Devotionals

“'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the old hatred,"(Ezekiel 25:15 NKJV)”

Bros the end of that verse stopped me dead on this morning as I was reading it. I had to pause and give deep thought as I read “to destroy because of the old hatred.” It caused me to think on all those who had crossed the path of my life and maybe I had an old bitterness, old hurt, old jealousy, an old thought of vengeance, or some form of old hatred… I said to myself this is not good I don’t want to give any room for the enemy to work in or to operate in any part of any inkling of any old hatred that might still exist sort of laying dormant in the depths of my heart and the thoughts of my mind. “Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD; (Lamentations 3:40 NKJV).” So as I was seeking the Lord, examining myself and asking the Lord to search me and know me as I began to pray and think on those old thoughts and give remembrances of those things and ask the Lord to take any breath of life out of them and completely diminish any form of life that might be left in that old hatred that might try to come back to life, to mortify any old hatred in my flesh. I prayed for blessings on each of those that I had once harbored ill thoughts and feelings towards. Thank you Lord your word is so true and right on always in your perfect timing. "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:44 NKJV),”

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men .(Matthew 5:13(NKJV)”

Bros as a likeness to salt we are not to lose our flavor or ability… or to become useless or in effective and discarded, powerless, overtaken by the things of this world, to retreat and even though rejected by those we are called to be a witness to. Just as salt enhances and brings out the flavor. We are called to bring out our witness to the world for them to see Jesus in us and through us. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14 NKJV).” You can’t hide a City up on a hill- it is visible for all to see, it stands out. It is above everything else, Jesus is above all creation! How can we hide Him, if we are rep’n Him… We should stand out like that City on the hill- obvious to all that Jesus is in our hearts.

"Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all [who are] in the house (Matthew 5:15 NKJV).” There would be no purpose to light a lamp and then hide the light it emits… So why would we hide our relationship with Jesus or our witness of Jesus in our hearts to the whole world… "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16 NKJV).” Bros, we need to stand out, to be lit up for our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. It ought to be obvious to all and everywhere we go, whether out with our families, hanging with bros in the Lord, or with work associates, driving on the freeway, at school or the beach or even on vacation, Bros our light should be shining brightly and without mistake who we are rep’n and why- Amen! May God the Father be glorified in your life today as your light shines for Him.

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me [by Your] generous Spirit. (Psalm 51:12 NKJV).”

Bros David had slipped from his walk with the Lord after his fall with Bathsheba and was experiencing everything that sin brings forth- separation from God, oppression, being cast down, anxiety, sorrow, emptiness, depression, lack of boldness and confidence in your walk with the Lord, inability to do or see the goodness of God, failure, being robbed of the things of God, destroyed countenance, lost of fruit- spiritual rottenness, lost of joy just to mention a few. Amazing the crushing blow that sin brings forth, the pure evil that sprouts from the *littlest sin (*we might think), and it comes on our very being faster than any jet engine could bring it to us. The speedy delivery, compliments of sin- guaranteed to come with every sin. What a harsh and stark reminder that sin is a death blow striking fast and hard like a knockout punch delivered from a heavyweight contender. David felt this heavyweight blow and he pleaded to the Lord to “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.” God gives us great joy with His salvation because it is the greatest gift- to save us from our sin, spiritual death, from ourselves, from the enemy, from all that the world has to offer God delivers us from all these snares and gives us eternal life in Him. That does bring us great joy, Bros remember when you first got saved and were on fire for the Lord and the great joy you were experiencing as you came to the Lord and received salvation in Christ Jesus for eternity. If you are not experiencing that today maybe that fire has went out or is just an ember when it should be a raging fire. I want to encourage you to return to your first love to stoke the coals to stir your heart for the Lord Jesus Christ. "Nevertheless I have [this] against you, that you have left your first love (Revelation 2:4 NKJV).”

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works (Hebrews 10:24 NKJV),”  “Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding [you] (2Peter 1:13 NKJV),”

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation O Lord, forgive me for my sins and the things I do to separate me from You, encourage me, strengthen me, fill me with Your Holy Spirit and use me for Your glory and honor- amen!

“…Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live. (Jeremiah 38:20 NKJV)”

Bros even as Jeremiah laid it all out in the previous verses of this chapter “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel…” for king Zedekiah to surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes saying “then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live” the blessing of this obedience comes in surrendering… So he told him if he obeyed what God was saying he would surely live and also he laid out the consequence of disobedience saying “‘But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon's princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.' (Jeremiah 38:18 NKJV)" So Zedekiah was greatly afraid that he would be delivered into the hands of the Jews who had defected to the Chaldeans and they might abuse him if he surrendered into their hand. Jeremiah assured him if he surrendered into their hand that surely he would not be delivered into the hands of the defectors. “But Jeremiah said, "They shall not deliver [you]. Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live (Jeremiah 38:20 NKJV).” Even so with these assurances by Jeremiah from the Lord to Zedekiah he would not obey. All God asks each one of us is to surrender, our idols for Him, and our thoughts for His, our souls so that we may live, our hearts for His heart, our will for His will to obey His voice. Bros there is victory in surrendering, some look at surrender as a measure of failure, like being a defeated loser. But I can assure you there is victory in and through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior when we surrender to Him, for the Bible tells me so- it’s Gods Word. Jesus had victory over sin and death and that is all the enemy can hold over our heads- the threat of death and the bondage of sin. But we have the victory over both sin and death through repentance and surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ by His blood shed on Calvary for the remission of our sins and His resurrection over death. Obey the voice of God today to do His will that it may be well with you and your soul shall live-amen.

