Devo

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Psalm 105:28 - “The Lord blanketed Egypt in darkness, for they had defied his commands to let his people go.”

READ: When we are defiant to the commands of God, darkness clouds our lives. This is simply a reality of the world. It’s woven into the fabric of creation. God is light, and if we are in him, there is no darkness. But when we are not in him, darkness overtakes us.

This passage should not cause us a lack of hope, nor cause us to grow negative about our God. But actually should provide us continued motivation to live out God’s commands in our lives. If we desire to live a life that is characterized by light (love, understanding, forgiveness, grace, etc.) then our desires should be for God’s plan!

PRAY: Lord of Light, remind me of the darkness of disobedience. Reveal to me the light of your plan. Renew in me a heart that loves your commands.

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A clam glorifies God better than we do, because the clam is being everything it was created to be, whereas we are not.

Elisabeth Elliot

Psalm 104:25-26 - “Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small. See the ships sailing along, and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea. They all depend on you to give them food as they need it. When you supply it, they gather it. You open your hand to feed them, and they are richly satisfied.”

READ: When God’s creatures live in the freedom and purpose he created them for, in dependence upon his provision, they “play” and enjoy life & are “richly satisfied.”

Are we living within God’s purposes and plans for our lives so that we can enjoy life and be satisfied in such deep ways?

PRAY: Jesus, satisfy me and free me to live joyfully. Remind me of your purposes and hand in my life.

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Let all that I am praise the Lord

Psalm 103:1-5 - "Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!" 

READ: We should praise the Lord with all that we are. This immediately brings 2 possibilities to mind: we give all our effort and energy toward praising God (100% effort); and every part of our lives should praise or honor God. Both these realities should be true. Because of Gods goodness to save us from sin, heal us from sins disease, redeeming us from sins consequence - death, and then filling our lives with love, mercy, and good things, we should give all we have - every bit of energy and every area of our life - to praise God by telling the world who He is and what He has done! 

PRAY: Today, Lord, may I focus my energy and effort on you. May I praise you with my actions and my words. May every area of my life, even the small things, honor you - so that others might come to know who you are!

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Psalms 102:18-20 - Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord: “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.”

READ: God’s action thru Jesus Christ fulfilled the promise in this Psalm that God saw from heaven humanity’s slavery to sin, heard our cries for help, and acted to set us free from death! May we celebrate today that we serve a God who sets us free from sin.

What in your life has imprisoned you in the past that He has set you free from in Jesus? What in your life do you currently cry out to God about that has you chained? Will you trust God to release you from it’s hold on your life thru the power of His Spirit experienced thru the community of believers around you?

PRAY: Heavenly Father, you look down on my life and see where I am imprisoned and desire to free me from those things. Make me aware of the things you desire me to do in order to live in that freedom you offer thru your Son as I live in the Spirit with your people on earth.

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The Lord is Good

Psalm 100:5 - “For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”

READ: The Lord’s goodness is not determined by what we typically ascribe to God. Many times we determine God is good when he performs for us on our time schedule. He is good when He “blesses” us (heals us, provides us money, etc.). But the Scripture reminds us the qualification for the Lord being good: Himself.

He is good because of His eternal nature of love that cannot fail and faithfulness that exists in every generation. Now, that does not say anything about whether we will walk into His goodness and experience a loving and faithful relationship with the Lord. But it does establish His goodness which is independent from us and our determinations of what He does. 

God is good. Rest in that reality today. His love will not fail. His faithfulness with show up. Will you trust in His goodness today - even if you don’t see it the way you want?

PRAY: Lord, provide me a faith that is based upon the reality of who you truly are and not who I try to make you out to be. Remind me today of your love & faithfulness - you goodness which sustains me even when I don’t see it.

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Let's build bridges, not walls.

MLK Jr. 

Psalm 99:4 - "Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established fairness. You have acted with justice and righteousness throughout Israel." ‭‭ 

READ: Social justice is important for the Christian, because it reflects the heart of God. His desire is to establish fairness and justice for all. 

However, the larger importance is always spiritual justice. That righteousness would be established in the world thru Gods people, as heaven comes to earth thru the presence of Gods Spirit.

PRAY: Mighty King, give me your heart to see righteousness and justice reign in my life, thru the power of your Spirit. Transform me into a holy representative of your love.

