This daily devotional reviews a variety of nuggets from the past year.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Going through the nuggets from the newsletters, I had a lot left over that seemed like they were on miscellaneous topics. I didn’t want to miss these, so we are going to be looking at them for the next couple of devotions.
I went through and sorted them by topic. I’ll just have to see how they shake out.
Priorities
- When we set our priorities on things above, the value of this life decreases (Final Thoughts on Setting Our Affections on Things Above).
- We have to focus on God and not ourselves. We sometimes like to think it is about us — who we are and what we want. It isn’t. God’s Church is all about God and what He has done to restore our relationships with Him (Transformed to Unity).
- God’s right place is our #1 priority. We get out of whack when we put this world before God (Transformed to being Servants of God).
- Since this world is fleeting, it won’t give us the satisfaction that our eternal life will give us. We have to focus on the lasting (Reasons Why Should Not Set Affections on Earthly Things).
- If we do not give Jesus first priority, we are not worthy of Him. We are not worthy if we are not sincere (Prioritizing Things Above).
- We must live the way God wants us to live. That is putting Him above everything in this life (Prioritizing Things Above).
- God’s priority is the condition of our souls. We must set our affections to ensure our soul is in His condition (How Do We Set Our Love, Desire, Hope, and Joy Above?).
- We prioritize Jesus above worldly things when we truly know Him (Prioritizing Things Above).
- The name of the denomination or religion isn’t important. What is important is they believe in the Christ of the cross (Transformed to Unity).
- We aren’t given a pass because of our ancestors’ religion. We aren’t given a pass because we are good people. We aren’t even given a pass because we believe in God. We have to believe and be fruitful. We can only be fruitful when we give our lives to Jesus (John the Baptist’s Tough Message).
- We have to be very, very careful. We don’t want to have the focus taken off of God and His work and put onto us and our petty earthly squabbles (How to Promote Peace).
- It is that quest for importance that tends to amp up the stress. The humility diminishes the pull of this world and puts our focus on God, creating the environment in which the peace can thrive (How to Promote Peace).
- Focusing on God helps us to look past the world and to repent from our sins (Focusing Our Thoughts on God).
Heaven
- Knowing Jesus and living for Him brings us much better rewards than setting on eyes on earthly things. Heaven will be our reward for setting our affections on things above (Reasons Why Should Not Set Affections on Earthly Things; Final Thoughts on Setting Our Affections on Things Above).
- Heaven is because Jesus is. We should want it based solely on it means our being with Christ (How Do We Set Our Love, Desire, Hope, and Joy Above?).
- The day of the Lord is when Christ’s reign will have been completed. God’s mercy for sinners will end. Jesus will come again. All that God said would happen will come true. We are going to get to see God for Who He is. God’s glory, power, and wrath will clearly be on display. We will see God really is in control. We will be judged according to our sheep and goat nature (Why and How Are We to Live Godly Lives?).
- The day of the Lord is a direct result of man’s sins. Man will be restored to the relationship God intended when the day of the Lord occurs. We know the end is coming. We just don’t know when (Why and How Are We to Live Godly Lives?).
- This Heaven and earth is going to pass away. Until that time, we have to put the correct emphasis on the earth, then. It is a temporary thing (Why and How Are We to Live Godly Lives?)
- If we take the eating thing a step farther, we will no longer need the Lord’s Supper to remind us of Christ’s death and resurrection. That was the whole purpose of the ordinance — our remembering. In Heaven there will be no forgetting what Christ has done for us (The State of the Kingdom of God).
- If we don’t know when Jesus is coming back, that means we have to prepare like it could be today — this minute (Why and How Are We to Live Godly Lives?).
Peace
- When we choose right over wrong, we gain peace. Inner peace is fostered by what comes out of us (The Morality of Peace).
- Peace was — and is — dependent on our knowing Him as our personal Savior (God’s Blessings for Merciful Disciples of Christ).
