Daily Devotion

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Time For A Change
September 19, 2013 —

Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn
Read: Genesis 12:1-8
There he built an altar to the Lordand called on the name of theLord. —Genesis 12:8
Bible in a Year:
Ecclesiastes 1-3; 2 Corinthians 11:16-33
Many believers long to spend daily time with God, praying and reading His Word. Ironically, they are often distracted by a busy schedule. Frustrations mount as busyness seems to crowd out an opening in their schedule.

Oswald Chambers has wisely commented on the transforming power of even 5 minutes in the presence of the Lord. Indeed, even a short time spent in intercession and the Word still has great value: “It is not the thing on which we spend the most time that moulds us, but the thing that exerts the greatest power. Five minutes with God and His Word is worth more than all the rest of the day.” Now, it may sound like Chambers has made an overstatement. Yet powerful results can come from even a short time of prayer, becauseGod is powerful.

Sometimes our days are filled with busy demands that crowd out time spent in listening to and responding to God. But no matter where we are, any time taken to build our own spiritual “altar” to the Lord as Abram did (Gen. 12:8) opens the door to His transforming power. If you are having trouble establishing a time with God, you could start with just 5 minutes and see where it leads. Our God longs to meet with us and show His power in our lives.

Lord, it’s amazing to me that You, Almighty God,
would want to spend time with me! Thank You.
I stumble with my words at times but am in awe of
You. Thank You that You want to hear from me.
Talk with God—He wants to hear your heart.

 

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BE QUIET BEFORE HIM

But the Lord is in his holy Temple: let all the earth be quiet before him. (Habakkuk 2:20)

In most Christian church premises, a note was posted reminding everyone to observe silence during the worship services. Indeed, such respect is necessary for we are about to meet the King of kings and Lord of the lords.
However, this verse doesn't reprimand our joyful singing and praises but simply a silence that includes:

1. The Silence of our Heart and Mind.
We shouldn't let ourselves distracted of. anything that would divert our focus. away from the Lord. We must left all.
worries and troubles outside the
premises so that we could meet the Holy
One with all our heart and mind.
2. A Solemn Silence Inside the
Conggregation.
Unnecessary and unimportant
conversations shall be avoided so that
the solemnity shall prevail within the
duration of worship services.

Remember that we will meet the Great One of Israel, the King of kings, the Lord of the lords. Thus, a great respect and honor is due to Him.
Glory and honor to our great, great GOD!

 

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The Greatest Love
SEP 19 2013
“For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:7-8

The ultimate act of heroism is when a person gives their life for another person’s life, especially friends, comrades or family. Michael Monsoor was a navy SEAL fighting in the Iraqi War. When he was in a battle one day, a grenade literally hit him on the chest, fell at his feet, and he dived on that grenade, saving the lives of his fellow navy SEALs. And this is what his lieutenant, who was one of the men that was saved, said about this, “He never took his eye off the grenade. His only movement was down towards it. He undoubtedly saved mine and the other SEAL’s lives, and we owe him.” The nation awarded him our highest honor, the Medal of Honor. It was awarded posthumously for giving his life to save his fellow soldiers in battle. What bravery, courage and love that must have taken for this soldier to give his own life for his friends.

Yet, it’s one thing to die for your friends, your buddies, or your family members. But Christ died for those who were killing Him, who murdered Him. Christ died for those who were not with Him. He died for all of us! It was our sin that killed Him.

Yet, sadly, most people in American culture think, “if I can be good enough, that will make me a Christian.” Romans 5:8 just flies in the face of that. We can never live our lives "good enough" to become a Christian. The fact is, while we are sinners, while we are ungodly, while we are helpless in overcoming our sinfulness, Christ died for our sins. So it’s not a matter of getting your life good enough and then bam, you’re a Christian. It’s are you willing to accept what Christ has done for you - that no matter how sinful, no matter how much out of the will of God you are, no matter how ungodly your life is, will you accept this gift of love that Christ died and paid the penalty for your sins? He did that, you know? He died in your place and mine.

He laid down His life, not just for His friends, but for all of us who nailed Him to the cross. And that, my friends, is the greatest love of all.

