Devotional

I find this to be a great (and greatly true) devotional…

“. . . giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
Colossians 1:12

- JANUARY 15 -

WHAT PRODUCES PEACE IN YOUR HEART?

Several years ago, I had the privilege of counseling one of my wife’s close friends. Wendy’s friend was a young Christian who attended another church. Over dinner, she shared that one of her spiritual leaders had told her that the Christian life was difficult, and that she had to suffer for the Lord and pay her dues. She was told that she had to work hard, pray hard, and make sure that she read the Bible every day so that God would be pleased with her.

Once she shared all that with us, I felt that it was my responsibility to tell her the good news. So I shared with her that we do not read the Bible because we want to qualify for God’s blessings. We read the Bible to find out about our blessings and inheritance in Christ.

See the difference? I told her that if I stopped reading the Bible for a few days, I should not be feeling guilty; I should be feeling hungry.

God is not pleased with us on the condition that we read the Bible, pray long prayers, and pay our dues. No, absolutely not! He is pleased with us because our trust is in Jesus, who qualified us.

The Bible never said that it is our works that qualify us. Today’s scripture says, “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.”

It is the Father who has qualified us, and He qualified us by sending His Son to save us. He has qualified us to be partakers of His favor, healing, provision, love, joy, peace, and well-being. All these blessings are the inheritance of the saints, purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ. We partake of our inheritance by giving thanks to the Father for sending His Son.

I shared with this lady that she can wake up every day and say, “Father, I thank You that You have qualified me to walk in victory, healing, and supply.” I told her that she should not be racking her brains wondering what she must do to qualify for God’s goodness. His goodness is already hers!

There are too many teachings today telling believers what they must do to qualify for this and that. God’s way is for us to know that through Jesus, we are already qualified.

At the end of the dinner, I said, “Test whatever I have shared with you about the goodness of God, His grace, and Jesus’ work at the cross against what you have been taught. Which produces peace in your heart? Joy and peace are the trademarks of the kingdom of God. God is not the author of confusion.”

She reflected on what I had shared with her and said, “While I may not understand everything about Jesus because I am a baby Christian, I know that all you’ve shared has produced great peace and joy in my heart.”

Let me ask you the same question today: what produces more peace and joy in your heart—to know that God will never punish and condemn you again for your sins because Jesus has already been punished and condemned for you, or to hear that God is sometimes pleased but sometimes angry with you depending on how you perform?

Beloved, the answer is found in Jesus and His finished work. It is found in His grace, not in your own doing. By trying to qualify yourself today for God’s blessings with all your Bible reading, praying, and hard work, you are asking Him to assess and judge you according to your goodness and faithfulness.

Is that what you really want? If not, then begin to put your trust in the finished work of Christ today and enjoy peace, joy, and every blessing that flows from His unconditional love for you!

This devotional is taken from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs.”

From the Joseph Prince Ministries’ app:

JEHOVAH SHALOM IS YOUR GOD

15 January 2022

Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Romans 15:33

I'm sure you want the Lord to manifest Himself as the God of peace when you are fearful. So let's go deeper into what the "God of peace" means. Don't forget that Paul was Jewish, so when he said "the God of peace be with you," he was saying "Jehovah Shalom be with you." "Jehovah Shalom" is Hebrew for "the God of peace." Now, the first appearance of the name Jehovah Shalom is in the Old Testament story of Gideon in Judges 6.

As we read Gideon's story, we discover that the Midianites terrorized Israel day and night, descending upon them like a swarm of marauding locusts and destroying their crops and pillaging their livestock. Fearful of their cruel enemies, the Israelites hid in dens and caves in the mountains. It is no wonder Gideon was petrified and hid himself at the bottom of an abandoned winepress to thresh the measly stalks of dry grain he had somehow managed to scavenge. He was bound by fear and overcome by all the news of terror that surrounded him.

In the midst of Gideon's fear, "the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!'" (Judg. 6:12).

When you find the expression "the Angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament, it usually refers to our Lord Jesus in His preincarnate state. Jesus Himself appeared to Gideon when he was in the pit of fear and called him a mighty man of valor. Isn't that amazing?

