The Devotional

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 432 God Forgives – Psalm 103:1-5 1  My soul, bless the Lord , and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2  My soul, bless the Lord , and do not forget all his benefits. 3  He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases. 4  He redeems your life from the Pit; he crowns you with faithful love and compassion. 5  He satisfies you with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle. Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope Have you taken the time to listen to the world around you? The popular buzz of the day is that the world is coming to an END. Well; we should take a moment or two and think about the lack of godly wisdom associated with that statement. When we decide to take a look at the ‘End times’, we are looking directly at God who; is the Creator and the Sustainer of the world and we have to consider that God knows the answer. Mankind with his sciences has no clue and neither does the emotional...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 431 Psalm 67 – All Will Praise God A psalm. A song. 1  May God be gracious to us and bless us; may he make his face shine upon us Selah 2  so that your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. 3  Let the peoples praise you, God; let all the peoples praise you. 4  Let the nations rejoice and shout for joy, for you judge the peoples with fairness and lead the nations on earth. Selah 5  Let the peoples praise you, God, let all the peoples praise you. 6  The earth has produced its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. 7  God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him. Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope It is not impossible to find a child of God whose face shines with the peace and blessing of God, but this is rare! The way of the Lord can be forgotten on the earth these days, but the ‘way’ is not forgotten by God. Were it not for the Truth that God’s mercies are REN...

 The Devotional - Search the Scripture - #430 CJB – Joel 2: 12  “Yet even now,” says Adonai , “turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and lamenting.” 13  Tear your heart, not your garments; and turn to Adonai your God. For he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace, and willing to change his mind about disaster. 14  Who knows? He may turn, change his mind and leave a blessing behind him, [enough for] grain offerings and drink offerings to present to Adonai your God. 15  “Blow the shofar in Tziyon (Zion)! Proclaim a holy fast, call for a solemn assembly.” 16  Gather the people; consecrate the congregation; assemble the leaders; gather the children, even infants sucking at the breast; let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride the bridal chamber. 17  Let the cohanim , who serve Adonai , stand weeping between the vestibule and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Adonai ! Don’t expose your heritage ...

The Devotional - Search the Scripture - #429 CJB – Joel 2: 12  “Yet even now,” says Adonai , “turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and lamenting.” 13  Tear your heart, not your garments; and turn to Adonai your God. For he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace, and willing to change his mind about disaster. 14  Who knows? He may turn, change his mind and leave a blessing behind him, [enough for] grain offerings and drink offerings to present to Adonai your God. 15  “Blow the shofar in Tziyon (Zion)! Proclaim a holy fast, call for a solemn assembly.” 16  Gather the people; consecrate the congregation; assemble the leaders; gather the children, even infants sucking at the breast; let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride the bridal chamber. 17  Let the cohanim , who serve Adonai , stand weeping between the vestibule and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Adonai ! Don’t expose your heritage to mo...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 428 The unrest of the World, or the peace of the Messiah 33  “I have said these things to you so that, united with me, you may have shalom (peace) . In the world, you have tsuris(distress) . But be brave! I have conquered the world!” Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope How good are we with illustrations? In the secular world around us—figures of speech and illustrations are a vital way of life. Our schools and daily advertisements are full of these aids of   understanding. Sit in on any lecture, watch any motivational speaker on a specific subject, a commercial and you have experienced illustrations and figures of speech. There are so many, that you only need to listen to a few figures of speech on the same illustration that distress rises up its ugly head. In Christ we will have PEACE, It is the illustrations and figures of speech revealed “In Christ” or “in the world” in any daily activity that directs our peac...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 427 The final moment in the human life of Christ (CJB) John 19:28-   After this, knowing that all things had accomplished their purpose, Yeshua, in order to fulfill the words of the Tanakh , said, “I’m thirsty.” 29  A jar full of cheap sour wine was there; so they soaked a sponge in the wine, coated it with oregano leaves and held it up to his mouth. 30  After Yeshua had taken the wine, he said, “It is accomplished!” And, letting his head droop, he delivered up his spirit. Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope In John chapter sixteen we see several statements by the Lord regarding His departure from earth and the sorrow that would come upon His disciples. We do not know the sorrow of heart, of these men and women as from where we are in history today. We understand that Jesus died and rose again for the sin of the world, we also understand that Jesus is the Messiah (The anointed One) His disciples were at an impasse. All wh...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 426 The Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah Chapter 3:19-24 (CJB) 19  Remember my utter misery, the wormwood, and the gall. 20  They are always on my mind ; this is why I am so depressed. 21  But in my mind, I keep returning to something, something that gives me hope — 22  that the grace of Adonai is not exhausted, that his compassion has not ended. 23  [On the contrary,] they are new every morning! How great your faithfulness! 24  “ Adonai is all I   have,” I say; “therefore I will put my hope in him. Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope Jeremiah was God’s prophet who suffered from depression, (depression is a sin since it is a lack of trust in God) he was afflicted by discipline from the rod of God’s wrath. Jeremiah was caused by God to walk in the darkness of the world around him rather than in the Light of God. Jeremiah felt rejected, he felt the pressure of God’s Hand against him, time and ag...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 425 The Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah א Aleph 1 How she sits alone, the city once crowded with people! She who was great among the nations has become like a widow. The princess among the provinces has been put to forced labor. ב Beth 2  She weeps bitterly during the night, with tears on her cheeks. There is no one to offer her comfort, not one of all her lovers. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope One of the main subjects in the book of Lamentations is the children of the nation. Abortion and starvation are the main topics, the details I will leave out as mankind, not just the Israelites are cruel when they turn their backside to God and the first revealing of this cruelness is found in the raising of the nation’s children. First, the children are starved – did you know that in most states in the U.S. Food programs are in place to feed school child...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 424 Hebrews 12:22-24 (CEB) 22  But you have drawn near to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, to countless angels in a festival gathering, 23  to the assembly of God’s firstborn children who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous who have been made perfect, 24  to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better than Abel’s blood. Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope Through the Blood of Jesus, who is The Messiah and by the Grace given each of us; we the children of God we have been given access to the city of the Living God—yet most of the children of God TODAY act no different than the world around their neighborhood. Why is that? We wrestle daily, but our battle is not with flesh and blood, our neighbors or relatives (even though these folks are involved) the real battle takes place in the battlefield of the war ...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 423 1 Timothy 2:1-2: 2  First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2  for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope Do you pray? Do the people in the United States of America pray? Are groups in churches encouraged by the church leadership to pray for God to move the U.S.A., in the direction of His Will? And if so, are the members paying attention and abiding in prayer without ceasing? The answers to these questions are readily known within our circles of influence. The local churches make up our national church—take a look at our nation and tell me, all is okay ! If you do say this, I would answer with, ‘liar, liar, pants on fire! I would also say that the church as we know it today does encourage prayer regarding national peace and prosperity, bu...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 422 James 4:7-10 7  Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9  Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope After recording the conduct of a prideful and adulterous heart that forms in the heart of a child of God, James under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit identifies the source of the problem. It is not the problem of that of the advisory the devil. The devil is doing what he always does, he tempts and he is the father of murdering lies and deceit. The problem lies in the heart of the child of God who is sloppy with their conduct before The Messiah and pursues an unrighteous style appropriate for the devil’s us...