Category: Devotional

My precious treasure
Christianity · encouragement · guidance · Jesus · lent · Prayer · searching · The Bible

My precious treasure

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Lent day 8

I rejoice in your word, like one who discovers a great treasure.

I saw this today on facebook. I didn’t look at which passage it was and now can’t find it so forgive me for that.
Treasure. What a strange thing it is. We covet treasure and search for it and cling to it. Treasure is something greatly cared for and longed for. We treasure our family. We treasure our spouse. But do we treasure God? Do we treasure His word? When you think of who you could not live without, where does God fall on that list? We played a game once as a family. If you could only keep three books that you owned which three would they be? My mom immidiately said the Bible, she knew that she needed the word of God above all else. Now imagine a world where the Bible meant death if you carried it, so you hid it under your clothes and shared it with great caution, but you kept it despite it’s dangers because you cherish it. Some people in other countries are forced to do this. People who will have the biggest mansions in Heaven, because they have loved God the most. I don’t know if that’s true, God probably gives the same mansion size to everyone, but I think it would be fair if God gave them more. We are so used to freedom that we don’t cherish it, but I fear a day is coming when we will have to hide our Bibles too. Will we? Do we treasure the word of God? Do we seek after it like a precious Jewel and write it on our hearts? Is God precious to you?

He is with you
Christianity · encouragement · guidance · Jesus · lent · Love · power of God · searching

He is with you

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Exodus 33: 14
My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.

I love home. Unless I am traveling, and even then I feel a sense of joy driving up our road, there is no place I would rather be. But work takes me away some times, and though I always appreciate God’s financial provision, I miss home. Tonight I am away for work and things started off sort of rough. Feeling sad and just wanting to be back home with those I love hit me pretty hard tonight. Then this verse came up on my phone: My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. It was like God was giving me a big hug.
You see. We forget sometimes that God loves us. We forget that He wants to be with us. He follows us wherever we go and surrounds us with His presence. When we pray we are speaking right to Him, and He is listening. The distance is never too great, the hour is never too late- He is always near by me, hearing my fears and needs. Why? Because He loves me. He loves you too. And wherever you are, wherever you go, He sends His presence with you.

Don’t wait for the movie
Christianity · lent · The Bible

Don’t wait for the movie

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Lent devotional 6

Don’t wait for the movie.

(I do have a point to this so bear with my beggining example)
In re-reading the Fellowship of the ring I have been reminded of the saying, “I’ll just wait for the movie.” Using LOTR as my example, the movies were all good, but in comparison to the books they seem like sad rip offs. No offense intended. The books have so much more to them right down to the description of the clothes. On top of that there are many, many, many scenes in the movie that are twisted and contorted out of context and sequence, so you lose much of the story line and plot.
People treat the Bible in this same way, (not that I am placing the two on the same shelf. One is fact. One is fiction. One brings amusement. One brings life.)
People act like movies about the Bible, devotionals or writings on the Bible, novels involving the Bible and so on, are fine reolacements for the actual thing. Many of these are good, but they are not intended to replace the original manuscript. As CS Lewis once said, “these things are good supplements, but they don’t replace the actual food.” In this he was speaking of his own writings, saying that they are fine additional studies for the Bible but do not and can not replace the actual thing.
There are many good movies and even TV shows done around the Bible and I, along with many others, applaud them. But again we’re getting the problem of people using the shows and movies as a replacement for the word of God. And like how the Lord of the Rings movie took sections of the book and change them and even added to them for the movie, which took away from great parts of the actual book, these movies on the Bible do the same thing. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as people remember that they are just creativly licensed copies and that there is still a need in their lives for the actual book it’s self.
Don’t wait for the movie. You’ll be missing out on the wonder and truth of the Book.

Disclaimer:
I am in no way criticizing or condemning these movies and TV shows. I believe they are good, and that we are blessed to have them. I also encourage you to rent and buy good movies and TV shows on the Bible as they will be a pleasent addition to your walk with God. My point is simply that they are not a replacement for the Bible itself.

