JACKS DAILY DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
(2nd Corinthians 7:10) “Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted.”
There’s a difference between confessing your sin and repenting of it.
In Scripture, the word repentance means “to turn away from sin.”
By confessing your sin, you acknowledge what you have done… by repenting… you turn away from it.
And the good news is that there’s no limit to God’s forgiveness.
The moment you ask for it, you receive it.
But here is the thing.
God doesn’t intend for you to keep repeating your sinful patterns over and over again.
That’s where “godly sorrow” comes in.
Paul wrote, “You sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you” (2nd Corinthians 7:11).
Paul is not asking a question here, he is stating a fact.
When you sorrow over sin, it changes you!
The purpose of Godly sorrow is to bring us to bring us to a place where we are broken, submitted, obedient and pliable.
God does not want us to walk in shame or defeated condemnation.
But he does want us to be a people whose “desire in life” is to rise above sin and its “mastery” over us.
He wants us to allow Him (God) to “conform us” (Romans 8:29) “to the image of His Son.”
When we are filled with Godly sorrow over our sinful ways, we are like Paul whom cried out in (Romans 7) “why is it the things I want to do I don’t and the things I don’t want to do I do?
Oh God who will deliver me from this wretched body of flesh.”
Paul isn’t giving us headline news of disgraceful misconduct here, but is sharing his personal awareness of the power of indwelling sin, experienced as “sinful desire”.
This sinful desire is with us till the day we die.
The world puts it this way. “It’s just the way I am.
But friend you don’t have to be that way.
You don’t have to accept the old conditions.
Paul writes also in (2nd Corinthians 5:17) “if any man be in Christ he is a new creature. Old things
pass away and ‘behold’ (watch, take note) ‘all things’ become new.”
Our problem is that we tend to roll over and allow sin to continue in our mortal bodies, rather than “fight the good fight of faith”.
You can change! You can be different! You can rise above your old nature.
But it takes “Godly sorrow over sin” to “develop the desire” to want to overcome sin and this worlds evil nature of sin.
However… we can’t do it on our own!
Paul writes in (Romans 8:9-11) “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you… but if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
You need the indwelling spirit of God to lead you, to caution you, to reveal to you the deception of sin.
The world says “there is a way which seems right unto a man” (Proverbs 16:25 and Proverbs 14:12)
(Hebrews 11:1) says that “for without faith it is impossible to please God!
Faith means “going outside ourselves “
(Romans 7:18) As Paul writes “there’s no innate good within us” and we must flee sin daily, yes hourly, yes every waking moment!
We must rest in Christ, not only for justification and deliverance, but for power to overcome sin…
Our problem is that we tend to roll over and allow sin to continue in our mortal bodies, rather than “fight the good fight of faith”.
You can change! You can be different! You can rise above your old nature.
But it takes “Godly sorrow over sin” to “develop the desire” to want to overcome sin and this worlds evil nature of sin.
However… we can’t do it on our own!
Paul writes in (Romans 8:9-11) “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you… but if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
You need the indwelling spirit of God to lead you, to caution you, to reveal to you the deception of sin.
The world says “there is a way which seems right unto a man” (Proverbs 16:25 and Proverbs 14:12)
(Hebrews 11:1) says that “for without faith it is impossible to please God!
Faith means “going outside ourselves “
(Romans 7:18) As Paul writes “there’s no innate good within us” and we must flee sin daily, yes hourly, yes every waking moment!
We must rest in Christ, not only for justification and deliverance, but for power to overcome sin…
there is no victory or “fruitfulness” in life” apart from Him.
The inference here is that God wants us to live and learn and act like His children, and it all starts with Godly sorrow for the condition we are in and repentance the key to change
Godly sorrow simply makes us keenly aware of our situation and causes us to be more diligent when it comes to changing or curbing our behavior.
When you allow sin into your life, you violate your core of righteousness, your core of integrity, who you are in Christ…
The inference here is that God wants us to live and learn and act like His children, and it all starts with Godly sorrow for the condition we are in and repentance the key to change
Godly sorrow simply makes us keenly aware of our situation and causes us to be more diligent when it comes to changing or curbing our behavior.
When you allow sin into your life, you violate your core of righteousness, your core of integrity, who you are in Christ…
Satan tries to keep bringing us down to His level by using our old nature against us.
But never forget that God came down to our level at the cross so He could lift us with Him into “Heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 2:6)
“God… made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2nd Corinthians 5:21).
You’re a “regenerated spirit” living in an “un-regenerated body”, and when you permit or allow sin into your life, it violates the very core of who you are!
Or at least it should!
And that will cause you “Godly sorrow”, leading to repentance and a turning away from sin.
Don’t settle for saying… “This is just a habit I can’t break, but it’s okay because God will forgive me.”
