Category Archives: devotional

A joke or a discipline? (Matthew 4:4) January 2, 2016

Today’s Podcast

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Matthew 1-2

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 4:4
Jesus (quoting Deuteronomy): It is written, “Man does not live by bread alone. Rather, he lives on every word that comes from the mouth of the Eternal One.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

No doubt you’ve heard someone use the first of those words as part of a joke at some time or other. “Man does not live by bread alone. He needs some peanut butter or ice cream or pie or fill in the blank to go along with it.” When words become familiar it’s easy to use them the way we want to make them mean whatever we want. But what purpose did Matthew have in recording these words of Jesus?

First, we need to remember that Jesus is both fully God and fully Man. Do I understand how? Absolutely not! But I believe completely Jesus is one with the Father and Spirit, yet He became flesh, completely Man, one of us for a period of time to become the perfect sacrifice for our sins. If you’ve read my bio, you know I’ve been a minister a long time, so it’s easy for me to believe Jesus is God. But I think those of us who know He is God, part of the triune Godhead, sometimes forget the human side of Jesus.

These words remind us of His humanness. Jesus felt the hunger of His forty-day fast. Some would like to think because He was God He could breeze through those forty days without a problem and just go about His business. I don’t think that is true. I think Jesus went through the same process of discipling Himself in the habits of the Jewish faith as all of the Father’s faithful followers. I believe in Jesus’ humanness, He memorized scripture and sometimes struggled with learning the long Hebrew passages, especially the genealogies in Chronicles.

I think Jesus fasted often as the Hebrew Scriptures and the Jewish leaders recommended as a spiritual discipline, but the physical hardship in doing so still causes real physical and mental pain. Jesus endured it as a spiritual discipline. He knew fasting and spiritual discipline comes from taking charge of His humanness and mastering it. He refused to submit to those pangs of hunger in a way that disobeyed those scriptures He memorized as a child. He knew who He was because He saw in those same scriptures the prophecies fulfilled in His life and the stories His mother told Him about the angel that announced His birth. The shepherds who visited His feeding trough crib. The wise men who brought Him gifts. The rush to Egypt and the lack of children His age across the region.

All those memories Mary pondered in her heart, she shared with her son, Jesus as He grew. He too, pondered them. But He also matched them with the scriptures He learned and disciplined His body to obey God, His Father’s commands. Jesus set aside the throne of heaven to live alongside us. I wish sometimes we could read and learn from His early habits and disciplines. I think from these few words, though, we can capture two habits that were very important to Him.

Jesus made fasting a habit. This forty day fast was not His first fast. He was familiar with the practice and fasted often as a spiritual discipline to ready Himself for the mission His heavenly Father had for His human side. He used those times of fasting to become master of His body, not the other way around. Jesus understood pain and suffering. He knew sleepless nights and hunger. He knew poverty and hard work to just get by in the eyes of the world. Jesus mastered His humanness just like He asks us to do. He did it the same way we can, through practiced disciplines…every day.

Second, Jesus absorbed the scriptures. He knew them. He memorized them. He knew what the Father meant by each word, each sentence, each paragraph and section because He studied them. Jesus made the scriptures a significant part of His life so that when the temptations of life came and His humanness wanted to take an easy way out, He could lean on those scriptures to help Him through the temptations without falling to them. He asks us to do the same.

We can use those few words to start of quick joke, or we can use them like Jesus did. Are you disciplined enough to let the scriptures keep you safe from the snares Satan sets in front of you? Remember the second half of Jesus’ answer to the Devil are so much more important the first. Don’t forget to use them. “Rather, he lives on every word that comes from the mouth of the Eternal One.”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

No one else can do your job (Matthew 3:15) January 1, 2016

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Isaiah 1-6

see the whole year’s plan here

Matthew 3:15
Jesus: It will be right, true, and faithful to God’s chosen path for you to cleanse Me with your hands in the Jordan River.

Today’s Devotional

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Have you ever thought about those first words of Jesus recorded in the first gospel? Why wouldn’t He say something about His mission? Why wouldn’t He affirm John’s proclamation that He is God’s Son? Why wouldn’t Jesus use the opportunity to give a message of encouragement, a call to repentance, or some special revelation to the crowd gathered by the Jordan River that day? It was His perfect opportunity to set everyone right from the very start.

Instead, Jesus chose to share with his cousin, John a very special message designed just for him, but one that also speaks volumes to each of us. Listen to those words again as translated in The Voice, “It will be right, true, and faithful to God’s chosen path for you to cleanse Me with your hands in the Jordan River.”