Are there moments when you feel besieged by fear? When you hear reports of terror or exposure to some virus, do you feel fearful and anxious? Has fear driven you into hiding? The truth is, regardless of how you feel, when our Lord Jesus looks at you right now, He sees you as a mighty man or mighty woman of courage.

Isn't it amazing how our Lord looks at us? It's not how we see ourselves that defines us; it is how our Lord Jesus sees us that defines us. That's why we read His Word. We read it to discover what His Word says about us. My friend, no matter what state you are in right now and how messed up your life might be, the Lord Jesus sees the best in you.

He sees your potential, your gifting, your call, and your destiny to do great things in this life! And as the ending of Gideon's story shows, He will guide you and cause you to be a testimony of His protection as you trust in Him and see yourself and your situations through His eyes.

Tumbleweed.......

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Tumbleweed.......

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Tumbleweed.......

@fmf said
Or... Thread 191836

@pb1022 said
Any thoughts on the Devotionals?

@fmf said
My thought about you, in particular, posting "devotionals" is "piss christ". And I wouldn't say that about any other currently active Christian poster.

@pb1022 said
What are your thoughts on the content of the Devotionals?

@fmf said
"Piss Christ"

“I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord GOD. “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick.”
Ezekiel 34:15–16

- JANUARY 17 -

LIVE LOVED BY THE SHEPHERD

Whatever you are facing in your life, you don’t have to run around trying to meet all your needs. You just need to seek Jesus Himself. When you have the person of Jesus, you have all the benefits that come with the person.

Here is one particular aspect of the Lord that I want to draw your attention to.

Throughout the Bible, we see pictures or personifications of God, such as Him being our fortress, our stronghold, and our tower. One of the most frequently used pictures is of God as our Shepherd. And many times we see the imagery of the shepherd and sheep used in the context of healing. For instance, read today’s scripture from Ezekiel.

I love my wide-margin Bible because I can write my own notes and commentaries. Next to Isaiah 53:5–6 and 1 Peter 2:24–25, I wrote, “This imagery of Shepherd and flock promotes healing.” Let me show you something really powerful when you compare these two Scripture passages:

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
—Isaiah. 53:5–6

Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
—1 Peter 2:24–25

During my time of study, I felt the Lord say to me, “The day My people really see Me as their Shepherd, and not just know it in their heads, but experience Me as their Shepherd, their days of sickness are over.”

We were like sheep going astray, and that’s why we were sick. But we have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. And because of that, we can have full assurance that by His stripes, we are healed.

By the way, the word for returned in the original Greek text is in the passive voice. This means you are not the active agent here. It is the Holy Spirit who has brought you back and returned you. Do you remember the parable our Lord Jesus told about the shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep to look for the one that was lost (Luke 15:1–7)?

The Shepherd is the One who looks for the lost sheep, finds it, and lays it on His shoulder, rejoicing. Our part as sheep is to simply consent to be loved by Him, let Him carry us on His shoulders, and rest in His strength.

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and gave us everlasting consolation and encouragement and well-founded hope through [His] grace (unmerited favor), comfort and encourage your hearts and strengthen them [make them steadfast and keep them unswerving] in every good work and word.
2 Thessalonians 2:16–17 AMPC

- JANUARY 18 -

KNOWING YOUR VALUE MAKES A DIFFERENCE

It is the Father’s love for you that gives you the power to overcome every mistake, failure, and sin in your life. The Bible puts it this way: “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace” (Rom. 6:14 NLT). Isn’t that beautiful?

Today you are living under the freedom of God’s amazing grace—His unmerited, undeserved, and unearned favor in your life. Grace gives you freedom. Freedom from lack, from fear, from addictions, from the torment of guilt, and from every curse and every sin! The more you experience the love and grace of your heavenly Father, the more you fall in love with Him and out of love with sin.

Did you know that the enemy has no hold over people who know their Father loves them? If Adam and Eve had believed in God’s love for them, the devil would not have been successful in tempting them. Unfortunately, they chose to believe the lie that the serpent had planted by portraying God as stingy and selfish, as if He was withholding something good from them.

That’s why I want you to be anchored in the Father’s love. You will be unshakable. You will have no desire to touch certain things, go to certain places, or be associated with certain people. You will keep away from negative influences because you trust your Father’s heart for you and believe that He only wants what’s best for you. You rest, knowing that He is watching out for you to protect you and insulate you from harm.

