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Devotions Growth 6/15/21

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I am very mature yet I still have a lot of “growing” to do. Thank You, Lord, for Your patience with me…!

Ever tried to grow something but it took forever?

I don’t think I would do that. I just don’t have the patience. I love that there are many people with “green thumbs,” but to do that would require way too much from me!

People who garden are wonderful. I am amazed when I found out more and more that there are others who do that. Some people will grow tomatoes right outside their windows, or found ways to “scrap” food pieces where they place them into the earth and a new sprout comes forth.

As long as they have the tools and the ability to do so, something will grow…!

But just how can we grow in life…? Is there a way we might not be used to doing?

The bible has two verses that I feel have been laid on my heart today.

The first is from the Old Testament! It is from the prophet Isaiah.

Just what does it take to grow? I know it simple but yet sometimes simple images make a huge impact to the life wanting to follow Him.

Water. Water is a giver of life. Here imagine life where water flows freely like a spring.

Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness. And rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

Water brings life. Did you know water also exists in the desert?

Cacti or “cactuses” that exist in the desert do hold water.

There is another thing about deserts you probably don’t know. Did you know in many arid lands of desert that it can go from extremely hot in the scorching day to very cold at night?

How can that happen? I just wanted to mention that. There are so many things in life to find interesting.

Ooh I just found something:

The temperature in the desert can change drastically from day to night because the air is so dry that heat escapes rapidly at night. Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov

Even if you feel that God is not doing stuff in your life doesn’t mean He isn’t? Have you responded to the call to know Jesus? We are very impatient creatures but we are important to the call to Christ and we must know what we were made (or “recreated” by the Holy Spirit) to be!

Another verse that is more clear to anyone that wants to simply read His word and also live for God.

This verse is about the knowledge from His Word and growing through His Son.

Here is the verse from the New Testament below:

..but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3: 18

Hmm, so in order to live for Christ, we must also have a personal growth in Him?

How can we all do that? Is there a special way to grow in a way we might not know about?

That was first by the blood of Jesus! He paid the way. It is through the love of the father that it happened. He willed it, we must accept it! Like a gift from a loving friend we must accept the gift of eternal life.

Maybe that is too late for you? Maybe you feel that spiritually you can’t even cry out fo the one who loves You so much…?

I know of spiritual warfare. It is awful and sometimes deadly stuff!

Know that I know Him and I love YOU. I might not know you but I hope I do.

I also know some things that happen if I surrender to the Will of God because it is He that does the changing, not I!

I am like a farmer who spreads the seeds in hopes of one day a spiritual harvest.

Will You follow the ones who know Jesus? I hope so. May God protect you if you so do!

Just follow and you will see amazing changes in your life you did not know could be possible!

Because Christ can make the impossible possible. He makes things that seem impossible happen only if one gives in to His will, and He glorifies Himself so that it is possible! And it is fun to live in Him. Believe me.

Devotions Psalm 27, two vrs- 6/12/21

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Got some not such encouraging words from the doctor the other day. Told me he didn’t believe I had a physical problem! He wanted me to get a cat scan and I misinterpreted that as “You don’t have what you claim, I want you to get THIS done instead.” Glad I listened to people who said to get it. Get that done!

I will touch on two verses here in Psalm 27. It will be verse one and verse four. I might have to do so in KJV (King James) Version instead of NKJV. Or just speak and not reference at all, haha…

If the Lord is your light and salvation does that mean He is only there for you the time you came to Christ? Is that “it” for your love from Christ story?

I don’t believe that at all! Love from God can be shown to you as He sees your heart. If you continue to pursue His ways He blesses you because He sees Himself more and more in your life so He will glorify Himself.

God is amazing! I “see” Him as a big, always-burning light. It will do what it can to impact you, change you from the inside out, and bless your path if you live for Him through Jesus Christ and to know He died for your sin.

If you live or want to live for Christ, Whom shall you fear?

It’s too easy to fear. It’s hard to not to sometimes! It’s also easy to be uneasy and discouraged. Sometimes we will try or do our best and it feels like there are no results…

But we must hold fast and continue to live well. As good as we can be! And give God the glory and praise. Also to show his love. Not show “love” the way a certain path can be, but just show Godly love. There is a real love out there but if you know Him it’s in the heart and you might feel it too!

Will finish this later… to be continued

Devotions Psalms 2:7-9 5/27/21

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“I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ” Psalms NKJV

Ever felt that it is right to rebel, against society, against what our parents or what people in this world say is “right” according to them? In everyone we have each done our own things to rebel while others said what we were doing was not good.

It’s too easy to feel that pull and break away from the crowd and follow your own path. Believe me I’ve done so as a teenager in my own life.

A source I found online seems to directly speak about Psalm 2 as an overview. I had trouble pinning down what this entire chapter was about personally so here is someone’s idea below:

“Psalm 2 is a celebration of the unquestionable supremacy of God and his Messiah over all the rebellious forces of humanity. To attempt rebellion against God is absurd, because God has already decided the matter and has invested his power and authority into a human king, his Messiah.” ~ bitesizedexegesis.com

So God is supreme over all of humanity. That is deep and it states a lot in just that one paragraph describing the 2nd Psalm. To hear He is supreme over even the rebellious sides of humanity sounds kind of like He has an umbrella of protection over in this case Israel. They all dwell under Him whether they want to live for Him or not.

God does have the final say over our lives. The question is: Do we have to respond to live faithfully?

Yes though I admit I have “run off” and done my own things as well. We must not conform to the world but to God’s ways: There is no greater path than the one that is straight and narrow!

This section of the chapter also talks of David (according to the book of Acts, this book is actually written by David) begetting the nations as inheritance.

