Devotionals

“And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.3And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"4But they kept silent. And He took [him] and healed him, and let him go. (Luke 14:2-4NKJV).”

Bros the thing that sticks out to me in these three scriptures, of course the miracle of healing and the Lords awesome wisdom on how He deals with the lawyers and Pharisees is mind blowing… But what sticks out to me is the fact that Jesus healed the man with dropsy and then let him go… It doesn’t say but you wonder what he did after he got healed and if you think about it- you start thinking I would be telling the whole world if Jesus healed me like that or delivered me. I would be shouting it from the rooftops… and maybe he did just that! We only need to think for a moment or a few seconds to realize that more than likely Jesus did deliver us from something like this, maybe it wasn’t dropsy but if we were delivered from some sure death sentence like some type of sin addiction, or physical or medical condition or maybe an abusive situation or just maybe we were headed straight for hell because of our sin addiction in our lives like everybody else who does not know Jesus and has not believed and received Jesus as Lord and Savior in their hearts. Bros if you and I believe in the miracle of Jesus Christ saving us from our sins we should be telling the whole world about Him. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16 NKJV).”  We should not put the miracles that God did in our lives or our light under the cloak or covering of our life so no one can see it-but rather let it shine, let the whole world see it and know we belong to Jesus and were delivered and saved by Jesus Christ-amen!

“But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?47Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like Luke 6:46-47 NKJV):”

Bros the first thing the Lord says is easy for most all of us to do, because we do call Him Lord of our lives and we do call upon Him… except the Lord has a question for us- why? “But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Easy to say “Lord, Lord” but the second thing He says is harder to do and that is not doing the things which He says. So if we have already come to Him then we hear His sayings and if we are obedient to His Word doing the sayings of the Lord, which is the hardest thing for us to do- is to be doer’s of His Word. We can also say a lot of things to be pleasing to the Lord but does our walk or obedience to His sayings back up our talk in other words…?

If it does or doesn’t then Jesus will show us who we are like or which kind of foundation builder we identify with in His parable of “Two Foundations”

"He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock (Luke 6:48NKJV).” Obedience in Him this should be all of us bros- our foundation is our Rock Jesus Christ!

"But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great (Luke 6:49 NKJV).”

So when he who heard and did nothing- then the  storms came raging against his house without a foundation; when the trials of life are beating against his house the enemy takes an axe to butcher his way through the door of his heart and house to try to take him and hold him down to squeeze the life right out of him, to overtake him, to beat and tear him apart by lifting and pulling him from his foundation, removing him from his Lord, Lord relationship and dismantle his house because it was built on earthly things, things of the fleshly desires and an unfounded relationship with the Lord because he did not build his house upon the sayings of the King of kings and Lord of lords… But he heard and did nothing- did not obey and built his house without a foundation in and on Christ the Rock.

Bros a few years back I lived in Santa Barbara, there were torrential rains that came and the downtown area was flooded by a foot or two of water instantaneously. There was a retired judge who built a house by a stream so when the storm came the stream beat vehemently against his house and it was moved from its foundation. I went to look at it and there it was stripped down to the studs there was no drywall or stucco left on either side of the walls, every piece of furniture was gone from the house, the flooring was stripped completely bare. The ruin of that house was great…It looked like someone came and removed all of these things and the judge was missing for about two weeks because the storm came in the middle of night and took him from his bed they found him miles away stripped naked and his body washed into the bushes on the banks of the stream… This is a physical description of this parable which shows us what could also happen in a way spiritually to our house if we aren’t established on the solid foundation of Christ our Rock! What is your spiritual description right now bro?

Bros are we Digging deep and deeper into the sayings of Jesus and laying hold of All that He has given us and letting Him build us upon Himself and His Word as our Rock, is our foundation build upon the Rock of our Salvation Jesus Christ? Are we building and is everything in our lives founded on the Rock- Jesus Christ? Are we men of God through and through even behind closed doors or outside of church or other bros? Our lives need to be founded and rooted in obedience to “Christ our Rock”- amen!

“Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things [are] possible to him who believes” (MARK 9:23NKJV).”

