Tag Archives: Paul

Get to know God – pray (Ephesians 6:10-23), June 10, 2015

Today’s Podcast

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Ephesians 6:10-23
Set – Song of Songs 1-2; Ephesians 6
Go! – Song of Songs 1-4; Ephesians 6

Ephesians 6:10-23
¹⁰ Finally, brothers and sisters, draw your strength and might from God. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes. ¹² We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places.

¹³ And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground. ¹⁴ Yes, stand—truth banded around your waist, righteousness as your chest plate, ¹⁵ and feet protected in preparation to proclaim the good news of peace. ¹⁶ Don’t forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one. ¹⁷ Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ Pray always. Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how! And keeping all this in mind, pray on behalf of God’s people. Keep on praying feverishly, and be on the lookout until evil has been stayed. ¹⁹ And please pray for me. Pray that truth will be with me before I even open my mouth. Ask the Spirit to guide me while I boldly defend the mystery that is the good news— ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains—so pray that I can bravely pronounce the truth, as I should do.

²¹ I am sending to you Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful minister in the Lord. He will tell you everything that has been going on here with me ²² so you will know how I am and what I am doing. He’s coming with news that will hopefully comfort your hearts. ²³ Brothers and sisters, let me leave you with a blessing:

May peace and love with faith be yours from God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Paul admonishes you to talk to Me, to pray. He tells you to pray always. Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how. Paul demonstrated prayer and interrupted his short letter to the Ephesians with short interludes of prayer written into his letter. Paul believed in prayer.

Why is it so hard for you to grab hold of that concept and understand the importance of prayer in your life? Why is prayer such a battle for you? Why do My children struggle so to spend time talking with Me, sharing their thoughts with Me in quiet times of prayer and meditation?

All My saints discovered the importance of the discipline as part of their growth in their spiritual maturity. You can’t get close to Me without it. It’s a natural progression in maturing your relationship. Just like talking with your friend is important in maturing your relationship with your friend.

Can you imagine a friendship growing if you never spoke to each other? Can you imagine a marriage surviving if you never shared your inner most thoughts? Communication is vital to the success of any relationship. So how can your relationship with Me grow and abound if we don’t talk with each other? Pray is vital to your spiritual life.

So pray. Pray about everything. I’m interested in the smallest items in your life. I’m interested in your joys. I’m interested in your children. I’m interested in your hurts. I’m interested in your job. I’m interested in your phone calls. I’m interested in the clothes you buy and the food you eat. I’m interested in everything about you. So talk to Me.

It’s the only way we really get to know each other.

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.

Watch what you say and do, but smile…a lot! (Ephesians 5:1-10), June 9, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Ephesians 5:1-20
Set – Ecclesiastes 12; Ephesians 5
Go! – Ecclesiastes 10-12; Psalms 94; Ephesians 5

Ephesians 5:1-20
¹ So imitate God. Follow Him like adored children, ² and live in love as the Anointed One loved you—so much that He gave Himself as a fragrant sacrifice, pleasing God.

³ Listen, don’t let any kind of immorality be breathed among you. Any demoralizing behaviors (perverse sexual acts, uncleanliness, greediness, and the like) are inappropriate topics of conversation for those set apart as God’s people. ⁴ Don’t swear or spurt nonsense. Don’t make harsh jokes or clown around. Make proper use of your words, and offer them thankfully in praise. ⁵ This is what we know for certain: no one who engages in loose sex, impure actions, and greed—which is just a form of idolatry—has any inheritance in the kingdom of God and His Anointed.

⁶ Don’t be fooled by people whose sentences are compounded with useless words, empty words—they just show they are empty souls. For, in His wrath, God will judge all the children of disobedience for these kinds of sins. ⁷ So don’t be persuaded into their ignorance; and don’t cast your lot with them ⁸ because, although you were once the personification of darkness, you are now light in the Lord. So act like children of the light. ⁹ For the fruit of the light is all that is good, right, and true. ¹⁰ Make it your aim to learn what pleases our Lord. ¹¹ Don’t get involved with the fruitless works of darkness; instead, expose them to the light of God. ¹² You see, it’s a disgrace to speak of their secrets (so don’t even talk about what they do when no one is looking). ^13-14 When the light shines, it exposes even the dark and shadowy things and turns them into pure reflections of light. This is why they sing,

Awake, you sleeper!
Rise from your grave,
And the Anointed One will shine on you.
¹⁵ So be careful how you live; be mindful of your steps. Don’t run around like idiots as the rest of the world does. Instead, walk as the wise! ¹⁶ Make the most of every living and breathing moment because these are evil times. ¹⁷ So understand and be confident in God’s will, and don’t live thoughtlessly. ¹⁸ Don’t drink wine excessively. The drunken path is a reckless path. It leads nowhere. Instead, let God fill you with the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ When you are filled with the Spirit, you are empowered to speak to each other in the soulful words of pious songs, hymns, and spiritual songs; to sing and make music with your hearts attuned to God; ²⁰ and to give thanks to God the Father every day through the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed for all He has done.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

I’ve found that sometimes you take Paul’s words a little too far when he says don’t make harsh jokes or clown around. In other translations, it says to be sober and you really take it to heart. So much so that people around you think you’re eating lemons all the time. That’s not who I want you to be. Why would anyone want to be around you if you never have a smile on your face?

