Absent
You may have noticed that a weekly devotional has not been posted for quite sometime. You may have also noticed that there are times a devotional is not posted every week. So, this week I decided to make a post to explaining the lack of posting, my absence. I feel it is important to be transparent with you.
First and foremost this devotional is a ministry. I believe that doing ministry is very serious. I feel it is important to have the right heart posture and be in the right place with The Lord. There are times when I am not in the right posture or place with The Lord. Then there are times when I am in a low place. During the lows, it is a battle to pour out a devotional. Sometimes, I have pushed through and have poured out a devotional during those times. I have felt like those devotionals could have been better. I feel like I could have dug deeper with writing those devotionals. So, with those feelings, I sometimes choose not to post because I feel as though it is unfair to you, the reader, to get a devotional that could be lacking in depth.
I say all of that not to say that the ones I have posted thus far are not good quality. They are good quality. But, I do think there was room to go deeper. I must not let these thoughts or feelings discourage me. Rather I must see that there is room for more devotionals and a door to revisit topics and verses in the future.
Yeah, so that is why I have been absent. The absence does not entirely mean that I have not been working or have not been with Jesus. It just means I have been absent from posting but not from working. You see there have been moments of silence and isolation. There have been moments of loudness and presence. I have struggled and wrestled during those times. I have poured out my heart loudly to God, and have sat in silence with my emotions trying to hear God speak during those times. Within the struggle and wrestle, the loudness and silence, I have repented and surrendered, and God has given me times of refreshing. In those moments, God reveals more of Himself to me. He shows me how the Scriptures connect and teaches me The Scriptures through my experiences. It hasn’t always been instantly that I have traded my sorrows for joy. Sometimes it has taken days or weeks. But when I come out of the mess, I grow.
How could I know that no weapon formed against me will prosper if I never had a weapon try to form against me? How could I know to cast all my anxieties on Him because He cares if I never had anything to be anxious about? How could I learn to be patient in affliction if I never had any affliction? You will find the depth from sermons, books, and works from ministers of the faith often come from places of great sorrow.
I hope this encourages you that it is okay to take time to stop and pause with The Lord. I hope it helps you to see transparency, and I hope it helps you to see my heart. I pray that as you finish reading in your times of absence, loneliness, or isolation you will run to The Dwelling Place to become Empty and surrender whatever you need to no matter how Costly, and that Times of Refreshing will come and make you New Renewed and Transformed so that you would be on High Pursuit again.
High Pursuit
We are two weeks into the new year, and for some of us, new goals and new mindsets are starting to drift to the back of our minds. But I want us to develop a new attitude if we have not before because this type of attitude can set the year and beyond for us if The Lord allows us to see more days. It is a stance we can begin to have right now.
The stance we can have is a runner’s mindset. Let us run after God and the things of God in high pursuit. Hebrews 12:1-2 and 1 Corinthians 9:24 tell us what this pursuit should look like. The passages of Scripture describe the Christian life as a race. It is a race that we need to run well. We must run with endurance and we must run to win a prize.
When I read these passages of Scripture I think of races in The Olympics. In any of the Olympic races I have watched on TV, like the 100-meter dash, I have noticed that every person is giving all they have. They are putting all their energy, effort, focus, and passion into winning the race. Maybe you read those passages and you think of a race like a marathon. People who run in marathons have to have strong endurance to make it to the end. They must take the race steady, maintaining a good pace. Thinking of either of those types of races helps us to understand the text. We must charge to win our prize but also keep a good pace to reach the end.
We are not just running this race alone. Notice in Hebrews 12:1-2 the words before “run with endurance…” state that we are “surrounded with a great cloud of witnesses.” We have many who are watching us. I go back to thinking about a race, those in attendance are usually cheering on the athletes. In the same way, we have brothers and sisters in Christ and citizens of heaven who are witnessing us and cheering us on. How encouraging is that? We have so many that are for us.
After those words in the verse it says “let us lay aside every hinderance and sin that so easily ensures us.” Why would the writer state that before saying to run the race? Because we cannot run our race well if we are embracing sin. We will stumble and fall during our race.
