Thursday Devotional - God is With Us When Satan Attacks 6/16/22

Spiritual battles aren’t always easy to recognize. Peter certainly had no idea Satan was using him to distract, tempt and stumble Jesus. Jesus knew it, though, and was with Peter through it!

Matthew 16:21-24 ²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Jesus told Peter and all the disciples that in order to truly follow Him we must give up control of our lives (which we don’t have anyway). Then, we can submit to God and His plans. The result will be true spiritual victory through Christ and not ourselves.

God was with my niece the other night to bring spiritual victory in the midst of Satanic attacks.

My sister told her husband a few days ago that she felt a spiritual battle going on with their middle child. She thought Heidi was close to accepting Christ as her Lord and Savior, but Satan was attacking her. Then, Tuesday night, after their family Bible reading, Heidi looked at my sister and said “I want to be a Christian!” They talked about what that meant, prayed, and then rejoiced! Afterwards, Heidi was more giddy and excited than she had ever been and began singing “I am a C... I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N!”

Are you feeling attacked by Satan? If so, will you cling to God, denying your selfish and earthly desires and submitting to His plans? He has the victory already!   

Alice

Thursday Devotional - God is With Us in our Stand for Him 6/9/22

Last night we read about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and how they bravely faced death for standing up for the truths of God (from Daniel 3). As we were talking about it, Sarah (8) said if someone threatened her, she wouldn’t be afraid because she knew she would go to heaven, where it is perfect. (I pray the Holy Spirit never lets her lose the confidence she has in God and His eternal plans!)

Our Bible reading and devotional time last night tied right in with the passage of Scripture we had started memorizing the day before from Matthew!

Matthew 10:28-33 ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. ³⁰ And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

³² “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

Where are you and I afraid to take a stand for God? Let’s remember He is with us and won’t let anything happen outside of His plan and care. 

Thursday Devotional - God is With Us in our Disgust 6/2/22

 I walked into work the other day and someone shared how disturbed they were to hear all the terrible news in the world. They said it was especially difficult to hear and see about children being harmed. I agreed.

God is disgusted, too. I was able to share that I just re-read Matthew 18:5-7

⁵ And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. ⁶ “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. ⁷ Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!

I said I know God will bring justice. We often want it immediately, but He will bring it in His time.

However disgusted or appalled you and I are, we can be assured God is even more disgusted. We can trust His timing to rightly judge.

Thursday Devotional - God is With Us in our Marriage 5/26/22

 Today is Joe’s and my 15^th wedding anniversary! We got married on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and Joe planned a surprise honeymoon to Niagara on the Lake. (I knew we were going somewhere, but I didn’t know where.) I had said I didn’t want to go on a long or far away honeymoon, in case we ended up too exhausted after the wedding and couldn’t fully enjoy it! Plus, we needed time to get use to each other – living together, sleeping together, etc.

God takes two people and makes them one. We are now one couple, one family unit, and one tax return! 😊 God’s plan is for us to grow closer to each other as we grow closer to Him. If we are both growing closer to Him, then I don’t see how we can grow apart.  

Matthew 19:3-6    ³ Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

⁴ “Haven’t you read,” he [Jesus] replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ ⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

God is to be at the center of every Biblical marriage. He wants to help marriages. Whose marriage will you pray for today? Pray for them to recognize God’s presence, His desire to help, and His purposes for them as one.

Alice

Thursday Devotional - God is With Us, Meeting Our Different Learning Styles 5/19/22

Are you more of a visual or verbal learner? For the most part, I’m a verbal (or auditory-sequential) learner and Joe is a visual/spatial learner (opposites attract!). We will experience, see, hear or read the same thing and remember different aspects of it.

What kind of learners were the disciples or the women who went to the empty tomb? I’m guessing there were some of both. God took care to cover both types! Not only did God send an angel to sit on the stone to visibly confirm that the empty tomb and violent earthquake were God’s doing (as we saw last week), but God had the angel also verbally confirm this truth.

Matthew 28:5-7   ⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” (italics for emphasis)

God reminded the women and the disciples (and us today) that all this happened just as planned and just as Jesus said! God offered the proof visually and verbally.

God teaches us today both visually and verbally. We can visually read His Word and verbally hear it taught. We can visually see His hand in creation around us and verbally interact with Him in prayer. Through His Word He gives us the big picture (spatial) of His redemptive plan for the whole world and He also gives us specific practical details (sequential) for everyday life.

God doesn’t just have one way of teaching. He reveals Himself in different ways for every learning style. He is the ultimate creative teacher with unlimited variety!

How has God used various ways to teach you His truths?

Alice

Thursday Devotional - God is With Us, In the Proof 5/12/22

Did you know there was an earthquake both at Jesus’ death and his resurrection? God may have seemed silent or far away during Jesus’s trial and crucifixion, but He was behind all the supernatural events that simultaneously exploded.   

