Tag Archives: truth

Pride- Quick Quip- 3/26/24

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Hello. I actually was hospitalized recently. Had not had that happen again in a long while!

Pride I feel is the deadliest of all sins. Might even be more than the fellow ones with this considered those deeply evil sins. It affects politics, public events, movies, television, newspapers, daily life especially ones who feel that they “know it all.”

It affects people who say they are atheist. Ask a non-believer “When did you stop believing in God?” and there is a chance they might tell you. And a lot of times that thought is “If God is so loving He wouldn’t–” fill in the blank. They still believe but they want to turn from Him.

An atheist a lot of times is like a father and child. The child being the subject here.

As this person they might be mad at something they know is wrong and told so and turn away from their dad. They might even be upset that what they need to do is different from what they want to do! And in all of this, they could become prideful and want to hurt the father who has nothing but love for them and say, “I have no father.”

Pride does more than just make a person think they have no father. It forsakes the heart, makes self-intelligence more important than truth from the word the Bible. It makes people believers who should iron and iron each other shaping each other for the truth and the one person in the supposed discussion says “Well this is true to me. That’s all I have to say.” Then the talking is over. The End.

I believe it can make a person go to a church, think they are a real believer, then be so sure that they would die for the truth. Then they pass away and they end up in the trial of the White Throne judgment.

Because “all they did” was claim that their truth that they were demanding was the real truth!

Sad quip but true.

Devotions (Kinda) Acts 4: 1-13-2/11/24

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Hello. I’m back! Hopefully I won’t go away again. This is like an unusual home now, haha!

Before I get back into this new feature I am sorry and have to admit something.

This technically isn’t a “devotion” per se, but I wanted to share what I want to say about this. This is sort of based on a bible study I just went to at an earlier time. As a group we went over things our own way at the time but there was some stuff here that really interested me.

Keep reading and I hope you will understand. What I do want to share doesn’t have a lot to do with what was talked about but is on the scripture itself. Because sometimes when reading the bible the word just comes alive and is exciting!

Things hit me deep and that is what I want to now share. The most exciting thing about reading Acts is know the Who, What, When, and Where?

To know where it happened you would have to know the who was impacted and when which was after a time of Christ’s life.

In this case these situations were after His death and resurrection!

Preceding that Jesus said to the people, the vast groups who listened before He died, He said He would give people a special gift. It would be something that would help them, a helper (the holy spirit) and it would be with them. It was technically Jesus’ promise to be with His people forever.

The disciples sadly and also preceding the book of the bible I am talking about did not understand much of this then and were not knowing what He had promised them before (they basically assumed, “You said you would be walking with us for the rest of our lives. Why are you doing this???”).

Then Jesus gave His life for the sin of the world died for the world’s sin. Then He was resurrected and is living actively for His people, like today!

The exciting thing about Acts is that the holy spirit would be coming to be a “helper” to them?

Wait. The “holy spirit?” What on earth is that??

Well that very force of God’s glory is told right here in this very book of the bible! You would if you get into it read of how it impacted them, both the jews and the gentiles, for the very first time. You also will be surprised that though preceding this event the were facing such heavy persecution and were seen as going against what the scriptures were saying. But they were actually living out what the God of love wanted especially the ones closest to Jesus.

I hope you get to read it during your time of devotion and chance on what fun it is. It is encouraging, at that time it was “unprecedented” (I sort of hate that word though, haha!!) and it was a special time too. That is because they faced challenges that they did not know were things they had to face. And everyone was on a new journey, even the living disciples of Christ (after Judas’ death). They faced a “new” path that was torn by new problems and trials because it was no longer the Pharisees that were after them but now a group called the “Sadducees.”

What I want to get into is are you a religious nut? Or do you consider yourself more than religious? Maybe you see yourself as a person who knows the truth and everyone else is wrong!

Well maybe reading this book of the bible will help you on your own time and during this moment of your life.

The first verse to the fourth verse talks about the arrest of Peter and John. Major religious leaders got together and as a group swooped in and captured them, since they talked of things that they apparently thought were false. It was heresy in their eyes!

What they didn’t realize was that they were witnesses to one of the most amazing events in all of human history. One that no one else can do but Christ!

But the Sadducees and the others thought they were spreading lies. They claimed they saw Jesus after He died. How???

It was word of mouth that spread to many others. How dare they speak what others would claim of their own offense some sort of false doctrine?

Seems like the Sadducees in a nutshell (I guess lol!).

