#every day devotions

[weekdaydevotions]

God The Redeemer, not the Entertainer

From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

Matthew 4:17

“America is the first culture in jeopardy of amusing itself to death.”

John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life

Jesus early ministry caused a lot of excitement in the air. He was going around Galilee healing the sick and preaching repentance. More people cared about the healings then the message of repentance. That still happens today, when many churches draws crowds in with entertainment. I am not against entertainment because I know many people who would never enter a church building without some form of enjoyment.

Being entertained, though it is not wrong, needs never to be the focus of our Christian life. If we are brought to Jesus through entertainment, we should never expect God to keep entertaining us. We need to remember hear the real message of our Savior, which is the message of "repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near."  

Heavenly Father, help me grow into treating my faith more of a relationship than an entertainment. Amen.

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Additional Reading Matthew 4: 12 - 17; 23 - 25

[weekdaydevotions]

Patiently Trusting God

In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

Isaiah 25:9

Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks.

Isaac Watts

During one's life, trust is broken numerous of times. It starts when we are young and cumulates over time. Many people become skeptical about trustworthiness and have a hard time giving trust to others.

Trusting in God is part of the leap of faith in Christianity. For one, God is invisible. It is hard enough to trust a visible person, so putting trust in the invisible is even harder. Another is that Christians are still waiting on the second coming of Christ. It has been a long time since the words of Revelation and we still wait patiently for Him to return. Finally, it is hard when bad things are happening around the world. If you watch the news regularly or follow blogs, the world seems to be in chaos. "Where is God?" is a phrase that is uttered in many people's mind and voices.

Trusting in God is up to the person, but salvation will come if we continue to trust in Him.

Father, my faith and trust is in you. Help me with endurance as I await your return. Amen.

Tweet, comment or post your struggles in trusting God. #everydaydevotions

Additonal Reading Isaiah 25:6–10

[weekdaydevotions]

A New Day

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Romans 13:12 (NIV)

“Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life. The secret of success is in turning that diary into the best story you possibly can.”

Douglas Pagels

No matter what happens in any given day, good or bad, the day ends, and a new day begins. With that understanding, as Christians we need to forgot about the days behind and focus on the day at hand.

Every day is a day to show love to one another. Every day is a day to stop walking away from God and instead walk towards His kingdom. Do not let the past dictate your life, instead choose today to be godly. It is your choice.

Father, I give up my past to you, so I can live in the present for you. Amen

Tweet, post or comment what is something you can do today to live for God more. #everydaydevotions

Additional Reading: Romans 13:8 –14