Then notice what is stated in verse two, “keeping our eyes on Jesus the pioneer of our faith.” While we run the race we must fix our gaze, our focus on Jesus. He pioneered the faith and laid the foundation before us. If we look to Him, look at who He is, and look at His testimony, read in The Gospels the life He lived, and try to look like Him, we will run our race well. Our race will look like His because we will start looking more like Him.
Then finally, we need to run for the prize like 1 Corinthians 9:24 states. The prize is Jesus, eternity with Him. When runners run they run to win, and so let us run aiming to be with our prize, Jesus. We need to be in high pursuit to win, giving all of our energy and focus on pursuing God and the things of God. So let us adopt the attitude of living (running) our lives (race) well. This week in prayer ask The Lord how you can better run your race and make this runner’s mindset your banner beginning this year and for the rest of your days.
New & Renewed & Transformed
Is having a devotional about being new on the first day of the new year cringe? Yes, but let’s look past the fact it is and focus on the message from the devotional. I feel like it is a good time to discuss this fundamental biblical belief.
The fundamental biblical belief is in Christ we are new. Christ died for our sins and rose from the grave. If you have been saved by Jesus Christ, you also have died and been raised with Christ (see Romans 6:8, Colossians 3:1). The old self, which was full of fleshly desires (sinful desires) died, and Jesus made us a new creation. This newness brings a new perspective like verse 16 says in 2 Corinthians 5. This newness is life not death. It is righteousness (right standing with God and holiness (to be set apart). We have become a completely new creation no longer like the world.
The question is why then do we still sin? Because this is a reality in our spirit but not in the realm of our minds. You see our mind is composed of our will, intellect, and emotions. The world has influenced and continues to influence our mind. We also live in a fallen world where sin runs rampant, and sometimes we are tempted to sin.
Even though we have a new self, we will be tempted to go back to the ways of the old self. Sinful desires are going to try and creep up in us and we will be tempted to act on them. Sometimes we will give in, because we are not perfect, but one day we will arrive (see Hebrews 10:14, 1 John 3:2). Until then we will have to choose to put off our old self, be renewed in our minds, and put on the new self (see Ephesians 4:22-24). This looks like surrendering ourselves daily as I discussed in the devotional titled, Costly. We will have to get into the Word to be transformed in our minds to get some of the deep sinful beliefs and motives out of us (see Romans 12:2).
While this will be difficult, we can be encouraged that we will not be doing it alone. Praise God, Who has given us The Holy Spirit to guide us in all truth. (See John 16:13) We do not have to do it on our own (in reality we cannot) but we rely on Him. The Holy Spirit will reveal in us the sin and will mold us to look more like God. We are being sanctified, meaning we are being made to look more like Christ. As we walk with Him, we are new, being renewed, and being transformed into His likeness.
Costly
Luke 14:25-33
The words of Jesus in Luke 14:25-33 are some of the heaviest words I have read in The Bible. The words Jesus said in these verses carry a lot of weight. The words are hard to read, and you may find yourself confused with some of the things Jesus said especially in verse 26.
Did Jesus really say to hate your father, mother, wife, children, brothers sisters, and yourself? He certainly did say that. If this is your first time reading these verses, you may have some feelings about them. You may be confused, angry, upset, sad, and/or disgusted. Feel all of that, but do not get so frustrated that you do not seek to understand and turn away. There is a message in the text. Before moving forward, pray, and then let me explain.
The meaning behind verse 26 is that you should be so devoted to God that it looks like you hate the ones closest to you. You will not actually hate them, for you are called to love. However, it will look like you are not spending as much time with or doing as much for them. You will be so committed to God that you will prioritize your obligation to Him over your obligation to anyone else. Others will take a back seat. They will not come before God.
This type of commitment looks like spending time with God before you do with your spouse, family, or friends. It looks like saying no to your spouse, family, or friends to do something for God. It looks like moving away from family, because The Lord told you to move for His sake. For some, it looks like ending relationships because the relationships are holding them back from following Jesus. Examples are ungodly friendships, family, or a boyfriend or girlfriend that lead you away from The Lord. Do not get it twisted, I am not saying everyone needs to cut off everyone and be in isolation, or everyone needs to neglect those around them. Some need to cut off relationships. Others should still have the relationships, but do not let them interfere with devotion to God. Still, take care of your loved ones, but do not let them consume your life to the point God is second. The Lord must be The Lord in your life, and He must have the throne in your life.
