Simple devotions to inspire individuals to examine their lives. To further encourage individuals to spread the word to all people.
God came to spread peace and love to the entire world. Jesus did not die for a few but for everyone.
I ask you Dear Savior to use me to be an instrument of peace. May individuals that visit this blog feel the love that you freely give. In your Holy Name Amen.
Song inspired by the
chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
It is time to offer our
praises up to God. To thank God for all
that has been done for us. To show
gratitude to the one that loves us all.
God has shown us what love
is all about. God sent the beloved Son
to die on the cross when we didn’t deserve it.
God offers this gift to all that will ask for the forgiveness. God did this to provide us a way to come to
Heaven. No one is denied this gift if
they simply ask to receive it. If that
is not love what is?
Once you ask Jesus in
your life. There is something that you
can do to show others love. You will
feel a tug on your heart to help those in need.
You may feel the need to feed the hungry. You may be led to find shelter for the
homeless. You heart may guide you to
visit those that no one visits. Your
heart will be filled with so much love that you will feel the desire to show
love to the community around you.
Think about all the
things that you can do to share the love God has given you. Since god loves us all we need to open our
doors to the community. We should not
pick and choose who can come to know the love of God. Instead we should reach out beyond the walls
of our churches into the community. When
you open the church and your life to the community you are expressing your
gratitude to God. You are allowing God
to bless others through you.
Our God is so good. The goodness that is God should become the
drive of our life. We should desire to
return that goodness to all we meet. We
also need to do one other important thing.
That is to love ourselves. God created
us and loves us just the way we are. No
matter what others may say God created you the way you are. Once you accept God in your life things will
change. Your life will change because
you will realize how much you are loved.
That love will help you love those that you come in contact.
Praise God for all that
happens. Worship God for the love that
flows through the creation. Remember to
thank God for all that you have. Offer
of gratitude for your gift of salvation.
Know that God loves you. Remember
that God is not a vengeful god, but that God is love. In the end show others love and be Jesus for
someone today.
Prayer:
God we praise you for
all you have done for us. Thank you for
loving us all the time. Thank you for
giving us the gift of everlasting life.
Help us be Jesus for someone today.
Guide our hearts to show love to someone that needs that today. In the name of the God of love we pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you accepted the
free gift of love that God has given to us all?
Have you turned your life over so that you can be a reflection of God’s
love? Is there something that you can do
today so that God’s love can be shown to the world?
Song inspired by the
chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the verses:
This psalm is a teaching tool that touches
on the fact that nothing can truly keep us from God. There are many of us that have a deep down
fear that we can do things that keep us away from God. Yet, we have one thing to remember is that
nothing that we do will separate us from God.
There are three different terms used for sin in this Psalm. Understanding the different terms helps us understand
the power that God has in our life. We
also have to understand that no matter what we do that we cannot build a wall
that cannot be broken between God and us.
The first sin that is mentioned is that of transgression. Transgression is when we rebel against
God. If you are like me the first
thought is if I transgress I am acting out on God. I am personally choosing not to do what God
wants us to do. The next thought is can
God forgive me because I deliberately chose not to do God’s will.
Steps back a second and look at your own life. What happens when we hit our teen years? If you are like me and a lot of others you
started doing the opposite of what your parents or other adult role models wanted. It is easy to forget the times that you
stepped out of line during those moments in your life. Yet, think back to what happened to you. The majority can say that it was hard on our
parents or others raising us. Yet, in
most cases our parents were right there helping us to get back in the straight
and narrow. Even if they disagreed totally
with what we were doing they were concerned about us.
If our earthly parents can help us when we are rebelling why would
God be any different? I bet most of you hadn’t
thought about it that way. In fact, I hadn’t
ever realized that my rebellion to God could be compared to the things that I
did growing up. Yet, if you look at it
in this new light you will see that it is truly the same.
Therefor no matter how far we try to struggle the one that created
us will be there to guide us back to where we need to be. Jesus was the way that was given so that we
could be forgiven. Unlike most of our
caretakers as children God doesn’t remember the transgression once we ask Jesus
in our life. It doesn’t matter if we did
it ten years ago or just today the rebellion is forgiven and forgotten as long
as we have asked Jesus in our life.
Think on this the next time you step off the path that you should be
following.
Now the next thing mentioned is that of sin. This word strikes a fear of rejection harder
than most words. We are told over and
over when we are in situations with other Christians how bad it is to sin. Yet, let us look at the actual word sin. The word used for sin in Hebrew and Greek is
simply not hitting the mark that is expected.
Now I don’t know for you but this helps me further understand how sin
can be forgiven. Missing the mark is a
lot different than rebellion.