Bros “Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes”. In the verse before this one, the father who had a son asked the disciples first but since they couldn’t, then asked Jesus to cast out a mute spirit from his son who had been suffering with this spirit since childhood. The father said to Jesus “…But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us (MARK 9:22b NKJV).” Response from Jesus “If you can believe…” But first the father said to Jesus “If You can do anything…” If we believe then we know Jesus can do anything, the father acknowledges Jesus can do anything; Jesus wants us to acknowledge we believe all things are possible to him who believes... Faith in Jesus to accomplish all things for His glory and honor. If we can believe then it is possible. Now check out the honesty and humility of the father concerning his belief…“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief (Mark 9:24 NKJV)!" He believed but still asked the Lord for help with his unbelief, like mostly he believed but likely there was a part of him that doubted or was skeptical… Sounds a lot like us bros we believe but do we fully believe and trust the Lord completely? It’s like when we are calling on the Lord we want to believe all things are possible but there may be a little doubt or reservation… Now look at the power and authority of the Almighty Lord God in the rest of the story! “25When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"26Then [the spirit] cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead."27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose (Mark 9:25-27 NKJV).” Even though the spirit seemed to zap the life out of the child Jesus not only rebuked and commanded the spirit to come out and leave- but before doing so the spirit made the child as one that is dead so Jesus further exceeds this miracle by lifting him back up from as one dead- I believe further removing any inkling of doubt of unbelief the father or any of us would have, the Lord always seems to magnify and go above and beyond the course of even the most miraculous miracle to increase our faith and belief just as He did for this father. This should be great encouragement for every believer who may struggle a little with an inkling of unbelief that all things are possible…Thank you Lord you are so merciful help our unbelief for we know “all things are possible to him who believes”-Amen! 

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37"Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul" (MARK 8:36-37NKJV)?”

Bros even though we gain all the riches this world has to offer nothing can compare to what we have in Christ! Losing your soul is not worth the eternal consequences. Usually when we get all that we want we realize that’s not what we really want or need… There is only so much a man can gain if he gains the whole world and it’s riches until he starts rapidly losing his soul, you trade your soul in exchange to become that man who has the world at his command or in his wallet. Typical trick of the enemy he leads you little by little down the path of destruction with the sweetness of everything this world has to offer until bam you are the last one to find out you sold out your soul for the goods or that life of this world… He led you into a trap, a dead end, a deep miry pit, and a snare until he owned you; the sweetness of the sin has turned bittersweet all the while you thought you owned your soul! But it was taken by the lust of your fleshly heart yearning for more never being content or satisfied; “Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied (Proverbs 27:20 NKJV).” You were tricked out totally by the devil! Oh yes this has happened to all of us at one time or another before coming to the Lord and maybe for some it may be happening now… I think it is easy to sell your soul trying to gain the world but hard and next to impossible to try and buy it back! Except were it not for Christ. He is the One true and only soul redeemer!  Once you have sold your soul in an attempt to gain all the world has to offer; the only way you can ever get it back is by receiving the Lord Jesus because purchasing your soul is what He will do…And He did already by His blood that was shed on Calvary! “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8 NKJV).”

 For me after coming to Christ my worldly wealth changed vastly from worldly goods to His saving grace, goodness and mercy- I gained much more value than the whole world… My heart was changed from hardness that comes from years of sin to His loving saving grace, loving kindness, mercy, and gentleness. I for one am always so thankful for His unmerited favor-grace, oh yeah bro! From my thoughts of self-absorption and sinful behavior to salvation and obedience to meditation of all that my Lord has done and continues to do-His works not mine! My bankroll is the “Joy of the Lord” and it is larger and stronger than anything this world has to offer and can never be exhausted because the Lord supplies a never ending abundance, so I have more Joy than the happiness this world could ever offer, “…for the joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10 NKJV).” Lord please help any of us who have given way to the worlds goods and to turn away from the enemy-the soul collector that uses sin to steal our souls and to return to You and never look anywhere else except to You. “Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me (Psalm 142:7 NKJV).”  For You alone meet all our needs and our soul belongs to You and You alone forever and ever-amen!

“No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house (MARK 3:27NKJV).”

Bros the enemy is very subtle he will bind you little by little to get in your house, just takes a little compromise then he has a toe in the door… He cannot get in unless you let him enter!

First satan will try to trip you up with sin and then cause you to stumble. Then he will bind one of your ankles at a time so you walk in circles in that sin. Then he will smooze you until he binds the other ankle so you are firmly caught up and walk in and or stuck in that sin. He will then bind up one arm behind your back to hold you and control you in that sin… Then he will bind your free arm so that you are now totally powerless and then you will realize what’s gone is your walk and relationship with Jesus, your wife, your kids, your goods and your house have been invaded and plundered… Satan knows he can’t get you all at once so he binds you little by little…Hits the mind first with a barrage of fiery darts and sets it aflame with the lust of the sin of your choice. Until you are consumed and can longer say no or resist the sin you are bound in. A little compromise here and a little compromise there, a little folding of the hands, a little laziness in following God, reading His Word, prayer, fellowship with other believers, and next thing you know the strong man is down and bound! “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep-- So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man (Proverbs 6:10-11 NKJV).” And satan is in the house- he will plunder all you have- everything bros… He comes to destroy you completely; he starts by getting you to allow a little compromise in your walk with the Lord, allow a bit of ungodliness to creep in and then the justification flows;…, it’s ok everybody watches this or this is just harmless fun and an outlet for my stressful life, it is not hurting anyone and “nobody knows this except me”- famous last words… Whatever it is bros that you may have allowed to creep in- here is what it is called “SIN”.  Amazing the damage that takes place in your heart, your relationship with Jesus, your spouse, and kids, and the havoc on your home, possessions and finances and most never acknowledge it or admit it until it’s too late…Game Over! “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1Peter 5:8 NKJV).” Bros there is hope- but don’t play games with your relationship with the Lord, don’t give one inch to the adversary he always makes sin look fun and harmless and innocent but we know better because God has taught us better, don’t compromise the Gift of Jesus you have received in your life- confess your sin, repent, look to God and believe His Word the Bible and He will keep you and deliver you-amen!