What was the point of Jesus submitting to John’s baptism? From these words, it wasn’t for Jesus, but for John. Paul tells us Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for us because he lived life without falling to the temptations to which we so easily succumb. He was blameless before His Father. Faultless. Spotless. Without blemish. Sinless. He did not need cleansing or repentance to stand before His Father as a righteous individual.

What Jesus told John and us, though, is you have a mission. Your mission from the Father is to proclaim His word and to baptize, ritually cleanse through this outward sign of inward repentance that they will follow the will of God. Jesus went through the ritual of baptism to announce to the rest of the world He would follow the will of God. But He also told John through His actions, “You’re doing the job God gave you to do. Don’t stop. Keep it up. Even though I’ve arrived and part of your mission is to announce My coming, you mission isn’t over. Keep preaching the importance of repentance and the individual, outward proclamation of that repentance through baptism.”

I think Jesus has the same message for each of us. God has a chosen path for me and a chosen path for you. They look different. He has given each of us different skills, talents, experiences, and desires that direct us on the path He laid out for us. He did that because we are interdependent creatures. Some people like to think they are independent. They are not. No one knows enough or is skilled enough to enjoy life alone. Neither does God want us to be completely dependent. God created us to need each other. He created us to live in community and use the different skills He gave each of us so we can enjoy life in community. We corrupted His plan with that first sin in the Garden of Eden, but Jesus came to bring us back into alignment with God’s perfect plan.

Jesus also told John to cleanse Him with his own hands. I think that tells us to stay engaged. Don’t let anyone else do the job God gives me to do. I can only begin to imagine the blessing John received in baptizing God’s Son. I think about how I felt officiating at my children’s weddings and some of my grandchildren’s dedications, but those must pale in comparison to what John felt that day. But that was the mission God gave John.

When we carry out God’s plan for our life, though, we will have those John moments. I’ve had them praying with someone at an altar and watching them experience the forgiveness of their sins for the first time in their life. Sometimes that altar is in a church. Sometimes it’s at a chair in a home or a table in a coffee shop. Sometimes it was by a truck on a battlefield. But every time, the experience is overwhelming.

God gives each of us missions to perform. How appropriate for Jesus’ first recorded words in this first gospel of the New Testament to be directed to each of us, saying, “Get on with the work I’ve given you to do. No one else will do your job for you.”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

How to pass the test (Revelation 22:7-21) December 31, 2015

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Revelation 22:7-21

Set – Revelation 21-22

Go! – Revelation 19-22

Revelation 22:7-21
The Anointed One: ⁷ Look now, I am coming soon! The one who remains true to the prophetic words contained in this book will truly be blessed.
⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and witnessed these visions. And when I heard and witnessed them, I fell prostrate at the feet of the heavenly guide who showed them to me. ⁹ But he refused.
Guide: You must not do that! I am a servant with you, with your brothers and sisters the prophets, and with those who keep the words contained in this book. Worship God instead!
¹⁰ (continuing) Do not seal up the prophetic words contained in this book for another day, for the finale is near. ¹¹ Let the one given to evil continue down evil’s path and the one addicted to filth continue to be its servant. But let the one who is righteous journey along the righteous road, and let the holy continue in holy ways.
The Anointed One: ¹² See, I am coming soon, and I will bring My reward with Me. I will pay back every person according to the deeds he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and Omega, the First One and the Last One, the beginning and the end.
¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their garments. In the end, they have rightful access to the tree of life and will enter the city through its gates. ¹⁵ The dogs, the sorcerers, those who commit immoral acts, the murderers, the idolaters, and all who love and practice deception must remain outside the gates for all eternity.
Jesus: ¹⁶ I, Jesus, have sent My messenger to show you and guide you so that you in turn would share this testimony with the churches. I am the Root and the Descendant of David, the Bright Morning Star.
The Spirit and the Bride: ¹⁷ Come.
And let everyone who hears these words say, “Come.”
And let those who thirst come.
All who desire to drink, let them take and drink freely from the water of life.
¹⁸ Beware, everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book. Know this for certain: if anyone adds to these words, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. ¹⁹ And if anyone subtracts from the prophetic words of this book, God will remove that person’s access to the tree of life and to the holy city which are described in this book.
²⁰ The One who testifies to these realities makes this promise:
The Anointed One: Yes. I am coming soon.
To which we say, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
²¹ May the grace of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One be with all the saints. Amen.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

The visions I showed John about the end-times neared their end. John fell at the feet of the guide I had sent to help him see the visions of the things to come. But the guide did exactly what I expected of him. John’s guide told him to get up, only I am worthy of worship, all the angels in heaven, the prophets, those redeemed by My blood are brothers and sisters around the throne and all will worship Me together.

