One Thing Every Believer Needs I Daily Walk Devotion
One Thing Every Believer Needs

It’s a pretty well-known fact that men do not like to ask for directions. They prefer to figure things out themselves and don’t want to look dumb by admitting they are lost. The same can be true of Christians. They like to figure things out and consider it a weakness when they ask God for help. Today, Paul shows us one thing every believer needs to navigate life and ensure that we don’t get lost.

‭‭2 CORINTHIANS‬ ‭5:6-7

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

When Paul talks about “being at home in the body,” he is referring to us living on the earth. While we are alive here we are away from the Lord. Until this body passes away, we will be physically separated from Jesus. To live here on earth, we need to walk by faith and not by what we see. We have to trust God’s Word and rely upon the leading of the Holy Spirit until we are in the physical presence of Jesus Christ.

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I'm Dying Here I Daily Walk Devotion
I’m Dying Here

In the movie “As Good As It Gets,” Jack Nicholson says, “I’m dying here.” It is in response to a waitress who won’t give in to his attitude and is forcing him to act human. Jack didn’t want to change, but he couldn’t go forward if he didn’t. To him, it felt like he was dying inside. As a Christian, you are constantly dying to your old self, and you may feel like saying what Jack said, “I’m dying here.”

‭‭2 CORINTHIANS‬ ‭4:11

“For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

Paul was constantly dealing with new believers who didn’t want to change once they gave their life to Jesus Christ. They often complained to him how difficult it was to follow Jesus, and Paul would give one of his famous quotes like this in 2 Corinthians. You are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake so the His life can be evident in you. That means a lot of change that will take you out of your comfort zone.

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Refined Like Silver I Daily Walk Devotion
Refined Like Silver

Any precious metal like silver or gold has to go through a refining process once it is mined. For silver, it has to be put in the fire to remove all of the dross. The silversmith sticks the silver still ensconced within rocks into a fire. The silver will melt, and it becomes easy to remove the rocks. From there, the silversmith will turn the heat up and put the silver back into the furnace. Once the silver gets to the point of boiling, the silversmith will pull it out. On top of the silver will be a layer of film called “crud.” He will remove all of the crud until he can see the reflection of his face in the silver. Today, the Psalmist uses this process to tell us that we are refined like silver.

‭‭PSALMS‬ ‭66:10

“For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.”

Much like silver, God puts us through a refining process. Bible scholars call it sanctification. It is the process of removing the remnants of the world and transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. When God sees something in our lives that needs to be changed, He will turn up the heat. The Israelites were used to feeling the heat of being refined.

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What is Filling Your Heart? I Daily Walk Devotion

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What is Filling Your Heart?

My heart is filled with wonderful memories of celebrating our Savior’s birth as a child and now with my children during the holiday season. What’s is great about the season is that we can set aside the issues for a short period of time and just focus on the good that Jesus brings us. What is filling your heart? Is it filled with good?

‭‭LUKE‬ ‭6:45‬

“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”

A person is good because of what is in his heart. If they are pouring the goodness of God in then, that is what is going to come out. Our mouth is only capable of pronouncing what is in our hearts. So, to be the good person you think you are, you need to fill it with the right things. This is more than positive thoughts. It is reading, listening, and watching that which is going to produce good.

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Be Careful of Those Flattering Words I Daily Walk Devotion

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Be Careful of Those Flattering Words

After preaching, some of the best compliments I have received from those who have slept through the message. I kid you not. I get these glowing words on how great the sermon was from somebody who napped through most of it. I guess it is a gift because I have received a ton of those compliments. Jesus tells you to Be careful of those flattering words that people throw at you.

‭‭LUKE‬ ‭6:26

“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”

Jesus continues his discussion on how to react when people talk about you. Here He hits the issue of flattery and compliments. In the Old Testament, people spoke well of the false prophets because they always gave a message of health and prosperity. They didn’t like the real prophets because their messages were calling the idol-worshipping Jews to repent and return to God. Jesus tells the crowd to beware of when all men speak well of you. If that is happening, then you probably aren’t doing anything.