We have all sinned and come short of the goals of God. Yet, we have to understand that even though
we haven’t done exactly what we should have done God is willing to overlook
it. The way God overlooks it is when we
ask Jesus to come into our lives and change us.
When we ask God to forgive us for the things that we did not do right we
are forgiven. When we truly ask God for
eternal grace we are given grace. Our
sins are washed out of our lives.
Think of it like this. How many
of you have ever played a sport? My
sports were basketball and softball. When you play team sports there is this
feeling that you have not to upset the apple cart. To make sure that every time you play you are
giving your all. Knowing that a wrong throw
or a missed basket could end the game without the results the whole team
wants. Yet, everyone on a team knows
that there will be mistakes. They have
all had that moment that they could have done things a little better.
Even coaches who raise their voices and put people on the benches
know that it isn’t the end of life. I
had coaches that after important games would tell us all that we did our
best. When you have a coach that
understands that people don’t always perform at the top then you can make
mistakes without the fear of doom. The
coach will just make sure you practice whatever you didn’t do right so the next
time you are on the court or on the field you will hopefully not make the same
mistake.
If people in general can forgive us when we don’t do things just
right what makes us think God is any different.
God wants us to do our best in all things. When you do sin you need to ask God to help
you not to commit the same sin again. To
help you keep closer to the goal at hand.
Once we ask Jesus to be our life coach.
To cover us with the gift of eternal forgiveness we are blessed with the
best coach ever. No matter what mistake
you make Jesus will be there to guide you.
Since you have asked Jesus to come and cover your sins they are not only
forgiven but forgotten. The key in this
situation is to make sure that you have asked for the gift of forgiveness so
that you can walk a closer walk with God.
Iniquity is different in that it is deliberately walking off the
path that God has laid out. It is a true
intent to not do what God wants you to do.
It is choosing to deliberately not be what you are called to do. Yet, we can all be cleansed from our
iniquities.
I imagine this to be like breaking a law that has been passed. Theft, murder and abuse of ones in your care
are all laws that we all know exist. We
know in our hearts that doing these is in direct violation of what we are supposed
to do in society. We know that when we
do them there will be a consequence that we will face.
In the justice system hard judgments can fall on people that have
broken these laws. Yet, there are some
judges that will go lenient on someone if this is their first time. They will probably go to prison yet; they may
be able to be paroled. Judges believe
that people can feel remorse and also be rehabilitated. If our justice system can do this why would
we think that it would be different for God?
God is the most supreme of all judges. With that being said I want you to think upon
this one thought God is not revengeful.
Even though we did not deserve a way out of our iniquities the Son came
to cover them. Jesus’s death on the
cross is truly the power of redemption in our life. If we ask for our iniquities to be covered by
the blood of the Perfect Lamb they are covered.
Nevermore will we have to worry that we are not good enough to be loved
by the Creator. The wrath of God will
not fall on those that have truly asked Jesus to come in their life and be
saved.
To sum things up I want you to think about the elements that are
the same in these three scenarios:
1.We have done something that is against the
will of God.
2.God loves us no matter what we have done.
3.Our wrong doings can be forgiven and
forgotten if we ask Jesus into our life.
Prayer:
Precious God we thank you for loving
us. We thank you for sending Jesus to
die so that we could be forgiven. We
praise you for sending the Holy Spirit to guide us one we accept Christ into
our hearts. Help us today to walk close
to you. Help us turn our lives over to
you. Help us be the children that you
want us to be. God forgive us for the
things that we have done wrong. In the
name of the Savior we pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you accepted Jesus into your life? Have you turned your life over to the one who
can wash away all of your sins? Is today
the day that you ask the Savior into your life?
Song inspired by the
chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
We face hard times
throughout our whole life. Many times we have feelings that we are broken
and isolated. We have this great fear that our enemies or other struggles
will take over our life. We get so distracted that we forget that we can
have peace if we turn it over to God.
No matter what happens in
our life we need to understand that God is in our life. The problem is that we tend to concentrate on
the problem instead of giving it over to God.
Jesus can take us from a broken vessel to completely heal.
We need to know that God
is there comforting us. Protecting us
and carrying through the trials that we face.
We need to understand that we need to call God to come into the middle
of our strife. God will not only come to
us but, will also solve our problem. The
answer may not be what we want but what we need to take us from broken to
whole.
Jesus is always our
strength and our refuge. We need to
remember this. We need to turn it over
we find our strength and courage. This happens
because we are closer to God. As we
grow closer to God we receive all we need.
We will have all we need to overcome our obstacles.
