I have to admit, I rather be in heaven than on this earth who is going to hell in a hand basket. Yet, God has left me here and I'm thankful.

Thankful for another day to show God's love. Thankful to do God's will. And thankful for every blessing God has shown me.

I couldn't help but find some insightful truth in this devotion. So my hope is this devotion will kick me into gear and become Godly minded in all area's of my life.

God Bless.

What Binds the Hands of Love

John Piper

 

http://dsr.gd/1jBKYYa

 

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. (Colossians 1:3–5)

The problem with the church today is not that there are too many people who are passionately in love with heaven. The problem is not that professing Christians are retreating from the world, spending half their days reading Scripture and the other half singing about their pleasures in God all the while indifferent to the needs of the world.

The problem is that professing Christians are spending ten minutes reading Scripture and then half their day making money and the other half enjoying and repairing what they spend it on.
It is not heavenly-mindedness that hinders love. It is worldly-mindedness that hinders love, even when it is disguised by a religious routine on the weekend.

Where is the person whose heart is so passionately in love with the promised glory of heaven that he feels like an exile and a sojourner on the earth? Where is the person who has so tasted the beauty of the age to come that the diamonds of the world look like marbles, and the entertainment of the world is empty, and the moral causes of the world are too small because they have no view to eternity?

Where is this person?

He is not in bondage to the Internet or eating or sleeping or drinking or partying or fishing or sailing or putzing around. He is a free man in a foreign land. And his one question is this: How can I maximize my enjoyment of God for all eternity while I am an exile on this earth? And his answer is always the same: by doing the labors of love.

Only one thing satisfies the heart whose treasure is in heaven: doing the works of heaven. And heaven is a world of love!

It is not the cords of heaven that bind the hands of love. It is the love of money and leisure and comfort and praise — these are the cords that bind the hands of love. And the power to sever these cords is Christian hope.

I say it again with all the conviction that lies within me: it is not heavenly-mindedness that hinders love on this earth. It is worldly-mindedness. And therefore the great fountain of love is the powerful, freeing confidence of Christian hope.

 

From “The Fruit of Hope: Love”

Trust That God Loves You

Do you believe God loves you? I know I have a plan in that area. I mean come on. No matter what I do or didn't do, God still loves me?

His love is amazing and overwhelming. However have you tested it? Not in a cocky way but in a way that reaches the heart of God and His only response is to show His love for you.

Have you ever been in a position where nothing else but God and His love will get you through lifes storms? Until you trust in God's love for you no matter what circumstances you face, you will feel like you are missing something. Something big. Something so special that it is set aside just for you.

God Bless.



Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Trust that God loves you. Christ came and opened a door for us to return to right relationship with God. When Christ lived, we were not looking for a door, nor was it in our minds to get back to right relationship with God.

The Pharisees and Saducees were waiting on a Messiah that they crucified. How great the mercy and grace of God that through Christ He made a way to throw open the door of salvation for all people. He did it while humankind was too busy to be bothered; even His chosen people rejected Him. Thank you God that your love for us never fails!

Verse/Commentary courtesy of 'Jesus Daily: Bible Devotional' android app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.idelata.JesusDaily

The Day of the Lord

Who doesn't like the wisdom of Tozer? In this devotion Tozer lays out his thoughts on the Day
of the Lord.

Please enjoy and find wisdom in Tozer's words.

God Bless.

THE DAY OF THE LORD

The human race has always been quick to blame the world's disasters, floods, famines, plagues on natural causes. But in the end of the age, when the final judgments of God begin to fall, how long will it be until people confess that there is another real, though invisible, force in operation?

Truly the wrath of God will leave no hiding place for sinning, alienated men and women! John, in the Revelation, speaks of the mighty trumpets that will sound and the woes that will descend upon the earth.

In my own view, I link these events to the dramatic period throughout the earth when the antichrist has prevailed by deception and force. When God is finally ready to refine and restore the earth, everyone in heaven and on earth and in hell will know that no human laboratory could compound the fire that will be poured out on the earth. God has promised that He will not hide His wrath forever. He is prepared to speak in supernatural manifestations in that coming Day of The Lord!

http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer?id=29#noredirect

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Read and Reap

Sometimes you just need Joyce Meyer to set you straight.