The lie of pride
Blog · Christianity · Devotional · encouragement · guidance · power of God · searching · still fighting

The lie of pride

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Lent day 5

Someone who is not willing to admit their weaknesses can only show their dark side to others.
Pride. One of the greatest and yet underrated sins. We fall and fail and struggle due to pride, and it is pride that often causes people to not follow Jesus, or to only follow Him in name- calling themselves Christians yet living as though they don’t know Him at all. Pride makes us weak but decieves us into thinking we are strong. Pride says that we have no weaknessess and are strong enough on our own. And when we believe that lie then all we can be is dark. The kind of pride that makes you think that you are always right, even when it’s obvious that how you are acting is wrong. The pride that says you are justified, even though deep down you know that you are sinning. The pride that says you don’t need God’s rules, just His best friend status. God said that there is no love in pride because He knew the evil pride would bring. When we see someone who is conceited and full of themselves, that person tends to irritate us, why? Because in truth pride is annoying to those around it. It’s harmful to those in it and around it. And it’s just sad, because pride shows the weakness of the pridefilled person. We all have moments of pride. Some are healthy moments where we feel pleased in an accomplishment, others are harmful moments where we feel better than someone else because of something good in our lives. The only way to fight pride is to acknowledge it and pray for God’s deliverance from it. We may have to do this everytime the feeling rises. But everytime God will help us, that’s who He is, and He is pleased with is for trying to do our best to serve Him.

Um. Lord. That’s a really large mouth.
Christianity · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · lent · power of God

Um. Lord. That’s a really large mouth.

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Lent day 4


When God prepares a big fish, no boat is big enough to save you.
As the original News Boys wrote in their song about Jonah, “lord how long is this gonna take? Stuck in the belly of a whale.”
God asks some crazy big stuff of us as His people. Not always, but some times, He sends us to speak to people we hate because He loves them. Sometimes He asks us to go where it is dangerous. Sometimes He breaks our bones so we will be in the right hospital at the right time to speak to someone about Him.
I admit a soft feeling toward Jonah. He didn’t want those horrible people of Ninivah who attacked travelers and raided towns and did all kinds of evil to be saved, and he certainly didn’t want to be the one to do the saving. Let them rot, it’s the least they deserve, was his point of view.
Yet God loved the souls of the people and wanted to forgive them and to save them.
We all have people we can’t stand. Some are fellow Christians. Others are lost people in need of Jesus, that doesn’t mean they aren’t terrible people, people who have hurt you or make you feel just sick inside; what it means is that God loves them and wants them to come to Him. I think of Corrie Ten boon speaking to the Nazi Soldier who had beaten her sister. The man had come to know Jesus and had sought her out to ask her forgiveness, and in her heart she said no, she admits to hating him fully and completely and nobody can blame her. But. She prayed and told God that if he wanted her to forgive that man he was going to have to do it through her, cuz she couldn’t do it herself. And he did, and her heart was filled with love for him and compassion. God may send us to Nineveh, but he won’t ever send us alone. He will always go with us, and will help us to love those we would prefer to hate.

Lent day 3 Stop putting your chains back on.When Jesus died and rose again He took our sins on Himself, He set us free from our chains- so why do we keep setting the locks back in place? We claim our sin as our identity, we tattoo it on our arms (or on our foreheads) we announce it with pride, yet it is what is killing us; it is holding us back, tying us down, and making us defeated. Those sins are nailed to the cross, stop tearing them off and sticking them back on yourself, you deserve more, you deserve better. You are loved so much more by Jesus who says to cast your sins aside than you will ever be by the devil who says to keep your sins and to wear them proudly, in fact mr. Do what makes you happy not what the Bible tells you to, aka the devil, doesn’t love you at all. The devil hates you. That’s why he encourages your sins. Jesus loves you. That’s why He tells you to leave your sins behind. Jesus set you free. So be free. Stop being a slave to the devil. Be a redeemed, set free, undefeated, friend of God. For He called you by name.
Christianity · Devotional · dreams do come true · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · lent · Love · searching · still fighting · The Bible · True Joy

Lent day 3 Stop putting your chains back on.When Jesus died and rose again He took our sins on Himself, He set us free from our chains- so why do we keep setting the locks back in place? We claim our sin as our identity, we tattoo it on our arms (or on our foreheads) we announce it with pride, yet it is what is killing us; it is holding us back, tying us down, and making us defeated. Those sins are nailed to the cross, stop tearing them off and sticking them back on yourself, you deserve more, you deserve better. You are loved so much more by Jesus who says to cast your sins aside than you will ever be by the devil who says to keep your sins and to wear them proudly, in fact mr. Do what makes you happy not what the Bible tells you to, aka the devil, doesn’t love you at all. The devil hates you. That’s why he encourages your sins. Jesus loves you. That’s why He tells you to leave your sins behind. Jesus set you free. So be free. Stop being a slave to the devil. Be a redeemed, set free, undefeated, friend of God. For He called you by name.

