Category: Daily Inspirational Devotional

What appeared to Daniel in this vision was the image of Jesus Christ…matter of fact, in Mark 14:61-62, when Jesus was being questioned by the high priests and Sanhedrin, He quoted this Scripture when asked if He was the Messiah. In Isaiah 13:6 this is called “The Day of The Lord” – when His throne will be established with a Kingdom that cannot be shaken…or as Revelation 11:15 tells us, “The Kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever.” And there will be no doubt or question when this happens, for every eye will see Him, (Revelation 1:7), every knee will bow, and every tongue confess Jesus is Lord. (Romans 14:11)

Maybe, as I did, you watched the Olympics this Summer and were astonished at the tremendous ability, strength, and endurance the athletes possessed. But little did we know about the years of training and preparation they had gone through prior to the actual Olympic Games…the hours of becoming fit and proficient in their sport…sacrificing everything for the chance to represent their country. And I can only guess they’d be the first to agree that their training sessions weren’t always pleasurable and fun…but they were necessary to succeed and reach their goal of standing on the podium with a metal. So let’s apply these thoughts to this Scripture…for both speak of training and discipline. Just as they did at the Olympics, you represent Christ to the world, and in order to represent Him to the best of your ability you must be willing to train. And training means a lifetime of endurance, courage, and perseverance as you prepare and focus on the goal. For some glorious day you too will be standing on a podium…a heavenly podium, and hear these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

The Scripture above has great significance…today and nine years ago. For it was exactly nine years ago that Safetypinlove.com came to be, and from this verse came the very first Devotional. That day, I had no idea how the Lord would use it or me…for I was simply being obedient to His calling. And now nine years later, I look back on 3,064 Devotionals that go into 150 countries around the world, and can only marvel at what the Lord has accomplished. But even this Scripture in Zephaniah is prophetic when it comes to God’s faithfulness, steadfastness, and love over these past years. For God will never forsake or leave…and if He calls you into something know that He’s already prepared the way and given you everything you need to succeed. The Lord takes great delight in His people and crowns the humble with salvation. (Psalm 149:4)…trust and obedience are what God wants from us…the rest He can easily supply. His unfailing love rests upon us as we put our hope in Him. (Psalm 33:22)…place your hope and faith in Him, and nothing else…for nothing else will satisfy. Finally, God rejoices over us as we follow Him. If you would of told me nine years ago that God’s Word, through Safetypinlove.com, would reach as many people as it does, I probably wouldn’t have believed you…But with God nothing is impossible!

As Proverbs 27:20 points out, “Death and Destruction are never satisfied.” Habakkuk 2:5 goes even farther in describing Death and Destruction as greedy and never content. You don’t have to look far to see that our broken world is full of both Death and Destruction, but that doesn’t mean we have to live in utter hopelessness and despair. For when we look to Jesus as our source and joy we can be fully satisfied with His love. That’s because when He opens His hands we will be satisfied with good things. (Psalm 104:28) And if we are diligent, our desires will be fully met. (Proverbs 13:4) Unlike Death and Destruction that will never say, “Enough!’ We can confidently say, ‘Yes, In Christ, I am and have enough!’

For the most part, those of you who will read this don’t own farm ground or vineyards…so you might ask yourself, how does this Scripture apply to me? Well, for starters, as Believers we should be concerned with things that God’s concerned with, right? Things that are important to God need to be important to us…and aliens, widows, and orphans are extremely important to Him. So much, that He made special provisions for them, a safety-net so to speak, in order that they could survive. So how does it apply to you today? One way could be to keep a change jar that you throw your spare change into…and periodically give the money to a worthy cause. But a great idea would be to not keep your schedule so packed full that you couldn’t volunteer on short notice when asked…that’s because protecting, providing, and procuring for the less fortunate seldom happens on a perfect timetable…but that doesn’t mean the project still isn’t very important to God…and if it’s important to Him, it needs to be important to us.

Two Scriptures that relate to this one are also found in Isaiah. The first is Isaiah 45:3-4, “I am the Lord God of Israel Who summons you by name.” and the other is Isaiah 49:1, “Before I was born the Lord called me. From my birth He has made mention of my name.” Regardless of how far you may have walked away from God…rejected His existence, or rebelled against His authority…He knows your name. It says before you were even born He acknowledged and identified you by name and desired a relationship…a close acquaintance that only intimate friends can have. Yes, God knows well all about your sins…but He still chooses to call you by name as a redeemed son or daughter. On the other hand, the devil knows your name too, but to him you’re just a pawn…an unacquainted stranger that he can use for his own wicked purposes. Sure, he may know your name, but he doesn’t really want to “know” you…for he’ll only address you by your past sins…dredging up every sordid detail he can just to cause you shame, guilt, and condemnation.

Two trains of thought come from this verse. The first is that our days are numbered and fleeting…and we need to make the most of every minute. All our days here on earth were ordained by God before any of them ever came to be, (Psalm 139:16) and we need to use each one to its fullest potential for His glory and our good. Secondly, we may think we’re the boss of ourselves…planning our way and course of action, but God is really the One who is directing our steps. (Proverbs 16:9 & Proverbs 20:24) And the sooner we honestly consider just how short out lifetime is, we can learn not to take any day for granted.

No matter if it’s farm animals or the family dog or cat…they all learn quickly where and when they’ll be fed. So for Isaiah to compare Israel’s lack of understanding of God with the ability of animals to grasp where they need to go to eat is very sobering. But this lack of understanding goes much deeper than just insight. Several passages in Hosea speak of Israel’s failure to acknowledge God, their inability to even realize their unrepentant state, and that they would finally be destroyed because of their lack of discernment. Jeremiah said it well, “My people are fools; they don’t know Me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.” Or as Deuteronomy 32:28 continues this thought, “They are a nation without sense, there’s no discernment in them.”

As the persecution of the Church and God’s people increases around the world…we could all ask the same question the souls of martyrs did in Revelation 6:9-11, “How long Lord, until You judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” How long Lord, before You bring relief from affliction and tribulation of Your people? How long before we see You coming with fire… Your chariots like whirlwinds…bringing down Your anger with fury and Your rebuke with flames of fire? (Isaiah 66:15) We know the Second Coming of the Lord is going to happen…we just don’t know when it will take place, or if it will even be within our lifetime. Meanwhile, godly people may continue to die rather than renounce their faith and many may suffer great sorrow and sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel. But while we all wait, we can still find joy in Him.

Judas and Simon Peter both betrayed Jesus, but the end results were completely different for each. Judas double-crossed the Lord, but when Jesus was found guilty and sentenced to death, Judas was suddenly filled with regret. He wanted to find a way to undo what had been done…but it was far too late. And so Judas was filled with despair…but it was a worldly sorrow…a selfish dread of the consequences it would cost him… without a trace of true repentance. And as he sunk deeper into self-induced despair, Judas gave up hope. We need to though ask ourselves this question – Would the newly resurrected Lord have forgiven Judas? The obvious answer is Yes, but Judas gave up that chance when he took his own life. But now on to Simon Peter’s betrayal of Jesus, which wasn’t once, or twice, but three times he denied he even knew Him. Peter too was filled with deep despair when the rooster crowed. But his despair drove him to repentance and a turning back to the Lord for forgiveness. And three days later, when he beheld his risen Lord, Peter’s hopelessness and fear melted away and disappeared.