Can you imagine Jesus attracting children to Him if he never smiled? It’s the friendly face that fascinates children. It’s the smile that draws others to that singular personality. The dole and dreary expression drives people away, it never attracts them to you. Is it any wonder My church has trouble growing when its members look like they had spoiled prunes and leftover mush for breakfast?

I do want you to guard your speech. I do want you to watch your behavior. I do want you to control yourself and keep yourself far from the behavior of the world, but that doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy life. It doesn’t mean life isn’t fun. It doesn’t mean you don’t smile and play and even act silly sometimes. Remember you are My children. And at times it’s even okay to act like My children.

Jesus, while He walked with you, sat and played games with the children. He sang songs with them. He played hide-and-seek with them. He ran in the fields with them. He enjoyed life like they enjoyed life. He told you that unless you approach life the same way children approach life you cannot enter My kingdom. Children approach life with curiosity, faith, trust, joy, peace, contentment – all those attributes that make life enjoyable and put a smile on your face.

Paul tells you when you are filled with My Spirit you are empowered to speak to each other with the soulful words of pious songs, hymns, and spiritual songs. You know where you find those? The Psalms that speak of My joy. The Wisdom books that tell My story, strength, and glory. The Prophets that promise the riches of heaven to those that follow Me. Those pious songs are filled with the joy of following Me. There are no funeral dirges in those songs, but rather hymns of praise to Me.

Life can be full of fun and laughter and joy without crossing the line of bad behavior or speech. After all, I created all good things. Why wouldn’t they bring a smile to your face?

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.

You have a higher purpose (Ephesians 4:14-32), June 8, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Ephesians 4:17-32
Set – Ecclesiastes 7; Ephesians 4
Go! – Ecclesiastes 7-9; Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4:17-32
¹⁷ Therefore, as a witness of the Lord, I insist on this: that you no longer walk in the outsiders’ ways—with minds devoted to worthless pursuits. ¹⁸ They are blind to true understanding. They are strangers and aliens to the kind of life God has for them because they live in ignorance and immorality and because their hearts are cold, hard stones. ¹⁹ And now, since they’ve lost all natural feelings, they have given themselves over to sensual, greedy, and reckless living. They stop at nothing to satisfy their impure appetites.

²⁰ But this is not the path of the Anointed One, which you have learned. ²¹ If you have heard Jesus and have been taught by Him according to the truth that is in Him, ²² then you know to take off your former way of life, your crumpled old self—that dark blot of a soul corrupted by deceitful desire and lust— ²³ to take a fresh breath and to let God renew your attitude and spirit. ²⁴ Then you are ready to put on your new self, modeled after the very likeness of God: truthful, righteous, and holy.

²⁵ So put away your lies and speak the truth to one another because we are all part of one another. ²⁶ When you are angry, don’t let it carry you into sin. Don’t let the sunset with anger in your heart or ²⁷ give the devil room to work. ²⁸ If you have been stealing, stop. Thieves must go to work like everyone else and work honestly with their hands so that they can share with anyone who has a need. ²⁹ Don’t let even one rotten word seep out of your mouths. Instead, offer only fresh words that build others up when they need it most. That way your good words will communicate grace to those who hear them. ³⁰ It’s time to stop bringing grief to God’s Holy Spirit; you have been sealed with the Spirit, marked as His own for the day of rescue. ³¹ Banish bitterness, rage and anger, shouting and slander, and any and all malicious thoughts—these are poison. ³² Instead, be kind and compassionate. Graciously forgive one another just as God has forgiven you through the Anointed, our Liberating King.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Something evil happens today that spoils My greatest creation. A vicious rumor spreads like wildfire that says you cannot suppress the natural desires of humankind. That rumor says every teenager will engage in illicit sex. Every child will steal and lie. Every adult will dabble in lust and pornography to satisfy their desires outside of their marriage vows.

The rumors are not true! I created humankind above that. To say you will succumb to the basic desires of all animals means you are the same as every other animal on the planet. You are not! I created you as higher beings. I created you with the ability to choose right from wrong, good from bad. I created you to choose to follow the path I lay out before you.

