I John 2:6
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
This is one of the toughest assignments we could ever have been given. It could take someone his whole life just to get started. Fear, pride and other things will keep some from accepting the gift of salvation until they are much older. Personally, I’m glad I accepted Christ at a young age.
In this verse, however, John is not talking about our initial conversion to Christ, but rather our ongoing walk with Him. There are many aspects of this walk that I have heard people talk about. Loving one another, sharing the good news, and praying for the sick are just a few.
From what I’ve seen there is a major part of Jesus’ life that most Christians never even hear about, let alone imitate. I am talking about the many times that Jesus went to a solitary place just to be alone with the Father. It was during these times that He received the strength and guidance needed to fulfill His public ministry.
So, in my opinion, if Jesus needed this in His life, if He felt He couldn’t complete His call without it, then who am I to think I can get by without these private times in the Lord’s presence. That is why I put together these devotions. I want as many believers as are able, to experience this incredible meeting of them and God in that secret place.
Spend time in the Father’s presence today. Find there what your soul needs to carry on.
Tags: Bible, calling, Christ, Christian, destiny, devotion, disciple, encouragement, fellowship, God's will, guidance, Holy Spirit, holy worship, intimacy, Jesus Christ, prayer, prepare, presence of the lord, revival, solitary place, strength, walk like Jesus
Mark 6:51-52
Then he [Jesus] climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
The weather is something you and I can’t control. Every part of the USA has some kind of natural dangers that occur regularly. Whether it’s tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, or mudslides, there is no way to stop it once it starts. Most of what you encounter in these conditions is out of your hands, all you can do is prepare for it, and do your best to survive through it.
Even worse, are the spiritual and emotional storms that we face. Many times they come upon us with no warning at all. These upheavals can sometimes ruin the rest of our lives.
The good news is that no matter what you face in life, you’re never alone. When the disciples struggled to cross the lake they were never out of the Lord’s protection. It is good to know that when danger arises, He can walk on water to rescue you. Only He has the power to still the storm you’re going through and never break a sweat.
The trouble with the disciples was that they had not understood all that they saw in Jesus up until that point. Scripture says that their hearts were still hard. They should have been able to expect the Lord to show up when they needed Him. Instead they end up completely amazed that they were able to survive the ordeal.
Remember that the Lord can make a way for you when the path seems hopeless. Never forget to acknowledge His protective care over your life. Even in your darkest time, expect the Lord to show up and guide you to safe haven. Yield to Him today and let Him direct you to your destiny in Him.
Tags: Bible, Christ, Christian, danger, destiny, devotion, disciple, distractions, earthquake, emotional, encouragement, faith, fear, God's faithfulness, God's love, Holy Spirit, hurricane, Jesus Christ, mudslide, overcoming, prepare, problems, protection, spiritual, storm, strength, tornado, trust, victory, weather
Mark 6:48-50
He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified.
Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
In yesterday’s post, we saw that after sending the disciples off and dismissing the crowds, Jesus went up on a mountainside to pray and seek the Father. The disciples didn’t know that He could be up there praying and watching over them at the same time.
We sometimes think that God isn’t watching. Or maybe He’s ignoring us. The truth is that the Lord not only knows where you are, but He also knows the quickest route to get to you. There seemed to be no way for Jesus to be in a position to help the disciples. That is, until He started walking across the water.
He took the quickest path to the boat. Remember, the things that keep us down don’t bind the Lord. He knows how to show up in your time of need. The disciples weren’t looking for Him to appear. As a matter of fact, it seems that they were more afraid of the Lord walking on the water than they were of the storm.
If you are going through a storm today, don’t be afraid, Christ is nearby and ready to help you. Be in position to receive His help. Don’t fear His solution more than your problem. Put your life in His hands this day.
Tags: Bible, Christ, Christian, devotion, disciple, distractions, encouragement, faith, fear, God's faithfulness, help, Jesus Christ, overcoming, presence of the lord, problems, storm, strength, trust, victory
John 4:19-24
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem… Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
The Jews and the Samaritans worshipped God on two different mountains. The woman speaking to Jesus in this verse was starting to get uncomfortable with where the conversation was heading. She thought that she could start an argument about which was the right place. Fortunately the Lord was not distracted from His objective by her question.
Jesus answered that God is Spirit. He knows no physical limitations as to time and place. He explained to the woman that anywhere you worshipped God was the right place. This is a great blessing to us.
