While I am Away...

Please continue to read the devotionals while I am away... you can search by author, even by date to get readings for each day. These devotionals are timeless and there are many years worth of readings. I will try to start blogging again at a later date. God Bless!

Verse of the Day / February 19

 

Quiet Time...

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, 

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." 

John 1:29 KJV 

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Bible in One Year: February 19

  Bible in One Year: Leviticus 25; Mark 1:23-45

Verse of the Day / February 18

Quiet Time...

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" 

1 Peter 3:18 KJV

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Bible in a Year: February 18

 Bible in a Year: Leviticus 25; Mark 1:23-45

In God’s Loving Hands / ODB

 

In God’s Loving Hands Before the mountains were born . . . from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90:2 READ Psalm 90:1–6 After another health setback, I feared the unknown and uncontrollable. One day, while reading a Forbes magazine article, I learned that scientists studied the rising of the “Earth’s rotation velocity” and declared that the Earth “wobbled” and is “spinning faster.” They said we “could require the first-ever ‘drop second’—the official removal of a second from global time.” Though a second doesn’t seem like much of a loss, knowing that the Earth’s rotation could change seemed like a big deal to me. Even slight instability can make my faith feel wobbly. However, knowing God is in control helps me to trust Him no matter how scary our unknowns or how shaky our circumstances may seem. In Psalm 90, Moses said, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (v. 2). Acknowledging God’s unlimited power, control, and authority over all creation, Moses declared that time cannot constrain God (vv. 3–6). As we seek to know more about God and the wonderful world He made, we’ll discover how He continues perfectly managing time and all He created. God can be trusted with every unknown and newly discovered thing in our lives too. All creation remains secure in God’s loving hands. By Xochitl Dixon How does knowing God is in control of time and all creation help you trust Him when facing the unknown? How can you honor God with the time He’s entrusted to you today? Unchanging Creator, thank You for securing every second of my life in Your trustworthy hands.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT The book of Psalms is the hymnbook and prayer book of Jews and believers in Jesus. The Hebrew title is Tehillim, which means “praise songs.” The 150 songs were composed and compiled by numerous authors over a period of nearly one thousand years. Authors include Moses, David, Asaph, the sons of Korah, Heman, Solomon, and Ethan. But 48 psalms are by unnamed authors. The superscription of Psalm 90 says it’s “A prayer of Moses the man of God.” This esteemed title is also used of Moses in Deuteronomy 33:1 and Joshua 14:6. Psalm 90 is the only psalm attributed to Moses, which makes it the oldest of the 150 psalms. Scholars believe that Moses had the forty years of wilderness wandering as the backdrop for this psalm. Contrasting the eternality of God (vv. 1-2) with the transience of human life (vv. 3-12), Moses reminds us of the mercy and compassion of God for sinful human beings (vv. 13-17). K. T. Sim

Confess Your Sins to God / Spurgeon

 

Confess Your Sins to God

Father, I have sinned. Luke 15:18

It is quite certain that those whom Christ has washed in His precious blood need not make a confession of sin as culprits or criminals before God the Judge, because Christ has forever taken away all their sins in a legal sense, so that they no longer stand where they can be condemned, but are once and for all accepted in the Beloved. But having become children, and offending as children, should they not every day go before their heavenly Father and confess their sin and acknowledge their iniquity in that character? Nature teaches that it is the duty of erring children to make a confession to their earthly father, and the grace of God in the heart teaches us that we, as Christians, owe the same duty to our heavenly Father. We daily offend and ought not to rest without daily pardon. Suppose that my trespasses against my Father are not at once taken to Him to be washed away by the cleansing power of the Lord Jesus—what will be the consequence? If I have not sought forgiveness and been washed from these offenses against my Father, I shall feel at a distance from Him; I shall doubt His love for me; I shall tremble before Him; I shall be afraid to pray to Him: I shall grow like the prodigal who, although still a child, was yet far away from his father. But if with a child’s sorrow at offending so gracious and loving a Parent, I go to Him and tell Him everything, and do not rest until I realize that I am forgiven, then I shall feel a holy love to my Father and shall go through my Christian career not only as saved, but as one enjoying present peace in God through Jesus Christ my Lord. There is a wide distinction between confessing sin as a culprit and confessing sin as a child. The Father’s bosom is the place for penitent confessions. We have been cleansed once for all, but our feet still need to be washed from the defilement of our daily walk as children of God.

