Tag Archives: The bible

A Quick Devotion- 6/23/21

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Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV

Paul was very dedicated to what he believed in before and after He found out who Christ was. When he took some words out of context he was literally killing believers! How sad. So many were perishing while Paul (then actual name: “Saul”) was thinking doing so was in “God’s Will.”

Have any of us ever did something not in God’s Will but we thought it was right? I’m sure many have.

In fact I believe with all my heart there are people today with Saul’s “hopeful” purpose. Ones should hopefully realize though that there is love that might not be where they believe now.

There is hope. There is a love. And it must not be taken out of context.

Ones who are in love and hope of one who is greater than themselves should not be discouraged even though in these current times it may be tough. We must forget our past (though not repeat it), we must reach forward to our goals either for the Lord or for our hopes for wanting to live a better life. We must press on like a runner, though it might seem tough if all you think of are your current understandings and what you see right now in “front of” you.

Don’t lose heart, my friends. Press on toward the goal because His love and giving (or our “outgiving” God which is impossible) will help the cause but we must respond first to the call of Christ Jesus.

Devotions Micah 6:8- 6/7/21

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He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? NKJV

(~Note: Hi. Just saying, but the earlier post was not the “surprise” hahaha. That was something to say just from a few days before. The big surprise will hopefully come sometime soon~)

A judge can sometimes be harsh yet fair. What comes down on what a person “gets” sometimes is upsetting for the one on trial.

That being said, can a person who has been given their sentence have many emotions about the cruel turn out in life? What if the sentence was death!

“No. Somebody please, take this punishment that I righteously deserve!” This can’t be the end… can it?

In life there are many things. There is happiness, joy, peace, but above all else, somehow there is grace and mercy.

Surely that isn’t all there is in life? I probably used to think that was ultimately all there is in life but there is also payment of sin and death as well.

We all have sin. Also someday we will all die.

I have a problem that could kill me. That might be disheartening to somebody but it is true. If I am careful I can get this problem treated and see if I might get better.

What else is there besides people “curing”‘ other people through medicine? There is a lot more than that!

The medicine might not be the help to my body or my “soul” haha. There is so much more to life than helping the physical body get “well” by the power of medical technology.

We need something deeper than anything this world might provide.

That is where the true thing for the soul could come for us. Maybe it’s through the power of prayer. Or maybe it is asking for help in the midst of such a tough strife like a current situation.

What if all a person needed was really in all things, love?

Be just means to let one in on consequences, show what a person has done is wrong, be tough and firm at times, and let the person know the error of their ways.

But to also love mercy makes things a little complicated, doesn’t it?

Maybe those consequences should only go so far? What if you were shown more mercy than what was shown towards that person right now…!

Things get complicated as we face “trials” and times that feel so burdensome yet familiar. But we must not lose hope. We must still pray for so-called “enemies” and see if what you’ve reflected towards them in Christ will one day be the thing they seek because their tough day might be coming soon.

And we must not walk around and tell people “I am perfect” too. That is we must be humble during our walk.

We must not forget everything that happened for us was not because it was anything we did in our lives but that it was because of what Christ has done for us!

We must not give up for our friends, for our people against us, from people who are against what we stand for, and for ourselves in the refreshing blood and mercy from Jesus.

Praise You Lord for giving me the gift of grace, which I did not deserve!

Devotions Psalm 3-5/30/21

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I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around. Psalm 3:5-6 NKJV

Ever had people get, for complicated reasons, mad at you? Ever realize that those people were because of the result of spiritual warfare?

Over the years it partially gave me a lot of emotions. And one time those emotions were getting way too much and were overwhelming.

When you have people coming after you and you just want to live for God, in a way it is a good thing to have spiritual warfare. It means you’re not sitting at home and doing nothing!

God loves when we have something like Satan rivaling what we are trying to do. He’d rather we be that way than to in our hearts and actions be seen as “lukewarm.” (Revel. 3:15-16)

Just because of that, it is secretly a good thing that God blesses.

I’ve had scary stuff happen as a result of spiritual warfare. About fifteen years ago after stopping taking my meds I took the full dose. I should have weaned myself onto them because after I took them again, hallucinations came back tenfold!