 

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Love could be expressed in so many ways. Indeed, some people have their ways of showing and expressing their love, either to their loved ones or even into others which doesn't belong to their family. So when someone showed his/her love into others without waiting for anything, that's the essence of love, it's not that we love other people to gain love but we simply give love for it flows freely from us. That's how GOD loved his creations. His love is pure, unconditional and most importantly, INFINITE! How great is our God! No words could describe how great is His love! Thank you so much oh God! Thank you Jesus!

 

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LIKE A WEANED CHILD

Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. Psalm 131:2

When could we measured the faith of a believer? At the time of worship? At joyful singing and praises? At the time when prayers and sufflications has been answered? I believe not! The level of faith could be determined in time of crisis. When everything seems gone worst but still, the heart and mind remained in peace. There's no guarantee that richness and power could avoid crisis and troubles. The truth is, a person with huge possessions in life have the chances of encountering much crisis. Crisis, troubles, test, trials and any situation that may bring worries to a person was part of this life. No one is exempted, even the pillars of our faith had gone through this. Again, the level of our faith has been determined in time of crisis and how do we react in time of troubles.
Our verse encouraged us to place our trust in the LORD no matter what happens around us. Like a child in the arms of our mother, we are peacefully weaned and doesn't troubled of anything around us.
A great and blessed start of the week ahead if us!

 

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"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10

Years ago, when my wife and I lived in Houston, Baylor University had a great football team. They absolutely stormed through the Southwest Conference that year. But late in the season, the Baylor players were discouraged by a shocking loss to a non-ranked team. And their hopes for a great season were further threatened because they were scheduled to play perennial powerhouse, Arkansas, the following week.

But Baylor's head coach pulled out a secret weapon. He invited a former team member, one that had been paralyzed in a freak football accident earlier in the season, to speak to the discouraged players. He sat in a wheelchair before them as they gathered in the locker room before the game. First, he thanked his teammates for their prayers and support as he faced this ordeal. Then, referring to their loss the week before, he declared, "Guys, you've got to turn a setback into a comeback." With that bold declaration, he slowly rose from the wheelchair and took a step forward, to the shock and amazement of his teammates. They began to cheer and then they cried, and then they ran out on the field and whipped the tar out of Arkansas.

Those Razorbacks didn't know what hit them! They didn't know that they were the victims of Baylor's secret weapon - turning a setback into a comeback.

What setbacks have you faced? Are you facing today? God's power and strength is available to help us all turn a setback into a comeback. After all, the "setback" of the cross was followed by the "comeback" of the resurrection.

 

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MAG-INGAT TAYO
Pagkaluto, inihain niya ito ngunit nang tikman nila'y napasigaw sila, " Lingkod ng Dios, lason po yata ito!" (2Hari 4:40)
Kasalukuyang tag-gutom noon sa Gilgal ng dumating doon si Eliseo. Isang araw, habang naka-upo ang pangkat ng mga propeta at nakikinig sa kanya, napansin niya na tumatanghali na. Kaya inutusan niya ang iba na maghanda ng tanghalian. Nang matapos lutuin, inihain na ang mga pagkain sa hapag at nagsidulog na ang mga naroroon. Natuwa sila sapagkat maraming pagkaing nakahain. Subalit ng sandaling tikman nila ang ulam, napasigawa sila at naibulalas na tila lason iyon. Batid natin na binudburan ni Eliseo ng kaunting harina ang ulam at sumarap ang lasa niyon. May magandang aral tayong mapupulot sa talatang ito na may malaking kaugnayan sa ating pamumuhay at karanasan. Bilang mananampalataya, dumarating ang pagkakataon na napapabayaan nating mahaluan ang ating buhay ng mga maliliit na bagay na kapag napabayaan, ito'y lumalaki at nagiging lason sa atin. Paka-ingatan natin ang ating pamumuhay na hindi lubusang malason ng mumunti ngunit masamang pag-uugali, asal, kagawian at kaisipan. Maaring hindi natin lubos na napapansin dahil maliit na epekto lang ang nagagawa nito sa ating buhay subalit sa bandang huli, lubusan na pala tayong napailalim sa mga bagay na ito. Ang lason ay simbolo ng kasalanan at siyang sumisira at pumapatay sa napaka-gandang buhay na kaloob ng Panginoon.

