Hebrews 12:16-17 – The Aching Clarity of Hindsight

Daily Devotion Bible Verse

that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. (Hebrews 12:16-17 ESV)

An act done, can never be undone. We may be able to recant words we’ve spoken, apologize or lessen the consequences of an inappropriate action, but never can we undo what’s been done. At first thought, this is a sobering realization, even frightening. Still now, as we each stand upon the wrong side of poor decisions and wicked deeds, there is One who remains at our side and stood in our place. Jesus lived the life we should have but couldn’t, and for that we can rejoice as through faith in him there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

Esau, however, serves as an example Continue Reading →

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Joshua 6:16 – God’s Glory, Our Good

Daily Devotions Bible Verse

And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city. ( Joshua 6:16 ESV)

We have all heard the story of Joshua fighting the Battle of Jericho.  If you grew up in the church, you might have even learned a song about it.  It is a popular story that many are familiar with, but there is much to learn about the way God worked in this narrative.

Joshua was leading the Israelites into the promised land and it came time to take their first city.  They arrived at Jericho only to face an extremely well fortified city.  It didn’t look good for the Israelites. God then told Joshua to march around the city for six days and blow horns, and in doing so, they would win Jericho (Joshua 6:1-6).  This sounds crazy, but it wasn’t, because Continue Reading →

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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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Genesis 48:15 -The God Story Family Tradition

Daily Devotion Bible Verse

And he blessed Joseph and said,

“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
(Genesis 48:15 ESV)

As literacy increases in our cultures and instant access to information on the web is so readily available, the need to pass down history through verbal forms or storytelling is gradually dying if not already dead in your part of the world. This was not the case in the Old Testament. As Jacob was blessing his son Joseph, he reminded him of his family history and how God was so important in it. We also see that God introduces himself to Jacob as this in Genesis 28:13 and again to Moses in Exodus 3:6. There is obviously something important about knowing your roots in God if this is how he introduces himself and we read throughout the Old Testament the Israelites constantly refer to God this way. Does God really want us to refer to him this way? Continue Reading →

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Luke 8:15 – Time to Ripen

Daily Devotion Bible Verse

As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:15 ESV)

The parable of the sower and the seed is ever popular. If you grew up in the church, you probably learned it as a child. We have all heard a sermon on it from a pastor. After telling the parable, Jesus then proceeded to explain it to the disciples. It is the last sentence in his explanation that we will focus on today. The seed that falls on the good soil is the seed that bears fruit in accordance with the Gospel. It is the seed that decides to follow Jesus during thick and thin.

What we learn though is that this seed takes time to bear fruit. This seed “bears fruit with patience”. We don’t like to read this. Aren’t we supposed to die to ourselves and be new creatures right away (Romans 6:6-7)? Doesn’t the Gospel produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24)? The answer to these is 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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