“Beget” usually means someone that is birthed by reproduction, but it seems to be used here to mean spiritually given an inheritance. To be “begotten” so that there is now a relationship with the Lord and anything asked if by His will would be a blessing.

God wants us to live for Him. Through His son Jesus we can have that relationship to have access to His will and live in Him for the rest of our lives until the ends of the earth come. Let’s submit to the supreme One who only wants to guide us in life and loves us deeply.

That is my will in Him today and I hope it is yours or will be yours as well!

Devotions Psalms 2:4-7 5/24/21

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I got “stuck” on the last three verses. I’m examining them personally so instead of just being devotions, I’m doing more than that with that section of the bible. Context seems to refer to King Saul but I could be wrong…

From the Bible, NKJV:

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” Psa. 2:4-7

They say that God is slow to anger so if He is this way in this part of the bible something might be wrong.

Then again the writer could just be referring to God being sick of the sin of the people during this time. Specific uses of words like “Shall” here are interesting. Usually they imply something specific that could help a reader understand the text by its usage.

But I also am interested by some other things here as well. There is a word I want to seek out the definition for. “Derision.”

Here it is found through the ‘net:

derision- contemptuous ridicule or mockery.

If this means God has turned His anger on Israel then the people who are deserving His wrath here should watch out!

God cannot stand sin. He cannot stand dark hearts that refuse to worship Him. If this kind of thing goes on long, things will not last.

I hope you today have the “light” heart today. God’s wrath might be coming even now!

—–

Are you ready? If not read this.

Father God, I am afraid of what I am seeing and hearing about in the news. I don’t know what is going on all I know that there is a lot of bad stuff! I have heard of a person named Jesus. Is it true He can take away all my sin?

I heard that one day He chose to die on the cross not just because of everyone’s sin but because of just mine too!

(Note to You: There is a song that says “even to the (cross) You’d come if I were the only one. If you were the only one on earth He had to die for, He would have. That is how deep the father’s love through His son is)

Also that He took the wrath of the world’s sin upon Himself. Thank You Father for giving me Your son. That He died, stayed dead, then was restored and lived again, bodily and is in the Heaven today!

I want to know Jesus so that I will one day be in heaven today. Thank You for hearing my prayer.

God bless you today. Love you in Jesus!

Something new to share!-6/28/16

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This is totally unexpected for me which makes it kind of exciting. I put the title as this because I looked back and saw I didn’t call the last time I called this a devotion but did tag it as “holy word” so hopefully it will be linked to this in the suggestions below the article after one clicks it.

My church had one class that just ended and before it did we went over Acts 17 (we went from verse 16 to 27). I might not get to that part here because something came up while getting to read the earlier part. I have not read much of the bible so getting into it for the first time for myself was nice. I hope to go over these parts again and again during my personal devotions in the future as they will be as exciting as these times right now!

When you read the bible you always find something new. As you grow more you will find something else that you hadn’t noticed; it is evident you are growing more in the Lord as God also blesses you when you read His word.

So to get on, I just wanted to read the earlier part of this chapter in case I was unfamiliar with it. Then this devotion came about. SO here we go…!

 

 

Paul went through Amphipolis and Apollonia and ended up at a synagogue in Thessalonica. Then as his custom he spoke to them about the scriptures for three Sabbaths. (verse 3 para.) explaining, Christ had to suffer, die and rose from the dead: “This Jesus whom I speak to you is the Christ.” (verse 4 para.) Some responded and then a huge group of devout Greeks and more than few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

But the Jews who had not responded in a positive way, had taken people from the marketplace, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason. They sought to bring the people out from there. But they could not find them so they dragged Jason and some of the brethren to the rulers of the city. They were mad that they had harbored the people who were against what they believed, they spoke of a king named Jesus and that was not their king Caesar. And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things spoken. (verse 9) So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

(finally, verse 10-15 para.) The brethren sent Paul and Silas by night to Berea. There they went to the synagogue at that location and the response there was blessed. They responded greatly, many examining the scriptures to see if what was said about those things were true. They reacted better than the ones who were at Thessalonica. Yet the people from Thessalonica heard this was happening in Berea, so they then went there and stirred up the crowds. So the brethren sent Paul to the sea while Timothy and Silas remained there in the land. So Paul was then conducted by a group to go to Athens. Then after a command Timothy and Silas would soon be headed there also.

 

It’s so sad when people get so stubborn or bent on “attacking” others over belief. Here in America it seems to happen all the time. People pull bibles out of school, take the Ten Commandments out of any governmental building, are outraged when God is mentioned just inside their comfort zones.

To many people it seems belief in God “stirs up” the feelings of people in response of sin. This is unresolved sin. We all have been enemies of God, easily grown by our own way separate from Him.

When all people want to argue on what they feel is the truth people get passionate but they can get the wrong kind of passion. This here seems to be a response by Satan. Every time truth was extolled, there were these people ready to pour in, stir up people to get them angry, and they were making trouble in the land; in this case did so in two places, at first in Thessalonica, then they travelled to continue this kind of anarchy into Berea.

God always helps the ones who want to serve and live for Him. While we see things here that might be discouraging to Paul, Silas, and the others serving for Christ we also see that they get refuge and are protected within all of it as well. It’s such a wonderful image.

If you want to serve Him, delve into a ministry. Surely you won’t like the barrage of the devil’s attacks but greater the wisdom in you as you trust in Christ, by His blood and be guided by His way. There is an amazing journey if you want to live by serving and also seeking for the kingdom of God, let His light shine in your heart and you will see.

Trust in love and He will guide you Amen.