If you say you cannot control the base desires of your body, you lower yourself to the level of the creatures I commanded you to control and care for. You lower yourself to the level of your pets, the cats and dogs that run your streets and live in your homes. You are better than that. You can choose your actions. You can discipline your body and refuse to bow to the actions that will cause discord and dissension within society.

The other animals across the globe exist as part of the global ecosystem to provide food for the rest of My creation. From the smallest protoplasm to the largest sea and land creatures, each becomes a meal for another of My creation…except for humankind. I created you to care for the rest of creation. You sit at the pinnacle of creation.

All other creature exist for you. You use their hides for warmth and shelter. You eat their flesh for nourishment. You use their strength to assist in your labor. You train them and keep them for companionship. You control the rest of My creation because you have the ability to refrain from acting on the base desires and instincts that drive the rest of the animal kingdom.

When you fail to constrain those desires, when you act without restraint, when you selfishly fulfill whatever drive you please, you reduce yourself to the level of the rest of creation instead of maintaining your place at its head. I did not give you intelligence to waste it. I did not give you the freedom of choice to watch you abuse others for your selfish desires. Go back to the basics of why I created you in the first place and you’ll find your real purpose.

I created you to care for My creation and to maintain a right relationship with Me. Take off the old garments of selfish, animalistic behavior. Understand that I want more from you as My greatest creation. Know that you exist for something much better. Let Me help you become the person I meant you to be. Put on the new self, modeled after Me so that you can fulfill the work I planned for you from the beginning of time.

You’ll not be disappointed. I promise.

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 power of His Spirit is love (Ephesians 3), June 7, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Ephesians 3
Set – Psalms 18; Ephesians 3
Go! – Ecclesiastes 4-6; Psalms 18; Ephesians 3

Ephesians 3
¹ All this is exactly why I, Paul, am a prisoner of Jesus the Anointed, His representative to the outsider nations. ² You have heard, haven’t you, how God appointed me to bring you His message of grace? ³ And how the mystery was made known to me in a revelation? I briefly wrote about it earlier. ⁴ When you read what I have written, you will be better able to understand the depth of my insight into the mystery of the Anointed One, ⁵ a mystery that has never before been shown to past generations. Only now are these secrets being revealed to God’s chosen emissaries and prophets through the Holy Spirit. ⁶ Specifically, the mystery is this: by trusting in the good news, the Gentile outsiders are becoming fully enfranchised members of the same body, heirs alongside Israel, and beneficiaries of the promise that has been fulfilled through Jesus the Anointed.

⁷ I became a servant and preacher of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace as He exercised His amazing power over me. ⁸ I cannot think of anyone more unworthy to this cause than I, the least of the least of the saints. But here I am, a grace-made man, privileged to be an echo of His voice and a preacher to all the nations of the riches of the Anointed One, riches that no one ever imagined. ⁹ I am privileged to enlighten all of Adam’s descendants to the mystery concealed from previous ages by God, the Creator of all, through Jesus the Anointed. ¹⁰ Here’s His objective: through the church, He intends now to make known His infinite and boundless wisdom to all rulers and authorities in heavenly realms. ¹¹ This has been His plan from the beginning, one that He has now accomplished through the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord. ¹² His faithfulness to God has made it possible for us to have the courage we need and the ability to approach the Father confidently. ¹³ So I ask you not to become discouraged because I am jailed for speaking out on your behalf. In fact, my suffering is something that brings you glory.

¹⁴ It is for this reason that I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ after whom all families in heaven above and on earth below receive their names, and pray:

¹⁶ Father, out of Your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit ¹⁷ so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root. May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded so that together ^18-19 with all of Your people they will have the power to understand that the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced. God, may Your fullness flood through their entire beings.

²⁰ Now to the God who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us, ²¹ to Him be all glory in the church and in Jesus the Anointed from this generation to the next, forever and ever. Amen.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Once again I want you to examine Paul’s prayer. He understood what makes My children different from the rest of the world. He asks that I fill your souls with the power of My Spirit and make love the rich soil where your lives take root. And that you will have the power to understand that My love surpasses anything you have ever experienced in your lives.

You see, the old song that says love makes the world go ‘round got it right. The phrase really is true. Everything I do comes about because of My infinite love for you. The discipline I must give to help you mature, the good gifts I bestow on you, the sacrifices I make for you, everything that I do comes from My spirit of love that drives Me. I am love.

You can experience that love and even demonstrate that love to others when My Spirit lives in you. Some will tell you it’s not possible to live that kind of life, but My word tells you different. My word tells you to be holy, because I am holy. I don’t give you commands you can not keep. But you can only keep them by the power of My spirit in you.

