Daily Devotional 3-15-2022
Mat 5:6 CSB Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. A blessing is pronounced on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: they are promised satisfaction. These people have a passion for righteousness in their own lives; they long to see honesty, integrity, and justice in society; they look for practical holiness in the church. It is “a thirst no earthly stream can satisfy, a hunger that must feed on Christ or die.” These people will be abundantly satisfied in Christ’s coming kingdom: they shall be filled, for righteousness will reign and corruption will give way to the highest moral standards.
Daily Devotional 3-14-2022
2Co 9:9 CSB As it is written: He distributed freely; he gave to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. Charity reaps an eternal reward. A person who “fears the Lord” and gives gifts to the poor, (the Palm that Paul quoted) will be vindicated on the last day. Practical righteousness endures forever not only through the deeds but in the doer as he is progressively transformed into Christlikeness. Ultimately, a believer’s reward is the culmination of the process. The One who supplies what is needed is God alone. God (who supplies seed… and bread) enlarges the harvest (rewards or blessings) that results from righteous, generous living. The riches of righteousness are inestimable.
Daily Devotional 03-01-2022
1Pe 4:19 CSB So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good. Believers could be sure that they were being called on to suffer according to God’s will if, having committed no crimes, they were suffering solely because they bore Christ’s name. Peter encouraged suffering saints to endure through the exercise of Christlike faith. Just as Christ trusted Himself to His Father who judges justly, so should believers themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
Daily Devotional 2-28-2022
1Pe 4:15 CSB Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. Peter stressed that persecution was no excuse for lawlessness. Christians were not to retaliate. Physical violence was not to be met by murder. Confiscation of property was not to be compensated for by theft. No matter what their trials, Christians were to do nothing that would justify punishing them as criminals. They were not to suffer as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. Even interfering in other people’s affairs is out of place for Christians.
Daily Devotional 2-27-2022
Heb 5:13-14 CSB Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. (14) But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil. It is unsatisfactory to remain a baby in spiritual matters. This is true because a spiritual infant, living on milk… is inexperienced with the teaching about righteousness. It is not so much that a spiritual “infant” lacks information – though at first he obviously does – but rather that he has not yet learned to put “the teaching about righteousness” to effective use. He lacks the skill which goes with maturity and which results in the ability to make appropriate moral choices. Such ability is exactly what is possessed by those who… have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. That kind of person can handle solid food. Once…
Daily Devotional 2-24-2022
Psa 132:15-18 CSB I will abundantly bless its food; I will satisfy its needy with bread. (16) I will clothe its priests with salvation, and its faithful people will shout for joy. (17) There I will make a horn grow for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one. (18) I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown he wears will be glorious.” Actually the Lord answers abundantly all that Solomon requests in this Psalm. There is the added promise of plentiful provisions and of bread for the poor. There is the promise that the priests will be clothed with salvation, not just with righteousness. There is the promise that the saints will shout aloud for joy. There is the promise that the enemies will be clothed with shame. The meaning of verse 17 is that in Jerusalem God will make a powerful King to come…
Daily Devotional 12-13-2021
Pro 21:2 CSB All a person’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs hearts. A person may think nothing is wrong with his ways, but the Lord knows what is in his heart. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart”. The Lord accurately evaluates one’s motives and tests them. God is sovereign and also omniscient.
Daily Devotional 10-18-2021
1Co 1:30 It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, This verse emphasizes even further that all we are and have comes from Him—not from philosophy, and that there is therefore no room for human glory. First of all, Christ became for us wisdom. He is the wisdom of God, the One whom God’s wisdom chose as the way of salvation. When we have Him we have a positional wisdom that guarantees our full salvation. Secondly, He is our righteousness. Through faith in Him we are reckoned righteous by a holy God. Thirdly, He is our sanctification. In ourselves we have nothing in the way of personal holiness, but in Him we are positionally sanctified, and by His power we are transformed from one degree of sanctification to another. Finally, He is our redemption, and this doubtless…
Daily Devotional June 21, 2021
Deu 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. Moses explains that “the secret things belong to the LORD”. This refers to the hidden causes which motivate God to discipline His people. The purpose of God’s revelation is not to gratify our curiosity but to secure our obedience. It is not speculative, but practical. Moses expects obedience to God from the people and reminds them that the law was given not only that the Israelites might know what is right, but that they might also do what is right.
Daily Devotional June 20, 2021
Hos 14:8b I am [God is] like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in Me. Returning to God and remaining in fellowship with Him is to claim His promises for future grace. Repentance must be followed by restoration. We need to know that God has accepted our broken hearts and now wants to give us a new life. Jesus is our Tree (Vine), we are His branches, apart from Him we can do nothing. It is our purpose to bear His fruits for Him. He is the source of all good works.