Your Daily Crossroad
Our Real Hope
By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. (Hebrews 11:24-26)
The world news is depressing. There seems to be so much suffering in the world. Why must we suffer? As children of God, why must we go through such painful trials and tribulations?
The next point for us to remember is this: Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The peace that Jesus promises is not always consistent with our definition of peace. The peace of God is a feeling of inner comfort and joy, which cannot be explained or humanized. How do we get such peace? We ask for it in faith. We pray. We seek Jesus. We continually lay our cares at His feet. We ask the Lord to give us an eternal perspective so that we can keep our focus on His purposes and not our own. Romans 8:17-25 is a great passage of Scripture that reflects this message of an eternal hope. The Apostle Paul speaks of our suffering with Christ, a suffering that all of creation must endure because of sin. “We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:23)
For us today, our only hope is in Jesus. His living Word is our eternal food. His Holy Spirit is our living water. His very presence in our lives will change our hearts and minds with a wisdom and understanding that goes beyond our earthly desires. Jesus never promised that we would not suffer, but He did tell us to be of “good cheer.” Even though we will have tribulation in the world, we have His peace and He has overcome the world. (John 16:33)
What a devotion to start the week out with, what power and ammunition to stand against the enemy with than all these settings of scripture throughout this devotion. I don’t know about you but today I needed to be reminded of where my true source of hope comes from, Jesus! He has overcome the world and anything we are facing or may be facing. Be of “good cheer”!!! Amen!!
Make today Beautiful!
Today’s Reading is Romans 8:17-25
Faith and Prayer
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
God rewards faith. Christianity started with the faith of Abraham. Faith means that we do not see to believe. So, praying is an act of faith. When we pray, we are acknowledging that God exists and listens even though we do not see Him. God rewards our faith by answering our prayers.
I have noticed that when I first came to Christ, He answered my prayers pretty quickly. It was as if I was in “obedience school” and He wanted to reward my good behavior of including Him. As I grew in my faith, I next noticed that God answered some prayers quickly but other prayers, He did not answer at all. He was then training me to learn how to pray and ask for certain things differently. When I studied the Word to see God’s heart on the matter or asked God to clarify my motives of why I was asking, He would answer those prayers as well as what I asked.
Now, after having walked with the Lord for many years, my prayer life has changed again. I have more of a conversational prayer life than an “ask and believe and receive” prayer life. Now, I talk with the Lord about my requests. I ask Him to reveal His heart to me about the matter and I wait to see if there is any change in my heart as I also search the Scriptures to hear His heart. The requests themselves have now become smaller in comparison to the relationship of talking and listening and learning from Him. There is no request or unanswered prayer that becomes more important than my ongoing relationship with Him. So my faith is rewarded in a completely different way than answered prayer; my faith is rewarded by enjoying His presence in the process.
God is good. Learn to seek Him in faith. It starts with prayer requests and continues until you are praying without ceasing. You will not be disappointed. How could we ever be more satisfied than with the very presence of God Himself?
As I take a moment and reflect on the past weeks devotions I realize prayer has been the main focus. It’s important that we realize how vital prayer is in our relationship with God. It’s not something that should be taken lightly. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. There is so much power in prayer.
Have a beautiful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Hebrews 11:1
Staying Spiritual During the Holidays
And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. (Luke 1:14)
If the holidays are about our faith, family and food feasts, then why do we struggle the most with staying spiritual during these times? Shouldn’t these times bring us peace on earth and joy to the world? But the reality for many of us is that we become emotionally stressed out, financially maxed out and physically burned out trying to keep up and keep it all together. Day after day, we become burned out and stressed out and now, our faith becomes affected as we start questioning God, “Are You hearing me?” and “Why won’t You help me?” Like Eve in the garden, we question God’s goodness and His basic command. Eve exchanged the peace of God for a piece of fruit but we exchange His presence for presents. The serpent tempted Eve to compromise and we know that Jesus called him a murderer from the beginning. He is still up to the same old tricks. We are allowing the enemy to have too much influence at times. He kills our dreams, steals our peace and destroys our hope for the future. Jesus came to earth to reverse the process of death and yet our undisciplined lifestyle of choosing not to obey can lead to negative consequences in our lives.