John’s guide reminded him that those who are righteous should remain righteous. The question you should then ask is, How? John’s guide hinted at the answer as he talked about remaining faithful to the prophecies in the book John saw. Remember, John’s Revelation talks about judgment, an accounting, rewards, and punishments. It also talks a lot about worship, praise, prayer, blessings, community, righteousness, and a lot of other things about heaven and what awaits you there.

Before you enter, though, the accounting of your life will happen. As this year comes to a close, perhaps it’s a good time to take inventory. Let Me examine your life before I do it at the finale when the stakes are eternal. You have the criteria. I’ve given you the answers to the exam. I didn’t even hide the questions you must answer. Do you believe in Me for the forgiveness of your sins? Have you confessed your sins and asked for My forgiveness? Do you obey the commands I give you?

These are the fundamental questions I will ask you. How do you know what My commands are? Read the textbook I left with you. Make My words a part of your life every day. Absorb them like a sponge soaks up water. Then don’t just read or hear My words, but do them. As you read and hear My word, ask yourself what you will do because of what you’ve heard. As James tells you, “Be doers of the word, not just hearers only.”

A new year starts tomorrow. How about beginning with Me, then every day begin with Me again, and again, and again. You’ll face Me at the finale John talks about in the vision I gave him. Why not get ready for it by walking with Me every day until then. You’ll pass the test if you do.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Fear, will you choose awe or terror? (Revelation 15) December 30, 2015

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Revelation 15

Set – Revelation 15-16

Go! – Revelation 15-18

Revelation 15
¹ Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing: seven messengers with seven plagues—plagues that marked the end. With these the wrath of God reached its end.
² And then I saw something like a sea made of glass mixed with fire flashing through it. Those who had been victorious over the beast, its image, and the number of its name were standing on the sea of glass, holding the harps of God in their hands. ³ As they stand and play their harps, they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.
Victors: Great and amazing are Your works,
Lord God, the All Powerful.
Right and true are Your ways,
King of all nations.
⁴ Who will not fear You, Lord?
Who will not glorify Your name?
Because You alone are holy,
all the nations will come
and worship before You,
For Your righteous judgments have been revealed.
⁵ After I had taken all this in, I looked again; and the inner part of the tabernacle of witness opened in heaven. ⁶ Out of the temple came seven messengers, clothed in pure linen, bright and shining, their chests clad in a golden sash, carrying seven plagues. ⁷ Then one of the four living creatures stepped over to give to the seven messengers seven golden bowls brimming with the wrath of God who lives throughout the ages. ⁸ The temple was full of the smoke billowing from the magnificent glory of God and from His power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven messengers accomplished their God-ordained end.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Let Me remind you again of the song the victors will sing as they stand on the sea of glass before the throne.
Great and amazing are Your works,
Lord God, the All Powerful.
Right and true are Your ways,
King of all nations.
Who will not fear You, Lord?
Who will not glorify Your name?
Because You alone are holy,
all the nations will come
and worship before You,
For Your righteous judgments have been revealed.

Right in the middle of that song you will find two questions. Who will not fear you, Lord? Who will not glorify your name? The answer is – no one. All the nations and every individual of all the nations will fear and worship Me.

But there are two kinds of fear. Everyone will experience one of those two types depending on whether you follow My precepts. The first type of fear is reserved for those who have not follow My ways. That type of fear and trembling comes because of fear of punishment. It equates to the horror of what will befall those damned to eternal punishment. Those who choose their own path choose eternal separation from Me. They choose to face the horror of eternity alone with no support, no love, no light, nothing. They will face eternity absorbed by the horror of complete isolation from their only source of hope, Me.

Think of the synonyms associated with this type of fear, the definition most people think about when they consider the word fear: dread, fright, alarm, panic, terror, trepidation. All negative terms that evoke that fight or fright reflex in you, except when you face My wrath, there will be no fight for I will already be victorious over evil and there will be no flight for there will be no escape from My wrath. There will be only the horror of what is to come forever for those who choose their own path.

But for those who choose to follow Me, there is another kind of fear. Seldom to you hear about that definition today, but My word uses the term “fear God” often. So what does it mean for those who follow Me? For that group, you do not fear punishment and the wrath those who follow their own way do. So what does it mean to fear Me? It means to tremble in awe and reverence.

Let Me give you a simple example. Suppose you had an opportunity to meet the president or the queen face to face. They are ordinary people, but have positions of great political power. You would probably put on your best clothes, make sure your hair is just right, brush your teeth and eat a breath mint or two before your appointment. As his or her staff members check you through the security measures, bring you to the outer offices and begin to move you through the spacial rooms toward your appointment, you probably begin to get a few butterflies. You may tremble a little thinking about the coming meeting. Your tongue might get a little thick and your palms a little sweaty and your fingers a little clumsy as the appointed time approaches. Maybe when you step forward to introduce yourself, you have a hard time getting your words straight because you’re in the presence of one of the most powerful political figures in the world.

