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Christian Devotional – August 26, 2015
Read Luke chapter 20 VERSE: Luke 20:20–Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. TRUTH: Motivations are important. These people in the verse above were following Jesus, hanging on every word he said, asking him questions, yet their purpose was to find fault in something that he said and try to discredit him. Why do we follow Jesus? Are we studying him to figure out how to get more from him, or to prove something against him? At the end…
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Christian Devotional – January 17, 2015
Read Psalm chapter 17 VERSE: Psalm 17:3–Though you probe my heart, though you examine me at night and test me, you will find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed. TRUTH: When God looks at our hearts and our motives for all that we do, what does He see? God will test us and try us. He will examine every part of us so He will know our hearts and He will know our motives. There is nothing that we can hide from God. As we examine ourselves, if we find any issues that are not Godly, we must repent and bring those to God. He…
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Christian Devotional – December 24, 2014
Read 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 VERSE: 1 Thessalonians 1:3–We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. TRUTH: As we look at what we do throughout the day, do these three traits characterize them? Are they produced by faith, prompted by love, and inspired by hope? Each day that we live we are to be showing and sharing about Jesus Christ. We do that through our words and our actions. As we go through our day today, we must as ourselves, is this work we’re doing produced by faith in our…
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Christian Devotional – October 3, 2014
Read 2 Samuel chapter 10 VERSE: 2 Samuel 10:3–the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?” TRUTH: Wrong assumptions and bad advice led the new king of the Ammonites, Hanun, to end up in battle against David. They were ultimately beaten, very badly. Yet, this all started because they made a wrong assumption about the motives of another person, namely David. Are we making wrong assumptions about others? We cannot read other people’s minds and so…
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Christian Devotional – September 11, 2014
Read 1 Corinthians chapter 4 VERSE: 1 Corinthians 4:5–Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. TRUTH: We must be careful not to assume we know the motivations of other people. There will come a time when all hidden things, including all motives, will be made known. We should give grace to others, realizing that we don’t know their motives. We should also examine our own motives, realizing that at some point all will be revealed. Would we…
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Christian Devotional – December 21, 2013
VERSE: Numbers 35:10-11–Speak to the Israelites and say to them, “When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee. TRUTH: God was setting up the justice system for the people and establishing a means for a person who had accidentally killed another person to be able to receive a fair trial instead of being killed out of revenge first. God made a provision for the people to be able to convey that the accident was not intentional. Our motives matter as well as our actions. God wanted that to be taken into…
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Christian Devotional – August 9, 2013
VERSE: Jeremiah 41:8–But ten of them said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us! We have wheat and barley, olive oil and honey, hidden in a field.” So he let them alone and did not kill them with the others. TRUTH: Ishmael was not going to stand for the Babylonians setting up a puppet government, so he just went out and killed everyone. Then when eighty more men showed up just to worship, Ishmael began to kill hem, too. Ten of them offered a bribe in exchange for their lives and Ishmael took it. Ishmael was only after personal power and gain, that was what motivated him. What motivates us? Do we act…