Having Bible knowledge and understanding is great, however if the scriptures are not living and active in our lives, it is all in vain (Hebrews 4:12-13). The life application selections contain thoughts provoking, real life challenges that will prayerfully transform us to be more like Jesus in our spiritual journey. James 1:23-27 challenges us to not just merely listen or read the scriptures, it says “But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” Do not miss your blessings my friends!
It is not that we are competent in ourselves to count anything as having come from us; on the contrary, our competence is from God. He has even made us competent to be workers serving a New Covenant, the essence of which is not a written text but the Spirit. For the written text brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
When was the last time that you read and meditated on the Old Testament? Unless we understand what was before us, it is likely we will take the present for granted. In order to understand the depth of the scripture above, I had to study what Paul meant by ‘written text or Letter’ in his writing. I learned the written text is referenced to Sha’ul, that is written text engraved on stone tablets that was known to bring death because it proclaimed the guilt of the people.
Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Have you ever gotten to a point in your life as a disciple of Jesus Christ where you feel weak and empty? This passage was given to me on a day that I needed the reminder that my weakness and hunger or feeling of emptiness is the result of my lack of fear of the Lord Jesus Christ. David was in a very vulnerable situation when this Psalm was written because he was facing what could have been his death. Yet, he credited his victory not to his clever decision but to the fact that he feared the Lord. Who or what do you fear in your life? Could it be failures, success, yourself, rejection or anything or people that you perceive as the authority over your life. The promise in the Psalm is if we choose to fear God above all things, we will lack nothing. This verse brought me to Jesus encounter at the well where he exclaimed the water that he offers is "a spring of life." Life can be very scary in this world, and we might even be tempted to conform according to our society. Let's remember to fear our Lord who promises us eternal life (John 14:6) and who "...hold the keys of death and Hades" (Revelations 1:17-18).
But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' ” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”
As I listened and read this scripture at about 12:40 am, the Spirit prompted me to get up and write this devotion. I can in many ways relate to this guy who was an invalid for 38 years. I am very blessed that my deliverance in Jesus’ name did not come after so many years. I was 9 years old when Jesus brought me a Bible and called me out of the bondage of Satan. Moreover, I was 14 years old when Jesus again delivered me from my invalid life.
Everyone comes naked from their mother's womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands.
Have you ever experienced moments in your life where you wonder why do you do what you do? Many people have come before us and gone. For most people, after they die, their legacy and memories of this life dissipate over time. King Solomon was one of the wisest and richest men who lived in this world. He had great wealth and power, yet he concluded that this is all meaningless. Since we are reminded by Solomon that we take nothing with us when our God given Spirit leaves this body and dies, let us build a legacy in this world that we can potentially take with us, Eternal life. Jesus says in John 14:2-3 "My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
As I read this scripture, I picture myself in the middle of a war zone that I must go through to make it to my destination. As I am traveling through that war zone that seems never ending, I am in protective armor that protects me from all weapons fired at me by the enemy. The war zone, for me, signifies the earth that we live in and how it is filled with different weapons of mass destruction. Nevertheless, we must navigate through and fight not to be destroyed as we strive to make it to heaven and to get to spend eternal life with God.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Have you found yourself working hard to remain focused on the promises of God? Let’s be real! Saying that God is faithful and trusting God’s faithfulness during trials are very different. Jesus understood how much faith it takes for us to hold on to God’s promise when he addressed doubting Thomas. “Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John20:29).