That’s the fear My word talks about. Awe and reverence. But now imagine yourself entering the presence, not of a powerful political figure, but the presence of the Creator. The One who performed the miracle that gives you life. The One who put the universe and all its physics in place to hold everything together so you can enjoy the spendor of this vast universe. Imagine yourself coming into the presence of the One who truly holds the power of life and death. The One who cannot be bound by time because I am eternal. Can you begin to understand what fearing Me is all about, now?

Can you begin to understand what it means to enjoy the privelege of coming into My throne room in prayer? Do you understand the awe that comes from My loving you enough to walk in flesh for you? Do you begin to connect with that feeling of fear I want you to have when you come into My presence? I don’t want My followers to experience the negative side of fear, I want you to know and experience the awe and wonder and reverence of entering My presence. Fearing Me is the beginning of wisdom.

Remember, as the song of the redeemed says, everyone will fear Me. Which definition will you choose to embrace? Follow your own way and you will experience the fright, terror, and panic that comes as a part of My wrath. Follow Me and you can tremble with awe and reverence in My presence. You get to choose the path you will take.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

The final harvest (Revelation 14:6-20) December 29, 2015

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Revelation 14:6-20

Set – Revelation 14

Go! – Revelation 10-14

Revelation 14:6-20
⁶ I saw another messenger flying through midheaven. He carried an eternal gospel, bringing good news to all the citizens of the earth—every ethnicity, nation, language, and people.
Heavenly Messenger (with a loud voice): ⁷ Fear God. Give Him glory, for the time of judgment has arrived. Worship the One who fashioned heaven and earth and created the seas and the springs.
⁸ Another messenger, a second, came along.
Second Messenger: Fallen, fallen is Babylon, the great city! She has intoxicated all the nations with the wine of the wrath of her sexual perversion.
⁹ Another messenger, a third, followed.
Third Messenger (with a loud voice): Those who worship the beast and its image, and all who receive its mark on their foreheads or on their hands, ¹⁰ will be forced to drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured out undiluted into the cup of God’s anger. And they will face the torment of fire and the agony of sulfurous flames before the holy messengers and the Lamb. ¹¹ The smoke of their torment will rise throughout the ages for eternity. Day and night will come and go without pause or cessation. There will be no end to the torture experienced by those who worship the beast and its image and by those who receive the mark of its name.
¹² Here is the patient endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and remain faithful to Jesus.
¹³ Then I heard a voice call out from heaven.
A Voice: Record this: “Blessed are the dead who have died in the Lord from now until the end.”
Spirit: Yes, they will rest from their labors because their deeds remain with them.
¹⁴ Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, a golden wreath atop His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. ¹⁵ Another messenger proceeded from the temple and called with a loud voice to the One who sat on the cloud.
Heavenly Messenger: Take Your sickle and reap the harvest, because the harvest of the earth is full and ripe and because the time to harvest has come.
¹⁶ Then the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth gave up its harvest.
¹⁷ Just then another messenger proceeded out of the heavenly temple. He also had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Then another messenger (the one with authority over fire) came out from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle.
Messenger of Fire: Take your sharp sickle and gather together the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for the grapes are ripe and ready for harvest.
¹⁹ So the heavenly messenger swung his sickle over the earth, gathered the fruit of the vine from the earth, and threw it into the great winepress, which is the wrath of God. ²⁰ And the winepress was trampled outside of the city, and blood flowed from the winepress. The blood ran deep. It reached as high as the bridle on a horse and ran for the distance of about 185 miles.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Have you thought much about the wrath of the Father when He finally comes to take His faithful home? That last verse you heard today is an indication of just terrifying and how terrible His wrath will be for those who decide to go their own way. When I return to harvest the earth, I will do so as swiftly as a sickle cuts a swath through wheat. One pass and everything in its path is gone.

John saw the results of that harvest. The blood of the guilt poured from the metaphoric winepress he saw in his vision. The blood ran at the depth of a horse’s bridle for 185 miles. Did you ever think about how much blood that was or how many people that might represent?

If the river was only ten feet wide and the bridle was about six feet high, the volume of blood from just the city of Babylon, the great city of God’s wrath represents more than 150,000,000 people. That will be the first city of all the cities on earth that will feel the wrath of the Father when He sends Me to bring My followers home. It will be an awful day for those not protected by the blood of My forgiveness.