- The first words out of Jesus’ mouth when He unexpectedly appeared to the disciples was “… Peace to you!” (Lk. 24: 36 CSB). They needed all the peace they could get from this world’s terrors. But Jesus’ priority was never this world. His priority is the condition of our souls (When the Unexpected Happens).
- God wants to order and organize our lives so that we have the peace needed to worship Him. If we don’t have the peace governments are to provide for us, we won’t have the comfort to worship. That gives governments a divine purpose (Submitting to Authority).
- The joy has to come before the peace. The unbridled happiness that produces the tranquility, not the other way around (The State of the Kingdom of God).
- Contemplating the beauty and majesty of our world can calm our thoughts and give us peace (Controlling Our Though through Contemplation and Praise).
Grace
- When we ABCD, we do get a portion of God’s grace. Ministers are given grace by God to use in His kingdom for others (Transformed to Unity).
- God’s grace helps us transform from pride to humility (Transformed to Humility through Grace).
- Remember, grace does not allow us to ignore the laws. The moral laws are still in tact. The ceremonial laws and civil laws have been fulfilled, but we still have to follow the moral laws (The Morality of Being Just).
- The foundation of hope is grace that comes when belief is present (Renewing Our Inner Person by Being Sober).
- The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is a special thing. It doesn’t come on its own. It comes with Jesus. It comes with Jesus’ love, mercy, pardon, and peace (How a Minister Says Goodbye).
- We all need grace. It is offered to all. It is our decision whether we will accept it or not (How a Minister Says Goodbye).
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Choice
- The choice is ours. Are we going to follow Satan? Sure, we might have it better in this life if we do. Eternity will be hell if we do (More Reasons Why We Should Not Set Affections on Earthly Things).
- The people in the days of Noah had made that choice. It was a continual happening. The people in the days of Noah were not trying to please God and simply failing. They had chosen to not please Him (What Does “in the Days of Noah” Mean?).
- Free will brings with it the responsibility for our choices. It isn’t God’s fault that we do or do not choose salvation. His purpose only comes into play for the reward or punishment of our choices (Attributes of God: Omniscient and All-Knowing).
- Some people choose to pervert God’s doctrines. They want to compromise with the worldview. They deceive with their words and actions to cover impure motives. God will not lower his standards. His laws and commandments will remain firm (Watch for A Ministry in Conflict).
- We gain everything by knowing — and believing — who Jesus is. Knowing isn’t enough. We have to make a conscious decision to believe He is our Savior and has secured the forgiveness for our sins by His death and resurrection (The Focus of the Ministry).
God’s Attributes
- Once we ask for forgiveness, God will comfort us. It is a comfort to us that God does forgive us and show us mercy. He should punish us and give us the death penalty, but He doesn’t when we are washed by the blood of the Lamb (Why Lying Is a Moralities Issue for Disciples of Christ).
- God comforts us by assuring us that He will keep forgiving us when we ask (Why Lying Is a Moralities Issue for Disciples of Christ).
- God is working all things out for the good of His kingdom — and that means that whatever it is, it is good for us, too (Why Lying Is a Moralities Issue for Disciples of Christ).
- But bottom line, each trial is asking the same questions. Are we going to remain strong in our faith, or are we going to deny God? Are we going to live by God’s laws and commandments or break them? (Transformed through Trials)
- Disciples are to honor God’s name by acknowledging His nature (Morality to Honor God).
- Another way to look at it is that the it is the test of our faith (The Commandment of Morality).
- God considers how merciful we are when showing us mercy (What Are Acts of Mercy?).
Hope
- The hope is a product of the grace and encouragement. Think — if grace is the mom and encouragement is the dad, what a kid that would be! It really isn’t our sorrows and difficulties that connect to our hopefulness. Let’s say that again. Our trials do not connect to our hope. We have the hope regardless. We have God’s glorious hope for an eternal life when we are His disciples. Period (Using the Scriptures to Build Hope).
- Even in the trials, we can have joy because we have hope (Transformed through Trials).
