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Wholesome and Clean

December 1, 2011
Filed In Daily Devotionals, Devotional Links, Devotions For Teens, Family Devotions, Inspirational Bible Verses

Ezekiel 37:23b – I will wash away their sin and make them clean, and I will protect them from everything that makes them unclean. They will be my people, and I will be their God. (CEV)

There is a major house renovation going on close to where we live. Actually, it has been in progress for weeks and weeks – new roof, insulation, siding, windows, doors, sunroom and storage addition – a complete overhaul! I don’t know, because I have not seen inside, but I have to assume that there is a great deal of updating, repair and cleaning being addressed inside the home too: and I assume this due to the time it is taking to complete the work.

I recall when my husband and I, were looking for a home in this park, that we viewed one particular unit that was in a beautiful location, the price was amazing (it would have left a great deal of ‘spare’ cash for renovations) but the condition inside was nothing short of ‘disgusting’: how anyone could have lived in the home in the condition it was in, was beyond our comprehension.

We had agreed that we were willing to move into a house of our choice and do work while living there, but the filth and the updates needed in that particular house, were way too bad for us to even consider moving in and living there in – there was far too much to do to make it habitable.

When some people are challenged to give their lives to God and invite Jesus into their hearts, they recognize the truth that they have sinned before God. As a result, they want to clean up their lives before they issue an invitation to Jesus. They don’t yet understand that God comes into our lives to clean us up, precisely because we can’t do it for ourselves.

Isaiah 64:6a – But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. (NKJV)

The good news is that God loves us just as we are. So when we become willing to accept God into our lives, thankfully, He does not shun our dirty lives like we rejected that dirty home. He welcomes us and cleanses us. He does not leave us as we are, with our disparaging thoughts, our criticism of others, our idolatry of all things material, and all our major and minor sinful ways. This process is called “sanctification”.

 Isaiah 1:16 – Wash yourselves clean! I am disgusted with your filthy deeds. Stop doing wrong. (CEV)

Just as the house we viewed had much to clean up before being habitable, so God needs to clean up our lives, thoughts, and actions, so that we become a true reflection of His Son, Jesus, in our hearts, minds, and spirits.

James 4:8 – Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you people who can’t make up your mind. (CEV)

Prayer: Abba, make us aware of all that is in our lives, our thoughts, and our deeds, that is unworthy of Your presence within us. Wash us clean, and renew our spirits and hearts so that we are wholesome, presentable, and welcoming to all who look at us and the ways that we live. We want to be acceptable to You and winsome to them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

http://pepeprays.wordpress.com

 

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Does Your Heart Understand What Your Head Knows?

April 26, 2011
Filed In Daily Devotionals
When God created us, He gave us an intricate organ to use for thinking and reasoning.  It is through the brain that we can read books, solve intricate problems, and make life-changing decisions.  Our brain helps us learn right from wrong and it allows us to complete every movement our body makes.  We can build great knowledge and store it away in the depths of our brain and use it for a multitude of things.  It probably isn’t necessary to convince anyone that the brain is a beautiful thing.
 
I started reading about Jesus long before I entered into a real relationship with Him.  The stories were interesting and even entertaining, but they were just that—stories.  After I was saved at the age of seven, I found that I was hungering for God’s Word in a different way.  I had a longing to better understand the Truth and apply it to my life.  I was curious.  If I studied the Bible, could I have what the Psalmist writes?
“The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” Psalm 119:30
I was able to retell the story of Noah’s Ark, Moses and the Ten Commandments, Joshua and the Battle of Jericho, The Good Samaritan, and Jesus Feeding the Five Thousand.  I had incredible Sunday school teachers.  They encouraged me to memorize key Scriptures.  However, I realized that I only memorized the Scriptures to receive a reward—a mustard seed locket, a silver dollar, or a Tootsie Roll pop.  These rewards had temporal value, and were lost or used up in a matter of time.  I had the knowledge, but lacked complete understanding and devotion.  Simply going through the motions of reading God’s Word was honestly not enough to light my path or transform my perspective.  I wasn’t doing a bad thing. I was just storing the information in the wrong spot.  Slowly but surely, I realized I was embracing a religious experience rather than a deep, committed relationship.
 
