Your Daily Crossroad
08
Nov '19
Stronger Together
08
Nov '19
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
I had a pastor tell me years ago, “Crystal, you should be in church every time these doors are open.” I remember getting mad at him thinking, “Who does he think he is?!” Well, now I understand. He thought he was my pastor, watching over my soul; he knew my struggles and knew the best place for me to overcome was being consistently around the things and people of God.
I see it now as a pastor that those who struggle the most are inconsistent with church attendance. They are inconsistent with Bible study and prayer group. They are inconsistent with small groups and so they struggle and are up and down in their emotions like a yoyo.
If you neglect the Body, you become weaker not stronger and are more susceptible to deception and the schemes of Satan. If you are struggling and are constantly up and down, immerse yourself in the things of God. Stop skipping corporate worship, the Word is going forth and you’re missing that time of praise and fellowship when His presence is so strong. Go to Bible Study and prayer group. It’s more important than Monday Night Football. Your faith is more precious than gold!
Father, we are not those who walk in darkness, but are children of the Light! Help us walk side by side with our brothers in Christ for we are stronger together! In Jesus’ name.
Wow! This devotion blessed me. This very topic has been heavy on my heart lately. It may be a topic that steps all over your toes and you may say as the gal in this devotion said, who do you think you are, but folks, we are living in the last days, more now than ever, the enemy is roaming about seeking who He can devour and as today’s devotion says, If you neglect the Body, you become weaker not stronger and are more susceptible to deception and the schemes of Satan. If you make church a priority, your children, your family will pick up on that, you treat church as if it is simply another activity to take or leave, they will pick up on that as well. Being “too busy” is a myth, people make time for the things that are really important to them. Ask yourself this question today, Is church a priority, do you hit and miss and only attend when it’s convenient? We are stronger together!
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Joshua 24:15
07
Nov '19
Give Thanks for All He has Done
07
Nov '19
Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. (1 Chronicles 16:8)
If anything of yours has ever been lost or stolen and then found, your first reaction most likely was thankfulness. Perhaps you were relieved to be reunited with your purse, keys, or phone. However, imagine if what was eventually returned was the symbol of God’s presence, the Ark of the Covenant.
After God enabled David and his men to defeat the Philistine army, there was one more important task: they were to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. The Ark was now going to be returned to its rightful home and, for this homecoming, David commits a psalm of thanks to the Lord (vv. 8–36). In this poetic song, David thanks God for the wondrous things He has done for the Israelites with His miracles, His judgments, and decrees (v. 12).
It is often easier to give thanks to the Lord for miracles than for judgments, but David reminds us that both are needed and necessary. Fast forward a few generations. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, many people thanked Him for His miracles, but His decrees about Himself made a very different impression on people. His miracles were praised, while His judgments were perceived as threatening.
Even today, we are much quicker to thank God for His miracles than for His judgments. Many people prefer gentle lies rather than hard truths. But God has called us to a life of grace and truth. David reminds his people, as well as us, that we ought to thank the Lord for all the wondrous things He has done. Both His miracles and His judgments show God’s presence in our lives. Thankfully, every day God’s Word gracefully speaks truth into your life and mine.
Can you name one miracle and one hard truth God has given you? Remembering what God has done in your life is one of the first steps to fill your life with thanks. Like David, be sure to thank the Lord for all the wondrous things He has done. If you have time, compose your own psalm of praise to the Lord.
This devotion blessed me. I felt it needed to shared today. God has a great plan for your life, Trust Him. Remember His goodness and Give Thanks for ALL He has done.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is James 1:2-3
06
Nov '19
God In The MRI
06
Nov '19
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. (Psalm 139:7-8)
I had always thought that I was fine with being cramped in enclosed spaces, until the summer of 2011 when I had my first MRI. That’s when I found out that I was wrong; in fact, not just wrong, but very, very wrong. If you’re unfamiliar with an MRI, it is a medical imaging procedure in which the patient is inserted into a tube just large enough for his or her body to slide into. Then (don’t lose me in the fancy medical jargon here), there are a bunch of loud hammering noises, clicks, claps, beeps and a variety of other atonal hubbub.
Initially, the cramped space and the noise didn’t bother me,I actually felt kind of like an astronaut beneath the white lights of the tube. But about ten minutes into the procedure, waves of panic crashed through my body and I cracked. For some reason, albeit irrational, I just couldn’t handle being in that tube any longer. It was a terrible experience. Six months later, I had to get another one and saying no wasn’t an option.
However, when I went into the machine this time, it was a much different experience. I was nervous again but this time I closed my eyes and prayed. Initially I felt embarrassed before God by my unreasonable fear, but I needed Him, so I told Him that. I prayed about life and fear and everything in between. It was the last place in the world I expected to connect with God, but I did, and it was amazing. He was there.
Regardless of my illogical fear and my sporadic conversation with Him, I deeply felt His presence. Afterward, as I drove home, the words of Psalm 139:7-8 came to life for me. Though I hadn’t been at the bottom of the Atlantic or at the top of Mount Everest, God was with me amidst my fear.
No matter the place or situation, God is there, available and unbelievably gracious toward us.
What I love about this devotion is the reminder that is doesn’t matter the depth of your fear or fears, God is always in the midst of your fears, waiting for you to call out to Him. No matter the fear, big or small, call out to Him, He is never caught off guard to your fears or surprised by them, He is all knowing, but it’s up to us to call out to Him. He is indeed available and unbelievably gracious toward us. What a mighty God we serve. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness, Isaiah 41:10.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Ephesians 1:9-10
05
Nov '19
The Pathway to Humility
05
Nov '19
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. (Deuteronomy 8:3)
A friend of mine who’s a young leader recently confessed to me some discouragement he’d been wrestling through. He’d been working so hard and seen great success, but his leaders gave him no recognition or encouragement. And hardest of all, due to some transitions in the company, he’d been demoted to a lower position.
I asked him a seemingly strange question after he poured out his heart to me: “Do you know what the opposite of pride is?”
He tilted his head and asked, “Do you think I’m struggling with pride?”
I wasn’t trying to imply my young friend was prideful. I was setting the stage to help him see his circumstances through a different lens.
So I simply stated, “I believe the opposite of pride is trust in God. Pride begs us to believe it all depends on us. Trusting God requires us to place our dependence on Him. And the pathway that leads us away from pride and into a place of truly trusting God is paved with humility. Humility is never bought at a cheap price. It will always cost us something but will be worth the price we pay.
“Might God be using these humbling circumstances to get you to a place of deep and unshakable trust in Him? If God sees big things ahead for you, and I believe He does, then He must remove all hints of pride. Even if pride is but a tiny thorn in your heart now, when you’re given a bigger position with more recognition, that pride grows from a thorn to a dagger with the potential to kill your calling.”
In the Old Testament, we see God revealing this same kind of pride-stripping process by feeding the children of Israel manna in the desert for the purpose of humbling them. It was crucial that God prepare them to trust Him as they stepped from the desert into their destined Promised Land.
Deuteronomy 8:2 says, And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
When I read this devotion I couldn’t shake the truth behind it. I pray you take away this one truth from today’s devotion, Trusting God requires us to place our dependence on Him. And the pathway that leads us away from pride and into a place of truly trusting God is paved with humility.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Romans 13:6