Thurs Devo: Salvation Belongs to Our God

Have you ever heard or sung the praise song – Salvation Belongs to Our God? It has a catchy chorus “Be to our God, forever and ever, Amen.” (Several different Christian singers and groups have recordings of it.)  Whenever I sing it at church, I usually hum the chorus in my head the next day or so.

How does this relate to our study of Revelation? Well, the words to this song come right out of Revelation 7!

Revelation 7:9-12     ⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

¹¹ All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,¹² saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

Are you humming the song yet??? I am.

The multitude in heaven, the angels, elders and four living creatures used these words to praise God right after He sealed His servants that were still living on earth (see last week’s devotional). So, the next time you and I hear or sing this song, let’s remember that as followers of Jesus Christ, we are also sealed for eternity. God has guaranteed our eternal salvation through Jesus the Lamb, no matter what happens to us in this life.

Alice

Free Indeed

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.  A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”  John 8:34-36

My coming to God felt a bit unique.  Many people come to God when times are at their worst.  They have nowhere to turn to, and there they find God.  In my case, it was more of a revelation.  I was not in any stress nor struggling in any way.  For the longest while, I believed that my sins would forever distance me from God.  It was during that time that I came to give what would become my testimony.  I shared with others that I had indeed been sinful, and by no means would I deserve to be in Heaven.  Instead, my goal was that maybe I could save someone through the tales of my mistakes.  This moment of admitting my own vulnerability to sin became the day of my liberation.  That is when God showed me His grace, and thus, I have been able to tell of this and literally hundreds of other stories because of it.

Showing our vulnerability to God is liberating.  I mentioned that many people come to God when times are at their worst.  Most of those will say they had been fighting and losing their battles with the world, and after agonizing in their sinful ways, they looked to God asking Him to free them from the bondage of their circumstances.  Even though we are saved through Christ, many of us still remain susceptible to believing we are not free.  Jesus said, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”  This is our moment of vulnerability.  We know none of us alone are free from this, but Jesus followed this up saying, “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”  Thus through the confessing of our own sins to God, the weight of our past (our guilt, sorrow, pain, suffering, and bitterness) goes away.  To a new believer, they are born again.  To those who have served God for years, they are strengthened and renewed by the power of God to take away that which might hold them down in bondage.

God’s truth gives us freedom.  Jesus said to His believers, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.  And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31b-32)  The truth is Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives, and through Him, we are saved from God’s judgment.  There is nothing wrong with saying we are vulnerable to sin because we all are.  However if we can meet it with the determination and faith that our Lord Jesus Christ saves us, we are free.  What sins are holding you from the freedom Christ provides us with?  How can you free others through the testimony of your own vulnerabilities?  My prayer is that although we sin, we realize that through Jesus Christ we are free indeed.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Imitation

Hebrews 13:7 “Remember those who led you, who spoke the Word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” (NASB)

Hello,

What do you think of when you think of imitation? Some think of fake, others think of borrowed inspiration and yet others may think of looking for a role model. When reading through this verse (and surrounding ones as well) notice the 2 sides of imitations are present: those who imitate, and those are being imitated. Obviously, when Paul directs others to imitate someone else – there is a reason there. I think we all ought to look at how we can be on both sides of imitation.

First side – are you conducting yourself before God in such a way that others would be wise to imitate you?

Second side – do you have someone you can look to imitate – someone that has shown the fruits of their faith and choices with God?

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

The race before you

Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The past few weeks I’ve talked about the plans that we have for our lives and aligning those with God’s plan for us.  I think it’s a great fit to continue this with talking about running a good race and throwing off everything that hinders this plan that God has for us or the race that has been marked out for us. 

Sunday would mark the 96^th birthday of my Grandfather.  About this time of year, I often think of his passing and it takes me back to his funeral.  My Grandfather was very special and being able to sing at his funeral was such a blessing to me.  He truly was a good man. 

This scripture and others that talk about running the race set out for us are often used at funerals.  It’s the end of that journey on earth.  Brothers and sisters in Christ, while we don’t want to have to think about our own funerals at this point, I think we need to in some ways.  We need to be focused on the Jesus, as the ending of our race here on earth, yet the beginning of eternity. 

Will it be said of you or me at our funerals that we endured such opposition and that we did not grow weary or lose heart?  Will others see that we ran our race with perseverance, focused on Jesus?  

Thurs Devo: Servant Seal

Last week we saw how all kinds of people tried to hide from God to no avail. His final wrath and judgment will fall on all those that don’t belong to Him. God’s servants will be redeemed from the final judgment, though. God has a plan in place so that none of His children are lost.

Rev 7:1-3      After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. ² Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: ³ “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 

Are you a child of God? Are you a servant of God? Do you have His seal?

Ephesians 1:13-14    ¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

For those of us with God’s seal, we have a guarantee of a far better life to come!

II Corinthians 5:1 & 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands… ⁵ Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Praise God for our seal, deposit and guarantee!!!

