Daily Devotions

Archive for July, 2018

Proclaiming Liberty

As the people of God assemble today may their thoughts, their hearts and their actions be about freedom and liberty in Christ.  May they rejoice in the freedom He has given them and may they impart that freedom to others through their love, compassion, words and actions.  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed” (Lk.4:18, GNT)
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Through Our Language

 May the Lord use us, through our language and our attitudes, to inspire others to lift up their heads and look unto the hills from whence cometh their help.  “Now your attitudes and thoughts must all be constantly changing for the better.” (Eph.4:23, Living Bible)
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Something Someone Said

There are people who stopped taking medicine or started taking a medicine because an individual, who had no medical training, said they should and the result was disastrous. There are people who have brought someone into their life or expulsed someone from their life because an individual said they should and the result was disastrous. There are people who have invested in something an individual told them to invest in and the result was disastrous. We should be very wise in deciding whether to live by something said by others and decide the correctness of it by the truths evident in the Bible.  ”…the counsel of the wicked and ungodly is far from me.” (Job 22:18, Amp)
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Mis-beliefs and Mis-understandings

(Kathy Gabler)—Can the Church, after this many centuries of preaching and teaching and experiencing God still have mis-beliefs and mis-understandings about Him and His Word? We don’t want to say, “Amen,” but we can say, “Evidently.”  However, the good news is that as long as we are not stubbornly or fearfully determined to stop and camp out on a “someday” or “no way” or “never now”, God who is faithful intends to open our understanding of “Thy Kingdom come”.  Just like yeast spreading, our understanding should be continually increasing and more and more folks should be realizing that “THY KINGDOM COME” means more than heaven “someday”.  It means more than Thy Salvation come or Thy Religion come.  It means more than Thy Tradition come and even more than Thy Church come!  It might hit a holy nerve to realize that the Kingdom is more than the Church and that it actually encompasses the Church!  The Church can be a touchy subject with us Christians because the Church cradles our concepts of  Christianity.  “Churchianity” provides the platform for our worship and represents God to a community.  Churchianity usually defines our expectations upon God and His Word.  Even so, when we pray, “Thy Kingdom come”, it can rattle Churchianity and initiate changes.  In fact, we need to be aware that “Thy Kingdom come” is going to cause more radical rattles this year, both personally and corporately, because there are some NEW  NORMS in the making.
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Keep Standing in Freedom

If it were not possible to keep standing in freedom, our Lord would not have commanded us in His Word to do just that. He does not want us to be captive to any degree of slavery. We have been set free to enjoy freedom within the auspices of His character and redemptive purposes. Living our lives under the wisdom and direction of the Word of God leads us in the liberty of sons/daughters who know their Father desires nothing less than the richness of that purchased freedom. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has brought us to liberty that we may glorify Him who purchased it.  ”Plant your feet firmly therefore within the freedom that Christ has won for us, and do not let yourselves be caught again in the shackles of slavery.” (Gal.5:1, Phillips)
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Freedom in Christ

July 4th is a celebration about freedom in the USA but we know that, the world over, “if the Son gives you freedom, you are free!”. (Jn.8:36, CEV)  “[Freedom in Christ] It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Gal.5:1, NIV)  “Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.” (1Pe.2:16, NIV)
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July is For Setting Our Eyes on The Goal

The month of JULY IS FOR SETTING OUR EYES ON THE GOAL that is centered in Christ;  for getting a solid grip on His purpose for us.  “It’s not that I have already reached this goal or have already been perfected, but I pursue it, so that I may grab hold of it because Christ grabbed hold of me for just this purpose.” (Phil 3:12, CEB)
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To be in Harmony

As the people of God assemble today, may they come to be in harmony with each other and endure as they are encouraged by the example of Christ Jesus being taught and ministered in their midst.  “May God, who gives you this endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other by following the example of Christ Jesus. Then, having the same goal, you will praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom.15:5-6, GW)
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