I told you when I was with you I would send My Spirit to live with you and live in you to empower you for right living. So many want to let My Spirit live with them, but not in them. Don’t let that be you. Let Me take control of your life. Listen to Me constantly. Let Me guide your every move. Let Me direct your thoughts. As Paul talks about in his letter to the Romans, let Me transform your mind so that you think like Me.

The transformation comes by letting Me fill you completely. Dying to self and living for Me. It’s that becoming a living sacrifice Paul tells you about in that same letter. Letting go of the selfish desires that come to you and listening to what I have in store for you. Pushing away the desires that the world says you should just automatically satisfy and disciplining yourself to live as I would have you live.

Can you do it? Yes, with the power of My Spirit in you. I will help you succeed. I will strengthen you. Just stop and ask Me. I will show you how.

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.

Building a place for God (Ephesians 2:11-22), June 6, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Ephesians 2:11-22
Set – Ecclesiastes 3; Ephesians 2
Go! – Ecclesiastes 1-3; Psalms 45; Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2:11-22
¹¹ So never forget how you used to be. Those of you born as outsiders to Israel were outcasts, branded “the uncircumcised” by those who bore the sign of the covenant in their flesh, a sign made with human hands. ¹² You had absolutely no connection to the Anointed; you were strangers, separated from God’s people. You were aliens to the covenant they had with God; you were hopelessly stranded without God in a fractured world. ¹³ But now, because of Jesus the Anointed and His sacrifice, all of that has changed. God gathered you who were so far away and brought you near to Him by the royal blood of the Anointed, our Liberating King.

¹⁴ He is the embodiment of our peace, sent once and for all to take down the great barrier of hatred and hostility that has divided us so that we can be one. ¹⁵ He offered His body on the sacrificial altar to bring an end to the law’s ordinances and dictations that separated Jews from the outside nations. His desire was to create in His body one new humanity from the two opposing groups, thus creating peace. ¹⁶ Effectively the cross becomes God’s means to kill off the hostility once and for all so that He is able to reconcile them both to God in this one new body.

¹⁷ The Great Preacher of peace and love came for you, and His voice found those of you who were near and those who were far away. ¹⁸ By Him both have access to the Father in one Spirit. ¹⁹ And so you are no longer called outcasts and wanderers but citizens with God’s people, members of God’s holy family, and residents of His household. ²⁰ You are being built on a solid foundation: the message of the prophets and the voices of God’s chosen emissaries with Jesus, the Anointed Himself, the precious cornerstone. ²¹ The building is joined together stone by stone—all of us chosen and sealed in Him, rising up to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In Him you are being built together, creating a sacred dwelling place among you where God can live in the Spirit.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Prejudice never seems to go away among My highest creation. For some reason, humankind in all its array of colors, sizes, and shapes knows each of its individual race obviously attains the highest level among the races. But that’s just not true. I made them all. Some races have had more advantages than others through the centuries. Some races because of prejudices tried to destroy others. It didn’t work because I won’t let it, but they tried nonetheless.

The cross puts and end to all that when you let it. My love reaches across the racial boundaries and once for all sets aside the petty differences humankind sets in place to distinguish between nations, races, sects, and other groups. The cross makes clear My love for all races. All men and women. Everyone, everywhere.

When I split the veil in the Temple at My death and became the perfect sacrifice for all humankind, I ended the divide between Jews and non-Jews, olive-skinned, dark-skinned, pale-skinned, whatever colored skinned. I died so everyone could be forgiven. All that needs happen is you accept the gift of My forgiveness. Like any gift, though, it must be accepted before it is yours.

When you accept My gift of salvation, you become part of My new kingdom. You become part of that building Paul talks about. Person by person, you act as the stones that build upon the sure foundation of the cross that build a mighty temple in which My Spirit can live and act.

So imagine yourself as one of those stones in a mighty castle or temple. Imagine what happens if you crumble or remove yourself from your place in the wall. The wall weakens. If enough of those stones decide they no longer want to remain faithful to the task of doing their part of maintaining the strength of the wall, the wall crumbles and falls and other stones fall with you.

You see, your part in the structure is important. You might be part of an outer wall for all the world to see or part of a basement supporting wall or one of the inner walls that few will ever notice, but your part in supporting My structure is important. I need you to fulfill the task I’ve given you. And as you’ll remember in ancient structures, every stone is different. No two stones are cut exactly alike. The master mason carefully places each stone to optimize the strength of the wall. That’s what I do with you. I place you where and when I need you most.

Don’t think your placement is accidental. Don’t think I didn’t know what I was doing when I created you. Don’t think My plan is too hard for you or beneath you. My task for you is the one best suited for you at this moment and brings the most glory to Me.