Matthew 27:50-54           ⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. ⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Matthew 28:1-4   After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. ² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

Not only were there numerous people who witnessed Jesus’ death and resurrection, but I’m guessing thousands more experienced and remembered the earthquakes! God offered evidence to people who weren’t even looking for proof! I’m sure the guards never forgot either day. Plus, I love how God sent an angel to sit on the stone so that no one could think the empty tomb and earthquake were just coincidence. God was behind it all!    

Who do you know that isn’t even looking for proof from God? Let’s pray their eyes are opened (like the centurion) to see the obvious evidence of God all around them!

Alice

Thursday Devotional - God is With Us on this National Day of Prayer 5/5/22

Did you know the United States has had an officially declared National Day of Prayer for 70 years (since 1952) and it’s been designated the first Thursday of May for 40 years (since 1982)???

How will you pray on this National Day of Prayer?

If you’re unsure, here is an encouraging verse. 

Romans 8:26        ²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

This is one of my favorite verses on prayer because it talks about asking the Holy Spirit to help us when we don’t know how or what to pray!

As we ask the Spirit to help us pray, we’re to pray continually about anything and everything, but length isn’t important.

Matthew 6:7-8      ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

There is a never ending list of people and situations that need prayer, but praying for ourselves is vital daily.

Matthew 26:41     ⁴¹ “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

If you would like to join others in prayer today, there is an organized cross-company (many companies) Teams prayer event and gathering today: Teams meeting link for National Day of Prayer event. I plan to join! There will be leaders from various companies leading through an hour of prayer from 1-2 pm EST (12-1pm UTC). 2022 Theme: Exalt the Lord who has Established Us (from https://www.nationaldayofprayer.org/)

Alice

Thursday Devotional - God is With Us, Without Stooping to Our Threats 4/28/22

Do you know people who say they don’t believe in God because He hasn’t proved Himself to them? Do they expect God to prove Himself according to their own terms?

Even during Jesus’ life, many people wanted Him to prove He was God according to their own terms.

Matthew 27:38-44       ³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Jesus and God aren’t subject to our demands. They are our Creator and not the other way around. God can protect His own reputation however He chooses. God isn’t compelled to react to a human’s threat or bargain. 

God was with Jesus on the cross and even planned it! He wasn’t about to scrap His plan for the sake of proving who He was to a bunch of hard-hearted skeptics.

The next time you and I hear someone threaten God or try to bargain with Him, what are some questions we could lovingly ask them without getting defensive or argumentative?

Some I thought of are as follows:

Do you want to believe?

Are you willing to consider the proof God has already given?

If not, maybe it’s best we end the conversation for the time being. We can continue to pray for them and let them know that we are available should they sincerely want to consider the proofs of God in the future.

Alice

Thursday Devotional - God is With Us, Continually Teaching Us 4/21/22

 As a family, we read through Matthew 26 and 27 last Good Friday and throughout Easter Weekend. Alexis was very interested to know what happened each day leading up to and right after Jesus’ crucifixion. Sarah wondered how the soldiers could watch Jesus and not believe. She thought several must have believed, but didn’t tell anyone. What amazed me, was how Jesus continually captured all the possible teaching moments even while he was being betrayed, arrested, wrongly accused and abandoned!  

Matthew 26:47-56  While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” ⁴⁹ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. 

⁵⁰ Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”

Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹ With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

⁵² “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴ But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

⁵⁵ In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. ⁵⁶ But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.’ Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Wow! Jesus kept calmly teaching, even as they arrested Him!

Like Sarah, I wonder how many people, besides the disciples, thought back to Jesus’s profound words!

In moments of crisis, it is sometimes hard to recognize God’s teaching moments as He walks through the crisis with us. In hindsight, we can often look back and see it, though. Can you think back to a recent crisis in your own life? How did God walk with you through it and what did He teach you?

Alice 

Thursday Devotional - God is With Us as We Remember Jesus on Maundy/Holy Thursday 4/14/22

What happened the day before Jesus was crucified?

The first thing that comes to mind is Jesus celebrating the Passover and instituting the Lord’s Supper/Communion. This is usually the main focus at Maundy/Holy Thursday services.

As I was reading Matthew 26, it struck me how many different conversations and significant events happened on this day before Jesus’ death.

Jesus’ Passover meal/Last Supper with His disciples

Jesus predicted his betrayal

Jesus instituted Communion/Lord’s Supper

Jesus predicted the disciples’ abandonment of Him

Jesus predicted Peter’s denial 

Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane

Judas betrayed Jesus

Peter cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant

Jesus was arrested

Jesus was questioned by the Sanhedrin

Peter denied Jesus

All the disciples abandoned Jesus, but He never abandoned them.

Matthew 26:31-35 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

³² But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

³³ Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

³⁴ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

³⁵ But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.

Not only did Jesus not abandon His disciples, but He told them where He would meet them after His resurrection! What a gracious, faithful and loving Savior!

Let’s ask God to help us be grateful for all the ways Jesus used his last day to give his disciples and us valuable lessons, truths and instructions. Which one will you focus on today? 

Alice