Devotional for May 19 - May 25

May 19

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

(Titus 3:3-5)

Meditation

In the eyes of those close to me, before I was saved, I might have appeared to be a “good” person. I was friendly enough. I never got into fights, but you wouldn’t want to know what was in my heart. Before I was saved, my heart was filled with darkness. In the eyes of God, I was a slave to every evil, awful thought my mind could come up with. The only opinion that counts is God’s.

After I had been saved for a while I began to forget just how sinful I was. The further I get from that sinful time in my life, the harder it is to remember it. Not because I don’t think I was all that bad but because the Lord filled my heart with so much love. He gave me a new heart. My heart was no longer a pit of darkness but filled with the light of Jesus Christ.

I am more accepting of people today than I was before I was saved. I am NOT completely the person Christ wants me to be, but I am so much closer to that goal than I used to be. Not because of anything I do but because of the work Christ is doing in me. He took a poor, pathetic wretch who was filled with hate and self-indulgence and made me a whole new person.

That’s why I owe the Lord Jesus Christ such a great debt. He didn’t allow himself to be hung on the cross because I was such a good person. No, he did that to save me from being condemned to hell because of my sin-filled heart. He didn’t have to do that for any of us. He would be justified to leave me to my fate. He suffered and died because he is full of mercy and grace. 

Daily Prayer

Lord God Almighty, you are so awesome and good we feel inadequate to stand in your presence. We are humbled by your might and power, but you do not hold your authority over us like a hammer ready to drop. The false gods that mankind has invented, hold their worshipers in check with threats because that’s all the human mind could conceive. Your thoughts are so much higher than ours. Because you love us, you give us the freedom to choose to love you back or not. In our way of doing things, if someone we love does not love us, or even hates us, we will respond in turn. That’s not your way. You will seek to save us, giving us many chances to repent and turn to Jesus. You are preparing us for eternity, where we will live with you in heaven. Father God help us to learn your ways, that we may share the gospel of Jesus Christ, while we’re here on Earth. It’s in his precious name, we pray. Amen!



May 20

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

(Ephesians 2:10)

Meditation

I don’t consider myself to be worthy of a single drop of the blood shed by Jesus, but he does. He created in me a new heart, a heart for serving others. I serve mostly at my church but I’m always open to seeing where I might serve in other places. There are endless opportunities to help others. It doesn’t have to be through an organization like a church or ministry but whatever I do, I do for the glory of the Lord

When we are saved, God puts the desire in our hearts to do good works and be a servant to all. Some of us respond to that desire and fulfill God’s plan for us but sadly, many ignore it. God puts people who need our help in our path almost every day. It’s up to us to keep our eyes open and recognize a need. Sometimes, the need can be filled by our time and effort. At other times, we can donate some of our money so another person can go do the work. Whatever it is, God has laid the groundwork. We just need to stay aware of what he’s doing in our lives.

The Father wants me to be his servant, not his adviser. He wants me to labor, not supervise. He wants me to be the worker in the community, not a pew sitter in the church. He wants me to show my love for him by the good works I do for others. Only then can I live the purposeful and righteous life I was meant to. His plan for my life was laid down at the beginning of time and is fulfilled when I humble myself in prayer and allow his Spirit to guide me in my daily walk.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, you are the master of creation. The throne sits in the highest heaven and your courts are filled with the heavenly hosts. Lord, we long to be counted among those in your courts, praising and worshiping you day and night. However, even if we were given only one day in your courts, we would rejoice mightily and be eternally grateful. Lord, we live in a world filled with wicked temptations. Help us to resist the lures of our culture. It may seem alright, even desirable to act in ways to be accepted by unbelievers. They will always be the popular people we think we want to be around, but they will only drag us down to their level. If they are not receptive to the gospel message, Lord, give us legs to move on. We must aspire to reach the top of the mountain where righteousness reigns, not wallow in the valley of despair. The worldly pleasures unbelievers will offer will land us in the deepest trench, covered in the filth of sinful shame. Lord, we are striving for our day in your courts. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen!

May 21

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

(Psalm 34:18)

Meditation

Life, in general, will bring us low. The mistakes we’ve made in our past return to haunt us over and over. A friend or family member will let us down. A natural disaster takes everything we own. A cherished job is lost to downsizing. Our once healthy bodies begin to turn on us. All of these things and many more will test even the strongest spirit. But when death claims a loved one, we are affected most.

I vividly remember a rough couple of days for my church family. A dear sister in Christ succumbed to a malignant brain tumor. Many were mad at God for not healing her. But, we do not grieve for her, for when she opened her eyes in heaven, she saw the face of Jesus. She is suffering no more! We are grieving for what will be since she’s gone, the world we have to live in with much less love in it.