Verse 27 tells us that whoever does not bear their cross cannot be The Lord’s disciple. What does this mean? First, I want to say that I am reminded of this verse from a few chapters before, 'And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Daily, you must nail to the cross anything that you would give your all to, your being to, your worship to, or your life to. In other words, you must surrender idols. And then daily you must carry the burden of being a Christ follower. Yes, Jesus’s burden is light in that He does not impose rules that are hard to follow like the Pharisees did (See Matthew 11:30). Rather, the burden is heavy, because following Jesus is costly. You will have to surrender things daily; meaning, you will have to not let them have first place in your life or altogether give them up through letting go of your emotional hold to them and/or decrease or eliminate your devotion to them for His sake and carry that burden daily. The persecution and the hardships that come from being a Christ follower are costs that will be daily burdens too.
In verses 28-32, Jesus says a builder will consider the cost of building a building, and a king will consider the cost of a war before deciding to proceed. So, you too should count up the costs of being a disciple of Christ and consider if it’s worth it.
Verse 33 ends with whoever does not denounce all they have cannot be Jesus’s disciple. There is not one thing or person in your life that you can hold on to. If you are not willing to surrender everyone and everything you cannot be a disciple of Christ. If you are unwilling to surrender everyone and everything to Christ then you are holding on to people and those things in an attempt to not lose your life. You are afraid that surrendering will mean you will lose your life as you know it. I only know this from personal experience, and I want to remind you of this verse: 'For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it ' (Luke 9:24).
You must surrender all. To surrender all means to let go. You believe nothing and no one is yours to hold on to and you give all to God. You surrender to decide for Christ to be first and to be your master.
So the question you need to ask yourself is what is it going to cost you to follow Jesus? Then consider whether it is worth the cost. This week, examine yourself pray, and ask God what you need to surrender. I cannot answer the first question for you, but I will say that I think following Jesus is worth the cost. If you continue to follow Jesus in your life, you will see and be like Paul and consider all as loss for knowing Christ (See Philippians 3:8). The suffering you have or will experience from the cost will not compare to the joy that is coming (see Romas 8:18).
Empty
' As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. '
Psalm 42:1
On September 1, 2024, God instructed me to fast dinner. For three weeks or twenty-one days, I did not eat dinner. I know this may not seem significant, but anyone who knows me knows that I never skip dinner. I have skipped breakfast a lot and have recently been able to skip lunch. But up until the fast, I could probably only recall skipping dinner during college when I was crunching on time to study or complete assignments. Skipping meals or not eating can take a toll on me too. It is hard for me to concentrate and it can be difficult to get along with me when I am hungry. Also, I have felt shaky and have passed out before from not eating. The fast was certainly not easy for me, but I appreciate the difficulty. It impacted me greatly.
It was in the moments where I had the urgency to eat, the moments where I had cravings coming to my mind, the moments where I felt sick and thought I was going to pass out, the moments I felt empty in my stomach and empty in my mind from lack of concentration that I had to be dependent on God. A greater level of dependency resulted from this fast. God met me right in those moments. Whether you believe it or not, God made me full physically in addition to making me full mentally.
Empty was the perfect physical and mental state to be in. It positioned me to lean into God and he filled me. Even though I battled cravings, I was still turned from desiring a loaf of bread to desiring The Bread of Life, Jesus. I became like the writer of Psalm 42:1 when I fixed my attention on The One Who is seated on the throne in heaven. I thirsted and hungered for God and he satisfied me. From there, my longing for God increased.
I say all of this to not point you in the direction of a fast, although if you feel pressed now by The Spirit to do one, then by all means be obedient, but to encourage you to pray and ask The Lord what you need to empty yourself from. What is it that you need to let go? What is it that you need to surrender to The Lord? What is distracting you? Who or what has the throne in your life?
Pray and ask The Lord to reveal to you what needs to be emptied, and then ask God to make you hungry and thirsty for Him. And then do not just stay empty, hungry, and thirsty, ask The Spirit to fill you. Seek Jesus in The Word, in prayer, in worship, because remember He is the bread of life that satisfies (see John 6:35). Yes, starting from a place of emptiness is the best starting point because you can be positioned to be hungry or thirsty so then God can fill you.
