#e-devotion

The Bible overflows with the character of God, and as I have shared recently, these verses lead us to pray Scripture back to God.  We learn about God, how He works and even how He loves and cares for us, His children.

Take a few minutes to read through some verses of the Bible and note the things you learn.  Mark what sticks out.  I am constantly amazed and grateful and encouraged by the greatness of our God.

Psalm 3:3  NLT  

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.

Psalm 5:7  NLT 

Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.

Psalm 7:17  NLT  

I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 8:1  NLT  

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.

Philippians 1:29  NLT  

For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. 

Philippians 2:9-11  NLT  

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

There is so much more.  Those are just a few of the verses that remind us of who our God is and how He acts.

Take some time as the weekend begins to pray.  Pray Scripture and see how God shows up.  Enjoy His presence because He is worthy and we are needy!

See you at church this weekend!

Psalm 82:3-4  NLT  

Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. 4 Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.

You might be keeping up with things that are going on around the world.  Pray for the peace of Israel and the middle east.  Pray for the nation of Cuba and the unrest and desperate economic situation.

My heart is in Cuba and has been in 2019 when I took my first mission trip.  So many people have left a mark on my heart and life.  Friends and ministry partners who are sharing the Gospel in their country.  I am so grateful for God leading me there these 6 and half years.

But the situation is grave.  So pray.  As the verses above say.  Pray for the poor, the oppressed, pray for rescue of the helpless and the release from evil or difficult people.  

Cuba gets worse daily with the need for food, fuel, electricity and hope.  The United States government continues to push change in their country, and I do believe that God will provide change that will lead to the people of this island nation.  Change not just to have what they need but so they will know God and have His hope.

Very simple, don’t stop praying.  Thank you for joining me in this important and life changing prayer.  As Matthew West says in his song, “Don’t Stop Praying”.

What’s your impossible , Your “I need a miracle” What’s got you barely hanging by a single thread What looks so hopeless now  What weighs down your heart with doubt  You beg for a breakthrough but no sign of breakthrough yet 

When you’ve cried and you’ve cried til your tears run dry The answer won’t come and you don’t know why And you wonder if you can bow your head even one more time … 

He’s close to the brokenhearted Saves those who are crushed in spirit The Alpha and Omega knows how your story ends …

Some scripture just stands out when you read it.  Such is Psalm 34 for me.  So many different books of the Bible are part of our lives and have special places in our lives.

Proverbs is the one I am committed to each day, and I challenge you to read it daily linking the day of the month to the chapter you read.  

The Gospel of John and Romans are both powerful and important books for me.  There are so many more that stand out.  Through the years of following God Scripture has been vital to life and also taught me so much.

Another is Psalms.  As a young adult this book came alive to me as I spent time with God and the verses of this book worked their way in me, my heart and gave peace and understanding.

That is why I point you to Psalm 34.  I have quoted some of this chapter earlier this week.  But here are part os the chapter that speak to me.

Psalm 34:1-3 NLT  

I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. 2  I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart. 3  Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together.

The author commits to lift God, to praise Him and to point others to do the same.  David did that many times over.  We should make the same commitment.

Psalm 34:17-19  NLT  

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.  He rescues them from all their troubles. 18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. 19 The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.

More promises from God that David speaks about.  He is our helper.  He is the one who rescues.  He is close to those who broken and hurting.  That is the God who loves us and is for us.

Psalm 34:22  NLT  

But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.  No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

There we will end.  His redemption and love carries us when nothing else will.  Trust God for when you come to the end of yourself and allow Him to be your refuge.  

Romans 1:16  NLT  

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

I am not ashamed.  

That is a powerful statement.  It can be about anything in life that we think about, talk about and have feelings about.  

Shame is a bad thing.  It keeps us held back, knocked down, tied up and unable to be who God intends for us to be.

So does being unashamed mean that we are free and have power?  I think that could be the case and more.  

Paul says he is unashamed of the Gospel because he knows it is the power of God.  Anything we are convinced about and even empowered by will be something we are not ashamed of.

Sunday we complete our study of the book of Romans at our church.  For all of this year we have been looking through the book that began with that theme and truth … I am not ashamed.  And that phrase is tied to our salvation, the gift of God that changed and is changing our lives.

I often wake up with a song on my mind.  It happened again today.

It is a song by Matthew West titled Unashamed and here is the chorus:

I'm unashamed

Of the gospel of Jesus Christ

And the truth that changed my life

For the name above all names

I'm unashamed

And I will live my faith out loud

Take a stand and stand my ground

For the One who took my shame

I'm unashamed

Go check out the song.  Powerful song that reminds us why we do not need shame but can be unashamed.  I encourage us with the last lines of the song as I close this e-devotion and encourage you for the weekend,,,

Lord, I will stand for You

I’ll tell the world about You, yeah

As I look through some old e-devotions I found some thoughts that are powerful.  These are random quotes from e-devotions over the last 7 years.  Read on, and may we be inspired to walk even closer to Jesus.

— It really is a sure thing.  God’s promises are sure, fool proof, strong and so much more. 

— Think about weakness.  Does some weakness have no answer?  I subscribe to a theory that there is weakness that we cannot overcome, but we know someone who can and will overcome our weakness.  That would be God. In our relationship with Christ we find strength.

— David Platt said this: in the church we spend lots of hours working and only minutes praying.  That fact pierced my heart.  I ask you to think through it.

— Jesus said that people were on His heart because they needed a shepherd to guide and love them.  That is what God wants to do for each and every one of us.  He is guide and life.  He is strength and confidence.  He is peace and giver of truth. 

— It is the grace of God that lifts us.  His grace provides our forgiveness of sin.  It is the grace of God that gives us wisdom and direction.  His grace opens our eyes to see and our hearts to understand.  

— I see loyalty in the partners that we serve with.  When we have shared mission and passion, we will make a stronger difference in the lives of the people we serve.  I value relationship and friendship, and the trait of loyalty builds great relationships.

— The narrow way might be difficult to find, but it is always right and blessed.  Don’t discount what is more difficult.  

— Some things take longer than others, and you may very well be like me and have very little patience.  Waiting is often hard.  But our God is always working even when the process is taking some time to be completed.

— Continuing to live in thanks is something that you do even when you don’t feel like it.  It is a natural outcome of the choices you made yesterday or last week and way easier than today.  In fact that gratefulness becomes a reminder each day.

— A friend shares there is a need, a struggle or heart ache, I can pray.  It is an honor to be the intercessor that lifts them to God.  I will pray.

2 Corinthians 5:14  NLT  

Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.

— It is the love of Christ that changes every thing.  It is the love that brings us to God and was that love that made the cross possible.  What He did was for us and made our new life reality.

Bless you!

We use that phrase when someone sneezes, and we use it flippantly in good and bad ways and times.

But this phrase and others end many of the books of the Bible.  It also is something that God reminds us of over and over.

We are blessed.

We are to bless others.

How will we bless the people around us today?

One of my favorite places in the Bible where this is shared brings a powerful blessing.  It is also a shared in a Christian song in recent years.

Numbers 6:22-27  NLT  

Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing: 

24 ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. 25 May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. 26 May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’ 

27 Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.”

Do you choose a verse for the year or a word for the year?

People do different things to prepare them for the new year and to do somethings that make them and their lives better.

As I have said many times it is Scripture reading and prayer that I continue to make a priority and encourage others to do the same.  Also our church has a yearly theme that we begin at the new year.

The Community Fellowship’s theme for 2025 is “ROAD 2025” and focuses on the Roman Road and encouraging each person to share their faith throughout our normal day life.  We are also spending time walking through the book of Romans on Sunday mornings for much of this year.  Romans is an awesome book.

Proverbs is also a daily routine and so important.  I need the wisdom of God, and the Word of God offers wisdom from God and so much more.  Read one chapter each day as there 31 days in many months.

As this week comes to an end I want to share with you some of the verses that continue to be on my mind and digging in to my heart.  Not new verses but important.

Colossians 3:2  NASB  

Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.

Psalm 150:6  NLT   

Everything that has breath shall praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord!

I shared those two verses with Celebrate Recovery on Tuesday.  It was amazed after in the conversations about challenges as well as what God is doing in the lives of others.

Colossians 3:15-16  NLT  

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.

Those last two verses are not new, but they have once again encouraged me to stay on the road, stay close to God, listen in and share often.

One of my convictions is that when someone asks you to pray for them is to stop and pray right then.  Too often we forget to pray.  We don’t mean to, but that is just what seems to happen in life.

Take a moment.  Stop and pray.  Let that person know you are praying for them.  It will make a difference.

James 5:16 NASB

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Do you ever have someone ask for you to pray for them?  I do and it happens often.  

Commit to is stopping to pray for that person when they ask.  That request may come in person or many difference ways.  Praying at that point is important.

When we stop at that moment and pray for them, we say "you are important".  We might even say through our pray that "God cares about you".