I’ve seen that children who are secure in their father’s love are able to say no to all kinds of temptations. This is because that vacuum in their lives is already filled. They don’t have to do things to win the approval of their friends when they can find absolute security, identity, and approval in their parents’ love for them and, most of all, in their heavenly Father’s love for them.

In the same way, when we trust in our Father’s love for us, we will have the power to say no to temptations. When you have an abiding revelation of just how valuable, precious, and righteous you are in Christ, it becomes increasingly easy to say no to sin.

The more righteousness-conscious you are and the more conscious of how valuable and precious you are in Christ, the more you will know that your righteous identity in Christ and sin don’t go together—and the more you will experience the power to say no to temptation.

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing.

Devotion lost. PART 1

A devoted atheist goes to the store and finds faith, through the demonic message of halloween items for sale!

A car is parked. Many cars are parked or moving. In the store, there are items for sale. These include such things as soap, detergent, magazines, and lettuce. You can enhance your life with these products. Soap can be used for bathing, be it in a bathtub or in a shower. Apply the soap to your body and rinse. Detergent is used to wash clothes. Place your dirty clothes into a washing machine and add some detergent as directed on the box. Select the appropriate settings on your washing machine and you should be ready to begin. Magazines are stapled reading material made with glossy paper, and they cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from news and politics to business and stock market information. Some magazines are concerned with more recreational topics, like sports card collecting or different kinds of hairstyles. Lettuce is a vegetable. It is usually green and leafy, and is the main ingredient of salads. You may have an appliance at home that can quickly shred lettuce for use in salads. Lettuce is also used as an optional item for hamburgers and deli sandwiches. Some people even eat lettuce by itself. I have not done this. So you can purchase many types of things at stores.
If I drive around, I sometimes notice the houses and buildings all around. There are also pieces of farm land that are very large. Houses can be built from different kinds of materials. The most common types are brick, wood, and vinyl or synthetic siding. Houses have lawns that need to be tended. Lawns need to be mowed regularly. Most people use riding lawnmowers to do this. You can also use a push mower. These come in two varieties: gas-powered and manual. You don’t see manual push-mowers very much anymore, but they are a good option if you do not want to pollute the air with smoke from a gas-powered lawnmower. I notice that many families designate the lawnmowing responsibility to a teenager in the household. Many of these teenagers are provided with an allowance for mowing the yard, as well as performing other chores, like taking out the trash, washing the dishes, making their bed, and keeping the house organized. Allowances are small amounts of money given by parents to their children, usually on a weekly basis. These usually range from 5 dollars to 15 dollars, sometimes even 20 dollars. Many parents feel that teenagers can learn financial responsibility with this system.
Now I will talk about farm land. Farm land can be identified by some common features. They almost always consist of a very large patch of dirt with small green plants lined up in very long rows. You may sometimes see farm equipment riding over these rows, like tractors or combines. These machines help farmers grow more crops in less time. They are a very helpful invention. Some different types of crops are soybeans, cotton, corn, tomatoes, tobacco, and lettuce (which I mentioned earlier). Most crops are used as food, and can be defined as either fruits or vegetables. Some are commonly eaten raw, after being rinsed in water to remove any dirt. Some are often cooked, which helps give them a more pleasant taste and makes them easier to chew. A very versatile vegetable is the potato. It can be eaten raw, or it can be cooked in a variety of ways. They can be baked, and many people like to add butter to them. They can be mashed, and a lot of times brown gravy or milk gravy is poured on top of them. They can be cut into thin strips and fried. Typically a large amount of grease is required to prepare potatoes in this style, but they are easy to make and easy to eat. You can order them at several fast-food restaurants. Potatoes can also be boiled, stewed, and scalloped. There is a wide variety of options available to you when cooking potatoes.
Some other types of crops grown on farm land are used for other purposes. Cotton is used to make clothing (which I also mentioned earlier). It is a very versatile and inexpensive material for clothes. Such items as shirts, pants, socks, and underwear can be made from cotton. The process of converting cotton from a cotton plant to clothing is fairly complicated. Today, cotton is harvested more efficiently through the use of the cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney many years ago.
