Category: Daily Inspirational Devotional

Deuteronomy 29:18 also makes this concept quite clear, warning of those whose heart turns away from the Lord, and making sure that there’s no root among you that produces such bitter poison. In other words, when a person no longer relies on God’s grace but themselves, they can become a root bearing bitter fruit…spreading doubt and disloyalty towards the Lord among fellow Believers. So we need to encourage one another to remain faithful… bring those who have turned away back to the Lord…but we also need to oppose any apostasy within the fellowship before there’s trouble and defilement.

Sometimes we look at our present circumstances… and then look at God’s promises, and the contrast is huge. The city of Jericho was a formidable stronghold…a fortified walled city…but God promised Joshua that it would be given into his hands…if he had faith and obeyed. And so for six days the people obeyed. But on the seventh day, God’s instructions were explicated, (and if we think about it, paralleled His creation work in Genesis). For when the battle cry came from the people’s mouth, the walls of Jericho violently and suddenly fell…sending a powerful message to the Canaanites that Israel’s victory wasn’t by any means mere human ability, but only by their God displaying His power and might. But it also graphically showed the Israelites that God was with them, and that they needed only to trust Him to claim the Promised Land.

It’s only through Jesus we have access to God the Father. It’s only by His blood that we can confidently enter the Most Holy Place…having obtained the priestly privilege…. not through the sacrifice of animals, but by the atoning precious blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. For it’s not in our merits we posses that we can do this, but only in the person and work of Him Who came to save the world from its sin. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 10:19) Let us today rejoice in that access with confidence and assurance.

Our great and benevolent Lord wants all men to be delivered and come to a saving knowledge of the Truth. He takes no delight when the wicked die in their sin. But neither does God happily bring affliction or grief to the children of men. (Lamentations 3:33) That’s because we’re pretty good at doing it to ourselves and then being forced to live with the consequences of our bad choices. His real delight comes in those who fear Him and put their hope in His unfailing love. (Psalm 147:11)…for His deepest desire is to pardon, forgive, and save us from ourselves and spiritual death.

John 1:12, ” Yet to all who received Him, to those who believe in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God.” You’ve been adopted into the Family of God if you have acknowledged Jesus as the Lord of your life, received Him as your personal Savior, and have determined within yourself to follow Him with all your heart, soul, and mind. But don’t expect the world to understand your confession of faith…for the world-order is a man-centered spirit relying on self-reliance and total independence from God. The world doesn’t understand Christians because they don’t know God…and what the world doesn’t understand, they usually react negatively to. But the world can learn about God…it’s called the Good News of the Gospel Message…and more Christians need to be professing their faith and proclaiming Jesus to those who have never heard.

Habakkuk was a prophet during the time that Babylon was invading and crushing all other nations. His Book is a dialogue between God and him where Habakkuk asks God why the tyrant, Babylon, is allowed to flourish…causing deliberate and brutal infringement upon others. Habakkuk’s questions for the Lord are both piercing and compassionate…”How can the wicked prosper at the expense of the righteous? How can You just sit there and act indifferently while Your people suffer? How can You even tolerate watching all this wrong doing?” Fast forward to today and we could be asking God the very same questions. That’s because around us everywhere seems to be misery, violence, and oppression and we may think like Habakkuk that God doesn’t care…but He does! For God is completely wise and sovereign…seeing all and hearing all…and at the appointed time He will act on behalf of His people.

The writer Mark Twain once said, ” The difference between the right word and the nearly right word is the difference between lightening and a lightening bug.” We only have to look elsewhere in Proverbs to find many verses that talk about the wise person giving the proper word at the proper time. Proverbs 25:11 tells us that, “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver…or that well chosen words can be compared to beautiful and costly objects of fine craftsmanship. But words spoken out of season can have detrimental effects on relationships as Proverbs 12:18 warns, “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Giving the appropriate word at just the right time takes wisdom and listening to the Holy Spirit for guidance. And if you’re unsure what to say, do what my Grandma used to tell me, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

There’s a difference between resistance & resignation when it comes to the world view, and temptation is lurking around every corner as we attempt to remain faithful to God’s Word. The world is concerned only with the present transitory dimension of life…the here and now. It ignores or outright denies anything to do with eternity. And it gauges our existence only on material standards and achievements. The world is full of selfishness, greed, lust, and ambition… all laser focused on human achievement and self. So as Christians, we have two choices…do we resist, or do we resign ourselves to the world? But the good news is Jesus has already done it for us! “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) And because of His work on the Cross, we are more than conquerors and can claim victory over the world that opposes God by resisting temptation and remaining faithful to Him.

The job of the good shepherd and the role of His sheep are quite different. Jesus is the good Shepherd, (John 10:11) and His task is to carry out and fulfill His plan and purpose in each one of our lives. He guides, directs…always leading from the front as He moves us along to a beautiful dwelling place of nourishment and rest. There, we find the living water of eternal life that quenches our spiritual thirst. And as we follow & obey the good shepherd, He shows us the abundance of His love for us…His profound and never ending care and goodness to each one of His sheep.

As a Believer, you’re in process. And this process is called holiness. But there’s much more to this process…for within it is God’s purpose for our life. That’s because God’s “good work” in us should motivate our ongoing effort to “work out” our salvation….of becoming more Christ-like every day. But what does this look like? Well, it’s trusting that what God says is more important than what man says. It’s agreeing that what God thinks is more important than what man thinks. It’s believing that what God desires is more important than what man wants. Finally, it’s being convinced that God’s Will is more important than our own.