"O LORD, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing (Jeremiah 10:24 NKJV).“

Bros better to be corrected by the Lords justice than His anger! Jeremiah is delivering the Lords word to the house of Israel for Judah’s futile idolatry… in chapter ten of Jeremiah. Then this verse above later on in the chapter is part of Jeremiah’s prayer for correction. Much can be learned by us in this chapter. We may have idols in our lives! Idols that cannot save, the idols referred to by Jeremiah are wooden, decorated with silver & gold and made to stand up with nails & hammers, yet they cannot speak and must be carried and cannot do evil or good. I think about how people could be so foolish as to get caught up in idolatry with something as foolish as inanimate objects and spend all their time worshipping these objects back in those days… Couldn’t they see this was futile wasting their time with a chunk of wood or metal that a craftsman or metalsmith spent way too much time fashioning? Couldn’t they grasp that God is the true and living God and want to spend time with Him and worship Him? Maybe they knew this but chose not to worship the One true and living God. Perhaps they allowed these idols to creep in little by little until they were consumed with them and spent all their time in front of them. Can you think of anything in your life that may have crept in and you have been spending all your time in front of because it consumes all or most of your time away from worshipping the One true and living God? If so then Jeremiah’s prayer is for you and me both- amen! "O LORD, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing (Jeremiah 10:24 NKJV).“

His correction is sweeter and better, His justice is right on and His anger can bring us to nothing, but may His correction bring us closer to home in Him. He loves you, and maybe He is speaking to you right now about idols in your life, the Bible tells us to examine ourselves.

“Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD (Lamentations 3:40 NKJV);” Have mercy on us Lord and help us to get rid of any idols whether they be wood, metal, electronic, visual, audio or motorized or any other inanimate or animate form or thing if idols are taking time away from our worship of You then take away our idols Lord, we want to worship Jesus only in our lives. Forgive us for being foolish and allowing idols to creep in and maybe we don’t bow down literally to them but they consume us and rob us of time with You Lord and fill us with worldly and fleshly trash. Forgive me Lord I pray and I repent in Jesus Name- amen!

“Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners (PSALM 146:7 NKJV)”.

Bros who can help you when you are down an out and feel like you have been or are being taken advantage of by someone…, or some thing is keeping you back or holding you down? Who can defend you or lift you up when it seems like there is no way for justice to prevail in your situation? Who or what can provide you with comfort during those times when you can feel a heavy spiritual oppression holding you down? During those times it can seem like there is something standing in the way of allowing a blessing to come your way. As if the blessing can’t be birthed, like it is stuck in the middle of happening, or becoming a reality- it’s seems to not come forth… Bros God is the only One who can execute justice for the oppressed in times where it seems like we are without hope. He can bring forth that justice that seems elusive or nonexistent, God does it all in His perfect timing and His perfect way according to His perfect will! Who can provide food for you when there is no paycheck or no income or conceivable way for you to pay for food or receive food from any local resource known by you? I have seen God’s hand move and do many wondrous and totally unbelievable things that the human mind cannot fathom during these seasons of lacking. When God provides for us in that time of need have you noticed He seems to do something to your heart- when He moves so mightily and it seems to bring your physical body to a place of paralysis except your emotions. Whereby all you can do is stand in awe of Gods gentle mercies and greatness and cry like a baby, your whole soul seems to give it up with tears of gratitude and as you give thanks and praise and thanksgiving to Him you are overwhelmed by His great and mighty love as you experience firsthand just how awesome that love is, He is faithful and we can’t believe He would bless us like that but He does. He gives freedom to the prisoners in jail and even out of jail, those in spiritual darkness. He sets the captives free! Some of the worst prisons are not even prisons of physical confinement… But they are sin made prisons (bondage) and maybe seems like there is no way out. They are of sin and spiritual bondage, separation from God, they are destructive, deadly, and only God can set you free. God gives freedom to the prisoners, He can deliver each one of us from oppression, lack of provisions, the yoke and bondage of any and all prisons whether they be a physical prison or personal sin prison, He is the key to freedom and deliverance, He is Jesus Christ, He is God, “HE DOES IT ALL.” Listen to what Jesus says as He quote’s from the book of Isaiah "The Spirit of the LORD [is] upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to [the] poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to [the] captives And recovery of sight to [the] blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; (Luke 4:18 NKJV)”.

"As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12 NKJV).”

