Category - Devotionals

12/24 2 Peter 3:8-15
8 But you must not forget, dear friends, that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment. 11 Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living! 12 You should look forward to that day and hurry it along — the day when God will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God. 14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to live a pure and blameless life. And be at peace with God. 15 And remember, the Lord is waiting so that people have time to be saved. This is just as our beloved brother Paul wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him –
TURN
Turn to Jesus. Now is the time. This is the place. Ask the Lord to save you. Ask Him to come into your heart and forgive you of your sin. Jesus is Lord.

12/23 Matthew 25:1-30
1 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 The five who were foolish took no oil for their lamps, 4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. 5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all lay down and slept. 6 At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and welcome him!’ 7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. 8 Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. 11 Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Sir, open the door for us!’ 12 But he called back, ‘I don’t know you!’ 13 “So stay awake and be prepared, because you do not know the day or hour of my return. 14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a trip. He called together his servants and gave them money to invest for him while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of gold to one, two bags of gold to another, and one bag of gold to the last — dividing it in proportion to their abilities — and then left on his trip. 16 The servant who received the five bags of gold began immediately to invest the money and soon doubled it. 17 The servant with two bags of gold also went right to work and doubled the money. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of gold dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money for safekeeping. 19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of gold said, ‘Sir, you gave me five bags of gold to invest, and I have doubled the amount.’ 21 The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ 22 “Next came the servant who had received the two bags of gold, with the report, ‘Sir, you gave me two bags of gold to invest, and I have doubled the amount.’ 23 The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ 24 “Then the servant with the one bag of gold came and said, ‘Sir, I know you are a hard man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth and here it is.’ 26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! You think I’m a hard man, do you, harvesting crops I didn’t plant and gathering crops I didn’t cultivate? 27 Well, you should at least have put my money into the bank so I could have some interest. 28 Take the money from this servant and give it to the one with the ten bags of gold. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who are unfaithful, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
WAY
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Without Jesus we cannot find our way to the Lord. In Jesus we have God’s everything! Come Lord Jesus.

12/22 Luke 1:39-55
39 A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “You are blessed by God above all other women, and your child is blessed. 43 What an honor this is, that the mother of my Lord should visit me! 44 When you came in and greeted me, my baby jumped for joy the instant I heard your voice! 45 You are blessed, because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” 46 Mary responded, “Oh, how I praise the Lord. 47 How I rejoice in God my Savior! 48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and now generation after generation will call me blessed. 49 For he, the Mighty One, is holy, and he has done great things for me. 50 His mercy goes on from generation to generation, to all who fear him. 51 His mighty arm does tremendous things! How he scatters the proud and haughty ones! 52 He has taken princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly. 53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. 54 And how he has helped his servant Israel! He has not forgotten his promise to be merciful. 55 For he promised our ancestors — Abraham and his children — to be merciful to them forever.”
JESUS
Christ is our salvation. He is exactly what mankind needs to enter the family of God. Jesus is the only way to the Father.

12/21 Hebrews 10:1-10
1 The old system in the law of Moses was only a shadow of the things to come, not the reality of the good things Christ has done for us. The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. 2 If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. 3 But just the opposite happened. Those yearly sacrifices reminded them of their sins year after year. 4 For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 That is why Christ, when he came into the world, said, “You did not want animal sacrifices and grain offerings. But you have given me a body so that I may obey you. 6 No, you were not pleased with animals burned on the altar or with other offerings for sin. 7 Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God — just as it is written about me in the Scriptures.'” 8 Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or grain offerings or animals burned on the altar or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). 9 Then he added, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to establish the second. 10 And what God wants is for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.
CLEANSED
The blood of Christ cleanses us-we are cleansed by His blood. He gives us His righteousness. Without Christ there is no relationship. In Jesus we are given the holiness we need in our relationship with God the Father.

12/20 Psalm 80:11-19
We spread our branches west to the Mediterranean Sea, our limbs east to the Euphrates River. 12 But now, why have you broken down our walls so that all who pass may steal our fruit? 13 The boar from the forest devours us, and the wild animals feed on us. 14 Come back, we beg you, O God Almighty. Look down from heaven and see our plight. Watch over and care for this vine 15 that you yourself have planted, this son you have raised for yourself. 16 For we are chopped up and burned by our enemies. May they perish at the sight of your frown. 17 Strengthen the man you love, the son of your choice. 18 Then we will never forsake you again. Revive us so we can call on your name once more. 19 Turn us again to yourself, O LORD God Almighty. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.
REVIVE
Revive us Lord so that we may not perish. Revive us Lord so that we can face the day. Revive us Lord so that we might know your presence and fellowship with you.

12/19 Psalm 80:1-10
1 For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph, to be sung to the tune “Lilies of the Covenant.” Please listen, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Israel like a flock. O God, enthroned above the cherubim, display your radiant glory 2 to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Show us your mighty power. Come to rescue us! 3 Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved. 4 O LORD God Almighty, how long will you be angry and reject our prayers? 5 You have fed us with sorrow and made us drink tears by the bucketful. 6 You have made us the scorn of neighboring nations. Our enemies treat us as a joke. 7 Turn us again to yourself, O God Almighty. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved. 8 You brought us from Egypt as though we were a tender vine; you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land. 9 You cleared the ground for us, and we took root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with our shade; the mighty cedars were covered with our branches.
BE READY
Cling to Jesus and spend time with Him. Know the Lord and let Him have control of you.

12/18 Isaiah 7:10-16 (Advent Week 4)
10 Not long after this, the LORD sent this message to King Ahaz: 11 “Ask me for a sign, Ahaz, to prove that I will crush your enemies as I have promised. Ask for anything you like, and make it as difficult as you want.” 12 But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I wouldn’t test the LORD like that.” 13 Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! You aren’t satisfied to exhaust my patience. You exhaust the patience of God as well! 14 All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel — ‘God is with us.’ 15 By the time this child is old enough to eat curds and honey, he will know enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong. 16 But before he knows right from wrong, the two kings you fear so much — the kings of Israel and Aram — will both be dead.
TROUBLED
Don’t let your heart be troubled. Trust in Jesus. He changes us. He makes us children of God. We belong to Him and He belongs to us. Don’t let your heart be troubled. Trust in Jesus.

12/17 Romans 8:18-25
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God’s curse. 21 All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently.
COMING
Jesus is coming back. He is coming back soon. Don’t wait. Be ready.

12/16 John 16:5-15
5 “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and none of you has asked me where I am going. 6 Instead, you are very sad. 7 But it is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Counselor won’t come. If I do go away, he will come because I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convince the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is unbelief in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the prince of this world has already been judged. 12 “Oh, there is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by revealing to you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that the Father has is mine; this is what I mean when I say that the Spirit will reveal to you whatever he receives from me.
TRUTH
Jesus brings us truth. The world deceives but the Lord reveals truth. Take your situation to Jesus and He will guide you in the correct way.

12/15 Mark 3:14-20
14 “What should we do?” asked some soldiers. John replied, “Don’t extort money, and don’t accuse people of things you know they didn’t do. And be content with your pay.” 15 Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah. 16 John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am — so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 He is ready to separate the chaff from the grain with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, storing the grain in his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” 18 John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people. 19 John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs he had done. 20 So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others.
EXPECT
If we live our life so that we expect Jesus to come back any day we will change the way we live. Do not be caught up with the world that you miss service. People are important and they count with the Lord therefore we need to make sure that people count with us. When we live with expectation it will cut down on the fear and anxiety that seeks to sidetrack us.