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The salvation of our God

Psalm 98:2-3 - “The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”

READ: God’s salvation has been made known to the entire world. First, thru the Exodus event for his people, Israel. Then, thru the Resurrection event for his people, the Church. The world needs to hear the story of God’s salvation.

However, people need to hear the story not just thru the big picture story of God’s redemption for the world, but thru the testimonies of his people who share their story of redemption. Your testimony of what God has done and is doing in your life to save you is a major way that God wants to reveal His salvation to the world. Share it.

PRAY: Savior, remind me not only of your grand story of redemption for the world, but your plan of salvation for my life. Give me passion to share the testimony that you have given me with those who need to know Your salvation.

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Psalm 97:11-12 - “Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.”

READ: As you serve God, at times it will seem that darkness is winning the day. That no matter how much good you do, the bad seems to still overcome. But we know that this is not true.

If we will devote ourselves to righteousness, holiness, and purity, what we will find is that the light will always overcome the darkness in our lives. Joy will overcome sadness. Praise will overcome condemnation. And then, when our lives are filled with light, we will begin to shine that light into the darkness around us.

PRAY: Jesus, light of the world, shine your light and pour out your joy into my life. No matter what darkness seems to come into my life, do not let me get discouraged. Let your light shine thru me today!

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Sing a new song

Psalm 96:1-2 - “Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.”

READ: Singing old songs, historic songs, songs of what God has done in the past is important. It’s important to remember God’s faithfulness throughout the generations.

However, this Psalm reminds us that it is just as important to sing a new song about God’s work in our lives right now - Today! Proclaiming how God is saving us and transforming us. And that is a message that should be shared with the world!

PRAY: Lord, make me aware of how you are transforming me right now. May I share what you are doing in my life - saving me from this world of sin - with someone you bring into my life!

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Psalm 95:6-7 - Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

READ: The question today for your life is will you bow it before your Maker...will you kneel before your King...will you submit your plans today before your Lord?

Just like a sheep whose shepherd knows best where there is food, where there is water, where there is safety - our God cares for our lives if we allow him. But if we stubbornly buck against leadership like a ram, we might find ourselves outside the flock, outside the care and safety of the shepherd, and experiencing the potential of things that might harm us (predators that may attack or even cliffs we might walk off).

Where in your life are you being stubborn and need to kneel to your Shepherd’s wisdom, will, and wishes?

PRAY: Good Shepherd, remind me once again of your love and grace, of your goodness and mercy, and of your wisdom and care for my life. Discipline me when I buck against you. Reaffirm me when I surrender to your will. Carry me today as I face the tasks of my day.

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As you walk through the valley of the unknown, you will find the footprints of Jesus both in front of you and beside you

Charles Stanley

Psalm 94:19, 22 - “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy...the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.”

READ. Think about the current anxieties in your life. Are you allowing them to control you? To influence your attitudes? To distract you from who you are in Christ?

Remember today, in the midst of those thing that make you anxious, that God is ultimately your fortress and rock “as you walk thru the valley of the unknown.”

PRAY. Lord, you are the God of my anxieties. Take my cares and concerns, and redeem them by producing within me more faith and trust in you!

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Psalm 92:6-8 - Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed. But you, Lord, are forever exalted.

READ: I immediately thought of this song “Lord of Hosts” based upon Psalm 46 when I read Psalm 92 this morning. It’s all over the Bible, that God will ultimately have victory no matter what seems to “win the day” in our current world.

What in your life do you need to entrust to God, knowing that in the end He will ultimately have victory over it?

PRAY: Lord of Heaven’s Armies, remind me once again what it means to trust you with my life and live in the promise that you are “forever exalted.”

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What song are you singing?

Psalm 92:4 - “For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done.”

READ: We all get songs stuck in our head. Sometimes songs that annoy us, sometimes songs we love. But most of us (even those of us who can’t carry a tune in a bucket) still live our life with a playlist of songs playing in our minds constantly.

Even more, we each live our lives in a way that sings praises to and about something or someone. The challenge of this passage is this: What and whom does your life sing about? If your life is a part of the chorus of this world, would people hear about Jesus? Would they be overwhelmed by the story of his love?

Think about how your life today can sing the praises of God.

And go ahead and sing along with your favorite hymn or praise song while you are at it - it’ll help you stay glad for all the good things God has done!

PRAY: Lord, may my life today sing your praises - both as I sing with my lips and with my actions. May others see Jesus thru me today.