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Devotional – April 11, 2012
VERSE: 1 Kings 3:14–“If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.” TRUTH: God often gives us conditional promises. If we will do something, then God will fulfill His promise to us. Do we act in obedience, believing that God’s promises are real and true. It’s important to note that not all conditional promises are for everyone, so we shouldn’t assume that this promise of long life necessarily applies to us. However, God does promise that if we will surrender to Him then He will give us eternal life, and that will go on forever. RESPONSE: Lord,…
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Devotional – April 10, 2012
VERSE: 1 Kings 2:3–Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn. TRUTH: David charged his son Solomon with this just as he was about to die. David had not been perfect, but he had tried to live his life according to these principles. Now he is charging Solomon to do the same. What legacy are we leaving for our children? What will we charge them with when our time on earth is done?…
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Book Review – Grady the Gray Cat by Lori A. Moore
If you’ll recall, a couple of weeks back we looked at the new children’s book Hannah the Hedgehog goes to Heaven by Lori A. Moore. Well, that wasn’t her first published children’s book. She also has this cute little story of Grady the Gray Cat.This beautiful book tells the story of how Grady came to be a part of his adopted home. The story begins with Grady at the shelter and he is selected by his “parents” and brought home and introduced to his two “sister.” Grady learns to adapt to his new home and the story shares how they learn to live together and love each other.Just like Hannah…
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Devotional – April 9, 2012
VERSE: 1 Kings 1:5–Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself saying, “I will be king.” So he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen with fifty men to run before him. TRUTH: Adonijah was one of King David’s many sons, but he made several crucial mistakes that we often make. First, he exalted himself. He tried to get glory for himself instead of God. Next, he made plans for himself and did not ask about God’s plans for him. Finally, he persuaded others to follow Him and disobey God along with him. Are we disobeying God in any of these ways? God will get our attention, just like He did…
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Devotional – April 8, 2012
Happy Easter!!VERSE: Matthew 28:6a–He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. TRUTH: On this most important of days, This sentence holds all the hope, all the power, and all the glory. Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, sacrificed Himself and was put to death on our behalf as payment for all the wrongs we would ever commit. Today, on Easter Sunday morning, He displayed His victory over Satan and death and hell. He is victorious and through Him, so are we! RESPONSE: Father, there are no words to describe the importance of this verse. You did exactly what You promised; You rose victorious and triumphant!…
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Devotional – April 7, 2012
VERSE: 3 John 4–I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. TRUTH: As we live out the Christian life, we are to teach and train others. As a teacher, there are few things that give joy like hearing good reports from others about students. Knowing that their students are being obedient and that others are seeing it is huge joy. Are we teaching others and training others to love Christ? Do we impart the truth to others so that they may learn and pass along, too? RESPONSE: Lord, give me people to train. Help me to share and live out Your truth…
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Devotional – April 6, 2012
VERSE: 2 John 6–And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it. TRUTH: What does it mean to love? It means to be like God. How do we do that? By doing the things that God would do. We have an amazing opportunity to show love to God while also showing God’s love to others. Are we walking in His commandments today? RESPONSE: Lord, I pray You will give me the strength to walk in love today. I want to show You my love. I desire to be obedient and…
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Devotional – April 5, 2012
VERSE: 1 John 5:12–He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. TRUTH: How can we know we have eternal life? It’s really quite simple. The person who has and believes Jesus Christ has the life. The one who does not, doesn’t have the life. We can deliberate, argue, discuss, and define so many things about God, but in the end, each person’s relationship with Jesus Christ is what matters. RESPONSE: Father, I praise You for the simplicity of Your plan.It’s truly not complicated and the only real difficulty is whether we’re able to surrender to Jesus…
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Devotional – April 4, 2012
VERSE: 1 John 4:8–The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. TRUTH: What one quality/characteristic should define believers in Christ? Love. God is love, so we cannot say we serve God and follow Him unless we love. Do we love lie God loves? RESPONSE: Father, I pray You will teach me to love how You love. I want to reflect who You are to every person I meet today.
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Devotional – April 3, 2012
VERSE: 1 John 3:16–We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. TRUTH: How do we even know what love is? We only know what love is due to the sacrificial love that God has shown us. Without His sacrifice, we would never know what true love is. When we show love to others, is it our own selfish love or God’s pure sacrificial love? Are we sacrificial in our love for others? RESPONSE: Lord, Your love is sacrifice. You gave up You very life so that we would have a chance for life through…