Morning Devotional March 31, 2018

Psalm 5:12

“For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.”

In this verse, David, who is in a time of great persecution in his life, states that our Lord will bless the righteous. Notice the blessing he speaks of is not fame or fortune. But is the blessing of mercy and grace from God . It is the blessing of God to protect the righteous.

Go back and read the rest of the chapter. David tells of his enemies. David tells of the persecution he suffers at the hands of those who, are not only trying to kill him, but are also spreading lies about him. They were trying to turn even his closest friends and allies against him. But praise God, God compassed David round about with a shield of protection and protected David from those who sought to harm him.

Was this blessing for David only? No. Though we may go through trials and tribulations and persecution in this life we have God's promise of protection if we will love Him and follow Him.

But even for the righteous there are times of rebellion. There are times our love for our Lord falters and we refuse to follow His commandments.

Even David. The man after God's own heart, rebelled at times. If though David was considered righteous he still failed at times. He suffered chastisement from the Lord for his rebellious ways and so do we. But God still counted him among the righteous. How? With all the evil we see in David's life? If you read the story of David you will see he always repented of his sin. No matter how great the sin. No matter how great the chastisement from the Lord for the sin. David always followed the Lord's commandment and repented.

We have been blessed with the book of Psalms. David wrote most of the Psalms collected there. David writes of his love of our Lord. He writes of how he knew he was not worthy of God's grace and mercy but how he was blessed beyond measure by our Lord's faithfulness in loving him.

Where are we today? Do we grief over our sin? Do we seek repentance for our wrongs and rebellions against our Lord? Or are we following the ways of the world with no care of what our Lord thinks?

Child of God, seek not the world or the glories there in. Seek our Lord and His righteousness. Seek to please the One who died to set us free from the temptations of this life. We ought to wake every morning seeking ways to please our Heavenly Father. We ought to be waking every morning begging Him to forgive us of even the smallest of sins. But what are we doing? Are our first thoughts every day of our Lord? Or are they of our job? Or is it our graving of our first cup of coffee and/or breakfast? Or a multitude of other things?

Seek the Lord. Follow Him in all things. Pray without ceasing. Go to bed at night with Him on your mind and wake the next morning with Him on your mind.

O how this is my pray for myself and all who reads this! To be in constant communion with our Heavenly Father. To be able to push aside the cares of this life and of this old sinful world and follow Christ and Christ alone!!!

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional March 29, 2018

Isaiah 61:10

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional March 26, 2018

Acts 1:6-8

“6When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

While our Lord was here on this earth, His disciples asked several times, when He would restore His earthly kingdom. Every time He responded by telling them that the time was not yet and that it was not for them to know the time. We have the same answer today. Many have been asking in every generation since our Lord left when He would return. But we know that time is not yet. We are promised He could come at any time. We are also told to work till He comes.

The Lord's churches are commanded to preach the gospel to all the world. Our Lord gave clear instruction on this. We are to start in our local area first(Jerusalem). Then to our state or province(Judaea) then to our nation(Samaria). Then to the rest of the world. This was the Lord's plan for spreading His Gospel to all the world.

Today we see churches who have sent missionaries or are supporting missionaries all over the world. And what a great work for our Lord these churches have done over the years. Our Lord's Gospel has reached many of His elect all over the world through the work of many of His churches. And praise the Lord many of these works are on going and show no sign of ending anytime soon.

Along with the Gospel, many churches have been established in remote places and even some of those have began to send out missionaries to other areas.

But why are we seeing a decline in the numbers in the Lord's churches in the developed world? Why are so many following after false teachers and false doctrine? Why are the youth and even some older, leaving the true churches and following the ways of the world?

All these questions and many more can be answered in one answer. The Lord's churches have failed at being missionaries in their local areas, in their states/provinces, and in their own nations.

While we have spent untold amounts of money and resources to spread the Gospel and to start churches all over the world we have forgotten our work here at home. Now please understand, I am all for foreign missions. I do believe the Lord's churches have an obligation to send missionaries to foreign lands. But the fact of the matter is while we have been concerned with the rest of the world we have forgotten our own.

I have heard it said many times; “our greatest mission field is here in the United States. In our own backyards.” But what are we doing about that? What can we do?

