Daily Devotional: God is All Around You

Psalm 139:7-10

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.

Doesn't matter where you go or which way you turn, no one can hide from the glory of God.  All around you are the signs: majestic trees that grow green and sturdy, a variety of beautiful animals, insects and sea life and of course what lies beyond this planet, in the void of space. Did you know that if the planet earth was moved in the slightest from its projected course around the sound, we could either freeze to death or burn up?

It's hard to fathom that there is a God that thinks of our well being and wants the best for us, but nothing in this world stands at mere chance.  As a matter of fact, scientists love to try and disprove the existence of God, but one thing can be said to quell most of this rambling: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  Science is deeply rooted in cause and effect.  Without one, there could not be the other.  So, knowing that the universe had to have been created, the there must have been a creator.  Science indeed says that such is a FACT and not CONJECTURE.  Some want to call it the Big Bang, but there must have been something that did the banging, right?  

God is omniscient, forever present beyond our senses.  We cannot perceive him in our current state, except through prayer and meditation.  Even then, we can never "see" him as we see one another.  However, people, in their own arrogance, refuse to humble themselves before God an imply that we should. They say that God cannot exist, because why would he put us here?  It's such a terrible place! Unfortunately, the arrogant will always refuse to prostrate themselves before God, and true comprehension is lost.  God put us here to bring us closer to him   We inflict pain and trouble on one another at an alarming rate.  

I won't be a fool.  God is all around us.  In the clouds of the sky, in the plants of the fields and in the face of that person you hold so dear to your heart.

Be Blessed.  Amen.

Daily Devotional: Your Spiritual Appetite

John 6:27

27 “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

We are a nation of obese and lazy people. Even our military is overweight. It's a sad state of affairs when the people that should be able bodied are having a hard time with being disciplined.

We don't thirst and hunger for the food of the soul, that meat that nourishes our very being. God's word is there for us to study and meditate on, yet we find ourselves busy doing things of no consequence. I am guilty if this, for sure.

I pray that you all seek the manna of God, that he feed and water your very being. Be blessed with his word and find your appetite is renewed, your palate now ready for a more worthy meal. Look within and see that you could never be without.

May God grant you strength to endure this harsh world. Amen.

Daily Devotional: The Love of Money

Hebrews 13:5

5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

An important scripture in this day and time, for this spirit (the love of money) is pervasive and moves its evil freely about the land, choking the life from the people. Truly, we love money. It is an idol, amongst many other idols, but it may be the most prevalent.

When you turn on your TV, it is difficult to avoid this idea of want, for they show us products and services that we can pay for or possess. We think we need these things to enhance our living. But I'm telling you, everything we want, we do not need.

Money, of course, is a necessity to live in this world. Don't be mistaken, however; this doesn't make it the "everything". God is our all and all. We must not forget that he supplies us with the ability to earn. Make sure that we have separation between the two, the thing created and the creator. We owe nothing to money, but we owe all to God.

"Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's... ". With or without money, remember that God is there for you. Therefore, don't misuse it, and make it just what it is: a means to procure goods and not a reason to live! The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, my friends. Use wisdom to discern how to use it to glorify God and live with love.

May God bless you today!

Amen.

Daily Devotional: Suffering to Persevere

Romans 5:3-5

3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Lord knows that I have been through my own suffering, as we all have, relative to our situations. I continue towards a better day, hoping that I can make the right choices.

As human beings, our plight is to endure and be remade in the process. There is not one success story that I have read that doesn't specifically discuss the trials that came with it. It is like we are going through a refining process, readying ourselves for the future.

So, I say that one shouldn't shy away from hardship. It will come, in one form our another. Your character will result from the way you handle those very problems. We have choices to make during those times, and God willing, they will be the right ones.

Even, if things turn out bad, do not despair. For this is but a time, and it will pass. When it passes, you will be all the better for it.

Blessings.

May Jesus be the light to your darkened path, and a shelter during the storm.

Daily Devotional: Pray for Rain Amidst the Drought

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
– 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (NIV)

We expect God to forgive us, but often we forget that we still must repent for our sins. We must seek God in earnest, asking not only for forgiveness, but for guidance.  We look toward him for deliverance, and we must find our way here, on the earthly plain while he works outside of time.

God does not condemn us to torment and pain. Often, we find ourselves on this path due to the problems we face and what we do to each other.  We are all connected.  Each and every one of us is linked, and what we do individually will eventually affect someone else; and so on, and so forth.  Surely, you did not think you were here on this planet, alone, eking out your existence in lonesome drudgery? No, my friends. We are here, together.  And until we understand this mere fact, that we share an eternal and fateful connection, we will consistently suffer each other's hurt over and over again.

Humility is not something one comes by easily.  It takes effort to admit you are wrong.  You, who have committed sin against another, will likely not admit it to their face.  We barely like to admit that we are wrong. Isn't that sad?  But God in Heaven shows us that forgiveness is not something that is just given, but earned and worked for, because you have to be able to forgive others, first.

May you be blessed today.  Amen.

Daily Devotional: Through The Flame

Isaiah 43:2

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.

My father asked me today if I was feeling alright. He asked me if I was depressed. My father is quite insightful, able to see certain signs in my behavior. I told him that I was fine, although yesterday I had begun to think negatively about my present state of affairs. I had almost succumbed to the thought that I had failed. Yet, my father, being who he is, told me that this is only a temporary situation. Very true. It is indeed temporary.

I told him that even as it was temporary, I felt that we all must reap what we sow. We all pay for the choices we make sooner or later, whether they are good or bad. He was in agreement and conveyed that he felt much the same about his cancer.

But through these trials, God is always with us. He doesn't desert us, no matter how we feel about our situations or our lives. This scripture was perfect for today, and I must meditate on its perfection. It is like a sharp sword; how much the Word is like a soothing medicine. It heals and cuts. The word builds and destroys. May it give you peace and torment, bringing you to the Light of Day.

Amen.

Daily Devotional: Lacking Faith

Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.

– 1 Thessalonians 3:10 (NIV)

And in this, I functionally declare that it is sometimes hard to come to people, God's people in church, and see their faces, knowing how foolish I am and have been.  Often, I cower from within, possibly a symptom of a childhood shyness that should have fallen away long ago.  It is my hope that people do think of me, even so, praying that they see me again, with the intense hope that my faith be multiplied due to their diligence and love.

God almighty be thanked, for he brought Jesus low so that we might ascend the heights.  These "heights" are metaphorical only, as the heart of God is neither in the sky nor out in the expanse of space.  God exists in the hearts of men, so that we may expound upon his grace, and illuminate the dark spots of our world.  It is for us to share, so that we supply what is lacking in one another, that we may be made whole in our faith.

Even today, I wished failure upon myself, seeing my meager struggle as an obstacle, and not a blessing. So easy to forget, in times of distress, that God will supply all that I need.  So easy to fall prey to false pity, goaded by foolish pride, crying foul to all around you for your plight.  But the bed is made by you, and you must lie in it.  Accept your struggles as part of life and the result of what has happened in the world as it is, for we are all connected.  Yes, it is true: what you do will affect others, whether adversely or for gain.

I follow you, dear Jesus, for you saved me from myself.  I look to you in my time of trouble and need. so that I might not despair.  

God bless.