Devotion: Serve The Lord With Gladness

It is amazing how many so-called Christians do not actually know God.  We all have relied on traditional teachings to provide us with spiritual knowledge, the kind of knowledge that supposedly brought us closer to God.  We have put our faith and our trust in these teachings because that was and always has been the accepted practice.  We have been taught to never question the things of God or anything that we did not understand.  Over the years, man has either forgotten or just plain ignored the laws of God.  Man has even forgotten or misinterpreted the teachings and sayings of Jesus Christ.  And to beat it all, man does not truly seek to know God much anymore, forgetting how to walk and to talk with God.  Man has become totally dependent upon the church leaders, television, books, the Internet, and other various mediums to teach them the truth about God, Jesus Christ, salvation, and the word of God.  We currently have a belief system full of contrary beliefs, misguided values, unethical practices, and overstated theologies.  This belief system has made it hard for many to take hold of the truth, especially when one does not recognize it.  The truth has become so distorted that it is easy to see why man has a hard time identifying with the things of God and even God himself.

Even with our current belief system, many strive to find that one on one relationship they have heard about most of their lives although it appears to elude them.  Is God behind or at the bottom of this elusive act?  Or, is there something else that is responsible for our inability to connect with God?  We believe that going to church on Sunday is good enough to make it through life and that is all the religion we need or want.  We are just comfortable with the feel-good feelings we get on Sunday and have no desire to expand our knowledge.  Even though we claim to be a society of church going, Bible toting, praying Christians, how many of us really know God?  How many of us spend time alone with God?  How many of us spend time truly studying the word of God?  How many of us spend time praying or talking to God?  How many of us spend time being in fellowship or walking with God?  Scripture tells us that for us to worship God, we “must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24), but if our truth is distorted by contrary beliefs, misguided values, unethical practices, and overstated theologies, then which god are we actually serving?

Scripture tells us to “Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing (Psalm 100:2), which is something that many so-called Christians desire to do.  However, to truly serve or worship God, we have to know God; we have to have that personal relationship with God; and we have to know the truth, which according to scripture “will make you free” (John 8:32). 

We pray that this message will be a blessing to you as well as informative.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Have A Word Harvest

Recently, we talked about attending to and listening carefully to the words of God.  We learned that God’s words were full of abundant life for all who hunted for, looked for, or sought after his words (Proverbs 4:20-22).  We also talked about knowing that we have faith because “God has dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3), which we found that each of us was given “the same amount of faith.”  We mentioned how “faith comes by hearing (listening) and hearing (listening) by the word of God” (Romans 10:17) and we know what happens when we attend to and listening carefully to the words of God.

We mentioned another benefit to attending to and listening carefully to the words of God was that in our time of need, we would automatically speak those words because they were abundantly stored in our heart.  And we know from scripture that whatever we have stored in abundance in our heart will eventually come out through our mouth (Luke 6:45).  Then we learned that when we speak the words of God, we actually return his words to him, and according to God, they do not return to him void but will accomplish what they were intended to accomplish, which is to produce fruit in the earth realm for his children (Isaiah 55:10-11).

We learned from previous devotional messages that “death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21) and that the words we speak are like seeds that are planted in the ground and from those seeds, we reap those things for which you have sown or in this case spoken (Galatians 6:7 TLB).  With this information in your arsenal, you should be well equipped to “have a word harvest.” Again, we pray that today’s inspirational message will bless you, inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Take What God Has Given You

Let’s talk about the story of the children of Israel and the promise land.  In this story, God promises to give a particular land to the children that were led out of Egypt as part of an inheritance, but with one condition.  And though the land was possessed by others, including giants, all the children of Israel had do was basically go in and take possession of the land (Deuteronomy 11:22-25).  But with all of the promises and assurances of God, it was their unbelief that delayed them from getting what God had given to or promised them (Numbers 14:20-25).

Today, you have been given the privilege to become a child of God (John 1:12-13), so that you can share in the blessings of Abraham and receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:14).  Once you become a child of God, you then have the right to the inheritance of the new covenant, a better covenant, built with better promises (Hebrews 8:6-13), a divine inheritance to the best in life, deserving all the Father has to offer (Romans 8:14-17), which includes the right to good health, wealth, and total life prosperity (I John 1:2), but there is one condition.  Yes that’s right, you have to take possession of it.  You have to take inventory of the rights, privileges, and inheritance that are part of the promise and lay claim to them.  Do not allow your unbelief to stop or delay you from going and getting what God has given you as it did the children of Israel.