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me (Matthew 16:24 NKJV).”

Bros we know that if we desire to come after Jesus there is a cost, and I do know that Jesus paid the cost for us for our sins. But I am referring to persecution for following Him because His Word says we will suffer persecution for following Christ that is the cost we will pay! But have we ever realized or experienced it? Or have we or will we pay the cost? Have we been charged the fee, are we paying the freight that will come to all that follow Christ? Have you racked up a huge cost or any cost at all- paid the cost of being about our Fathers business and following Jesus…? I mean to say are we living that life of coming after Christ in every area of our existence and facing any persecution? Have you suffered persecution? Could we be lackadaisical meaning un-spirited or halfhearted in following Him?  That question also causes me even more to examine my walk. Do we just lay low and only hang around church folks not that we shouldn’t hangout with believers, but never going into the highways and byways- the danger zones and areas where we might face persecution? Are we rep’n Jesus in a way that brings glory and honor to His Name? Do we go to church and get our church on and then wonder around our towns aimlessly not coming after Jesus not living hard core for Him? If we are not experiencing persecution; we have to ask ourselves, are we following Jesus? What exactly are we doing? There has to be more to our walk than just going to church and hanging with godly folks- we have to come after Jesus and deny ourselves if we profess to follow Him at all. Maybe we have faced or suffered persecution at one time or another but if we have to think long and hard and we still can hardly remember it-if so, then we have to check our walk if it was so long ago we cannot remember the persecution…If we are truly following Jesus we will experience persecution and if we are not something is up… But Paul was persecuted for following Jesus almost daily and more than most of us could survive…“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2Timothy 3:12 NKJV).”

“For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps (1Peter 2:21 NKJV):” Do you desire to come after Jesus- then do it! “Follow Me” Jesus said-amen!

“When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."16But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat" (Matthew 14:15-16 NKJV).”

Bros you ever feel like sometimes folks come across your path with overwhelming circumstances and needs, so much so that you feel you cannot help them in the least? I know I have, it could be a money situation for instance; like when someone needs money to pay rent or house payment it is way more than we have in our possession to help them. And we think we cannot help in the least way… after all what would twenty or forty dollars do for them? Bros I can tell you from firsthand experience when you bless someone with the least amount even way less than they really need it can really still help plenty. For one thing I saw how a few dollars can lift your countenance up for that moment, it can carry you through the day, sometimes you can be so discouraged and a small act of kindness can be a huge blessing to someone in dire straits. But also it is easy to avoid these kinds of needs or to push them off on some other ministry, church, or pastor that deals with those types of needs. I mean you might not do it on purpose but it can overwhelm you so you want to send them away or elsewhere… I believe in this story in the verses above that Jesus tells His disciples hey don’t send the multitudes away because their need seems overwhelming but you feed them or take care of their needs. They are in the middle of nowhere a deserted place; they have nothing it’s late…  But first things first, Jesus says to take whatever you have and bring it to Him.  “And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."18He said, "Bring them here to Me (Matthew 14:17-18 NKJV)."

Next thing you know Jesus is looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples and the disciples gave to the multitudes. They had what seemed like so little yet when they put it in Jesus hands He multiplied it. I believe we need to put everything in Jesus hands and trust Him and have faith that He is able to do all things no matter how great the need or how overwhelming it may seem. He does not want us to run from or send away folks just because their need is too great for us, we need to take the need to Jesus because nothing is too great for Him to handle. And we need to remember this is what Jesus said “Bring them here to Me.” So bros the situation may be extremely overwhelming to us but Jesus loves when we bring everything to Him, trust Him to handle it and He will. Check out what happens when they brought it to the Lord! “So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.21Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children (Matthew 14:20-21 NKJV).” He is faithful even when we are faithless- “You give them something;” you give them Jesus, and then give them to Jesus, “Bring them here to Me”- Amen!

“And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick (Matthew 14:14 NKJV).”

