Daily Devotion

August 13

JP Durham

Romans 12:16 NIV

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Romans 12:16 is a really good verse when we address the idea of connection. This verse very bluntly and simply addresses us on how we should be with others in our community. God tells us not to look down on any of his children because of how they are. He tells us to not have pride in our hearts so that we can live, and even learn from those who we may think are of lower social position. We should have respect for everyone. No matter their background, habits, ethnicity, or social status. 

It is so easy, especially now a days, to look at someone and immediately begin to judge and criticize how a person is living. With things like social media that are basically asking for people to have an opinion on another’s life, it really creates a mindset to compare your life with others. To give an example, it’s really easy to pull up to a red light and see a man with a cardboard sign, and say “how pathetic” or “get a job”. I have been guilty of it many times myself. I think this is what God is referring to in this passage. That just because God has blessed us to be more fortunate than someone in that position, that doesn’t mean that we should look down on those who are struggling. We should never consider ourselves “too good” to affiliate with those of lower social standings. God wants us to love all of his children, and to do whatever we can to bring up our brothers and sisters in Christ. Just like the verse says, we need to live in harmony with everyone. We should never have so much pride that we believe we’re too good to have to deal with those in a tough spot. Only God can judge us.

Prayer: Dear God, please help me to find love in my heart so that I may not be so conceited. Humble me so that I may look at others who are in need of you, and know that could just as easily be myself. Help me to lift others up and never tear them down. Bless those who are lost, and help those who are in need of you Lord. Use me to be light for those in the darkness. 

In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 

August 12

Damaris Chajon

John 15:5 NIV

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Christ used the figure of the vine to illustrate the necessity of His disciples abiding in Him, and taught that they will bear fruit for Him only as they abide in Him.

What other meanings does the word abide have?…to remain, to dwell, to spend. 

This makes me think about the importance for us to remain and spend time with God and the importance this has, so we can bear fruit. What fruit? Gal. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. He promises that we will bear much fruit and I love that because, it is not me that needs to work on producing fruit but instead I need to spend time with God, so He will produce fruit on me. And this fruit will be an expression, as a result of my time with Him and will bless others in our community of believers. Others that are not yet part of it, but will be reached because of our testimony. 

I thank God for his reminder on how much I need His presence in my life and especially now throughout these 21 days of prayer and reconnecting. It got easier to stay isolated but I need my brothers and sisters to live in community and definitely I need Him in my life. 

Prayer: Dear God, I come to you asking to put in me the desire to abide in your presence. I ask that through the Holy Spirit, you will move me to want more of you because separated from you, I can do nothing. Help me stay connected through the body (the branches) so I may be supported in those times I feel weak. Also, so I may be there when others need me too.

In Jesus name, Amen!

August 11

Dan Houston

Mark 12:28-31 NIV

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”  “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Several years ago, I was sitting at a Panther’s football game. I knew the person right beside me, but everyone else around me were total strangers. They were people from all walks of life. It was an exciting game where the Panthers trailed early but made an exciting comeback for the win.

One of the things I remember most fondly about this day was how, as the home team started their successful comeback, we all became instant friends. We were high-fiving each other after catches, hugging one another after touchdowns, and as one big happy family, celebrating when the game ended in victory. We were many but we were one! And our common denominator, the attraction that brought us all together and the bond that kept us that way, was the football team. For a few minutes that afternoon, we were all connected!

In our scripture lesson for today Jesus not only simplifies God’s Law, but He does so in a specific order. First, love the Lord. Second, love your neighbor. Jesus was intentional in the order of these commands.  

If we love God first, above all things, then He will be the common denominator for our relationships with others. This relationship with our Father (up) should bring us together with all people (out), and keep us together. Because we love Him, then it should follow that we love our neighbors (all people) as ourselves.

When we commit to love God with all our heart, we see everyone else in a new light. We no longer see others as various skin colors or different socio-economic classes, but we see all as children of God, our brothers and sisters, all made and loved equally by the same Creator.

If we can rally together as one around a football team, think of the powerful connection we can have when we acknowledge God as the Father of us all. That is a game changer that makes us all winners!

