Praise the Lord! Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.  Praise the name of the Lord! 2 Blessed be the name of the Lord, now and forever (Psalm 113: 1-2)

DAILYNDEVOTION, August 11, 2021

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established (Proverbs 16:3).

Have you ever had your plans fall apart? I certainly have. I have had numerous plans canceled by sickness or some other issue. Solomon gives us a general principle to follow. When we dedicate our plans, our work, to the Lord He will see that they come to pass. One of my problems is that I have left the Lord out of some of my plans!

When we plan some project, perhaps the first thing we should do is commit it to God. God has the wisdom and power to see that our plans are realized. Of course, when we commit our plans to the Lord, we want Him to cancel any plans that are outside His will. The more we commit our ways to the Lord, the more we will see His hand helping us. Yes, He may repeal some of our plans, but isn’t that what we desire when we step outside His will?

With all the uncertainties in life one thing we can count on is God’s faithfulness. You will never go wrong when you submit your plans to Him.

Father, thank You for Your hand of guidance over my life. Forgive me when I make plans which I fail to commit to You. As I commit my ways to You, I believe You will always lead me in harmony with Your desires. Your will be done, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

DAILY DEVOTION, August 9, 2021

“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ (Matthew 25:40, full context 25: 31-46).

How can I serve Jesus? Do I need to be a pastor or a missionary? Those are worthy professions for some but not for all. In our text, Jesus makes it simple. When you do acts of kindness for others, you are ministering to Jesus. When you give food to help the hungry, you are feeding Jesus. When you give clothing to help the poor, you are clothing Jesus. When you visit someone in the hospital, nursing home, or prison, you visit Jesus.

If you want to serve Jesus, you don’t need to write a fantastic Christian book. You don’t need to preach a powerful sermon. You don’t need to be a Billy Graham or a Mother Theresa. When you lend a helping hand to others, you are serving Jesus. Serving Jesus is not about doing some great thing that gains attention for us. It is about reaching out a helping hand to those in need. Jesus has lots of brothers in need. Serving them is serving Jesus.

Dear Lord, I do want to serve Jesus. He has done everything for me, and now I want to serve Him. May I use my resources and prayers to reach out to those in need. When I touch the life of the least person in need, I touch Jesus. Jesus declares that the lowest person in need is His brother. May I look upon others with His eyes. In His name. I pray,  Amen.

Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions (Matthew 7:20, NLT).

In context, Jesus speaks of false prophets. His point is simple. Whether you are a prophet, a pastor, a bishop, or an ordinary professor of faith in Jesus, your actions reveal the truth about you.  How can you tell an apple tree from a pear tree? You look at the fruit. By the same token, how can you tell a real Christian from a hypocrite? You look at their actions (fruit). What do their lives produce?

True Christians strive to be faithful to Jesus. They live to honor His name. Their lives are full of good works. They are loyal to His church. They are quick to forgive. They do what they can to spread the news that Jesus saves. They understand that their good works are not the cause of their salvation. Faith in Jesus is the root cause of salvation. Good works are simply the fruit produced by faith.

A true Christian is not known by what he or she says but by the fruit produced in their lives. Christians do not work hard to create good works. Instead, they trust in Jesus, and He works in and through them to produce Christian fruit. They simply do what comes supernaturally. 

Father God, I thank You that Your free grace has touched my life. I thank You for the gift of eternal life. Please grant that I may always be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, that I may produce good fruit for the Kingdom of God, for Jesus’ sake, Amen.

DAILY DEVOTION, AUGUST 4, 2021

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,  (1 Peter 1:8).

We have never seen Jesus in the flesh. We saw a few days ago, however, that He does reveal Himself to those who believe in Him. We love Him even though we have never seen His physical appearance. We discover Jesus’ as we read about His wonderful words and deeds in the New Testament. As we read with an open mind, faith is born.

Peter says that faith produces results. When faith in Jesus is present, we are filled with joy that is difficult to put into words. It is a deep and abiding joy that other believers understand, even though what we feel is difficult to put into words.

What a joy it is to believe in Jesus! I wonder if our joy is any less than the joy experienced by His disciples who saw Him physically? Jesus once blessed Thomas because he saw the resurrected Lord and believed. Jesus then said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (John 20:29). We are among those who have not seen Him, yet we believe. With faith comes an inexpressible joy, a glorious joy. Thanks be to God!

Thank You, Father, for Jesus and for the beautiful joy He brings to us. We look forward to the time when we shall see Him face to face in glory. In the meantime, please keep us in true faith unto everlasting life. In His name, we pray, Amen. 

DAILY DEVOTION, August 3, 2021

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1, NIV).

Paul describes the Christian as having already been raised with Christ. Our resurrection is sure, and so Paul speaks of it as a present reality. He then speaks of setting our hearts on things above. This implies that there are things below,  things pertaining to this life.  The things above relate to those things which have lasting spiritual value.

If you buy a car that pertains to this earthly life. If you witness for Jesus, that pertains to things above. If you wander into Walmart, that relates to this life on earth. If you pray for another person, that pertains to things above. If you eat a meal that relates to this life. If you partake of the Lord’s Supper, that relates to things above. Of course, we need to do lots of earthly things. We just don’t want the things of this world to crowd out our sacred duties. The things we do that pertain to this life have no lasting value. The things we do for God in the name of Jesus have heavenly value. Paul wants us to have our hearts set on the things above. Don’t neglect the heavenly for the earthly.  Don’t spend all your time on things that have no lasting value.

Heavenly Father, thank You for guaranteeing my resurrection. As a person bound for heaven, I pray that I will set my heart on things above where Christ is seated at Your right hand. I pray in His name and for His sake, Amen.