Christian parents and grandparents, start at home. Make sure your children and grandchildren are trained up in the Word of God. Not just by reading watered down Bible stories from a “children's bible”. Teach them from God's Word. Be an example of Godly parents and grandparents. This is an area we all fail in. We have become so busy in our everyday lives we spend little time as a family learning together from God's Word.

Churches? Start in your neighborhood or your community. Many church building were originally built to support a local community or neighborhood. How many of people in your area attend the church where you are? I see in many cases where the majority and sometimes all of the members of a church drive from great distance because there is not a true church where they live. And that is great that people are willing to do that. But what about the people where the church building sits? Are we reaching out our friends and neighbors with the Gospel? We think we are doing a great work by sending money and supplies to a missionary on the other side of the world. But what about those in our own communities and neighborhoods and cities who have never heard the Gospel? What about those who have heard the Gospel but have never joined a true church or have no idea what the Word of God says about joining a true church?

Then there is our nation. Here in the United States and Canada we are seeing a rapid decline in the things of God in our society. The people have elected politicians who care nothing for the Word of God. Sin runs rampant in our nations. Sodomy and murder of unborn children is the new normal. So many refuse to obey the laws of the land and the magistrates and judges allow the criminals to go free. We live in a society that has become blind to sin. Yet the people(and yes, even God's people) love to have it so. Are we reaching this society with the Gospel? Are we presenting the good news of our Lord and Savior to a lost and dying world?

Churches, follow the Lord's Great Commission. Preach the Gospel unto all the world but don't forget that also includes our homes, or local areas and our own nations. But also remember don't just stop with the Gospel. Make disciples of Christ from those who profess to know Him. Train them in the way they must go. Teach them to follow Christ with every step they make.

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional March 25, 2018

Psalm 5:3

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional March 24, 2018

Acts 16:25-34

“25And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

26And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

27And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

28But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

29Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

32And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

33And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

34And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional March 23, 2018

Psalm 24:10 " Who is the King of glory? The Lord of host, he is the King of Glory. Selah."

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional March 11, 2018

Proverbs 16:18

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Pride is an awful thing. It can destroy families, friends, marriages, and all sorts of relationships. Most times all involved are guilty. No one is totally innocent.

But what about when it comes to God's people?

What about when two individuals or two groups who disagree on doctrine? Even when we are undoubtedly in the right our pride can take over and put us in the wrong. Are we humble enough to let a brother or sister know what God says in His Word without bragging of the knowledge He has given us? The same knowledge they may not have obtained yet?

Now, don't misunderstand here. There are times when, according to God's Word we must not fellowship with some. There will be those false teachers and false prophets that come along that we should flee. Those preaching the doctrines of devils and preaching another gospel. But then there are those, who like us, are willing to humble themselves and seek the Lord's guidance in our disagreements. When both parties can throw their pride out the window and set and peaceably talk about their differences and come away in peace. Even if the matter is unresolved. Or if we can throw our differences aside and enjoy sweet fellowship with the things we do agree upon.

Pride has split many a church and caused many a church to not fellowship with other churches. Pastors and members fail to fellowship because of pride from one or all involved. Pastors refuse fellowship from other pastors because they so pridefully think they are more holy than another or that they have more knowledge than others. We must remember who that holiness and that knowledge came from. Maybe the Lord will use you to teach that one a great blessing and at the same time increasing their knowledge of God's Word.

John tells us in 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” It is true, we must choose our fellowship wisely. Sometimes there will be just too many differences. Sometimes it may even be someone we are closest to that we must flee. And then there comes that time when the one we least expect is the one we can have the sweetest of all fellowships.

We must be careful not to make our circle of fellowship so close that we cut off our own toes.

Praise the Lord when He sends those you can fellowship with. But also praise Him when He shows you those to stay away from. Try the spirits. If they are to far removed from the truth then flee. But if they be of a kindred spirit then cherish the fellowship and praise the Lord for it.

O child of God, do not let pride run your life. Do not let pride rule your life. Do not let pride ruin your life. If you are struggling with pride toward a brother or sister in Christ, humbly submit to the Lord and forgive whatever wrong you think has been done. Follow our Lord's example and show mercy and grace to those whom we should be having sweet fellowship with.

