Daily Devotion Archive
The key to a Long & Fulfilled Life
From the beginning of time, man has attempted to find the key to a long and prosperous life. Unfortunately, life ends way too soon it seems for some. For others, life is fulfilling, prosperous, and full of joy.
The life that loves God and seeks Him in everything is a life that is long and full of blessing. No matter the length of days that person has on this earth; you can guarantee that life is full. And better yet, that life is prolonged with no end in sight. To the soul that has their trust in God; that life shall never end! I encourage you to live your life in Godly fear and reverence to His Holy name.
Proverbs 10:27
Getting Started Right
There are certain things that will never turn out right unless it began right. For instance, you can begin construction on a home or building and possess the blueprints and architectural drawings that gives you insight into what the home will look like. There is one crucial thing that must take place for the plans and drawings to come to sustainable life; that is the foundation. If the home does not set on a firm foundation, you can use the best material that money can buy, but one day, the house will show foundational problems. Every purpose of the home rests on the foundation. If that foundation is weak, the entire home is compromised.
Psalm 5:1-3
Safety is found only in the Lord
Most of us attempt to live in safety and security. If this is not true, why do we lock our doors at night? Why do we wear our seatbelt when we drive our automobiles? Why do we schedule wellness exams at the doctor or schedule routine dental exams? The answer to is simple; we do our best to be preemptive concerning our health and safety. It’s a good practice that gives us peace of mind and also demonstrates care and concern for our ourself and our family too.
Psalm 4:8
The Taste of Good & Bad Fruit
The majority of consensus in the medical community agree that the strongest muscle in the body is the masseter muscle located in your jaw. This muscle can produce 55 pounds of pressure with the front teeth and a whopping 200 pound with the molar teeth. That is some serious pressure from such a small muscle.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Proverbs 18:21
Pride’s Path
There is contention everywhere we turn in the day that we live in. Whether it be contention in politics, social disagreements, or simply anything that rubs someone wrong; the contention is very present among us today.
Proverbs 13:10—“Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.”
Why Be Afraid?
Happy For The Word
There are too many blessings to count that we’re gifted with when Christ saves us from our sins. He washes our sins away. He establishes our goings. He creates us in a clean heart. He saves, seals, and one day will deliver us into His eternal presence. I could go on and on about the benefits of being a child of the Highest King.
Luke 11:28—(Jesus said) “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
The Crossroads of Christianity
From the moment a person is born-again, there is a continual crossroads that lies ahead. One turn at the crossroads leads us to worldly patterns and advice; the other leads us to Godly pattern and instruction. There is no hope of happiness and surety for the Christian that takes the path led by the ungodly and worldly instruction. There is only one pathway that leads to happiness and strength in the Lord.
Psalm 1:1-6
Pure Worship
Being a Christian gives us opportunity to serve and minister to countless people in a wide range of difficult circumstances. Two people groups who are often forgotten are widows and orphans. Most of us are so busy with life and work that our head stays down to the ground plowing forward.
James lays out for us what “pure religion undefiled” looks like. The word religion that is used in James 1:27 means worship. He gives us an example of what pure worship without defilement would be. Visiting the fatherless and the widows in their affliction.
There is not much glamour or accolades awaiting the persons who minister in this capacity! At least from men that is. James goes on to include that we’re to minister as such and also keep ourselves unspotted from the world. This means that we too are to remain undefiled from the world.
Ministry and worship of God in a pure way leads us to live a life of un-defilement before the world. May we all be challenged to worship our Lord in a pure way with pure hands. If you know a widow that has no one and is in need, step up to help her where you can. Find a way to minister to the orphan. These are people and needs close to the heart of God!
James 1:27—“27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
“A Loose Tongue Leads to a Lousy Faith”
There are things that should be evident in a born again Christian that stands out conducive to our professed faith. Paul labeled these in Galatians 5:22—24 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”
“Law & Liberty”
There are two words that are not synonymous but do go hand in hand when looked at through the lens of New Testament scripture. Those two words are Law and Liberty. When we hear the word “Law,” our mind instantly goes to restriction. When we hear the word “Liberty,” we most often think of freedom.
James teaches us how the two go hand in hand when we are in Christ. Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the Law of God, also known as the Mosaic Law. No man has ever been ever to keep the Law of God until Jesus Christ came along as God in the flesh. Jesus kept every single aspect of the Law of God!
If we look to Christ in obedience to His word, there is great liberty. Dr. J. Vernon McGee likened this to having liberty to drive up and down the freeway. There are laws that must be maintained to keep the liberty of driving the freeway. If we break those laws, there are consequences to pay.
If we live our Christian life by looking to Christ in all that we say and do while applying biblical principle, we will live and walk in freedom and liberty. Obeying the word of God leads us to total freedom in Christ. He and His word are enough! Never view the parameters He sets for us through scripture as limits; instead, view them as limitless Liberty in Him for us.
James 1:25—“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed”
“Mirrors Only Reveal”
Each day that we awake, there is one thing that most of us have in common; we see ourselves revealed in a mirror. We either use a mirror while brushing our teeth or getting ready for work, school, or some place we’re going for the day.
Merely hearing the word of God is likened unto that mirror. It will reveal some extremely important things to us; things that we need to change. These things are detrimental to our spiritual health and well being. But here is the thing, we must take what the Bible reveals to us and put action to it. May we not be hearers of the word only; but let us be doers of the word as well. Otherwise, we are like that person who sees their self in the mirror and walks away forgetting everything the mirror revealed. Be a doer of the Word, not merely a hearer.
James 1:22-24
“Taking off the Filth”
There is no place for a Christian to play fast and loose with wicked living. The Bible calls us over and over to Holiness and Holy living. If we find ourself looking for a reason or an out to live in an ungodly manner, we are looking to fulfill our own carnal desires while rejecting the word of God.
The saying has been handed down through the ages and I am unsure who deserves credit for it but it sure is a treasure of truth. “Sin will keep you from the Bible, and the Bible will keep you from sin.”
Lord help me to run to the word everyday of my life. So long as I am running to your word, I’ll be simultaneously running away from sinful and immoral living.
“Action leads to Reaction”
The things that we allow ourself to hear always leads to things that we allow ourselves to say. Most of us at some time or another have been taught or at least heard the saying: “You become what you are around.” No truer words have ever been spoken.
We are to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. The latter two totally hinge upon hearing/practicing the word of God. It is so vitally important to have a healthy intake of the Word of God. To do so is an action that guides our reaction. Nothing will control our attitude, our tongue, and our anger like the word of God.