Daily Devotionals

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Today's Verses:

 Jeremiah 31:3, Isaiah 61:10, 1 Peter 2:9

Best thing I marked today:

1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are God’s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things that he has done. The Scriptures say, “Once you were nobody. Now you are God’s people.  At one time no one had pity on you.  Now God has treated you with kindness.

Thoughts: 

We should really dwell on 1 Peter 2:9-10 today.  The bible is saying we are a holy nation of people and missionaries!  Now that God has given us the gift of salvation, we can see Him clearly because the blindness from our sin has been removed.  We cannot simply sit on this information – we are called to share it with everyone!  Where we were nothing, God has made us worthy everything…   That’s news worth sharing!

How it impressed me: 

I am not always impressed with how our devotionals leave out very important parts of scripture, but I do love how it puts very important verses together.  For example, God made a promise to us in Jeremiah 31:3.  He then made good on his promise in 1 Peter 2:9-10, which should cause us to react like  Isaiah 61:10!!

Now go visit Kristen's Daily Devotional over at A Modern Mrs.!  

Friday, June 13, 2014

Today's Verses:

 John 3:8 and Gal. 5:22

Best thing I marked today:

John 3:8
Only God’s Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.

Thoughts: 

Oh how many times have we talked about the fact that you can’t see the Holy Spirit, but you can feel it just as real as you can feel a breeze, the sun on your face, or the love from a someone blowing a kiss?

How it impressed me: 

Today re-focuses my train of thought on the Holy Spirit – the part of the trinity that Francis Chan wrote a whole book on called “Forgotten God”. We don’t often think about the Holy Spirit, I wonder if that’s because so many of us have not truly become followers of Christ.  Jesus said he would send to us His Spirit, but if we are not really saved by his crucifixion, we would not receive the Holy Spirit. Thankfully the bible gives us some ways to know when the Spirit dwells within us.  Refer to Galatians 522-23: God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.  Are we perfect?  Not by a long shot! However, when the spirit dwells within it, it begins to make an incredible change.

One, two.... skip a few.... 99, 100!!!  Sorry, missed a few days here and there.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Today's Verses:

 Isaiah 12:2, and Romans 8:6

Best thing I marked today:

Romans 8:6
To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace.

Thoughts: 

I recently wrote another blog post about being controlled by our human nature versus the Holy Spirit within us.  This reminded me immediately of that.  When you trust God with your life and Jesus with your Salvation the Holy Spirit comes to you and begins to change your heart.

How it impressed me: 

Our sin nature is a huge indicator of whether or not you have received Jesus' gift of Salvation.  When you are controlled by human nature, and not the Holy Spirit, you are still facing eternity in hell, separated from God.  It's easy to say a prayer, get dunked in the water and say "Ta-da!!  I'm not going to hell now!" but that's not the reality of what salvation is.  Salvation is not a get out of hell free card, it's a life dedicated to living for Jesus Christ and being changed by his spirit within you.

Romans 8:6 reminds me of one of our favorite illustrations.  A missionary once saved a man in the Kodiak.  After a few years, the missionary returned to the village and asked the same man about his faith.  The man from Kodiak said it was like having two dogs warring within him.  The missionary asked which dog would win and the man from Kodiak said "The one of feed more."  If we feed the Holy Spirit by digging into God's word, attending church and Sunday school services to educate ourselves, and fellowship with other believers, we feed that dog most.  When we give into our sin filled urges, we are going to to feed our sin nature more and that dog will win.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Today's Verses:

1 Thessalonians 5:17, and Psalm 62:5

Best thing I marked today:

 Psalm 62:5
I depend on God alone; I put my hope in Him.

Thoughts: 

When I learned to live Psalm 62:5, that is when I saw 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 begin in my life Be joyful always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances.  This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus.