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When a Curse is a Blessing I Daily Walk Devotion

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When a Curse is a Blessing

Being liked by others seems to become an obsession for a majority of people. They don’t want do or say anything that will offend people or cause them to speak poorly so people often won’t stand firm in their faith or speak the truth in love for fear of being ostracized. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shows you when a curse is a blessing. In God’s eyes, if you are insulted for the sake of Jesus, you will be blessed.

‭‭LUKE‬ ‭6:22‬

“Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.”

This is part of the Sermon on the Mount that Luke captures. Luke’s version is not as in-depth as Matthew’s but he gives us some good nuggets. Here we see Jesus telling his listeners that they are blessed with people hate you for His names sake. If you are cursed at, ostracized, and scorned then you are in good company. Jesus went through all of that survived, so can you. The key is to make sure that it happening because of your faith and service in Jesus Christ and not because you are a royal jerk.

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Transformed Into His Image I Daily Walk Devotion

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Transformed Into His Image

If you have children, there is a good chance that one of them looks identical to you. It’s unavoidable because genetics are strong. Even if they don’t look like you, they will mimic a lot of your personality. Some of this is learned, but most of it is inherent. Did you know that you are becoming more like Jesus? You are being transformed into His image.

‭‭2 CORINTHIANS‬ ‭3:18

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

Paul is inviting every believer to a unique intimacy with the Lord. It is available to everyone with an unveiled face. How is the veil taken away? When you turn to the Lord and give your life to Him. Then the veil is taken away, and you are one with Jesus. With the veil gone, we can behold His glory, and the process of being transformed begins. You start to look less like your old self and more like Jesus. The change starts on the inside and moves its way out.

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God Brings the Overflow I Daily Walk Devotion

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God Brings the Overflow

The other day I put a pod in a Keurig coffee maker and pressed brew. I soon discovered that I had made a mistake. I had pushed the button for 10 ounces of coffee and only had an 8-ounce cup. Soon it began to overflow into the catch basin and onto the counter. That is what I picture when I ask God to do a work in my life. I come with a cup too small, and He brings more than I can hold. God brings the overflow when He blesses His people.

‭‭PSALMS‬ ‭65:9

“You visit the earth and cause it to overflow; You greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water; You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth.”

I always picture David sitting out in the field, watching his sheep, writing songs and poems to the Lord. As he inspects the bounty that God has blessed him with, he begins to pen a Psalm of seeing God’s hand in every part of the process. God causes the earth to overflow. Overflow is a term that expresses God’s provision. He greatly enriches the earth by making the stream full, preparing the grain, and getting the earth ready for planting. All of this is done before the planting or the harvest. He is involved in every detail.

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A New Work in Your Life I Daily Walk Devotion

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A New Work in Your Life

There are thousands of acres of vineyards that surround where I live. We often take drives along country roads lined with rows and rows of grapes just to get away from the busyness of our lives. Every fall, you can watch as the workers harvest the crops and take them to be processed into wine. The color of the grape determines what their juice will be stored in. White wines go into stainless steel vats, and red wines go into oak barrels. This preserves the wine as they go through the fermenting process. Today, Jesus shows you a new work in your life that He wants to accomplish.

‭‭LUKE‬ ‭5:37

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined.”

Jesus uses an example in life that everyone would’ve understood. Wine was stored in wineskins, which were converted goat bladders. New wine emits gasses that stretch the container in which it is placed. Old wineskins have already expanded to their limit, so you wouldn’t put new wine in them. Jesus uses this to refer to the new work He is doing. The old system of obeying the law wasn’t going to work with the new work of grace. You are no longer going to be judged by your good works or by keeping the rules, but instead if the righteousness of Christ is on you.

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Make Your Name Great I Daily Walk Devotion

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Make Your Name Great

Some people in history can go by one name, and you know who they are. Think of people like Einstein, Churchill, and Luther. Their accomplishments during their lifetime will be studied for centuries to come. Abraham falls under that category in the Bible. The father of Israel is still revered today. God told him that He would “make your name great.”

‭‭GENESIS‬ ‭12:2

“And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing.”

This is God’s promise to Abraham to bring the great nation of Israel out of his lineage. Multiple times in Genesis, God tells him that his descendants will be as many as the stars in the sky or the sands on the sea. What makes this promise even more impressive is that at the time, Abraham has no children. He won’t become a father until he is 100 years old! He had to wait many years for this promise to begin, and then he only had one child.

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