This devotion is just you need to get a grasp on how to read and reap the benefits of the Word.

God Bless.

Read and Reap

by Joyce Meyer - posted March 26, 2015

[Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known. - Mark 4:22

The Word has tremendous treasures, powerful life-giving secrets that God wants to reveal to us. They are manifested to those who ponder, study, think about, practice mentally, and meditate on the Word of God.

There is no end to what God can show you out of one verse of Scripture. You can study a scripture one time and get one thing, and another time you'll see something else you did not even notice before.

The Lord keeps revealing His secrets to those who are diligent about studying the Word. Don't be the kind of person who always wants to live off of someone else's revelation. Study the Word yourself, and allow the Holy Spirit to bless your life with truth. Power Thought: Revelation is available to me when I study God's Word.

From the book the book Power Thoughts Devotional by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2013 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

The Rod of Discipline

The rod of discipline isn't just for children. If you are a child of God, He discipline His children.

I don't think you will ever come to a place this side of heaven that you will not be discipline by God.

We must keep going and run our race and accept the fact when God disciplines us is because He loves us and wants to use us to win a dying world for Him!

God Bless.

Proverbs 29:15
A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom, but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.

The rod is discipline, and it is the imparter of wisdom. God disciplines those He loves, and one of the reasons this is so is to teach wisdom to His children. That wisdom works for their benefit and His glory, continually urging them toward right relationship with God by the Holy Spirit of God.

A child of God who rejects His discipline will not experience an amputated intimacy with God. In rejecting God's discipline, we miss opportunities to learn, to grow, and to be shaped into the person God is calling us to be. It is not too late, God remains faithful always.

Verse courtesy of 'Proverb-A-Day' android app.
http://www.idelata.com/apps/proverb-a-day/

God Is Speaking to You

Answer to the age old question! Hopefully this will put this issue to bed so we can keep reaching for the higher calling!

 

God Bless!

 

God Is Speaking to You

 

It sounds like a pretty foundational point, but I believe there are many who still question whether God really talks to people. Have you ever wondered about this? Do you ask yourself if God would ever speak to you?

 

You'll be happy to know that the answer is yes. Toward the end of His time on earth, Jesus told His disciples, "I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or take them upon you or to grasp them now. But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth)" (John 16:12,13).

 

When Jesus spoke these words, He was talking to men with whom He had spent the previous three years, yet He still had more to teach them. This is surprising, because I would think that if Jesus was with me personally for three years, day and night, I would have learned everything there is to know.

 

But Jesus always has more to say because we will always be facing new situations in life that He wants to guide us through. That's why we've been given the Holy Spirit - so that we can hear God speak, even though He may not be physically in front of us. Through Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, God wants to speak to you on a One-to-one basis every day. He wants to lead you step-by-step to the good things He has in store for you. The Father will give the gift of His Spirit to all who ask for Him (see Luke 11:13).

 

I want to say again emphatically that each of us can hear from God and be led by the Holy Spirit daily. Are you listening? Prayer Starter: God, I ask to be guided by the Holy Spirit. I believe that You are speaking to me, and I want to know what You have to say.

Christ Ambassadors

Ever wonder what an ambassador is suppose to do? Well this devotional puts it into perspective and gives some guidence.

Just start, take a step, and become a Christ ambassador. The pay on earth lacks, the risks are high, but oh the benefits is beyond measure!

God Bless.


2 Corinthians 5:20-21 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Ambassador is defined as “an authorized messenger or representative.”

We have been authorized by Jesus Christ to carry the message of the gospel to all people. This is why Paul says here that God is making His appeal through us – because He is. Jesus chose you to tell others about Himself, and tell them the good news that you heard, believed in, and that saved you. Today, remember what Jesus has done for you and share that message with someone who needs to hear it. Speak the truth in love and preach the gospel.

Verse/Commentary courtesy of 'Jesus Daily: Bible Devotional' android app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.idelata.JesusDaily