To stay spiritually minded during the holidays, we need to keep our eyes focused on the Lord and include Him in our thoughts. Instead of talking to ourselves, we need to start talking to Him and then give Him the time to talk back. The enemy will use every scheme he can against us to distract us from maintaining a walk with the Lord. It has been said, “If the devil cannot make you bad, he will make you busy.” To combat the temptations to over commit in your time and finances, we must stay in the Word of God to renew our minds and to surrender to His will over our natural-born desires. Through the Holy Spirit, we can overcome and live a life pleasing to God that brings peace in the midst of chaos.
Joy to the world begins with each of us individually. Joy cannot come without the conscious awareness of the Lord’s promised presence wherever we go and whatever we do. By allowing our thoughts to think about God in the daily routines of life, we allow the Lord to have the ability to move through our actions. Only then can we truly maintain the Spirit of Christmas and sing the song, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”
When I read this I felt it needed to be shared. What truth!! I pray this causes many to slow down and reflect on what truly matter this Holiday season. Slow down and allow God to use you in such a way that your mind set shifts from not enough to I have more than enough when Christ is truly the center of my life. Allow Him to be present. He truly is the greatest gift.
Have a beautiful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Isaiah 26:3
Stop Talking to Yourself
Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. (Psalm 139:3)
Does God want to be involved in every decision we make? Is it necessary to pray about every little detail? Many would say that God doesn’t care, He saved you and He gave you a mind to think things through for yourself. I would completely disagree. After spending years of praying over the details in life, I have come to appreciate all He does for me just by including Him and looking for His fingerprints in my life.
But how does this work? Well, for a great starter, stop talking to yourself and start talking to the Lord. If you are late, talk to God about it. If you are confused, include God in it. Talk to Him as a friend, a counselor and a companion. He says that He is all those traits so get to know Him in those ways. In every relationship, there needs to be two-way communication. Prayer obviously is your part in the communication process with the Lord. But the Bible is God’s way of speaking back to you. So let’s say it is on your heart to buy a new car. Start talking to Him about it. Ask Him to change your heart if it is not His will or to lead your heart in the car buying process. Next, go to the Bible and ask the Lord to give you verses to guide you in this decision. If some verse pops out to you, pray over it and ask God to make His message clearer through that verse. If He does give you the go ahead, do further research with that promise. Keep talking to Him and keep going back to the Word, asking for specific direction. Whatever you include Him in, the Lord will work with you from dealerships to your finances. As you grow in the knowledge of God’s guidance, you will gain a peace in your decision of what to purchase. Regardless of the outcome, you will have assurance of God’s hand in the process. Walking through these decisions in our lives with God is the only way to assure peace. The more we include Him in every decision, the more we grow in our knowledge of Him, which leads to a closer walk with the Lord.
Are you in the midst of a trial or major decision in your life? Are you searching for answers in various places? Knowledge can bring peace, but the knowledge of God brings everlasting peace that continues to surpass our understanding. Start out everyday in God’s Word. Take time to put His Word in your heart and mind. Before the day is through, you will need to hear from the Lord on something that crosses your path. The knowledge of His Word will give you peace and assurance in ways you could never imagine. Try it and see what God will do.
Wow, I needed to be reminded of this today. I must admit there are times I talk to myself and this devotion challenged me to stop doing that and in those moments, not matter what it is that I’m talking to myself about, I need to direct my conversation back to Him. Seek His thoughts and His guidance. He’s truly that real. Ready and waiting for me to acknowledge Him and to just talk to Him about every single aspect of my life. Not just this and that but every single aspect. God is my refuge and strength.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love (John 15:10).
Have a beautiful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Psalm 139