Prayer:  Father God, You bless us in so many ways and we thank You for that. You have given each of us the blessing of being one of Your children. Lord, help us to acknowledge and celebrate that connection each day by loving You, and everyone-everyone!-as we love ourselves. We pray this in the name of Your beloved Son Jesus.  Amen.

August 10

Charlotte Harris

James 5:16 NIV

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

We see throughout the bible that every human sins. Romans 3:23 says it plainly: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So, knowing that we all sin, we can apply James 5:16 directly to our lives. This verse gives simple instructions on confession and prayer, thus resulting in healing.

First, it says that we are to confess our sins to each other. Confessing to others is easier said than done. But why? Why is confessing our sins so hard? I believe it is this: part shame, part pride. The shame is the embarrassment, the self-centeredness, the “what would they think of me if they knew how sinful my heart is?”, the mortifying feeling that we want to avoid when confessing our sin. Then we have pride. Pride is viewed as a rebellion against God. It presumes that we have the excellence and glory that only God Himself possesses. Many times, I have allowed shame and pride get in the way of confession. I have found that prayer beforehand for the Spirit to move in my heart and allow me the courage to do what the Lord has called me to do has been very helpful.

Then it says to pray for each other. This is a powerful gift. When we pray for another, it draws us closer in relationships, while also drawing us closer to God. This selfless act is something we see Jesus doing time and time again during His life.

We have confessed our sins to one another, we have prayed for each other, and now we are washed clean. Now, we are righteous. We are rid of the barrier of sin that blocks the relationship between us and our Father.

Prayer: Gracious Father, thank you for your Word. Thank you for showing us Your love for us and for others. Thank you for the gift of relationship. We ask that You move in our hearts today. Give us the strength to confess to one another the sin that separates us from you. Give us the encouragement to pray for each other. Draw us closer to each other as we draw closer to you. Lord, we love you and we praise you.

In your Son’s holy name, Amen.

August 9

Samuel Ellington

John 4:20-21, 23 NIV

Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem… …a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”

Most people know this story of the Samaritan woman at the well, although few actually know what a Samaritan is. The Samaritans were a group of Israelites that, like the Jews, descended from the Hebrew people. Also, like the Jews, they observed the Law of God that is found in the Torah, the first five books of our Old Testament. In fact, they kept God’s Law so well that the word Samaritan comes from the Hebrew Shamerim, meaning keepers [of the Torah].

At first glance, the Samaritans look pretty much like normal Jews. That’s because they were, except for a few disagreements. The most significant of which was this: the Samaritans maintained that the proper place to worship God was in Shechem, while the Jews believed it was Jerusalem. So, who’s right?

In my interpretation of the Gospel according to John, Jesus maintained that the proper way to worship God isn’t found in any particular location—on any mountain, in any church. Today, as you ponder the importance of connection, consider this message of liberation. Look around, and I guarantee you’ll see plenty of Shechems, plenty of Jerusalems. People today are no less willing to die on their mountains than they were in Jesus’ time. But the “proper” way to worship God isn’t in the lean-to churches of Intibucá or the Catholic monasteries of Tibet. It isn’t at Christ the King or St. Mark’s Episcopal, as a Calvinist or an Arminianist. It is neither by separating ourselves from the world nor insisting that it adopt our own beliefs.

The “proper” way to worship God is to do what Jesus did for the Samaritan at the well (John 4:1-42), for the defendant at the Mount of Olives (John 8:1-11), for the Romans who crucified him (Luke 23:34), and for the disabled man at the pool (John 5:1-13). That is, recognize the humanity of every person you encounter; defend unwaveringly every human’s right to a good life; practice forgiveness and understanding; and do something good before we each must slip away from the crowd.

Prayer: God, I pray that we learn to appreciate the value of each member of the human race. I pray that we arrive at the understanding that to connect with a person is not to change them, but rather to value their identity, to fight for them, to make love something real and practiced. Amen.

August 8

Pastor Frank Garcia

Romans 8:26-27 NIV

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people accordance with the will of God. 

The passage describes the works of the Holy Spirit with little to no words in its move to restore the connection with the Father. It is like 3G Network, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. They work seamlessly throughout each believer. The Main Frame lies in Heaven and intercessor “Jesus” answers to the Father as our High Priest. The only interruption to this constant flow is sin and rejecting HIS existence, power and glory. Again, words are not necessary as God knows our heart; it is susceptible to us. This network is powered on love, worship to Him, prayer, relationship, and wholehearted devotion towards expanding his kingdom. 

