Weekly Devotional 24_05_2023
2Ch 16:9 CSB For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.” Even though God had chosen Israel as His elect nation, He has always been concerned about all His creation. Even though other nations as a whole have forgotten Him, worshiping various nature gods, there are evidently individuals in such nations whose hearts desire to know Him, and to these God will somehow reveal Himself. Act 10:35 CSB “but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
Daily Devotional 7-19-2022
Psa 33:22 CSB May your faithful love rest on us, LORD, for we put our hope in you. God’s people demonstrate their faith in three ways. First, they wait in hope for deliverance from the Lord as their Help and Shield. Second, they rejoice in Him whom they trust. Third, they pray for His unfailing love to rest on them. So they are confident (hope) He will consummate His program of salvation.
Daily Devotional 07-17-2022
Gen 15:1 CSB After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great. After Abram’s rescue of Lot and blessing from Melchizedek, the Lord formally made a covenant with Abram, thereby confirming the promise given earlier. God warned, however, that there would be a long period of enslavement. Before God made the covenant, He set aside Abram’s fear and doubt by a word of assurance: Do not be afraid. I am your Shield. When the Lord promised Abram that his reward would be great, the patriarch immediately asked what he would receive since he was childless. This shows his faith. Abram still had only one hope, the original promise God had given.
Daily Devotional 3-5-2022
Rom 15:13 CSB Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. So Paul closes this section with a gracious benediction, praying that the God who gives good hope through grace will fill the saints with all joy and peace as they believe on Him. Perhaps he is thinking especially of Gentile believers here, but the prayer is suitable for all. And it is true that those who abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit have no time to quarrel over nonessentials. Our common hope is a powerful unifying force in the Christian life.
Daily Devotional 25-2-2022
Rom 15:4 CSB For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. This quotation from the Psalms reminds us that the OT Scriptures were written for our learning. While they were not written directly to us, they contain invaluable lessons for us. As we encounter problems, conflicts, tribulations, and troubles, the Scriptures teach us to be steadfast, and they impart comfort. Thus, instead of sinking under the waves, we are sustained by the hope that the Lord will see us through.
Daily Devotional 11-7-2021
Heb 2:1 For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away. Paul pauses to inject the first of several solemn warnings that are found in the Epistle. This is a warning against drifting away from the message of the gospel. Because of the greatness of the Giver and because of the greatness of His gift, those who hear the gospel must give more serious attention to it. There is always the danger of drifting away from the Person and slipping back into a religion of pictures. This means drifting into apostasy—the sin for which there is no repentance.
Daily Devotional 10-6-2021
Joh 16:21-22 When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. (22) So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you. Jesus illustrated the truth of pain replaced by joy by the pain of childbirth followed by the joy of new life when a child is born. The disciples were entering the process of pain (your time of grief), but the light of joy was just ahead. When they saw Him after His resurrection, their joy erupted – joy that will never end since He died to sin once but now lives forever.
Daily Devotional 10-1-2021
2Co 9:8 And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. Ultimately Christians can dispense only what they have received, whether material or spiritual. The good work is done through God’s enabling. Regardless of how desperate one’s circumstances, a person who wants to give can do so in dependence on God. Once again Paul sounded the note that man’s inability, by contrast, showcases God’s work. This verse is full of words indicating inclusiveness in God’s enabling: all grace… in all things at all times, having all that you need… in every good work.
Daily Devotional 9-22-2021
Rom 12:12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. No matter what our present circumstances may be, we can and should rejoice in our hope—the coming of our Savior, the redemption of our bodies, and our eternal glory. We are exhorted to be patient in tribulation—that is, to bear up bravely under it. Such all-conquering endurance is the one thing which can turn such misery into glory. We should continue steadfastly in prayer. It is in prayer that the work is done and victories are won. Prayer brings power in our lives and peace to our hearts. When we pray in the Name of the Lord Jesus, we come the closest to omnipotence that it is possible for mortal man to come. Therefore we do ourselves a great disservice when we neglect to pray.
Daily Devotional 9-20-2021
Psa 42:11 Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God. But faith always has the last word. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t be unsettled. Hope in God; you will be delivered from your enemies and from your depression as well. And you’ll praise Him once again as your Savior and your God. As someone has said: The remedy—challenge depression, look up, hope. The Christian life is alertness, upward striving, activity, the running of a race. It is never downcast eyes, folded hands and the acceptance of defeat.