Simple Devotions

Tag: christianity

  • school of trials

    Those whose purpose it is to serve God in their lives will walk in His light, they will endure all kinds of tribulations.

    Why? Ephesians 6:12 we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

    Even so we are able have fellowship with those whom also serve Jesus Christ the Son of God who cleanses us from all sin, this class of believers help one another battle, in prayers encouraging each other to stay on the path of right doing.

    Living to serve God through Christ examples means enduring burdens. Jesus is the only one who redeems however sin still exist to remove God’s children from the choice to accept His son’s offering.

    His redemption was given that in faith those who believe would be saved. Jesus is the new covenant – which the evil one of the world hates, yet if we who live in the world would take heed to the words of truth that gives life accepting Gods gift of life to us, we will learn that Christ Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world.

    This gift is to everyone, many will not receive it because it requires belief and also works, some say it doesn’t matter and we only need to confess we are sinners to be saved but they continue to live in sin filled lifestyle.

    This will not work out for them.

    He who says I know Jesus but does not keep HIs commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. 1 John 2:3

    And to those who understand the cost of Christ who educate and discipline themselves through the school of trial for the sake of Jesus Christ their reward is great, because they chose heavenly rewards over earthly ones.

    They chose eternal life, not life here.

    As the title of this post says, the school of trials will mean enduring opposition; hatred – and yet still following Christ.

    These are those who come out of great tribulation, whom washed their filthy garments ( confessing they are sinners ) and made them white in the blood of the Lamb ( accepting The Saviors blood for their sins.) They will stand in the presence of God and joyfully serve Him day and night in His temple (in His presence.)

    These are those who stayed in class and learned from the teacher The Lord Jesus Christ.

    Don’t be tardy, late or absent friends accept the invitation.

    In Christ love, amen

  • battlefield for the mind

    John 16:33 Jesus is speaking about the times of tribulation and how the way is already prepared, how it plays out both good and the bad.

    It’s not something we get to change, it was done on the cross.

    However this is the hope of salvation and because we live in a sin filled world it will be hard, however the Lord prepared the way for us to overcome it.

    It is His will that we know He has defeated the evil one and has overcome the great conflict, therefore He does not want us to be intimidated and discouraged by the assaults of the serpent.

    He being Christ Jesus has won.

    We must learn this truth to accept the peace He supplies – He who made us all equal, He wants to bring together in one body – the body of believers of God’s son Jesus Christ the Lord.

    Putting away hostility toward each other at the cross.

    It is in Christ we have access to God the Father – through the Holy Spirit, this means we are no-longer stranger or foreigners living outside the will of God and with out hope.

    Because of Jesus we can be in one accord.

    We don’t need to look any farther then Jesus the son of God for peace of mind – there is no other who has laid down His life in love who gives forgiveness not earned.

    There is no other who has the Creator God divine authority to be our Lord and Savior. No other who will rescue us from this place.

    The battle today is over your belief system – your mind.

    So what do you believe is true, is it from traditions or is it reasoning of what you have seen or heard?

    The truth is Jesus will explain Himself in the Word (His Bible), He will reason with you – the real battle is will you believe Him or will you listen to the spirit of the enemy?

    What you believe and whom you believe will decide your own fate.

    Abiding in the Spirit of truth is peace and safety.

    Friends – Yes ! God loves His children and wants to save all, there is only one way – through Christ Jesus.

  • losing sight

    Daily writing prompt
    How do you handle fear and self-doubt?
    View all responses

    And I can personally attest to the benefits of trusting the Word of God to help me in times of uncertainty.

    But did you know the acronym for fear?

    “future events appearing real” – it’s not actually true, it has the appearance in our mind that it is- but it’s yet to happen.

    When I lose sight of this and forget that I have the answers, I am just like those who followed Jesus and yet witnessed great and mighty miracles He did only to forget this because trouble came.

    Instead of remembering the promises of Gods word, I get fixated on the problems in my life.

    Check out this example in John 6:15-21 Jesus walks on water.

    Do we understand why He did this?

    The men in the boat were in need of help and are focused on the problem at hand, but Jesus walks up.

    This is my take away, He showed them He was always near, and yet they forgot to ask for help from Him.

    They lost sight of what they just experienced at the hands of Jesus, He fed five thousand with five little loaves of bread and two small fish. John 6:9

    They forgot who they belonged to, they were focused on their problems not their miracle working Savior.

    I’m guilty of this, all of us are but the next time if we would stop with our self doubt and the fear – and instead pray for help – it could be as easy as Him walking up. But no matter know we are never alone, He is always near.

    We must not lose sight every time things go side ways. Problems are a part of life but in this life we have a helper, His name is Jesus.

    Instead of living on shaky ground – remember our Salvation is Jesus, He is the rock on which we stand.

    And that friends is how we don’t lose sight, we focus on The One who walked on water.

    In Christ love, amen

  • what is sin?

    Can you answer this simply?

    Was your first thought of what you’ve done or what others are doing wrong?

    The question is not “who does sin”- it is “what is sin” ?

