Monday 8-31-09

1 Cor 2:4-5 "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

How convicting these verses are, I mean to often I attempt to make my speech, teaching, and conversations enticing words of men's wisdom. Although I myself would want God to be glorified in all that I do, my pride which dwells within me doesn't seek God's glory but rather my own. Honestly though it scares me to think that I might teach or preach in a manner that I would be seeking others to look at me because of my knowledge, power, wisdom, or abilities rather then letting God's grace and power, through the Holy Spirit flow through me, so that God might be brought glory and praise.

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Father God thank you for this very breath in my lungs… thank you that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… Father I thank you for the ability, privlage, and even the responsibility of searching the scriptures that I might study to show myself approved unto you… Lord I ask that you would crush my pride that I would never attempt to entice anyone with my wisdom but rater I ask Lord that my teaching and preaching would be a demonstration of the Holy Spirit and of your power that you would draw men to yourself for your exultation and honor… Please Lord continue to grow me in you each day...

Sunday 8-30-09

Romans 10

Romans 10: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Father thank you for making a way of escape from eternal torment and death… Thank you Lord Jesus for doing all the work necessary for salvation…. Lord God thank you that you included me in “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Romans 10:14a&b “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?”

I thank you Father for including me in getting your gospel to the uttermost parts of the world… Father I ask that you would stir up your people in America, that we might recognize the great need of proclaiming your good news to every nation… Father I ask that we would obey your command of taking the gospel to ever nation that you might be glorified by the obedience of your children, and by the ones whom you would make new creatures through Christ Jesus….

Romans 10:14c "And how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Lord God you commanded us in Matthew 9 to ask you to send laborers unto the harvest… So Father I ask that you would send preachers to be a light in this dark and dying world… that you might be brought glory and honor….

Romans 10:15a “And how shall they preach, except they be sent?”

Father please send me….

Saturday 8-29-09

I couldn't not find the paper that I had written down Saturdays devotions on. However I did remember that it was Romans 8:39-39, and that it was continuing to look at the greatness of God's love for us.

Romans 8:38-39 "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Friday 8/28/09

Romans 5

Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

What an amazing and mind-boggling Savior we have!

The amount of love that God has for us we will never fathom on this earth, in fact it will take eternity for us to fully understand God’s love.

Just thinking about the implications of this verse, that God loved us while we were sinners, and what that really says about his infinite and never-ending love. Here are a couple things that gave me a glimpse of a glimpse of a glimpse of God’s great love:

1. Romans 5:10 States that because we were sinners we were enemies to God. Enemies aren’t people that you love, enemies are people that you want defeated, crushed, alienated, and destroyed. Yet God loved us while we were enemies to him!

2. Romans 5:6 Says that we were “without strength” or basically helpless when we were sinners. God’s love and mercy were manifested to us in that while we were helpless and couldn’t do anything about our sin, “Christ died for the ungodly.”

3. Romans 6 makes it undeniably clear that the natural man is enslaved to sin, and John 8:34 says that if you commit sin that you are the slave of sin. So Christ died while we were enslaved to the thing, which God hates.

So not only were we enemies to God, we were enslaved to the thing which God loathes: sin; plus the fact that we were “without strength” to do anything about being an enemy of God or being enslaved to sin; and perhaps you also will get a glimpse of glimpse of a glimpse of God’s great love that he has for us, and just how true the statement in John 4:16 which is “God is love.”

Thursday 8/27/09

Romans 3

Romans 3:3&4 “For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;”

I am so thankful that “the faith of God” and his power, mercy, justness, and faithfulness doesn’t rely on mans ‘believing’ to make it true. I’m thankful that Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and every other religion out there is false, think about it; does it make you glad that true Christianity (IE Romans 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”) is the ONLY way to get to heaven?

As I sit here I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that confessing with the mouth and believing in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead is the only way to heaven.

