Category: Daily Devotional

“Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to Him shall men come; and all that are incensed against Him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.” Isaiah‬ ‭45‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This passage is a prophecy of what was to come in Jesus Christ. The words “IN THE LORD” point specifically to John 15, where Jesus talks of our ABIDING IN HIM. This is a fundamental truth that is often neglected today. True Christianity is not merely believing a few things about Jesus. Rather, it is faith in Him that brings us INTO an abiding relationship with Him. For most today this is only a mystical idea. It is something they hear about but seldom experience. But for God’s true children it is our daily, personal experience. It is IN HIM that we live and move and have our being. It is in Him that we experience justification. It is only in Him that we have righteousness and strength. And as we do this, it will be in Him we glory! By God’s grace, let us enter into this abiding relationship where we find all that we need, all our hungering souls long for, IN JESUS.

“For Thou, LORD, hast made me glad through Thy work: I will triumph in the works of Thy hands. O LORD, how great are Thy works! And Thy thoughts are very deep.” Psalm‬ ‭92‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭KJV‬. As the psalmist is offering praise and thanks to God his mind is drawn to the marvelous works of God. And certainly all of God’s works are marvelous. His works in creation and throughout history are enough that we should forever praise Him. And how important it is that we focus on God’s works rather than what man has done. When we look around this fallen world and we see the works of man, we can easily become sad and discouraged. But when we focus our attention on what God has done, then our hearts are made glad. And how much more do we have to praise God for in ths New Testament dispensation! Now we can rejoice in the finished work of Jesus Christ in redemption. Now we can look to that great work of God which purchased our eternal salvation and praise Him for His mighty work! We can thank Him for His great work in establishing His church and allowing us to be a part of it. And it is only in God’s works that we can triumph! No work that we do on a human level can bring the spiritual victory we need. But thank God, when we trust in His works, we can triumph over all that comes against us in this world.

“Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, Give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: Bring an offering, and come into His courts.” Psalm‬ ‭96:7-8‬ ‭KJV‬‬. We know that our gracious Heavenly Father delights to give good things to His children. But do we ever consider that we should also give to Him and that He delights in receiving from us? This is a part of every real relationship. There is a mutual giving and receiving. When we truly love, we give of ourselves to the one we love. In these verses the psalmist is focusing on what we can give to the Lord. We are to give the sacrifice of praise. We are to give glory and honor to His holy name. In fact, God’s Word declares that we are to give ourselves to Him in wholehearted service. Our giving is one of the indications that we have a genuine relationship with God. There is a song titled, ‘Give of your best to the Master’. The second verse says: ‘Give of your best to the Master; Give Him first place in your heart; Give Him first place in your service; Consecrate every part. Give, and to you will be given; God His beloved Son gave; Gratefully seeking to serve Him, Give Him the best that you have.’ By God’s grace, let us give our best to our Lord.

“And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.” Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭KJV‬‬. The manner in which Jesus healed the eyes of this blind man teaches us a very important lesson. After the first touch, Jesus asked him what he saw. He replied, “I see men as trees, walking”. This meant that he was not seeing clearly. He could not see men as they are. But let us ask ourselves, “How do we see people?” Have our spiritual eyes been opened so we can see them as they are? Do we see them as precious souls who God loves, or do we see them only on a human level? Do we see them as souls who Christ came to seek and to save, because they are of infinite worth? Or do we see only their faults and failures? Too often people become religious and see things differently, but they do not see clearly. This causes a critical spirit. It becomes easy to see people in a negative way. And when we do that, we fail to see them as God does. May God help us to be honest about how we see people. Because how we see them reveals much about the condition of our own heart. It requires a thorough work in our hearts before we can see souls as they are. And when that happens, we will not be critical. Instead, we will love them and pray for them.

“Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” Acts‬ ‭3‬:‭26‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As Peter spoke to the Jewish crowd that day, he reminded them of this vital truth that has been so neglected in this generation. Like them, many in religion today have become confused about the real blessing of salvation. Like most today, their ideas of the Messiah were totally mistaken. They looked only at outward blessings. They looked for a Messiah who would reform their culture. And certainly those blessings will follow when people are turned from their sins. Today, we are glad for the blessing of forgiveness which frees us from the punishment of sin. We thank God for the blessing of eternal life through Christ and the hope of Heaven. We praise God for the many blessings He bestows on us. But where are those who recognize this great blessing, of being turned from our sins by the power of Jesus Christ? When will we realize this is the fundamental change in man that is needed? This is the starting point for all the other blessings we seek. The reality is, this is the great work Jesus came to do! He came to destroy the work of satan in us! He came to break the power of sin. He gives us a new heart and nature which hates sin. And without this blessing of being turned from sin, no other blessing is truly meaningful to us. May God open our eyes to see and experience this tremendous blessing Christ offers to every soul.

