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Christian Devotional – July 4, 2016
Read Zephaniah chapter 3 VERSE: Zephaniah 3:17–The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. TRUTH: As Zephaniah finishes out his prophecy, he reminds the people that God is with them. This is such great comfort in the midst of all the difficulties and trials that we go through. We can know that God is there with us and He is the Might One who saves us. No matter what we have done, if we will come to Him, He takes great delight in…
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Christian Devotional – June 30, 2016
Read Habakkuk chapter 3 VERSE: Habakkuk 3:18–yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. TRUTH: Habakkuk has just indicated in the prior verses all the trials and struggles that they will be facing. But, in the midst of all that, still they praise God. When we are in the midst of difficulties and problems, we can choose how we will respond. We may know that God has a plan and a purpose, but do others know that based solely on how we are responding to the situation? When we are going through problems, do people see our hope in the Lord? When we…
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Christian Devotional – September 15, 2015
Read James chapter 1 VERSE: James 1:2–Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, TRUTH: I don’t know about you, but for me, it is difficult to put those two phrases together: pure joy and trials. The idea that I could look at the difficult and trying times of my life and be the most joyful that I can possibly think of, is a concept that is foreign to our way of thinking. Often we spend time having pity parties and woe-is-me thinking. We don’t look at trials as an opportunity for joy. However, God’s Word indicates that trials are a reason for…
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Christian Devotional – May 26, 2015
Read Psalm chapter 126 VERSE: Psalm 126:6–Those who go out weeping carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. TRUTH: Even in the difficult and hard times, God is there. If we will continue to sow the seed of His Word in our lives, we will see His harvest come and will experience the joy that comes with reaping a bountiful harvest. RESPONSE: Father, in You there is joy. Even when things seem darkest, You are working to bring about Your will and Your harvest. I will praise You for being the God of the harvest, the joyful harvest.
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Christian Devotional – April 23, 2015
Read Psalm chapter 97 VERSE: Psalm 97:11–Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. TRUTH: Is our life in the light? If we feel like we are surrounded by darkness, we must remember that light and joy both come from God as we are surrendering ourselves to Him. Through our submission and obedience we can experience God’s joy even in the midst of the most difficult circumstances. RESPONSE: Father, You are my light and my joy. I will not seek after those things from anywhere else. I love You and praise You.
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Christian Devotional – September 2, 2014
Read Esther chapter 5 VERSE: Esther 5:9–Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. TRUTH: What do we base our happiness on? What gives us joy? For Haman, he delighted in the praise and honor of others. He wanted to be he center of attention and when he was, he was happy. When he wasn’t he was angry and his emotions flipped that quickly. We must be careful that we are not the same way. If we base our joy…
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Christian Devotional – August 14, 2014
Read Lamentations chapter 5 VERSE: Lamentations 5:15–Joy is gone from our hearts, our dancing has turned to mourning. TRUTH: When we have sinned and done wrong, there are consequences. we cannot have joy while we are in the midst of sin. The consequences of sin overwhelms us. We know that God is the One who gives joy, so if we aren’t experiencing joy, it is because we have sin in our heart and in our life. Have we come to Jesus and brought our repentance? Only He can restore our joy. RESPONSE: Father, I bring my whole life before You today. Restore my joy. Bring about Your dancing as I…
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Christian Devotional – May 20, 2014
Read 1 John 1 VERSE: 1 John 1:4–We write this to make our joy complete. TRUTH: How do we have joy and experience complete joy? We experience complete joy when we share with others our experience with Jesus Christ. He is the source of all joy and as we share together with other believers, we experience, not just fellowship, but full and complete joy. Are we experiencing joy in our daily life? If not, then we must not be experiencing true fellowship with other believers and sharing about Christ in our lives? Find someone to share with and watch your joy be made complete. RESPONSE: Father, You are joy and…
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Christian Devotional – March 6, 2014
Read 2 John VERSE: 2 John 4–It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. TRUTH: We do not live the Christian life in a vacuum. We are surrounded by other believers and our obedience to God gives joy to them just as our disobedience brings grief to them. Similarly, heir obedience and disobedience affects us. John received encouragement and joy knowing that the others were walking in the truth and following God’s commands. Do we bring joy to other believers the same way? Do we rejoice in the obedience of fellow believers? RESPONSE: Father, You have…
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Christian Devotional – December 15, 2013
VERSE: Number 29:12–On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. Celebrate a festival to the Lord for seven days. TRUTH: The festival was a celebration, a party, and yet most of what was done was giving offerings to the Lord. Do we consider the opportunity to give to God as a time of celebration? This was a chance for the people to celebrate what God had provided for those by giving back to God joyfully and with thankfulness. RESPONSE: Father, I will trust You with all I have and will celebrate You by joyfully giving back to You. You are all…