Category: Daily Inspirational Devotional

Have you ever thought about what your purpose on earth is? Maybe when you were much younger you had big dreams, plans and aspirations of some wonderful career…and maybe you accomplished those goals. But as we get older our ambitions change, and hopefully with the help of the Lord we can then look at our purpose here on earth in a completely different light. In Isaiah 43 our purpose here on earth is spelled out. First we are told that our God is our Creator, Redeemer, Deliverer, & Savior…and everyone who is called by His Name He created for His glory. So everything we do needs to be governed and determined by what would promote the manifested excellence of God…every action and word glorifying Him and drawing others to Christ…this is our ultimate purpose here on earth.

By God’s grace and through Christ and the Gospel we’ve all been given Spiritual gifts. But they are not for us, but to serve and help others. And as those who have been given a trust, we must prove ourselves faithful to manage and exercise these gifts properly. (I Corinthians 4:2) There is a wide variety and practicality for each Believer’s gift mix, and you will soon discover that they beautifully intertwine with your natural endowments of talents and passions. But they have not been granted to you to hide away…but rather to serve the local Church Body. So I would challenge you today…if you are not serving in your Church in some capacity on a regular basis…you need to be.

If I had four strangers stand up before you…two God-fearing Christians and two not, would you be able to tell me who was who? Probably not. That’s because most, if not all, of our change as followers of Jesus happens inside. We are told to replace the old for the new at all levels of our life…in our thinking, desires, attitudes, actions, and speech. This includes what we love and value, where we find hope and refuge, and how we grow spiritually. Ephesians 4:22-24 explains again that we are to put off our old self & put on our new self…”by making new the attitudes of your minds.” So how do we change our spiritual mindset from old to new? It’s by studying and then applying the ultimate source of Truth – God’s Word- to our life. We can then experience a change of perspective, a heart change through repentance and faith, followed by a change in our practices. And as we continually put off the old for the new, we will grow in our relationship with God, be able to respond Biblically to sin in ourselves and others, purse personal Holiness, and finally, glorify God in all we do.

This Scripture makes it clear…we are to no longer focus our lives on the eternal and fleeting world-view of pride and rebellion. Nor should we be allowed to be shaped by it. But this is much easier said than done in this day and age. For we are constantly bombarded by the outlandish, salacious, and morally wrong on every type of Social Media. We are forced to comply and submit to things we know go against God’s Will simply because it’s the popular ideology of the masses. But still we are told here to renew our minds and purse a deeper inner change of our character. A reshaping if you will, by the knowledge of the Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit…in order that we may better evaluate and ascertain the Will of God.

It’s quite simple, dependance on Christ, communion with Him, and obedience to His word will result in a fruitful life. Or as Jesus told the disciples, “Abide in Me, and I will abide in you.” God is active and at work in your life at this very moment…influencing everything you do for His good purpose. Our responsibility is to die to self and sin, and to live for righteousness. Our will and actions then becoming the very arenas where God’s power is active and working.

On this Sabbath, let us rest and rejoice in God’s grace and forgiveness of our sins. Let us praise Him for His compassion for His people and let us thank Him for for His unrelenting and steadfast love. For even when our journey is ending here on earth, we can have the assurance and security that like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when we breathe our last we’ll be, “gathered to our people.” ( Genesis 25:8, Genesis 35:29, & Genesis 49:33) A going home of sorts to join all those who have gone on ahead to glory.

Repentance in this Scripture doesn’t specifically refer to our initial act of repentance that accompanied true saving faith in Jesus, but rather an ongoing turning from sin as a Believer. But this type of repentance may be harder to do then that initial Coming to Jesus moment we had at the altar years ago. The longer we’re a Christian the easier it is to quietly tolerate ungodly things in our life. We don’t want to get involved, or rock the boat, so we allow sinful things to accumulate around us. We may regret what’s going on and feel sorry about it…but that’s as far as it goes, with no change in our heart or behavior. But God demands more from us…a sincere decision to forsake this sin and turn back to Him. For our journey with God is one of growth and progress…and Yes, at times filled with profound sorrow for accepting sin into our lives.

Can you recognize right away when your life isn’t in step with the Gospel? When God shines Spiritual light and truth on the sin in your life do you look away, or do you confess your wrongdoing? Sin is so subtle, so cunning and crafty that we can be duped into false beliefs very easily. It misleads us by purring in our ear that what we’re doing “isn’t that bad” or that “everyone else is doing it”…but in reality, that sin is leading us towards Spiritual death and breaking God’s Laws. Sin has to be recognized for what it is…sin…not glossed over, or sugar coated, or called by another name…sin is sin. John wrote in I John 4:6 how to easily recognize when deception has infiltrated our life, “We are from God , and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of falsehood.”

Our relationship with God is a lifelong Spiritual transformation, where hopefully our will is fundamentally altered & there is a metamorphosis or a renewing of our mind. That’s because our relationship with the Lord is meant to be anything but stagnant…or as Ephesians 4:15 says, “We will in all things grow up into Him…” This growing up into Him means that as we behold His glory we are to then unashamedly shine that light before the world…a reflection in our own lives of the truth of His word as our relationship with Him grows. Our relationship with the Lord cannot be stagnant…it can’t be a one and done type of meeting of the minds where we say Yes to Jesus and then go on our own way. Nor can it be a fading glory that we only look back fondly on. Our relationship with God has to be active, alive, & growing continually…strengthened by faith and trust in the transformational process that’s called sanctification.

The original intent of the Old Testament Law (found in Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, & Deuteronomy 19:21) was to limit punishment to that which was equitable and fitting for the crime committed. What it attempted to do was to prohibit demanding a greater punishment sheerly out of vengeance. But here, Jesus is turning the Law on its head and telling us that we are to not to return evil with evil. He elaborated on this in Luke 6:27, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” In other words, when we are insulted or injured we are to return assault with nonviolence, and exploitation with generosity. For when our sinful nature wants to rise up in resentment, retaliation, and a demanding of our own rights, we switch from Godly anger to sinful anger quickly, our Christlikeness is totally absent, and we dishonor the Lord.