Yes, God will forgive you, but He doesn’t want you to “settle for a cycle of sin”, repentance, forgiveness, and then repeat it all over again.
He wants you to be strong and effective… filled with victory in His service.
It is the person filled with the Spirit and yielded to Christ that will find that victory!
It is the person that says, “I live, but it is no longer I that lives… but Christ that lives in me.
And the life that I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God… Who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
The key to victory over sin is “Christ in you”, the “Holy Spirit in you” and submitting to His leading.
What must come from us… is the “want to”
Good Day!
(Genesis 19:26) ‘His wife looked back…and…became a pillar of salt.’
Before destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, angels of the Lord rescued Lot and his family.
"When they had brought them outside…he said, Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains lest you be destroyed” (Genesis 19:17)
But the record reads… “His wife looked back… and became a pillar of salt”.
There’s an important lesson here for each of us... and that lesson is that we must resist the temptation
to linger in the quicksand of past mistakes… either your own or other people’s.
It can be hard to see ahead when horrendous things have happened to you in the past.
Because when you get bogged down in the past, you miss what God has for you in the present, and
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
You may ask me for anything in My name, and I will do it.”
God created you for a unique purpose in life.
You may be thinking “if that’s true why is it so hard”?
Friend it’s because you have an enemy of your soul that wants to destroy you and keep you from fulfilling your destiny in the Kingdom of God.
Keep you from being a threat to his Kingdom of Darkness.
His mandate is to distract you and I from steadfastly running the race.
The distractions of this world and all it has to offer are deceitful stumbling blocks by the enemy to cause us to look back and in most cases long for what used to be.
However John says… “Love not the world nor the things that are in the world”. (1st John 2:15)
Lots wife could not see her future because she loved what lay behind her.
She loved the world.
But the Bible teaches us to press on toward God “for the eye has not seen nor has the ear heard nor has it entered into the heart of man all the things that God has prepared for those that love Him.”
(1st Corinthians 2:9)
The old song say’s, “this world is not my home, I’m just passing thru”.
This world has nothing to offer you and I except regret, sorrow and unfulfilled expectations.
It’s time to get off of that “Long Black Train” that is fueled by those hideous lies of the enemy and get on “Heavens Express” with its promise of peace joy hope and fulfilled purpose.
You have to make the change… nobody else can do it for you.
We are here to help you but you have to take the first step, you have to refuse to look back, you have to be steadfast and unmovable, disregarding the old and moving forward to the new.
God say’s to you today, “behold I make all things new”.
He says “if any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things pass away and behold all things become new” (2nd Corinthians 5:17)
Don’t long for the old ways, the old life, the old world.
It has nothing to offer but death, regret and sorrow.
Don’t look back!
But press ahead unto the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:13)
Good day!
It can be hard to see ahead when horrendous things have happened to you in the past.
Because when you get bogged down in the past, you miss what God has for you in the present, and
fail to see its connection to your future.
The good news is that it’s not too late to allow God to use you and move you forward on your journey.
He can heal the wounds others have inflicted on you.
He can make you wiser as a result of the poor decisions you made in the past.
It’s not too late to become who or what you were created to be.
God delights in transforming our weakness into strength.
He can create treasure from what you’ve discarded as rubbish.
Even if you’ve “fallen a way”, and detoured from the path you know He wants you to follow.
Now is the time to return to His road. "I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11)
You’ve stood at a stand still long enough.
It’s time to move forward and don’t look back.
The mirror of regret will only keep you from moving forward to your destiny.
The enemy of your soul wants you to stay right where your.
He wants to keep you focused on past mistakes, wrong choices, and the comforts of this world because in doing so… you become consumed with your self, with little or no attention given to the task we are all chosen for.
But God say’s “greater things than these shall ye do” (John14:12)
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing... and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
The good news is that it’s not too late to allow God to use you and move you forward on your journey.
He can heal the wounds others have inflicted on you.
He can make you wiser as a result of the poor decisions you made in the past.
It’s not too late to become who or what you were created to be.
God delights in transforming our weakness into strength.
He can create treasure from what you’ve discarded as rubbish.
Even if you’ve “fallen a way”, and detoured from the path you know He wants you to follow.
Now is the time to return to His road. "I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11)
You’ve stood at a stand still long enough.
It’s time to move forward and don’t look back.
The mirror of regret will only keep you from moving forward to your destiny.
The enemy of your soul wants you to stay right where your.
He wants to keep you focused on past mistakes, wrong choices, and the comforts of this world because in doing so… you become consumed with your self, with little or no attention given to the task we are all chosen for.
But God say’s “greater things than these shall ye do” (John14:12)
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing... and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
You may ask me for anything in My name, and I will do it.”
God created you for a unique purpose in life.
You may be thinking “if that’s true why is it so hard”?