Purchased for God / Alistair Begg

 

Purchased for God

By your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.

Revelation 5:9–10

I was at Bible college with a Welsh missionary candidate named Mary Fisher. She was studying the Shona language so that she might teach young boys and girls in Zimbabwe. Within a relatively short time after her arrival there, there was a terrorist raid on the school at which she Was teaching. Along with many other teachers and children, Mary did not survive; her life was snuffed out in that attack.[1] Yet while her death was tragic, her life had testified to the all-surpassing joy of serving God, not only here but also in eternity. In the song of the elders gathered around the Lamb in Revelation, we are reminded that the purpose of Christ’s death was so we might be ransomed by God. We have been set free from the sin that held us in its grip in order that, having been purchased by His blood, we will live for Him. Our praise is for God. Our service, like that of Mary Fisher, is for God. As believers in the first century looked around and saw some of their friends taken into captivity for their faith, they tried to make sense of Christ’s triumph over death, the victory of His ascension, and the reality of His return. In light of the tribulation they faced, these Christians were able to find encouragement in the reminder that even as Jesus made atonement for our sins, His focus was always on the Father. He purchased us for God. How else do we make sense of the tragedies told in missionary biographies or explain the apparent rampant chaos represented in the death of martyrs? The last recording of Mary Fisher offers clarity. As a singer and guitar player, she was teaching the children in her class lyrics of a song based on Paul’s words to the Philippian church: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).[2] Walking His path and holding His hand, the song states, is the way of peace and joy. That song is nothing but empty rhetoric unless Revelation 5 is absolutely true when it tells us that Jesus went to the cross in order to purchase us for God. And Revelation 5 is absolutely true; and so, even if all of our breath were to be squeezed out in His service, even if all of our life were to be trampled over for His name’s sake, still it would be time and energy and life well spent. You have been ransomed by God so that you might praise Him today and enjoy Him for all eternity. Whatever your day holds, be sure to walk through it with that as your greatest passion and highest purpose.

https://www.nytimes.com/1978/06/25/archives/12-white-teachers-and-children-killed-by-guerrillas-in-rhodesia.html. Accessed February 19, 2021. J. White, “For Me to Live Is Christ” (1969).

Verse of the Day / February 17

 

Quiet Time...

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 

John 3:16 KJV

*****

Bible in a Year: February 17

 Bible in a Year: Leviticus 21-22; Matthew 28

Do You Love or Lecture? / Adrian Rogers

Do You Love or Lecture?
Romans 5:8
Sermon: 1499 Your Child: Wise or Otherwise, Part 2

Pray Over This

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8

Ponder This

Many of you would say, “Pastor, my heart is breaking because my son, my daughter, may not be a fool, but my son, my daughter, is a smart aleck. What do you do with a child like that?” Well, first of all, remember that scolding and lecturing a scorner does very little good. If you think you can sit down your know-it-all child and preach to him, you’ve got another thought coming. You’re not going to be able to drill it into his head. Scolding is going to do little good. As a matter of fact, it’ll probably increase his ability to sin. You need to talk less and pray more. And love that scorner more, then wait for the open door. Not the rebuke, but the open door.

When you’ve got a rebellious teenager, you surround that child with your love. Let her know where you stand on these issues, but don’t constantly be against her. Do not constantly be rebuking her, but be loving, praying, and waiting. Asking, “Oh, God, help me to speak a word in due season.” And as you pray, God will work according to His will and ways.

• When have you been tempted to lecture instead of love?
• When has an act of love by another impacted you?

Practice This

Pray for someone you know to grow in love for the Lord. 