Satan tries to use our crushed spirits to drive a wedge between us and everything and everyone we hold dear. However, we know we are not alone in our sorrow. God is always there if we will only listen for his still, small voice. He may speak through the lyrics of a song on the radio, through the words of a sermon or in a passage of scripture we’ve read a hundred times before. No matter how God chooses to speak to us, his words will mend our broken hearts and lift our spirits high.

Daily Prayer

Father God, you are strong and mighty. You have nothing to fear because you are the greatest in all creation. You have also given us a spirit of courage, not of fear. It’s sometimes hard for us to go through daily life without dreading something. However, the subject of fear comes up over three hundred times in your scriptures, but never once do you tell us to fear anything but your scorn and punishment. Lord, empower our spirits to be free from our compulsive need to worry about everything. Remind us we are the children of the Most High God and therefore under his protection and guidance. We are loved in ways we cannot even fully comprehend. Human words fail to adequately describe what your love is because we don’t know how to love the way you do. Help us to be disciplined to serve you even on the days when we feel inadequate to the task. Give us a spirit of love and compassion, like Jesus, for the unsaved we meet. It’s in his name, we pray. Amen!

May 22

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler [Satan] of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

(Ephesians 2:1-2)

Meditation

There was a time in my life when everything centered around the next party. I practically had a bar stool with my name on it. I wasn’t literally bowing down to Satan, but I followed his influence more than God’s because I was far from God. Thomas D. Bernard is quoted as saying, "Our sense of sin is in proportion to our nearness to God." I was dead in my sins until I was born again. I didn’t feel dead, telling myself I was alive and happy, but my soul was dead, just the same.

If I passed from this existence to the next without the cleansing blood of Jesus, I would go to hell, period. Anyone passing from this life is going to either be alive and living with Christ in heaven or dead to him, and in the everlasting pit of hell. There are no other choices. There is no reincarnation, no nirvana, no happy hunting grounds, no great nothingness, only heaven, and hell.

I think we all know which choice Satan wants us to make. He schemes day and night to make this world seem like it’s all that should matter to us. He lies when he tells us there are no eternal consequences for the bad choices we make. If you haven’t yet repented of the life you are living without Christ, why not do so now. We are not promised tomorrow and after you die it’s too late to change your mind. Seek Jesus with an open heart and he’ll save you!

Daily Prayer

Father God, you are our rock, the strong tower we take refuge in. There is so much evil that comes up against us, we are powerless without your supernatural armor we gird ourselves with. The derisive confrontations from an adversary, or the hurtful words of a friend or loved one, are the slings and arrows of the devil. Although not innocent, those people are only the instruments he uses to attack us. He will use whatever tool or strategy his twisted mind can come up with, to throw at us. We may not even personally be the targets of his rage. We may just get in the way when his schemes are loosed. It would be really foolishness on our part to try to resist the onslaught of Satan on our own when our Lord and Savior offers us his armor. Thank you, God, for making us bulletproof when it comes to the devil’s supernatural attacks. Help us to always stay within your will so our armor will remain strong. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!

May 23

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

(1 Corinthians 1:10)

Meditation

When I was a kid, I went to a church that preached all the people in the church down the street were going to hell because they weren’t really saved. We were both the same denomination but from different factions. Even as a ten-year-old, I wondered how our preacher knew they weren’t saved down there. My immature imagination conjured up all kinds of behaviors that could prove they weren’t saved. As hard as I tried to make demons out of them, they looked just like us coming out of their church.

Does anyone believe the Church of Jesus Christ stands united today? No, we have a different denomination for every little disagreement there’s ever been since the Reformation. This isn’t what Christ wanted. He wanted us to be one body. Does that mean we cannot have different worship styles? Absolutely not; but our differences should never interfere with sharing the gospel of Christ. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. I am not a Baptist; I am a Christian. I am not a Methodist; I am a Christian. Each one of us is nothing but a sinner in need of Christ and his redemptive blood.

When we openly show disunity, the unbelieving world has all their prejudices about the church reinforced. They feel justified in believing the church is a man-made entity not worthy of their time or consideration. Its way above my pay grade to know how to fix this but we as believers can start by showing our love for fellow believers and not shouting at each other over our differences.

Daily Prayer

Oh, Lord, how we long for this day to come! If it is your will, even so, come quickly Lord Jesus. We weep for the persecuted believers in the far reaches of this world, who are dying every day by holding fast to their faith in Christ. We mourn for the millions of unborn who are being sacrificed on the altar of choice. We cringe at the pain endured from the ravages of disease. We lament over all the families who are torn apart by infidelity and divorce. We cry for all the unsaved who die, day after day, not knowing Jesus. Father, we know the trials and tribulations of life are nothing new to this world. Lately, however, there has been a serious uptick in the evil that permeates through our society. It seems to be more in our face than even ten or twenty years ago. We’re asking you, Lord, not to tarry any longer than is absolutely necessary. Give us the strength and perseverance to last until Jesus comes. In his name, we pray. Amen!