Friend it’s because you have an enemy of your soul that wants to destroy you and keep you from fulfilling your destiny in the Kingdom of God.
Keep you from being a threat to his Kingdom of Darkness.
His mandate is to distract you and I from steadfastly running the race.
The distractions of this world and all it has to offer are deceitful stumbling blocks by the enemy to cause us to look back and in most cases long for what used to be.
However John says… “Love not the world nor the things that are in the world”. (1st John 2:15)
Lots wife could not see her future because she loved what lay behind her.
She loved the world.
But the Bible teaches us to press on toward God “for the eye has not seen nor has the ear heard nor has it entered into the heart of man all the things that God has prepared for those that love Him.”
(1st Corinthians 2:9)
The old song say’s, “this world is not my home, I’m just passing thru”.
This world has nothing to offer you and I except regret, sorrow and unfulfilled expectations.
It’s time to get off of that “Long Black Train” that is fueled by those hideous lies of the enemy and get on “Heavens Express” with its promise of peace joy hope and fulfilled purpose.
You have to make the change… nobody else can do it for you.
We are here to help you but you have to take the first step, you have to refuse to look back, you have to be steadfast and unmovable, disregarding the old and moving forward to the new.
God say’s to you today, “behold I make all things new”.
He says “if any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things pass away and behold all things become new” (2nd Corinthians 5:17)
Don’t long for the old ways, the old life, the old world.
It has nothing to offer but death, regret and sorrow.
Don’t look back!
But press ahead unto the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:13)
Good day!
(Job 11:16) “You will forget your trouble and remember it only as water gone by.”
Satan is a master at bringing up our past to cause us stumbling blocks for our future.
He will use emotions such as shame, remorse, discouragement, and self doubt… to rob, steal, disorientate and cause you to lose hope and lose direction for your future.
When we don’t get help for past emotional hurts, we can find ourselves acting out of character.
We start treating others like we were treated, and we hurt the most important people in our lives… and our relationships can be effected and fall apart.
Being stuck in the past is not what God wants for us.
He has new things He wants to do in and through us.
(Isaiah 43:18-19) says: ‘Forget what happened before, and do not think about the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do. It is already happening…. don’t you see it?’
If we’re still emotionally tied to our past, we’ll struggle to step into the new things ahead of us.
Regret, bitterness, resentment, anger, and hurt keep us trapped.
But it’s often “easier said than done” to let go of them and move on.
So how do we let go!
In the Bible, Job faced a lot of trouble and heartache.
When he was struggling, one of his friends gave him this advice…
“You must give your whole heart to God and hold out your hands to him for help… You will forget your trouble and remember it only as water gone by” (Job 11:13-16).
The same advice goes for each of us today!
You must give your whole heart to God.
We need to hand everything over to God and ask Him to help us work through these situations and emotions.
We can’t simply forget about them or pretend that we’re not bothered by them anymore.
That will just make things harder in the long run.
Instead, we need to go through the process of dealing with them… so we can ultimately find healing and freedom.
It’s possible for us to move on and develop emotionally, we just need to be open to the process God wants to take us through.
So today, if you really want to experience the freedom Jesus talked of when He said "Him who the Son set free is free indeed" (John 8:36)... then you must set everything else to the side and begin to follow Him (Matthew 4:20)
That’s what the disciples did.
They left their nets behind them, and they followed Jesus.
With your whole heart!
What ever you are going thru right now, Jesus is calling your name.
He is calling you to follow Him with out looking back... and without bringing your past with you.
It’s a new life with a new purpose, with a new plan, with new victories and a new future
Stop looking into the mirror of regret.
Stop bringing up the past!
Let it be your teacher, and leave her there.
When you were in school you learned a lot of lessons.
Some of them you failed and had to relearn... but there came a time when you graduated and
The same advice goes for each of us today!
You must give your whole heart to God.
We need to hand everything over to God and ask Him to help us work through these situations and emotions.
We can’t simply forget about them or pretend that we’re not bothered by them anymore.
That will just make things harder in the long run.
Instead, we need to go through the process of dealing with them… so we can ultimately find healing and freedom.
It’s possible for us to move on and develop emotionally, we just need to be open to the process God wants to take us through.
So today, if you really want to experience the freedom Jesus talked of when He said "Him who the Son set free is free indeed" (John 8:36)... then you must set everything else to the side and begin to follow Him (Matthew 4:20)
That’s what the disciples did.
They left their nets behind them, and they followed Jesus.
With your whole heart!
What ever you are going thru right now, Jesus is calling your name.
He is calling you to follow Him with out looking back... and without bringing your past with you.
It’s a new life with a new purpose, with a new plan, with new victories and a new future
Stop looking into the mirror of regret.
Stop bringing up the past!
Let it be your teacher, and leave her there.
When you were in school you learned a lot of lessons.