Though I may not have looked frightened I was because there were horrible things happening and I felt I couldn’t even speak to my own mother during them!

I just suffered. Yet though my mother was with me during one, I felt alone in my problem. I somehow, emotionally and as if she weren’t there, felt I was completely alone. And that was so disheartening….!

From then on things just quietly got exponentially worse, it seemed. But through it all I knew God was still there. He still loved me!

He knew what was on my heart. He also knew that I was still kind and caring even while my own church had doubts about my intentions about things.

Satan even wanted a wedge between me and people I loved and cared about too!

So what I am saying believer reader is that in any circumstance we may be facing, there might seem to be thousands that are fighting against us, but if we have the confidence in God through Christ, amazing and wonderful things could happen.

We must trust (Wow, that word hit me again last night talking to a believer!). Not trust in our own circumstances but trust in Christ.

Amen.

Devotions Finishing Psalm 2- 5/28/21

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Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth, Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. Psalm 2:10-12 NKJV

Wisdom is applied knowledge. Have you ever used what you know and put it to good use? I don’t know how many times I have been the opposite. That didn’t help with growth, as after a while it was like going in circles.

We should apply to our lives what we know and use it to mature otherwise we will not be helped by fully living for God.

The first part of the tenth verse says to be “wise, O kings.” If we know Jesus we must also know we are special to God also. We are like royalty.

The kings here are being told to serve the Lord with a full heart. That is they must “serve the LORD with fear… rejoice with trembling.” Now I don’t know if you saw what I said earlier. I happened to talk about fearing the Lord.

That we must fear the Lord because if we don’t we will not care about whether what we do every day or not is in our hearts wrong. It is, for example, bad to go back and sin again and again because an attitude in that could be “Well I can do that cuz Jesus will forgive me afterwards.” But if you do that, are you truly in your heart actually sorry you did it? No. And that’s not good at all.

That’s not a good attitude and that is not fearing the Lord

Anyway onwards into the verses it says to “kiss the Son,” Love the Lord Jesus. We should honor and love Him before we make any decisions in life.

If we reflect something that the Lord doesn’t and we in effect are being terrible, then as a consequence He will be angry.

I just looked up what “lest” means from the bible (I am learning about as much as you are reader, hahaha) and it says from yourdictionary.com:

Lest is defined as something done in order to avoid an undesirable consequence.

Consequences are not good if they come from the Lord. Sometimes He will be angry with what we do so we have to be careful and live in the Spirit and not of something that is not good. We must also learn to love and not strike out on others in an unhealthy manner, let’s say, if we get angry. Let us always strive and live for Christ. We cannot fail if all our goals are for Him and to have a desire to do actions through Him.

So we must love the Lord our God or else we could face some terrible consequences.

Let’s put all our trust in Him and be blessed! I hope you are doing well today.

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!

Psalm 23 *Part 2 5/26/21

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I hope you can see this as well as the first part. For some reason it seems this site only allows one post to be visible a day. Hope that’s not true but it seemed I had no views on the last one when I did this yesterday; there were views only on part 2 for some reason….

“(the) Rod and (the) Staff they comfort me.” For the Lord’s rod and staff comfort David.

What in the world are the “rod” and “staff”?

To truly understand that aspect you have to think in the mind again of a shepherd.

A “staff” is used to help guide the flock. There are many times the sheep will wander wherever they want. But the shepherd makes sure while they find fresh grass and nourishment that they are heading the right way.

A “rod” is used for an interesting purpose. It might to some be not good: many parents may think to not punish a child, yet that kid becomes so spoiled years down the road they think that whatever is coming to them they are won undeservedly.

The rod is used for sheep not doing what they are supposed to. Anyone ever got a whooping? As in, did anyone ever get spanked for doing wrong?

I have. It was humiliating.

Yet I needed it because I was not doing the right thing.

The rod is to give a member of a flock a smacking if needed. But it is probably like a tap on the “sheepy” behind, haha……..

Anyway I was digressing. Further more is just some more words that are great because it is from the Bible.