I’ve told you that narrow is the path that leads to eternal life and few find it. Not because the Father and I don’t want you to find it. I make it plain for all to see. Few find it because few are willing to sacrifice their selfish desires for My will in their life. The narrow path to eternal life with Me means obedience to Me, not the cry of the world. It means staying focused on Me. Listening to that still, small voice Elijah heard. Walking in the light I give you each day. Living for Me instead of yourself. It’s contradictory to the path the world tells you to walk, but that’s why so few follow it.

Are you ready for My final harvest? Follow Me and you will be.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Our hope of salvation (Revelation 5:1-10) December 28, 2015

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Revelation 5:1-10

Set – Revelation 5-6

Go! – Revelation 5-9

Revelation 5:1-10
¹ And then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One seated upon the throne, a scroll written both on the inside and on the outside. It had been sealed with seven seals. ² Then a mighty heavenly messenger proclaimed with a loud voice,
Mighty Messenger: Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?
³ No creature of creation in all heaven, on all the earth, or even under the earth could open the scroll or look into its mysteries. ⁴ Then I began to mourn and weep bitterly because no creature of creation was found who was worthy to open the scroll or to look into its mysteries. ⁵ Then one of the elders consoled me.
One of the 24 Elders: Stop weeping. Look there—the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. He has conquered and is able to break its seven seals and open the scroll.
⁶ I looked, and between the throne and the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders stood a Lamb who appeared to have been slaughtered. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes (the eyes are the seven Spirits of God sent out over all the earth).
⁷ The Lamb came and took the scroll from the right hand of the One seated upon the throne. ⁸ And when He took it, the four living creatures and twenty-four elders fell prostrate before the Lamb. They worshiped Him, and each one held a harp and golden bowls filled with incense (the prayers of God’s holy people). ⁹ Then they sang a new song.
Four Living Creatures and 24 Elders: You are worthy to receive the scroll,
to break its seals,
Because You were slain. With Your blood, You redeemed for God
people from every tribe and language, people from every race and nation.
¹⁰ You have made them a kingdom; You have appointed them priests to serve our God,
and they will rule upon the earth.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

John got to see some things about the end times that I asked him to reveal to Christians everywhere to give them hope during those dark days of persecution the early church faced from both the Jews and the Romans. While those early believers faced incredible pressures from all sides, I wanted them to know that judgment would come and My followers would remain safe with Me for all eternity. While they could not see the spiritual battles that took place in a spiritual dimension outside their view, John got a glimpse of My victory.

One of those scenes, John saw Me as both the slain Lamb and the Lion of Judah. Before he saw Me between the throne and the 24 Elders, though, John saw all of heaven weeping about a scroll in the hand of the One on the throne. Take note of the reason for their weeping.

No creature of creation in all heaven, on all the earth, or even under the earth could open the seal of the scroll. That’s a pretty significant phrase for all those out there who think I was just a good man, a good teacher, a prophet sent by God like Moses or Elijah or Mohammed. They could not open the scroll. No one or nothing created from the beginning of time could open the scroll. But then I stepped forward.

You see, I wasn’t created. I wasn’t part of creation. I AM. Just as I addressed Moses when he saw the burning bush in the desert that wasn’t consumed in the fire, I AM. As the sacrificial Lamb for your sins, I AM God made flesh for you. I lived alongside you and felt every temptation you feel but didn’t fall to the lies that Satan gives. I was and I AM your spotless, unblemished sacrifice, the price paid for your sins.

Everyone else who comes along to tell you about Me is part of My creation. And everyone and everything attempting to break the seal on the scroll in the hand of the One on the throne of heaven could not because they are created. The messengers around the throne were created. The 24 Elders were created. All was created…except Me, because I AM. I was here before time began and I will be here after time ends. But for a little while I combined Myself with some of your DNA a walked on the earth with you. I AM all God and all Man. I AM your perfect intercessor and I AM worthy to open the seal and the scroll so John could see more of the unfolding of the final judgments against Satan and those who choose to follow him.

So there it is for all those who want to wish away My diety. I was before creation. Never part of creation. I AM worthy to open the scroll because no creature of creation can open it, but then…that doesn’t describe Me. I enjoined human flesh to My heavenly body for a time, I AM still Me, the God-Man, your hope of salvation and life everlasting.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Open and closed doors (Revelation 3:7-13) December 27, 2015

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Revelation 3:7-13

Set – Revelation 3-4

Go! – Revelation 1-4

Revelation 3:7-13
⁷ Write down My words, and send them to the messenger of the church in Philadelphia. “These are the words of the holy One, the true One, and the One who possesses the key of David, which opens the possibilities so that no one can shut them. The One who closes all options so that no one can open:
⁸ “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut. I have done this because you have limited strength, yet you have obeyed My word and have not denied My name. ⁹ Watch, and I will make those of the congregation of Satan—those who call themselves ‘Jews’ but are not because they lie—come before you penitent, falling at your feet. Then they will know how much I have loved you. ¹⁰ Because you have obeyed My instructions to endure and be patient, I will protect you from the time of trial which will come upon the whole earth and put everyone in it to the test. ¹¹ I will soon return. Hold tight to what you have so that no one can take away your victor’s wreath.
¹² “As for the one who conquers through faithfulness even unto death, I will plant that person as a pillar in the temple of My God, and that person will never have to leave the presence of God. Moreover, I will inscribe this person with the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, New Jerusalem—which descends out of heaven from My God—and My own new name.
¹³ “Let the person who is able to hear, listen to and follow what the Spirit proclaims to all the churches.”