Maybe it’s just me but it is so comforting and reassuring that I know that the God that I serve does care for me and love me. My God isn’t just ‘out there somewhere’ he has actually sent part of himself to dwell in me. Some might wonder how I derived these statements from these verses, and I know that I rest heavily on other passages to for some of these statements but honestly it was surprising just how clearly the Holy Spirit ‘spoke’ to me through these verses as I meditated on them.

Saturday 8-8-09

Acts 1

Acts 1:8 " But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

What a beautiful verse! We find that we will receive power so whatever it is that God has in store for us to do isn’t and can’t be done in our own power. Next we see that the Holy Spirit is going to “come upon you” hold up for a second these are the only two prerequisites for the command that’s about to be given. Every true born again believer meets these two prerequisites, so that means that the upcoming command is for EVERYONE who is a Christian.

Now onto the command which I think is also a privilege, “ye shall be witnesses unto me” were to witnesses of Christ, and of what he came to earth and did (dying so that all may live). Next we get to find out where we are to be witnesses to " both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” When I read that I think of Romans 10:13-15a “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” we see that it is necessary to preach and send those to preach. I really think that sums up the command Jesus gave us in Acts 1:8: be witnesses wherever you are at, and send those to preach wherever you are not.

Friday 8-7-09

John 19

John 19:30 “Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.”

“It is finished” what an exciting statement!

The way of salvation was complete; no longer necessary was the laying of hands on an animal’s neck while the throat was cut so that symbolically the sins would be transferred. No longer necessary the thousands upon thousands of lambs, doves, cattle to be slain. No longer only the Levites who could come before the God of heaven. No longer was salvation only for the Jews.

I don’t think I grasp the full meaning of those words, however I am so grateful that they’re true!

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Jesus thank you for dying for my sins… thank you for dying for my salvation… Father I thank you for loving us even though I was enslaved to sin… thank you for setting me free from sin that it is no longer my taskmaster… thank you for making me a new creature… Please Lord burden my heart with the souls of the lost… give me the desire to see souls saved… Please Father do a work in me so that you can do a work through me….

Thursday 8-6-09

John 14

John 14:16-17 & 26 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” Vs. 26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

How Exciting! Jesus said that the Father would send a comforter or helper, this helper would be the Spirit of truth, his ‘job’ is to teach us all things, and bring unto remembrance what Jesus had said. This comforter or helper is called the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit (Vs. 26) and he will be with those who are believers forever (Vs. 16).

I don’t know about you but I think it’s exciting to know that God has sent part of himself to live in believers (Vs 16), to help them, and to teach them (Vs. 26).

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Lord God thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to come and live in those who believe…. Thank you for sending him to teach us all things…. Thank you God for living in me…. Help me to become more like you each day….

Wednesday 8-5-09

John 9

John 9:3 “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”

The reason for this man being blind, was that God would be brought glory by healing him. Think about it, the biggest annoyance, hinderance, or thing that we think is going to keep us from serving God to our maximum potential, might just be there for no other reason then to bring God glory.

I’m thankful that I don’t have any physical limitations, like that blind man had. I mean I can walk, hear, speak, and much more, see I have a lot to be thankful for. However I complain a lot about those little insignificant annoyances, or hinderances that God is using to try to teach me to rely on him completely for dealing with them.

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Lord God thank you for giving me the ability to walk, see, hear, talk… thank you for giving me the bible in my language… Father please help me to rely completely in your strength so through my weaknesses you would be brought glory, honor, and praise….

Tuesday 8-4-09

John 3

John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

If I understand the story behind this statement, a few of Johns diciples come to him telling him that Jesus was preaching and baptizing and that all men were coming to Jesus, and because of that most likely John was losing most of his diciples as well. I don’t think John the Baptist resonded the way his diciples expected, upon hearing that everyone was turning to Jesus, John basically said: perfect. John recognized that it wasn’t about him having the biggest ministry, it wasn’t about his name getting known, it wasn’t anything about himself getting magnified, in-fact he says the exact opposite he said “He (Christ) must increase, but I must decrease.”

--Father would you show me my need to decrease… and would you make it my hearts desire for you to increase… Help me to cheerfully obey everything that you have commanded me to do… Thank you for Jesus for dying for my sins…

Monday 8-3-09

Luke 22

Luke 22:8-13 “And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.”