 

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BE A ROLE MODEL

1 Timothy 4:12 Let no man despise your youth; but be an example to those who believe, in word, in your way of life, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity.(1Tim 4:12)
Timothy is a youth that had been deligently guided of his mother and grandma as he grown up. And as he followed their teachings, he became a model youth that truly loves God. Through his faith, Paul had considered Timothy as his own son. In return, Timothy acknowledged Paul as his spiritual father. While he's under Paul's supervision, he was thoroughly teached and reminded of those things that would keep him away from astray. It was in every father's heart that he desires only the best for his children.
Dear beloved youth, may your lives be like Timothy. A dedicated and obedient youth that submit himself to his mentor. And while you give importance and respect to your parents, the favor and blessings of the Lord awaits those Timothy heart-like youth.

Glory and honor to our great and wonderful Father in heaven!

 

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Joy!SEP 24 2013
"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." - James 1:2

Read that verse again. James is saying, “Consider it all joy.”

What? How do we make that happen?

And furthermore, if you look closely, he doesn’t say, “IF you face trials.” God’s Word says, “WHEN you face trials.” In other words, it’s a given. He also doesn’t say “trial.” It’s not singular – it’s plural. In other words, we’re going to have a lot of problems. Count on it.

Of course, that's not news to most of us. So many are going through very difficult trials right now. Loss of jobs. Facing financial difficulties. Prolonged illnesses. The trials of grief. Some have very unhealthy work situations or are facing relational challenges within your families.

So, you might ask, how can we have joy in the midst of trials when it’s contrary to human nature? Well, the person who is a follower of Jesus Christ can begin to understand joy amidst trials when they realize that their trials have a purpose.

Read the scripture one more time. When we go through trials, we can begin to build endurance, patience and perseverance. Sometimes it’s only when we come to the end of ourselves that we’re able to release those trials to God and say, “God this is too big for me. I can’t deal with it.” Then, we begin to see the power of God’s strength in our lives and, amazingly, we find joy in the midst of it...C.S. Lewis called it “Surprised by Joy.”

If you’re going through some difficult times in your life, hand them over to God. Trust Him enough to know that He will walk (or carry) you through all of it. He won’t let go. Once you have done that, and you realize you’re not alone, you’ll feel a smile creeping onto your face and a sense of joy will begin to flow into your heart. It really is amazing.

Joy!

 

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BEING A SERVANT

And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to do work in it and take care of it.
(Gen 2:15)

Man had been created to become a worker. Right after he was created, God instructed him to take care of His other creations. God has never been delighted of a sluggard, an unproductive person. We will noticed that most Bible character that had been called to become servant of God were busy working on their job. Gideon and most of the Apostles was called to become servant while they perform their respective works. A productive person abundantly received the fruits of his hardword and he would be able to feel the fulfillment.
Eph 6:7-8 reminds us, Doing your work readily, as to the Lord, and not to men:
In the knowledge that for every good thing anyone does, he will have his reward from the Lord, If he is a servant or if he is free.

May the LORD found us faithfully working for his kingdom!

 

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No Trace of Pretense
SEP 25 2013
"Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to Thee? I lay my hand on my mouth." - Job 40:4

This is a special message and it's one that I didn't particularly enjoy writing. However, it needs to be said again and again.

This message is to all you church-going pretenders out there - the ones who look heavenly on Sunday, but live like hell Monday through Saturday. You look good on the outside but when God looks at your insides - inside your heart - it's a dirty mess!

I've got bad news for you. Jesus hates religious pretense. But I've also got good news. He loves the pretenders! He gave His life for hypocrites like you and me. The end of being a religious pretenders is to admit our sin separates us from God; then ask Christ's forgiveness; then believe to be right with God is your only hope for change.

And here's the irony: When we begin to be more real with God and with others, we begin to be more like Jesus. He's the only person who has ever lived without any trace of pretense.