Some of them you failed and had to relearn... but there came a time when you graduated and
left school behind and moved forward to pursue your career.
You closed the school doors behind you and stepped into your future.
Its time to close the door of your past… and move forward with God.
Your past is not your future.
What you were… is not what you are now…
There is nothing more the past can offer you, so today start living for the present and let God lead you into your future.
He says “I know the plans I have for you, not plans for evil but plans to give you a future not plans for evil.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
“Looking ahead unto Jesus the Author and the Finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)”
I challenge you today to let go of your past, your ambitions, your plans, and give yourself completely to God.
Put Him at the “for front” of everything you are planning and thinking about doing.
Every time you make a decision to do something or pursue something ask yourself, ‘how will this effect my relationship with God and His plans for me’.
By being ‘God conscious’ in everything you do, you will soon begin to feel His presence with you… you will begin to sense Him speaking to your ‘inner man’.
Being focused on God with every decision you face, is what is called “walking with God”.
Come start today… and let God bring you into and lead you into the promised land He has for you!
Paul tells us in (1st Corinthians 2:9) “The eye has not seen and the ear has not heard all the things that God has in store for those that love Him”.
Good Day!
You closed the school doors behind you and stepped into your future.
Its time to close the door of your past… and move forward with God.
Your past is not your future.
What you were… is not what you are now…
There is nothing more the past can offer you, so today start living for the present and let God lead you into your future.
He says “I know the plans I have for you, not plans for evil but plans to give you a future not plans for evil.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
“Looking ahead unto Jesus the Author and the Finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)”
I challenge you today to let go of your past, your ambitions, your plans, and give yourself completely to God.
Put Him at the “for front” of everything you are planning and thinking about doing.
Every time you make a decision to do something or pursue something ask yourself, ‘how will this effect my relationship with God and His plans for me’.
By being ‘God conscious’ in everything you do, you will soon begin to feel His presence with you… you will begin to sense Him speaking to your ‘inner man’.
Being focused on God with every decision you face, is what is called “walking with God”.
Come start today… and let God bring you into and lead you into the promised land He has for you!
Paul tells us in (1st Corinthians 2:9) “The eye has not seen and the ear has not heard all the things that God has in store for those that love Him”.
Good Day!
(Job 11:16) “You will forget your trouble and remember it only as water gone by.”
Satan is a master at bringing up our past to cause us stumbling blocks for our future.
He will use emotions such as shame, remorse and discouragement… to rob, steal, confuse and doubt Gods love and forgiveness causing you to lose hope and lose direction for your future.
When we don’t get help for past emotional hurts, we can find ourselves acting out of character.
We start treating others like we were treated, and we hurt the most important people in our lives… and our relationships can be effected and fall apart.
Being stuck in the past is not what God wants for us.
He has new things He wants to do in and through us.
(Isaiah 43:18-19) says: ‘Forget what happened before, and do not think about the past. Look at the
new thing I am going to do. It is already happening…. don’t you see it?’
If we’re still emotionally tied to our past, we’ll struggle to step into the new things ahead of us.
Regret, bitterness, resentment, anger, and hurt keep us trapped.
But it’s often “easier said than done” to let go of them and move on.
So how do we let go!
In the Bible, Job faced a lot of trouble and heartache.
When he was struggling, one of his friends gave him this advice… “You must give your whole heart
If we’re still emotionally tied to our past, we’ll struggle to step into the new things ahead of us.
Regret, bitterness, resentment, anger, and hurt keep us trapped.
But it’s often “easier said than done” to let go of them and move on.
So how do we let go!
In the Bible, Job faced a lot of trouble and heartache.
When he was struggling, one of his friends gave him this advice… “You must give your whole heart
to God and hold out your hands to him for help… You will forget your trouble and remember it only
as water gone by” (Job 11:13-16).
The same advice goes for each of us today!
You must give your whole heart to God… you must put God first in your life!
We need to hand everything over to God and ask Him to help us work through these situations and emotions.
We can’t simply forget about them or pretend that we’re not bothered by them anymore.
That will just delay the inevitable and make things harder in the long run.
Instead, we need to go through the process of dealing with them… so we can ultimately find healing and freedom.
It’s possible for us to move on and develop emotionally… but we need to be open to the process God wants to take us through.
So today, if you really want to experience the freedom Jesus talked of when He said ‘Him who the Son set free is free indeed’ (John 8:36), then you must set everything else to the side and begin to follow Him. (Matthew 4:20)
The same advice goes for each of us today!
You must give your whole heart to God… you must put God first in your life!
We need to hand everything over to God and ask Him to help us work through these situations and emotions.
We can’t simply forget about them or pretend that we’re not bothered by them anymore.
That will just delay the inevitable and make things harder in the long run.
Instead, we need to go through the process of dealing with them… so we can ultimately find healing and freedom.