    If I am right in how you answered, then you will soon be relieved to know that the Word of God explains simply what sin is. Especially for those seeking the truth.

    And if you don’t agree with the answers below, then I challenge you to bring “receipts” show me where the Word says otherwise.

    Because what I will share is not what the world believes ~ but what the Word says of the true children God who believe.

    God’s true children abide in Him, His Word and His Ways. 1John 3

    He makes them strong in the confidence of their hope and they are not ashamed before Him because His is their teacher.

    He is righteous and everyone who practices the act of right doing is born of Him. It is God’s will that all who love Him – are called children of God.

    In this respect we are to be like Him, not a “god” but Holy like Him.

    What is Holy? God is Holy.

    What makes a man Holy- God’s presence abiding in them.

    Surrendering daily to walk with Him – this gives hope to whoever seeks Him that they will be purified by His presence from a sin filled life.

    So, what is sin? What does sin do?
    Are you beginning to see the connection yet?

    Sin is lawlessness.

    God is the Law ~ read the 10 commandments. Exodus 20

    Now read where Jesus says which laws are important. Matt 22

    He says the first is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. Again, incase you missed this, He did not change anything from the original TEN ~ He fulfilled them.

    The first four commandments are how to love the Lord your God, the next six commandments are how to love your neighbor.

    And if you are being honest you already know you have not done this perfectly.

    We have all fallen short. Romans 3:23

    But Jesus.

    He did all perfectly and because of His strength, we can give our free will to Him, offer our lives in surrender to do His good will, and become stronger daily.

    Friends the only way to not transgress against God- is to abide with Him. This is the only strength we need to be concerned with.

    Make Him your first choice daily, He made you His ultimate choice.

    In Christ love, amen

    Daily writing prompt
    What’s a moment that made you realize you were stronger than you thought?
    View all responses

  • feed on the Word

    It’s said “you can’t walk forward looking back” and while this is true I can’t help but look over my shoulder at how I used to live.

    Deceit; envy; lying and foul language was something which held me back for years as a young adult. It caused all kinds of drama and mistrust. Romans 8:5

    So I can say with certainty that getting rid of this type of living gave room for me to experience more goodness.

    My motivation is to not go back in darkness but live in the light of God’s living Word ~ which abides forever. 1 Peter 1:23

    When His Word at first was preached to me and it begin to transform my understanding, reaching me where nothing else could. It sounded like a sermon on Grace. <Video link>

    So reading the Word of God eventually became a daily habit.

    At first I’d read it to try and find out what I needed to do or what it was saying about me.

    Then I realized I was going about it all wrong, it was a love story about Him and all that He has done to save us. John 3:16-17

    It was His Word that called me to truth and clean living.

    To letting go of bitterness and shame.

    No more looking to be better then others but instead praying for them, as He did. John 17:20

    No looking for acceptance in others because Jesus accepted me, even with all my imperfections He became my new habit.

    His Word fed my soul and it changed my thinking.

    Every misplaced longing for love and acceptance was met by His Word. He showed me what it means to have loyalty and serve others as He did. He changed me, it was Him working out my salvation in me. Eph 2:10

    And then He served me the best news; I was forgiven and loved forever.

    He has taught me to stay close and feed on His Word daily.

    It grows you spiritually strong and when you feed on the Word of God ~ you will find out how good God really is!

    In Christ love, amen

  • a promise

    What gives you direction in life?

    The purpose of the Bible is so that we will know God and grow in a relationship with Him. This is how we decide if we want to be with Him eternally. If we fall in love with Him we will want this relationship forever. John 5:39

    We also learn in our reading of His word that it is about His law and the message of His love towards us the gospel. All one.

    The law is the gospel embodied and the gospel is the law unfolded.

    Another words when we read about who God is – He is the law. And who Christ Jesus is- He is the gospel.

    God is the root, His son is the fragrant blossom and fruit which it bears.

    Let this understanding sink in.

    Once we understand that while yes Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. This means He is stepping in as God in flesh, never taking away from but giving Himself to anyone seeking a relationship with God. John 14:6

    When you become one with Him, there is a special promise given John 14:15-18 you will have the Spirit of truth.

    Because we open the door of our hearts to know Jesus Rev 3;20 we are given a heavenly gift.

    This begins the dwelling of the Father and the Son.

    We don’t get this promise, unless we submit to first knowing and accepting the law in the gospel. John 14:19-24.

    Now this is how we will have “direction” in life:

    “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” 

    Friends the promise is a choice. Don’t delay in taking the steps to know the truth of God’s Word.

    In Christ love, Amen

  • harden heart

    I once thought I understood the scene where God tells Moses “and I will harden his heart..” Ex 4:21

    I truly didn’t understand why God would say this because it seems contradictory to who He is, so in my little brain it had to mean when someone doesn’t want the presence of God near them.

    My reasoning was because God is LOVE, and where love abides it is pliable – filled with good thoughts.

    But take away Gods love and you have a heart of stone.

