Devotionals

"teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen (Matthew28:20 NKJV).”

As we observe all things that the Lord has commanded us we are reminded to look and know that the Lord is always with us. I believe most of the time we operate in the notion that God is not there with us always. We forget and need to be reminded He never leaves us. He knows where we are physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally. So as we go and fulfill the great commission we can know that we are sent by God and He knows exactly where we are at in all capacities of our very existence and is able to provide our every need to effectively minister the Gospel in spite of our lack of ability. So we can trust and know that He is with us no matter our ability because He is all sufficient. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,… (2 Corinthians 3:5 NKJV).” So look to Him because He is always going to be with you no matter where the location, or what the situation is, or the person He has placed in front of you, Look to Him because He says He is with you always- even to the end of the age- Amen! Look for Him and to Him in everything and know that He is there with you always!

"[Be] kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; (ROMANS12:10(NKJV).”

Bros we are commanded to be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love. I don’t know about you but that is how I came to the Lord because of His great love for me, He first loved me and that is why I loved Him and I responded to His great love, mercy, and grace on my life. Bros none of us respond to anything better than to love, we love receiving love from others and especially from God and knowing the love that we have for one another comes from Him. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17 NKJV).”

In fact we don’t respond well to so called love that involves strong arming, head locks, pistol whipping, being verbally assaulted, forced group hugs, told how and what we need to do to be better- we don’t receive any of this type of coercion or forced instruction. But we do respond to His love, He reached down from heaven and scooped us out of that miry pit with His love and in His perfect love and we responded to His love. And I believe that is why He commands us to brotherly kindness and brotherly love. Because God knows we love to be loved and we do respond to love especially knowing that God gave us the model for love in sending His own Son to show the greatest love ever. Not that we can do what He did, but we can give our love like He gave His love, following that pattern in honor giving preference to one another. If you love to be loved, show your bros that love towards them and let them see the love of Jesus Christ flowing through and from you and shining in you and from you bro. Let God pour that love out of you that He put and poured into you to be kindly affectionate to one another, and watch how He grows you and your love for His glory and honor- amen!

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28 NKJV).”

First off we know all things work together for good to those who love God. Also, we have to ask ourselves do we love God. If so is it evident to God? Do we show Him our love; can He see that love in our hearts? Do those around us know we love God, the ones that know us and even the ones that don’t know us can they see our love for God, is it evident to them? Even more so is it evident to us in what we see in our lives if we examine ourselves can we see that we truly love God by the things we do, say, think and the places we go? If our actions speak louder than our words will those actions line up with us saying “we love God?”

Secondly we are called according to His purpose or His use, are we answering that call and being used for His use, do we have His mindset or have we not answered that call at all? Love God first then answer that call… “Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37 NKJV).”

"And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:18 NKJV).”

Bros better to be a slave of righteousness, then a slave to the bondage of sin. To be addicted to anything other than living for the Lord is insane Jane. There is so much joy in living every moment for the Lord a slave to righteousness, and so much pain and sorrow living for our flesh caught up in the bondage of sin; a slave to sin is living in hell here on earth… and acting like it is heaven… unable to break away from the bondage of sin or get the lion back in it’s cage. Only Jesus can set you free from sin. A slave to righteousness in God is a labor of love, you will love serving God- there is no greater joy than being used by God. One day in the Lords house is better than a thousand elsewhere. There is no better life than a life lived for Christ- AMEN!

“For a day in Your courts [is] better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness (Psalm 84:10 NKJV).”  Give me one day with Jesus…, over a thousand of the perceived best worldly fleshly sin days! Bros we are called to be separated for the Lord Jesus Christ- to become slaves of righteousness, let’s start living every second right for the Lord right now today, let’s use all that energy we use to have for sin- to become and live as slaves to righteousness for Christ AMEN!

“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me" Mark10:21 NKJV.”

The rich young ruler had great possessions and the Lord knew that stopped him from fully giving himself over to fully follow the Lord. The rich young ruler was saddened to hear what Jesus told Him and went away sorrowful. The very things that kept him from fully following Jesus he apparently was unwilling to give up for our Lord. The most valuable Gift anyone could ever receive is Jesus and the young rich ruler would rather keep his own possessions instead of entering the kingdom of God. Bros maybe some of us don’t have riches and are thinking glad I don’t have that problem of wanting to hang onto the riches of the world or all my great possessions. But maybe it’s not riches that are keeping you from fully following Jesus, maybe something else is keeping you from fully following Jesus. What is that “one thing you lack” bro? Is it time, is it someone, is it work, is it a passion or hobby, is it sin?

Whatever it is, give it up, get your priorities in the correct order, get rid of it and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, take up the cross, deny your flesh and follow Jesus and then you lack nothing!

"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6 NKJV).”

