Category: Devotions

Posted in Devotions

God Heals All Who Believe

Posted on by Jack Flacco

The Lord is our refuge and our strength. Through Him alone, we have healing. Through Him alone is our salvation. For by God’s grace, Jesus died for our sins so that we might live and believe He is his Son, and by believing, we have healing.

“When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion replied, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.’ And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed at that very moment.”

(Matthew 8:5-8,13)

Jesus marveled at the Centurion’s faith, for He had not found such faith in all of Israel. How great a power are our words that God would choose to heal us, if we truly believed God would heal us. No greater power is that of having faith in God.

If God could create the universe and everything in it, if He could move the mountains and say to them, “Here, and no further,” if He could separate the day from the night, if He knows every star by name, how much more is it for Him to strengthen our hearts and heal our wounds?

By God’s mercy and grace, we have salvation. By His Spirit, we have everlasting love. He heals us because it pleases Him, and it is His will. No illness is stronger that He cannot overcome. God heals all who believe.

Posted in Devotions

Worship God Alone

Posted on by Jack Flacco

We are to worship only one God, the Great God, Maker of all things and bountiful in mercy and grace. For by God’s grace we have salvation through His Son Christ Jesus, who He sacrificed for the forgiveness of our sins.

“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”’ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.” (Matthew 4:8-11)

Oh, how wonderful it is to raise our hands in praise to God our Father, who has given us eternal life through Jesus our Lord. His deeds are awesome and His ways are just, that from age to age, we have surety He will keep His promises.

God alone is our refuge. He is our strength and our bulwark. No other god can rescue us from our enemies. No other power can give us courage in the face of tribulation. Only God can save us from disease.

Let us drop to our knees and worship the God of creation. Let us give honor to the One who has given us breath. For only He can save us from the evil that lies in wait. Only He defeated Satan. Worship God alone.

Posted in Devotions

Bless the Lord Our God

Posted on by Jack Flacco

Bless the Lord for He is merciful. His kindness is from everlasting to everlasting. His grace is bountiful and does not end. His love lasts forever.

“Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you” (Nehemiah 9:5-6).

There are no other gods before our God, for all other gods are dust. They do not have ears to hear our prayers. They do not have eyes to see our needs. They cannot speak a blessing on our lives. Our God is perfect in all things and absolute in power.

Glorious is God’s purpose for us, His children. He sacrificed His Son Jesus, so that we may live. In our repentance, He has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit. He is with us always, guiding us in all things, leading us to do good so that others may come to repentance to Him.

Praise God for His wonderful works. Give Him honor for His awesome deeds. Worship Him from morning until evening. Endless should be our prayers to Him and joyful are we dwelling with him.

Bless the Lord our God!

Posted in Devotions

All Is Possible by God’s Spirit

Posted on by Jack Flacco

Only God can deliver us from the troubles of this world. Only God can perform such miracles as to give us hope. His Word is surety of conviction. For His rescue does not come by might or power, but by His Spirit.

“Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts’” (Zechariah 4:6).

By His Spirit God created the sun, the moon and the stars. When He lay the measuring rod between the entities, He said, “This far and no more.” By setting the lights in the sky, God created time.

By His Spirit God created the world and everything in it. The trees stretch their branches to the heavens to worship their Creator. The seas cover the earth, as His love is never ending. Study nature to learn of His handiwork.

By His Spirit He created us. When we pray to Him, we are talking to Him. When we read His Word, He is talking to us. Therefore, if He can create all things, what should our troubles be to us, but a vapor? All is possible by God’s Spirit.

Posted in Devotions

Seek Wisdom from God

Posted on by Jack Flacco

When King Nebuchadnezzar had a frightful dream and searched all Babylon for its interpretation, the prophet Daniel looked to God for wisdom and understanding. For only through God comes true revelation of the secret things.

“Daniel answered and said:
‘Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;
he reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him.
To you, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
for you have made known to us the king’s matter.’”

(Daniel 2:20-23)

All wisdom and understanding comes from God, who created all things, made all things through His son Jesus, and imbued the church with true knowledge. That which is not known, is known through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Give thanks and praise to God our Father, who has revealed His truth to us by His Spirit. We have knowledge of Christ being our salvation, our redeemer, and the One who stood in our place, dying on the cross for our sins.

Blessed is God’s name forever, who has the power to change times and seasons, and to set up and remove governments for His purpose. His salvation is from everlasting to everlasting.

Blessed be His name. Seek wisdom from God.

Posted in Devotions

God’s Spirit Is Our Spirit

Posted on by Jack Flacco

When we fell to our knees and repented before the Lord, He forgave us our sins and blessed us with the Holy Spirit, to help us in our daily walk with Christ and our ability to overcome sin.

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

(Ezekiel 36:26-27)

No longer does the law bind us, but we are pure in spirit, under grace, given to want to do God’s will. Our desire now is to please Him, who has provided a way to speak with Him directly without sacrifices.

That willingness to want to please God is not from our own might, but by God’s Spirit. Without His will working inside us, we are as dross, tumbling every which way in order to seize the moment for our own pleasures.

Therefore, let us take a moment today to thank the Great God for bestowing upon us the gift of His Spirit. For by His Spirit we are able to do good to others and give of our lives to them. For God’s Spirit is our spirit.

Posted in Devotions

God Keeps His Promises

Posted on by Jack Flacco

God promised He would forgive us our sins. When he gave His son Jesus as a sacrifice to redeem us to Him, we would forever have a mediator, who would intervene on our behalf. No longer would sin bind us to death, but God would free us from its penalty.

“I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD.”

(Ezekiel 16:62-63)

We were once slaves to iniquity, imprisoned by the flesh. We knew nothing of the Spirit; for by the Spirit, if we had knowledge of His power, we would have been free, instead of being captives to our inward lusts. Christ our Savior has freed us.

God’s forgiveness is beyond measure. His grace is beyond our understanding. We may feel our sins are unpardonable, but God’s patience is long and enduring. He will keep forgiving us as many times as we bow our knee to Him and repent with our whole heart.

Therefore, it is with great joy that we have God as our king. He will pardon us from the penalty of our sins, bless us with the knowledge of His coming kingdom and prosper us with the gift of the Holy Spirit because God keeps His promises.