Waiting…Waiting…

 

January 11 & 12, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Genesis 21:1
And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

 

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

    Ordering items by mail order or over the internet can be great fun and a real time saver. However, there are those times when you place an order, you wait, wait, and then wait some more for the delivery, which seems to take an eternity to arrive. The ad said to allow 1 to 2 weeks for delivery. Nevertheless, you were at the mailbox every day; just certain they were going to send it early. Then when it got there, you were so excited about it finally arriving and you check to find out, it arrived right on time, just like they said. However, it sure did seem like a really long time to wait.

 

    God’s deliverance on His promises toward believers may sometimes seem very much like the long waited for package in our lives. In the verse today, we see God was there when He said He would be and delivered what He said He would deliver.

 

     Through the process of anticipation, God teaches us to be patient and to wait on Him. He will give us exactly what we need and exactly when we need it. However, God is never a minute too early, and He is never late. God is always right on time   
  

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

    What are you asking God for today? Are you praying according to His will? Are you praying with faith believing? We need always to believe that even though it may seem like an eternity, God is never late, and He never lies. He will be there, just as He promises He will.

 

What are you asking God for today?

 

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage, and today’s Devotion?

 

 

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

 

 

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

 

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  JANUARY 11, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(O.T.-1,   N.T. & PS.-2,   Prov. – Monthly)}
Genesis 21-23 – Psalm 11-12
Proverbs 11 – Matthew 14

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Genesis 25-26  – Matthew 9:1-17

 

WHAT TO DO ON SUNDAY:

    There will not be a Daily Devotion sent out on Sundays. Instead, we encourage you to attend your church and listen intently to what God has prepared in the heart of your Pastor. Write down all the scriptures he uses in that message, then when you get home re-read those passages for today’s reading. God has given to your Pastor exactly what He desires for you on that day.  

 

GOD TALKING TO ME:  JANUARY 12, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(O.T.-1,   N.T. & PS.-2,   Prov. – Monthly)}
NO READINGS ON SUNDAY

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
NO READINGS ON SUNDAY

Life In 3D

January 10, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Proverbs 10:29
The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

 

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

    I love to stare at those weird-looking 3D pictures called stereograms. You know; the ones you must stick your nose up to, cross your eyes, and then as you slowly move it away from your face, sometimes you can see the form of something in the picture. Some people claim to be able to see the image immediately, while others, looking at the same picture for hours, never see anything.

 

    Well, different people seem to see the way of the Lord much like those 3D Stereogram Pictures. God gave us a book called the Bible, which contains the way of life. In it, we find the way of life for the saved, as well as the way of life for those who reject Christ and His way of living. People, who trust in God and come to know the Lord, see the Word of God as a source of strength and comfort. For those who refuse to believe in Him and therefore have never known Him, they find this same book to be a tale of destruction. To the unsaved soul, it becomes a reason for fear. Yet the way of the Lord has not changed, just the viewer. He is the same Lord. Some see Jesus as the way; others see Jesus as in the way. 

  

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

    How do you see the way of the Lord? Does His ways cause you to think of Him as a God who wants you to have no fun, no enjoyment in life, no happiness? Do you think He wants you to be a miserable Christian? Then you are really missing the WAY OF THE LORD. His way protects us from the harmful things Satan would bring into our lives to remove our real lasting joy. If you really want to Live Life, Live it in Jesus. He brings real comfort in the midst of life’s storms. His way is not an illusion, it’s real.

 

What do you see as “THE WAY OF THE LORD?”

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage, and today’s Devotion?

 

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

 

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  JANUARY 10, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(O.T.-1,   N.T. & PS.-2,   Prov. – Monthly)}
Genesis 19-20 – Psalm 10
Proverbs 10 – Matthew 13

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Genesis 24  –  Matthew 8

Am I Surrendered?

January 9, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Genesis 17:23
And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

THOUGHT ON GOD’S WORD:

    Here is your agenda for today. Read your Bible, pray, sing a little song (even if it is only to yourself), ask someone to come to church, and cut the fatty lobe off your left ear.

    WHAT? Can you even imagine a pastor telling anyone they need to do something like that to serve God? You might say, “Everything in the list seems like legitimate ideas except cutting off part of my body.” You probably think, “Well I don’t think so buddy, I will find another church somewhere else.” 