 

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TWO PERSONALITIES

What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God's law, but with the flesh, the sin's law.
(Romans 7:24-25)

Every person who accepted Christ as their personal Lord and savior have two personalities, the old and new. The old one was still there for it needs to be submitted thoroughly to the new one.
A man hurrily went back at the grocery where he recently bought his grocery items. He returned the aa huge amount incidentally placed inside the grocery bag. "Why don't you just kept it for no one knew such amount?" said the Store Manager. The man points his finger into the chest and said, "Inside this body of mine stays two people. One had said, 'Hide it and dont return it. The grocery is distant away from here.' But the other one had said, 'No, return it for it was not yours!' I wasn't able to sleep that night, I don't know what to do. But while this amount is in my possession, it brought worries and difficulties inside me. I have no peace in my mind thus, I decided to return it. I don't want the other personality to troubles me." And with a great smile he continue, "Now, I am in peace and with great joy!"

May we always succeed in keeping the new created personality to prevail within us and glorify the LORD!

 

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TWO PERSONALITIES

What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God's law, but with the flesh, the sin's law. (Romans 7:24-25)

Every person who accepted Christ as their personal Lord and savior have two personalities, the old and new. The old one was still there for it needs to be submitted thoroughly to the new one.
A man hurrily went back at the grocery where he recently bought his grocery items. He returned the aa huge amount incidentally placed inside the grocery bag. "Why don't you just kept it for no one knew such amount?" said the Store Manager. The man points his finger into the chest and said, "Inside this body of mine stays two people. One had said, 'Hide it and dont return it. The grocery is distant away from here.' But the other one had said, 'No, return it for it was not yours!' I wasn't able to sleep that night, I don't know what to do. But while this amount is in my possession, it brought worries and difficulties inside me. I have no peace in my mind thus, I decided to return it. I don't want the other personality to troubles me." And with a great smile he continue, "Now, I am in peace and with great joy!"

May we always succeed in keeping the new created personality to prevail within us and glorify the LORD!

 

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sorry for it was double post. :-(

 

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Fire And Rain
September 27, 2013 — by Julie Ackerman Link

Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn
Read: Isaiah 16:1-5
In mercy the throne will be established; and One will sit on it in truth . . . judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness. —Isaiah 16:5

Bible in a Year:
Isaiah 3-4; Galatians 6

When a wildfire raged through the beautiful canyons near Colorado Springs, Colorado, it destroyed the habitat of all kinds of wildlife and hundreds of homes. People across the nation cried out to God, pleading with Him to send rain to douse the flames, put an end to the destruction, and give firefighters relief. Some people’s prayers had an interesting condition attached to them. They asked God to show mercy and send rain without lightning, which they feared would start even more fires.

This reminds me of how we live in tension between things that save us and kill us. With fire, we cook our food and keep warm, but in it we can be consumed. With water, we keep our bodies hydrated and our planet cooled, but in it we also can drown. Too much or too little of either is life-threatening.

We see the same principle at work spiritually. To thrive, civilizations need the seemingly opposite qualities of mercy and justice (Zech. 7:9). Jesus scolded the Pharisees for being sticklers about the law but neglecting these “weightier matters” (Matt. 23:23).

We may lean toward justice or mercy, but Jesus keeps them in perfect balance (Isa. 16:5; 42:1-4). His death satisfies God’s need for justice and our need for mercy.

Father, for personal reasons I sometimes lean toward
showing mercy, and sometimes I just want justice now.
Teach me the balance as I look at Your character and
give me the wisdom I need in specific situations.
God’s justice and mercy met at the cross.

 

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ENLARGE FURTHER

I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. (Psalm 81:10)

As a believer, we should explore those gifts that GOD has given to each and everyone of us. We could thoroughly understand our verse if we knew the traditions during the king's era. During their times, if a king was generous and he wanted to give importance to his guest or ambassador, he would told them to open widely their mouth and the king will put a delicious meat. While during special occassions, he generously gave expensive jewelries. Through this tradition, our verse expresses that GOD is willing to give great gifts more than a king could give. The LORD encourage us to enlarge our faith.
Isaiah 54:2 had said, "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations; don't spare: lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes."
Today, I encourage you dear brethren, open wide our hearts so that it will be filled with wonderful blessings.
A great and blessed start of the week everyone!