But they were taken in to custody during the evening and kept in some sort of jail overnight.

Then they made them speak to a group of judges as if they were on trial to many others. Their claims were now getting them either killed or I don’t know what but these groups took their word as the most serious stuff to ever come from their mouths.

They were called the Sanhedrin.

As this went on Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said:

“(He was filled with the holy spirit) Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

part of Acts 4:8-12 NKJV (parentheses replaced text, added)

Hmm.

What a witness. But there’s more.

I am not even getting to the biggee part. This is the climax of my little devotion text I want you to read. What was so amazing was that they were put on trial.

Ever been on trial yourself? I haven’t but I have seen it at least once and I do not want to be on the worst part of that situation.

Here they were taken that what they said was untrue to the leaders, the priests, the head captain, and the Sadducees because they were speaking things they thought were awful.

But the final verse was what hit me.

They realized that the people who were so gungho so seemingly passionate, so sure about what they “saw.” It must have been true!

Because God’s people here, Peter and John, were known to be not smart.

They were known as uneducated people yet they were so sure they saw Christ.

And they believed. That is how verse 13 ends.

Wow.

Sorry I want to ponder that some more. How amazing it is to be a witness for Jesus!

But how about you? What do you believe? Seriously?

Do you see yourself as a witness? How about just a Christian? I know sometimes being seen as one thing or another might seem like one needs extra bravery or maybe you think this kind of thing is intimidating, do not fear. Do not forget that no matter what God is with you. That “helper” the holy spirit is with you.

God loves you. Take care.

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.

Devotions Trust in God- 7/29/21

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I actually got sleep! Wow, who’d have thought it was possible?

Why is it so hard to fully trust God? Just a few months ago I got to experience a lot of amazing stuff that God had done for my life. And yet during times around then I would be filled with a lot of fear kind of like Peter taking his eyes off of Jesus while crossing the ocean.

We might go through a lot in our lives but one thing we must not forget is that there is no reason to not trust in God. He is good and is not out to harm you (“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’” declares the LORD, “’plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11).

My strength is so weak I need God and to be more like Christ every day. And to also trust Him to guide me and forget what is in my life currently is not what I should only “see” or expect.

Sigh, there seems to be so much chaos in my life. The one things driving me forward is that He knows my heart so I shouldn’t fear often as so much is Satan dividing and turning things (or trying to) his way. But the prince of lies is not the victor here. The one who conquers hearts and lifts ones up in help and saving is Jesus. He will be the victory!

Psalms 118 is such a wonderful chapter. It praises God constantly and speaks of how eternal His love is. It also is kind of what I just spoke about. Read below:

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? Psalms 118:6

Man can only take me out. God is there to deliver me. I should only trust in God who will help me through whatever craziness in is my life right now that the evil one is shaking up.

Maybe you are going through a lot right now. Did you know God can help you right where you are and change you? He is the one who guides my life and has saved me through the blood of Jesus Christ.

It might seem hard to but to trust in Christ is like a huge burden is gone from your life. You no longer feel like you have the weight of life on your shoulders, it is like a light burden has taken its place. I will leave you with one more bible verse:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5

To trust in the Lord is not some mere “belief.” It is something that drives the very soul. It starts with a relationship, one where the God of love is waiting for you to accept the gift He has waiting for you.

To get that gift you need to know that we all have sin. You have sin and cannot go to heaven by your own effort.

The bible says the “Wages of sin is death” (from Romans 6:23) that means that one who lives by their own effort cannot enter heaven but to die a second death and go to hell.

But there is hope! That is that Jesus Christ died for all the sin of the world. He also took your sin and died in your place so that you might not go to hell. And He rose again giving us the hope that He is coming again one day.

All God wants is to have a relationship with you because He loves you so much. Will you learn to trust in Him?

Pray something like this:

God, I don’t know what is going on with my life right now. I don’t know what to do. I need you God. I know that I cannot have life one day with you in heaven because of my sin. But I have heard that You sent Your son Jesus to die in my place so that no person who knows You may die without You. I want that gift of eternal life and so I trust You in my life today. Thank You for hearing me. Amen.

I have one tidbit for you friend. Want to know the whole verse? While people use the first part of the verse the rest goes like this. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

If you prayed that prayer leave a comment because I want to pray for you in your life with Him. May you experience first hand the “Trust” that is worth it. Amen.

Devotion Strength of Heart and Portion- 7/23/21

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God has us in His Will totally and fully. We might not feel He is here at times or struggle in life to the point we feel we don’t know if we are “worthy” as believers but He is there. Always.