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

How would you like to have those words written about you? Limited strength, but obedient to My word. True to My name. Loved by Me. You endured and were patient. Those would be pretty good descriptors for anyone wanting to join Me in My kingdom. When you look around this corrupt world and the enticements Satan throws in front of you every day, a description of your life like those I gave to the church at Philadelphia would feel pretty good.

It’s possible for those words to describe you, though. I did for them the same thing I will do for you if you let Me. Did you notice the words? I have placed before you an open door which no one can shut. Before that I talked about holding the key of David that opens possibilities and closes options. When you give yourself to Me, I’ll use that key for you. I’ll open possibilities, close options, hold open doors that no one can shut. I’ll help you walk through life in a way that lets Me talk about you the way I talked about Philadelphia.

What you must do, though, is walk through those open doors and leave those closed doors shut. The problem with many who say they want to follow Me, they come to a closed door and start slamming their shoulder against it to burst through it. I don’t know if you’ve seen many doors that someone burst through, but there are always cracks and splinters and broken frames involved when you do that. You’ve just ruined the door. I close those doors for a reason. Those places aren’t good for you or at least aren’t good for you at that time. A closed door means stay out. Why do you insist on going in?

I also open a lot of doors for you when you walk with Me. I don’t make you go through the door and often once you pass by the door I close it and you can never go into that door again. But when I open a door for you and you walk through it, I can promise you good things will happen because of it. You might not see the good things, but good things will happen. Opportunities behind those doors are often fleeting and don’t last long, but I make them available as you journey through life.

What made the letter to the church at Philadelphia one of the few without negatives said against them? Because they went through the doors I opened and left closed those I shut. It’s as simple as that. They obeyed what I asked them to do as they journeyed with Me even under heavy persecution. Consequently, I have pretty good things to say about them.

You can enjoy those same descriptors. Just walk through open doors and bypass the ones I close. Listen to Me as we walk together through life. Pretty simple, isn’t it. So why do so few pass that simple test?

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Forever, firm and resolute (Psalm 119:89-112) December 26, 2015

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Psalms 119:89-112

Set – Psalms 117; Psalms 119:81-176

Go! – Psalms 117, 119:81-176; 2 John; 3 John

Psalms 119:89-112
⁸⁹ Forever, O Eternal One,
Your word stands in heaven, firm and resolute.
⁹⁰ Your faithfulness endures to every generation;
You founded the earth, and it remains.
⁹¹ Everything remains today in keeping with Your laws,
for all things exist to serve You.
⁹² If I had not found joy in Your guidance,
then I would have died from my misery.
⁹³ I will never forget Your precepts,
for through them You have given me life.
⁹⁴ I belong to You, Lord; save me
because I have taken care to live by Your principles.
⁹⁵ The wicked lie in wait, anxious to kill me;
I will set my mind on Your statutes.
⁹⁶ I have seen the limit of all perfection,
but Your commands are all-encompassing.

⁹⁷ Oh, how I love Your law!
I fix my mind on it all day long.
⁹⁸ Your commands make me wiser than my enemies
because they are always with me.
⁹⁹ I have more discernment than all my teachers
because I study and meditate on Your testimonies.
¹⁰⁰ I comprehend more than those who are my elders
because I have kept Your precepts.
¹⁰¹ I have kept my feet from walking the paths of evil
so that I may live according to Your word.
¹⁰² I have not neglected Your lessons,
for You, God, have been my teacher.
¹⁰³ Your words are sweet to my taste!
Yes, they are sweeter than honey in my mouth!
¹⁰⁴ I gain understanding from Your instructions;
that’s why I hate every deceitful path.