How far is the East from the West? Actually they don’t connect, if you were to get in a plane and fly East forever you would never be going West and the same goes if you get in a plane and fly West you would never be going East. But if you fly North eventually you would be going South and if you fly South eventually you would be going North. Totally weird I know so cool how God knew this way back then and we now know this to be true today. That is why He said He will remove our sins as far as the East is from the West because they do not connect. He has taken our sins that far from us never to connect back to us again when we confess them to Him and receive His forgiveness. Oh there may be consequences for our sin actions in this world but our Father in heaven will not remember our sins or ever bring them up again. For us this seems unbelievable, we cannot fathom that kind of forgiveness, we sort of have total recall when someone does something against us. And even when we say we forgive them we could recall it twenty years later to remind them of it, but not God. No matter what you have done, what ever your sin is give it to God, confess it, receive forgiveness and let Him forget about it! Hezekiah even said this “Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back (Isaiah 38:17NKJV).” If God remembers our sins no more when we repent and confess our sins to Him and we are cleansed by His blood that was shed on Calvary for the remission of our sins and can cast all of Hezekiah’s sins behind His back. Then we should not hang on to them either, we should not look back but look to our loving forgiving Father who is merciful and kind and generous with His love towards us, what an awesome God we serve-amen!

"So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it(Isaiah55:11 NKJV).”

Only God can make a guarantee like that and keep it. He never fails, He never loses, He always wins, every single time and He always will. He knows what it will take to minister to our needs, our hearts, to our very soul, to convict our heart and to change our heart. His Word is powerful and sharper than any two edged sword. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV).” He knows everything, He’s God and His Word goes forth and will not return void to Him, When He speaks to you through His Word- you better know and expect that He is going to do a work in you and through you and accomplish all that He pleases because He declares and guarantee’s in His Word that His Word will never returns to Him void but shall do that which He sent it to. There is always victory in Jesus, always, He never fails, His Word says so, He never loses any battle or situation but He always wins, He is God-amen!

"And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me (Matthew 4:9 NKJV).”

Bros every time satan tried to tempt Jesus, the Lord used Scripture on him to rebuke him and remind him who was in charge. When temptation comes knocking at your door call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. In times of great opportunities for the enemy to use against us and lead us astray with temptation turn to the Word of God- there is power in His Word. Jesus used Scripture three times as the devil tried to lead our Lord astray after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, the devil tried to tempt Jesus when He was hungry and Jesus rebuked him with this Scripture- But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God' (Matthew 4:4 NKJV).” There is one sure foundation and strength in which we can count on and that is the Word of God in all situations and temptations. satan wanted Jesus to test God to rescue Him if He would be so foolish to jump off the pinnacle of the temple, to see if Jesus would live on the edge of life to see if God would pluck Him from death should He take the plunge and test God, satan always tries to get us out on the edge and tempt us. And again Jesus slammed him with the power of Scripture, gave him the Word Bro! Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' (Matthew 4:7 NKJV)“ Then Bam that stinkin’ devil tried to come back again with another offer of temptation and give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory- like he is some big shot giving away stuff and flaunting his temptations that can cause you to go to hell. 10”Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'" 11Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him (Matthew 4:10-11 NKJV)”. You see bros Jesus continued to use the Word of God every time temptation was put before Him. The devil came up with all these clever ways to try to tempt Jesus but Jesus stuck with the Word of God, He looked to Gods Word, He turned to God in times of temptation and our God delivered Him. Bros let this minister to each one of us today that when we are faced with temptations turn to God and His Word and the devil will leave you and God will send His angels to minister to you. Trust in the Lord, He is faithful even when we are faithless and there is power in His Word- what more can we ask than that the Lord give us a plan for success against temptation than the one the Lord laid down for us by His example and gave us an escape route that is a guaranteed success, thank You Jesus

"But now, O LORD, You [are] our Father; We [are] the clay, and You our potter; And all we [are] the work of Your hand (Isaiah 64:8 NKJV).”

Mold me and make me according to your standards Father God. We know You have a purpose and plan for our lives. Make us vessels of honor to be poured out for You Father God for Your glory. Even though we may stumble and get a crack or a hole we know that You are able to restore this vessel and make us to be useful for Your purpose. You can fill any void, patch any crack, and fix any breach in this vessel. Lord we dedicate ourselves to You may we be all that You desire us to be and when we find ourselves with a broken vessel or wounded spirit or self inflicted puncture may we come before You the Master Potter and ask forgiveness and receive restoration. We have been made by Your hand, we are not manufactured or mass produced but custom made, home made and hand made by our Daddy and we love You and thank You for Your loving Craftsmanship. We know the best gifts are hand made because they are made with great love and care and who can make better gifts than our Father. We know You have such great love for us and we thank You Father God for loving us and creating us even though we fail and fall short most all the time but You reshape and mold us and lead us back to perfection in and through Jesus Christ. Thank You Father for the work You have done in us and continue to do in us may You never cease in Your love for us! We love You Father God in Jesus name- amen!