The problems of our life
may seem to be suffocating us. We need
to allow God to take over our issues. We
need to allow God to carry us. We need to
realize that we are not able to do it alone.
The only thing that we need to do to have that comfort is to turn it
over to God.
Jesus is ready to come
in our life to help us with all of our issues.
To help us deal with the struggles that seems impossible. We are faced with only one issue and that is
if we are willing to ask Jesus to help us.
The fact, that we have that choice is amazing. Think on this a moment that God is willing to
help us if we ask God to help us. Jesus can
be our ultimate strength if we allow God.
Prayer:
God we thank you for loving
us when we do not deserve it. God we
thank you for helping us when we are weak.
Jesus we praise you for being our refuge. We praise you for making us whole when we
feel broken. In the name of the Healer
we pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you ever felt weak? Have you ever felt alone? In your weakest moments have you called upon
Jesus to help you? Are you ready to give
it all to God? Are you ready to be made
whole by the power of Jesus?
Song inspired by the chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
People have a tendency
to pray to God when they are sick. They
want God to step in and cure them from their illness. They pray to God to take away their
pain. They ask God to heal not only their
ailments but those of the ones they love.
We need to remember that
there is more that we need to pray for.
Some of us get frustrated when they ask God for physical healing and
they do not get it immediately. Some
people even turn away from God because they believe that God has betrayed
them. They get angry with God when their
loved ones do not get well. They get
frustrated praying over and over to God to make them well but it doesn’t
happen.
Yet, what most of us
miss is that God knows what we really need help with. Sometimes when we think it is our body that
needs healing there is an emotional part that truly needs help. There are times that God will heal us spiritually
even though we prayed for healing of our body.
We miss that God may be calling our love one home. In those moments instead of providing the
healing that they need we receive healing to overcome the death.
We need to realize that
God loves us unconditionally. God
doesn’t want us to be in pain. God
doesn’t want us to suffer. God wants us
to live in peace. God wants to provide
us with an inner peace that we desperately need.
We miss that sometimes
that the pain that we are going through may be the thing we need to grow
stronger. We may need to be knocked down
to our knees so that we will turn back to God.
People often forget to worship God when things are going good. It is in those moments of need that we turn
things over to the Great Healer. It isn’t
that God does not want us to have the pain.
Yet, God is able to use the pain that we have to draw us closer.
We need to let go of our
anger and mourning. Think on this God
loss the Son to the Cross. This was
willing done so that we may have eternal life.
We are blessed with knowing that our God loves us so much that we truly
have no fear. God provides us with
calmness if we turn over our problems over to God.
Prayer:
Dear God thank you. Thank you for providing us peace. Thank you for providing us the healing that
we need. Help us walk in your
comfort. Help us know that no matter
what is happening in our life you are there carrying. Help us remember that you are always by our
side being our best friend. Help us find
peace in you. In the name of the Great
Healer we pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you turned away
from God because you do not receive the healing that you want? Have you run from God because you have lost a
loved one that you have prayed for? Is
today the day that you run back to God?
Is this moment the time that you praise God for the healing that you
have received? Have you looked into your
life and determined that there are many things that you need to thank God for?
Song inspired by the chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
Many of us are searching
for strength. We are worried about the future. We are worried about the storms of life. We are worried that our life will end. We are worried that there is no way out of
the situation that we are in.
We forget who the
Creator of the world is. We forget that
we have all the answers we need. We
forget that God has power over all the storms.
We forget to turn over our issues to God.
God exudes strength and
compassion. God guides us through the
storms of life. God never leaves our
side. God is the very grounding point that
we need for our life to be successful.
Think about this a
moment God created the storms. Since God
created the storms is God not the ruler of the Storms. The very voice of God came calm the
storms. God not only the physical storms
but our emotional storms.
God has power over all
things. We need to remember that God
will be our provider. We need to offer
praises up to God for what has happened to us.
We need to remember that God desires peace in our life. When we trust God we are able to overcome all
of the hardships in life.
Prayer:
Dear God we praise you
for all things that you have and will do for us. We praise you for your sacrifice. We thank you for your love. We praise you for getting us through the
storms of life. Help us offer praises up
to your name. Help us turn over our
struggles to you. In the name of the One
Who Rules the Storms we pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you trusted God to help you in this life? Have you turned your problems over to
God? Have you praised God for getting
you through the storms of Life? Is there
anything that you need to turn over to God today? Is there anything that you need to praise God
for today?
Song inspired by the chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
Have you ever thought
about how many times you have God to step in and help you work out your
problems? Have you ever stopped and
thanked God for help was given? Have you
ever lifted praises up to the Savior for being your strength?
