Serving Up Some Lemonade.

January 27, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Genesis 50:20
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

   

You have heard the phrase before “If you’re given a lemon, make lemonade.” Sometimes it seems as though we have more lemons than we could possibly need to make all the lemonade we could ever drink. It feels like one thing right after another piles up, until we begin to wonder, “Just how can this be for our good.” The Bible says in Romans 8:28 that “all things work together for good,” right? So how can this be?

The answer to this problem is that sometimes God is making the lemonade for someone else to enjoy, and we are the sweetening part of His mixture. The trials and hardships Joseph had faced were not always pleasant. Yet God had Joseph exactly where he needed for him to be. Joseph became the sweetener in the good things God had intended for the lives of his family. The trials you are going through may not benefit you at the moment. However, the Christ-like manner in which you handle them may be a benefit to someone else. God knew He could count on you to be an example and do the right thing. God can make life sweeter for someone else if He can use the right ingredients, and the right ingredient just may happen to be you.

  

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

    When troubles come, and they will, do not always ask how I can get out of them. Instead, ask what I can get from this to help myself or someone else. Thank God for the opportunity to be the right ingredient for Him to use. God never makes mistakes. He creates masterpieces.

What has God been teaching you lately?

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 27, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(O.T.-1,   N.T. & PS.-2,   Prov. – Monthly)}
Genesis 48-50 – Psalm 23-24
Proverbs 27 – Mark 3-4

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Exodus 4-6 – Matthew 17

Is Our House Divided?

January 25 & 26, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Mark 3:24
And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

   

    “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have come together before God and these witnesses to unite this man and this woman in Holy matrimony. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.” Most of us have heard those words or something like them, most likely at a wedding we have attended. What God puts together is not supposed to be taken apart. God does not put people together so He can later destroy their lives. God’s motives are always pure. In our passage today, Jesus was being accused of having a demon in Him that was casting out demons. As if Jesus, who genuinely desired to do good, would have at the same time genuinely desired to do evil. This would mean Jesus had divided intentions from the beginning. Christ would never have been able to bring people to Himself to free them, and save them from sin, if He were also of the devil, tempting people to sin. It is an idea that is self-destructive.

    This same principle of permanent unions and undivided intentions can apply in many areas of our lives today. For example, with God’s direction, we should choose our mate well, because we are supposed to be with them for a lifetime. Pick our church well. A church divided will struggle to serve God. Choose our work and service well. Struggling to do something God has not intended for us to do will be a long hard life. Choosing well and praying for God’s wisdom and guidance in all areas of life. A kingdom, or a life divided will fall.

  

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

     I guess the one I left out was picking our God well. You say, “What… pick My God? I did so a long time ago.” Well, if you gave Him your life, then you did. However, who are you serving today? Are you still serving the same God, or have you switched to a god the world has given you? Has work, money, or possessions become your god? Do you only serve the real GOD when you have a chance, when time allows, or when it is convenient? Choose today to serve only One God. Then He will direct your paths and help with all your other choices.

Who are you serving 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 25, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1,/NT & PS-2,/Prov-Monthly)}
Genesis 45-47 – Psalm 22:22-31
Proverbs 25-26 – Mark 2

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Exodus 1-3 – Matthew 16

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 26, 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

Turn On The Light

January 24, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Psalm 22:1
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

    In the state of Kentucky, they have beautiful caves that go deep into the mountains. In these caves, the temperature remains the same year around and the atmosphere stays very damp. If you have never been in a cave, you may not have ever experienced what I am about to tell you.

    When I was young, my parents took me to such a cave. As we went farther into the heart of this mountain, the guide described the stalactites and stalagmites. He told how they had formed over time by mineral deposits. Then at one point, he said, “Stand very still, and no one move.” That is when it happened. He turned off the lights. I mean there was no light from anything. At first, there was this gasp from the crowd, then a little murmuring, but over just a few seconds it grew very silent. It was the darkest darkness I had ever experienced. Even though there were people all around me, there was also this eerie feeling of being all alone. Then the guide struck a match. The little light from that match seemed to fill the entire room of that cave. When he turned the lights back on, I must admit I felt somewhat relieved. The tension of the uncertain darkness was gone.

    In today’s verse, the psalmist is asking why God had forsaken him and why He was so far away. Yet the truth was, God had never moved. In the darkness of this world, it may seem sometimes like we are all alone. As believers, we must remember we are never alone. God is always there. He is even there in our darkest hour.     

 

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

     Does it seem at times as if God is not there? That for some unknown reason He is not listening. Does it appear the world around you has become a very dark place? May I suggest you turn on the light of His Word in your life? Just a little light in a very dark place can bring a whole lot of peace to your soul.

Does it seem at times as if God is not there?

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 24, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
Genesis 43, 44 – Psalm 22:1-21
Proverbs 24 – Mark 1

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Genesis 49-50 – Matthew 15:21-39

God Has A Plan…
January 23, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Genesis 42:8-9
And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

      I have worked in factories and restaurants in the past with people who were not happy with their boss. I have heard them say, “If I were in charge, I would do this or I would do that.” They claimed that they would change everything. There would be no more hardships for the little guys if they were the boss. Then it happened. They were put in charge. In addition to the promotion, they apparently got a free case of amnesia along with their new title. Everything they said they were going to do; they forgot. In fact, sometimes they were worse than the previous boss. Why do you think they would do that? It is all because they had forgotten the things they had said before. Those issues seemed unimportant anymore in light of their new responsibilities. They were in charge. They were now the BOSS!

     In today’s verses, it would appear that Joseph is being tough on his brothers. However, in the end, he is being kind. Just remember, they had stripped him of his coat of many colors, put him in a hole in the ground, made fun of him, sold him into slavery, and implied to his dad that he was dead. He had every right to be upset with them for what they had done. Instead, he uses the power God has afforded him to do good for them. Why, because Joseph remembered the dreams God had given him years before, telling him this was going to happen. Everything that had happened to him was carrying out God’s perfect will. How could he be mad about what God had planned?      

 

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

     Life might not seem fair. The world may seem like it is against you, against your God, and your faith. Well, let’s try to be a little like Joseph and not be too mad at them. After all, God told us in His Word it was going to be like this. We must use the power God has afforded us for their good and God’s glory. What power you might ask? PRAYER. Pray for them and then see what God may do through you. 

When it is hard to see God’s will in life,
will you trust He has a plan for you?

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 23, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
Genesis 42 – Psalm 21
Proverbs 23 – Matthew 28

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Genesis 46-48  – Matthew 15:1-20