Daily Devotions

Today’s Bible Verse “I call heaven and earth as witnesses…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NKJV) The Power to Choose Every day we are faced with the power to choose life or death, blessing or cursing. We are given the power to choose to do our devotions, pray, attend service, attend monthly prayer week, participate in Life Group, go to classes, or reach out to someone in need. We have the power to choose to be discipled and learn the word of God, so we can help others. We can also choose to live life the same…with no change, no miracles, no breakthrough! Some Christians defer their responsibility to choose. They let others make their choices, determining how they live, what they say, how they conquer, how they walk in love and forgiveness, and so on. But here’s the bottom line—the responsibility to choose cannot be deferred. Such is true with the choice to change. The decision to change is not always an easy one, but once change is conquered in faith, it can open doors of

Today’s Bible Verse “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” Psalm 1:1-3 Meditate on the Word Let us focus on the word, meditate. The reason the “blessed man” is successful and likened to a planted, fruitful tree is because he meditates. In the Hebrew language, the word for mediate is hagah. It means to mutter, to utter, to speak, to whisper. Hagah also alludes to the idea of a cow chewing the cud, the process of a cow regurgitating and rechewing its food. The food passes through each stomach compartment, and all the nutrients and water are extracted from the grass eaten by the cow. To meditate on the Word is to extract the spiritual nutrients and water from God’s Word. For example, when reading through a chapter in the Bible, I notice verses, phrases, and sometimes words that stick out to me. I begin to softly mutter those words. The volume of my voice is not relevant. The main thing is that I speak those words. What I am doing is chewing the cud, meditating. Something to

Today’s Bible Verse “I want you to know, dear ones, what has happened to me has not hindered, but helped my ministry of preaching The Gospel, causing it to expand and spread to many people.” Philippians 1:12 (TPT) Captured by Grace Paul faced a lot of unfavorable conditions while sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, from persecution, to opposition and imprisonment, yet these challenges didn’t cause him to stop or drift away from believing in and preaching the Gospel. Paul never questioned or complained about his current conditions or used them as an excuse to stop making disciples either. In fact, because of his example, believers became bolder and more confident about sharing the Gospel. Paul writes, “And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear” (Philippians‬ ‭1:14). The revelation and commitment Paul received about the Cross and why Jesus had to die for humanity fueled his passion to bring the Gospel of hope to the lost, no matter what the cost was. Paul’s relentless pursuit to spread the Gospel and expose the lies of the enemy had such a great impact on other believers, their faith was stirred up so much that the Gospel began to expand and spread. When people hear and see our relentless pursuit for the Gospel, they will begin to live FREE and FEARLESS thus allowing the GRACE of God to capture their heart to fulfill the Great Commission. The Apostle Paul put it

Today’s Bible Verse “Have I commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 Be Strong and of Good Courage As we read Joshua 1, from verse six through verse nine, and also in verse eighteen, God reminds and encourages Joshua four times to “Be strong and of good courage!” In verse 6, He said, “Be strong and very courageous!” In verse 7, God gave instructions on how to be strong and of good courage and to be very courageous! In verse 8, if all of that was not enough, He reminds Joshua once again! Then in verse 9, He says, “The Lord your God is with you wherever you go!” He goes on to share that again in verse 18. The Lord is reminding Joshua that he can conquer anything because He is with him! Today, God is assuring us that we are strong, and to be of good courage for He is with us wherever we go! Whatever we are facing at this moment – He is there, yes- right there with us even now! Something to Think About When Life Class began in February of this year, a young woman really wanted to attend class; however, because of anxiety, she barely was able to make it out of the house to do basic daily living, come to Life Group or church services. Every week, our Life Group would

Today’s Bible Verse “So repent [change your inner self–your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God–seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day]; and that He may send [to you] Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed you.” Acts 3:19-20 (AMP) The Joy of Repentance This verse is a beautiful description of God’s unconditional love for us and His never changing promises. It brings hope when we are feeling hopeless and unsure if God will forgive us after what we’ve done. When we choose to sin, we find ourselves outside of God’s plan and purpose. The lines become blurred and compromise has crept in. Desire for the things of God no longer burns as a fire within us. Repentance is the only thing that can restore us back to our Father.  To repent is to change our mind about sin. We need to not only ask God to forgive us but to change our direction and return home to God’s grace and truth. Repentance is more than a passive changing of our mind. It’s a deliberate acknowledgement of our disobedience and desire to live for God once again and not go back to our disobedience. In Hebrews 12:1 it says, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.