It is through His Son that He saved us and we trust in Him for our day to day lives.

We must not think only of the worries of our lives but remember that He is there with us and will help us through everything we are going through. He gives us strength and joy and peace.

He is also praiseworthy. Check out this verse:

My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalms 73:26 NKJV

We might become so weak in our sin but He is there. We must depend on Him always but to follow Him is much more that that!

I looked up what the bible meant by the writer saying God is his “portion.” It is mentioned not just here but a few other times as well.

Here is what it said:

the writer means that God is the source of his happiness and blessing content with all that the Lord is and provides. partial source: http://www.gotquestions.org Answer to question: “What does it mean to say that God is my portion?”

So the writer’s portion means that God is all that the writer needs and is his joy and happiness. We must reflect that!

Though our hearts get distracted and our flesh leads us to sin we must depend on Him for all of our happiness.

His goodness, His holiness is the way to live. Sure we can have hobbies and even do things that involve passing the time (just to follow God doesn’t mean we must stay in all Christian things at all times) we can do all for the glory of God.

I pray dear reader you continue to or will follow the Lord with all your heart. To be in His love means to have a special one on one time, a spiritual intimacy with God in the relationship.

I’m learning more and more to be like Christ because my heart fails me if I’m not. My flesh does not lead to anything good or to be worth doing.

To be content on what God has given me should be enough. My flesh provides nothing. God amazes me and I am humbled Jesus has guided me all this time. Amen!

God is my portion and He leads me toward His way which is only to be glorified endlessly in this life.

Thank you reader I hope that you are blessed by this.

Devotions Come to Him- 7/22/21

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Wow, context means a lot when it comes to the bible. This has been kind of a surprising experience alone!

What can we do when we feel burdened or deep in worry? What can we do when we are probably not doing the right thing?

Should we depend on our own expectations?

In all things we should depend totally on Jesus and God the father.

I know that is easier said than done but it is a great life lesson.

Jesus said to the people what to do in His word:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

We can find so many things in God: peace, freedoms from anxiety, love after growing through His son.

The bible says that the people come to Christ who labor and are heavy laden, and will find rest.

Can this rest mean from being weary?

Seems like it. I will share some other verses (I honestly forgot to share the last time this blog spoke of being “weary,” haha…) since I didn’t get to though with this one.

The bible encourages us to not be weary in doing what we are commanded to do as Christians. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 “As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.” 2 Thessalonians 3:13.

We must not be discouraged though it is hard because of the way our worries and life events keep us from sometimes seeing the full potential of living for God.

We also must know that we don’t know everything and submit to others especially in the church what know more in life of what to do:

…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Our lives involve a lot but God is always there to guide the way. We must trust in Him, be open when we pray to Him because He really does care for you and for the ones you are concerned about. Amen.

Devotions Strength- 7/19/21

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Thank You Lord for Your mercies every day

To have strength, what could that mean when it comes to the bible?

Does it mean “we’ve got this” in every situation?

Or does it mean we have to draw strength and show that He is in control of our lives?

It is unreal how prideful we can be. To boast about self or to treat living for God including “I” in the statement like Moses thinking that he and God were equal is a dangerous attitude to have in life!

We are weak without and with God. To credit self in the equation is like giving partial credit to God’s glory but all great things that have happened in our lives is ALL God’s glory, it’s not us. As in it is not in us alone. Think of your sin, then think of God. We need God in order to be glorified. It is God changing us, we don’t factor in what makes God great!

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak Isaiah 40:29

He increases our endurance, our love when we feel like hating, our joy when things get tougher, He is what gives us the strength though we are weak!

To be weary, what does that mean though?

“Weary” means- being exhausted in strength, endurance, vigor, or freshness. Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary website (quoted online)

That is not like just working out all day and being tired. That means living out God’s will and then after a long time coming home and feeling like you can’t move anymore. Being so worn out that you feel spiritually exhausted too!

We must never give up hope. Whether we have not really lived for Christ or we feel worn out and discouraged we must not be afraid in life and live it out.

I believe God blesses so much things we do for Him. He wants us to be servants and witnesses as we have been saved, cleansed, and changed by the blood of Christ. To live after realizing Christ died for us and our old selves were on that cross, we must know how He then sees us.

We must be strong in Him. And be strong in Him and by nothing else and not to claim we were strong in our own strength by us.