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Stop putting your chains back on.
When Jesus died and rose again He took our sins on Himself, He set us free from our chains- so why do we keep setting the locks back in place? We claim our sin as our identity, we tattoo it on our arms (or on our foreheads) we announce it with pride, yet it is what is killing us, it is holding us back, tying us down, and making us defeated. Those sins are nailed to the cross, stop tearing them off and sticking them back on yourself, you deserve more, you deserve better. You are loved so much more by Jesus who says to cast your sins aside than you will ever be by the devil who says to keep your sins and to wear them proudly, in fact mr. Do what makes you happy not what the Bible tells you to, doesn’t love you at all. The devil hates you. That’s why he encourages your sins. Jesus loves you. That’s why He tells you to leave your sins behind. Jesus set you free. So be free. Stop being a slave to the flesh. Be a redeemed, set free, undefeated, friend of God. For He called you by name.

Lent day 2
Blog · Devotional · dreams do come true · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · lent · Love · power of God · Prayer · searching · The Bible · True Joy

Lent day 2

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Even the little concerns

Lent day 2
Today needed a photo, and if I’m honest I’m not sure everyone will get is being said in this one because this understanding of God is something we all struggle with.
God cares. Hang on, don’t roll your eyes, I know we have all heard this term missused and misrepresented. Just (as my new yoga teacher would say) breathe into it for a moment. God cares about you. Every tiny, crazy, dumb problem; every monumental catastrophe, He cares.
My example may sound odd but give me a chance.
You see that guy in the photo below? That’s my horse. He’s been my horse for over a decade. We have had big crazy dreams, big crazy failures and many learning moments. I’ve been worried about him lately. It’s been really cold (though he usually prefers that) and he has been acting odd. Distant. Even a little aggressive. I checked him over and he’s physically fine, so I chalked it up to the cold air and waited. Then it warmed up and nothing changed. Now I’m concerned and on with horse behaivior experts trying to see if something is wrong on the inside. With a little work on a few bad habbits his aggressive attitude faded away, but he was still playing shy with me. It felt like something I should deal with myself, I have trained horses for several years, I should be able to solve this on my own. Yet I was worried about him, and a little sad to see him acting that way toward me who loves him so much. So I prayed. I’ll admit my prayer began along the lines of “sorry to bother you with this God,” because like I said, it didn’t seem like a big thing, just something that was bothering me. Skip to today. I’m out in my yard, my horse comes right up to me, which he hasn’t done for the past several weeks, his ears are pricked but I give him some space and let him do his own thing. His own thing turned out to be following me around the yard, wanting to be close to me even though I had no treats, nuzzling my hair and being his normal self. It was so nice to realize that God wasn’t bothered by my odd, seemingly unimportant request. I know this story was long, and most people probably can’t relate to it, my point here is that no matter how silly your request seems, even if you feel like you should be able to deal with the problem yourself, even if you’re worried that God will see it as too small for his power, He still cares, it’s never too small of a problem for God. We get it into our heads that God likes big flashy miracles, but don’t forget that God was not in the Wind, He was in the whisper. Ask Him. No matter how silly small or unimportant it seems, bring it to God and watch for him to make things better. Like a loving father He’s never ashamed to kiss and  bandage our scrapes.

Lent day 1
Christianity · CS Lewis · dreams do come true · encouragement · Jesus · lent · Love · power of God · searching · still fighting · The Bible · True Joy

Lent day 1

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Be not cast down

“But do not be cast down.” Said Aslan, “evil will come of that evil, but I will see that the worst of it falls upon myself.” -The Magician’s nephew.
I don’t really need to say it. Maybe all that needs to be done is to change one word here:
Jesus
“But do not be cast down.” Said Aslan, “evil will come of that evil, but I will see that the worst of it falls upon myself.”

