Your Daily Crossroad
09
Dec '21
Prepare Your Heart for Christmas
09
Dec '21
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2)
The best place to start is by preparing our hearts for Christmas. We hear all about the hustle and bustle, we feel the joy and sometimes even some sorrow. Whether we face the holiday with excitement or sadness, readiness or overwhelm, we can bring it all to Jesus. And may we experience the gift that was ours from the beginning of time for all eternity.
Dear God, please prepare my heart for Christmas. I long to focus on the gifts You’ve given me more than anything else. Help me not get wrapped up in the must-do’s, to-do’s, and out-do’s of the season, and instead remember that You are with me. Amen
I pray this devotion is a reminder that He is truly the reason for the season.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
07
Dec '21
He is Worthy of Our Worship
07
Dec '21
Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:17)
Complete this sentence: “God is…”
God, in every season, You are worthy of our worship. And so today, help me look for ways to humbly worship You. Allow me to reflect on Your marvelous deeds and Your faithful character. You have created all things with intentionality and care, so fill me with awe and wonder when I reflect on what You have done. Let my life become one continual act of worship. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I pray this devotion blesses you as much as it blessed me. I am reminded of a beautiful song, He’s All I Need, He’s All I Need, Jesus Is All I Need.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
02
Dec '21
Humble Yourself
02
Dec '21
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. (1 Peter 5:6)
Robert Smith Jr. often says, “for every New Testament doctrine, there is an Old Testament picture.” So it is with humility and the servant of God. In the Old Testament, God favors the lowly shepherd.
Think about Abraham and Lot: Lot, taking his place at the table Sodom, and Abraham, tending to sheep in the pastures of the hills. God chooses Abraham.
Think about Esau and Jacob: Esau, the duke of Edom, a great hunter and man for the ages, and Jacob, tending the flocks. God chooses Jacob.
Think about Moses and Pharaoh: Pharaoh, the king of the greatest empire of his day; and Moses, tending sheep on the backside of the desert. God chooses Moses.
Think about David and Saul: Saul, from the house of Kish of Benjamin, called to be king over Israel; and David, tending his father’s sheep. God chooses David.
The Old Testament paints a vivid picture of greatness: a king, keeping the flock; a prince, feeding lambs. And God has not changed.
When King Jesus arrives, God first tells the shepherds (Lk. 2). The news of the Great Shepherd comes first to the lowly shepherds because God never divorces humility from greatness.
So many of us seek to be great.
Remember that no one in God’s kingdom can sit high on a throne unless they are first found sitting low in a field. God never divorces humility from greatness.
Powerful devotion. I pray it inspires and encourages you wherever you find yourself in this moment.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
30
Nov '21
Humility Towards God and People
30
Nov '21
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)
Humility towards God and people is essential to the Christian faith. The apostle Paul’s life was marked by humility and self-awareness.
Paul’s humility is most clearly seen in his own self-appraisal.
Paul was born again on the road to Damascus. As he begins to familiarize himself with Jesus and those in the faith, Paul writes to the Corinthians in AD55 and calls himself “the least of the apostles unworthy to be called an apostle because [he] persecuted the church of God (1 Cor. 15:9).
Continuing in his walk, growing closer to God and prominence in the Church, Paul writes to the Ephesians five years later and refers to himself as the very least of all the saints (Eph. 3:8).
Sometime later, at the height of his notoriety, renown, and standing, Paul calls himself the foremost sinner (1 Tim. 1:15).
And then, at the end of his life, never more known and closer to God, Paul tells Timothy to come quickly because his life is ending, a life that is nothing more than a drink offering to God (2 Tim. 4:6). If you know anything about temple offerings, you know that a drink offering is the lowest form of offering, reserved for the poorest of poor.
Think about Paul’s spiritual progression and keen self-awareness: a proud, self-righteous Pharisee to the foremost of sinners. Only a person of genuine humility would describe himself in such terms.
From where did Paul’s self-awareness come?
Paul knew that the closer he got to God, the more he needed God. The closer he got to the light of Christ, the more he saw his sin and corruption. Paul had genuinely tasted grace, which made him thirst and hunger for grace all of his days.
In light of God’s grace, where do you see yourself today?
A spiritual giant, do you believe that you have arrived? Or, like Paul, are you so close to God, seeing Him for who He is, that you realize your enormous need for God?
A true spiritual giant knows that he stands as an impoverished dwarf before God.
Fantastic devotion. I pray it blesses you.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!