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.

Pray before you read (Ephesians 1:14-23), June 5, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Ephesians 1:14-23
Set – Proverbs 31; Psalms 33; Ephesians 1
Go! – Proverbs 30-31; Psalms 33; Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1:14-23
¹⁴ as the guarantee toward the inheritance we are to receive when He frees and rescues all who belong to Him. To God be all praise and glory!

¹⁵ This is why, when I heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus that is present in your community and of your great love for all God’s people, ¹⁶ I haven’t stopped thanking Him for you. I am continually speaking to Him on your behalf in my prayers. Here’s what I say:

¹⁷ God of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, Father of Glory: I call out to You on behalf of Your people. Give them minds ready to receive wisdom and revelation so they will truly know You. ¹⁸ Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance. ¹⁹ Let them see the full extent of Your power that is at work in those of us who believe, and may it be done according to Your might and power.

Friends, it is this same might and resurrection power that ²⁰ He used in the Anointed One to raise Him from the dead and to position Him at His right hand in heaven. There is nothing over Him. ²¹ He’s above all rule, authority, power, and dominion; over every name invoked, over every title bestowed in this age and the next. ²² God has placed all things beneath His feet and anointed Him as the head over all things for His church. ²³ This church is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is a good one to start your devotions. I hear your prayers. I want to answer them. When you open your heart the way Paul suggests in his prayer for the Ephesians you will begin to understand who I am and what I can do for you. Listen to his request again.

“Give them minds ready to receive wisdom and revelation so they will truly know You. Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance. Let them see the full extent of Your power that is at work in those of us who believe, and may it be done according to Your might and power.”

When you open My word, pray that prayer. Before your pastor begins his message, pray that prayer. When you meditate on Me and what I have for you, pray that prayer. But instead of them and their, make the prayer personal. Replace those words with your name.

I want to open My word to you. I want you to understand what I have to tell you through My word. I don’t keep secrets from you or make My interests in you or my tasks for you difficult to find. I want to have a personal relationship with you that you know is real and vibrant. That only comes if you spend time with Me and you let Me make My word clear to you.

Paul understood the confusion that abounded in the city of Ephesus. These new Christians were surrounded by false prophets who said they needed to abide by the traditions and laws I laid out for the Israelites. That’s not the command I had for them.

Gnostics tried to spoil the gospel with their belief that the spirit and body were wholly separate and you could behave in any way you wanted with your flesh as long as your spirit remained pure. That isn’t true either. You are one entity until you die and your spirit finds itself in one place dictated by the behavior you exhibited in your earthly shell.

Animists tried to convince these new Christians that God was in everything and the idols they worshiped had supernatural powers and so deserved their worship. Again, not so. I am everywhere, but not in everything. I am God with three personalities, functions, manifestations – Father, Son, and Spirit.

I am beyond understanding, but My message to you is not. So pray for understanding. Pray for wisdom. Pray for discernment. Pray that My truth will flood your mind, soul, and spirit so that you will revel in glory of My presence with you and in you. Understand I will guide you if you let Me. I will lead you into perfect peace, if you will follow Me. I will give you riches the world doesn’t know, if you will be My child.

Put Paul’s prayer in your place of devotion. Put it in the Bible you carry to church. Put it in your prayer journal. Put it in a place you will refer to it often and pray that prayer for your self and those around you whenever My word opens 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.

Love brings unity (Romans 15:1-13), June 3, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Romans 15:1-13
Set – Proverbs 27; Romans 15
Go! – Proverbs 25-27; Romans 15

Romans 15:1-13
¹ So now what? We who are strong are not just to satisfy our own desires. We are called to carry the weaknesses of those who are not strong. ² Each of us must strive to please our neighbors, pursuing their welfare so they will become strong. ³ The Anointed One Himself is our model for this kind of living, for He did not live to please Himself. And as the Scriptures declared, “When they insult You, they insult me.” ⁴ You see, everything written in the days of old was recorded to give us instructions for living. We find encouragement through the Scriptures and a call to perseverance that will produce hopeful living. ⁵ I pray that our God, who calls you and gives you perseverance and encouragement, will join all of you together to share one mind according to Jesus the Anointed. ⁶ In this unity, you will share one voice as you glorify the one True God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, our Liberating King.