Tobacco is another type of crop. It is used in making cigarettes. A lot of people smoke cigarettes, even though many medical sources have identified them as harmful to people’s health. Warnings are printed on cigarette packages reminding people of possible dangers resulting from smoking. Cigarettes are available in several brands, including Marlboro, Salem, and Virginia Slims. There is a brand called Kool, but I don’t know whether they are still available at most outlets. Tobacco farming is a large industry, and currently there is debate about it. Recently the government decided on some regulations that cost tobacco companies a large amount of money.
If you notice, some farm lands have animals living on them. Most of these are cows, and there are also pigs, sheep, and goats living on farms. Some are raised for the milk they provide. This milk goes through several processes to ensure that it is not contaminated before it is made available to consumers at stores (which I mentioned earlier). Another use for farm animals is meat. Three popular types of meat are beef, pork, and chicken. Beef comes from cows. Pork comes from pigs. Chicken comes from chickens, but you probably knew that. These animals are raised to become plump and healthy, then they are killed, sometimes at slaughter houses. The meat is then removed from their bodies, cleaned, and made available at a variety of stores and restaurants. Sometimes this process can seem gross, but it is part of an advanced ecological food chain on earth. Just like birds eat worms and tigers eat deer, human beings eat cows and pigs. The main difference is that we don’t eat animals raw. We cook the meat to remove blood, fat, and germs from it. We also season our meat with salt or different kinds of sauces. The end result is food that is very tasty and is healthy for us.
Farmers do not like trespassers. If a farmer sees one, he will sometimes shoot at them with a shotgun that he owns. Trespassing is against the law. Laws are created by government to prevent people from living in fear. They are meant to provide safety for citizens. Our government in America consists of a legislative branch, an executive branch, and a judicial branch. The legislative branch makes laws based on the concerns of citizens they represent. The executive branch consists of the President. This person enforces the law, and he has certain other duties like declaring war and approving bills prepared by members of the legislative branch. The President is also considered the leader of our country. The judicial branch interprets the laws. This branch consists of the courts and the trials held in them. Here a judge and jury determine from evidence presented by lawyers whether someone is guilty of breaking a law. Initial law enforcement takes place among police officers. They are the first people to encounter situations where a law is being broken. If a criminal (law-breaker) becomes too violent or hostile, they will use guns or mace or nightsticks to administer immediate punishment. Their goal is to bring the criminal under control, so that he can receive a punishment determined by members of the judicial branch of government. Punishments mostly include time in jail, but they can also include fines and, in extreme cases, the death penalty. There is controversy surrounding the death penalty.
Children play with toys. This is common to almost all kids. Toys come in a very wide variety. Boys tend to like cars, action figures, and toy weapons. Girls tend to like dolls, toy kitchens, and make-up. Both of them like building or assembling things, be it with Legos, blocks, Play-Doh, or something similar. Toys can be found at most stores, and these days entire stores are dedicated to selling only toys. The most popular of these is Toys ‘R’ Us. Their mascot is Geoffrey the Giraffe. Children love to go to Toys ‘R’ Us and look at the wide variety of toys available. Most children receive the greatest quanitity of toys on their birthdays, or during the holiday season in December. For the majority of children, this holiday is Christmas. For Jewish children, the holiday is Channakuh. Either way, the kid gets presents during this time, and most of these presents are toys.
Christmas is a holiday which has gradually become centered around the character “Santa Claus” and his elves and reindeer. Children are told that Santa’s elves build their toys, and Santa delivers them personally to each house in the world by riding in an airborne sleigh hauled by nine reindeer, including Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, who leads the way. Another popular Christmas character is Frosty the Snowman. Frosty is basically any snowman that comes to life. So during Christmas, many children build snowmen, and some of them hope that theirs might come to life. But all of these characters are myths. The true origin of Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, who founded the religion of Christianity a couple of thousand years ago. Many popular Christmas carols deal with his story, such as “Joy to the World” and “Silent Night.”
Other holidays include Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Independence Day.

To be continued…
Amen.

(Adapted from Bradezone.com)

What is this, a competition for who can write the longest post?

@medullah said
What is this, a competition for who can write the longest post?