Example of Prayer for this week:
Lord, reveal to me anything that I need to empty myself from. Tear down any idol, remove any distraction, silence any lie, heal any brokenness or trauma, completely deplete me of anything so that I become empty and all that is left is a thirst and hunger for You. Jesus, I thank You that You are The Bread of Life that truly satisfies and You will satisfy the thirst and fill the hunger. May I seek You more, Lord, so that I will find You more. In Jesus name, amen.
If you have never known The Lord please visit our Next tab and go to the salvation part. You will find information about salvation and a prayer for salvation.
Dwelling Place
Psalm 91
STOP!!!!! Before you read this devotional, read Psalm 91 and ask in prayer for The Lord to reveal Himself to you in the chapter. Ask The Lord in prayer to give you wisdom and understanding of the chapter. The Lord may want to show you something you would not have received if you had not read the chapter yourself first.
The Psalm 91 title listed above is a hyperlink. The link will take you directly to the chapter on YouVersion. The chapter is in the NKJV translation, but you may change it to any translation you prefer. I will be referencing the NKJV throughout the devotional.
Now that you have read the chapter, let me tell you my history with Psalm 91. I have hung out in this chapter many times. It is the chapter I have read the most in The Bible. At one point in my life, I read it every day. I read it when the religious voice in me said, “I must read something in The Bible to say I have read The Bible today.” I have read it in times of anxiety. I have read it in times of depression. I have read it in times of trouble. I have read it during times of joy.
Particularly, I am drawn to the first verse. It says, “‘He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty’” (Psalms 91:1 NKJV). It has always been mysterious and soothing to me. It leads me to ask a few questions. What is the secret place that we should dwell in? What does dwell mean? What does abide mean? What does the shadow of The Almighty mean? Definitions of some of the words from the verse and looking at the verse in various translations answer the questions.
According to the Logos Bible App, secret place is defined as a hiding place. The CSB version of The Bible puts protection in verse one instead of secret place, so it also means a place of protection. According to Google, dwell is defined as living or residing in a particular place. Abide is a synonym for dwell. According to the Logos Bible App, The word shadow used in the verse is defined as protection. However, in our culture, we know shadow as in we see our shadow when the sun is out. So you could think of the word shadow used here as meaning God’s shadow. The Hebrew word for Almighty is Shadday, translated in English as Shaddai. You may have heard of El Shaddai, which means God Almighty.
The definitions bring clarity to the verse. If we think of shadow in terms of when we see our shadow when the sun is out then the meaning of the verse could be to be so close to God that you are by His shadow. To be by His shadow would mean that you are in the presence of God which is the safest place to be. It is a secret place because few go into His presence. Scripture tells us that narrow is the gate and that many are called but few are chosen (See Matthew 7:14 and Matthew 22:14), so we know few enter into His presence. If we think of shadow in terms of protection, meaning God’s protection, still, it is the safest place to be, and a hidden place that few ever go. The verse can be interrupted like this: The one who lives in safety will live in the presence of El Shaddai.
When I think of the secret place or this place of God’s protection, I think of the Garden of Eden mentioned in Genesis. In Genesis, we see that Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, a secret place in God’s presence. They were hidden there. They walked with God in the cool of the day. Because of sin, we cannot go to this place physically. However, because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, we can enter into God’s presence now (see Ephesians 3:12 and Hebrews 10:19-22). And we can become hidden in that we can come out of the secular world and enter right before Him.
How can we enter into the secret place (God’s protection or presence)? We enter by devoting ourselves to spending time with Him through, The Word, prayer, and worship. We need time set aside to devote to Him, and we also need to invite God into our daily activities. When we begin to seek God, we will enter into His presence.
I have been there. I have entered so deep into God’s presence that it felt as though I was in heaven right before the throne. I experienced His presence like this by seeking Him. I made God my refuge and fortress like the writer of Psalm 91 said in verse 2. He became The One I ran to in the good times and bad times. I clung to Him with everything in me. I made God my dwelling place.
