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Christian Devotional – June 12, 2017
Ever wonder what it’s like to live without Jesus Christ? Ephesians 2:1-3 sums it up pretty succinctly. Before Christ, we are dead men walking. All of our sin and all of our disobedience weighs on us and keeps us from experiencing all that Jesus Christ has for us. We are dead in our sins just as the scripture says. We experience only the passing fancies of our flesh with all of its lustful desires and evil thoughts. There is no redemptive quality in us at all. Until Christ. Only through the grace and mercy and love of Jesus Christ are we able to be resurrected into life. As we look…
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Christian Devotional – June 10, 2017
Jesus Christ is Lord of all. Looking in Ephesians 1:18-22 we see very clearly that God has given all authority and power to Jesus. He is the one who is over absolutely everything. All this are subject to Him. Do we live our lives day by day realizing that truth? Every single thing that we come into contact with Jesus has authority over. There is not anything that we will encounter or experience that has not been overcome by Jesus Christ. We are to worship and praise Him. We are to lift Him up. He is worthy!
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Christian Devotional – June 9, 2017
In Ephesians 1:11-17, Paul continues to share how thankful he is for the people and how he continues to pray for them. He asks God to bless them and to give them a spirit of wisdom. We spend much of our life trying to gain wisdom. We go to school and then on to college or trade school to seek wisdom. We speak with others trying to get advice or wisdom. Paul reminds the people that if they seek wisdom, that comes from God and they should ask Him thtough prayer for the wisdom that they seek. Are we seeking our wisdom for today from God?
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Christian Devotional – June 8, 2017
As we start looking through the book of Ephesians, we have an opportunity to study the writings of the Apostle Paul. Paul had a dramatic conversion to Christ and now after having visited the city of Ephesus and proclaimed Christ and seen people converted to Christ, he sends them a letter to check on them and continue to encourage and instruct them. Reading through the first chapter in verses 1 through 10 of the book of Ephesians, we see Paul’s heartfelt opening to the people. He wishes them grace and mercy and wants them to understand the amazingness of their relationship to Jesus Christ. In verses 7 and 8 he…
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Christian Devotional – June 7, 2017
In Jonah 4:4-11 we see God begin to question Jonah. He first asks if Jonah has a right to be angry. Interestingly, Jonah doesn’t answer that question. So God sets up a little example for him. Jonah has gone out and is sitting outside the city watching and waiting for God to do the destruction that he originally said he would. While he is there God provides a plant that gives him shade and great comfort. The next day God brings a worm to eat the plant. Jonah gets mad again. When God questions him as to why he is mad and if he has a right to be mad,…
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Christian Devotional – June 6, 2017
Jonah finally says, “I told you so.” He has delivered the message that God had for the people. The people repented and God had mercy on them. Now Jonah is mad. Jonah 4:1-3 shows us that Jonah does really know and understand the character of God. Unfortunately, Jonah wanted the people destroyed. Jonah didn’t think they should have access to the same mercy and grace that he has. Now we see the real reason that he ran. Do we believe that God’s mercy and grace should be available for all people? Or, are there some people who have hurt us too badly that we don’t want them to know and…
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Christian Devotional – June 5, 2017
What’s the most effective sermon in history? Many people might reference a Billy Graham Crusade, or some other famous preacher. Others might also look at Peter’s Pentecost sermon in Acts chapter 2. However, whether you’re looking at total number of lives impacted or total percentage of response, Jonah chapter 3 is probably the largest on both. Reading Jonah 3:6-10, we see the king himself repenting and turning to God. We’ve already seen every single person that heard Jonah’s message repenting and turning to God. We find out later in chapter 4 that there are over 120,000 people in the city of Nineveh. That’s quite a crusade! In the very last…
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Christian Devotional – June 4, 2017
Ok, it’s “Going to Ninevah,” take 2. This second time around we see Jonah hearing God’s message and being obedient. In Jonah 3:1-5 we find Jonah right back in the same place that he was in chapter 1. Often if we have been disobedient, once we repent, God places us in a very similar situation and gives us an opportunity to do it right this time. So, Jonah goes. He starts walking through the town of Ninevah sharing his message. We see an amazing response, one that can only be explained by God working, but the biggest change is in the one delivering the message. When we fall and repent,…
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Christian Devotional – June 3, 2017
Jonah finally saw the light, while sitting in the dark recesses of the belly of the fish. In Jonah 2:7-10 we see Jonah repent and tell God the he will do whatever God asks of him. Jonah had no promise of salvation from his situation. But he still recognized that he needed to get right with God. Do we seek to repent, even when there is no obvious gain to be had? Are we more concerned about the state of our relationship with God than our own personal comfort? Only when we get real with God will we repent of our disobedience solely to see our relationship with God restored.…
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Christian Devotional – June 2, 2017
Jonah finally turns to God. After all his running and disobedience, we’re finally told that Jonah prays. In Jonah 1:17-2:7 we see a man who finally realized that every plan he made was thwarted by God. Even his desperate suicide attempt was foiled by a passing great fish who swallowed him. What was Jonah to do? He finally called to the Lord. It’s so interesting to me that Jonah indicates that God caused his situation and God is also the only one who can deliver him. Do we see that in our own life? When we have been disobedient, God will put up barriers and obstacles to get our attention.…