Devotionals

“But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: We ought to obey God rather than men (ACTS 5:29 NKJV).”

Bros when you read of the awesome miracles God was doing in and through Peter and the other apostles especially in light of the fact that the high priests and priests had commanded him and warned him not to teach in the name of Jesus. But the Holy Spirit just gave Peter a boldness to be steadfast in the preaching of the Gospel and to obey God in declaring His truths and let the whole world know of Jesus. Peter responded to them with these words. 

"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand [to be] Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and [so] also [is] the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him (Acts 5:30-32 NKJV)." Not only was Peter and the others Gods witness’s but so is the Holy Spirit, Gods truth and notice the blessing of the Holy Spirit which was given to those who “obey Him.” Those who believe in Jesus, those who repent of their sins, those who are obedient to Gods instructions. Bros in our time right now in the United State of America we are fast coming to a place like where Peter and the Apostles found themselves in, with the sect of the Sadducees trying to put the lid on their preaching and trying to keep them from declaring the Gospel. We are there right now in fact and in these times we ought to obey God rather than the politically correct men of our time, should the Lord tarry there are some among us right now who will be jailed for preaching and sharing the whole counsel of God in this very present time- could it be you? Also on another note, I wonder how many of us would obey our flesh over God, I know we don’t always do it on purpose but I know we all struggle and can let our flesh prevail when we let our will have its way… instead of obeying God. “We ought to obey God rather than men.”  We ought to obey God rather than our flesh…

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (Romans 8:13 NKJV).” “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5 NKJV).” Bros we mustn’t honor man over God, don’t obey man over God and mortify the flesh if it is in the way today bros-before it mortifies you…, “Obey God”-amen!

“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).”

Bros I love the boldness and confidence that Peter has, something we all have more need of, but even more than that I love the power of God that can make a lame man whole. Peter’s boldness and confidence is in Gods ability to do all things and comes from the power of God. You see God can do anything; there is nothing too hard, even taking a man that was crippled from birth and giving him full healing and restoration to his limbs and enabling him to walk fully in and by the power of God, this caused the Sanhedrin to get freaked out over this healing they could not deny the power of God. There may be times you and I might be walking around feeling lame or more aptly- ineffective. We can be hindered so to speak in our walk with the Lord, simply because we deny His power, and most all of us have seen Gods power in restoring our own lives… but maybe we are kind of being lackadaisical…, not fully trusting in the Creator of the Universe and His power to do supernatural works anymore. Peter had this confidence, this boldness to not deny Gods ability, Gods power to lift a lame man up and get him walking in the power of Gods ability not his own. Peter acknowledged this to the people who saw this miracle where this power had come from…

“So when Peter saw [it], he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk (Acts 3:12 NKJV)?” 

So this boldness and confidence that Peter had we also can have in the power of God and this should be evident in our walk and belief that God does have the power to raise up lame men and make them able to walk. This power of God which cannot be denied and if we are lacking the boldness and confidence that Peter displayed in this situation that we can and should ask and have that boldness and confidence always in our Lord. We have that blessed assurance that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, it is in His power we are able to do and accomplish all things for His glory and honor. Just as that lame man could not walk in and by his own power but he was able to walk in the power of the Lord when Peter lifted him in the boldness and confidence that he had in the healing power of God- by His might, by His power, by His grace, by His strength, by His mercy, by His healing power, by His love… Peter knew it was God and His power Who did raise this lame man and bros we need to get and be refreshed in boldness and confidence in God and that God can do and still does powerful miracles, we need to trust Him and walk in His power. Lord give us the boldness and confidence in You Lord and Your power and ability, not ours-amen!

“Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him (John 11:45NKJV).”

Bros it is a blessing and also interesting to read this verse. I think of the Jews coming to comfort Mary in her time of grief, losing her bro Lazarus momentarily-well a few days! To come alongside her and mourn with her, wail & cry with her, encourage her, support her and show her love and compassion for her painful loss. So cool that they got to see firsthand one of the most incredible miracles Jesus raising Lazarus from total death out of his tomb! If someone does not believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God after that not sure what more convincing they would need to make them believers… Something that I always liked is when the Gospel, personal testimony of Salvation or an opportunity to receive Christ is shared at a memorial service or funeral. This verse proves even more so without a shadow of doubt that the witness of Christ is all powerful and sharing about Jesus and His Word is powerful and moves folk’s hearts to belief in Him. Bros let the whole world know what Christ has done in your life, be His witness, share your testimony, tell the world what God delivered you from and how He raised you from the dead and gave you eternal life and life more abundantly in Him-amen!

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me (John 10:27 NKJV).”

