Tag Archives: The Holy Bible

Strength in the Lord- 7/31/21

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To “seek His face always” is good advice. I must do that!

Where does strength greater than us come from? Isn’t it too easy to only seek the Lord after certain things?

I know that I have done that time and time again. Too often I don’t think of talking to Him at nearly all times, it seems only after I fail do I seek Him in many cases.

It is good to look to Him afterwards but shouldn’t we seek Him always with all our hearts?

After all He has done so much for us and impacted our lives in amazing ways we should have a commune with Him and talk to Him in prayer and listen to what He wants for us by reading His word.

He wants us to draw strength from Him so that He can impact our lives.

He wants us to look to Him so that He is glorified should we need to stand up for Him or share the gospel so that more come to be family in Christ. But we mustn’t forget that to live for Him is no once a week thing, we must be like Christ 24/7, always and in Him at all times. Like I’ve said before that doesn’t mean we should give up every day hobbies like drawing or writing (just examples) but we must be tapped in to His glory to reflect the servant of Jesus.

We must remember what the Lord is for us and also to know who He is.

The LORD is my strength and my shield: my heart trusts in him and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28:7

What praiseworthy statements! To be defended by Him to trust Him and be helped by Him. May we remember the joy He gives and praise Him.

The Lord Jesus is worthy to be praised always, no matter how the circumstances turn out in life.

I had something disappointing happen in my life recently but I pray that I not walk away from Him concerning it or be tempted to fall back on things.

Sometimes we think we are sure of a “future.” And then those things don’t seem to pan out.

But I trust in Jesus to guide me in the way of everlasting though things seem unsure or like I don’t know what could happen either way.

I remember the things I used to do about this kind of thing. I’d feel lost and then fall into depression.

Yet I don’t see to do that now. I can only pray for the person and not do things that are immature and seek Him more instead. I don’t know what that is right now in a way but I will look to His will.

But I must seek His face, how often?:

Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always. 1 Chronicles 16:11

We should seek His face always! “Always?”

You mean we shouldn’t look to Jesus only after we sin?

We must do our most for God with what time we have left because He is worth it.

Not because He gives us strength but because He is Lord of Lords. Ones we should worship and live for because we are meant to do so.

Strength is nothing when it is not dependent on God. Let’s live our lives in the only way God wants so that we can be blessed and see our lives the way He really sees us. Amen.

Note: I re-edited this to keep from being too personal in a certain way to avoid being unfair talking about another person who might not be able to defend themselves. I write this in love and hoping no one could feel hurt by this.

Devotion 1 John 7/16/21

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The angel has as of this moment shown up at least six times now. Time to write that group of blog notes soon. Was so encouraging, thank you Lord!

Anyone else getting sick of their sin? (Raises hand) Hello!

It is not just a humbling thing, it makes me think of what Paul has said about it too.

Romans 7:19 sums up well just how frustrating and seemingly hopeless sin feels. It says: For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

It paints a picture of things we might do and over time we will hate it and avoid it though we seem to lose the battle to sins.

I already shared my own sin problem in an earlier month. I had shared about it being one of my biggest regrets in life.

But believe it or not, this is something that can be overcome with the help of the Lord!

We need to realize just what our hearts if we focus on things we shouldn’t are seen to God.

He doesn’t like it. It offends Him! Maybe that will help us to feel convicted about things that we do that we are better off without.

But have hope that Jesus paid for that sin already, long ago. Isn’t that also a great reason to walk away?

We must come to the “cross” in prayer, confess what we did and also ask God to revive our life to Him.

We should praise God that because of the cross and that Jesus died for our sins and rose again showing power even over death we should no longer have those sins in our lives anymore..!

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9 NKJV

To be forgiven by God through Jesus is such a wonderful relief. And to live for His sake is a reason to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit until the day Christ returns. Amen.

Devotion- 7/3/21

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Doing well. Physically I still need to get stuff worked out but…

To believe in the One who has changed you brings amazing changes. Just like to know a friend and you might have certain qualities. Over time, those qualities are like mutual changes: you become like them, they become like you.

But this is a completely different kind of relationship: You change for the better and God stays the same. But you have every moment to be newer to be “better” than you were before.

And this “Friend” just wants the best for you.

The opening verse is from Romans, possibly my favorite writer in the bible:

Do not be conformed to this world… but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2

From ‘whichever version I use.’ No one could guess it, haha. Just kidding it’s from the NKJV, the New King James Version.

Note that I separated it a little. That was not a separation in the text but it is important.

We must not be like the people in this world. There are people so stuck in sin they might need someone to talk to at the very least, while this world it is hard sometimes to even fake interest!

There are many though in the opposite spectrum who do care, but is there anyone who can tell them just what changed their lives? More importantly is there a Godly Person who has completely turned them around, or might they equate their experience in life as “I just changed my attitude…” and that’s the end of their personal story?

I hate being stuck in my own sin. It’s no fun. I shared that before, how I was feeling like I was being dragged through my old life and it would not let me go..!

I don’t want anyone to not know there is a love in something that will be like the shackles of sin have been removed and a love moves the heart and will change their life in a way that they couldn’t have imagined!

Because by the grace of Jesus I was shown there was a life that was worth living for my own self.

We must also know that His yoke is easy His burden is light:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ‘For my yoke is easy and My burden is light.'” Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus had amazing words to share to the people He loved dearly who He wanted them just to have a close relationship with His Father.

