NOVEMBER 21 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: EPHESIANS 1:3-6 We are an extremely blessed people of God! If we are not careful though, we can let fear cause us to miss those wonderful blessings. That is the all–consuming nature of fear; it robs us of the joy of realizing all the wonderful blessings that the Lord has poured out into our lives. We continually have a choice to either focus on fear or focus on the Lord. The writer of Hebrews tells us to, "...fix our eyes on Jesus who is

NOVEMBER 20 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: 2 TIMOTHY 1:3-7 It is certainly true that we live in a time that is consumed and controlled by fear. People are running crazy in the streets, causing havoc and destruction, because they have let their fears consume them. In this age of social media there is every website imaginable putting out information about everything imaginable to create fear in the hearts of people. Fear based on people receiving half and partial truths and sometime

NOVEMBER 19 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: 1 SAMUEL 15:22-23 Rebellion is a huge thing in the Bible...we are told that "Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft." How is this so? We were created by God, for God. It is His intent that we walk and live controlled by the Holy Spirit who lives within us. Witchcraft speaks of control also, but not the control of God’s Spirit. Witchcraft seeks to manipulate a person to do things that are beyond their control. It literally seeks to control

NOVEMBER 18 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: 1 PETER 4:7-11 Love is at the top of the list...it is above all things. The Bible declares that God is love. It commands us to love God with all our being and to love others as we do ourselves. It is by our love that the world knows we are the followers of Christ. Love is giving and it covers a multitude of our sins and shortcomings. Love is kind and caring. It is long suffering and thinks the best of others. It celebrates what is good an

NOVEMBER 17 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: PROVERBS 27:1 On this earth we are only promised today. We are told not to boast about tomorrow as if it is guaranteed, or as a means to continually put off what the Lord has called us to today. There will never be another today...all the people of your today will never be the same again. The opportunities of today will never be there in the same way again. The Lord has given us today, with all it holds, to be what He has called us to be

NOVEMBER 16 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: Psalm 7 Life doesn't have to be miserable, because while it is true we can't always chose what happens to us in life, we do chose how we respond to it. Paul said that he had learned to be content in whatever state he found himself in. Some believe, incorrectly, that if they just had everything they want and everything always went their way and they lived in the most wonderful place on earth, then they would be happy. I have met people who

NOVEMBER 15 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 So many times the Scripture makes statements that are completely the opposite of the way the world thinks. "When I am weak, then I am strong"..."You must give up your life to save your life"..."If you would be the greatest…you must be the least" and so many more. Have you learned yet that to live in Christ sets you at odds with the way the world thinks and lives? The problem with far too many Christians is that we wo

NOVEMBER 14 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul uses the analogy of a race to describe our lives and the need to continue on until the race is won. It is the Lord who sets the perimeters of our race. He decides the course. He sets the length. He determines how victory is obtained. This is not a race in the classic athletic competition sense, in that we are not competing with other believers to see who can outdo who. This is the kind of race that we are all in

NOVEMBER 13 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 There is a miracle happening in you right now if you are a child of God. God is at work in you performing the miracle of transformation. He is making you daily like His Son, Jesus. Everything we have as believers is because of Christ. We belong to God because of Jesus. We are saved because of Jesus. Our sins are eternally forgiven because of Jesus. We are the very children of God because of Jesus. We have eternal lif

NOVEMBER 12 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: Deuteronomy 7:9-11 "Nothing can separate you from the love of God which is Christ Jesus our Lord." Nothing means nothing! In the 8th chapter of Romans, Paul had just gone through an extensive and exhaustive list of categories that we humans might assume would cause us to be separated from God...things that would cause us to no longer be His children, or have His salvation. When he got through with the list his biblical conclusion was, bec

NOVEMBER 11 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: ISAIAH 61:10-11 One of the saddest verses in the Scripture is Matthew 7:23..."I will say to them depart from Me, you workers of iniquity, for I never knew you!" Jesus is speaking to a group of supposed believers, who were not His followers at all. In the previous verse these bragged about all that they had done for Him...they boasted of casting our demons, healing the sick and many miracles...but Jesus said, "I never knew you!" Religious

NOVEMBER 10 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: LUKE 12:35-48 The Lord came to change us from the inside-out. Too often we believe that it is a system that changes people or that ultimately makes a difference. However, it is not the system...but the character and integrity of the people within the system that make the difference. To be sure there are systems that are better than others, but it is not the systems by themselves that can make people better...it is people of character and

NOVEMBER 9 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: HABAKKUK 3:17-19 Every day in our country about half the people are happy and half are unhappy. We have a President who is elected to lead us. It is the great social experiment called, "America." For the church, as far as our walk goes nothing changes no matter who the President is or nothing should change. We still need to be sharing the Gospel. We need to continue to minister to the poor, the widows, the orphans. We still need to be the

NOVEMBER 8 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: ROMANS 6:5-11 Salvation is not determined by our emotions or how we feel about it. Our salvation is determined by the promise of God. When God declares something, it is true. So, though our salvation and what God does in it, can touch our emotions and feelings, the final determinate on whether we have salvation is what God says. Our words do not have the power to create anything...they do influence, they do impact, they can hurt or help...

NOVEMBER 7 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: PSALM 128 There are foundational truths that make us, who we are, both as a nation and as believers in Christ. It is when these truths are ignored, forgotten, or replaced that we cease to be the people we were created to be. Our nation was developed and created in strife and conflict. It was set up so that everyone was created equal and we're given certain freedoms by the Creator. We didn't get it completely right from the start for all pe

NOVEMBER 6 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: HABAKKUK 2:1-4 Lord, teach me each day to walk by faith and not by what I see. It is Election season in the United States...and while it is important, it is not the most important thing. What God is doing all around us is really what is important. Henry Blackaby teaches in his book, "Experiencing God," that God is on mission all around us, everyday...God is calling us to join Him in His great mission. In order for us to do that we must sto

NOVEMBER 5 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: JAMES 1:21-27 Biblical principles are only good if we follow them. To say one is a biblical Christian and then to do just the opposite of the clear teachings of Scripture is to prove that one is not. They are empty words and that kind of faith is only there as long as it fits our own personal preferences, bias and lifestyle. It seems about this time, every four years, we American Christians struggle with being a partisan or a follower of C

NOVEMBER 4 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: ROMANS 6:20-23 God cannot be appeased with actions, even religious actions, without our obedience. In other words, our hearts must be right in order for our actions to be right. The religious minded person says, "All that is needed is that I do certain things, like going to church, or giving to the Lord, or reading my Bible, etc.” But the Lord requires more from us. He requires a right heart that is turned toward Him. It is from a right he

NOVEMBER 3 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: LEVITICUS 26:3-8 The Lord put us here and has left us here to make a difference. Jesus said we are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. He warned of salt losing its savor and being good for nothing...and told us not to hide our light under a bushel. Sadly, there are many Christians who have just decided to check out and not become involved. To them the world has either gotten so bad that they don't think they can make a

NOVEMBER 2 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: NUMBERS 14:1-10 There is an old saying, "If you know no opposition, it's because you stand for nothing!" There is not a person in the world that has made a difference and stood for something that has not had opposition. As a matter, of fact it can be stated with certainty that if you believe and stand for something, it is guaranteed that you will face opposition. And it seems the greater the cause or purpose for which you stand, the greate