Category: Devotions

How wonderful is it to know that one day we shall rise to everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Savior. By God, we will live again!

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

(1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

Let not the riches of this present age deceive us into believing we are rich. We brought nothing into this world and we will take nothing out of this world. Only our faith in Jesus gives us hope for eternal riches.

Therefore, what manner of people should we be, knowing all of this that we see will one day be gone? Look to God, strive for endurance, give ear to the faith and never give that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, an opportunity to dwell in our hearts and minds.

Retribution will come, but it will come from God; we only need to be silent. For now, pray for one another, bless one another and encourage one another with these words.

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” The Apostle John said it another way: whoever does evil has not seen God. Therefore, if we do good, we will also see God.

“Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.”

(3 John 1:11)

All good comes from God. There is no evil in God, for His very spirit is pure and undefiled. What is evil? Sin is evil. Breaking God’s law is evil. We, however, have hope in Jesus. He paid the penalty of sin for us, and because of it, we have salvation.

What is good? Good is to love God and to love others as we love ourselves. We ought to honor and worship God, honor our parents, keep others safe, be faithful to the one we love, be honest with one another, keep our word, and be happy with what we have.

When we do good, we are seeing as God sees, for our heart is His heart and our love is His love working in us. Blessed is our God for He is good and whoever does good is from God.

Are we afraid of what others could do to us? We should not fear, for if we confess Jesus is the Son of God, God will be with us, protect us and care for us from sunset to sunset. He will not allow us to fall by the wayside, for His love will abide in us forever.

“God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

(1 John 4:16,18)

If we have God abiding in us, then fear has no room in us. Fear is the worry of punishment; but Jesus came to remove that punishment. Through Him, we have reconciliation with the Father; therefore whatever our sin, we have forgiveness and no reason to worry about judgment.

With fear no longer choking us, we can live abundant and joyful lives. We then no longer are walking in the darkness, but raising our hands in praise in the light. With God as our only God, He perfects our faith by His love abiding in us.

Therefore, let us not fear of what others could do to us. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, God has promised to deliver us from our trials and tribulations. All we have to do is have faith that He will do it, for perfect love casts out fear.

Show mercy to all, for our Father who is in Heaven shows mercy unto us. Our tormentors may lay their hands on us, grieving us to beg relief, but our God will not forget. He will give us comfort during our time of grief.

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

(Luke 6:32-36)

Jesus Christ our Lord, who died for our sins, suffered at the hands of His tormentors. For a brief time, the sky went dark and the clouds turned wet, yet He now sits at the right hand of the Father, sustaining all things through His Word, bestowing grace and mercy to all who call on His name.

What manner of people are we if we give only to those who can give back to us? Should we not instead give freely, expecting nothing in return? For as God gives freely to us, we ought to give freely to others. In the same way, as He is merciful to us, we ought to be merciful unto others.

O how great is our God to have blessed us with the truth of His love. He is so kind and gentle toward us. His mercies never fail. He saved us while we were yet sinners, therefore be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

You do not have to fight your own battles, for the Lord said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” If our enemies hear silence from us, then they ought to fear, for that is when God is preparing a response on our behalf.

“The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

(Exodus 14:14)

No manner of threat to our lives can sway us from believing Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Others may torment us, they may persecute us, and they may throw us into the fire, but if God is for us, who can be against us?

Whatever sufferings we may endure at the hands of our persecutors, they will know, they cannot take away our salvation through Christ. All their works, He will count as dross. None of them shall escape.

Our hope rests in the Lord. He will take care of our enemies. He will intervene on our behalf. No affliction is greater than God’s judgment, for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The Lord will fight for you.