Devotionals

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Imagine waking up most days feeling like needles are pricking you all over your body, while your bones feel like wires or three string cords that are being twisted to make a rope! Imagine waking up most days relying on God to be your strength by praying you can make it through the day! Imagine being awake but not able to get up from the bed because your body is fighting against your will to get going! Imagine after fighting through the physical pain all day where your brain feels exhausted, where you cannot recall simple things or the names of your friends and family even though you are looking at them! Imagine feeling like bugs are running under your skin like an electricity wave! Imagine having a full-blown flare of the symptoms mentioned above where your body is retaliating for pushing through as your toes, legs, hands, back, eyes and your muscles/bones start twitching and folding. Your loved ones can visibly see your body being in crisis while you are screaming and crying and there is nothing they can do to help! Imagine driving home from work or other places praying to God that your legs don’t start twitching/folding because you know your survival and others on the road depends on it! Imagine your body feels beat up when talking, breathing, reading, walking, becomes exceedingly difficult! Imagine your vision gets blurry where you feel like your sight is diminishing slowly while experiencing extreme fatigue!

Part 2 - Jesus is God!

NIV- John 1:1-14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.  The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Let us follow the sequence of events that John is bringing to our attention:

1. The Word was there in the beginning
2. The Word was with God in the beginning
3. The Word was God
4. The same was in the beginning with God
5. All things were made by him and without him nothing was made

Part 1- Introduction

Growing up as a child, I learned about Jesus through the religious school that I attended.  Unfortunately, I recall learning more about the significance of Jesus' mother Mary instead of Jesus at an early age.  Indeed, I believe Mary the mother of Jesus is an earthly, significant part of His existence.  In fact, scriptures tell us that she was highly favored by God (Luke 1:28).  However, as I grew older, I began to question who is this Jesus?  God allowed my curiosity to be nurtured through both trials and victories.  In John 14:6, Jesus declared " I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the father except through me."  Jesus’ message in this scripture, I believe, answers a fundamental question that is often asked. What is the path to God's eternal glory?  I often hear the statement 'There are many ways to God'.  During Jesus' ministry, He was very plain in His answer about how we get to God.  As we study Jesus’s ministry, we will read about His clear understanding that people would reject His sacrificial act to bring us back to God.  I believe Jesus’ statement in the passage above was absolute and with authority.  He left no room for doubt or confusion. I have always asked myself and I would like to pose to you, as you join me in this journey, these questions:  Do you want to find ‘The Path’ to God our Creator? (He is the way) Do you want ‘The Truth’? (He is the Truth) Do you want 'The Life'? (He is the Life) Yes, I do believe that Jesus is the only way to the physical and spiritual reconnection that we all so desire with God which was tarnished at the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-24).  I believe with absolute confidence that He is the only way to God because my life is a testimony that Jesus is the only life that keeps my heart beating in a world that is so spiritually empty for truth.

For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.  As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

(Isaiah 66:12-13)

“if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

(2Chronicle 7:14 ASV)

“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that everyone he has made may know his work,
he stops all people from their labor.”

 (Job 37:5-7-NIV)

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

(Luke 19:10-ESV)

Most people in the world identify themselves as ‘Christians,’ others identify themselves as ‘believers.' Those who walked with Jesus during His ministry were identified as disciples. Although the word "Christian" is predominantly used to describe followers of Jesus throughout the world today, it was not commonly used during the early part of the 1st century Church. The word Christian was used later while Barnabas and Paul were teaching the people in Antioch (Acts 11:25-26).  The name was given to them by the people they were teaching and simply means 'Christ followers' or 'Christ-like'. I believe whether you identify yourself as a Christian or disciple of Jesus Christ, the expectation for all of us is the same according to scriptures because you are claiming Jesus as your Rabbi, Master, Lord, and Teacher.  For example, I identify myself as a ‘disciple’ of Jesus Christ. Carrying the identity of a disciple of Jesus reminds me to remain sober in my desire to be a student seeking to understand the intimate parts of His heart. As the Apostle Paul so eloquently reminds us in Philippians 3:10-11, when I made the decision to become Jesus’ disciple, I renounced everything that I was to be molded through the power given in His death to reach fullness in Christ at the last resurrection. “Yes, I gave it all up in order to know him, that is, to know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings as I am being conformed to his death so that somehow I might arrive at being resurrected from the dead” (The complete Jewish Study Bible- Version).

Battle for our soul began the day that God created humankind!

Eve: The First Daughter of the Living God

Genesis 2:4- 3:1-24

How many of you at various times in your life have felt the feeling of Shame and Fear?

Shame, according to Webster dictionary is defined as: A painful emotion caused by consciousness (unconscious) of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety.

Fear, according to Oxford dictionary is defined as: An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat.

Have any of you ever struggled with feelings of guilt, regret, remorse, self-reproach, humiliation, disgrace, dishonor, failure, unworthiness, worthlessness, confusion, emptiness, hopelessness, etc.? You can fill the blank. Feelings are part of who we are, and they are necessary to our survival. However, our feelings are usually triggered by positive or negative experiences which dictate our behavior. The manifestation of our behavior from our feelings depends on the perception of the event that happens in our lives which triggers our reaction. The way we interpret the events of our lives dictate how they impact our emotional and physical wellbeing.