I wanted my heart to understand what my head knew.  My intellectual connection to Jesus Christ motivated me to fill the God-sized shape in my heart and create an emotional  connection to Him.  He literally opened my eyes and filled my heart with His promises and love.  I found an infinitely precious place deep within to lock away the treasures of His Word.  The true joy of my salvation emerged when I took hold of the Scripture, held on for dear life, and “hid His Word in my heart…” Psalm 119:11
 
By Karen Pollock, Kentucky
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When Study Is Not Enough

March 19, 2011
Filed In Daily Devotionals

Jesus Loves MeDo you get frustrated because you do not know enough about the Bible to share its truth with others?  Do you think you must “study”, study, study, to show yourself approved unto God, and sadly–to man?  How many Christian books must I read to get what I need to be approved and unashamed?  How many Bible studies must I attend?

I use to beat myself up for missing that “daily quiet time” when I took out my Bible, gathered commentaries, grabbed a pen and notebook to journal what I “got” from the moments (or sometimes, hours), I spent reading, praying and studying.  I struggled to surrender myself to knowing God more fully.  I tried to set that “appointment” with Him as specifically as I scheduled my dental appointment.  I failed.

I failed to live up to my own expectations.  I failed to live up to those I heard preachers tell me I must keep.  I failed to learn it all.  Fortunately, during my six-plus decades, I managed to grasp a few truths and principles which have helped me know my Heavenly Father more intimately.  

Paul writes:  “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

Over and over again, I have read this verse above in various translations.  I have heard several sermons on it and scoured commentaries.  When I read slowly, carefully, and with my heart open to God’s Spirit of instruction, I wondered how in the world I could present myself approved to God.  How clear must my conscience be to be “a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed”? 

Today, I fully recognize and totally accept that I am already approved unto God through the attoning, purifying, justifying, and penetrating blood of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son.  I have no righteousness of my own because no man is righteous.  Faith in Jesus grants me righteousness in Him.

I cannot be diligent enough to win God’s approval.  No matter how much time I spend studying His word or memorizing scripture.  I cannot relax and be unashamed by spending hours upon hours calling out to God for mercy.  I can only “present” myself “approved” to God by saving grace I have in Jesus.  I cannot minister enough or give enough or sacrifice enough.  The diligence God wants from me is love.  Love Him and all else will fall into place.  Seek Him first and everything will be added.  Be still in the rush of life, the busyness of routine, the struggles of turmoil and chaos, and simply “know that He is God.”

As I rest in Him I am lifted up on the wings of eagles.  My soul is restored with the knowledge of His abundant grace that sets me apart for Him as an ambassador to proclaim His goodness…to pray for others to know Him, too.  Have you strayed away from your “First Love”?  Have you wandered away from the peace of your Father’s arms?  Take His yoke upon you, for it is light.  Go to Him and He will give you rest.

Prayer:  Lord, it is a simple prayer today.  Let all who read this accept Your approval in Christ.  Thank you for Your redeeming and transforming power.

© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011

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God Often Works In the Unexplainable

March 10, 2011
Filed In Daily Devotionals

I often try to make sense of life. To explain things or rationalize them in my head. I don’t like chaos or confusion. I don’t tend to like things that don’t seem “right” or explainable.

Sometimes I think good judgment and discernment help me understand when something is “off.” I have this inner voice that tells me something is wrong if it’s not logical or clearly defined.

The thing is… God often works in the unexplainable.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…” Proverbs 3:5

Such a well-known verse. It hits home how much we need to trust God. Yet it also tells us to not lean on our own understanding…something we struggle with.