“I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: With my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations.”Psalm‬ ‭89‬:‭1‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As the psalmist writes of God’s faithfulness many times in this psalm, he expresses here his desire, that others know of it as well. So he declares, “With my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations.” He wanted his family and those around him to know how faithful God is! He wanted everyone to know! And certainly this is something that we all, as God’s children, should desire to do. But this is not about simply saying words or singing songs. This is much more than reading the testimonies of others. To truly declare God’s faithfulness means that we must experience it personally. That means we will go through some dark valleys and some storms of life. It means we will have difficult days and will desperately need God’s help. This is all necessary because only in those times can we truly discover how real God’s faithfulness is. But thank God, as we follow Jesus through these times we will discover what the songwriter expressed: “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.”

“For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” Isaiah‬ ‭41‬:‭13‬ ‭KJV‬‬. When God sent these words to Israel they were at a very low place. As a nation they had become very weak and were facing enemies who seemed to threaten their existence. Because of these things, fear had gripped the hearts of many. They did not know how they were going to make it. But in these words, God reveals the loving heart of a Father towards His children. He tells them exactly what a frightened little child needs to hear when they are overwhelmed by fear. “I will be with you. I will hold your hand. I will help you in every way you need”. Can we be honest enough to confess there are times that we are much like Israel and still need the same words of comfort from our Heavenly Father? We need to know as we walk through the valley that He is holding our hand. We need to believe as we face a hostile world that He is with us and He will provide all we need. Too often we like to imagine that we are so spiritually mature that we are never like this. But in God’s eyes we will always be His little children and He knows we always need the comfort of His presence.

“And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. And He said unto them, Where is your faith?…” Luke‬ ‭8‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As the disciples faced this storm they became so focused on the threat against them that they forgot about the One Who was with them. In their panic they feared they were going to die. Even though they had a measure of faith in Jesus, in that moment they were reacting as men who had no faith. They had seen Him do great miracles and they believed He was the Messiah. But all of that was forgotten when they gave in to the fear. When Jesus asked this question, He was giving a gentle rebuke. He knew they had a degree of faith, but He is asking, “Where is your faith now, when the storm is raging? Where is your faith in the crisis?” This is very true today as we face the trials and tests of our faith. As Christians, we have faith in Jesus that is very real and it has transformed our lives. But when a sudden storm comes, we sometimes forget to put our faith into practice. When that happens we react in fear or frustration. Sadly, we react as people who have no faith. By God’s grace, let us live with a faith that is always looking to Jesus.

“that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” 1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Most religious people enjoy talking about faith. Many write about faith and sing songs about faith. They try to encourage others to have faith. But the one thing that they dread is ‘the trial of your faith’. Most fail to understand that faith, by it’s very nature, must be tried and tested. And let us be sure, true faith will be tried. This is why Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:12, “…think it not strange concerning the fiery trial…”. God inspired those words to prepare us for the trial of our faith. He does not want us to be surprised or caught off guard. But let us consider the blessings of this trial of our faith. First of all, it brings glory to Jesus Christ. It proves that the sacrifice He made produced a genuine work in our hearts and lives. Then, it pleases our Heavenly Father. As our faith is tried and the dross removed, it becomes like pure gold in the furnace. This purifying of our faith prepares us for greater usefulness in God’s work. It allows God to do more through us for His kingdom and to help needy souls. And finally, let us realize that the trial is only temporary. And soon, by God’s grace, we will enter our eternal home with a faith that has passed the test.

“…he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields…” 1 Kings‬ ‭14‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This passage tells of the Egyptian army coming in and plundering Jerusalem. They took away the shields of gold and in their place King Rehoboam made cheap imitations of brass. Brass has a similar outward appearance as gold but it is not the real thing. This all happened because Rehoboam and his people had turned their backs on God. This is a powerful example of what happens when a people turn from the truth and follow their own religious ideas. In recent generations this has happened in many places. Rather than standing for the pure gold of the true Gospel, they have allowed the enemy to replace it with a cheap imitation, which the Apostle Paul called, “another gospel”. The result is that most religious people have accepted a cheap imitation of the Gospel. Rather than the true Gospel that saves from all sin and makes us new creatures, they have settled for a fake gospel that tolerates sin and brings very little change to the life. This false gospel leaves people believing that their life is their own to do with as they will. They don’t have to honor Christ as Lord. But the true Gospel tells us clearly that our life is not our own, that we have been bought with a price! And Jesus Christ is Lord of all! By God’s grace, let us stand for the true Gospel.