Growing Up in Jesus / ODB

 

Growing Up in Jesus My power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9 READ 2 Corinthians 12:6–10 As a child, I viewed grown-ups as wise and incapable of failure. They always know what to do, I’d think. One day, when I’m grown up, I’ll always know what to do too. Well, “one day” came many years ago, and all it has taught me is that, many times, I still don’t know what to do. Whether it’s illness in the family, problems at work, or conflict in a relationship, such times have wrested all delusions of personal control and strength, simply leaving me one option—to close my eyes and whisper, “Lord, help. I don’t know what to do.” The apostle Paul understood this feeling of helplessness. The “thorn” in his life, which may have been a physical ailment, caused him much frustration and pain. It was through this thorn, however, that Paul experienced God’s love, promises, and blessings as sufficient for him to endure and overcome his difficulties (2 Corinthians 12:9). He learned that personal weakness and helplessness don’t mean defeat. When surrendered to God in trust, they become tools for Him to work in and through these circumstances (vv. 9−10). Our being a grown-up doesn’t mean we’re all-knowing. Sure, we grow wiser with age, but ultimately our weaknesses often reveal how truly powerless we are. Our true power is in Christ: “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (v. 10). Truly “growing up” means knowing, trusting, and obeying the power that comes when we realize we need God’s help. By Karen Huang What trials make you realize your own helplessness? How can you obey God’s leading?  Heavenly Father, thank You for being my help and strength.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT In 2 Corinthians 10-13, Paul defends his spiritual authority against accusations by false teachers (10:10; 11:12-14; 13:1-10). Describing himself as being forced by these critics to “boast in the Lord” (10:17), Paul details many ways in which God has confirmed the authenticity of his ministry. His goal was to convince Corinthian believers in Jesus of this so “that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up” (13:10). Perhaps because false teachers were trying to base their authority on claims of divine visions, Paul reveals that he experienced a vision from God (12:1-4). But he emphasized he wasn’t permitted to share the details (v. 4). Instead, the unidentified “thorn in [his] flesh” (v. 7) was God’s way of teaching him that Christ’s power is experienced not through arrogance but through suffering and weakness (vv. 9-10). Monica La Rose

The Brilliance of God’s Grace / Greg Laurie

The Brilliance of God’s Grace

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. (Ephesians 2:1 NLT)

I am amazed by anyone who actually believes that people are basically good. I have to say that in many ways, they have more faith than I do to believe that.

As I see the depravity that humanity is capable of, I become more convinced of the fact that people are not basically good. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. And that is clearly what the Scriptures teach.

Ephesians 2:1-2 says, “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God” (NLT).

In these verses, the apostle Paul paints a very dark background so that we might better appreciate the brilliance of God’s grace. Just as jewelers display beautiful gems on dark velvet so we can appreciate their splendor, so God, against a very dark background, shows us how bad we once were. But He also shows us what He can make us into.

It is this balanced understanding of humanity that gives the Christian the only logical and satisfactory answer as to why the world is the way it is.

Make no mistake about it: We are sinners to the core. We don’t have to teach our children how to sin. It comes quite naturally to them, just as it came naturally to us. We aren’t sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. It is in our nature.

Maybe you’ve heard the story of the scorpion and the turtle. The scorpion was thinking about how to cross a river when he saw a turtle sunning himself on the riverbank. So, he went over to the turtle and said, “My dear sir, I was wondering if you might give me a lift across this river here.”

“If I were to do that,” the turtle replied, “I think that you might sting me.”

 “What would be the logic in doing such a thing?” the scorpion asked.

“Well, you have a point there,” said the turtle. “Climb on.” So, the scorpion climbed on the turtle’s back, and they started making their way across the river. But suddenly the scorpion lifted his tail and stuck it into the turtle, giving him everything that he had.

The turtle, knowing that they were both about to die, said, “I have just one question: Why did you sting me? Where is the logic in that?”

“There is no logic in it, dear turtle,” the scorpion said. “It is just my nature.”

We sin because it’s our nature. We do what we do because we are wired to do it. It’s the way we are built. It is not that we are products of our environment, although that can affect us to some degree. We can be in a perfect environment or a horrible environment and still sin.

It is just our nature. Yet God shows us what we can become by His grace.

 

The Greatest: Virtue / David Jeremiah

 

The Greatest: Virtue

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

 Recommended Reading: 1 Corinthians 13

Every religious and philosophical tradition—both ancient and modern—has a set of virtues it promotes. The list might be formal or informal, but the qualities of life enumerated represent the best of what the tradition promotes to its followers.