Bros this verse identifies us as believers in Christ to hear, to recognize and to obey Jesus, for Him to know us, and to follow Christ. I read once that when shepherds had to go far away from their areas for greener pastures. The various different shepherds that came into a village during the evening after letting their sheep graze all day use to put all their sheep in one sheepfold for the night for protection. I thought to myself how can they possibly separate their sheep from the other shepherd’s sheep in morning when taking them back out to the fields? But upon doing some research found that the shepherds spend so much time with their sheep they might have a song they would sing, or a whistle melody they would whistle and then always talking around the sheep so that they become very familiar with their voices and recognize their shepherds’ voice and so they know them… When they get their sheep out of the sheepfold they would sing their song then only their sheep would respond and follow them. Bros when we spend time with the Lord Jesus Christ in His word, prayer and meditation upon His word, we recognize His word, His calling, His Holy Spirit, His truth ministers to us in the most intimate way and He shows us things we have never known before, we see things in His word we have never seen before, we hear from Him through that intimate time of fellowship and love, that time with our Shepherd, we respond to our Shepherd and Savior when He calls, we know His love for us, we know His voice, we are led to a greater depth of intimate love for Him and from Him. We respond, we hear, we follow, we love Him, we are fed and nourished by Him and through all that He is to us, we cherish Him, we adore Him, we abide in Him, we trust Him, we obey Him because we know Him intimately. This is the way He can know us through this personal time of having a right relationship that we should always have with Him and that is maybe why he says “I know them and they follow Me.” And Bros when we follow Him, listen to Him, hear Him, trust Him, and obey Him; He gives these promises and truths when He says this in the following verses "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

"My Father, who has given [them] to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of My Father's hand (John 10:28-29 NKJV).” We are secure in Him. Does He know you intimately? If not; He should know you today, so you can hear His voice, and so you can follow Him-amen!

“He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true (John 3:33 NKJV).”

Bros the witness that Jesus is to all of us by what God did in and through Him is enough. Including the fact that He was the only acceptable form of payment to redeem all of us from our sins; no one else can lay claim to that fact, He laid down His life to pay for our sins, He lived a life that is to be the example for us to live by… Also Jesus said this "…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6 NKJV).” You can’t ask for a more real testimony than the expertise of an expert’s testimony… Jesus came and fulfilled all that was prophesized about Him through God’s prophets hundreds of years beforehand. If that being true; those of us who have received His testimony certify that God is true, but having also certified that God is true is that truth evident in our daily lives? Does our daily life bear witness to that truth?  Have we shown the reality of Gods testimony at work in our daily lives? Bros we all want to say that our life bears the reflection of Christ in us and that God is true in our life by the witness we bear by Christ living in us, but would we be considered an expert witness? Does your life show that God is true and that you received His testimony, if so then why not take the witness stand and proclaim it to the whole world? If you received His testimony you can use this truth to bear witness and certify that God is true to the whole world! “And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15 NKJV).” 

“and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47 NKJV).”

 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19 NKJV),” Bros if you have indeed received His testimony then certify that God is true in your life and that He put His seal on you-amen!

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13 NKJV).”

Bros He gave us the right to become children of God- that is His will! We were born again not of blood or of the will of flesh or the will of man but the will of God. “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever (1Peter 1:23 NKJV),” So because of His will through His Word which lives and abides forever we are born again. Our faith and hope is in Him because we are a new born soul. “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:18 NKJV).” Because of His own will He brought us forth- to those who believe in His name. God’s will for us is to become children of God and be born again.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what [is] that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2 NKJV).” Not doing the worlds standards for us, but being transformed and having our minds renewed so we can live according to Gods standard for us, Gods perfect will for us having renewed thinking that we may live according to His will. Having our minds washed and cleansed by the Word of God.

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality (1Thessalonians 4:3 NKJV);” “your sanctification” AKA “sexual purity” Bros that is Gods will for each one of us; that is born again, that we be set apart for His use, His service and we should practice this sanctification until our passing or the Lords return, doing His Will for us-amen!

“By your patience possess your souls. (Luke21:19 NKJV).”

Bros patience in the dictionary gives this meaning; the state of endurance under difficult circumstances which can mean persevering in the face of or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one can take before negativity. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.  Here’s my question to all of us is do we have enough patience within ourselves to own, control or possess our souls, our spiritual being? Another way of putting it would be; are we totally living for Christ- do we have that kind of endurance to possess our souls and prove out our faith all the way to the finish line? Can we endure for Christ or could we veer off course and head in the way of relinquishment of the patience to possess our souls in light of the battle that is before us? Right now are we leading a life that is pleasing to the Lord? That is our reasonable responsibility to live a life that has control over our soul.  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your reasonable service (Romans 12:1 NKJV).” That we would run the race with endurance, that we would persevere without wavering and being responsible all the way to the finish line into Jesus arms. Bros may this be an encouragement to be living a life where you have totally abandoned your own life and especially in these ends times which we are in today that you would now at this point be committed and submitted to living totally for Christ, a life of persistence and tenacity to stand for Christ all the way to the finish line. "…My soul magnifies the Lord (Luke 1:46 NKJV),”A life that is standing devoted sincerely saved and preserved for Christ at any or whatever the cost? Are you one who stands true and runs hard on his loyalty to the Lord proving the authenticity of your faith? That is your responsibility- if you “by your patience possess your souls”- Amen!

