God Never Forces; He Always Invites

April 21, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Joshua 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

     You might think that God, being God, would make someone worship Him or that He might make people have a desire to attend church if that is what folks are supposed to do. That He would make people tithe if it is right or make them read their bible if it has so much good stuff in there. One might even believe the Lord would make them pray if He wants to hear from them and make them go to Sunday School if they really need more teaching. Additionally, He would force them to find a place of service for Him if He really needs their help and make them come again on Wednesday Night if that is the correct way to worship God. Many are sitting back waiting for a Holy kick in the pants before they will do anything. Then, when it does not come, they say something silly like, “It must not be God’s will for me to do any of those things.”

     The fact is that God will not force anything on you. You have the liberty to choose everything in life you may or may not want. Choose to stay home because of people you cannot seem to get along with at church. Choose not to serve God because you have filled your life with so many other things that you have crowded out time for God. Choose to keep all your money because you have bought so many things that your bills now control your life. Choose to watch the latest sitcom or movie instead of reading God’s Word. Choose to sleep a little longer instead of taking a few minutes and speaking with He whom you call Lord. God never forces; He just invites. It is all your choice. Whether to bless you for your choices is still, however, in the hands of a Righteous and Almighty God.

  

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

   

     “Choose you this day whom ye will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” So, what choices have you decided on today?

What choices are you making 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:  April 21, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(O.T.-1,   N.T. & PS.-2,   Prov. – Monthly)}
Joshua 22-24 – Psalm 94:1-23
Proverbs 21 – 1 Corinthians 6-8

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Judges 19-20 – Luke 14

It Is Good To Know the Truth

April 19 & 20, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Proverbs 19:5 & 9
A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape…
A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

     There used to be a saying when I was younger: “You will just lie your way into a big hole and then pull the dirt in on top of you with more lies.” Oh, how true this seems to be. One lie is told, and then someone asks a question about that lie, and another lie just a little bigger is told to cover up the first lie. Soon, we find we are telling another lie, and then another, until it is so outrageous that even you cannot believe what is coming out of your mouth. At that point, your mind is constantly filled with wonderings of, “What did I tell them, or did I tell them this or that?” People begin to catch you in your lies, and then they can never trust anything you say. Your family and friends who used to listen to you now take everything you say with a grain of salt.

     I once heard someone ask the question, “If a liar says he is lying, is he telling the truth?” What a terrible way to spend a life, especially when we do not have to. The Bible tells us God forgives us of our sins, but to be blessed in life by God, we must quit living in our sins. How does a liar quit being a liar? Simple, they always begin to tell the truth. WOW, it is just that easy.

  

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

      Jesus is all about the truth. In fact, in the bible, we read where He is called the Truth. In John 14:6, it says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” It is so, so good to KNOW THE TRUTH!.

When reading God’s Word, are you searching for the truth?

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:  April 19, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1,/NT & PS-2,/Prov-Monthly)}
Joshua 19-21 – Psalm 93
Proverbs 19-20 – 1 Corinthians 3-5

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Judges 16-18  –  Luke 13:18-35

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:  April 20, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1,/NT & PS-2,/Prov-Monthly)}
NO READINGS ON SUNDAY

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

No Yin, No Yang

April 18, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Psalm 92:15
To show that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

     In the Chinese Ying-Yang symbol, there is a white dot in a black area and a black dot in a white area, and the two regions are blended to make one circle. The statement behind it is that in every good, there is a little bad, and in every bad, there is a little good.

     While this statement may reflect well on almost everyone who ever walked this planet earth, it overlooks one. This statement is not true of our Lord. In Him, there is absolutely no evil, no sin, nothing bad, and no unrighteousness at all. He is our sinless perfection. Jesus is the spotless Lamb of God who has provided a way of salvation for us all. He is the Son of our Perfect God and the second part of a Perfect Holy Trinity. This same Jesus, when He ascended off this earth, placed in all who truly believe in Him, His precious Holy Spirit. You will find no bad in Him either. If we had to draw this circle for Him, it would have to be a white circle with no dots.     

 

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

      We need to remember the Holy perfection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is in Him that we are made righteous.

When you think of God’s perfection,
what do you see in Him that you need in your life?

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:  April 18, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
Joshua 17, 18 – Psalm 92
Proverbs 18 – 1 Corinthians 1, 2

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Judges 12-15 – Luke 13:1-17

That Secret Hiding Place
April 17, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Proverbs 2:1, 2 & 5
 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;… Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

 

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

     Everyone likes to feel safe. We like to have a special place where it seems as if the world around us cannot get to us, and no matter what is happening all around us, we feel safe.

 

     I grew up almost my entire childhood in one neighborhood. I played every day with the same playmates. Hide and Go Seek was one of our favorite games to play. After a while, it seemed as if we all had found and known all the good hiding places. However, there was one place in the neighborhood where I could hide, and no one could find me. It was my all-time favorite, super great hiding spot, in which no one ever figured out where I was. I was always incredibly careful to watch every time I used it to be sure no one ever saw me going in or out of it. They would walk by and never see me. I knew if I could get into my secret place, I was always safe.

 

     That is what our verse today says: that life is like in Jesus. He is our secret hiding place. Satan cannot get us in Christ. He can tempt us and can pick at us, but he can never ever have us. We are in a safe place for all eternity.

 

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

 

     In Christ, we are safe evermore. Isn’t that the best feeling? Isn’t that the best assurance? How could anyone want to live in this day and not be safe? Safe from the penalty of sin. Safe from the person of Satan. Safe in the perfect dwelling place of our Saviour, Jesus. Psalm 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty…This is by far my Favorite Secret Hiding place, which I no longer want to be a secret. Come hide in Christ with me.

 

Where is your safe space?

 

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:  April 17, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
Joshua 15, 16 – Psalm 91
Proverbs 17 – Acts 18 

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Judges 10-11 – Luke 12:36-59