How it impressed me: 

Especially in a world that is irrefutably broken, it can be hard to lose sight of the hope we have as Christians.   This is where Psalm 62:5 comes into play.  God, creator of this world and the next, is not too small to overcome the world or it's problems.  When my hope is in Him, it is easier to be joyful, prayerful, and thankful even in the most dire of circumstances.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Today's Verses:

1 Peter 4:8, and 1 John 4:18

Best thing I marked today:

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear.  So then, love has not been made perfect in anyone who is afraid, because fear has to do with punishment.

Thoughts: 

Today has been a hard one for me.  Love, not romantic love, but the love between friends has been shattered in my life today.  So to read about love and how we need to live in abundant love is like choking down a very big pill.  John Piper points out that love casts out fear because love is not met with punishment, we fear when we know we have behaved in a way that deserves to be punished.  Boy, do I feel like I'm being punished today for sure.

How it impressed me: 

My feeling of punishment though is not derived from God, it comes from man.  Biblically speaking, I have trusted in God's promises and done what he commands us to do. I've even sought wise, Godly counsel on the situation.  What this leaves me with is the conclusion that (1) I've really missed something or (2) this is the work of the devil and not of God.  I am called to respond in love; just as Jesus did when he was whipped and mocked, when he struggled to breathe on the cross.  If he can muster the power to love through that kind of physical pain, I need to muster the power through the Spirit to love through my emotional pain.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Today's Verses:

Matthew 28:18, and Psalm 100:4

Best thing I marked today:

Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus drew near and said to them, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  Go, then, to all people everywhere and make them my disciples; baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And I will be with you always, to the end of the age."

Thoughts: 

My initial reaction was that you cannot simply read Matthew 28:18 because verses 18-20 are the instructions for the great commission.  What Jesus has called each and every disciple to do on his behalf and what he will do for them in return.  As disciples, we are to tell people about Jesus and teach them his ways - not to convert them but to make them disciples - there is a HUGE difference.  In return, Jesus will be with us always.... eternity.

As a result of Matthew 28:18-20 our hearts should be inclined to then do what Psalm 100:4 says: Enter the Temple gates with thanksgiving; go into its courts with praise.  Give thanks to him and praise him.

How it impressed me: 

When we are disciples, we can't help but be overwhelmed by the abundance of love, grace and mercy we receive through the gifts given by Jesus Christ.  I know my natural response is to be humbly grateful, and to thank him.  For example, imagine someone gives you a gift.  It's something you will use every moment of every day, it will change your life for the better.  It doesn't make everything easy, but makes everything worthwhile.  How do you respond to them?  Hopefully, it looks a lot like Psalm 100:4.  If it's not, maybe you haven't come to fully understand that gift you have received, or maybe the box is still neatly wrapped, sitting on a nearby table just waiting to be opened?

Brand Spanking New

I'm so excited to have been asked by my dear friend from A Modern Mrs. to participate in this special feature!  Each week, Kristen and I will post, read and mediate on a devotional and then add a few extra little treasures along the way. So how is this different than what I'm already doing?  I can't give away all the secrets yet, you'll just have to check it out to see!  ;)

My Partner in Christ

I admit, I totally stole that heading from Kristen's announcement of the devotional on her blog; but it's so fitting I knew she wouldn't mind.  Kristen and I have known each other for nearly two decades.  We met in school and have maintained our friendship across many miles and even more life changes for both of us.  Kristen's interest and talent at blogging has inspired me often and she has been indescribably helpful to me in so many areas of my life and passions.  Our desire is that our friendship and faith will inspire and ignite your own meaningful relationship with Christ and hopefully your friendships and faith as well.

Growing Pains

Your feedback and comments are going to be incredibly helpful to Kristen and I.  Please use the comment boxes at the bottom of each entry or even our Facebook pages to give us feedback.  What do you like/not like?  You'd like to see more of this but less of that?  Suggestions on devotionals or commentaries... all those things will be incredibly helpful to us!

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A Modern Mrs.
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God Still Speaks
Blog - http://holyspiritspeaks.blogspot.com/
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