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp for my steps;
it lights the path before me.
¹⁰⁶ I have taken an oath and confirmed it:
I pledge to do what You say is right and just.
¹⁰⁷ I have suffered terribly, O Eternal One;
give me the life You promised.
¹⁰⁸ Please accept the words I offer willingly, O Eternal One,
and instruct me in the ways of Your justice.
¹⁰⁹My soul is continually in danger,
but I do not forget Your teachings.
¹¹⁰The wicked have laid a trap for me,
but I have not drifted away from Your instructions.
¹¹¹ Your decrees are forever mine,
for they bring joy to my life.
¹¹² I have committed myself to do what You require
forever and ever, to the very end.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

David understood. He starts this section of his meditation on My law with the words, “Forever, O Eternal One, Your word stands in heaven, firm and resolute.” He knew that despite the convenient changes man might want to make in My laws, they stood firm and resolute from the beginning to the end of time. I came from heaven to live alongside you for a time and told you the same thing. I didn’t come to do away with the law, but to fulfill it.

So many people today want to try to change My laws. They say they are old-fashioned, out-dated. They say My law should keep up with the times. What those folks don’t understand is that I made each person. It’s My miracle that allows birth to happen in the first place. It’s My miracle that allows life to happen on this third planet in orbit around this particular star in your galaxy. It’s My design that keeps all of those things in place so you can enjoy this world at My pleasure.

What you forget is that you haven’t changed. I’ve let you learn more about the place you live. I’ve let you discover more about the way things work so you could enjoy more comfort in life. But your desires basically mimic those of your ancient ancestors. You want a better life for your children. You want to live in safety. You prefer health over sickness, warmth over cold, community over isolation. You have not really changed since I first created humankind.

So the precepts of living I designed for you and passed on through My prophets centuries ago are just as valid today as they were then. Just because you want your selfish ways doesn’t mean they are good for you or for the greater community in which you live. That’s really why I gave you those laws in the first place, to remind you that My way, not yours, is how you will succeed in living in community with Me and with your fellow man.

David understood this concept so well, he closed this section of his psalm with these words, “I have committed myself to do what You require forever and ever, to the very end.” David understood that as long as He followed My rules, life would go well for him. Every time he strayed from the laws I gave his people, he found himself in trouble.

Pay attention to David’s meditation on My laws. Live by them and see if you don’t find yourself enjoying life as much as David did when you follow My ways instead of your own.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

God’s commands don’t weight us down (1 John 5:1-12) December 25, 2015

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – 1 John 5:1-12

Set – 1 John 3-5

Go! – 1 John 1-5

1 John 5:1-12
¹ Everyone who trusts Jesus as the long-awaited Anointed One is a child of God, and everyone who loves the Father cannot help but love the child fathered by Him. ² Then how do we know if we truly love God’s children? We love them if we love God and keep His commands. ³ You see, to love God means that we keep His commands, and His commands don’t weigh us down. ⁴ Everything that has been fathered by God overcomes the corrupt world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.
^5-6 Who is the person conquering the world? It is the one who truly trusts that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus the Anointed is the One who came by water and blood—not by the water only, but by the water and the blood.
The Spirit of God testifies to this truth because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ So there are three testifying witnesses: ⁸ the Spirit, the water, and the blood. All three are in total agreement. ⁹ If we accept the testimonies of people, then we must realize the testimony of God is greater than that of any person. God certified the truth about His own Son. ¹⁰ Anyone who trusts the Son of God has this truthful testimony at the core of his being. Anyone who does not trust God calls God a liar because he ignores God’s truthful testimony regarding His own Son. ¹¹ And this is the truth: God has given us the gift of eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² If you have the Son, you have eternal life. If you do not have the Son of God, you are not acquainted with true life.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Let Me tell you a story about love. Once a husband sat his new bride down after their honeymoon and gave her a legal pad page full of the things he expected her to do as his loving wife. Dinner on the table promptly at 5:30. House picked up before he arrived home from work each day. Vacuum the carpet at least twice each week. Mop all the other floors at least once a week. Wash and iron his clothes weekly and make sure his clothes were arranged in his closet in a certain order. And the list went on.

She loved her husband, but lived a miserable life making sure she accomplished each item to his specifications because he checked each week and admonished her if she failed to meet those standards in any way. After several seemingly endless and torturous years, the woman’s husband died.

A few years later the woman met another man and they too fell in love and married. No list appeared when they returned from their honeymoon, though, and the two of them loved each other dearly. Several years later, while cleaning out one of the closets, the woman came upon a box and in it she found that legal pad page of rules her first husband had given her. The list that caused her such misery and tension in her marriage.

As she read down the list, to her amazement, she found that every single item on the list were things she did with joy for her new husband. What was the difference? The rules were not burdensome. She did them out of love. The rules were embedded in her heart and she knew those very things would make her second husband happy and so she did them. Not out of a sense of duty or responsibility, but out of an overwhelming sense of love.

That’s what happens when you love God. Listen again to what John wrote, “You see, to love God means that we keep His commands, and His commands don’t weigh us down.” Like the woman who did all those things her first husband demanded of her, she did for her second without even thinking about it. The difference was love. The difference was a sharing of their hearts.

