Nehemiah had been praying long and hard for an opportunity to speak to the king about rebuilding the walls of his devastated & destroyed Jerusalem. But when God granted him the meeting with the king, he came prepared. For when the king inquired what it would take…Nehemiah was ready. From required letters of introduction and references, to a material list for the building project itself, Nehemiah had done his homework ahead of time. We can pray for an open door…but for many of us that’s as far as it goes…for there’s no contingence plan for what we’ll do if & when God opens that door. Sadly, we can be caught ill prepared and not at all ready for the long-awaited answer to our prayer.
Category: Daily Inspirational Devotional
I Peter 4:19 ” So then, those who suffer according to God’s Will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”
We try to avoid suffering, but suffering is ultimately part of God’s Divine Will… and as a Believer, we must entrust our souls to Him and His Divine plan & purpose. And if we believe what Romans 8:28 says, God’s plan & purpose guarantees good, even when it may not be easy, peaceful, or comfortable to endure the suffering. For suffering refines and teaches us what’s really important in life and strengthens our faith & trust in a God Who loves us.
Matthew 3:16-17 ” As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ “
One of the difficult things to fully wrap our heads around is the three in one of the Trinity. But in this passage, we clearly see each separate person working in tandem. When Jesus entered the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist, the event marked the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. And as He made His way out of the water, the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove, alighting and anointing Jesus for this ministry. Then, the voice of the Father could be heard from heaven revealing the person, office, and pleasure of Christ…confirming His identification as the Royal Son.
Jeremiah 31:34 ” For I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.”
God not only forgives us of our sins when we confess them…He forgets all about them. For under the New Covenant, the continuous cycle of making sacrifices was no longer necessary, as the new work of redemption through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ secured our forgiveness once and for all. So why is it so easy to forgive but not to forget when we’re wronged? The answer is, we have to choose to forget, and sometimes guilt, shame, or anger just won’t let us. Paul told the Philippians that they had to forget what was behind in order to successfully strife forward…and we must also. So today, resolve to forget…asking the Lord for the strength to do so, and to set you free from the lingering hurt.
Colossians 3:24 ” It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
In this area of his letter to the Colossians, Paul is talking about those who work for others as bondservants & slaves…encouraging them to work as if they were serving the Lord, not man. We’ve all thought in frustration one time or another, “My job doesn’t matter.” or “I have very little impact at work.” But we really never know how our interaction in the workplace may impact someone’s life. So, we must strive to do our absolute best every day, every conversation, every action…for the bottom line is, we’re doing it all for God. So, no matter how mundane, boring, or insignificant we think our job is, when we do it all to the glory of God, people will be influenced.
Zechariah 2:5 ” And I Myself will be a wall of fire around it, declares the Lord, and I will be its glory within.”
In this Scripture, Zechariah is writing about Jerusalem and the protection God affords to it. But it’s not only protection He gives but security like a wall protecting His people. (Isaiah 26:1) And God’s Presence is also far more than just defensive, His glory (light or fire) is the source of all blessing for His people. (Isaiah 10:17) Together, the city was strong and able to fend off the enemy…just as we can fend off the enemies’ darts today. (Ephesians 6:16)
Luke 18: 31,34 ” Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.’ The disciples did not understand any of this.”
From a worldly standpoint, Jesus’ life here on earth was an absolute debacle. In this passage, Jesus is for the third time predicting the torture and death He is about to endure. But still His disciples could not comprehend what He meant. To them, they only heard that the last three years were a failure and for nothing. But to God, it was the supreme triumph over death & the grave. Many times during our Christian Walk we will not understand what God is doing…that’s simply because God’s plan & purpose is never the same as ours. However, just as with the disciples, we know it will be revealed in due time.
Acts 18:2-3 In Corinth Paul met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.”
Aquila and Priscilla (or Prisca in some texts) were one dynamic couple and very close friends and co-workers with the Apostle Paul. But they were also the nucleus of the early fledging Church in Corinth…evangelizing, teaching, encouraging, and opening their home up for fellowship. In four of the six references of them, we notice Priscilla’s name before her husband’s, making it appear that she had more prominence socially or in the tentmaking business they owned. But their greatest gift was their maturity as Believers plus their insightful knowledge of the Gospel Message… making them a powerhouse couple that helped bring many to Salvation.
Isaiah 42:6 ” I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.”
Have you ever posed the same question over and over again to God? It could be something like, “What’s going to happen now?” or simply, ” Why Lord?” Isaiah exhorts us here that whatever the circumstances, God has you by the hand and will keep you right beside Him. Sure, there’s times when God removes the problem from us…but there are many other times when He will give us the strength to just bear through it. But know either way, God’s love for you never changes.
Lamentations 3:37 ” Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?”
It’s very difficult to imagine, but no determinative event in the course of history has happened without God ordaining it first. Yes, I know that’s tough to swallow, but we must first acknowledge our very limited understanding in light of God’s vast wisdom & sovereignty. We must also agree that His wisdom is far beyond what He reveals…and this unrevealed wisdom is totally incomprehensible to our feeble minds. Genesis 1:3 tells us that all that happens is by God’s Word, and Amos 3:6 reminds us that this includes calamity as well as good.
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