Take time to meditate and reflect on this analogy. What does it say to your Heart? Do you believe your prayers easily flow in/out of you? Do barriers currently exist in your prayer life or connection with God? Whom do you plan to call for help? God is already listening. 

Prayer: Dear Lord, Thank You for the Holy Spirit. Please show me ways to improve and increase my prayer life. I wish to grow a stronger relationship with you. It is essential to live and demonstrate a loving life in Christ. The Bible calls you the Great, I AM. The First and Last, Abraham called you the Everlasting! I know I can do all things through you who strengthen me.

Amen.  

August 7

Lindsey Jackman

John 15:12-13 NIV

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

As I read this passage and began to pray about what it means to love each other as Jesus has loved us and the great love of laying down one’s life for one’s friends, I think of the powerful friendships I have known; people who have sacrificed their time, talent and treasures to echo Jesus’ love in my life. Without hesitation they’ve followed this command and laid down the wants and needs of their own lives to show God’s love to me. 

I had a great need for this love when I became a new mom. I began to isolate myself as I struggled to manage the sleep deprivation, feeding schedule and the stress and anxiety of caring for my precious newborn. But God was with me and answered my prayers! I was introduced to the MOPs (Moms of Preschoolers) group at church and immediately found connection. I found other moms who were struggling like me and could relate to and rationalize all of my experiences, but I also found mothers who were farther along in their journey and could love on us as they had been loved when they were brand new moms. 

They showed God’s love to us, as it had been shown to them. They laid down their time to give hope to us. Now as a mother (slightly) farther along in my journey, I know the importance of being part of a community where we love each other as God has loved us and I pray others can feel God’s love through me.

Our God is loving! He wants us to be connected with Him and with each other. God wants us to be surrounded with the support and encouragement. He desires you to have a joyful purposeful life!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word, we thank you for your truth, and we thank you for your never-failing love. Help us remember to lay down our lives for one another is not necessarily one grand act, but acts done daily that glorify you, Lord. Help us to live like you and for you and guide our hearts to love each other as you have love us, Lord. We trust you. We love you and we praise you!

Amen.

January 29

Frank Hertkorn

Acts 16:31-34

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved— you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household. 

What kind of life are you living? How do people see you? What would people ask you?

Though Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, and imprisoned for doing good, they were filled with joy and sang praises to God. It seemed as if nothing would make them stop praising God. What did the prisoners see? Did it make the prisoners want to change their lives?

It would have been easy for Paul and Silas to escape, thinking God provided another miraculous jailbreak. But to them, the lives of others were more important than their own personal freedom and comfort. Would Paul and Silas have acted in the same manner before meeting Jesus? The jailer saw the prison doors open, but the prisoners remained, just hanging out with Paul. What did the jailer see? How did it make the jailer feel? The jailer was so impressed by Paul and Silas, by the love they showed to him, and from their ability to take joy even in misery, that he instantly wanted to change to the kind of life that Paul and Silas have.

This passage has always been a favorite of mine as it deals personally with how we are to act in this world and what it takes to be a child of God. That night was a night of repentance and renovation. The jailer looked after Paul and Silas’s wounds and truly sought God.  The result was a new and better life complete with God. That night the jailer and his household found salvation through grace that is only found by faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I recently went through a period of renovation. It was a time where my life felt flat, knowing Jesus was there but not fully experiencing Him. I needed some time to stop and reflect and let the Master Architect re-engineer and take control of my life. One detail I see in Paul and his ministry is that Jesus was always in his thoughts. He was always praying and always worshipping, in good and bad times. This is very hard for me with all the distractions of this world. It is not easy to stop, reflect and turn away from the old to a new and better life.

Prayer: Father Almighty, show us the way to you. Father, show us what it means to have Jesus dwelling within us. Father, show us what needs to be changed and give us the strength to receive your will. Lord, we love everything about you. Guide us to act out a joyous Christian life so we may stand out to others and have them ask us how to be saved. Amen.