We are good at asking
for help. We ask God to heal us and our
friends and family. We ask God for a
better job. We ask God to help us get us
through rough times. We ask over and
over again knowing God will provide the answers.
Yet, how often do we
thank God? God is to be praised when
things go right in our life. God is to
be honored when we get through rough patches in our life. God is to be worshipped at all times. Yet, do we do this?
I learned a valuable
lesson several years ago. Those of us
that are Christian I need to thank God every day for just being alive. See even though I am sick God is my
strength. I have nothing to fear because
God is there. Therefor I have learned
that I am living each day to my fullest because of the gift God has given me.
People have a tendency
to think that we can ask for help without thanking God. Even Jesus taught in his example of prayer to
thank God first. We might not get the
exact solution that we want. Yet, we
need to thank God for getting through and giving us what we truly need.
People often ask me if I
am so convinced God heals why I feel that my disease is incurable. I believe that God has given us science to
solve the mysteries of life. That
through doctors God has provided the next healers. This process is a learning process and may
take years even decades to find a way to cure simple illnesses. Yet, we need to thank God for being with
these people as they try to make the sick healthy.
Lifting praise up to God
is easy. It is opening our hearts to a
new way of thinking. Offering up prayer
even when we do not get the answer we though we wanted are essential. Praising God needs to become second nature in
our life. When we pray we should offer
up to God our thanks. We should praise
God for what is happening. We should honor God by our prayers.
Consider your prayers a
time of worship. Prayers are a time when
you have an opportunity to commune one on one with God. Prayers are a time when you can praise God
for the things of the present, past and future.
Prayers are a time when we put our needs and desires out of the
limelight and allow our praises to be the forefront. You will come to realize that when you praise
God you are also worshiping the one that has created you. That is enough reason to praise God every
day.
Prayer:
We thank you for both answered
and unanswered prayers. We praise you
for helping us get through this time on Earth.
We thank you dear Jesus for dying on the cross to set us free. We praise you God for loving us when we do
not deserve it. We worship you today God
for being our strength and protector. In
the name of the Most High we pray. Amen
Questions:
Do you worship God in your prayers? Do you praise God for the gifts you have in
this life? Are you worshiping god when
you pray? So is today the day that you
start putting your praises to God before your own needs?
Song inspired by the chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
We are not to be afraid.
We are not to worry. We are to pray and worship God. God is
our refuge when we are struggling. God
is our strength when we are weak.
What we have to understand
is no matter what happens in this life we have a personal protector. Those that accept Christ in their life have a
strength that outweighs all fears and doubts.
The enemy may rise up against us but God will protect us and take away
our worries.
Many people in today’s
world are worried that they cannot make it day to day. They stress because their finances are not
where they want to be. They worry over
people that are causing them conflicts.
The stress of their job is pulling heavy on their heart. They are so consumed with the way things are
going on Earth that they are forgetting to rely on God.
As a Christian we do not
walk alone. In those moments that we are
struggling God will be there carrying us.
In those moments when everyone has left us God is right there. When we are afraid of what is around the bend
God is there. The problem is we allowing
ourselves to feel the comfort of God.
It is hard for us to
just let go. When we hold on to our
struggles we are allowing the enemy to take control of our life. When we stress about the future without praying
to God we are trying to handle it ourselves.
God wants us to pray so that our fears can be relieved.
Examine your life. Is there a moment that you forgot to let go
and let God. Is there a time when things
were so rough that you couldn’t imagine making it through it. Is there a situation in which you felt the
enemy was stifling your happiness. In
those times did you call on God.
I think back to that
moment when Jesus was praying on the mount.
Jesus knew his destiny. Yet, for
one moment he cries out to God if there is any other way to do this. If Jesus can call out to the creator in times
of need why do we hold it in and try to fix it our self.
David knew that God had
gotten him through the hard patches of life.
When the enemy was coming he turned it over to God and was protected. David knew that God was the only refuge he
needed in his life. God had helped him
so much that he had learned to trust God.
Look at your life aren’t there times that God got you through something
that you could not handle alone. The
arms of God are waiting to provide you refuge.
Is today the day you turn it over?
Prayer:
We praise you for the
strength that you give us. We honor you
for the love that you show us. We thank
you for providing the refuge we need in our lives. We offer up our hearts to you today. Help us in our times of need? Help us turn our struggles over to you. In the name of Protector of Life we pray. Amen
Questions:
Is this what we do? Think about the hardest situation that you
are going through today. Have you turned
it over to God? Are you taking refuge in
the loving arms of the Creator?
