Tag: Morning Devotional

Your Destiny is Determined

There is a trail I ride that is called the hidden trail. It’s not really hidden, but there is a big dip at the start of it that scares off most riders. There were several times I looked at it and turned back. I didn’t want to get injured and be a burden to my family or miss time from work. Once I finally committed, it ended up being the most enjoyable trail on the mountain. People treat a relationship with Jesus the same way. They don’t want to commit at first, but once they do, they never regret it. Your destiny is determined.

‭‭John‬ ‭17:3‬

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

The seventeenth chapter of John is Jesus’ prayer for the disciples after the Last Supper. He starts off praying that they (and the church after them) know that eternal life is only found in God through His Son Jesus. Part of this was prophetic because ever since then, humans have been trying to enlarge the opening to heaven by saying that all roads there. Jesus also wanted the Disciples to be sure of their eternal destiny because of their assurance of salvation. They knew this, and this ensured their entrance through the pearly gates.

Crowning Moment

The coronation of a king or queen is filled with rich tradition and great fanfare. When they bow down, and the crown is placed on their head, the whole cathedral recognizes power transition. That crown represents the position that they are now in. As they sit on the throne, they assume the responsibility that comes with their crown. Did you know that there will be twenty-four elders in heaven who will have crowns and who will sit on thrones around Jesus’? It will be a crowning moment.

Revelation‬ ‭4:4

“Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.”
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Heaven is going to be an amazing place. At the center will be the throne room where Jesus will be sitting. Around Him will be twenty-four thrones on which the elders will be seated. They will be wearing white garments, which represent how they have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. There is a lot of debate about who these twenty-four will be but suffice it to say it will take the twelve Apostles, including Paul. Their primary focus will be to cast their crowns and worship the Lord.

Get Back on Track

My brother lifted his truck when we were younger. It looked like it was an off-road vehicle, and he liked to drive it where it wasn’t meant to go. Unfortunately, he was always getting towed out of the sand by someone who had a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Christians have a propensity to get off the path God has for them and then need to be brought back. Hosea shows us how to get back on track.

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭12:6

“Therefore, return to your God, Observe kindness and justice, And wait for your God continually.”

After all of the dire prophecy and indictments to Israel, Hosea tells them how to get back on track in their walk with the Lord. As with most instructions in the Bible, they are simple to understand but challenging to implement. First, they have to return to God. This means first recognizing their sins and then turning from them (repentance). You will never get back on track with the Lord unless you acknowledge you are a sinner and there is sin in your life that needs to be made right. No one gets around this. It doesn’t matter how good you think you are or how many good deeds you have done to needy people. Your sin separates you from the presence of God. Take the time to get right with Him.

Time for a Wake Up Call

There are a lot of people walking around today that look alive and successful on the outside but are dead on the inside. Many of them have lives that others would die for, but to them, it means nothing. They need to wake up before it’s too late. It’s time for a wake-up call for many in the church. They have been sleepwalking through life.

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3:5

“He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”

Through the church of Sardis, Jesus is telling us that those who overcome this world will spend eternity with Him. This is a big deal to that church because it has the appearance of being alive and full of good works, but it is dead on the inside. Jesus tells them to wake up and strengthen what remains because they are not complete in God’s sight. That is not a good judgment from Jesus but is something that we could easily fall into. We want to be alive on the inside, so wake up.

No Greater Love

People do some crazy things to express their love for one another. Most of the time, it is someone trying to become Instagram famous by their marriage proposal. The internet is littered with videos of these attempts and failures. Most have some entertainment value, but almost all reflect a sad state of what people think is love. Jesus says, “No great love than this, that one lays down his life for his friends.

‭‭John‬ ‭15:13

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

In John 15, Jesus changes the second greatest commandment from “Love your neighbor as yourself” to “Love one another.” It may seem like a subtle shift but going from neighbor to one another meant that love had to be more personal and applied to everyone. Then Jesus says that the greatest form of love is to lay down your life for your friends. He will model this shortly after by dying on the cross. While you won’t be asked to die on a cross for your loved ones, the principle remains.

Abiding in the Vine

I am surrounded by vineyards where I live. Very few things are more beautiful than driving the highways seeing all the rows of vines as they sprout their green leaves. Jesus used the analogy of the vine to talk about the importance of Christians abiding in the vine. When a branch abides in the vine…

Have You Abandoned the Love?

Do you need a particular date to tell those you care about that you love them? Do you go about your business the rest of the days of the year doing your own thing? If you truly love someone, it flows out of your heart, and you express it with words and gifts. Somehow, people think it is natural and okay to tell Jesus they love Him once or twice a year. John asks us in Revelation, “Have you abandoned the love?”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2:4

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

In the book of Revelation, John writes seven letters to seven different churches. They were all in Asia, which we know as modern-day Turkey. Ephesus was the central city, and the other six formed a postal route around it. The first letter in the series is to the church in Ephesus. They are a busy church fighting wrong doctrine and doing good deeds, but their hearts have grown cold for Jesus, and they have left their first love. From the outside, it looked like a thriving church, but on the inside, it was slowly dying.

Reaping Kindness When You Don’t Deserve It

The danger for every Christian is letting their hearts grow cold and hard due to sin. When that happens, they become insensitive and uncaring. Only a reversal of their heart, led by the Holy Spirit, will bring about change. When it happens, it’s like we are reaping kindness when you don’t deserve it. That is what God is telling Israel He will do.

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭10:12

“Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.”

Hosea keeps the theme of sowing and reaping by telling the people to sow righteousness, and you will reap kindness. Another translation says mercy. Israel had been sowing sin, and they were about to reap judgment, but even at the last moment, God was telling them if they sowed doing the right thing, He would extend mercy to them. What a gracious God! Who would overlook generations of sinfulness and extend mercy? The only one would be the God we serve.

Another Helper

Let’s face it. We need all the help we can get in life. Each day throws new challenges at us, and often we don’t have the tools or experience to deal with them. Jesus tells us that He has given us another helper who is with us, the Holy Spirit. He is there to guide us through the challenges that we encounter. Are you tapped into the Spirit?

‭‭John‬ ‭14:16-17

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

Chapter 13-17 of the Gospel of John is Jesus having the last supper with the disciples. He imparts many things to them He wants them to know before His crucifixion. As He was preparing His disciples for His departure, He tells them that He will send another helper, the Holy Spirit, to be with them forever. This Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead we call the Trinity. He is fully God like God the Father and Jesus the Son. He is given to us when we put our faith in Jesus as our savior, and He dwells in us forever.

One Way

One way streets can benefit old cities where there is not enough room for a street where cars can go both ways. It can also be limiting for those trying to get across town in a short amount of time. Jesus made it clear that there is only one way to heaven, through Him. That’s a problem for some people.

‭‭John‬ ‭14:6

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Jesus has just told the disciples that His Father’s house is a mansion and that He is going there to prepare a place for them. He is going to leave for a while but will return for them. Doubting Thomas asked Jesus how they would know the way, to which Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” The road map is a person, not a path. Jesus was very clear that if you wanted to spend eternity with God, His Father, you would have to put your faith in HIm.