He guided them and knew that what the Father wanted was what He grew up learning about and He knew they needed for their persnal lives too.

We need to remember that His way is perfect (Psalms 18:30). We must shine like stars in the sky (Philippians 2:15) if we want to really live for goodness. Sure if you “fall” there is mercy to speak to Christ and be picked back up, there is such wondrous grace in Jesus that it is worth telling in this awful disease-spotlighted world.

How worth it is to tell of this wonderful transforming grace? It’s worth everything!

Transforming Grace- 7/2/21

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The love that first loved me. That is what I hope to be. One day we will completely rid our old selves and be completely new! But sadly that will only happen after the end times. Those times will be tough for ones who especially never saw that hope here. There is a chance many Christians who have done things in the wrong heart (without Christ) will wonder why they weren’t with their fellow believers. It’s a scary sad time and will feel like the end for a lot.

But in those times within there is still somehow God’s mercy. He could have taken the earth apart and completely killed everyone who wasn’t without His grace but God’s Word does not say that will happen after the Lord is getting ready to come, to rule on earth and be back in bodily form. There in the midst of all the sorrows of loss and terrible tribulations following what has come right before it will have the chance to still know Jesus.

Why don’t we listen to what Christ wants for us today? We must be one who will be guided by His father, God. And what we can do for that is reading the bible. He can speak to us if we do that.

But the heart must be changed first before we could ever know the truth.

I was just thinking about a hymn about the transforming grace of Jesus. He can change a person from the inside out. The person and their soul does absolutely nothing to end up believing. God can get us as we are but by the power of the Holy Spirit (it’s like a “whisper” or a leading from the heart to know Him) that only He can do will a person find out they need Him, the Father.

He takes us as are, which is full of sin. We are the reviled, the awful, the worst people in all the earth even as much as early as the moment we are born to the world.

I think of my own sin. It is selfish, pitiful, it is so vile I hate is so much as I try to follow the One who’s ways are so much better than my own.

I see such deep pits of selfishness. But when I want to follow Christ, I see such depths of His heart that His father has for us.

It is amazing. It is awesome grace. It is worth living for!

We cannot live for God with our sin so we must know that Jesus died on the cross for it so we don’t have to live without him forever (and end up in hell) but accept that Christ died for you and take His love like a gift. Jesus also had risen again after He took the punishment though he was perfect. He showed that He had power even over death! Don’t you want your life to end up in a world where you get to see heaven?

Then pray if you need to like this:

God, I realize that anything I do in life is just selfishness and is not enough to go to heaven. I also know that by the love of You and through Your Son Jesus who died on the cross He paid for not just the world’s sin but for all of my sin too. I want to live a life to be a believer in Christ and be guided by what You want me to do. Thank You for hearing me. Amen.

I pray your life had been transformed by the grace of Jesus today!

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 Near End of Psalm 3- 5/31/21

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Arise, O Lord; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. Psalm 3: 7 NKJV

That phrase in that song that is a psalm (I think I will only touch on part of that verse since we do not need to include that one above, the last of Psalm 3). Salvation belongs to the Lord…

What does that mean…..?

And why was the song “The Battle belongs to the Lord” written, and what does that mean?

I think we just might find this out!

Also Note: I do know the answer just something to grab your attention!

Let’s pick apart the beginning: “Arise O Lord Save me, O my God!”

The writer seems to want to be rescued! From what? Maybe from death but is crying out for the Lord to rescue him from his situation!

A lot of times we need to be rescued. Maybe we cry out to be saved from sin. Maybe we cry out because we think God should rescue us from the peril we put ourselves in…!

But all we know is we need God. We need the Lord.

“For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.“…. hmm

Could this be something physical? I honestly don’t know, haha!

This could be a battle that David actually fought. All I know is God did something in His power and was not much or was little of David.

David had to see what the power of the Lord would do. He had to be weak in order for the Lord’s strength to be strong!

We must not see that strength is of ourselves alone. We must not feel that we are perfect, at least we must know that the “Perfector” in our lives is the only one changing us day to day! To all the glory be to Him and not to us or through us.

And we must know that there is a “battle” every day. But it is not a physical battle (violence), but we must recognize that every day that it is actually a spiritual battle…!

Here is a verse:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” KJV from Ephesians 6:12.

It means that we must not be like our old selves or what we were like before Christ (or to be love and not work in other ways, like to be hateful. “Be Love”).

We should pray for our enemies, not rise up and overpower them, we should be love like the Lord, not be angry and fight people not knowing what is going on, we must hope that the hopes we have will one day open the eyes to people to see His love…!

Because salvation and the battle truly belongs to our God. “Salvation” belongs to the LORD. 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.

Nightly Devotions- 5/18/21

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This was at 1 A. M.

Like it says in God’s Word in Psalms 119: 11:

“…I will hide Your word in my heart that i might not sin against You.”

Oh how man’s sin is! To conform or to make things as a believer that Christ is not is sad.

Page 105 of A. W. Tozer’s book The Pursuit of God says, “we insist upon trying to modify Him…bring Him… to our image.”

It says in God’s Word “His Word is true.” We must never make the Christian life what He isn’t and try all in honoring Him with all our heart. Let’s ask for a discerning heart to fully know Christ!