There are benefits to making God our dwelling place. Verses three through thirteen tell us the promise of safety for dwelling with God. How can we interpret this safety that is promised in Psalms 91 when we see Christians die left and right from disasters, persecution, and/or suffer immense pain and hardships? It must be interpreted through a heavenly lens. We must fix our eyes on the things above, not the things on the earth (see Colossians 3:2), knowing that what God spoke will surely come to pass. We can rest assured that the promises may not come to pass in this life but they will in the next one. And even when we suffer difficulties or die, we can be confident of this: that nothing can separate us from God. Particularly, God will keep us to Him (see Jude 1:1). We will always be in God’s love, because nothing will separate us from God’s love (see Romans 8:38-39). We have a living hope.
The ending of the chapter, Verses fourteen through sixteen describes God’s response to us living with Him. There are even more promises. These promises too could be in this life or the next one. The key takeaways from verses fourteen through sixteen are that God will respond and bless us when we seek Him, make Him our dwelling place, and make Him our refuge.
I hope that you have a better understanding of Psalms 91. Even if you do have a better understanding of it, still study the entire chapter this week. Seek God through it. If you have not made God your dwelling place or you have let go of God being your dwelling place, let time in the chapter be your beginning or your restart of devoting yourself to making God your dwelling place.
Times of Refreshing
“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,”
Acts 3:19-20 ESV
This chapter in Acts begins with a lame man healed. Peter and John encountered a man who had been lame since birth. Peter commanded the lame man to rise and walk in the name of Jesus, and so he did. Now healed, he decides to follow Peter and John. The crowd takes notice and is so amazed that they decide to follow Peter and John too. Peter decides to address the crowd and points them to who they should truly follow. He explains to them that God is the one who has healed the man and then explains how Jesus is the Anointed One that was foretold by the prophets. He then tells the crowd the words in Acts 3:19-20.
Peter says two interesting words: repent and refreshing. I want to take a look at both of these words. For starters; let’s look at both words in Greek, beginning with repent. I found online that the Greek word for repent is either metanoia or metamelomai. It means to change one’s mind. I found online the Greek word for refreshing is either anapsuxis or anapsucho, meaning refreshing or cooling. Also, I want to note that a synonym for the word refreshing is reviving. Reviving means to be brought back to life.
Let’s now go back to what Peter said. He said to repent (change one’s mind) and then their sins would be blotted out and times of refreshing (cooling, reviving) would come. Sins would be wiped away and then cooling, refreshing, and reviving would happen.
It is repentance that opens yourself up or positions you to be revived and refreshed by God. The Spirit reveals to you the sin that is entangling you, the sin of idol worship, and the sin that distracts from hearing and discerning the voice of God and doing His will. The dryness and dead things of sin are exposed, and The Spirit leads us to empty ourselves of the sin and turn back to The Lord. The turning back positions us for The Lord to refresh us. Repentance leads to revival.
One can infer that the group of people that Peter was speaking to were probably weighed down by the heaviness of sin. They probably had thoughts, beliefs, and ways they needed to turn from so that they could get back to God.
We find out later in the chapter that people did respond and repent and were brought back to life. Five thousand were added to the church that day. They repented (turned from their thought, ways, and actions) and the times of refreshing came. And what God spoke through Peter to the audience back then are words that we can take hold of today. If we repent as the verses say, times of refreshing may come upon us too. Revival would take place in us.
Go back and reread Acts chapter 3, verses nineteen through twenty. As you read let the words Peter spoke stir up in you. Let us examine ourselves this week through prayer. Below is an example of a prayer to pray for those who do not know The Lord Jesus to come to know Him and a prayer to come back to The Lord.
Prayer for Those who don’t know The Lord:
Jesus, I come to you to ask for forgiveness of my sins; save me, and make me a new person. Today, I choose to turn away from a life of sin and choose to follow you. I declare, Jesus you are Lord of my life. I thank You, Lord, for dying on the cross for my sins and raising up from the dead to save me. I believe in You and what you have done for me. In Jesus name, amen.
Prayer to turn back to The Lord:
Jesus, I confess that I have not been close to you. Forgive me and draw me near to You. I repent and draw near to you. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from them. I turn away from my sins and idols, and ask that You would break any bondage or attachment I have to any sin or idol. And Lord, refresh, revive, and restore me. May a fresh anointing fall on me. In Jesus name, amen.