As always, we pray that today’s message will bless you, inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: You Can Do All Things Through Christ

Paul, while speaking with the Philippians, thanked them for their concern for him and the gifts they sent to him (Philippians 4:10-20).  He told them that he had learned the secret to living in every situation, stating that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him (verse 13).  But what does this statement, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” actually mean for us?  Jesus explains it this way:

“I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener.  He lops off every branch that doesn’t produce.  And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops.  He has already tended you by pruning you back for greater strength and usefulness by means of the commands I gave you.  Take care to live in me, and let me live in you.  For a branch can’t produce fruit when severed from the vine.  Nor can you be fruitful apart from me.  Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches.  Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit.  For apart from me you can’t do a thing.  If anyone separates from me, he is thrown away like a useless branch, withers, and is gathered into a pile with all the others and burned.  But if you stay in me and obey my commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted!  My true disciples produce bountiful harvests.  This brings great glory to my Father” (John 15:1-8 TLB).

Because we are in Christ, who is the true vine, he explains how we are able to do all things through him.  Because we are in him and because we obey his commands, we are allowed to make any request we like and it will be granted to us.  Now, we know that some will place restrictions on “make any request we like and it will be granted to us” part, but if you are in Christ, you will only seek to do those things that are within the will of God and those things that are pleasing to God.  Notice what happens to those who separate themselves from the vine and are not in him; they don’t get pruned, but loped off.

We pray that this inspirational message will bless you, inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: How Do I Know When I Have Faith?

What an interesting question, “How Do I Know When I Have Faith?”  According to the scripture, “God has dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3 KJV).  Some translations say, “God has dealt to every man a measure of faith.”  We know that this will sound like a play on words, but we assure you that it is not.  It is important that you understand the difference between the two translations because the difference will help you to honestly measure the correct amount of faith that has been given to you.

When using the word “the,” which is a definite article that is used before a noun to express specificity to its reference, you get the sense that God has dealt to everyone “the same amount of faith.”  No one has been given more faith than anyone else has; we all have been given “the same amount.”  On the other hand, when using the word “a” or “an,” which are indefinite articles that are used before a noun to express non-specificity to its reference, you get the sense that God has dealt to everyone “a random or varied amount of faith.”  So, how can you be sure that you have been dealt “the measure of faith” and not some random amount?  How can you be sure that you have been given enough faith or that you have been given your fair share?

According to scripture, “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11), which means we can safely say that God, who treats everyone the same, did not shortchange anyone when it came to faith; he gave us all “the same amount of faith” and not some random amount.  Now, if “the measure of faith” given to you by God is the size of a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6), then you have all the faith that you need.

The only thing left for you to do is to activate your faith and then, build up your faith, which are both lessons for another time.  Scripture tells us, “faith comes by hearing (listening) and hearing (listening) by the word of God” (Romans 10:17), and we know what happens when we attend to the word of God, giving ear to it (Proverbs 4:20-22).

Today’s inspirational message should help to answer the question, “How Do I Know When I Have Faith?”  As always, we pray that this message will bless you, inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Speak God's Word

God tells us, “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.  Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.  For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh” (Proverbs 4:20-22).  We have previously mentioned that when we attend to God’s words, giving ear to them, we learn that they are life unto those that find them, meaning his words are full of abundant life to those that hunt for, look for, or seek those words. We find in this passage that God has asked two more things of us; that we do not allow his words to depart from our eyes and that we keep them close to our hearts.  However, the purpose for having to follow these commands is most important for us.

Scripture tells us, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45).  Basically, this is saying, whatever you have abundantly stored in your heart will eventually come out through your mouth.  Therefore, if you have God’s words stored abundantly in your heart, then when you speak or in your time of need, God’s words are what you will speak.  If you do not have his words abundantly stored there, then it won’t be his words that you speak, but someone else’s words.

Nevertheless, here is the icing on the cake.  God tells us, “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11).  When we speak God’s words, we actually return his words to him, and according to God, they do not return to him void but will accomplish what they were intended to accomplish, which is to produce fruit in the earth realm for his children.  So, fill your heart with God’s words and when you speak or in your time of need, God’s words are what you will speak.  Then watch what kind of fruit, treasures if you will, those words produce or bring forth in your life.  God guarantees that you will see a difference.

We pray today’s inspirational message will help you understand why it is important for us to give attention to God's words.  We pray that this devotional will bless you, inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: A Perfect Friend

Jesus told us, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (John 15:9-15).

Did you notice that Jesus said we are his friends?  That’s right, Jesus called us his friends, but there appears to be a qualifier to us being called his friends.  A“qualifier” is “something that has the ability to restrict, limit, alter, or modify the meaning of something else.”  Imagine that, something in the word of God that actually restricts, limits, alters, or modifies the meaning of those who are called Jesus’ friends.  For us, that qualifier says, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14).  To be Jesus’ friend, we must do all that he has commanded of us, that by keeping his commandments, we will continually be in his love just as he was in the Father’s love because he kept the Father’s commandments.

Today’s inspirational message is about having “a perfect friend” and the only one to fit the bill is Jesus.  He wants to be your friend and now you know what you have to do to be his friend.

“There are friends who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24 RSV).

As always, will bless you, inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW