Your Daily Crossroad
So Loved
From the heart of God to the cross of Christ, redemption came into view. God was not willing to turn His back on the human race. His love was too deep, His mercy too wide. He longed to recover, redeem, and bring us back to Himself. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
This is what God did for us. God took Heaven’s best—the Lord Jesus Christ—to redeem earth’s worst. The Son of God died on a cross, an instrument of Roman torture made for the vilest offenders.
We, as a race, have been enticed into the service of Satan, but our unfaithfulness and waywardness have not canceled out God’s love for us. Instead, He has made the way for our rescue through His Son, Jesus Christ. He made the sacrifice and paid a price unthinkably greater than our true value. We are redeemed, recovered, and restored, not with money—silver and gold—but with the precious blood of Christ.
What a mighty God we serve!! When I read this devotion I was reminded of an old hymn, He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone to wash my sins away. How true is that? I have followed after Christ all my life and yet every single time I am reminded of His sacrifice for my sins long before I even existed, I can’t hold back the tears. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
Have a beautiful day in The Lord!!
Today’s Reading is Acts 20:35
A Blind Man’s Prayer Request
In Mark 10:46-53, Jesus left the city with a large crowd following close behind. Most likely this crowd was creating a great deal of noise and excitement. A blind man begging for help would be sensitive to hear the activities as the people scuffled by. It is amazing that a blind beggar would know about “Jesus of Nazareth” and somehow would know that Jesus could help him. The blind man cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” While Jesus walked on earth, He answered that kind of prayer frequently. It must have been music in our Savior’s ears, because that is why Jesus came, to grant mercy to blind beggars like you and me. Jesus stopped, called to him and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” This man could have asked for money or help with some other desperate need, but instead he asked specifically for his sight. Jesus said that his faith healed him as the beggar immediately received his sight.
There are many situations and circumstances in our lives where we are blind to the will of God. But how many of us cry out to God for mercy? How many of us really bring our specific need to the Savior to ask for His touch? Too many times, we are faithless to ask for what we really want. Too many times, we hear that Jesus is near but are apprehensive to call out to Him. This blind beggar received what he asked for. This blind beggar knew that Jesus could touch him and change him. He did not hold back but yelled into a crowd full of people. Jesus says in Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”We need to take Jesus at His word. We need to understand that God desires to grant mercy and He wants us (the spiritually blind) to see. Are you in need of His mercy today? Tell Jesus what You want Him to do for you…tell Him that you need Him today. Just think, it is not necessary to yell or push through a crowd – He is just a prayer away.
We must not be faithless and apprehensive as today’s devotion says. Hebrews 4:16 says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Let us never forget this truth, He is just a prayer away. Had the blind man been faithless and apprehensive he would have never received what God had for him. Are you in need of His mercy today? Call out to Him, He will hear and He will answer.
Have a beautiful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Psalms 27:4
Child-Like Faith
My sister and I had a good laugh the other day as we shared a conversation she had with her granddaughter. There was a minor problem with her car engine so my sister reached in the glove compartment for the owner’s manual. As she was looking through the pages, her granddaughter said, “Mamaw, why are you looking in that book?” To which my sister replied, “Because I want to fix this problem with my car.” At that point, little 4 year-old Emma ran into the house and came out with her own book. “Here, Mamaw, this book will tell you how to fix your car.” My sister looked at the book and said, “It is your Bible, Emma.” “Yes, Mamaw, everything you need to know is in this book, even how to fix your car.” What great faith!
I wonder how much more God would fix in our lives if we truly lived out what the Bible teaches us. Little Emma is right when she says that her book has all of the answers. God’s Word has the answer for every question we have and for every step we need to take. The only thing we need to do is to have the faith to believe it and obey.
Pray for that child-like faith today and ask the Lord to plant His Word on your heart and mind. “Meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)
Today’s Reading is Hebrews 11:6
Giving the Gift of Prayer
One of the best ways to love others is to pray for them. Jesus is our ultimate example in this. The New Testament tells us about Jesus praying for others on many occasions, and even shows us that He continues to come to the Father on our behalf. Romans 8:34 says that He “is at the right hand of God, making intercession for us.” Even after showing such selfless love at the cross, the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ continues to express His care for us by praying for us at this very moment.
All around us are people who need us to follow Jesus’s example and love them with our prayers, inviting God’s help and intervention in their lives. We can ask God to help us pray for them, and He will! May our loving Lord strengthen us to generously give the gift of our prayers for others today.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for praying for me. Help me to serve You and others through faithfully praying today. Amen.
When I read this devotion I couldn’t help but think, what an incredible God we serve. He sent His son so long ago to die for us and no, It didn’t just stop there. Jesus’ love for us continues even to this day, what an example, Jesus is continuing to make intercession for you and I, He loves us so much that it didn’t stop at the cross, what love. Even when we may not deserve it, He’s making intercession for you and I. Go today, make prayer a priority and pray for someone today, we all know someone who needs our prayers. Prayer is one of the most powerful tools and the enemy knows if he can quench your prayers he can quench you. Prayer is a gift to be shared, share it with someone today. Time spent in prayer is never wasted.
Have a beautiful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Romans 8:28-34