- When we hope, we are believing not only can something good happen, but it can also happen to us. We don’t try to make excuses that we aren’t worthy enough. We are worthy because we have accepted Jesus’ blood as a cover for our sins (Transformed through Trials).
- This joyous hope has an element of patience in all circumstances. When trials are surrounding us, this hope helps us to not give up. It gives us patience to keep our eyes focused on God through it all (Transformed through Trials).
- While we are going through the trials, we can have joy and hope. Communicating with God through prayer brings us that (Transformed through Trials).
Prayer
- We should always pray to our Heavenly Father — especially when we are going through trials (Transformed through Trials).
- God doesn’t have to accept our prayers. I think we sometimes keep the focus on He is a loving and forgiving God, so that we gloss over what isn’t right about our prayers. That means we can’t approach God with an attitude of entitlement. He doesn’t have to answer prayers that really aren’t prayers at all. If we go with the attitude of entitlement, it really isn’t a two-way communication with God. It is us demanding what we want regardless. When we pray to the Sovereign God, we must pray in meekness, worship, and submission (Transformed through Trials).
- Praying with persistence means we aren’t done when we’ve finished the prayer. We need to meditate and do what God calls us to do to accomplish it (Transformed through Trials).
- Prayer gives us strength. We get that by ensuring our prayers have the components of faith, trust, hope, and love (Transformed through Trials).
Heart
- God heals the broken heart, but at times, He uses us to help mend it (How Are Disciples of Christ to be Merciful to Others?).
- We cannot hide our thoughts from God. Even when we try to hide things in our hearts – we don’t speak of it, we don’t even acknowledge it – God knows (Attributes of God: Omniscient and All-Knowing).
- If God is everywhere at all times, then so is His love, mercy, forgiveness, and provision is here, too. We need to grab onto that fact and feel it down in our hearts. No matter how our days are going or the trajectory of our lives, God is providing for us and watching over us (Attributes of God: Omnipresent).
- We don’t have a visual of God. We just know Him in our hearts and minds (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World).
Scripture
- After we have ABCDed, God abides within us through His Word (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World).
- We aren’t going to get what we need out of the Scriptures in a single read. We will need to revisit the same passages multiple times until we glean all God has to tell us (Using the Scriptures to Build Hope).
- Scriptures are just an introduction to God and His wonders. We get the concept of Who God is from Scriptures. We don’t get a full picture. He waits until we are His children to really start revealing Himself to us. Even more awaits for when we meet Him face to face (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World; How a Minister Says Goodbye).
- It is clear that, in order to know God, we have to search for Him and seek Him. It can’t be a halfhearted encounter. We must delve into the Scriptures to find the many facets of the Sovereign God. We do that not only by hearing and reading His Word, but by studying it, meditating on it, and memorizing it. We must bathe all of that with prayer (How Do We Overcome the Original Corruption of Bad Thoughts?).
- God is going to get His Word out to those who need it. We all need it (Using the Scriptures to Build Hope).
Thoughts
- We need to remember how He has provided for us in trials. We need to think about how God has saved us from difficult circumstances. Having those memories — and dusting them off and contemplating on them — help us to corral our thoughts. When our thoughts want to run away with us, we can simmer down when we remember how God has provided in the past (How Else Do We Set Our Thoughts Above?).
- Meditation puts us in the presence of the Sovereign God and our Redeeming Savior. Our meditation and conversations with God spill over into our conversations with others (Controlling Our Thoughts through Meditation).
- We can control our thoughts when we take it outside of ourselves. Meditation is attentive thought. We must focus our thoughts away from worldly things and put it solely on God (Controlling Our Though through Contemplation and Praise; Controlling Our Thoughts through Meditation).
- When we contemplate how trustworthy God is, we can control our thoughts and be content (Controlling Our Though through Contemplation and Praise).
- Praising God helps us to control our thoughts (Controlling Our Though through Contemplation and Praise).
Father God. We thank You that You love us enough to provide the Plan of Salvation to us. But You don’t stop there. You ask us to change our character to be like Yours. Help us to do just that. Amen.
What do you think?
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