Daily Devotions On Relationships

John 8:44 – Satan The Abusive Father

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44 ESV)

From Ryan:

Before we had a child and my wife worked outside the home, she worked with abused women. In fact, she even had a good friend that was in an abusive relationship. From my view on the outside and that of many others who see these relationships, we can’t help but wonder why women in these situations don’t leave. When one works with these women, it becomes apparent that there is a tremendous amount of psychological abusiveness and fear in the relationship. It isn’t necessarily that the women don’t want to leave, but that they are afraid. As I was studying and reading this text, these women and relationships came in to my mind.

Jesus was talking to the Jews and telling them that God really isn’t their father, but Satan is. He went on to describe Continue Reading →

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Philippians 3:7-8 – Vertical To Horizontal Relationships

Daily Devotions Bible Verse

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  (Phillipians 3:7-8 ESV)

We can often get caught up in the relationships of our lives.  They might be with a spouse or loved one, maybe a good friend, or even someone we disciple.  Should these relationships be the most important things to us?  From the verse we have for today, probably not.  Our goal in life should be knowing Christ above everything and from there letting Jesus affect our relationships. In essence, we should first work on our vertical relationship and then let the love of  that relationship influence the horizontal relationships we have with those around us. Continue Reading →

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John 15:12-13 – Agape Love

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:12-13 ESV)

So what is love really? In the English language we have one word for love. We use this word to say…

I love that pasta dish.
I’d love to go on a hike in the woods.
I sure miss you bro. Love you man.
I’m really glad you are my wife. I love you baby.

But we don’t mean the same thing with the word love in each of those phrases. The Greek language, in which the New Testament was written, actually has 3 words that are translated as “love” in English: Continue Reading →

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Ezra 7:10 – Teach

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. (Ezra 7:10 ESV)

This is the fourth and final part in the series “study. do. teach.”, which examines Ezra 7:10 as a model for Christian living. You can start from the beginning here.

From Ryan:

In this series we’ve considered Ezra 7:10 as a model for Christian living in: studying God’s word, living it out and now finally, teaching it. The previous three devotions were probably easy to follow and agree with. Studying Scripture and applying it to your life is a given in most Christian circles. But what about teaching the Bible? You may be thinking that you’ve never been to Bible college and that your calling isn’t to stand in the pulpit and preach. What would this have to do with you? But actually, it has a lot to do with every believer!

We seem to have bought into the notion that teaching from a stage or lecturing in a classroom are the only ways we can teach people. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time remembering what my last instructor taught me in a classroom setting. But, as the parent of a little boy I do know that Continue Reading →

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Ezra 7:10 – A Model for Christian Living

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. (Ezra 7:10 ESV)

From Jordan:

Study. Do. Teach. This was the verse God used to set the direction for my life a few short years ago. I sat on the banks of the Missouri river reading my Bible and begging to hear from God. It was a warm summer day and I sat in the sandy shallows with my feet in the water as I read my favorite books in the world, Ezra and Nehemiah. But it wasn’t until chapter seven, verse ten that those words had life and fire breathed into them. I am convinced, however, that while God spoke to me in a singular way that morning, those words penned so long ago put forth a universal model for Christian living.

There exists a natural flow in a believer’s life from salvation. When God saves us we are Continue Reading →

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Romans 1:11-12 – Encouraging Relationships

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. (Romans 1:11-12 ESV)

Paul earnestly desired to visit the church in Rome. There were probably multiple reasons, including: it was his calling/ministry, he wanted to teach them, wanted to see how they were doing, and many more. But, it was also so that he could receive from them. Paul was a man who wrote the majority of New Testament books and he wanted to be encouraged by new Christians in Rome. How awesome!

At times we also need the encouragement of other Christians. He was wanting to spend time with people, to develop relationships with people, and to then be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. These kind of relationships do not happen Continue Reading →

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