 

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A Just Reward
SEP 29 2013
"But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position." - James 1:9

One of my favorite Biblical authors is James. He tells it like it is and doesn't pull any punches. It's like every time I read from this book, he's talking straight to me. And if you've ever read it, you probably feel the same way.

So, what do you think today's verse means – "humble circumstances give you glory." Very clearly, James is speaking to the poor person who is a follower of Christ. Please don’t get me wrong. You can find poor people that are just as evil as any rich person. You can find rich people who are wonderful, devoted Christians. But, here, James is speaking to Christians living in poverty.

And why, you ask, is poverty such an humble state? For one thing, those who are poor feel powerless. Secondly, those that are poor tend to feel very discouraged and sometimes great despair about how little they have. Thirdly, the poor tend to feel a lack of respect from the world in which they live.

I want to ask you, who are the five richest people in American? Now, I realize a lot of you can’t answer that question, but anyone can find out. When Fortune or Forbes comes out listing the wealthiest people in the world, you can name them all.

But, could you name the five poorest people in America? Have you ever seen a published list of the five poorest people in the world? Do you ever see People magazine talking about the glamor of a person living in abject poverty that literally gets their food off a trash dump there in a third world nation? Yet God says to the Christian poor, “Glory in the world is your high position.” How can this be?

Their glory in their humble circumstances is because in the world to come, in heaven, they are to have a greater reward because they endured such hardship in this life. The rich and affluent experience lots of material blessings in the here and now, but God’s heart is always tender toward the poor. He is a God of justice. Hopefully, this will give hope to those who do live in humble circumstances. If you do live in glory, it only gets better in heaven.

So, whether you live in humble circumstances or you live in affluence, take heart. Because whether you are poor or rich, if you live a life honoring God, you will have a just reward in heaven.

 

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WILL BE EXALTED

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matt 23:12)

Someone asked Francis Assisi on how could he performed multiple task. He said, "Maybe it was like this; God looked down from his throne in heaven and said, 'Where can I find of weak, a little one and unworthy person in this world that would serve me'? And He saw me, 'Hmm, here. This is what I'm looking for. He'd never exalt himself for he has nothing to be proud of.' The Lord had noticed that my life is worthless and I could only do things through His strength."
This is the true meaning of humility. A humble-person kept himself away from self-conciousness. It will take away giving much importance to himself. On what would be the impression of other people. Those humble, weak and small in the eyes of the secular are the ones being choosen to become servants of the Lord.
For they accomplish things through Christ who strengthen them.

 

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Trouble Trusting God?
SEP 30 2013
"I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'" - Psalm 91:2

There are times when I really have to wonder about all of us - the human race. We'll do some of scariest and most idiotic things without giving it a second thought, while other times, we're scared to death of something else, when that "something" just might be the best thing we ever experienced.

For example, isn't it amazing all the people we entrust our lives to every week? We trust pharmacists to give us the right pills from a prescription we can't read. We trust pilots we don't know to fly us to the right destination, believing that they know how to fly that baby exactly where we need to go. As we sit in traffic on the interstate, we trust our lives to engineers and road construction crews, believing the bridges will hold.

Yet, people have trouble trusting God.

They often say, "I can't see Him." Do we see the engineers who designed the bridge? Do we know the pilots? Not usually. Yet God, our Creator who loves us more than anyone, who even sacrificed His Son for us to have forgiveness of sin and eternal life, we find Him difficult to trust.

It's amazing. It doesn't make sense to trust imperfect men and not to trust a perfect God

 

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POOR BUT WEALTHY

I have knowledge of your troubles and how poor you are (but you have true wealth),... (part of Rev 2:9)

The church in Smyrna has been reminded that while they experience trials and hardships, it was not been passedby in the watchful eyes of our dear Father. And even if we're poor in this world, we are truly rich if we knew Jesus Christ thoroughly.
Indeed, GOD wants us to understand that we are much richer than any wealthy person in this world. Even if we suffer hardship, if we have true relationship with the Lord, we are heirs to great wealth that never ends. Wherever the spiritual fullness and abundance stays, any hardship and troubles could be easily carried out. The wealth of this world is worthless for it will be left behind. The most important is the true wealth in heaven that would never ends, and it could only be found through Jesus.
An abundant and blessed start of the month of October!