    After this study here’s what I understand better now, when a person keeps ignoring what they know is right ( this is what Pharaoh was doing. God knowing this is what he would do, foretold this to Moses..) because it conflicts with what they want, A hardening of the heart is something happens over time. Look at all the plagues, warning..warning..warning.

    1 Sam 6:6 repeats the lesson from Exodus which the Prophet Samuel said they didn’t learn – “Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, that they might depart?”

    He was warning them again..
    ‭

    The Word says their ability to tell right from wrong became weaker. The mind becomes darkened — Ephesians 4:18 says people can be “darkened in their understanding” when they turn from God.

    The conscience grows dull. 1 Timothy 4:2 describes a conscience that becomes “seared,” meaning it no longer responds clearly.

    The heart becomes hardened Hebrews 3:13 warns that sin can harden the heart over time.

    Separation from God follows Isaiah 59:2 says sin separates us from God.

    Put simply:

    When we repeatedly choose our desires over what we know God is asking, we slowly lose our sensitivity to truth.

    What once felt wrong no longer does, and that distance leads us away from God.

    When we ignore what God shows us is right, our hearts harden, our conscience dulls, and we begin to lose the ability to recognize truth.

    Friends – check your hearts as the Holy Spirit says: “ Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness,”
    ‭Hebrews 3:7-11

    It takes a simple step.. approach the throne of God in your heart and ask for forgiveness in Christ name, then let Him lead you through this life in a surrendered heart.

    In Christ love, amen

  • the branch

    Daily writing prompt
    Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?
    View all responses

    I remember growing up in the country, climbing trees using each branch like a monkey bar, hoping it would hold me and not snap if I didn’t find the right branch. We had a rope swing that was used to swing off into the creek on summer days, it was there for many years until the limb eventually gave way.

    There was another one that held a bench swing that lasted longer then expected it was supported by a very strong tree.

    Years later my own kids had a rope swing, which at one point became a dogs tug-a-war toy, eventually that tree started to die and the branch grew weak with no support for it.

    I tell you all this to say ” the branch” I am learning about in my study of the Word on the “vine” turns out is only as good as the tree it’s on.

    So in my desire to have eternal life it means I need salvation and this is only good through Christ Jesus because of who sent Him and who He is connected with and of course born from. The Creator of Heaven and Earth, God the Father, calls Jesus His Son.

    And He also calls Him the “BRANCH” in Zech 6:12-13 which means God is the strong tree.

    According to the Word, this Branch IS Christ who is the foundation for all truth, which is the true church of God.

    Those whom hang onto the Word of God – which is Christ – whom it says was before the world John 1:1 God was with the Word – made all things that are made through Him, and in Him was life and the life which is the light of men.

    Friends, I have found “the branch” for LIFE.

    It was whom Moses in the law and also the prophets, wrote about, Jesus of Nazareth.

    And because He is God in flesh He is not just for looks, You can hang onto Him because He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. John 17:21

    Big tree = strong branch. But hey don’t just read this- go explore the Word and you will find it is true for you too!

    He invites it.

    In Christ love, amen.

  • come let us reason

    Daily writing prompt
    Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.
    View all responses

    Most do not understand the truth of God’s love for His creation.

    When I read the Word and see the clear evidence of the long suffering, merciful, gracious love of God, my mind cannot understand how great a love this is.

    He was accused of not being fair and called venegful by the lair, one of His own.

    I believe He would have reasoned with the fallen angels had they wanted to be reconciled.

    He would have shown them the truth of His Word and thus spared all humanity the experience of sin.

    Sit with this a minute. Sin is the cause of all evil.

    The world we live in today is a result of not yielding, not trusting in the authority of God’s Word.

    Thankfully there is a small remnant left of those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus.

    Otherwise we would have all become like Sodom and sin would make us like Gomorrah. Isaiah 1:1-20

    Even so – God still made a way for us to battle for truth and it is simply by yielding to Him to be transformed in Christ.

    Our heart must be yielded to God’s love toward us or the change can never happen in us – by doing this we are restored into His likeness.

    It is by nature of sin, that we are alienated from God..but He desires to heal us and set us free from living in sin nature.

    He works ever so carefully as a loving parent would to a child learning how to live safely.

    I am so thankful to have made my decision to give my heart to Christ Jesus, and I implore you to do the same.

    In Christ love, amen.

  • ten gospels

    Have you ever heard the 10 commandments of the laws of God described as the laws of love?

    Maybe you understood when the son of God ( Christ Jesus ) answered in Matthew 22:34-40 this question;

    “Teacher which is the great commandment in the law ? ”

    He says you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

    Did you know the first four commandments are about loving God, and the last six are about loving your neighbor?

    This is why the ten Gospels are also pointing to how all the law and the prophets are shared!

    Most understand the gospel is the story of God, the message of God’s love.

    The book I am linking here today is one I hope you will consider looking into today. It speaks to the truth of God’s Word and the whole matter like verses 40 in Matthew says.

    “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

    Studying this will help us in the battle for truth.

    The final events in earths history is coming.

    You will be more prepared if you would only seek the truth of God’s Word. His greatest desire is to write this law of love on our hearts and minds!

    In Christ love, amen