellowship. (Genesis 3:3) But this account didn’t end there. God had a plan and that plan was to restore fellowship with mankind. God took the form of a man, Jesus Christ, come to earth, and die for the sins that separated God and man. One of the names for Jesus is Emmanuel, which is Hebrew for “God with us.” What a beautiful depiction of God! Christ rose from the dead and anyone who believes on the Son is freed from the bondage and punishment of sin. (John 3:16, John 3:3, John 3:7) That original fellowship was restored and now Christ dwells within us through His Holy Spirit. (John 14:17, John 15:26, John 16:13) Praise the Lord!
Anyone who is born again can have the joy of the Lord living inside him. This joy pushes loneliness away. If you’re not in the Word of God, you have no clear direction. But when you are in the Word, you can learn and glean from its blessings! No one could have been more lonely than David. He was chased by King Saul, and then by many more enemies! He found himself alone and discouraged.
We see in the next verse that the results were astonishing! Loneliness and despair were replaced by singing and praise!
The born-again believer has the power to overcome loneliness if only that believer will spend time in God’s Word and allow it’s healing balm to take root in his heart! David was given a new song to sing! Our praises and songs, in the midst of trials and fears, will lead others to see, fear and trust in the Lord! Wow! Our testimony as believers is what speaks volumes to the unsaved world. Our testimony is a light that points the lost to Christ. (Matthew 5:14) We show others how God comforts us in the midst of turbulent times.
But the unbeliever doesn’t have God to comfort him. It doesn’t have to be that way. One can be born-again if one chooses it. Salvation is a choice. If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
Relationships can be so complicated. In this post, I won’t be talking about relationships between a man and a woman. I’ll be covering friendships in general. Today’s verse packs a punch, doesn’t it? If your friends are not wise or even believers, how do you think they respond when you need help? The Apostle Paul gives us insight in this area.
Paul is speaking of close relationships here. Therefore, if your friend is a born-again Christian and solid in his faith, you will be able to turn to that friend for prayer, as well as counsel. However, if you have a long-time friend who is not saved, you will only get worldly advice.
The Apostle Paul knew what he was talking about. After all, Paul was a Pharisee before he had his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:1-5. Can you imagine how his friends who were Pharisees felt when they learned of his conversion? No where do we see in Scriptures where Paul spoke of continuing his friendships without him correcting their religion.
Another reason to be equally yoked with someone who is saved and growing in the Lord is that you know that you can go to that friend and receive godly counsel, even if it hurts your feelings!
This not only applies to your friends, but to you as well! You should be solid enough in your faith to be able to provide biblical proof when you speak with another believer. I once worked with another believer and it was wonderful to be able to share God’s Word together. However, one day she was angry with the bank teller at the drive through and gave her a hand gesture that no believer should do. I began to distance myself after that. She came back to me asking why, and I gave her this verse:
Her pride prevented her from receiving the verse and our relationship was strained after that. There is a reason the Lord put verses in the Bible like this one. You are who you hang around with! Be wise in your selection of friends. Pray about the people that come into your life and let the Lord guide you, and He will reveal His will for you in this area.
If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
What is worry? By definition, Noah Webster has the best:
To tease; to trouble; to harass with importunity, or with care and anxiety. Persons are often worried with care and solicitude.
When one worries, one allows circumstances, whether present or future, to overpower one’s thinking. Mr. Webster hits the nail on the head when he uses the words “harass with importunity.” Worry presents itself as a pressing or urgent demand on one’s thinking. The Lord does not want His followers to worry. No! He wants us to rest in Him, find peace in Him, and allow Him to lead us.
If you don’t take care of your frame of mind, your thinking, the devil will most certainly get into your thoughts and cause worry. If there’s any way the enemy can remove your thoughts from centering on the Lord your God, he will do it! The Apostle Peter gave us an encouraging verse in 1 Peter 5:7, but read the next verse!
If the devil can sway you into thinking about things that are truly out of your control, he has succeeded in devouring your thoughts! He has succeeded in removing Christ from the center of your heart! Don’t let him succeed!
But how does one do that? Read the Word, listen to godly music, praise Him while you wait on His replies, praise Him in all things – good or bad! Paul’s words to the Philippians are spot on! He gives us clear directions:
If your thoughts are consumed with godly things, there will be no room for worry. If you feel worry setting in, think on these things! Praise the Lord in your storm of worry; thank Him for the things that are causing worry because it is through giving Him these worries that you learn to trust in Him.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (6) In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
Although David wrote this Psalm while he was hiding from King Saul, the sinking feeling of helplessness is the same as going through a natural disaster where you have no control over the results. Amen? I feel for people who live in tornado alley, in the path of a volcano, or where hurricanes frequent the most. Disastrous occasions seem to bring people to their knees. Sometimes that reaction is short-lived. When I think of 9/11, I remember churches being full because of the fear that entered America’s hearts. But it was indeed short-lived. It wasn’t long before America stopped frequenting the churches and went back to their everyday lives. Are you counted amongst those, Reader?