How do we share hearts? I won’t explain it. I will not explain to you how I become part of you, just as I will not explain how I became both God and Man. The mystery of how I do those things is far beyond your human understanding. Your understanding is finite and I am your God. Just know I can do it and believe in Me. You don’t need to explain it, just have faith. You don’t need to explain the intricacies of gravity to know that things fall, but you believe it. The mystery of gravity, I put into place before creation. My commands I put into place the same way. Just believe and know that My commands are not burdensome.

It’s all about love. Think about what that means for you today.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Blessed are you who believe (John 20:11-29) December 24, 2015

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – John 20:11-29

Set – John 20-21

Go! – John 19-21

John 20:11-29
¹¹ Mary, however, stood outside the tomb sobbing, crying, and kneeling at its entrance. ¹² As she cried, two heavenly messengers appeared before her sitting where Jesus’ head and feet had been laid.
Heavenly Messengers: ¹³ Dear woman, why are you weeping?
Mary Magdalene: They have taken away my Lord, and I cannot find Him.
¹⁴ After uttering these words, she turned around to see Jesus standing before her, but she did not recognize Him.
Jesus: ¹⁵ Dear woman, why are you sobbing? Who is it you are looking for?
She still had no idea who it was before her. Thinking He was the gardener, she muttered:
Mary Magdalene: Sir, if you are the one who carried Him away, then tell me where He is and I will retrieve Him.
Jesus: ¹⁶ Mary!
Mary Magdalene (turning to Jesus and speaking in Hebrew): Rabboni, my Teacher!
Jesus: ¹⁷ Mary, you cannot hold Me. I must rise above this world to be with My Father, who is also your Father; My God, who is also your God. Go tell this to all My brothers.
¹⁸ Mary Magdalene obeyed and went directly to His disciples.
Mary Magdalene (announcing to the disciples): I have seen the Lord, and this is what He said to me . . .
¹⁹ On that same evening (Resurrection Sunday), the followers gathered together behind locked doors in fear that some of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem were still searching for them. Out of nowhere, Jesus appeared in the center of the room.
Jesus: May each one of you be at peace.
²⁰ As He was speaking, He revealed the wounds in His hands and side. The disciples began to celebrate as it sank in that they were really seeing the Lord.
Jesus: ²¹ I give you the gift of peace. In the same way the Father sent Me, I am now sending you.
²² Now He drew close enough to each of them that they could feel His breath. He breathed on them:
Jesus: Welcome the Holy Spirit of the living God. ²³ You now have the mantle of God’s forgiveness. As you go, you are able to share the life-giving power to forgive sins, or to withhold forgiveness.
²⁴ All of the eleven were present with the exception of Thomas. ²⁵ He heard the accounts of each brother’s interaction with the Lord.
The Other Disciples: We have seen the Lord!
Thomas: Until I see His hands, feel the wounds of the nails, and put my hand to His side, I won’t believe what you are saying.
²⁶ Eight days later, they gathered again behind locked doors; and Jesus reappeared. This time Thomas was with them.
Jesus: May each one of you be at peace.
²⁷ He drew close to Thomas.
Jesus: Reach out and touch Me. See the punctures in My hands; reach out your hand, and put it to My side; leave behind your faithlessness, and believe.
Thomas (filled with emotion): ²⁸ You are the one True God and Lord of my life.
Jesus: ²⁹ Thomas, you have faith because you have seen Me. Blessed are all those who never see Me and yet they still believe.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

I love the reactions people have when the Father sends His messengers to meet with them. Most of the time, they recognize them as His angels and fall on their face as though they were dead. All the soldiers positioned around the tomb fell prostrate that morning. The angel’s feet touched the ground, an earthquake shook the ground, and the soldiers fell down as if dead. It happens all the time. They can be really scary dudes when they don’t come to deliver a message to you…or even when they do.

Mary got their rhetorical question that morning, “Why are you crying?” Of course they knew. She didn’t know where I was even though I had told her I would rise from the grave. Her joy overcame her fear…sort of. I’m not sure she knew they were angels yet. Then she turned to Me and thought I was the gardner. Still frozen with grief, she didn’t know who I was.

All that was to change for her and My disciples in just a few short minutes. The angels announcement, My appearance in the garden, then My appearance behind locked doors grew their faith exponentially. The eleven began a mission that changed the world at My direction. Millions believe because of the truth Mary found out from the angel that morning. The truth My disciples learned that evening. The truth of My words and My Spirit in them.

They all believed because they saw Me. Blessed are you because you believe and have not seen Me, but trust in My word and the word of those who have gone before you.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.