It’s possible for us to move on and develop emotionally… but we need to be open to the process God wants to take us through.
So today, if you really want to experience the freedom Jesus talked of when He said ‘Him who the Son set free is free indeed’ (John 8:36), then you must set everything else to the side and begin to follow Him. (Matthew 4:20)
In (Matthew 19:21) Jesus said to a rich young man who had just vowed to follow him... "go sell all you have and give it to the poor and then come follow me"
(Matthew 6:33) Jesus said “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness… and all these things will be added unto you”
(Matthew 11:28) “Come unto me all ye that labour and I will give you rest for your soul”
That’s what the disciples did.
They left their nets behind them, and they followed Jesus with their your whole heart!
What ever you are going thru right now, Jesus is calling your name.
He is calling you to follow Him with out looking back.
With out bringing your past with you.
It’s a new life with a new purpose, with a new plan, with new victories and a new future
Stop looking into the mirror of regret.
Stop bringing up the past… let it be your teacher, and then leave her there… in the past!
When you were in school, you learned a lot of lessons.
Some of them you failed and had to relearn, but there came a time when you graduated and left school behind and moved forward to pursue your career.
You closed the school doors behind you and stepped into your future.
Its time to close the door of your past… and move forward with God.
(Matthew 6:33) Jesus said “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness… and all these things will be added unto you”
(Matthew 11:28) “Come unto me all ye that labour and I will give you rest for your soul”
That’s what the disciples did.
They left their nets behind them, and they followed Jesus with their your whole heart!
What ever you are going thru right now, Jesus is calling your name.
He is calling you to follow Him with out looking back.
With out bringing your past with you.
It’s a new life with a new purpose, with a new plan, with new victories and a new future
Stop looking into the mirror of regret.
Stop bringing up the past… let it be your teacher, and then leave her there… in the past!
When you were in school, you learned a lot of lessons.
Some of them you failed and had to relearn, but there came a time when you graduated and left school behind and moved forward to pursue your career.
You closed the school doors behind you and stepped into your future.
Its time to close the door of your past… and move forward with God.
Your past is not your present, nor is it your future.
What you were… is not what you are now… nor what you will be and become tomorrow.
There is nothing more the past can offer you, so today start living for the present and let God lead you into your future.
He says “I know the plans I have for you… not plans for evil but plans to prosper you and give you a future (Jeremiah 29:11)
“Looking ahead unto Jesus the Author and the Finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)”
I challenge you today to let go of your past, your ambitions, your plans, and give yourself completely to God.
Put Him at the “for front” of everything you are planning and thinking about doing.
Every time you make a decision to do something or pursue something, ask yourself, ‘how will this effect my relationship with God and His plans for me’.
By being ‘God conscious’ in everything you do, you will soon begin to feel His presence with you… you will begin to sense Him speaking to your ‘inner man’.
Being focused on God with every decision you face, is what is called
“walking with God”.
Come start today… and let God bring you into the “promised land” He has for you!
Paul tells us in (1st Corinthians 2:9) “The eye has not seen and the ear has not heard all the things that God has in store for those that love Him”.
Good Day!
(Hebrews 5:12) “You need someone to teach you again the first lessons of God’s message.”
Yes , God loves us just as we are, but He also takes us on a journey of transformation.
He wants to help us become more like Jesus and become mature in our faith and knowledge of Him.
He wants to help us develop, grow, mature, and become a people who can be, witnesses of His great love for humanity.
He wants us to go beyond infancy in the faith, to becoming mature in the faith.
We need to grow and develop spiritually.
Paul said to the early church in (Hebrews 5:11) “I have a lot more to say… but it is hard to get it
across to you since you’ve picked up the bad habit of not listening”.
By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics about God again, starting from square one… baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago!”
Sometimes we can be like those Christians in the early church.
We stop listening and stick with what we think we know, rather than developing and growing.
That might be because we’re too busy, we’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious, or we’re just comfortable with how things are.
But there’s always more to learn about God.
By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics about God again, starting from square one… baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago!”
Sometimes we can be like those Christians in the early church.
We stop listening and stick with what we think we know, rather than developing and growing.
That might be because we’re too busy, we’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious, or we’re just comfortable with how things are.
But there’s always more to learn about God.
We’ll never know everything about Him.
New born babies desire milk, but when they grow up they move on to solid foods.
We need to move on to more advanced spiritual food as well.
We need to grow in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Much the same as feeding our bodies the right food with the right nourishment, we need to feed our souls with the right spiritual nourishment.
Your body cannot grow, develop and live on nourishment once a week, nor can your spirit and soul live on just a Sunday sermon occasionally.
Many are they that only get spiritually fed at church on a Sunday morning.
But then we question why our faith isn’t strong, why we’re struggling to deal with temptation, or why we can’t seem to feel God’s presence and guidance in our lives.