The closest Christianity comes to a list of virtues is Paul’s list of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Christian virtues are distinguished from other lists of virtues by their source: the Holy Spirit as opposed to the human ideas and efforts of man. A shorter list of virtues is found in 1 Corinthians 13:13: faith, hope, and love. Paul makes the point that the greatest of these virtues is love, which he also named first in the list of the fruit of the Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Paul explains that no noble or spiritual act—spiritual power, great faith, sacrificial generosity—is worthwhile if love is missing. That is consistent with 1 John 4:8, 16: “God is love.” 

Since love is the greatest virtue, ask God to fill you with His love in all that you do today. 

Every virtue known to man is found in Jesus.
Michael Green

Verse of the Day / February 16

Quiet Time...

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." 

Galatians 2:20 KJV

*****

Bible in One Year: February 16

 Bible in One Year: Leviticus 19-20; Matthew 27:51-66

The Inspiration of Spiritual Initiative / Oswald Chambers

 

The Inspiration of Spiritual Initiative Arise from the dead… EPHESIANS 5:14 Not all initiative, the willingness to take the first step, is inspired by God. Someone may say to you, “Get up and get going! Take your reluctance by the throat and throw it overboard— just do what needs to be done!” That is what we mean by ordinary human initiative. But when the Spirit of God comes to us and says, in effect, “Get up and get going,” suddenly we find that the initiative is inspired. We all have many dreams and aspirations when we are young, but sooner or later we realize we have no power to accomplish them. We cannot do the things we long to do, so our tendency is to think of our dreams and aspirations as dead. But God comes and says to us, “Arise from the dead.” When God sends His inspiration, it comes to us with such miraculous power that we are able to “arise from the dead” and do the impossible. The remarkable thing about spiritual initiative is that the life and power comes after we “get up and get going.” God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome. When the inspiration of God comes, and He says, “Arise from the dead,” we have to get ourselves up; God will not lift us up. Our Lord said to the man with the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand” (Matthew 12:13). As soon as the man did so, his hand was healed. But he had to take the initiative. If we will take the initiative to overcome, we will find that we have the inspiration of God, because He immediately gives us the power of life. Bible in One Year: Leviticus 19-20; Matthew 27:51-66

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession.

Who is Holding on to Who? / Adrian Rogers

Who is Holding on to Who?
Genesis 6:17-19
Sermon: 1504 The Captain and His Kids, Part 2

Pray Over This

“And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.”
Genesis 6:17-19

Ponder This

Many folks just believe they’re kept saved by just holding on. I hear some people say, “Pray for me, that I’ll hold out faithful to the end.” Suppose God had said to Noah, “Noah, if you want to be saved, you put some pegs on the outside of that ark. When it starts to rain, you get on a step ladder and go up and hold onto those pegs. Your feet will be dangling; the water will be rising; and it’s going to be rough. But Noah, if you can hold onto those pegs until the water goes down, you’ll be saved.” I don’t think Noah would have made it, do you? I can only imagine Noah saying, “Pray for me, that I’ll hold out faithful to the end."

That's the kind of salvation some people think they have. They think they’re saved by holding onto God. No way! We’re saved because He holds onto us! And He says, “No one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:29). Noah was shut into that ship. Some believe they’re going to get eternal security one day when they go to Heaven. They believe they’re going to step into Heaven, slam the door behind them, and say, "Whew, I made it. Hallelujah! I’m safe now.” May I tell you that security is not in a place? Security is in a person, and His name is Jesus.

• When have you tried to work hard for your faith? What happened?
• What difference does it make whether we are holding onto God or He is holding onto us?

Practice This

Pray that you would find your ultimate security in Jesus alone. 