⁷ So accept one another in the same way the Anointed has accepted you so that God will get the praise He is due. ⁸ For, as I am fond of saying, the Anointed One has become a servant of the Jews in order to demonstrate God’s truth. Effectively this confirms the promises He made to our ancestors ⁹ and causes the non-Jewish nations to glorify God for His mercy. As the Scriptures say,

For this I will praise You among the nations
and sing praises to Your name.
¹⁰ Again the Scriptures say,

Nations, celebrate with His covenant people.
¹¹ And again,

Praise the Lord, all nations.
Raise your voices, all people; let your praises flow to God.
¹² Again Isaiah says,

Then, the root of Jesse will emerge—
He rises to rule all the peoples of the world
who come to Him for guidance and direction.
In Him they place their hope.
¹³ I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Paul spends a lot of time in his letter to the Romans talking about unity in the church, acceptance of people unlike yourself. Recognizing that the inviolate laws I laid down for you are few and simple based on just two, love Me and love others. If you keep these two you will keep the rest.

Love others and love Me and you will have unity. Love looks past differences. Love doesn’t care about the color of skin or the nationality of people. Love looks past language and culture. Love just sees people and their hurts, like Jesus did. Love sees the potential in the lowest of people and the highest of them.

Love looks to embrace all men and women in every station of life. Because love knows everyone needs love and love springs best from a heart guided by My Spirit. Until filled with and guided by My Spirit, people work for selfish motives and love extended works toward selfish ends. But once guided by My Spirit, love takes on a different role in the life of My children.

All My children begin to see others as I see them. You begin to see the potential I see in those around you. You begin to see into the hearts of the hurting souls that cry out for attention in the world you touch. You see opportunities to share what I am doing for you and what I can do for them.

Love changes everything…and brings everything together.

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.

Laws or convictions? (Romans 14), June 2, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Romans 14
Set -Proverbs 24; Romans 14
Go! – Proverbs 22-24; Romans 14

Romans 14
¹ It’s high time that you welcome all people weak in the faith without debating and disputing their opinions.

² Here’s the issue: One person believes that nothing’s off the menu; he’ll eat any food put before him. But there’s another believer—we’ll call him the weaker—who eats only vegetables because the meat is tainted through contact with an idol. ³ If you are an eater of all things, do not be condescending to your vegetarian brother or sister. In turn, those who abstain from certain foods on religious principles should not judge your brothers and sisters who eat meat—if God has accepted them, you have no reason to reject them. ⁴ How could you think for a moment that you have the right to judge another person’s servant? Each servant answers to his own Master, and he will either stand or fall in His presence. The good news is that he will stand because the Master is able to make it so.

⁵ There may be a believer who regards one day as more sacred than any other, while another views every day as sacred as the next. In these matters, all must reach their own conclusions and satisfy their own minds. ⁶ If someone observes a day as holy, he observes it in honor of the Lord. If another eats a particular diet, he eats in honor of the Lord since he begins by giving thanks! If yet another abstains from that same food, he abstains out of respect for the Lord and begins his meal by thanking God too. ⁷ The truth is that none of us live for ourselves, and none die for ourselves. ⁸ For if we live, we live for the Lord. If we die, we die for the Lord. So in both life and death, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ The Anointed One, the Liberating King, died and returned to life to make this a reality: through His death and resurrection, He became Lord of the living and the dead.

¹⁰ So how is it that you continue to judge your brother? How is it possible for you to look down on a sister? We will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹ For it is written,

“As I live, so I promise,” says the Lord, “every knee will bow down to Me.
Every tongue will confess to God.”
¹² So every one of us, regardless of our eating habits, should expect to give an account for our own lives to God.

¹³ In light of this, we must resolve never to judge others and never to place an obstacle or impediment in their paths that could cause them to trip and fall. ¹⁴ Personally I have been completely convinced that in Jesus, our Lord, no object in and of itself is unclean; but if my fellow believers are convinced that something is unclean, then it is unclean to them. ¹⁵ If the food you eat harms your brother, then you have failed to love him. Do not let what you eat tear down your brother; after all, the Anointed laid down His life for him. ¹⁶ Do not allow people to slander something you find to be good ¹⁷ because the kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking. When God reigns, the order of the day is redeeming justice, true peace, and joy made possible by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ You see, those who serve the Anointed in this way will be welcomed into the whole acceptance of God and valued by all men. ¹⁹ Join us, and pursue a life that creates peace and builds up our brothers and sisters.

²⁰ Do not sacrifice God’s work for the sake of certain foods. It is true that all things are clean, but it’s wrong to eat if you know that eating something will cause offense. ²¹ It is right for you to abstain from certain meats and wine (or anything else for that matter) if it prevents your brother from falling in his faith. ²² Hold on to what you believe about these issues, but keep them between you and God. A happy man does not judge himself by the lifestyle he endorses. ²³ But a man who decides for himself what to eat is condemned because he is not living by his faith. Any action not consistent with faith is sin.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Why do you get so hung up on insignificant things? If you think about the laws I gave the Israelites about eating before they crossed the desert, you’ll recognize those laws kept them safe from disease and sickness. There are no refrigerators in the desert. Meat spoils quickly and the scavengers I prohibited them from eating pick up the diseases from the animals they eat.

