Engrained in Who We Are

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. – Joshua 1:8

Emphasized in the post “Practice What You Preach” is the need to know God’s instructions from the Bible and better practice or apply these instructions until they become an effortless activity throughout our day; a positive part of our life that becomes permanently engrained in who we are.

Once God’s principles become a part of who we are, we should search for others to join us in applying our faith. We should be creative in how to apply our faith. Are there apps we can use or even develop to help people apply their faith in their daily activities? Are there songs like Lead Me to the Cross by Hillsong we can share?

Index of devotionals

Joy Destroys any Ploy

Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. – James 1:2-4

Alone, we are like one drop of water but together we make an ocean. In the post “Persistence Overcomes Resistance”, we get the account of Paul spending two years in prison for simply being a Christian. Paul and many early Christians went through many hardships as they laid out the foundation for Christianity; a foundation that has proven can withstand extreme opposition.

Next time your day is filled with some resistance, smile at it, say thank You God, and keep going. Like a stream of water, persistence will eventually cut into a rock and if we remain persistent at focusing on the possibilities God gives us, we can cut into and go through any obstacle in our way.

Take inspiration from this song knowing that together, we can press on with confidence that our joy destroys any ploy: Press On – Building 429.

Index of devotionals

Hearts Led By Mercy

Let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. - Romans 14:19

Christianity is the most adaptable movement there is, allowing individuals to accommodate other’s attitudes and convictions without compromising principle. Christianity is built for the individual and is flexible yet distinctly substantiated by belief in Christ.

Unfortunately, we are so caught up in a time when being politically correct is all that matters and not offending people is the main objective rather than following the path laid out for us. 

Yet this day, let us remember that Jesus died for all. Let us not judge but edify. My hope is that this video will inspire this thought for us today: Jesus, Friend of Sinners – Casting Crowns.

Index of devotionals

Those of the Way Continue to Pray

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6

As written about in the post “Good Advice for Us in Today’s World”, there were people who felt threatened by the gospel message because they thought it interfered with their business pursuits. Those who made silver images of the goddess named Artemis (moon goddess Diana) were not tolerant of the gospel taught by Paul. It is amazing that after all these years, it’s not that much different today.

What is important today for those who believe in the Way is to get across that Christianity works well in society because there is the understanding that God has made us all for a purpose and we need to celebrate our diversity.

With this in mind, those of the Way should continue to pray and here’s a song that highlights this point: Pray for You – The Swon Brothers.

Index of devotionals

The ONE that is True will Rescue and Pull US Through

In the post “Pull US Through” noted was that Paul faced much opposition from the Jewish leaders. People stepped up to fill the gaps to strengthen the early church. Paul had a daunting task to fight against the Jewish leaders who wanted Judaism to be the only recognized religion of the Roman Empire and to outlaw Christianity.

He relied on help from many during his missionary journey. When he was in Corinth, he stayed with Aquila and Priscilla. Paul then received financial help from his friends at Philippi (2 Cor. 11:8) which gave him the opportunity to devote himself entirely to his missionary work. Then Silas and Timothy joined him in Corinth.

Also written about was a man named Apollos who had a talent of speaking. After he was taught more about the gospel, he was very effective at debating the Jewish leaders by proving from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

To win the fight against the cultural and religious erosion we are seeing in front of us in the United States and throughout the world, we have to pull together and each use our talents for the glory of God.

We must recognize that our greatest strength or power is prayer because when we pray, we are speaking to the ONE who already has every answer. Enjoy today’s inspiring video with these thoughts in mind: Shoulders – For King & Country.

And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. - 1 Corinthians 12:28

Index of devotionals

I’m studying in Acts 8 about the early church being persecuted and scattered. History has a way of repeating itself but somehow we seem to not learn the lessons of the past. I remember one time putting an office chair together. It was a struggle because the screw holes didn’t line up. I was able to get three out of four screws secured but the fourth one just wouldn’t fit.

When things don’t line up, we don’t have a chance for success. It’s the same with a direction of a nation. If the plan for the future doesn’t fit with what God wants, it’s not going to work. In the post “Petition for Strong Leadership”, I wrote about the need for nations to have leaders who build the future as “One Nation Under God”.

As individuals and as a nation, the plan for the future has to line up with what God has laid out. It is only when it does that we are assured of positive results. So, this day, share with others God’s Plan for Us.

Take inspiration from today’s video as we passionately seek to win more souls for God: Set A Fire – Will Reagan & United Pursuit Band

I wait on the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His Word I hope. - Psalm 37:4

Index of devotionals

Actions are Proof of His Love

Jesus and His Love for the church can inspire our day and build momentum. Christ fulfilled His purpose on earth with passion and boldness. It wasn’t easy but like most things of importance, it takes devotion.

