Loving Jesus Style

  Scripture: John 8:12 (ESV) Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Devotion:             Jesus declares that he is the light of the world. But in our present day and age darkness and blindness seem to rule the times. The world chases after things that only increase the darkness. From our schools to our families, from east to the west darkness in the form of anti-Christian beliefs are infiltrating our world. Making it difficult to keep our eyes on Jesus and making following him very difficult.             Yet we have Jesus’ promise that if we are truly following him, we will be able to walk in his light. Jesus talks over and over about light and darkness. Why do people seem to gravitate toward the darkness instead of the light. John gives us this reason in Chapter 3 of his Gospel beginning in verse 19:                           19  And this is the judgment: the light has come

  Scripture: Romans 1:16-17 (ESV)             16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Devotion:             This scripture is an important one in today’s cultural climate. The culture is beginning to be openly hostile to the Christian message. Therefore, it is human nature not to want to become a social outcast by saying that you follow Jesus. We do this even though we know that Jesus became the ultimate outcast by going to his death on a cross just because he was telling people the truth about God’s kingdom.             We know intellectually that we should stand up for Jesus and be witnesses for him in the world. However, emotionally, we know that there will be a cost to that stand. Many times, we let our feelings control us and we do not spea

Scripture: Ephesians 6:21 (ESV) 21  So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22  I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. Devotion             We know a lot about a some of the people in the Bible. However, I am afraid that Tychicus escapes our notice. There is a good chance that you have read his name many times if you are a frequent Bible reader and never really stopped to take note of this man. Tychicus is mentioned four additional times in the New Testament books. (Acts 20:4, Colossians 4:7, 2 Timothy 4:12 Titus 3:12) I encourage you to take some time and read what the Bible has to say about Tychicus.             Paul considers him a faithful and trusted fellow minister of the Gospel. Tychicus is often sent bearing letters to the churches Paul was writing to. He must have been someone Paul could r

  Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-16 (The Message) Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner. 14–16      If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others. Devotion:             How foreign to our ears these words in verse 12 must sound to our 21 st century ears. Being glad when we suffer is not our default response. When our life gets hard, we naturally cry out to God thinking he has abandoned us. Peter’s letter indicates that instead of complaining to God if we are suffering for being a Christian we should rejoice. God is at work through our pain and suffering even if we cannot see it.             Jesus taught this same principle in the beatitudes in Matthew’s gospel chapter 5 verses

  Scripture: Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV) 20  But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21  who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Devotion:             We see in these scripture verses our true hope is in heaven. We are called upon to live lives worthy of heaven. Even though we will never be perfected in this earthly life Jesus holds out to us a hope for a better future with him in heaven. Though we may be tempted into inaction knowing what awaits us in heaven we must not give in to this temptation. As Peter says in his 1 st Letter: “ 11  Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12  Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day

  Scripture: Jerimiah 9:23-24 (ESV) 23  Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24  but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Devotion             Ours is a boastful age. Athletes boast of their accomplishments on the field. Politicians boast of their power. Business men and women boast of their wealth. It seems that there is no end to how much boasting there is to be done in our culture today. We are not a humble society. We seek to promote ourselves as much as possible. Our pride knows no end. We even boast about doing things that are in violation of God’s laws and man’s laws. Thus, we flout all restraint. We declare ourselves to be the rulers over our own sovereign selves and deny that laws are valid.

  Scripture: Matthew 6:31-34 (NLT) 31  “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 34  “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.   Devotion:             Anxiety, this world is full of anxiety. These verses above seem to be asking the impossible of us, don’t they? Most of us probably can’t make it even one hour without a worrying thought crossing our mind. It is human nature to worry. Today’s fast paced lifestyle with all its demands on us contribute to our insecurities and anxiety. We seem to live in a way that breeds anxiety in our hearts. We must find another way to live in order to be free from worry and anxiety.             The f

  Scripture: Psalm 118:13 (NIV) 13  I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me. 14  The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.   Devotion:             The psalmist here declares that even though enemies were about to triumph over him that the Lord came to his defense. So, we may know that no matter what kind of trial we may be going through today the Lord is there to help us. The Apostle Paul writes of similar circumstances in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (ESV) “ 8  We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10  always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”             Paul’s message is the same as the psalmist. It shows that Paul faced dire circumstances in his life and ministry, however, he was confident that the Lord Jesus would always be there to rescue him f

  Scripture: Psalm 32:5 (NLT) 5  Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.   1 John 1:9 (NIV) 9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.   Devotion:             In this scripture, we see that our God is a forgiving God. One who delights in hearing our confession and then likewise delights in forgiving our sins. These verses have been a great comfort to me. I don’t know about you but I still sin. It seems even when I am trying my hardest not to sin that I sin all the more. I agree with Paul as he writes in Romans 7:21-23 (NRSV) 21  So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22  For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23  but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me

  Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:6 (NRSV) 6  So then let us not fall asleep as others do but let us keep awake and be sober . Devotion:             Now we finish our examination of “Woke” culture. We have shown over the past two devotions that this system of beliefs is really a new religion seeking supremacy over all other forms of religious belief. As it closely related to socialism and communism it is important to see that it wants to end the democratic system of government and replace it with a radical form of socialist style government. A system where the government controls all aspects of ones life including what, if any, religious freedom is allowed.             The thought of such a government becoming a reality in the United States of America ought to keep us, as Christians, up at night. We must be knocking on the door of heaven at all times of the day and night with our prayers and petitions to God that such a thing will never be allowed in this country. We must become

  Scripture: Romans 13:11-12 (NRSV) . . . you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12  the night is far gone, the day is near. Devotion:             It is truly time to wake up as a church. We have slept too long in a life of ease and complacency. There are dark clouds rising and they are menacing the very freedom we have in Christ. Today, we continue to look into what being “woke” really means. We will look at something called Critical Race Theory or CRT and examine why the Christian church should be all about defeating this tool that comes from the Devil himself.             CRT is a way of looking at reality in which all people can be divided into two groups. They are the oppressor and the oppressed. There are many ways one can be labeled an oppressor. In race for example white people are all oppressors. It does not matter whether you are actually actively oppressing peop

         Scripture: Eph 5:14 (ESV) “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”   Devotion:             In these troubled days in America as well as the rest of the “western” world we are seeing the introduction and triumph of a counterfeit religion called “wokeness”. It is chiefly made up of a conglomeration of different elements that together represent a great threat to Christianity and the culture of the world as we know it. Today’s Christian should not be either fearful of this new religion or try to sleep through it and hope to wake up after the threat has past.             In the end Christians have nothing to fear because the Bible assures us that the cause of Christ will have the ultimate victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Nevertheless, we must wake up as a body of believers and proclaim the love of God for humankind and the truth of salvation through God’s beloved son Jesus Christ. In this world we, as the church, must stan

Scripture: Psalm 10:1 (ESV) 10  Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?  Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Devotion:             In our last devotion we considered why we try to hide from God. The answer we found was pretty straightforward. We hide because we sin, and we don’t want to confess our sin to God for whatever reason. The cure is easy confess your sin and stop hiding your sin. Today we consider the opposite situation. Why does God sometimes appear to be hiding from us? This is a more perplexing problem. One that I won’t be able to solve in my 700 word devotion. But let’s lay out a few basics here.               The reality of the hidden God appears throughout scripture. Sometimes God gives us the reason for his hiddenness as in Deuteronomy 31: “ 18  And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.” Here Israel’s rebellion and sin caused God to abandon his children to their sin.

  Psalm 139:11-12 (NIV)       11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me           and the light become night around me,”        12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;           the night will shine like the day,           for darkness is as light to you.  Prayer Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who watch, or work, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep, Tend the sick, give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soon the suffering, comfort the afflicted, shield the joyous, And all for your love's sake, Amen

  Mid afternoon Prayer Living Loving God By your power the hours of the day wear on, but there is still much we need to do Keep us under your watchful care and strengthen our weary bodies, may we not forget you. Help us to be aware of your presence and your love all around us at the close of this day. In the name of Christ Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit Amen

  Let us begin our noontime prayer with Psalm 113:1-3 (NRSV)     1      Praise the LORD!      Praise, O servants of the LORD;      praise the name of the LORD.      2      Blessed be the name of the LORD      from this time on and forevermore.      3      From the rising of the sun to its setting      the name of the LORD is to be praised.  Let us pray Risen Savior at this hour you hung upon the cross stretching out your loving arms for our salvation Send forth your Holy Spirit into our hearts to lead us in paths of righteousness to comfort us in all our brokenness and lead us in the ways of truth; Thru Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

  O God make haste to help us Send your Holy Spirit to us without delay, Flood our souls with your grace. Let us proclaim your praise with our whole body, mind and soul. Set our love on fire for you and for our neighborhood Empower us with your presence, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit In the name of the triune God we ask this. Amen

  Scripture: Genesis 3:8-10 (NIV) 8  Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9  But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10  He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so, I hid.” Devotion:             Adam and Eve knew they had sinned from the first moment they partook of the fruit of the forbidden tree. So, when they heard God walking in the garden calling for them, they went and hid themselves as best they could. God found them anyway, God always does. Hear now the words from Psalm 139 (ESV) 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

  Morning Prayer 2 Psalm 63 1         O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2         So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3         Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4         So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. 5         My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips 6         when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7         for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings, I sing for joy. 8         My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. 9         But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; 10        they shall be given over to the power of the sword, they shall be prey for jack