I gave the Israelites rules about eating and washing for two reasons. First, to keep them healthy and second, as a discipline to help them in their daily disciplines to Me. Do they still apply? For some, they are convicted by My Spirit to keep the laws, but not by all. I hold some to different different disciplines and different requirements than others. Not because the things I want you to avoid are necessarily evil in themselves, but because I know those things can lead you down a spiral of temptation and sin.

Take for instance alcohol. Some are prone to easy addiction. Perhaps you come from a family that drinks alcohol heavily or you carry within you a genetic code that makes you more prone to addictions than another person. If so, I know about it but you may not. For your protection from strong drink, I will have My Spirit convict you of drinking any alcohol at all to protect you from sliding down the slippery slope of alcohol addiction. For another person, I might not give those same directions, although I do command them not to drink to excess.

What I do ask of all people is that you not offend your brothers and sisters by the personal convictions I give you. I give you disciplines that protect you because I know you better than you know yourself. When I give them to you, don’t disobey Me by breaking the commands I give you personally. But don’t expect others to live by your convictions. Know the difference between the laws and convictions. Get into My word and understand My love and the freedom that comes by living in My Spirit. Let Me guide you in all things.

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.

Choices, choices, choices! (Romans 11:25-36), May 30, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Romans 11:25-36
Set – Proverbs 14; Romans 11
Go! – Proverbs 13-15; Romans 11

Romans 11:25-36
²⁵\ My brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be in the dark about this mystery—I am going to let you in on the plan so that you will not think too highly of yourselves. A part of Israel has been hardened to the good news until the full number of those outside the Jewish family have entered in. ²⁶ This is the way that all of Israel will be saved. As it was written, so it also stands:

The Deliverer will come from Zion;
He will drive away wickedness from Jacob.
²⁷ And this is My covenant promise to them,
on the day when I take away their sins.
²⁸ It may seem strange. When it comes to the work of the gospel, the fact that they oppose it is actually for your benefit. But when you factor in God’s election, they are truly loved because they descended from faithful forefathers. ²⁹ You see, when God gives a grace gift and issues a call to a people, He does not change His mind and take it back. ³⁰ There was a time when you outsiders were disobedient to God and at odds with His purpose, but now you have experienced mercy as a result of their disobedience. ³¹ In the same way, their disobedience now will make a way for them to receive mercy as a result of the mercy shown to you. ³² For God has assigned all of us together—Jews and non-Jews, insiders and outsiders—to disobedience so He can show His mercy to all.

³³ We cannot wrap our minds around God’s wisdom and knowledge! Its depths can never be measured! We cannot understand His judgments or explain the mysterious ways that He works! For,

³⁴ Who can fathom the mind of the Lord?
Or who can claim to be His advisor?
³⁵ Or,

Who can give to God in advance
so that God must pay him back?
³⁶ For all that exists originates in Him, comes through Him, and is moving toward Him; so give Him the glory forever. Amen.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Centuries ago I gave a wanderer named Abraham a mission. I asked him to uproot his family and travel to a place he’d never been before. I asked him to follow My directions and I would make his family more numerous than the stars in the sky. I promised him all nations of the world would be blessed through him.

Abraham did what I asked, mostly. He erred along the way and some of the blessings I wanted to give to other nations were curtailed because of his failure to remain completely honest with those leaders. Still his family grew and through his children the world was blessed.

His descendants had the same mission, to bless others through following My directives, My instructions. They forgot their mission, though. They became selfish and hoarded My love instead of spreading it to others. They failed to spread My grace generously and suffered for it.

I came in the flesh to redeem My people once again. I died as a sacrifice for them and for the rest of humankind. I wanted all the nations to understand My desire to bring everyone into a relationship with Me. They didn’t understand My message or My mission and put Me on a cross.

The circumstances that played out from those faithful few that listened to My message and believed in Me spread My good news across Asia Minor, Africa, and Europe and within not long a span all around the globe. Persecution drove My children from one city to another but they couldn’t help but tell the story to others and the news spread.

As My chosen nation rejected Me, My good news spread to every other nation and thousands accepted Me as Lord and Savior. And the number of people who believe in Me continues to grow as persecution continues. There has never been more persecution than today. There have never been more Christian martyrs than today. I’m not talking about name calling or legislation not going your way.

The persecution I’m talking about takes the form of beatings, taking homes, businesses, even children from parents because of believing in Me. Look at what ISIS does to believers. That’s persecution. Look at what Christians face in Somalia. That’s persecution. It happens all over the world. People sold out to Me willingly lose everything because they know what happens next.