So cool how Jesus shows us no matter what He is doing, where He was located at that moment or any given situation He was in, He always had compassion for others, the lost, the helpless, the less fortunate, the down and out, the sick, and the diseased. He always put others first whether it was convenient for Him or not. He had just found out John the Baptist was beheaded and went away by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it they followed him on foot from the cities. Jesus could not catch a moment for Himself and yet He had compassion for them and began to heal their sick. I found myself convicted for having lack of compassion after reading this account; as a few weeks back where I was just about ready to sit down with my order at a fast food joint when a guy walked up to me and started asking questions about Calvary Chapel down the street. It was late at night and I really thought this guy is 5150 and shined him on, plus I was hungry and just came from some ministry. He left as quickly as he had come and then I began to feel like maybe I missed an opportunity to share the gospel in my rush to catch a moment to myself I blew it and felt convicted even more so when I read this scripture a few days later about how Jesus no matter what was going on always used every opportunity that presented itself to Him to have and show compassion for all souls like their lives depended on that moment. You know bros the old saying where athlete’s put on protective armor when they are playing their sport and as Christians we are to put on the armor of God too for the warfare we are engaged in, even with ourselves… Only one big difference the athlete’s take theirs off after the game we never take ours off… we are in battle 24/7 365 and Jesus reminded me of this as I read this account. We need to be ready in season and out of season with compassion and mercy, when it is convenient or not convenient, God has ordained divine appointments for us and prepared tests for us and we want to do well and pass all the tests and make all the appointments. And also just maybe God has called us for such a time as this…  But also know that He is merciful, He is our Master and if we fail He will give another chance to pass the test so I am grateful for that thank you Jesus for Your compassion towards all of us- amen!

“Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (MATTHEW 11:28 NKJV).”

Bros seems easy enough but can be hard to do sometimes… Our Lord says “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden…” Sometimes even when we come to the Lord we don’t stop laboring, we want to keep pushing it, working it, manipulating it, we just cannot stop scheming. The more we labor the thing, the heavier the burdens gets then we get overloaded, overworked, burdened, and weighed down. Have you ever got your car stuck in the mud or sand and it seems the more you step on the gas to get it unstuck the deeper it keeps getting until you stop trying to get it unstuck. We labor and make our situations worst and then our situation becomes a huge burden, we have no peace, we labor in our flesh to no avail. No matter what you might be up against at this moment in your life maybe it’s a struggle with your eternity, salvation or life’s battles or some other situation maybe you are digging in deeper trying to work things out on your own and not seeking Jesus or letting Jesus lead you and you are miserable and feel weighed down. You work so hard, you labor at your own expense- yet there is no gain, no benefit or no advantage, just that sinking feeling of getting deeper and deeper… But know this bros whether a long time believer or not yet a believer the invitation is still the same and always there because Jesus says “Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and “I” will give you rest.” The Lord is our deliverer, He will take the load, we just need to remember to come to Him first and He will give us what we need, salvation and rest for our weary souls- amen! 29"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30"For My yoke [is] easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30)." Come to Jesus first and learn from Him, let Him carry the load, it is nothing for the Lord, your soul will be forever safe-He has eternity in His hands! He is in control and He is God Almighty-amen!

“20Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22"But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23"And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24"But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you (Matthew 11:20-24NKJV).”

Bros after reading these verses I have to examine myself and see if the realities of the mighty works of Jesus are still real and evident in my life today as they were when Jesus saved me- just as He did for all these in the cities… He did many mighty miraculous works in my life and I am sure yours too just as Jesus had done many great and wondrous miracles and works in all these towns and yet He says that it’s as if they had not witnessed anything- they were unfazed, unmoved, un-repentive, and unresponsive to the mighty works… They had forgotten the mighty works of Jesus, it’s as if they never saw or witnessed what Jesus can and did do in their cities, their lives went on unchanged, and they saw and just fell back to the state of condition of where they were before the mighty works. There was no fruit or even any evidence of repentance or of conversion from their lives after seeing the mighty works of Jesus. This can happen to us too bros, we get delivered out of the miry pit, we get set free, we see Gods hand moving and taking us out of a path of sin, destruction and death. We might have been on fire for the Lord at one time in the beginning but maybe we have slipped back into the assembly line of the old man like where these folks remained or went back to, maybe they too lost their witness, they lost the joy of seeing and experiencing and receiving and remembering Jesus mighty works in their lives… And still believing that today and everyday He gives us- is part of His mighty works that He gave to each one of us... We are living because of His mighty works in our lives yet are we rep’n Him in our lives like we were way back when He first did these mighty works in our lives??? Have we lost our witness, our joy, our zeal, is there any fruit or are we even trying to produce fruit for our King? Are we still living in the miracle of His mighty works He has done in our lives, do we have that boldness, completely sold out attitude of zeal for His kingdom and what He did for us? “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by [its] fruit (Matthew 12:33 NKJV).” Live for Jesus, bear fruit and remember His mighty works in your life! Amen!