    However, cutting off a part of his body was exactly what God asked Abraham to do. Even more amazingly, Abraham did it. He did not wait a week or two until he had time to think it through or to read all the studies on the medical ramifications of doing something like that. He did not delay in his obedience to the desires of God until he investigated the subject to find a great way of numbing the pain. The Bible says that when Abraham understood God’s desire, he did it the same day. What he did was to totally and immediately surrender to the will of God. God will never ask you to do things illegal or immoral. He does however ask you to surrender your will to His will.   

  

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

    At the beginning of this devotion, we mentioned prayer, reading, singing, and sharing. God’s Word tells us we are to do all those things. Are you going to wait until you figure it all out? Will you put it off for another time when you get up the nerve? Or are you going to obey God today as Abraham did? (P.S. Leave the fatty lobe of your left ear exactly where it is. It was just an illustration…)

How will you obey God today?

 

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage, and today’s Devotion?

 

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

 

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  JANUARY 9, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(O.T.-1,   N.T. & PS.-2,   Prov. – Monthly)}
Genesis 17-18 – Psalm 9 – Proverbs 9 – Matthew 12

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Genesis 21-23 – Matthew 7

 

I Seemed Confused!

January 7, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Matthew 10:31
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

THOUGHT ON GOD’S WORD:

    Maybe it is just me, but I seem to be confused with the ideas of what the world really wants. I mean, on one hand, society is fighting for the right to be able to abort unborn children. In some countries, they say the reason is that we are overpopulated. Others just do not want the children they have conceived as they may turn out to be an inconvenience. However, in the year 2007 science was arguing for the right to clone and make more babies. What is it this world really wants? More babies? Fewer babies? They treat the life of a baby as if it is just an object or a thing.

    I believe people, unwittingly in most cases, just want what Satan has wanted all along. They want to be God. Their real desire is the ultimate control over life. At the center of man’s heart is the desire to have total control of everything. This then would include the ability to decide the fate of men with the giving and taking of life at their own will. In Jeremiah 17:9 God’s Word says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” We need someone with a caring loving heart to guide our every thought, desire, and action. Life, every life is so much more valuable than the idea of another human life simply getting our way.

    God knows all about you and me. The perfect heart of God is able to keep us day after day. It is His love and wisdom we need when making decisions about life. Whether it be our life or the life of someone else.  
  

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

  Pray for the unborn child. A child’s life should not depend on how or why a child came to be. The life of the unborn should not be weighed in a balance of how it affects the lives of the living. Children deserve a chance to be all that God intended for them to be. They are of value, and so are you. So is your prayer for them.

Will take a moment and pray for the 
unborn children in the world today?

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage, and today’s Devotion?

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  JANUARY 7, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(O.T.-1,   N.T. & PS.-2,   Prov. – Monthly)}
Genesis 13-14  /  Psalm 7  /   Proverbs 7  /  Matthew 10

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Genesis 15-17  /  Matthew 6:1-15

What’s On Your Mind?

January 6, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Matthew 9:3-4
And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in our hearts?

THOUGHT ON GOD’S WORD:

    Have you ever gone through a haunted house at the Fair or some Amusement Park? As you come around a corner, something suddenly jumps out and scares you half to death. It is scary and yet at the same time, it is fun because we know it was planned this way. This frightening experience was designed not to hurt us but for our enjoyment. As they designed it, they knew how our minds would react to what they did. This type of planning is not really mind-reading; it simply knows the nature of people. The idea of someone actually being able to read our minds moment by moment seems rather intimidating. This means EVERY thought we have they would know.

 

    Well, the Bible passage we read above teaches us Jesus can do just that. He knows every thought we have. That means our harsh thoughts toward someone, and the “get even” mindset we sometimes have. He knows everything. Some would probably say, “I don’t like it.” However, this means Jesus can also hear those good thoughts in our hearts. He can hear our praise toward Him and our worship of Him. I guess that would be the reason why Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 10:5, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” We should bring even our thoughts into captivity and use them to praise and honor our God.     

 

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

     As you go through the day from time to time, think about this. If what you were thinking were being played over a loudspeaker or displayed on a big screen for all to see, would it be pleasing to those around you? Here is something else to ponder. Consider the thoughts you are thinking right now… are also running through the mind of Jesus. It might change the way we think on things.

 

Does today’s devotions cause you
to think about what you think about?

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage, and today’s Devotion?

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  JANUARY 6, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE
ACCELERATED READING
(O.T.-1,   N.T. & PS.-2,   Prov. – Monthly)
Genesis 10-12  /  Psalm 6  /  Proverbs 5-6  /  Matthew 8-9

THROUGH THE BIBLE
OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Genesis 12-14  /  Matthew 5