God is the strength of my heart Psalms 73:26

In Him there is glory. We have nothing without Him. Thank You Lord for Your strength, Amen.

Devotions About Mercy 7/14/21

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We should almost grieve about our sins. Because God’s love is deep we don’t have to do the things from our old habits.

God’s love is deeper than what we can mostly imagine. We might have the humanistic approach and think that God can only do what we can ask forgiveness for, as if it was our power in the first place.

But God’s love is limitless. It is grand! It is beyond what we know. Read the bible and within all the countless stories you also can somehow find His mercy that was shown.

He gave lands freedom to glorify and worship Him, the peoples grieved about how bad they were and yet there is within that mercy that revealed!

He gave all sinners chance to turn away and repent and believe.

It is amazing just how much He can do. God’s love was first shown to all of us as we believed by just knowing His life He gave up on the cross through Jesus and after He rose we see His impact living in our hearts now. Amen!

We can also forgive others for their faults and mistakes towards us because not just it is a commandment but God can do great things in us that lead us to know to forgive.

It can be reflection from other believers showing mercy towards us, to help restore friendships that have been torn from selfish or other reasons, and maybe to know that we have been given great strength after we have forgiven during past times.

What a relief it is to forgive!

Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Luke 6:36

But we must also search our own hearts and see what we might have in our hearts that needs removing.

Are we seeing right now a potential in our lives to be moved and living within His Will? What can we take out of our lives that might be harmful to our lives and others?

The people of Israel during Nehemiah’s life early on went to seek God. They realized as a group just how bad they were and basically cried out to God, grieved about their sin.

God responded but it needed a small group to help them understand what the scriptures were then and to respond so that God would be glorified.

Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful. Nehemiah 9:31

Have you ever been hurt by your past so you cried out to God? Did you realize just how deep His mercy flows like water in your heart? I hope that every day you ask for forgiveness so that you can live life for real like a servant bound to choose to serve Christ.

If you ever have now lived a life worthy of a follower of God may we not forget the mercy we have been shown so we can be merciful and share His grace to others. Praise the Lord!

Devotion Rejoice, Pray, Give Thanks- 7/12/21

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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

We are to rejoice, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. What a way to live for God! It is more than encouraging to see this as an attitude that Christians should have.

It is too easy to look at our burdens and focus on them “always,” groan about our problems without ceasing, and in everything wonder “Why is life making things so tough?”

That is the wrong type of attitude.

We should be always praising God (also being honest if you are hurting about stuff too though) and I wonder. What does the bible say in giving thanks?

I looked that up wondering myself. Is there an aspect about it we might not know?

Here’s something I found while searching:

Here’s the definition: “Acknowledging what is right about God in praise and thanksgiving” (1 Chr. 16:34). It can also mean a right acknowledgment of self before God in confessing sin (Lev. 26:40). … “To show oneself grateful, to be thankful, to give thanks.” It is used in a religious sense with or without reference to God.

Note: Excerpts from article “The Word Walk: Thanksgiving in the Bible.” Source: handfordsentinel.com

We must always acknowledge the righteousness in God in our praising. Hmm I should check out the Leviticus reference to delve deeper in that as well. But also we should be in the right way, grateful be genuinely thankful and to give thanks.

These parts to his verse seem like a key to an example of one living for Him. Praise God!

Quick Quip- Freedom from Love 7/11/21

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Have to do a quick one. Think of this as a part devotion, part something I wnat to explore more in the future…!

If we are free from the punishment of sin we are free to do His will and live for Him. We are also free to love each other in Christ’s love. As a church body works, we have much to do on our own but we must also love each other:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

In my version of 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 it says in the last part love “thinks no evil.”

God loves us so much we are no longer accountable to our sin, which means we won’t get what we once deserved for it (hell). But that does not mean we are free to dabble in what we once were saved from. That is a dangerous thought!

It’s treachery to the Holy Spirit and there are always consequences to sin, especially if we are doing it recklessly or without thinking it as a big deal.

That is why we must stay focused on what Jesus wants in our lives. Here’s a final verse:

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Galatians 5:13

We must serve one another not get stuck in reckless sin. We must love and not guide each other towards evil and make each other fall.

We must keep our eyes on the One to guide us. The Holy Spirit and His word will let us know what we should do! This is freedom directly from the love of Jesus. By His death we live so let’s spend time helping and showing kindness towards one another as a group of believers.

We should do what we’re made to do (or do what we should be called to do if we have become a new creation!).