Bros remember when we did not have the strength to give up those things that separated us from Christ Jesus, those former times and sins. Even so today we do not have the strength to go one day, one hour, one minute, or one second or one thought without Christ. The Lord died for our sins even when we were so caught up and deep in them he still died for us the ungodly. We never could make ourselves strong enough to have victory or to make ourselves righteous enough to present ourselves to Him clean from sin; we did not have the strength or ability. He had to do it for us because we could not save ourselves, we were dead in sin and He was the only One who could make us clean and pay for our sins and give us eternal life in Him, nothing else could pay for our sins or make us clean, no other god, no other religion, no other way, we were without strength in our own ability. It was Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior and only Him- He was “The Propitiation” for our sins and He did so by dying and paying for our sins with His blood even when we were amok in our sin. We didn’t do anything but sin and deserved death. We were dead to sin and yet He went to the Cross for us while we were still in that condition. Even today knowing us intimately He would do that for us knowing what is truly in our hearts, He loves us and knows us in our weaknesses, and we can be strong in His might and His strength. He has the power to deliver you up from the pit of hell and certain death from your sins then and even today and forever…“He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, [And] established my steps (Psalm 40:2 NKJV).”

 If you are without Him and without strength today the only thing that can keep you from Him and Him from you -is you… He is already reaching down from heaven to pull you up from the miry pit, ask Him for forgiveness of your sins right now whether you have never received Christ or you are a believer, and have started to fall back into that slippery pit. He can be and will be your Strength today and forever talk to Him right now, give Him your whole heart today.

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14 NKJV).”

"But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak (1 Corinthians 8:9NKJV).”

Bros notice how Paul refers to the liberty of eating of things offered to idols as “this liberty of yours” meaning it is not everybody’s liberty… If we do have the freedom to do anything should not all our freedoms or liberties honor and love God and also not be a stumbling block to the weaker brother in that area. It seems for us in our technologically advanced age in which we live those stumbling blocks are more visible and out in the open. Folks that use electronic devices are more readily showing pictures of where they are hanging out…, what they are wearing…, where and what they are eating & drinking…, you see them sitting at tables loaded down with all kinds of food and drinks… You see stuff in the backgrounds of those pictures that makes you wonder… Some are very surprising to say the least and this does not make them all bad or sin, but leaves an allusion in the viewers mind and thoughts. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares [us], and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1 NKJV),”

We have the liberty to worship God in all we do and all we say and all we think and all we post and we ought to use our liberties to honor and love God in all our ways acknowledge Him. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:6 NKJV).”

We all fall short of the glory… “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23 NKJV),”

Let today be the day… “For He [is] our God, And we [are] the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice (Psalm 95:7 NKJV):” Bros first we have to hear and recognize His voice- sheep know their Shepherds voice, it is what we do when we hear His voice, how we respond to His voice- is He speaking to you today in “this liberty of yours”. Use that liberty of yours and every liberty to honor and love God and to be a witness for His Kingdom and to live the Christian life He has called us to live, Lord help us all this day and everyday to put all the liberties we have into living the Christian life letting the Spirit rule and be the men that You have called us all to be in Your name we pray- Amen!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV). ”

Fruit is the direct product or outcrop of the Spirit and the Spirit is the very character that God wants for us, His truth. Love is to find everything irresistible and to treat everything irresistible. Joy is delight and happiness that comes from God. Peace is God’s harmony walking in agreement with God. Longsuffering is forgiving, tolerant, accommodating, patient, and selfless.  Kindness walks in compassion and sympathy, dresses in gentleness and kindheartedness, stands in benevolence and tolerates thoughtfulness and cares for humanity and is considerate. Goodness is God’s decency, kindness and honesty, goodness knows integrity well, goodness is good and righteous. Faithfulness is authentic and real and is from God; it is close to God and accurately depicts God’s truthfulness. Gentleness is God’s mildness, calmness, tenderness, placidness, quietness and softness to know God’s gentleness is to know His grace. Self-control is God showing us to have self discipline, will power, restraint, strength of mind, strength of will, and self will. These are all great things from the Lords Holy Spirit an out cropping if you will, a direct product of walking and surrendering to His perfect will for our lives, His love, His mercy are there for us if only we stop our will from controlling us and let His perfect will and His perfect love dominate us because there is No Law against walking in the attributes of His Holy Spirit. It is completely and wholly legal because there is no law against God’s love and truth for us and the joy that is ours when walking in His Holy Spirit, which is the kind of law we can really love No Law just God’s way!

"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven Matthew 10:32)."

Bros we all have the ability to acknowledge Jesus into all our conversations, thoughts & actions? Could be you are talking about the weather making small talk while standing waiting in a line. How easy is it to say wow what a beautiful day God made for us to enjoy. Or maybe a coworker who is struggling going through a personal trial and confides in you and you offer this verse “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Or it might be that you let someone down at the bank know your Daddy owns all the cattle on a thousand hills… Or that neighbor kid that is always getting picked on by the other kids that you tell him Jesus loves Him. Maybe you tell that guy that doesn’t speak English something like this “Solo Cristo Salva” which means “Only Christ Saves.” Or the Barista down at Starbuds if it was not for God creating coffee beans he would be out of work…Bros the point is- time is short, talk about Jesus, confess you know Him & have a relationship with Him and acknowledge Him to others, before its too late for them to receive the truth! He loves when His sons talk about Him and boast about Him! Interject Jesus bros!

