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Christian Devotional – January 7, 2015
Read Psalm chapter 7 VERSE: Psalm 7:9–Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure–you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts. TRUTH: God knows our minds and our thoughts, but even more than that, He knows the minds and hearts of those who are wicked as well. God sees every motive and every action of every single person. He knows the best way to bring to an end the violence and evil that wicked people do. Not just to bring it to an end, but to display His glory in such a way that they might see it and be convicted and changed.…
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Christian Devotional – January 6, 2015
Read Psalm chapter 6 VERSE: Psalm 6:4–Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. TRUTH: Sometimes we misunderstand why God saves us. He doesn’t offer us salvation because of how good we are or how bad we are. He doesn’t do it because we ask or beg Him. He doesn’t even do it because we deserve it or because He owes us for some reason. He loves us and His love is unfailing. He will always love us and since His offer of salvation is based on Him and not on us, we can’t do anything that would cause Him to take it back or not…
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Christian Devotional – January 5, 2015
Read Psalm chapter 5 VERSE: Psalm 5:3–In the morning Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. TRUTH: We are often very good about bringing our requests to God. Sometimes it may feel that is all we are doing is asking God for help. Yet, this verse mentions two interesting additions. First, do we bring our requests to God first time, or are we waiting until we’ve tried all our own solutions first? Second, do we wait expectantly? When we bring our requests, we are to bring them first thing in the situation and we should expect an answer. God hears…
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Christian Devotional – January 4, 2015
Read Psalm chapter 4 VERSE: Psalm 4:8–In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone make me dwell in safety. TRUTH: No matter what we are going through, we can rest in peace. God makes us dwell in safety. A favorite trick of the enemy is to keep us from sleeping thanks to worry and doubt. We will lie awake in our beds worrying and analyzing instead of waiting and asking. God gives us peace and we can rest in Him knowing that He brings peace and safety. RESPONSE: Father, Your peace is all I want. You give me the ability to trust You for all things and…
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Christian Devotional – January 3, 2015
Read Psalm chapter 3 VERSE: Psalm 3:3–But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. TRUTH: God is three things to us. He is our shield. He I our defender and our protector. He is the One we can trust to keep watch over us in the midst of the battles we encounter every day. He is our glory. We have no glory and nothing that is praiseworthy in and of ourselves. Anything that is worthy of glory in our lives comes from Him. Finally, He is our sustainer. He lifts our head and he keeps us going in every situation and…
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Christian Devotional – January 2, 2015
Read Psalm chapter 2 VERSE: Psalm 2:4–The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. TRUTH: In this psalm, the rulers and authorities of the earth were planning to come against God. What does God do? He laughs. God knows that the mightiest king or ruler here on earth has no power compared to God. The very thought that we would come against God and attempt to stand is laughable. Are we fighting against God? All our efforts would be in vain. Instead, God invites us to join Him and allow Him to live and work through us. RESPONSE: Father, You can crush any opposition against You with…
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Christian Devotional – January 1, 2015
Read Psalm chapter 1 VERSE: Psalm 1:2–but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditate on His law day and night. TRUTH: The person this describes will be able to stand firm in the face of temptation. She will be prosperous. She will grow and improve. She will see success in all she does. As we start a new year, what are we looking for in this coming year? What are we needing to see changed about our life? We should start with our focus on God’s word because as we delight in it and meditate on it, we will see everything else in our life…
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Christian Devotional – December 31, 2014
Read 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 VERSE: 2 Thessalonians 3:13–And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. TRUTH: When we are doing the things of God, we will be tempted to become tired. We will feel exhausted and Satan will try to deceive us that we are the only one going through this or we’re the only one who understands, or that we’re all alone. Paul reminds us that we are called to do what God has for us and we should continue doing it and never tire. It shouldn’t become boring or anything for we are talking about the opportunity to do what God…
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Christian Devotional – December 30, 2014
Read 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 VERSE: 2 Thessalonians 2:16–May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope. TRUTH: Where does our encouragement and hope come from? Going through life, living each day and seeing all the day-to-day things that can come piling on top of us is overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s not about the big things, but about the constant annoyance of the little things. Yet, Christ is our encouragement and hope. We can overcome. We can stand firm. He is with us. Do we lack that hope to get us through another day? Turn to…
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Christian Devotional – December 29, 2014
Read 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 VERSE: 2 Thessalonians 1:6–God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you. TRUTH: The people were under persecution. Paul had just praised them for having faith and standing firm in the face of such persecution. Now he is reminding that God sees everything that is going on and all that is happening. But not only does God see it, Paul reminds them that God is just. He will act on it in His own time. This remains true today. As we go through difficulties and persecution, we are to stand firm and have faith in God. God has not changed His…