A Daily Devotion
Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
God is faithful always and is always with us in whatever situation we find ourselves in. Satan can shake our world, can’t he? His lies can turn our world upside down in a minute. My devotion reading called him the father of lies. That is so true. Even his whisper can cause doubt. We need to resist the devil by putting our hope and faith in Christ. He alone will help us resist the lies of the world and keep us safe. The last few weeks I have seen the devil at work in an organization I would have never expected to act the way it has. I never felt so much evil and hatred from something that I thought was God and faith based. God will win in the end and we will all be better together in Christ. Stand firm In your faith and lean on God. He will see you through the darkest valley. Pray without ceasing and listen for Christ voice. He is faithful and wants and knows what is best for us.
James 1:12 “God will bless you, if you don’t give up when your faith is being tested. He will reward you with a glorious life, just as he rewards everyone who loves him.”
God is always faithful, always there for us in our darkest hour, and when our trials are over he is still with us. Our faith will always be tested by the devil. He wants to trip us up and doubt that God is with us. He tempts us and tries to put doubt in our minds when we are the most vulnerable. God never tests us beyond beyond our level of endurance but the devil will. We need to remember God is always with us and after the darkness is over the morning sunrise comes up bringing us light and reassurance that God is always with us. Whatever battle you are facing today, God is with you. It may seem like life is tossing you about like a ship on a stormy sea but the waters will calm and the light, Jesus light, will shine through. Fight hard for what is right and never give up on God. He will pave the way if it is the way he wants you to go. Trust in him, pray and then obey.
Luke 11:9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”
This verse tells us to be persistent in our prayers. Our God is a generous God and he loves us unconditionally. He wants what is best for us. He wants us to keep coming back to him in prayer. He doesn’t ever ignore requests. We just have to be persistent. I needed to hear this scripture this morning. Last night I got a response to something that was upsetting. But when I submitted the paperwork yesterday, I was so intent on getting the paperwork in and every i dotted and every t crossed, I didn’t pray about it. I tried to handle it on my own. Well, you see that didn’t work so well! I will pray about it a lot in the next few weeks and just maybe things will be different in the end. The old saying, “it ain’t over until it’s over” is what I needed to hear today. So I will pray without ceasing and be persistent because I know God is listening and knows what is best for all of us. Thank you God for walking this faith journey with me. I need you every hour.
2 Corinthians 4:18 “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Paul, writing to his beloved Corinthians from jail, is telling them to stay strong in their faith and keep their eyes fixed firmly on Jesus and their heavenly home. When we follow Jesus, we can be ridiculed, made fun of, talked about and even have people we thought were our friends, turn against us. And it is no different today than it was in Paul’s time. Paul’s messages can be for us today. We are to stand firm in our beliefs and not let Satan undermine our faith. There will always be false teachers and people who will try to trip you up. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus, even though He can’t be seen. We need to work towards going to our heavenly home where we will be with Him every day. Don’t let the material things of this world get in the way of a better life with our Lord. Strive to do good, love each other and put God first in your life. Build a prayerful relationship with Him and know He is with you always until the end of time.
Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God!”….
I love my quiet time with Jesus in the morning. I have four or five devotion books spread out in front of me and I jump into the scriptures. When I have to be somewhere early, I get up earlier because I love my time with Jesus. I even take them with me when I am away. It has become a habit and I need it every morning. Sometimes though when I have a hundred things to do I feel myself rushing through them. When I realize what I am doing, I slow down and ask God to slow me down and stop cramming so much into my day. I am going to try and do what the author of my devotions shared today. She said to start your morning asking Jesus to prepare your heart for the day ahead. The slower our walk with Jesus is, the more peaceful and settled our heart will be. I wonder how much more smoothly my day will go when I am not constantly watching the clock and checking one more thing off my list. Life is short so make the most of everyday starting it out with a walk and talk with Jesus. Just for a few minutes everyday “Be still, and know that I am God!”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
This is probably the first Bible verse I learned and remembered as a child. It made me feel important that God loved me enough that he gave me the greatest gift anyone could give us, Jesus. God, also, gave me two of my greatest blessings ever, my children who have blessed me over and over with the gift of grandkids. Love is a wonderful emotion, expression and feeling. Everyone desires to be loved. Jesus loves us all. He doesn’t pick and choose who he loves. Thank God for that because I know lots of days I am not lovable.
Grace Fox, the author of my daily devotion, talks about the five languages of love as developed by Gary Chapman. I have never heard about the five languages of love until this morning. They are: acts of service, gifts, quality time, physical touch and words of affection. She asks the reader to identify your love language and then that of those around you. That way you could use the language to show true love. I think I have parts of everyone mentioned.
Jesus taught us love when he took on human form to walk among us and teach us what love looked and felt like. He taught us and is still teaching us the message of unselfishness, forgiveness and eternal life through the spoken word. Jesus demonstrated this love through His life, death and resurrection. Jesus taught and gave us the best example of true love. I feel pretty special that he loves me just the way I am, flaws and all.
The Struggle
If the Lord says no
and my way says yes,
then my heart should know
whose way is best
Though I try to do
the things that are right,
I find that it’s true,
I struggle and fight
To follow the Lord
and to do His will
is what I live for,
but I struggle still
Why this fight in me?
Why the hurt and pain?
When clearly, I see
the rainbow through rain?
Who can save me from
the sin I carry?
Thank God it is done.
Through Christ, it’s buried.
by Debbie Richardson
Omnia Methodist 
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