Alice

The Case for Vulnerability - Pt. 2 (Vulnerable As A Child)

About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.  Then he said,“I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.”  Matthew 18:1-3

My pastor talked about some of the ugliness in our lives that we would not want others to see.  God sees all this, and yet, we will still play naïve thinking we can somehow justify this to Him.  For me, I know that I should be honest with God and look to Him saying, “Lord, I am so weak.  I do not know why you love me, but help me in my weakness.”  That is the epitome of being vulnerable; being at the point where you are so desolate and helpless that you can only go to Him and admit your faults.  It sounds sad, but here is the most amazing thing about this point.  That is exactly where God wants us!  He wants us to acknowledge our dependency on Him, and in spite of our flaws, we are perfected through Jesus Christ.  We are wonderful, amazing, and beautiful both through Him and to Him.

If we are to realize that being vulnerable to God is a good thing, then we must also acknowledge that we are both weak to the world and cannot survive without Him.  Jesus clearly spells out where our dependency on God should be at the beginning of Matthew 18.  I often asked myself, “Why would Jesus want us to be like little children?  Doesn’t He want us to grow spiritually to become mature?”  The answer to this is of course yes, but the point Jesus is trying to make is not for us to act like little children that are naïve to the ways of the world and indulgent to it like not knowing when to stop eating cookies from the cookie jar.  It is to understand that little children are both incredibly vulnerable and dependent.  They need nurturing and love from their parents to be taught right from wrong.  Similar to this, we are susceptible to the ways of the world, and thus incredibly vulnerable.  However, we have an all knowing Heavenly Father who we can depend on, and He provides us with both love and protection should we reach out to Him.  Furthermore, His word teaches us how to live a fulfilling and righteous life.

Surrendering all to God is our goal as Christians, and we simply cannot do so without admitting to our own vulnerability and weakness.  Paul took pleasure in His vulnerability in last week’s verse, and this week, Jesus says we all must acknowledge that without Him, we are spiritually weak and vulnerable to attack from the world.  It is only through this admission that we gain access to God’s Kingdom.

Over the next few weeks, I will cover a lot of ground on how God uses our vulnerability to make us strong.  In the meantime, ask yourself these questions.  How can you like Paul find God’s strength in your vulnerabilities?  What parts of your life can you display a child-like dependency on God more?  My prayer is that we spiritually mature into vulnerable children serving an awesome loving and forgiving God.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Good reminder

Hello,

Sometimes we should just let scripture speak for itself….I felt today was that kind of a day. Enjoy Psalm 3  (NASB), and be blessed by the love and protection of our God:

O Lord, how my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
 Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no deliverance for him in God.” 

But You, O Lord, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
I was crying to the Lord with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain.
I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.

I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about.

Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!
For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.
Salvation belongs to the Lord;
Your blessing be upon Your people! 

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill 

Discipleship

8 Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”  Mathew 28

I'll admit, after Christmas, I changed my whole morning routine around and I haven't gotten back into a good regular groove with my daily devotionals, so my weekly devotions have suffered.  Anyways, back in December I stumbled across a book at a Christian bookstore that was a 12 week study guide on discipleship.  I went through the first few weeks, and it's really made me think about my own walk and what I'm doing to build disciples.  I'm going to start trying to pull some of that book into the devotionals here, so you'll get a mini-tour of the book.

If you're interested, it's Real-Life Discipleship Training: Equipping Disciples Who Make Disciples.

Are you making disciples?  How are you doing this?  What tools do you use for this?  I and the other writers have brought up how everyone is seen as a leader by others, but how many see you as a disciple?

More to come in the next 12 weeks.  

Ask, Seek, Knock

Matthew 7:7-8

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

The past couple of weeks I have been writing about our plans verses the Lord’s plan for us.  We started with having a plan and then having our steps directed by the Lord, then we talked about how the Lord’s purpose would prevail.

This week I want to focus on Matthew 7:7-8.  We are told to ask, seek and knock.  In our lives, we will make plans, there is nothing wrong with that.  As long as we are allowing the Lord to direct our steps and prevail in our lives, we should confidently go to him, asking for whatever it may be, seeking his guidance and then knocking and waiting for a door to be open. 

Does that mean you will always get what you want?  Of course not.  In prior weeks we learned that sometimes our plan isn’t exactly how the Lord has it planned for us and he will redirect our steps.  What we ask for may end up changing before the door is opened. 

This week I encourage you to take your requests before him.  Ask him to guide your steps and the plan that you are seeking.  Then look for the door that he opens for you!

Thurs Devo: Where to Hide?

Have you ever played Hide and Seek with small children? Often they hide in very visible and easy to find places! Just the other weekend, two small foster kids (ones we’ve been keeping some weekends) sat next to each other and “hid” on the other side of our large living room chair. Since they couldn’t see me, they assumed I couldn’t see them!

Similarly, we can’t hide from God. Just because we can’t “see” Him doesn’t mean He can’t see us. He sees everything. At the end of time, when He releases His wrath, all kinds of people will try to hide from His wrath.

Revelation 6:12-17    ¹² I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red,¹³ and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴ The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷ For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”

No one can hide or escape from God. Death will not give relief to those experiencing God’s wrath. In fact, eternal death will be far worse. If those running and hiding from God would instead turn and run towards God, He will forgive them, even in the last moments of time.

When God’s final judgment day comes, will you be hiding in dread or resting secure in your relationship with God Almighty? Who do you and I know that even now seems to be trying to hide from God instead of running towards Him? What truths will you and I share with them?    

Alice