May 24

Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

(Romans 12:2)

Meditation

There are plenty of distractions in this world to tempt me away from a righteous life. I have to constantly guard my heart against many invasions of this world. Things our society has deemed normal and even desirable. Take a look at most advertisements on television or in print. There is very little modesty in displaying the human body, both male and female. There used to be, at least, some modicum of decency in content and language on television programming. That’s all flown out the window. Added to it all, we now have the internet where all kinds of images, both still and video, are easy temptations to access.

It’s not just things that can be viewed that might cause me to fall. I’m targeted with the finest items a materialistic society would covet. It’s not enough to have a nice house, I want to have the best house with the best furnishings. It’s not enough to have a car that works, I want to have a brand-new car that puts me seriously into debt. All this worldly consumption would give me more stress than it gives me pleasure. If I were to succumb I’d be in a never-ending battle to stay, if not ahead of everyone else, at least even with them. It’s the old, “Keeping up with the Joneses” syndrome.

The world is also having a detrimental effect on the church. Many congregations are failing to remain faithful to sound doctrine. No sinful behavior is condemned; nothing about the consequence of sin is heard from the pulpit. They are places where a social gospel is preached. Only scriptures quoted are those that, when used out of context, back up their point of view. In their ignorance of what the scriptures really say, the congregants blindly follow along with how they feel rather than investigating to find the truth.

I do my best to avoid it all by staying close to God’s Word. With daily devotionals, Bible studies, attendance at a Bible teaching church and prayer I keep the worldly desires and temptations at bay. It’s the only way I can be confident a decision or action I’m about to take will be in God’s will for my life.

Daily Prayer

Lord God in heaven, you show us mercies we can barely fathom. You gave us your Son, that his blood would cleanse us, and make us your sons and daughters. How can we compare the relationship we have with you to any other? You give us life and our very breath. Each new heartbeat is a gift from you. You comfort us when we are suffering from sickness and disease. When our hearts hurt after the death of a loved one, you ease our pain with your presence. Thank you, Lord, for those precious times of feeling your closeness. Help us to be able to comfort someone suffering in any way. Not only will we be able to help them get through their affliction, but we will show them your love as well. Not from any power or strength, we possess on our own, but by experiencing the mercies you’ve shown us over and over. Please, continue showing us your mercy and grace. In Jesus’ name, we pray Amen!

May 25

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.

(1 Corinthians 1:18-19)

Meditation

For most of my adult life, I was just too smart for my own good. I believed everything secular society shoved down my throat. Everything from ‘free love’ to ‘I’m okay, you’re okay’ to “pond scum to people” evolution. Not because I really considered any of the ramifications to my beliefs. No, I knew deep down that the alternative was submission to an all-powerful God. I was in full rebellion against God and everything that goes with believing in him. I didn’t know I was already dead in my sins.

Because I was a soldier in that secular army, I had to attack the beliefs of any foolish person who believed in what Christ teaches. I debated and mocked anyone who dared to come against me. I knew just enough of the Bible to make someone less knowledgeable think I knew what I was talking about. Thankfully, I had people praying for me. My grandmother, my daughter, and many of my aunts were all praying for my salvation. A good friend tried to argue me into the kingdom, but I was too stubborn. He planted a seed, however. My grandparents did the same thing when I was a child.

Many years later, my first grandson passed away a few minutes after birth. At his funeral, words were spoken of Ethan being in heaven with Jesus, where he would live forever. I desperately wanted to get to know Ethan. I thought to myself if that was true, the only way I was going to meet Ethan was to figure out how to get to heaven. However, I had no idea how and I was still too proud to step into a church.

It took two more years, and one of the lowest points in my life, before I found out just how foolish I had been. My original motivation, of wanting to meet Ethan, may have been selfish and wrong, but I finally came to know the truth. Jesus paid the price for my sinful, foolish behavior. God used the pain and sorrow of that time in my life to start me on my path to salvation. Now, someday, right after I meet Jesus in heaven, I will meet my grandson, Ethan.

Daily Prayer

Father God, you supply all our needs from the food on our plates to the air in our lungs. Until we realize the depth and breadth of your provision, we will continue to try to manage our lives on our own. Yes, exercising and bodybuilding can be good for the body, but it’s no replacement for making sure our spiritual lives are in order. No matter how great a shape our bodies are in, we’re still going to pass from this life someday. Being able to bench press one hundred pounds or run twenty-five miles in under three hours, won’t help us if our souls are dead in sin. Lord, help us to keep our bodies fit because they are now a temple, but at the same time, help us be mindful of our spiritual fitness also. Thank you, Lord, for whatever health we have been given. Lead us in our daily study of the scriptures to know you and your plan for our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen!