Marie’s daily verse: As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” JOHN 15:9-11

DAILY DEVOTION, March 1, 2023

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21).

We learn several essential truths from these words of Jesus. First, we have His commandments recorded in Scripture. Do we obey them? Jesus declares that the one striving to keep His commandments is the one who loves Him. We may conclude that those who show little or no interest in obeying Him do not really love Him. Those who do not love Him do not trust Him. They are outside the Kingdom of God. We must ask, “Do I try to keep the commands of Jesus?”

Jesus adds that the heavenly Father loves those who love Jesus.  But doesn’t God love everybody? Yes, but His love for the world is, in a way, potential. It becomes actual when we trust in His Son. Yes, God loves you, but you become a part of His family when you trust in His Son. When faith is present in us, God’s potential love becomes actual.

When all the above is in place, something glorious happens. Jesus manifests Himself to us. To manifest is to reveal. Wow! Jesus here promises to reveal Himself to those who meet the conditions. How He does that varies from person to person. The point is that true Christians not only trust Jesus, but they also know Him. The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to our innermost being. This leads to a final question we must ask ourselves. Do I know Jesus as a living presence within my heart?

Father, I thank You for sending Your Son into the world to save us. I pray that my faith is genuine. Father, I want to obey Your commandments, not to earn Your favor but to demonstrate the reality of my faith and love for Your Son. I pray the Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus to my heart continually. In His name, Amen. 

Marie’s daily verse: But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, 

    whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought  and never fails to bear fruit.” JEREMIAH 17:7-8

DAILY DEVOTION, February 16, 2023

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. . .( Proverbs 13:22).

What kind of inheritance will you leave to your children and grandchildren? When we think of inheritance, we usually think of money. Even more important is the spiritual heritage we leave. I have quoted Patrick Henry before, and I repeat his words again because they speak to the issue.

He wrote this in his Last Will and Testament: “I have now disposed of all my property to my family; there is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion. If they had that, and I had not given them one shilling, they would be rich, and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor.” Well said, Patrick. My parents left me a few dollars (they were not rich). More importantly, they took me to church every Sunday. The message didn’t sink in at first, but the foundation they laid finally came to fruition.

Father, I thank you for my parents. I thank you that they were faithful to take me to church, where I heard my dad play the organ and my mother sing. These are precious memories, and I thank you that the spiritual seeds they planted eventually sprouted. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. 

Marie’s daily verse: “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. LUKE 11:9-10

DAILY DEVOTION, February 15, 2023

The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day, the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed (2 Peter 3:9-10).

Even in the first century, many scoffed at the name of Jesus. His disciples had declared that He would come again, but He had not come. Many concluded that the entire Christian story was a myth. Peter explains the reason behind the “delay.” God is exercising patience. He does not want any of us to be lost. Is He waiting for me, for you, to come to repentance?

We are not to know the time of His coming, but He will come. This old earth will be destroyed, and God will prepare a new heaven and a new earth where His people will live forever in peace and harmony. In Jesus Christ, God has brought salvation to the entire world. None are excluded. God waits patiently for us to surrender our hearts to Jesus. Have you?

Father, thank You for Your infinite patience with us. Thank You for all who have trusted in Your Son. May I live to honor You as I wait for the return of Your Son.

Marie’s daily verse: This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 JOHN 4:10

DAILY DEVOTION, February 14, 2023

But every priest stands daily ministering and repetitively offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:11-12)

Only the High Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, once a year, and then not without the blood of the sacrifice to be sprinkled onto the mercy seat.

What was in that Holy of Holies? There was the Ark of the Covenant. Within it were found the two tables of the Law written by the very hand of Jehovah. Those laws cried out against the transgressions of men against the commandments. The mercy seat was on the top of the Ark, covered in pure gold. Once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat.

On either end of that Ark, gold-covered cherubim faced inward. Between those cherubim, there dwelt the presence of the Almighty God. There the broken law cried out for vengeance upon the transgressors, and only the blood of the atonement blocked it out.

Notice that those Old Testament sacrifices could not take away man’s sin. They pointed forward to the one great sacrifice. That is an excellent picture of Christ who entered the Holy of Holies in Heaven itself with His blood to make atonement for our sins. That one sacrifice is valid forever for all who trust in Jesus.

Jesus, how can I ever adequately thank You for Your willingness to go to the cross for me. I trust You as my savior and Lord. I want to honor Your name as I live my life. Amen.

Marie’s daily verse: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. PHILIPPIANS 4:8-9

DAILY DEVOTION, February 11, 2022

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:3).

These are the usual words you find in Paul’s letters as he begins to write. They are found in Romans 1:7; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, and Colossians 1:2. Over and over, Paul greets the churches with “grace and peace.” I think there is a reason behind the word order. Grace always comes first. It is that wonderful word that reminds us that God has chosen to deal with us graciously. We do not deserve to be treated well by God, but in spite of that fact, He deals with us with grace. Jesus came to us as the ultimate manifestation of God’s grace. We deserve judgment, but we receive forgiveness. That is grace.

Peace follows grace. There is no peace in our hearts if we forget the grace of God. The more we reflect on God’s grace, the more His peace floods our souls. Those who have never received the grace of God will never know peace. Think about God’s grace when you are troubled. His peace will then come to you like a ray of sunshine beaming into your heart.

Father, I am so appreciative of Your grace and peace. You have been good to me when I did not deserve it. Your peace fills my soul. Blessed be Your name in the name of Jesus, Amen.