With our helper in the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to share about this purpose of Christ. We can fight life’s battles together and what begins as a ripple on a pond can turn into a wave that travels far and continues to spread.   

To give a lift for your day, take a look at this video: The Proof of Your Love – For King and Country. Have a wonderful day with God! 

Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it. – Hebrews 4:16

For an inspirational start to each day, join the journey at: This Day with God Devotional.

The Discipline of Josiah

We discover in reading 2 Chronicles 34 that Josiah ruled much differently than his father and grandfather. His character contained the element of discipline and he sought God’s direction. His reforms were thorough as he set out to completely destroy the idols and images.

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The Temple of the Lord was in terrible condition so Josiah set out to have it cleaned and repaired. It was during this work that the Book of the Law was found. Obvious to him was the fact that it had not been read or applied over the years. Upon hearing the Law read, Josiah was full of anger, sorrow, and sadness because he knew that past generations had not followed what was written.

The king had a strong influence over the people as shown in verses 31-33. Everyone pledged to follow the Lord and keep His commands. Let us pray for Christian leaders in each of our communities and in the government; that their influence for God may be strong. 

Josiah was a king who went by the Book of the Law of the Lord and took action. This day with God, be inspired by the discipline of this king. Pray that our leaders today will make a change and understand the proven positive result of working faithfully by the Book.

For growing in God’s power with the Holy Spirit as our guide, there is an on-line devotional being used to keep me on track. I invite you to join the journey on Facebook and be notified of new posts by clicking like. 

Putting God First

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As recorded in 2 Chronicles 8, the temple was built first and then Solomon’s own palace. Except for a hint of inconsistency (V. 11),  he kept up the holy sacrifices according to the Law of Moses. Solomon was dependable in adhering to putting God first even under the pressures of administering the kingdom (vv. 12-15).

Like Solomon, we should also put God first. Then we can carry out our other work with a purpose and continue to build upon a good foundation. We can have the right priorities and apply our faith by using our talents to help others. Our life can be the proof of God’s love in us. Growing, praying, and studying can become a great adventure when we are intentional about doing what is most important and intentional about feeding our soul good nourishment.

Spiritual sacrifices are required of us on a daily and weekly basis. Let us pray to build up treasures in heaven rather than toys on earth. Let us fulfill the duty of each day and make it our priority to glorify God in all that we do.

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This Day with God Devotional.

First Order of Business is Prayer

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After the temple was built, the first order of business was prayer. Solomon’s main request in 2 Chronicles 6 is for God to hear their prayers of repentance and forgiveness. Solomon knew what God had promised and in prayer ask that it come to fruition; that they would learn, receive protection, and that their prayers would be heard.

After Solomon’s prayer, fire came down from heaven and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.  The people responded in worship and in giving thanks. This should be our response when we are aware of God’s presence. Today, our hearts are His resting-place. Christ dwells in us by faith and we are set apart as God’s temple where we can meet each day and listen for His voice in the quiet.

We can ask these questions: God do I limit your power in my life by trying to hide my weaknesses? What do I need to be honest about in order to receive your power? Is there something I can share that will provide a good lesson for those that follow in my path?

There is Never a Day We Should Not Pray

Give us this day our daily bread
And bless those O Lord whom have not yet been fed
I thank God for my food and I can honestly say
There is never a day that we should not pray

If not for ourselves there are plenty in need
Of hope and compassion it’s their hearts we must feed
The light of God can show us the way
There is never a day that we should not pray

He gave us his son who taught us to share
To love and forgive, he taught us to care
For he died on the cross and for our sins he did pay
There is never a day that we should not pray

~ Michael Gannon

For an inspirational start to each day, join the journey at:

This Day with God Devotional.

Plan For Our Life

This day with God can be amazing because we can ask Him the plan for our life. When we receive this plan, it becomes a treasure to hold onto because it provides so much passion that we lose ourselves in this plan because we have a feeling of belonging to something greater than ourselves.

The plan for life is found in Jesus and this video has this thought in mind: Where I Belong – Building 429.

Delight yourself in the Lord and he’ll give you the desires of your heart. – Psalm 37:4

For an inspirational start to each day, join the journey at:

This Day with God Devotional.

I would like to share this link to the Sermon Podcast at the church I attended last Sunday. A point I noted from the message titled “Awe Factor” is that the time we spend with God is of essence. Studying His Word, reflecting on how to apply His Word, and time with Him in prayer brings power and direction in life.

