Category Archives: Devos

Jun 10 2020
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Devos

Want an uplifting read today?

Want an uplifting read today – something that inspires worship?  My advice… read and reflect on Psalm 104 (it was part of my Bible reading today during “coffee with the Lord”).  It’s one of the “Hallelu-Jah! Psalms” – “Praise the Lord!”  I’ve titled it “A Call to Worship the Creator and Sustainer of EVERYTHING!”

Here’s just a taste of its inspired, uplifting contents (but PLEASE read the whole Psalm)…

 

“Let all that I am praise the Lord!

“O Lord my God, how great you are!  You are robed with honor and majesty!  You are dressed in a robe of light!

“Oh Lord, what a variety of things you have made!  In wisdom you have made them all.  The earth is full of your creatures.  The ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small.

“They all depend on you to give them food as they need it.  When you take away their breath, they die and turn again to dust.  When you give them your breath, life is created, and you renew the face of the earth.

“May the glory of the Lord continue forever!  The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!

“I will sing to the Lord as long as I live!  I will praise my God to my last breath!  May all my thought be pleasing to him!  I rejoice in the Lord!  Let all that I am praise the Lord!

“Praise the Lord!” (from Psalm 104 NTL)

 

Oh, let these words become your words of praise today!  It will change the flavor and character of your day… I guarantee it!

Jun 05 2020
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Devos

Voices…Voices…Voices!!! Who you listening to anyway?

VoicesIt’s been a noisy week! I’ve heard a lot of voices screaming for attention, yelling racial slurs, calling names, threatening, vilifying, arguing… I’m so very offended and tired of those voices!!! I’ve got a very wise friend in the public sector who has given some prudent and helpful advice… He says, “We all just need to lower our voice!”

But it really does matter who we listen to… I read a wonderful passage this morning during my time of “coffee with the Lord” … Let Apostle Paul’s wise advice penetrate your mind and heart as it did mine this morning…

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires… When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God! But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! And those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives!” (From Galatians 5:16–25 NLT)

Whose voice are you going to listen and respond to anyway? This morning, in all the din of the past week I recommitted myself to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit – to God’s voice at work deep within my heart. Not the clamoring voice of my old “sinful nature!” His voice is often quiet and persistent – it “nudges” us to do and say the things that would please God… that’s why I call this way of life “living by the nudge.” With God’s help I’ve determined to “lower my voice,” listen closely to the Holy Spirit deep within, and “live by His nudge!”

Jun 02 2020
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Devos

Got a big decision to make? Do what Jesus did… PRAY ABOUT IT!

a job interviewGot a big decision to make or an important personnel appointment… Do what Jesus did – PRAY about it!

If you’re a spiritual leader (or a Christian business person for that matter), be sure to pray about personnel decisions – don’t simply depend on resumes, interviews, or personality profiles. Allow God to guide you by His Spirit… Pray about those decisions!

That’s what Jesus did…

“One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be his apostles…” (Luke 6:12-13 NLT) And then what follows in the names of those he chose for his apostolic band.

But here’s an important related lesson… Even after prayer – sustained and intense prayer – you may experience a periodic disappointment! Notice that the last name on the list of those Jesus chose was “Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).” (vs. 16) But please don’t let that stop you from praying for guidance in big decisions!

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