We need to be continually feeding on God’s Word.
Each day we should be reading our Bible’s and spending time with Him.
Friend life is a race!
And just as an athlete trains properly and gives his or her body the proper exercise and nourishment so that they can grow and develop endurance, strength, and stamina to run the race…
Each of us need to feed and nourish our souls spiritually so that we can be all that we can possibly be in our Masters service and knowledge of Him and His will for us.
(Philippians 3:14) “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have laid hold of it… but one thing I do… forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s Heavenly calling in Christ Jesus”.
I read somewhere that one “week” with out prayer makes one “weak”!
When was the last time you made prayer, worship, and diligent bible study a priority in your life.
Come on folks, if you truly consider your self a child of God, then lets start running this race as if we really believe it.
You can do it!
Good Day!
(2nd Timothy 4:2) “Reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching”
Because of sin and our tongue in cheek attitude toward it… our world is growing increasingly wicked… and unfortunately our prideful, selfish, immoral and sadistic society has formed an alliance with humanistic wisdom… and no longer is willing to admit that sin governs most of its habitants.
We no longer tell it like it is… for fear of hurting someone feelings… or we fear rejection and so we don’t rock the boat concerning the evil that is blatantly leading people astray from Gods offer of grace forgiveness and mercy.
We all need a steady diet of friendly “course correction”… because our hearts, yes even our new hearts in Christ, are still susceptible to sin.
The writer of Hebrews says “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away fromthe living God.
Butexhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today”, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12-13)
In a sense this is what I try to do every day with these devotional thoughts.
To exhort all of you to “continue steadfast in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ” and the truth of Gods word that is “a light unto our path and a lamp unto our feet”… as we are witnesses and the light of Christ in this world.
There are times when we all need to be “called out”, “challenged” as it were concerning our attitude, motives, and yes life style or activities while on this walk of faith.
The Apostle Paul closes his second letter to his son in the faith in (2nd Timothy 4:2) “Reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching”.
Because of the “pride of man” and the sinful nature that still lives in all of us… we tend to downplay sin and the need for strength to stand against it, forsake it, renounce it, and crucify it!
So why should we take the risk of “getting involved”, or “interfering” in the direction, attitude, and
In a sense this is what I try to do every day with these devotional thoughts.
To exhort all of you to “continue steadfast in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ” and the truth of Gods word that is “a light unto our path and a lamp unto our feet”… as we are witnesses and the light of Christ in this world.
There are times when we all need to be “called out”, “challenged” as it were concerning our attitude, motives, and yes life style or activities while on this walk of faith.
The Apostle Paul closes his second letter to his son in the faith in (2nd Timothy 4:2) “Reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching”.
Because of the “pride of man” and the sinful nature that still lives in all of us… we tend to downplay sin and the need for strength to stand against it, forsake it, renounce it, and crucify it!
So why should we take the risk of “getting involved”, or “interfering” in the direction, attitude, and
life styles of those around us?
Paul uses three different words!
"Reprove, rebuke, and exhort"?
Folks, Jesus said “ye are the light of the world”!
The phrase comes from (Matthew 5:14) where Jesus encourages us to live lives that are a guiding force in the world… promoting justice, mercy, and compassion.
This metaphor emphasizes “the role of Believers in Christ”, to clearly illuminate the path for others to find the forgiveness of God… and we do that by calling each other to an accountability… concerning our attitude, actions, and life style… especially if we are causing others to fall into sin or misleading them by our own sinful disobedience.
Paul tells us to lovingly and tenderly… with compassion and mercy to confront one another.
To reprove, rebuke, and exhort is to “involve” ourselves in each others lives so that we might encourage, inspire and “spur one another on” to good works… and to be powerful effective witnesses of Christ.
Paul writes, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Ephesians 5:11)
“As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear” (1st Timothy 5:20)
Similarly, the Apostle John writes, “Everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” (John 3:20)
And then again, concerning the Holy Spirit, (John 16:8)… “When He comes, He will convict…or expose the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment”
Paul encourages Timothy to be ready to “call out sin”, not just when it’s convenient, but when it’s needed, and even when it’s socially uncomfortable or costly to do so.
To care for each other well, we need to ask God for the courage and faith to tell the truth about sin, and expose it as such, even when doing so might offend someone we love.
We must ask God to show us in His word what sin is, and what it is not.
And having seen sin in one another, we must consistently, boldly and graciously speak up and charge one another to change, to turn, to cease from sin.
Reprove, rebuke, and finally, “exhort.”
We are never to reprove or rebuke with out the intent of exhorting and encouraging one another with truth and love.
Paul uses this word “exhort” much more than he does “reprove and rebuke”.
Over and over, Paul appeals to believers to “walk” in a way worthy of the gospel.
(Romans 12:1) “I appeal to you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.”
(Ephesians 4:1) and (1st Thessalonians 2:12) “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”
One prominent thread in Paul’s 48 uses of the word “exhort”, is the love believers are encouraged to utilize as we encourage, comfort, and build each other up.
Paul says, “Timothy, when you expose sin and call for repentance, aim to build your brother up in his faith, hope, and love”.
Resist the natural, sinful impulse to heap guilt and tear down, and instead… let love encourage and inspire!
All “Christian” or “Godly “correction should aim at restoration.
We should be a people who “relentlessly” have something good to say.
If we are going to rebuke or reprove effectively, we must ask God to help us reprove and rebuke with compassion and grace… to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:25)
Despite what our society suggests at every turn, to point out sin in one another and call for change… is not necessarily hate speech!
But it may be, can be, and should be… “acts of courageous, genuine love”.
When you see a brother or sister in Christ acting out of line with the gospel… either because of blind ignorance or stubborn rebellion… ask God for the grace, humility and love to gently confront them and expose the sin.
Paul uses three different words!
"Reprove, rebuke, and exhort"?
Folks, Jesus said “ye are the light of the world”!
The phrase comes from (Matthew 5:14) where Jesus encourages us to live lives that are a guiding force in the world… promoting justice, mercy, and compassion.
This metaphor emphasizes “the role of Believers in Christ”, to clearly illuminate the path for others to find the forgiveness of God… and we do that by calling each other to an accountability… concerning our attitude, actions, and life style… especially if we are causing others to fall into sin or misleading them by our own sinful disobedience.
Paul tells us to lovingly and tenderly… with compassion and mercy to confront one another.
To reprove, rebuke, and exhort is to “involve” ourselves in each others lives so that we might encourage, inspire and “spur one another on” to good works… and to be powerful effective witnesses of Christ.
Paul writes, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Ephesians 5:11)
“As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear” (1st Timothy 5:20)
Similarly, the Apostle John writes, “Everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” (John 3:20)
And then again, concerning the Holy Spirit, (John 16:8)… “When He comes, He will convict…or expose the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment”
Paul encourages Timothy to be ready to “call out sin”, not just when it’s convenient, but when it’s needed, and even when it’s socially uncomfortable or costly to do so.
To care for each other well, we need to ask God for the courage and faith to tell the truth about sin, and expose it as such, even when doing so might offend someone we love.
We must ask God to show us in His word what sin is, and what it is not.
And having seen sin in one another, we must consistently, boldly and graciously speak up and charge one another to change, to turn, to cease from sin.
Reprove, rebuke, and finally, “exhort.”
We are never to reprove or rebuke with out the intent of exhorting and encouraging one another with truth and love.
Paul uses this word “exhort” much more than he does “reprove and rebuke”.
Over and over, Paul appeals to believers to “walk” in a way worthy of the gospel.
(Romans 12:1) “I appeal to you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.”
(Ephesians 4:1) and (1st Thessalonians 2:12) “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”
One prominent thread in Paul’s 48 uses of the word “exhort”, is the love believers are encouraged to utilize as we encourage, comfort, and build each other up.
Paul says, “Timothy, when you expose sin and call for repentance, aim to build your brother up in his faith, hope, and love”.
Resist the natural, sinful impulse to heap guilt and tear down, and instead… let love encourage and inspire!
All “Christian” or “Godly “correction should aim at restoration.
We should be a people who “relentlessly” have something good to say.
If we are going to rebuke or reprove effectively, we must ask God to help us reprove and rebuke with compassion and grace… to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:25)
Despite what our society suggests at every turn, to point out sin in one another and call for change… is not necessarily hate speech!
But it may be, can be, and should be… “acts of courageous, genuine love”.
When you see a brother or sister in Christ acting out of line with the gospel… either because of blind ignorance or stubborn rebellion… ask God for the grace, humility and love to gently confront them and expose the sin.
In a sense, when we call out sin and reprove, rebuke, and exhort one another... we are actually protecting one another.
How will this world know they are lost in sin if we don't reveal its ugly head to them?
We need to remind each other, warn each other, and help each other overcome the deceitfulness
of sin and then help one other rise above it by confessing it and turning away from it.
Appeal to them to repent, and then build them up as if they were the most important people in the world, which they are in Gods eyes.
Oh by the way so are you!
Good day!
Appeal to them to repent, and then build them up as if they were the most important people in the world, which they are in Gods eyes.
Oh by the way so are you!
Good day!
(1st John 1:8) “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”
I truly believe that humanity today, you and I today have an ignorance as to how powerful, how deceptive, and how detrimental sin is in our on going lives.
Claiming that we have no sin is self-deception and contradicts the truth of Gods word.
This statement highlights the human tendency to over estimate our own self-righteousness and ignore our nature of sin.