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When we put God first, the other things in life like family, children, health, and friends seem to fall into place.  Here’s a video with a philosophy about how we use our time: The empty pickle jar.

Time goes fast so share the right words now; mark another’s life now, build relationships now, make memories now, and spend time with those you love now.

For an inspirational start to each day, join the journey at:

This Day with God Devotional.

Lift the Cross High

In the previous post along the journey, I wrote about the lessons to be learned in life and from God’s Word but the riddle of life can’t be solved by reason alone. It’s solved by the cross so lift it high because it is our trophy for the victory. The war is over and the love of God through Christ has won. May this video give a lift for your day: White Flag – Chris Tomlin.

Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong. – Job 6:24

Desire to be Used by God

In yesterday’s post, the thought is that people are naturally acquisitive and the earth is productive yet there is a sense that something is missing. What’s missing is true joy and forever fulfillment. 

Life is like running a race. This day with God, let us go the distance by going His way because when we lose ourselves in His purpose for our life, we gain energy along the way and we see possibilities we didn’t see before. Our desire should be to hear these words, “well done my faithful servant”. 

I found this video that emphasizes what we should want in life: My Desire – Jeremy Camp.

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. – Psalm 37:4

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This Day with God Devotional.

Win-Win Situation

Within Ecclesiastes 4 are thoughts of oppression and violence; the abuse of power and authority that persisted throughout societies during the time of its writing. It was believed that there was nothing that could be done to create peaceful societies because of the competitiveness inherent in man’s nature.

In many there is a natural competitive streak and this is often thought of as a positive trait among people in current times. It’s good to want to be the best. A competitive person is driven to be the best they can be so they work hard but within society, there needs to be a balance between the desire for personal gain and doing what is good for all; in other words, making sure society is fostering a win-win situation for all.

On the other hand, a society with no incentives for personal gain produces an apathetic attitude among its people which leads to a win-lose situation. Those in power stay in power and no matter how hard a person works, they are stuck at the bottom with no upward movement. There is a fatal flaw in a society that has no accountability among its leaders and they remain in power. The economy struggles and there is chaos and confusion.

The best form of leadership is God’s way. There’s power, safety, and success in pulling together because people can support, encourage, and strengthen one another. They can tap into the faith, hope, and love of other believers so their talents or skills combine to strengthen the whole body of Christ.

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This day with God, pray for yourself, your spouse, your parents, your children. Pray for opportunities to help someone come to know Christ. Pray for a society of peace where leaders let it be known that God’s way is followed. Pray that God would use you to work for His glory.

For an inspirational start to each day, join the journey at:

This Day with God Devotional.

God Loves Us

God knows all about us and sees value in each of us. He takes active concern in our life and mercifully prearranged a gift of love through His Son. What an example to follow and this love in action gives inspiration as we follow this pathway to passion with grace.

This day with God will be amazing because we will be made aware that He loves us beyond measure. This love will enter our hearts and then be returned unconditionally to others. Here’s a powerful video that mixes a message from John Piper along with a great song: How He Loves Us – David Crowder (Matt Chandler & John Piper). I hope it makes you aware how much He loves you and sets the tone for a wonderful Sunday. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

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This Day with God Devotional

Those Who Sow in Tears Shall Reap in Joy

Most things worth having took hard work and it is much more rewarding when you get them through effort and blessings from God. Once rewarded, it’s important to be humble; giving credit to those who helped and praising God.

These attributes of hard work, humility, and praise are brought out in Psalm 126 as the exiles returned from Babylon and began rebuilding the Temple. After they laid the foundation, they gave thanks to the Lord, rejoiced, and then celebrated their freedom.

In the same way, we can give thanks, rejoice, and celebrate each day for our freedom from captivity because of Christ who frees from the power of sin. He fills the void of an otherwise empty life. We can give thanks to God and give Him credit for good relationships, sound character, excellent study habits, and a solid work ethic.

Even though the days ahead may have difficulty, we can still give thanks in all circumstances because there is hope in the future. Those Who Sow in Tears Shall Reap in Joy. Continue to want others to know about this reward Jesus Christ talks about in Revelation 22:12, “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done”.

Each day with God is amazing when we give those who have not accepted Jesus a link to our blog or the blog of those we follow, when we pray for them, and are a positive witness for them.