Could God be preparing a feast now? Could be. Might be.

“(He prepares) a table before me in the presence of my enemies;…”

What is this? Is there a big feast coming? A big celebration? I am not totally sure here, all I know is it might be describing a feast at the end of times.

The end of the world.

Then it continues. Here there is a semicolon being used. For that part of the verse and then with the part following. That means that the two sentences are closely related (sorry my “teacher” side is coming out now, lol!).

“ies; You anoint my head with oil: My cup runs over.”

There are many blessings from God that come just from following Him and staying as true to His word as humanly possible. Sure we may sin time to time (we even unintentionally sin too. And also never say “I am perfect” because that’s a sin too!) but as long as we wait on His promises, keep goals we might have for Him, we can see amazing things in our lives.

Wow that was a tangent! Sorry, haha.

And in that it is sure that “goodness and mercy shall” be in tune with us all the days we are here and alive.

We should also know that we are in a dwelling if we live for Christ. We will also feel that we will live in spirit and in truth in “the house of the LORD forever.”

Do you want to truly live for God? Or maybe do you think if you follow the Lord you could win a million dollars? Just know to ask for God’s help in all times of trouble ask for God’s mercy if you end up weak, but strive and abound in His peace. He the Lord just wants to help you.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

Just ask God for what you wish and as long as it fits His will for you He will do great things. Amen!

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!

Devotions- 5/20/21 Proverbs 1:7-9 and Psalm 7:9

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The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck. Proverbs 1:7-9 NKJV

Sometimes instruction is very tough on us even if we know that people have the right heart in mind.

Anyone who has ever had tough yet dedicated parents in their lives in lifting up their “child” over the years (as in “you”) might think about them.

It is good to have parents who have the best intentions. Who hope the person in their life who they want success in life not only has knowledge but shows fear towards doing bad or having committed wrong and thinks what their parents might do to punish them. They may also hope you have that applied knowledge as a part of your own life.

But notice I said “best intentions” because I mean parents who aren’t the reflection of deep and harsh abuse. I digress so let me go back to what I said earlier.

It is actually good to fear parents who punish when you have done wrong. Or fear if they know their parents will do something that is normal in punishment if they got straight D’s or F’s in school!

I wonder if fear is something us as people had to learn after the fall: The fall of men (and through man, women).

After Adam and Eve we had to experience and still do an awful thing called Sin. Adam was completely responsible, a person to run things in life but instead of that, he chose to eat the fruit. He has had such an awful impact on this world that Eve isn’t even accounted, it seems, to sin entering the world. (“Sin entered the world through one man…” a paraphrase and part of beginning of Romans 5:12). What a sad legacy to leave the people following everyone who wants to worship something, let alone people who might have to live in God’s sight that sin is now a part of. To live for something but because of a tainted body, a sin-filled body, is now a part of people who were and are created, unfortunately.

Now that we are accountable to sin where death is spiritually an absolute for the physical body we need to fear God in order to live for goodness.

What can we do? We must follow His instruction. Either to be saved, to learn to fear Him about right and wrong, and also to live life since one day we won’t get the chance to live on in this earth but will be accountable at the end to how we have all these years lived!

That is a great reason to live for God through Christ.

And we should not forsake our parents or parent figures with good intentions’ “rules” to live life.

We must in life show love towards all people, not just the ones we already care about. Just be careful about the wicked because they have not good hearts even if we might witness or share things that are good with them with a good heart.

Here’s a partial verse, note some is paraphrased. It says basically: “Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the just; God (in His righteousness) tests the hearts and minds.” Psalms 7:9.

Let us live wholeheartedly for goodness and love in Christ. Or live for ones who are hurting and needy. Let’s live for the goodness that Is God!

Let us live to be “tested” so that we will be without blame as we live in Jesus through the Holy Spirit as new creations.

Amen!

