Devotion: Whatever You Allow

Are you one who believes that the things that happen in your life are ordained by God or that it is part of God’s will for your life?  If this is what you believe, then this message may be for you, provided you have an ear to hear.  Because the Church has redefined “the sovereignty of God” to mean, “God is in total control and that nothing happens but that which the will of God allows to happen,” many believers and non-believers as well, have been led to believe that God is somehow responsible for everything that happens in our lives.  But the truth of the matter is that “the sovereign God of the universe” is limited as to what he can and cannot do.  Now that we have your attention, let us explain exactly what we mean that God is limited.

Devotion: God Loves A Cheerful Giver

In the religious circles, when the subject of money comes up, it incites all kinds of emotions in people.  Though the passage, “the love of money is the root of all evil” (I Timothy 6:10) is guaranteed to be mentioned in the conversation, it is the misinterpretation and misapplication of this passage that creates the most controversy.  Many believers do not believe that man should prosper financially or have wealth because it goes against the teachings of Jesus.  Based on the story surrounding his statement, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24), many have interpreted this passage to mean that a person with riches cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  So, the belief is that God is against his children having money.  Those familiar with the story of the young rich man (Matthew 19:16-22), saw Jesus tell the man to “go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor” (Matthew 19:21).  Most do not make the connection between when Jesus told the young rich man to give and when he tells us to give, especially when giving to the poor.

Devotion: Enjoy The Lord

With all that mankind has accused God of, which includes plenty mischaracterizations, many believe that it is not possible for anyone to “enjoy the Lord.”  Most of us are aware that God has never given us the punishment that our sins deserve nor rewarded us according to our wrongdoings, but instead has forgiven us.  Scripture tells us that God is merciful and gracious towards us.  The truth is, God’s mercy towards us, those who reverence, honor, and worship him, is as great as the heavens are above the earth.  He is full of kindness, love, and pity.  He is tender and sympathetic to us who respect, obey, and praise him.  He is slow to anger and does not hold a grudge because his anger does not last forever.  God is like a father who has pity on his children.  For the most part, we enjoy our earthy fathers or those we know to be and call father, but we do not share that same enjoyment with God.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God.  …Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you” (James 4:7-8).  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).  “Trust in the Lord, and do good...  Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.  ...Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him…” (Psalm 37:3-7).

Devotion: Deception

We have spoken several times about “an untruth, a deception, a lie” that has been going on for so long that the lines between them and “the truth” have become so blurred that one crosses between the two without the realization of either.  Without the knowledge as to the source of the problem, the deception continues.  We know that man continues to be played like puppets in a production for an audience of principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world, while the puppet master continues to lurk in the shadows, hidden from the world.  Because the devil is “the father of lies” (John 8:44), he has blinded many to “the truth” to the point that they believe just about anything that sounds “god-like.”  Throughout the scriptures, we are “warned not to be deceived, not to err, not to be misled, and even not to go astray” for there will come “false prophets” that will deceive many.

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:11).  “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (II Peter 2:1).  “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15).

Devotion: When You Hurt, You Are Not Alone

For one reason or another, most of the world is hurting.  There appears to be this never-ending story of one crisis after another after another after another happening throughout the world.  There does not appear to be an end to the suffering that we see in the world.  As we “wrestle daily against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12), there are times when it feels that we are fighting these battles alone.  Even though people are fighting many of the same battles, we feel that no one else can relate to the hurt, to the pain, to the suffering, or to the loneliness that we are going through in our battles.  There are times when we hurt and we feel that we hurt alone.

“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.  And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:6; 8).

Devotion: You Are Born To Win

Did you know that you were born to win?  We guess the correct thing to ask would be “Did you know that you were born-again to win?”  In order to win, you first have to be born-again, what the scriptures refer to as “being in Christ.”  Therefore, if you be in Christ, then you are born to win.

“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

According to this passage, we are not just “conquers,” who are simply able to “overcome all these things.”  No, we are “more than conquers.”  We are “more than victors.”  We are “more than overcomers.”  Paul goes on to say that he is convinced, “fully persuaded” that nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is “in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  There be neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities or rules, nor the things in this present time, nor the things to come in the future, nor the forces of nature, nor the things on high above the earth, nor the things under the earth, nor any other creatures that could separate us from the love of God, which now rest upon us because of what Christ Jesus our Lord did.

Devotion: Always Put God First

God wants to hold first place in your heart.  God wants to be first in your life.  God wants to be the only god that we worship, praise, give thanks to, and serve.  This point is illustrated throughout the scriptures.

“And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:  thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” (Exodus 20:1-5).

When God brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt and liberated them from their slavery, he told them they were not to have any other gods before him.  He did not want them worshipping any other gods other than him.  He did not want them to bow down before any other gods besides him.  He did not want them to serve any other gods besides him.  Because he is a possessive God, he wanted to be first in their lives.  Because he is a jealous God, he did not want to share their affections, their time, or any parts of them with any other gods.