Faith Built on Prayer

I have been posting recently about applying our faith. The greatest example of the use of applied faith is found in the life of Jesus. The basis of Christianity is faith and is built up by prayer.  Like a seed planted in fertile soil, prayer mixed with faith gives growth to all good plans or ideas. Faith gives life, power, and action to prayers. It is the start of greatness and the chemical or element which, when mixed with prayer, gives one direct communication with God. When Jesus was praying, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove (Luke 3:21-38).

Let us take note that the public ministry of Jesus began at the age of thirty, after great preparation, prayer, and receiving of the Holy Spirit – the same divine resource God has provided for you; a resource of instruction and empowerment to help you live a reinvigorated life of firm witness of Christ.

Here are some other examples of applied faith found in the bible. In John 5:1-9, a sick man wanted to be healed and spent 38 years thinking that getting into the pool for healing was the way. His faith in Jesus and his willingness to take action was an immediate cure. This example teaches us that having faith and applying our faith is extremely productive.  

If you study the Old Testament, the prophets would tell the kings what they needed to do. We know from hindsight that things would have worked out much better if they had only followed this guidance. The good news is that these same principles are applicable today and each day that goes by gives us another day of recorded history we can model after.

Let us have faith in the principles of God. Let us work on these principles throughout life. Much like playing golf, let us keep a scorecard and try to improve our score by applying these principles to everything we do. In Luke 2:21-39, the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon and he was moved. Just like Simeon, let us take the first step in faith knowing the Spirit will build around us the resources needed.

The Holy Spirit is the intermediary, which links one's prayers with God. The positive emotions like desire, faith, love, enthusiasm, and hope are stimuli, which help us reach and influence the Spirit.  The positive emotions feed the Spirit and are found by studying the Bible, going to church, and through fellowship with others working together.  The negative emotions like fear, jealousy, hatred, revenge, greed, superstition, and anger hamper the Spirit. These negatives are like weeds to a garden. But the more positive emotions choke out these weeds. When mixed with faith and prayer, they help the Spirit become the intermediary with God to bring back answers to our prayers.

 

Let us seek God’s plan for our day, take action on the plan, and be persistent in carrying out the plan. Imagine if we could see like David. His vision recognized a way to kill the giant by using a developed skill with the slingshot. We also can develop skills with the use of God’s principles to slay our enemies. Think of steps that can be taken so we build on what God has done yesterday and help dream big dreams for tomorrow. 

Let us be humble before God with a daily prayer time and find victory through Him. Let us be like Paul who applied his faith to produce extraordinary results. Let us see ways God can use us. Let us exercise our faith and believe in future increases in wisdom and job skills. Let us be successful as individuals but also balance this success with morality.

To sum this post up, I have written the poem below:

Steps to Take

Start each day out right

Each morning see the light

Tell God your need

He will help to proceed

Pray with confidence

And expect assistance

Listen for instructions

Then take actions

If plans need adjustment

Pray even more fervent

Know that He is with you

All the way through

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Live Out Life to the Fullest

The journey takes me through what many may consider the lackluster scenery of 1 Chronicles 3-4 but there are glimpses of God’s gracious purpose. Every name listed is important and today every person is important to God. What each of us should strive to do is find out what we would like to be remembered for and get involved with a passion to make it happen; finishing the race victoriously with enthusiasm.

I received an email a while back from a friend and in this email was a story of a lady who had started a long time ago to plant one daffodil at a time in a field. Now the field is covered with beautiful yellow daffodils. This story points out that if you start something positive even if it’s small, over time you will build something of beauty. 

Mark Twain said one time, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore – Dream - Discover.”

Each day with God we should be inspired to get things done now and never put things off because our opportunities to do great things may pass us by. Give it all we have while we can? We should live each day we have like the song by Tim Mcgraw called “Live Like You Were Dying”. The song puts things in perspective. Some of the lyrics in the song go I loved deeper, I spoke sweeter, I watched an eagle flying, live like you were dying.

I remember seeing a TV program called 20/20 many years ago. They interviewed Christopher Reeves after his horse riding accident which left him paralyzed in 1995. In the interview, he said that when he saw an able bodied person he would say to himself, "Man Just Go for It"! That’s some good advice. You see God has the eraser. He’s present to help us make the needed adjustments if we get off course. So go for it! If you feel a job is above your head, express your concerns in prayer and ask for the necessary skills. Ask for good helpers. Most of all, believe that God has given you a mission. God wants us to accept our lot in life. He gives each of us talents and ideas. It’s up to us to start using what gifts we have and giving God the glory.

This day with God will be amazing because He inspires us to live out loud. We can pray like Jabez, listen for instructions, and be honorable people. Opportunities to do great things are right in front of us so let’s give God our best.

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