Devotions 5/19/21- Psalms

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“The ungodly are not so (prosperous), But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Psalms 1: 4-6 (word added to explain context from verse 3)

You ever worked so hard at something and then saw it fall apart? I was like that during high school in a way but an image came to me just now. I worked so hard at Legos this one time. It was probably the only time I was dedicated to work at making something, only when my friend and a family member of his came by, they saw it too! (haha)

With seeming joy they had fun “tearing” apart my house. It was kind of like a farmer who works and works only then they realize their crop hasn’t grown, they had to struggle through the winter but there was still little to nothing to show for their work.

Maybe that farmer experiences a lot of “chaff” that blows in the wind.

I just looked up what that word is. There is apparently a part of the wheat that sometimes is found during threshing (grinding during harvest of wheat, etc. fields) and the chaff is part of the husk. It is completely unusable. Not worth having. No reason to save it from harvest.

So… what could this mean?

To be ungodly is like to be one who is not saved. Here it is talking about the kind of people that would refuse help or mercy. Or maybe people who refuse to believe there is something good like a God out there.

Hey I’ve got some testimony concerning that. I thought I knew it all at times. I have doubted too. But maybe God wanted me to mature more in Him through Christ. Or at the very least start to think that I should not have to live for only myself.

This is the importance to deliverance. Sin. We all have it. Sometimes we keep going back to some of it. It’s awful, awful stuff!

I believe that if the Christian does that too many times or too often recklessly then there are consequences. You might experience a form of punishment from God (like I have myself), like a tap on the behind because of being too much like the “ungodly.” Or if you do it too much when you kept following the Lord with all your heart, you might then lose the holy spirit.

The Holy Spirit which kept guiding you and helping you week after week and in your heart you kept being an adulterer or a person who could not stop thinking of and “tasting” things that were not good…

Sigh. That’s sad.

That’s why God wants us to live for Him fully and totally. Repentance. Living for Christ and not our ways. And following Him as much as we can is so important.

Then we look less like the “ungodly” and more like Christ.

Two paths. What you were and what you are now in Christ. One path has seeming easy paths. Those paths are longer than we at first assume but they are endless if one goes alone.

The other is like stones in the ground. They might seem broken and far apart but there is only one path. That path at times seems easy. The burden is light. Work doesn’t seem so hard. That is the broken road.

That is so much more worth living for.

Devotions- 5/17/21

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“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.” Psalms 1:1-3

Has anyone ever been with people who are only out to do harm? I sort of did when I was a kid. At the very least I was with people who mocked others, caused a ruckus, and even got in trouble at school by the authority. The teachers, maybe even the principal!

It is a terrible thing to follow people who want to go out with evil intentions. Plus the bible also says not to conform to this world… do not be like the world and at least a little more like Christ.

That is one reason it is good to at least try to devote time for church. There you (usually but not always) will find people who might be the best at trying to guide you towards the right path.

There are all kinds of things there that are “good” as well. There is bible study by hopefully great teachers who will guide you after deeply studying the word themelves.

We should also learn self-discipline. There are so many terrible vices out there, just evil things that are really just Satan’s pull to lure you in and keep you away from the goodness of God. We must remember that even if we think it might be no big deal, it is not! (Out with the old, in with the new, hehe)

But as we grow and mature more into Christ every day we learn to set aside our time to live for Him and obey His word. I can think of a former church member who has told me such deep lessons.

She said to have key verses. Memorize them when you can. As you grow those verses become not just things to have in the mind but will be become a part of you then, will be like a part of who you are!

That is why we should be part of or attend a “counsel” of the opposite of the ungodly.

In God’s eyes, He probably wonders why though we might self-abate and put ourselves down because of sin. Well if He does see us and we know Christ or have experienced His love He sees someone complete, perfect (somehow… I still can’t get over this, haha! God who am I that You should love me?).

When we follow Christ with all our hearts we realize we have a foundation like a strong root firmly in the ground that was different than what was there when we began our walk in life. Mine was like sand. There was no footing no way to get anywhere until I one day followed Jesus. But to live in something greater than our personal expectations is so worth following.

Have goals for Him daily. Work for Him. Live in Him. All He wants us to live by the Holy Spirit and have a relationship with Him through His son. And He will prosper us spiritually in ways we might not even imagine….

Reader’s Note: I am excited about this new sub-category. I hope you enjoy the many things that appear here. And have a great day.