Abraham, My Apostles, those in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, and thousands since discovered the joy of serving Me in the face of severe persecution. They knew the short time of suffering in this life is nothing compared to the reward they receive in following Me. It’s time to choose which side you will live on – Mine or the world’s. One leads to eternal life, one leads to never ending death and destruction. I think it’s an easy choice. My followers know they made the right choice.

Which path will you follow? Time is running out to decide.

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.

Do you know what He did? (Romans 10:5-21), May 29, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Romans 10:5-21
Set – Proverbs 12; Romans 10
Go! – Proverbs 10-12; Romans 10

Romans 10:5-21
⁵ Moses made this clear long ago when he wrote about what it takes to have a right relationship with God based on the law: “The person devoted to the law’s commands will live by them.” ⁶ But a right relationship based on faith sounds like this: “Do not say to yourselves, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’” (that is, to bring down the Anointed One), ⁷ “or, ‘Who will go down into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring the Anointed One up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it actually say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the good news we have been called to preach to you). ⁹ So if you believe deep in your heart that God raised Jesus from the pit of death and if you voice your allegiance by confessing the truth that “Jesus is Lord,” then you will be saved! ¹⁰ Belief begins in the heart and leads to a life that’s right with God; confession departs from our lips and brings eternal salvation. ¹¹ Because what Isaiah said was true: “The one who trusts in Him will not be disgraced.” ¹² Remember that the Lord draws no distinction between Jew and non-Jew—He is Lord over all things, and He pours out His treasures on all who invoke His name ¹³ because as Scripture says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴ How can people invoke His name when they do not believe? How can they believe in Him when they have not heard? How can they hear if there is no one proclaiming Him? ¹⁵ How can some give voice to the truth if they are not sent by God? As Isaiah said, “Ah, how beautiful the feet of those who declare the good news of victory, of peace and liberation.” ¹⁶ But some will hear the good news and refuse to submit to the truth they hear. Isaiah the prophet also says, “Lord, who would ever believe it? Who would possibly accept what we’ve been told?” ¹⁷ So faith proceeds from hearing, as we listen to the message about God’s Anointed.

¹⁸ But let me ask this: have my people ever heard? Indeed, they have:

Yet from here to the ends of the earth, their voice has gone out;
the whole world has heard what they have to say.
¹⁹ But again let me ask: did Israel perhaps hear and not understand all of this? Well, Moses was the first to say,

I will make you jealous with a people who are not a nation.
With a senseless people I will anger you.
²⁰ Then Isaiah the fearless prophet says it this way:

I was found by people who did not seek Me;
I showed My face to those who never asked for Me.
²¹ And as to the fate of Israel, God says,

All day long I opened My hands
to a rebellious people, who constantly work against Me.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Do you know someone who needs Me in their life? Do you really believe Me when My words says that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”? Now think of that someone again. Put that person’s face in your mind. Make his or her feature very clear for a moment. Do you want them to be eternally lost or do you want them to find Me?

I hope your immediate response was to find Me. To know Me as their personal Lord and Savior. If that wasn’t your immediate response, please find an altar for yourself quickly! My will, My desire is that all would come to know Me as Lord and Savior. Everyone. Everywhere. In every nation of the world. I don’t want to exclude anyone from My salvation. But each individual makes their own choice.

Now picture that person once more. Listen to Paul’s words again. “How can people invoke My name when they do not believe? How can they believe in Me when they have not heard? How can they hear if there is no one proclaiming Me? How can some give voice to the truth if they are not sent by Me?”

I’m giving you a mission. Proclaim Me to that person. You don’t need to preach. You don’t need to know the Five Spiritual Laws. You don’t need to memorize five books of the Bible before you talk to him or her. I just want you to tell them one thing you know I did for you this week. That’s it. Just in conversation, tell them, “You know what God did for me this week? He…”

Tell them that one thing I did for you. That’s not so hard to do. But it proclaims Me. It opens doors. It plants seeds. It begins to let you witness My hand on your life. It prompts them to let My Spirit work within them. It may begin the process of them letting Me become their Lord and Savior. Can you take that tiny little step to save that someone from eternal separation from Me? “How can they believe if no one tells them?” Can you be the one who tells them the good news about Me in your life? I can do the same for them. Be My instrument of life for someone you know and love.

You don’t even need to worry about whether they believe. Many that listened to Me didn’t believe. But they heard My words and made their choice. You are not responsible for their choice, but when I give you a mission, you are responsible for the mission. Who did I lay at your feet today? Maybe you should pick up the phone!

As Isaiah said, “Ah, how beautiful the feet of those who declare the good news of victory, of peace and liberation.”

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.