Those who trust in their wealth And boast in the multitude of their riches, 7None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him 8For the redemption of their souls is costly, And it shall cease forever(Psalm 49:6-8 NKJV).

We all love money to a certain degree, not necessarily for the wrong reasons, and we know it cannot buy redemption for us or our brother that is why our confidence is in the Lord. I know most all of us know this and even realize wealth cannot bring about the joy we experience in the Lord, only Jesus Christ brings joy & wealth to our hearts, families, homes, relationships, work and everything we do and have in this life here on earth. The Bible says that our flesh is never satisfied though we chase after everything under the sun we cannot find satisfaction in the pleasures of our eyes, trusting in riches that perish can lead to our destruction…

Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied (Proverbs 27:20 NKJV).

My dad came to realize towards the end of his three years of terminal cancer in his mid-fifties that one of the greatest gifts God gives us is at our arms length, meaning our families and that is a great wealth from the Lord that we should all value and appreciate as an awesome gift of Gods love for us. But the Greatest Gift is Jesus Christ who gave Himself as ransom for our sins. Being wealthy in the things of the world does not save anyone, but being rich in the fact that we have the Savior makes us rich in Him, so because of His wealth of love for us we are redeemed by Gods vast wealth of love for us- His Son Jesus Christ.

I know there are many a men that are in the world and that are very wealthy in the things of this world and with that wealth there comes a thinking liken to- that they have it made and that all of their family and them will be blessed in everything they have and do until these thoughts turn to eternity and only when they do turn their thoughts to eternity then they can no longer justify that line of thinking. Then there is a reckoning when folks think of eternity, there has to be in hearts & minds you can’t get past this at least in our human minds. Our minds and hearts cannot reckon beyond this life on earth and it is only through Jesus Christ that we can go further in our thoughts and think in and hope on eternity. The Bible says there is only One Way to the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6 NKJV).  If any of those whose trust is in their wealth of the things of this world comes to this realization, then they will have to also realize their assessment of wealth will also have to change significantly if they want to get to the wealth of eternity that we have in Christ. Their wealth evaluation becomes completely reverse because it is no longer their wealth that they think will save them or their families or make them happy. But the wealth of love that our Savior has for them by coming and dying on the cross in their place. The value of that wealth is greater than all the wealth this world has to offer of which will burn- but the wealth of Jesus Christ coming & living in your heart is for eternity that makes us believers extremely wealthy. And the awesome part is this great wealth that we have in Jesus Christ is free for the asking, believe and receive. Peter showed us in the book of Acts that he didn’t have the wealth of the world but he had the Greatest Gift and Greatest Wealth the world has ever seen…Then Peter said, Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk (Acts 3:6 NKJV). Riches didn’t save the lame man that was healed, but Jesus did heal and save Him that day! Imagine getting healed like that after being disabled your whole life and being able to walk, run & jump up and down for the first time ever in your life… I can only imagine this was one of the most incredible experiences anyone could have, a total awesome miracle. And then to find out that not only did you get a miracle in the fact that your lame feet have been made whole but you find out there’s more, much more, there’s another gift even more awesome than the gift of healing- eternal life in heaven with Jesus this is one wealthy bro this former lame man… Greatest and most valuable gift in the whole universe salvation from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ- amen!

One thing for sure no rich man can afford the ransom to redeem his brother; the redemption of their souls is costly. And Jesus is the only One that can bankroll their redemption and the whole worlds redemption because He paid for your sins, my sins and all the sins of this world with His life, by His blood- He is the only One that has that kind of wealth, He’s the only Price that can be used to pay for our redemption nothing of monetary value or any other god, only Jesus Christ can and did do this for you & me, this is a fact. The only One who has the wealth to pay for you, me and our brothers is our Jesus Christ Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV).

But the day is coming when He is coming back and soon then this free Gift of Wealth paid for by the Blood of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvarywill cease forever. Share the wealth of our redemption and rich relationship that we have with Jesus with those rich fools of this world’s wealth so they can become eternally wealthy too, that they may believe & receive in Jesus Christ Lord and Savior of all mankind!… Introduce them to the only One who has already paid in full the cost for them to have eternity with Jesus Christ by His sacrifice, His wealth of love. Nobody’s wealth can pay a ransom for neither himself nor can he buy anyone’s way into heaven- you must meet Jesus and by believing and receiving in Him you will get into heaven. Bros lets continue to introduce folks to Jesus and if you haven’t been- then maybe it is time you start introducing more folks to Him, He has more than enough wealth to pay for them all to get into the greatest relationship known to mankind, He paid for us all by His wealth through His Blood. We come from a wealthy Blood line bros, we are heirs of Jesus- lets not ever forget that- amen! We are the wealthy because of Christ we have great wealth in Him and from Him today as believers and forever as receivers of His redemption from our sins by His blood that was shed on the cross at Calvary so we could spend eternity with Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, now that is real wealth that you can believe & receive in only in Christ. Thank you Jesus that We Are The Wealthy because of what You paid for us with so that we could live with You forever!