If you are amongst those who abandoned God after the possibility of being spiritually awakened, you may very well be telling God you are no longer interested in His appeals. How awful for anyone who has reached this point.
For those who listened to God’s call and became born-again believers, God has countless promises in His Word for you! Born-again believers have an advantage over those who are not Christians. God promises peace and comfort when we dive into the Bible. It can be found within its pages, Christian. I especially love Psalms because David poured his heart out to God and penned those words. Those who love God’s Word reap its benefit to this day!
I have been through a natural disaster back in July of 1983 when I lived with my sister’s family in Baton Rouge, LA. A flood occurred when the drainage could not keep up and about three feet of water covered many streets. We were rescued by boat and brought to a safe place. It was three days before we could return to the house we were staying in and what a mess it was. I praise the Lord for strength of body to clean up and for the Red Cross to help with items that were lost. It was quite traumatic for me because my husband was in school several hours away. Although I had my sister and her family with me, it wasn’t the same as having my husband. But God’s peace surrounded me, and I was not afraid because I knew He would take care of the details. This was not of my own doing but totally God-given.
Dearest Reader, if you find yourself in the midst of a natural disaster, turn to the One who can give you comfort during the darkest hours. Granted, the verse below is referencing to the Apostle Paul’s petitions to God to remove a “thorn in the flesh.” However, God’s grace is sufficient for us during a natural disaster. His strength is revealed in how you handle that storm of life. People are watching you whether you know it or not. When they see your peace instead of fear, they will wonder why! (Philippians 4:7)
If you are not truly born-again, you go through your trial alone. You do not have God by your side, helping you every step of the way. Reader, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
Good morning, Reader! Today’s topic is the result of personal growth in my life. There was a time that I worried about everything. At salvation, that was the first thing the Lord took away from my life. It helped me to trust in Him early on and to develop dependence on Him and Him alone. But what if a believer has not been rid of this? The Apostle Paul gives us clear instruction in the verse above: prayer and thanksgiving. Is it any wonder why believers struggle with anxiety? Prayer must be a daily (if not more) occurrence, Reader. It teaches us to turn to the Father in everything. It teaches us to share our anxieties with Him and lay them at His feet to take care of for you. Prayer teaches us to submit to the Father’s will for our lives.
What things make you anxious? Do you have a rocky marriage? Do you struggle with the war in the Middle East? Is your income less than your purchases? So many things can lead a person to feel anxious and uncertain about the future. We will be seeing the repercussions of Satan’s efforts to rule this world more and more as the end of days approaches. The Rapture could happen at any time! But until it does, we will see the hearts of men grow colder and more wicked. Jesus teaches us in:
Christian, we are currently seeing God’s chosen people brutalized in Israel. In fact, antisemitism has increased exponentially and is occurring in our own country. How very sad that Christians aren’t creating more of a stink and speaking up against it! Your silence is interpreted as agreement with those who hate the Jewish people. We cannot and should not be silent. As we speak up against the enemy’s hatred of the Jews, we can be sure to fall under persecution ourselves. But according to Jesus, we are to rejoice and leap for joy for our reward is great in Heaven!
If you’re anxious about circumstances in your life, I recommend you do the following:
If you feel that anxiousness rise up in your spirit, pray again! Keep praying and keep telling the Lord that you can’t take it. He will not abandon you any more than you would abandon your own child if that child came to you for comfort, Christian! Jesus promises us:
If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
Is it any wonder why people are more fearful these days? They look around and see chaos where there once was calmness. One only look at major cities and see the homeless population. Crime is up, jobs are down, and prices are escalating! All this doom and gloom can be overwhelming to some. So what exactly does one do when the cares of this world seem to take over one’s life? The Bible has all the answers, especially to believers!
The remedy for fear is clearly depicted in today’s Bible passage. There’s a clear outline and I laid it out for you in today’s graphic. The word “fret” starts off our “don’t do’s,” but what exactly does that word mean? I thought it meant not to worry, but not according to Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary.
To be agitated; to be in violent commotion; as the rancor that frets in the malignant breast.
To be vexed; to be chafed or irritated; to be angry; to utter peevish expressions. “He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground.
Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary
This definition is not what I expected at all. So God tells His child not to get agitated or have violent disturbances over seeing the sinner prosper. I can think of several circumstances of this type of agitation in my own circle of friends and acquaintances. How does God respond to this? In the very next verse, He tells us that their end will come and they will be cut down. No matter how bad life gets as a result of the evildoers, their time will come. People who give into their fears usually develop anxiety and mental illness. So is it any wonder that from 2007 to 2017, there was a 13% increase in mental health conditions? If you let it go far enough, it can literally disable you!
There has been a 13% rise in mental health conditions and substance use disorders in the last decade (to 2017). Mental health conditions now cause 1 in 5 years lived with disability.
World health organization
The next remedy is to “trust in the Lord”! Proverbs 3:5-6 is an excellent piece of advice from David’s own son, Solomon. There is nothing that happens that God has not already given the “go ahead.” He has allowed the circumstances in your life for a reason: (1) to grow you spiritually, or (2) to teach you a lesson. The conclusion to either one should be to trust Him.
We then come to a somewhat odd remedy and that is to delight oneself in the Lord. Noah Webster said: “Delight is a more permanent pleasure than joy, and not dependent on sudden excitement.” When one has the joy of the Lord in their hearts, one delights in Him. When we delight in Him, He will bless you with the desires of your heart. The desires He gives you will most certainly be according to His will for you.
Committing your way has more emphasis than trust. It means you have no doubt that God will handle whatever situation you have placed in His care. You have entrusted God because you know for a fact that He will provide the answer and fulfill your need according to His will. He is your Jehovah Jireh. (Genesis 22:14) Just as God provided a sacrifice to Abraham to replace Isaac, so will God provide you with what you will need for every situation when you commit your way to Him. Committing to God brings with it a sense of surety knowing without a doubt that God will handle it.
The next remedy is to “Rest in the LORD”! Oh Reader, have you rested in the Lord? Rest is to stop, to be quiet; free of any disturbances in your life. It’s a time of complete reconciliation with God. Jesus told us about this rest in Matthew 11:28. There is no rest for the unbeliever because he has a God-shaped hole in his heart that has been filled with the cares of this world. But to the believer, we can rest in the fact that God’s Word is never wrong! Amen?
Then we are given a gentle reminder not to fret. This ends the remedy. However, now begins the application. No remedy is able to perform its cure if it is never taken or applied. If you’re a believer, you have everything you need at your fingertips.
If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (6) In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
If you are reading this and find yourself in the midst of living without a job, I pray this post encourages your heart! But do you know that God is with you, Christian? He has not abandoned you – He is with you through His Holy Spirit! He never leaves you nor will He forsake you in this time of hardship! (Hebrews 13:5)
I find it so personal when I read that one of God’s names is Emmanuel (or Immanuel in the King James Bible). The Hebrew word literally means:
עִמָּנוּאֵל
‛immânû’êl
im-maw-noo-ale’
From H5973 and H410 with suffix pronoun inserted; with us (is) God;
Christ’s title, Emmanuel, is most commonly used at Christmas time to describe His birth. However, the meaning “God with us” goes so much deeper. As I see the news of the unemployment lines getting longer, I can only imagine the distraught and discouraged minds! Worrying over bills and putting food on the table is something that hits everyone. But is it what Christians should be worrying over? Emmanuel is with us. In a previous post about El Roi, we learned that this is Hebrew for “God sees us.” Today, we learn that God is with us. Nothing gets passed Him, Reader. God put specific titles for His name so that we would learn about His character.
God knows your difficulties and He knows exactly what you need, even before you realize that you need it. He is working out the details in the background whether you see that or not. Isaiah 46:10 proves to us that He knows the beginning to the end. Therefore, He will not place you in a situation where it will cause you to sin. Absolutely not! You can trust Him to do the right things in your life! Today’s Scripture passage in Proverbs is so apropos!
As a believer, trust that God sees what you are going through and is present to help you to go through this trial of unemployment. He just asks that you trust Him and to acknowledge that you are not going to lean on your own personal understanding of the circumstances. Allow God to work… He won’t let you down. I think of David as he was struggling with Saul trying to kill him. He wrote many Psalms as he struggled with life and death situations. Spend time in Psalms and encourage your heart! Take a look at what David wrote when he was delivered out of the hands of his enemies and the hand of Saul:
2 Samuel 22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
Your trial is no less important to God than was David’s trials. The same God that delivered David will help you with finding work. One of my favorite verses depicting how much we mean to Him is:
Christian, be encouraged because your Father is there and He will help you. Trust in Him and allow Him to open or close doors; allow Him to work, and don’t jump the gun. He loves you (John 3:16); He sees you (El Roi); He is with you (Emmanuel). How more personal can it get? What a wonderfully compassionate God we serve!!!
If you are not truly born-again, you cannot experience the peace that God brings. There is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!