“And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8"I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth(LUKE 18:7-8NKJV)?”

Bros it seems when we come to the place of prayer we always need to press on no matter what; perseverance in our petitions before the Lord doesn’t go un-noticed by the Lord. As we learn when the Lord gives us this example in this parable of the woman who came before the judge often until he heard her and answered her. Although we know He does not want us to go on in vain repetition in our prayers- as the heathen do (Matthew 6:7), but He wants us to earnestly seek Him in all matters and not to lose heart but to be men given over to much prayer. The Lord says “hear what the unjust judge said”, so imagine if this unjust judge gave her justice from pleading and going to him often until he decided and maybe so in a bad way just to get rid of her… but none the less she got her justice because of her constant appeals to the judge! In a different attitude but much the same way in terms of perseverance we can make our petitions known to God because He loves us He hears us and desires for His tender mercies to be ours. We go to Him not in pride or arrogance of telling God what to do in our prayers or how to answer but making known to Him our heart through letting Him hear our prayers day and night that through our prayers God would change and align our prayers and heart to His ways. God loves to hear from us and most times we might have a preset agenda of how these prayers should be answered and dealt with and through prayer we can seek the heart of our Father in heaven and ask Him to conform our heart to His heart in the matters we lay before Him. It ought to be our goal or heart that the Lord would find us in complete reliance and trust in Him when He comes. In the beginning of chapter eighteen of Luke verse one, the parable starts by stating “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart…” So men that is us and that is what we are called to do; “to always pray and not lose heart” God has called us to be the leaders and here is an example of being a leader so Pray and Not Lose Heart- amen!

“He also spoke this parable: "A certain [man] had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7"Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'8"But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize [it].9'And if it bears fruit, [well]. But if not, after that you can cut it down (Luke 13:6-9NKJV).’”

How many years will the Lord come looking for fruit in our lives bros? How much encouragement year after year do we need for us to be fruitful or to bear fruit for His glory? Will He find figs on our tree or fruit in our lives? Bros might we take a moment to examine our walk and then ask ourselves are we bearing any fruit for the Lord? Hasn’t He come and dug around us and fertilized our lives and our relationship with Him over and over all the days, weeks, months and years of our salvation? To be sure we are not thinking works oriented salvation; it was all Him who gave us His all, we have received Christ and His grace. Have we not received that nourishment and exhortation from His Word, yes we have-that we might bear fruit for His kingdom. And we receive that encouragement, that exhortation not because of His unwillingness to do so but because of our hard hearts we are unyielding, unwilling to be participants to want to bear fruit…? The spiritual encouragement; the growth Jesus has given us through His Word, having a right relationship with Him, and by the filling and leading of the Holy Spirit. Has the Lord not been the One who fallowed the ground around our walk and broken the hardness of our hearts? Has He not done and gave His all for us has He not allowed us and has He given us the privilege to be His fruit bearers? Bros the Lord spoke this parable of God’s vineyard Israel being planted in the world. Seems like after three years the Lord would have seen fruit-so the keeper of the vineyard intervened and asked for more time… Thank you Jesus! He could ask us how long, how much more time, when is it going to be the right time to see fruit and so I believe that many of us will see this as an applicable word in our lives today. I know it is for me today and I pray the Lord will help me take heed, receive and use all the nourishment and love He has given me and bear much fruit for His glory and honor. Lord help each one of us to receive all that You desire to teach us and grow us in that we might receive Your loving nourishment that it might penetrate deep into the roots of our soul as You stir us, grow us and cultivate our hearts that we may be fruitful for You today and as You come back and check for fruit that there would be a great harvest to Your glory-amen!

“And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed [is] the womb that bore You, and [the] breasts which nursed You!"28But He said, "More than that, blessed [are] those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:27-28NKJV).”

Bros seems in this woman’s excitement for how Jesus had healed the demoniac and dismantled the ridiculous notion by some in attendance of thinking He cast out demons by Beelzebub. Jesus explains His power to cast out demons does not come from satan but from God. So after hearing Jesus she delights in expressing a blessing that extends even to the woman who bore Him and nursed Him. And I can imagine being there and thinking the same thing Praise God to the woman who bore the Lord, who God the Father used to bring Him to us in the human manner! But then Jesus being Lord says “More than that, blessed [are] those who hear the word of God and keep it!” We know that the word of God never returns void because the Bible says so, His word is powerful and also Jesus expressed His authority over demons and sin in some of the preceding verses. To me when Jesus says “More than that”… I think that she was so excited by the blessing of Jesus being there and teaching them right there and demonstrating His power in that moment; so she says with great excitement blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts that nursed You! Thereby putting aside the fact that Mary was just the chosen vessel by God which was an absolute honor but the total honor is “More Than That”; it is honoring God not the vessel and to honor His word by receiving the word, obeying His word and doing His word and keeping His word! “But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it (Luke 8:21 NKJV)." Bros it is easy to hear, but in hearing we need to receive and in receiving we need to obey and in obeying we need to be doers of His word-amen! “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22 NKJV).”