Loving Like Jesus / ODB

 

Loving Like Jesus Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13 READ John 15:9–17 He was loved by all—those were the words used to describe Giuseppe Berardelli of Casnigo, Italy. Giuseppe was a beloved man who rode around town on an old motorbike and always led with the greeting: “peace and good.” He worked tirelessly on behalf of the good of others. But in the last years of his life, he had health problems that worsened when he was infected by the coronavirus, and he eventually died in the hospital. A friend who knew him for more than twenty years said he would’ve given up his potential spot in the intensive care unit for another younger patient if he could have. This reveals the character of a man who was loved and admired for loving others. Loved for loving, this is the message the apostle John keeps sounding throughout his gospel. Being loved and loving others are like a chapel bell that tolls night and day, regardless of weather. And in John 15, they reach somewhat of a zenith, for John lays bare that it’s not being loved by all but loving all that’s the greatest love: “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (v. 13). Stories of those willing to offer sacrificial love always inspire us. Yet they pale in comparison to God’s great love. But don’t miss the challenge that brings, for Jesus commands: “Love each other as I have loved you” (v. 12). Yes, love all. By John Blase Loved by all and love all. Do you get those mixed up sometimes? Why or why not? What might sacrificing for a friend look like today? Loving God, please help me to love as You love me.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT Hours before He went to the cross, Jesus gave us a new commandment: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). The command to love others isn’t new. In the Mosaic law, God’s people were to “love [their] neighbor as [themselves]” (Leviticus 19:18), which Christ reiterated was the second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:39). However, Jesus introduced a new standard of love, which He emphasized in John 15:12: “Love each other as I have loved you.” The standard is no longer how much we love ourselves but how much Jesus loved us. Christ laid down His life for us (v. 13). He raised the bar from our self-love to His sacrificial love. John would later write, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16). K. T. Sim

How to Sleep / David Jeremiah

 

How to Sleep   I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8   Bringing a product to market represents a huge financial investment. Based on the number of sleep aid medicines and supplements on the market, it would appear that a lot of people aren’t getting enough sleep! Those products wouldn’t exist if the world was sleeping soundly at night.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 3:5-6

The psalmist David pointed out something we know all too well: There is a difference between going to bed and going to sleep. Everybody goes to bed at night, but not everyone goes to sleep. But David did both: “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep.” Why was he able to sleep in peace? Because he trusted in God: “You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” He wrote those words during a period of unnamed trouble in his life—something everyone can identify with. But instead of being angry, he silenced his heart and went to sleep in peace (Psalm 4:4, 8).             Do you go to bed, or do you both go to bed and go to sleep in peace? Search your heart and commit your concerns to God—and rest in Him.   We sleep in peace in the arms of God when we yield ourselves up to His providence. François Fénelon

Your Superpower / Greg Laurie

 Your Superpower

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 1:19-20 NLT)

Years ago, when I was visiting Israel, I plugged in my hair dryer without using a voltage converter. The dryer was about twice as powerful as it normally was, and I really liked that. But then I looked in the mirror and saw flames coming out of the dryer. It literally melted.

Nowadays, we can buy appliances that have dual voltage settings—we can switch them to safely accept either 110 or 220 volts. But back then, without the use of a converter, there was too much power for my hair dryer.

Sometimes, we wonder whether we have enough power to satisfy the demands in our lives. If you’re a Christian, then you have more power than you ever will need. It’s like wondering whether you have enough power to turn on your lights when you have an entire nuclear plant exclusively powering your home.

In the same way, we can be confident that God will provide all the power that we’ll ever need. 

Writing to the Christians in Ephesus, Paul said, “I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance” (Ephesians 1:18 NLT).

Paul went on to say, “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” (verses 19–20 NLT).

He was saying, “I want you to check your balance. I want you to realize how much power is available to you.” The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is certainly adequate to help us deal with the challenges, trials, temptations, and opportunities that we are going to encounter in life. Just as the cross was a display of God’s love, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a display of His power for us.

All the power necessary is available to us to live the Christian life. What we need to do is simply plug in.

Maybe you’ve thought, “It is so much easier to just go with the flow. I might as well do what everybody else does.”

No, you can go a different direction. It takes a live fish to go upstream. If you’ve ever watched salmon swim upstream, then you know these persistent fish swim with all their effort. Not all of them make it, but some do.

Living the Christian life takes determination and, more importantly, yielding to the power that is available to you. You can make it if you want to. You can be more than a conqueror because of what Jesus Christ has done for you.

The question is this: Are you going to plug in to God’s power and apply yourself? It takes commitment on a daily basis. And the moment you begin to relax, the moment you stop seeking to move forward spiritually, will be the moment your downward trend will begin.