If we don’t understand something, we tend to write it off. Take a miracle, for example. If someone tells us a story and tells us about a miracle, do we believe them? Or do we tend to think their facts must have been wrong somewhere along the way? How about in our own lives? Do we tend to write off certain callings in our lives or other things that God may be a part of because they simply don’t make sense?

I am a very logical person. But lately I’ve realized how I need to expand my own horizons and vision to include those “unexplainable” things in life that I may not understand. My deepest desire is to see God at work; to hear Him and to feel Him. I want to be open to the creative ways in which He may choose to impact my life. I want to see beyond the understandable to the things that are supernatural, miraculous, and only from God.

We limit ourselves when we limit our lives. There is so much we won’t understand. That doesn’t mean those things are bad or wrong. It may simply mean they are from God.

Lean not on our own understanding…but TRUST in Him. Trust His heart and His vision for us. If we do, I think our lives will start getting a whole more exciting. And I’m ready for that.

 

~ Dionna Sanchez

http://beautyinthestorm.blogspot.com

 

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It Takes Faith To Understand

June 16, 2010
Filed In Daily Devotionals

There really are things we can only understand by faith.  What makes the moon hang without falling from the sky?  What keeps the sun from tipping a tad closer to earth?  What keeps us from spinning off into space as the earth turns?  Only by faith can we touch the heart of God and know without doubt that He created the entire universe–the stars, the galaxies, the suns, the moons, the planets.  Only by faith do we believe God spoke them into being.  And by faith we understand that we do not need to have all the answers, even though we continually seek answers.

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11:3

A full moon amazes me.  Sometimes, because of earth’s rotation, it seems as though I could touch it if I walked toward it, stand on tiptoe and stretch out my arm.  I get excited thinking about the awesome majesty of God whenever I sit beneath the stars and consider that from absolutely nothing, God created all there is that I can see and more.  I love how tiny I feel as I stare at the darkest night and see a meteor shower.  My heart overflows with amazement that God would grant me life and grace to know He is who He is–my Redeemer, Creator, and Father.  Such power.  Such glory.  Such splendor.  Such warmth, and steadfast love. Do you feel like that?  Do you ever stop to consider the grandeur of creation? The more often I do, the greater and more awesome God seems to me.  And the easier it is to trust Him in the smaller things of my life.

PRAYER:  Lord, keep us ever-mindful of your greatness. Grant us faith to see Your daily watchcare in the majesty of Your glory.

© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2010

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Understanding God’s Word

October 20, 2009
Filed In Daily Devotionals

They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. (Nehemiah 8:8)

Scripture has been given to guide our lives, to illuminate our steps, so we must know what it teaches. God has not thrown his Word into our laps and left it for us to figure out or decide for ourselves its meaning. The Word of God means something definite, absolute, and timeless, and God will help us to know the sense of it.

Too often people approach the Bible as a book of mysteries best left unexplored. “This passage is not clear, I will not bother with trying to figure it out. If the Lord had wanted me to understand, he would have made it clear!” If the Lord was not interested in your understanding, he would not have given you his Word. Since we have a Bible we already know that God wants us to understand.

What do we do when we come to those things we cannot understand? First, pray like David in Psalm 119:18, Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. Understanding will not come overnight, but to the one who strives to know the Word, God will give understanding.

Second, immerse yourself in Scripture. You will not learn the Bible by staying away from the Bible. Read it regularly, daily.

Third, seek out good teaching. In Nehemiah’s day God sent the prophet Ezra along with faithful Levites to help people understand. Find a church that is faithful to Scripture. Find a pastor that will deliver to you the full counsel of God (Acts 20:27). Grow in your understanding by sitting under the faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word.

Fourth, read good books about the Bible. Be trained in Scripture through the writings of others. Do not settle for simple books but challenge your mind by reading things that will train you to think deeply.

Christian, take comfort! God has given us his Word for understanding and obedience. He will show you the meaning of Scripture.

Chris Roberts is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Panama City, FL and he blogs at Seek the Holy. He is married to Sandra and they have three kids.

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