God isn’t going to command us to do something without already having done the work. When Peter and John were commanded by Jesus to go prepare the Passover they found that everything was just as Jesus had said it would be, the room and everything that they needed were provided for. However they did have to obey exactly what Jesus had told them to do. I wonder how often we “rob” God of opportunities to use us because we won’t obey, I wonder how many blessings we’ve “robbed” God from giving us because we didn’t obey him.

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Lord help me to obey whatever it is that you put before me to do… Help me to rely on your perfect timing… Lord help me to obey in your streangth and for your glory… Father help me to do everything for our honor and glory…

Sunday 8-2-09

Luke 21

Luke 21:1-4 “And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.”

She gave ALL she had! This was no normal sacrificial offering, this was all out no-bars-held unreserved giving of everything that she possesed to live on.

I honestly can’t imagine what this world would look like if every true born-again believer gave like she gave. I don’t know about you but it blows my mind to try and imagine how God could work, what God would do, how many souls would be saved, how many bible believing, bible preaching churches would fill countries that were once thought impossible to get the gospel into.

I wonder if we rob God of glory that could be brought to him if we gave like this women. Think about it if we gave couldn’t God receive glory by: us giving, our churches being able to boldly proclaim the good news to this dark community, our churches being able to send out missionaries to proclaim the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. This last thought tickled me to death: couldn’t God receive glory by providing for our needs because we gave all we had to live on to him? I honestly believe God cold receive glory through all these things and so much more! However in order for any of those to happen; we MUST give, I MUST give.

Saturday 8-1-09

Luke 12

Luke 12:6-7 “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

What an amazing and awesome God we serve! In Isaiah 40 we find that he measured out the waters in the hollow of his hand, that the nations of this earth are like a drop in the bucket or like a speck of dust on the scales to him.

Yet according to Luke 12:6-7 he knows every sparrow on this earth, and he knows how many hairs are on every one of the 6.5 billion people who currently live on this earth.

What an amazing and majestic God we serve, he measured out the waters which means all the lakes, rivers, oceans, all water on this earth in the hollow of his hand, yet he loves a cares for us so much that he would send his only son Jesus Christ to die so that we could have forgiveness from our sins and spend eternity with him.

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Father I thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sin… I thank you that you love us and care for us even though we sin against you… I thank you that you loved me even while I was in sin, and I thank you for continuing to forgive me when I ask… I ask Lord that you would help me to love you with all my heart, soul, and mind….

Friday 7-31-09

Luke 10

Luke 10:17 & 20 “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through they name.” Vs. 20 (Jesus replied) “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus tells them that they are rejoicing over the wrong things; he commands them to rejoice in the fact that they are saved, and not that they could cast out demons through the name of Jesus.

They were excited about what God had done through them; Jesus tells them that it’s not the things here on earth that we need to rejoice over but rather that our names are written in heaven.

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Father I thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross that through his blood that he shed on Calvary I could be forgiven of my sins and spend eternity and beyond with you… Help me to not become bogged down with the temporal things of this world, but to keep myself wholly for you and the things that you have and will call me to do…

Thursday 7-30-09

Luke 6

Luke 6:26 “Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you.”

Jesus is clearly warning us about being pleasers of men. How easy it is to get caught up in what others think of you, and trying to do everything you can so that “all men shall speak well of you”; instead of seeking to please the one who created us, and has given us the very breath in our lungs.

Luke 6:46 “And why call me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”

God really does want us to obey what he has commanded us, even though it might not be glamorus, or easy, and we fail along the way we still need to love God with all of our hearts, and all of our souls, and all of our minds.

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Father please forgive me for wanting the approval of other men more then seeking to please you… Lord God I ask that you would give me a love for you, that I would truly love the Lord MY God with all my hear, soul and mind… Father give to me a desire to know and serve you unreservedly… Jesus thank you for willingly shedding your blood on the cross and dying to give me life….