Worshipping God is one of the greatest experiences you could have. It doesn’t matter where you set aside the place. The key is that we come into His presence in spirit and in truth. To be alone with the Lord is something you cannot afford to miss.
Take the opportunity today to worship in His presence. Worship Him in spirit and truth, as He calls us to. You will find it to be one of the high points of your day.
Tags: Bible, Christ, Christian, devotion, disciple, distractions, encouragement, fellowship, Holy Spirit, holy worship, intimacy, Jesus Christ, mountain, mountaintop, prayer, prepare, presence of the lord, spirit and truth, worship
Isaiah 25:6-8
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.
I remember the first time I thought of buying a freeze-dried meal for hiking. I was at my local hiking store and asked one of the salespeople if this food was any good.
He replied, “It’s like this. At the end of a day of walking up and down mountains for 10 miles, with 35 pounds on your back, it will taste like you’re in a four star restaurant…just don’t try to eat them at home!” It seems that everything tastes better after a hike in the mountains.
God did His best work on Mt. Calvary. When Jesus went to the cross, He destroyed death and opened up the way to the greatest blessing we could imagine – a feast for our weary souls. He is the Bread of Heaven and the Living Water. If we feed on Him we will never hunger and thirst again.
Meditate on these things today as you go throughout your day. God is good. He has a banquet laid out for our souls. All we need to do is spend time with Him to avail ourselves of His bounty.
Tags: banquet, Bible, bread of heaven, Christ, Christian, devotion, encouragement, feast, fellowship, freeze dried, God's faithfulness, hiking food, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, living water, mountain, mountain feast, mountaintop, prayer, presence of the lord, revival, strength, trust
Luke 9:28-32
About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
This was a life-changing event in the eyes of the apostles. As Jesus prayed on the mountain, His appearance changed. For a brief instance He clothed Himself with the glory that was His throughout eternity.
It is God’s desire to do a similar work in us. When we receive a word from the Lord we are changed. We see what we could become – what we are truly called to be in Christ. In that moment we get a glimpse of the glory that could be evident in our lives.
This is our portion and our heritage in God. It could happen if we would only take the time to free ourselves from the cares and distractions of everyday life. By doing so we would enter a realm where God could speak to us in such a way as to change us forever.
Enter that life-changing presence today. Submit to the power of the Lord’s Word to you. Be transformed at His feet. Then descend the mountain – forever changed.
Tags: Bible, calling, Christ, Christian, destiny, devotion, encouragement, faith, glory, God's will, God's word, Holy Spirit, intimacy, Jesus Christ, life changing, mountain, mountaintop, overcoming, prayer, presence of the lord
Psalm 42:5-8
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you…Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life.
We all have times during which we get downcast. Confusion, weariness, and depression all come knocking at our door from time to time. If we give in, we lose without a fight.
There is one bright hope through it all – that is if we can remember to place God into the equation. When we merely focus in on the problem, it is easy to forget what God is able to do on our behalf.
It seems that whenever I meditate upon what the Lord has done for me in the past, I once again realize how good God really is. In this mindset I am aware of His presence to a greater degree than at any other time. It is very easy, then, to put God back in control of my situation.
Don’t waste the opportunity that your time with the Lord offers for the refreshing of your spirit. Use this time to strengthen your fellowship with Christ. Remember the victories He has brought you through in the past. He is still on the throne. He is well able to meet your need today.
Take those things that are burdening you down and turn them over to the One who can truly meet all your needs. Then you will be able to leave that downcast spirit at the foot of the cross and come away with a fresh and healthy new attitude.
Tags: Bible, burdens, Christ, Christian, confusion, cross, depression, devotion, disciple, distractions, downcast, encouragement, faith, glory, God's faithfulness, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, overcoming, power, praise, prayer, presence of the lord, problems, remember God, trust, victory, weariness
1 Peter 5:5-6
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
I am so thankful to God that I was raised in a Christian home. Because of that, I was able to accept the Gospel message at an early age. (See my previous “Testimony” post) That being said, there is a truth that all those in my condition need to learn. Just because I grew up going to church doesn’t mean that I had no use for the life transforming power of God in me.
I need Christ to work on me the same as everybody else – maybe even more so, because my problems were below the surface. Let me explain…
From my earliest memories, I was attending Sunday School at my church. I was also at church whenever the doors were open. That’s how my parents operated. Speaking of my parents, they were the type that always made sure that I had learned my “memory verse” for the week – BEFORE Sunday. There was only one other person in my class who had to do that. The rest just waited for him or me to go first, and then they repeated what we said.
