weekly devotional

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord". To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

"He must increase, but I must decrease."

To elevate someone we can't see is simply not natural, in fact it's supernatural. Instead of increasing Christ, we tend to put our heads down and just grind through life in order to get what we want or what our families want. When we take a lower seat the grind stops being a grind. When we increase God in our lives things start coming more easily and without as much heartache and trouble. And if we are indeed investing in our relationship with God, the things we thought we wanted or needed become less and less significant. 

Can we, Like John, put our egos and profitable work aside in order to point others to Jesus? Are we willing to lose some of our status so that everone will benefit? 

God Bless!

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." 

Being a Christ follower doesn't mean you should just close your eyes and believe, but rather, dig in and check it out for yourself. The living word of the Bible encourages us to investigate its claims thoroughly because your conclusion of Jesus Christ is a life-and-death matter. All of the answers to all of the questions and the solutions to all of the problems are indeed located in the "Living Bible". 

And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.' And I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. 

For the people you might think are untouchable and too far gone to accept Christ, pray for them by name. Our God is all powerful and can change anyone He desires at any moment. Saul of Tarsus' conversion to the Apostle Paul is proof. 

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Bitterness is an acid that destroys its own container. We must forgive so that we can be free. Forgiven people should be forgiving people. 

When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.”

Are we, or have we not all been like Simon Peter at some point in our lives? Simon Peter didn’t feel worthy of Jesus’s gift or presence and was ashamed so he asked Jesus to leave. In this exact moment, the enemy tried to drive a wedge between Simon Peter and Jesus. The enemy wants all of us to feel ashamed and unworthy. The enemy wants us isolated and alone, but there is good news! Regardless of your past, regardless of your mistakes, regardless of where you are in this very moment, Jesus wants you now, just as you are. 

Today, if you’re feeling ashamed, alone, guilty, unworthy, unwanted, unloved, isolated, tired, sick, or just unhappy, Jesus can help! Ask Him into your heart, ask for forgiveness, and posture yourself to receive. Jesus will take over from there!