As our text verse says “Pride goeth before destruction”. Before your pride brings you to ruin, beg our Lord for forgiveness. Beg Him to remove this most hideous sin from you. Ask our Lord to show you how to approach the one you have been prideful against and go to them asking forgiveness. It would do us all some good to humble ourselves before our Lord and our brethren when we have so foolishly let our pride show it's ugly face.

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional March 10, 2018

Proverbs 16:5

“Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.”

O what a sad state we are in this life. The sin of pride often times affected us all. Often times unknowingly and unintentionally our pride shows it's ugly face in our every day walk. We have become a society of lovers of pride in self. So much so that we often don't see past the tip of the nose on our face.

Our Lord speaks much on the pride of man in His Word. And never in a positive way. Yet we hear the popular motivational speakers preach how man must love himself first. This way of thinking is totally against what our Lord taught in His Word.

This is not to say we do not have hope in life. As children of God, we have a Great Hope. Even while we are here passing through this old sinful world, we have hope and peace and joy. But only through our Lord and Savior.

This is not to say we are to be constantly down on ourselves or depressed with our life here. Fore we have a Great Advocate for our sin. We must remember who are and whose we are. We are children of the King!!! We belong to the God of the universe!!! The Creator of all things!!! Praise God He is our Heavenly Father!!! Praise God for His Son who is our Lord and Savior!!! Praise God for His Holy Spirit who is our Great Comforter and will abide with us until He calls us home!!!

We have no right to be proud in ourselves. We have no right to put ourselves high on a pedestal, bragging to others of our accomplishments. We must give credit where credit is due. Fore we are nothing and nobody without our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Follow Him today!!! Forsake the false teachings of the world and follow the Word of God!!! Praise Him for all and seek His face in all that we do!!!

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional March 5, 2018

Psalm 118:24

“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

As creatures of this world we often have a great dread of the first day of the work week. The day “Monday” is almost as curse word to many people. The thought of having to go to our jobs for another week gets us down and out before we even go out the door to go to our jobs.

But where should our thoughts be at the first of the week? Should we not be thinking and meditating on the things of our Lord? Most of us just came from spending most of our Sunday with worshiping our Lord with God's people. So why how and why are we, less than 24 hours later down in the dumps because we have to go back to our jobs?

After spending the first day of the week in worship we should be ready to run with telling the world of the Gospel of Christ. But instead we walk into our jobs with a frown on our faces and complaining in our voices. Where is our witness for Christ? Do our co-workers and customers and family members see our disgrace or our do they see Christ in us?

Child of God, remember who you are and whose you are. You are a child of God. We should be more than happy to declare our Lord to all around us. Why? Because “This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional March 4, 2018

James 5:7-8

“7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional March 3, 2018

Jonah 3

“And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”

Men, has our Lord called you to service? There are churches and missions seeking God to send a man to preach and to work the fields. Are you willing and ready to go? Or do you sit back in your comfortable life with your big money job and your nice home and happy family? With all the bills to go along with all that. Are you truly happy with the way your life is and the direction it is going? If God has truly called you to preach He will make you miserable with your current situation. Once God puts that fire in you you will no longer be satisfied with the status quo. Follow the Lord!!! Brother, when the Lord calls, answer that call. Don't try to run. Don't try to hide. We serve the Sovereign God. We can not get away from Him when He is ready for us. Refuse rebellion and follow.

Sisters, if the Lord has called your husband to the ministry, follow the Lord with your husband. Don't be a stumbling block. Don't be the reason he rebels against the Lord's call. Be a dutiful wife. Be a loving wife. Be a godly wife. Be the wife your husband needs. There will be times when you are the only one he can talk with. There will be times when you will be the only council our Lord gives him. Be there for him. Be there with him. Be his support and encouragement. But also don't be a distraction when he needs time in God's Word. Or when he needs time alone with our Lord. There will be times he may seem distant. But remember the great burden he has to serve the Lord. Remember the great responsibility he has to the Lord's work and to the Lord's people.

Brothers, if our Lord has blessed you with a wife who will stand by you and with you in the ministry, praise God for her often. Let her know what a blessing she is to you and to the Lord's work.

Child of God, If our Lord has called a man to the ministry, encourage him and his family. Be a blessing to them in whatever way the Lord leads you. Whether it's financial, physical, or if all you can provide is prayer. Prayer being the most important of all. Be a blessing to the man God has called and his family.

Praise ye the Lord!!!