January 28

Holly Armstrong

Ezekiel 37:4-6

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 

Sometimes all hope can seem lost. Are you in a marriage or relationship that seems hopeless? Have you been battling with infertility or something else that just breaks your heart time and time again? Does your job or financial situation make you feel like you’re fighting a losing battle, that you can’t get ahead no matter how hard you try? Or maybe your health is declining without any more treatment options, and you just feel broken and depressed? Or, maybe you have lost faith in something like the church, the government, or perhaps humanity as a whole, and all hope just seems lost? Whatever you are dealing with today, sometimes that feeling of hopelessness can just feel utterly overwhelming. God, however, does NOT leave us in our despair to walk the valleys alone. In fact, sometimes, he purposefully allows us to enter a valley, just so we can see Him and his power a bit more clearly. In Ezekiel 37, the hand of the Lord came upon Ezekiel, and it set him down into a valley that was full of dry bones. God then spoke to Ezekiel, telling him to prophesy to the bones, to command them to come alive again – with the purpose of knowing that God is Lord. Ezekiel obeyed God’s command, and with a rattling, the bones came together, with tendons, flesh, and skin. Again, God spoke to Ezekiel and commanded him to prophesy for a breath to enter into those bones. And again, Ezekiel obeyed, and the breath of God turned dry bones into a new living army. What seemed utterly hopeless and dead became alive again.

God took Ezekiel into a valley so he could see more clearly. (What valley is God having you walkthrough? Are you just angry at God for placing you there, or are you like Ezekiel and you have the willingness to go where God leads, wherever that might be?)

God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. (What is God asking of you today about your particular situation? Are you taking the time to listen to God’s voice in your life?)

Ezekiel obeyed God’s commands. (Are you willing to do whatever He asks, no matter how ridiculous it might sound to human ears – like talking to a bunch of dead bones? Or are you hesitant to obey because it just seems too impossible?)

God spoke breath into those bones. (Without the Holy Spirit, nothing that was once dead can ever become alive again. Do you have the faith and patience to wait for the Holy Spirit to move into those dead areas of your life?)

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I pray today for anyone who is struggling with hopelessness. Sometimes scenarios can simply seem impossible, too hard, too dead. Father, I pray that you give every person reading this hope. May they realize that you promised to walk through the valleys with them. May you give them fresh eyes to see your magnificence and fresh ears to listen to your commands. May you give them the faith to believe that you are more powerful than they could ever imagine. And may your Holy Spirit breathe life into their souls….so that others may know that YOU ARE LORD! Thank you for being patient with us as our faith grows, and most importantly, thank you for never leaving us alone.

In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.

January 27

Devon Ragoonath 

Jeremiah 24:4-7

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. 

Chapter 24 of Jeremiah talks about two baskets of figs that God shares with Jeremiah as a vision for what He is doing this time. In today’s reading, God’s promises immediately catch my attention. He promises to watch over the exiles he sent off, He promises that He will bring them back, He will build them up and not tear them down and that He will plant them and not uproot them. God also promises that He will give them a heart to know Him and that He is the Lord. 

As we are almost one month into the new year, many of our “New Year’s resolutions” may be quickly fading off. My excitement and anxiousness have slowly fallen back into my previous routines. However, I am reminded here that God promises to build me up and not tear me down. God is the King of construction and is the best carpenter there is! He can renovate our hearts and our lives, our families, workplace, community, if we allow Him to take over. He will watch over us for our good! Giving away control can sometimes be a struggle as we all want to be in the driver’s seat. I once saw on a recent TikTok trend someone posting an encouragement piece saying… we can get on a plane and relax and have no clue who the pilot is, we can get on a boat and relax having no clue who the captain is, we can live in a house that was built having no clue who the builders and architects were, then why can’t we put our unwavering trust into God? God promises to give us a heart to know Him. He reminds us that we are his people and that He is our God. It is not too late to let God take control and renovate our hearts, lives, family, etc. Pray with me. 

Prayer: Dear Lord, I trust you. I know that you are God and that you only have in mind what’s best for me. I know God that you will always watch over me and build me up. I know that you will always show me what’s good for my own being. God, I know that I am yours and that even when I veer off course that you will bring me back. God, thank you for never leaving my side. I promise to do better this year in letting you in and letting you be in control.

In Your name, Amen.