Morning Devotional April 30, 2021

 

Acts 5:40-42

“40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”

Daily, they teached and preached Jesus Christ! What about us today? How often are we teaching and preaching Jesus Christ? Once a week? Twice a week? Three times a week? Why not daily? Are we more worried to suffer shame for His name than we are to rejoice that we would be counted worthy to suffer for His name?

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 29, 2021

 

Matthew 15:16-20

“16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?

17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 28, 2021

 

Proverbs 25:11

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 27, 2021

 

Isaiah 64:8

“But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 25, 2021

 Romans 5:8

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 24, 2021

 

Ephesians 4:17-24

“17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

20 But ye have not so learned Christ;

21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 23, 2021

 

Romans 3:9-20

“9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:

17 And the way of peace have they not known:

18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 22, 2021

 

John 18:25

“And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not.”

And how is it with us today? Will we deny our Lord if asked the same as Peter? Is that not what we do when we follow after the world instead of following Christ? Do we fear the ridicule of the world over the chastisement of our Heavenly Father? After we have done such, do we hold our head high and walk away or does our actions grief us to our very soul as it did Peter? This is the difference between a true disciple and a disciple in name only.

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 20, 2021

 

2 Timothy 1:9

“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,”

Our Lord loved us, “not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace,” and it was given to us before the world began. All because of Christ Jesus!!!

Sit back and let that sink in.

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 19, 2021

 

Isaiah 26:3

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 18, 2021

 

Philippians 3:8-11

“8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 17, 2021

 

Proverbs 6:6-8

“6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 14, 2021

 

Psalm 139:8-14

“8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 11, 2021

 

Romans 2:21-23

“21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?

22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?

23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?”

I believe most of my preacher friends would agree with me when I say that when we sit down to study for a sermon or to write an article or devotional, often times the Holy Spirit has us examining ourselves as we study and even when we write the final draft. It has always amazed me how this works. When our hearers and readers think we have directed our thoughts toward someone imparticular, it maybe that our thoughts were on ourselves and not on anyone else. There have been times the Lord led me to write or preach with no one in mind, not even myself, and later someone let me know it was for them. Sometimes with a “thank you” or sometimes with a “how dare you”.

Something we all need to remember about the one delivering the message, is that we are not perfect. We are sinners saved by grace, just like many of our audience. We have our faults and failures in this life and often times the Holy Spirit convicts us of these and instructs us in these through the word He gives us to preach or to write.

In our text verses, Paul was warning preachers and teachers of these very things. We must examine ourselves and our own lives before preaching that “Hell, Fire, and Brimestone” sermon. That is not to say that we are perfect or ever will be perfect in this life, but are we beyond reproach? How are we living compared to scritpure? This is why I write so much on why we must look to Christ in everything in this life. For my benefit and I pray, for the benefit of those these devotionals reach.

Praise ye the Lord!!!

 

Morning Devotional April 10, 2021

 

1 Corinthians 1:18-21

“18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 8, 2021

 

Matthew 12:34-37

“34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

If you want to know what is really in the heart of someone just listen to them speak. How a person speaks and what they speak of will tell you a lot about a person. Another words, a person whose heart has a desire for things of the Lord will show that in their speech and actions. Likewise, a person whose heart is upon the things of the world will show that in their speech and actions. Even a person who professes Christ, if you are around them enough, will show their true fruits when the time comes.

God warns us many times in His Word about the condition of our hearts. Even those of His elect does He warn. Where is your heart today? Upon what or who is your heart fixed? When the judgment comes, will you be justified or condemned?

Jeremiah 17:9

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Romans 10:10

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 5, 2021

 

James 4:6-10

“6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional April 3, 2021

1 John 1:1-7

“1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

As we are in the middle of our Annual Bible Conference, I am once again reminded of how sweet it is to have fellowship with our brothers and sisters from other churches. The godly love and friendship that have developed between us over the years has been truly a blessing from our God.

Praise ye the Lord!!!