I loved learning the Bible and soaked it in like a sponge. Ultimately, I became very knowledgeable in the Word of God. And that’s where it started to go downhill. When a question was asked by the teacher, I always knew the answer and raised my hand. Sometimes the teacher would call on me and I would receive the satisfaction of being correct.
Of course, teachers didn’t want the same person answering all the questions. So I was the one who jumped around with my hand up going, “Ou – ou – ou. Call on me. I know it.” When I saw that didn’t work, I resorted to yelling out the answer without the teacher calling on me. Needless to say, the teacher’s reaction didn’t boost my ego as I had intended.
Then it struck me. I came up with a new strategy. I never raised my hand again. I let all the other students answer the questions UNTIL there was a question that no one could answer. Only then would I raise my hand and invariably give the right answer. I became the class expert. The one they went to at the last resort.
Without me ever knowing, the sin of pride had taken root in me. The same sin that caused Satan to fall had now taken over my life. That’s where it started, but I have had to battle it ever since. Thank God for the power of the Holy Spirit that gives me victory over it today. It’s the sin that will always pop up when I least expect it. I need the Savior’s power as a constant part of my life. I cannot be who I am without Him.
Just because I grew up in church doesn’t make me invulnerable to sin. I need the power of the Holy Spirit just like anyone else. I can truly say that without His hand on me, I would never have made it to where I am today. Thank You, Jesus, for your life-changing power!
Tags: Bible, Christ, Christian, Christian witness, devotion, disciple, encouragement, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, overcoming, power of God, pride, problems, self-righteous, self-satisfaction, sin of pride, strength, testimony, trust, victory
Jesus was arrested, just before the crucifixion. Then He was taken to the high priest for questioning. At this point in the narrative Luke makes an interesting comment about Peter.
Luke 22:54
Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance.
This is the same Peter who said he would die with Christ, if necessary. The one who was always so outspoken about his faith in the Lord. Yet, here he is seen shrinking back into the shadows.
This begs the question about our walk with Jesus. We are always so quick to point out that we follow Christ. What does that mean to you? The real question is, “How closely are you following?” Peter was following Him, but far enough away so that it wasn’t obvious that he was with the Lord.
So often we don’t want it to be seen that we are different from the world. We want to blend in with society. We don’t want to get too radical in our Christian walk. Is that the way it’s supposed to be?
I believe that if we’re going to follow Christ, then we must live openly for Him. Even the most casual observer should be able to recognize that there is a difference in how we go about our daily routines.
People aren’t shy at all about using foul language, or other ungodly activity. Christians, on the other hand, are so worried about “offending” anyone. We should not be afraid of praying or talking about Christ in public. We need to stop following Him at a distance.
Tags: Bible, blending in, Christ, Christian, Christian witness, devotion, disciple, distance, encouragement, fear, following, following Jesus, God's will, Jesus Christ, overcoming, prayer, problems, public prayer, shrinking back, shy, testimony, trust, victory, walk with Jesus
Psalm 22:4-5
In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
Today is the day set aside to honor our fathers. We should especially look to the godly men who exemplified the Christian walk to us. Those who went before us, leading the way.
Many of them had to walk through troubled times – be it economic, physical, or social. Some had to go through the dangers of war, while others had to struggle for equality. We must look to those whose strength came from the hand of God working in them. They set for us an example of diligence and perseverance. Let the legacy they left for us speak to our hearts and equip us for our race.
But even greater than their contribution to us, is the God that they served. He is the ultimate Father that we look to. When we look back and see what was accomplished by our God through the cooperation of our fathers, it gives us hope. We need that same level of faith that they had.
God is still on the throne. The same God who brought our fathers through their trials will safely lead us to victory. His love for us was proven in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We must never forget where our help comes from.
Look to the faith of our fathers. Then, as we follow their example, put that faith in the God of our fathers. He will work in us the same way He worked in them.
Tags: Bible, Christ, Christian, Christian walk, Christian witness, devotion, disciple, encouragement, example, faith, father, Father's Day, fathers, God of our fathers, God's faithfulness, God's love, Jesus Christ, legacy, prepare, problems, strength, testimony, trust, victory
The Spirit and the Word 