(Don’t forget that CS Lewis himself claimed Aslan as a reflection of Jesus, so every moment with the lion has a great meaning.)
Evil came. People weren’t created evil, we were created in the image of God. Yet evil was here. Long before there were any people anywhere, jealousy grew in the heart of one of God’s angels, and evil crawled it’s way into existance. Yet God saw all this coming, why didn’t He stop it? I have no idea. Some may theorize about it, but I am not so bold, I try not to touch what I don’t understand lest I confuse someone else also. But God saw this evil coming and Jesus knew He was going to bear the worst of it Himself in order to save us. The crazy part is that God would want to save us! He could just make new people, start everything from scratch, yet He already loved us. He still loves us, and it breaks His heart when we fall away, because He loves us so much that He sacrificed His most precious treasure to save us. We mean so much to Him that it’s hard to believe, yet it’s true.
As We Begin Lent let us remember why we have the freedom to Lent, a reason to Lent, and why lent begins and ends. It begins in Jerusalem, it climaxes at the cross, and it ends at an empty tomb.

Keeping up appearances.Revelation 2:12-17God was with the church of Purgamum and blessed them, but they sinned against Him so He turned His hand against them. Do we care too much about our church’s appearances? Many churches do. In Purgamum the church wanted to appear as the rest of the city appeared, so it conformed to the city’s evil ways, in doing so the church lost God’s favour and was punished. There are certain characteristics that a church should have, such as following the bible and behaving as Jesus did, being welcoming and kind to others and ministering to the community. But to change to better please the outside world can strip the church of her Christianity and cause her to lose God’s blessing. What’s that scripture? Be not conformed to this world. We are not to indulge in the sins of the world around us, we are to, what? Be transformed by the renewing of our spirits. We can love the people of this world and show them the devotion of Jesus without becoming like them. It’s hard, but Jesus commends those who are faithful in their service without becoming stained by sin. Jesus served and saved people all over the place during His time on earth. Never once did He start sinning like those He was there to save. We may feel we need to add some of the ways of these people into our lives to better witness to them, and though the intention is on the right track the thinking is not exactly correct. We can’t sin to make sinners stop sinning, trying to just makes a sinner out of us and then the devil wins another one. So let us pray that God shows us how to help this world without becoming a part of it.
Christianity · Devotional · encouragement · free · guidance · holy spirit · Jesus · power of God · searching

Keeping up appearances.Revelation 2:12-17God was with the church of Purgamum and blessed them, but they sinned against Him so He turned His hand against them. Do we care too much about our church’s appearances? Many churches do. In Purgamum the church wanted to appear as the rest of the city appeared, so it conformed to the city’s evil ways, in doing so the church lost God’s favour and was punished. There are certain characteristics that a church should have, such as following the bible and behaving as Jesus did, being welcoming and kind to others and ministering to the community. But to change to better please the outside world can strip the church of her Christianity and cause her to lose God’s blessing. What’s that scripture? Be not conformed to this world. We are not to indulge in the sins of the world around us, we are to, what? Be transformed by the renewing of our spirits. We can love the people of this world and show them the devotion of Jesus without becoming like them. It’s hard, but Jesus commends those who are faithful in their service without becoming stained by sin. Jesus served and saved people all over the place during His time on earth. Never once did He start sinning like those He was there to save. We may feel we need to add some of the ways of these people into our lives to better witness to them, and though the intention is on the right track the thinking is not exactly correct. We can’t sin to make sinners stop sinning, trying to just makes a sinner out of us and then the devil wins another one. So let us pray that God shows us how to help this world without becoming a part of it.

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Do you know Him?
Christianity · CS Lewis · Devotional · dreams do come true · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · Love · power of God · searching

Do you know Him?

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“It is well. You know me better than you think you know. And you will live to know me better yet.” -The magician’s nephew


Aslan chose the cabby, the humble man of low means and education, to be his first king of Narnia. The Cabby was the only one who had shown a knowledge of someone greater than he guiding things. In the dark and lost feeling of the world not yet born, the Cabby chose to sing a hymn, and in the midst of them up sprung a deep song of no words; Aslan was singing the world into place. The Cabby didn’t feel he deserved to be anything great in the presence of the Lion. Yet when he saw him he knew him. He had always known him. In a different land, by another name, and never yet in person. And here he stood, and he knew the Cabby too. Because when he couldn’t walk by sight, he walked by faith. He grew to be friends with Lewis’s Christ figure in a world where he never saw or heard him, he simply believed.
We can’t see Jesus and rarely do we hear Him as though He were physically standing next to us, but if we choose to seek after His heart and try to know Him in this world, as the lion says, “we will live to know Him better.” So when we stand before Jesus He will say, “I have known you long, do you know me?”
And trembling, we can reply, “no Sir, least of all, not in a regular manner of speaking. Yet I feel somehow, if I may make so free, as how we’ve met before.”