John warns us that such denial sets us at enmity with the truth of Gods word, blinding us from seeing and understanding the need for Gods grace in our lives.
God, in and thru Christ… has a cosmic program to destroy the works of the devil, which was first announced in Eden (Genesis 3:15)
The “works of the devil” are sin… those things that Satan has put in the world to destroy God’s creation… conflict, rebellion, sickness, disease, intellectual error, temptation, pornography, pride, selfishness, hatred, divorce, false prophecy, murder, heresy, etc… the list goes on and on.
Active and ongoing sin in our lives puts us at war with God and poisons our relationships… with Him and each other.
But Christ came to “destroy the works of the devil” (1st John 3:8)
Deliverance from the penalty of sin… is coupled with deliverance from the power and corruption of sin.
If we compromise regarding sin… we put ourselves at enmity with God.
But thankfully we have a resource that restores our righteousness before God… that resources is confession.
John says “if we confess our sins… God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins.
Christians do stumble and fall into occasional sin.
Paul did as well, and it caused him great agony of soul.
He cries out in that agony in (Romans 7:24) "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
In this cry you have the words of a man who has come to the realization of His inability to overcome sin in his own strength and confessing his powerlessness to disengage his flesh from the control of sin.
He has in the previous verse of this text described how he had struggled and wrestled in his own power to obey the “holy law of God”, yet has failed.
But in answer to his own question… he reveals for us the true answer and cries out… “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord”… meaning that forgiveness, deliverance, trust and victory over the nature of sin is found in his confession and profession of weakness and reliance on the finished work of Christ on the cross.
(1stJohn 1:9) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”
As true believers in Christ, “we must be willing to humbly confess our sins and repent regularly.”
Its an act of humility and surrender… to the Holy Spirit, to the Word, and a crucifying of our pride and human arrogance.
What brings freedom and victory over sin… is when we humbly “confess our sins and repent”
(John 1:8)... and allow the Holy Spirit to rise up and be that inner strength that we need to stand and having done all to stand… stand!
It is there we find forgiveness anew that breaks the bonds of self righteousness… and aligns our soul with the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
That work of Jesus was the removal of condemnation, judgment, and the penalty of sin… the Holy Spirit gives strength to rise above the lure and the temptations of sin as it continually beckons to us.
And that is something we might have to do regularly until our sin nature no longer has the power to hold us in bondage any longer.
Its part of “fighting the good fight of faith”… that Paul talked about in (1st Timothy 6:12)
Sin that is living and settled in our character, of which we do not struggle against… may indicate that we are not even born of God.
Remember, Jesus said “a tree is known by its fruit” (Luke 6:43-48)
I can’t say anything more to this to make it any plainer.
If you call yourself a believer, and you sin willfully, and you are not sorry for your sin nor willing to admit that it is sin, but you excuse and cover it up,
I have to ask you, are you truly a child of God?
God is the Creator of all mankind… but He is the Father only of those whom have entered into the New Covenant by way of the cross and the shed blood of Jesus Christ!
The “Old Nature of Sin” that we were once enslaved to, that mastered our soul… must be crucified daily until it no longer has the strength to lift its ugly head any longer.
And its in humility… confessing our sin… agreeing with Gods word concerning sin… that we find the strength to stand against sin…
But when we do sin, we have and advocate who is faithfull and just to forgive us our sins as we surrender to Him (1st John 2:1)
Something to think about!
Good day!
It is there we find forgiveness anew that breaks the bonds of self righteousness… and aligns our soul with the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
That work of Jesus was the removal of condemnation, judgment, and the penalty of sin… the Holy Spirit gives strength to rise above the lure and the temptations of sin as it continually beckons to us.
And that is something we might have to do regularly until our sin nature no longer has the power to hold us in bondage any longer.
Its part of “fighting the good fight of faith”… that Paul talked about in (1st Timothy 6:12)
Sin that is living and settled in our character, of which we do not struggle against… may indicate that we are not even born of God.
Remember, Jesus said “a tree is known by its fruit” (Luke 6:43-48)
I can’t say anything more to this to make it any plainer.
If you call yourself a believer, and you sin willfully, and you are not sorry for your sin nor willing to admit that it is sin, but you excuse and cover it up,
I have to ask you, are you truly a child of God?
God is the Creator of all mankind… but He is the Father only of those whom have entered into the New Covenant by way of the cross and the shed blood of Jesus Christ!
The “Old Nature of Sin” that we were once enslaved to, that mastered our soul… must be crucified daily until it no longer has the strength to lift its ugly head any longer.
And its in humility… confessing our sin… agreeing with Gods word concerning sin… that we find the strength to stand against sin…
But when we do sin, we have and advocate who is faithfull and just to forgive us our sins as we surrender to Him (1st John 2:1)
Something to think about!
Good day!