Category: Devotions

Posted on

Daily Devotion #2

Like a Child

But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."  Matthew 19:14 NASB

I just had to write about this!  I often think about how to worship and praise God, whether I am doing it right.  I have learned that there is no particular right way to praise and worship God, as long as your act of worship is from the heart.  With that said, my precious god-daughter definitely showed me that there is no shame in praising God!  I go further and generalize this by saying there is no shame in working for God, having a relationship with God, or being obedient to God's call.

She is 20 months old, and learning to talk–a lot.  I enjoyed spending the weekend with her and her mom, but the best part of it was when we went to church yesterday morning.  She loves music and loves to dance, so when the praise and worship part of service was going on, she was watching the praise dancers and clapping along with everyone else.  She stood up and danced a little too.  But what helped me refocus–because I got distracted in anger at how some people were dressed (I was raised that you wear appropriate clothes to church, not last night's club wear…but I digress, because if that is all that you have, then go right ahead and come)–was when she raised her hands in worship and waved her little hands.  I was already moved by the music and definitely the sermon (God was speaking DIRECTLY to me and I would be foolish to ignore that), but when I saw her, in her innocence, praising God, I had cry.  Regardless of your age, God is calling out to you.  Young or old, black or white, man or woman, God is calling out to us all.  He does not want us to hold back our praise, our worship and especially in our relationship with Him because we do not want to be different or stand out from others.  He wants us to come to Him in honesty and truth, innocence like a child, and humbled.  I was truly humbled by that because sometimes with tradition, you do not fully understand why some things are done. 

I do not really think she understood, but then again I may be wrong.  I think that she was doing what she saw others doing, because that is how children learn at that age, by repeating what they see and hear.  At any rate, her innocence humbled me and showed me that regardless of my age, I cannot be afraid to yield to the Spirit, or to go to God and do what He wants.  I must follow Jesus' example and imitate Him.  And the same goes for you; in whatever God is calling you to do, do not be afraid to do whatever God is calling you to do, even if you do not clearly understand.  God will honor your willingness to obey and He is faithful to order your steps.

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 18:3 NIV

Posted on

Daily Devotion

Thank God For What He Did Not Allow
 
He said, "If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you." Exodus 15:26 NLT
 
This was another one of those topics that stuck with me.  I had to go back through my memory bank Sunday morning in church because I think this is something I myself need to be reminded of.  A lot of times when a person is feeling down, the typical form of "encouragement" is to tell that person to count their blessings.  I think there is nothing wrong with counting your blessings, but when you are depressed or sad, who really wants to count their blessings?  If you are in a foul mood, you don't have the heart half of the time to thank God for what He has done for you primarily because of your mood.

As I sat reading a devotion I think, this stuck in my mind.  Where would I be had God allowed some things His angels and He himself interceded on my behalf to prevent?  The first and only thing I could think of was–DEAD.  I would be dead had the Holy Spirit not urged me to get off the freeway in San Francisco.  I would be dead had my plane not stopped sliding on the dry runway.  I would be dead had I not gone to the health center my junior year.  I would be dead if I had not gotten a kidney before I did.  I would be dead if I did not see the 18-wheeler getting over in front of me when I first got my license.

God is a great God…the only God and through His Son's sacrifice, we are now His sons and daughters.  If you are a parent, wouldn't you go to great lengths to preserve the life of your child?  What would have happened had you not kept their tiny hands from the outlet, the iron, those pain killers??

The scripture above is God telling the children of Israel what He would protect them from if they were obedient to Him.  Deuteronomy 28 denotes the blessings and curses that they would fall subject to if they were obedient to God.  Because they could not be obedient and were not obedient, God sent His precious Son Jesus to redeem and rescue from that curse.  Moreover, God protects us and prevents things far worse from happening to us.  So while you complain about that pain in your back, remember that God kept you from paralysis, or while you look at that surgery scar, remember how God blessed you with the doctor that caught whatever it was before it multiplied.

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."  Galatians 3:13 NLT