Tag Archives: bible

August 29, 2023 · 5:41 AM

Burden Bearing

When someone is going through a tough time or has even lost someone close to them, we usually say, Let me know if you need anything.” Has anyone ever taken you up on that? I haven’t. The person going through it quite honestly doesn’t know what they need and are often not in the right state to be asking. What they need is someone who will help them carry the load and take a few things off their plate. They need someone who won’t just say that and leave. Someone who will anticipate what they need, sit there in the silence with them and walk through the struggle with them. That’s what we’re called to do and I’ve been blessed to have people do that with me.

In 1 Chronicles 23, David was living in the wilderness on the run. He heard a town was being attacked and went to save it. Then he heard that Saul was on his way to kill him so he headed back for the wilderness. While being hunted by Saul, his best friend Jonathan found him and came to encourage him. In verse 16 he said, “Don’t be afraid. My father Saul won’t be able to harm you. He knows very well that you are the one who will be the king of Israel and that I will be next in rank to you” (GNT). I love that he met David in the wilderness where David was. He didn’t send a message from afar. He then gave him words of encouragement and affirmation along with a reminder of God’s promise to help in his time of trouble. The Bible said these two loved each other like brothers and this was a time when they showed that love.

Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the requirements of the law of Christ [that is, the law of Christian love]” (AMP). What is the law of Christian love? To love your neighbor as yourself. Part of that is helping your neighbor carry their burdens. It will require more than platitudes to do this. It may require time, effort and energy to help someone through a crisis. While we can’t carry everyone’s burden, list important to listen for the Lord to direct you to those who need your help, otherwise you will be exhausted. Ask God to show you who needs your help in carrying their burden, then go and do something. They won’t know what to tell you they need many times. In those cases be proactive. Clean the house, provide a meal, watch the kids, sit and listen. Whatever God puts on your heart, do it out of love to encourage them and strengthen them.

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April 7, 2023 · 5:46 AM

Resurrection

On Good Friday, we spend a lot of time thinking about the cross, as we should. It’s the day we recognize the death and burial of Jesus. Because He died, our sins were paid for, but dying wasn’t enough. The Early Church, and the New Testament, recognizes His death, but the focus is on His resurrection because that’s what gives us new life. The resurrection is what gives us hope of being resurrected ourselves one day as we rise to eternal life. Jesus took away the keys and finality of death. It’s something we all must face, but now it is not the end. We don’t have to despair as the disciples did that Friday. We get to live in the hope of knowing that Sunday is on the way! Have a blessed Resurrection Sunday.

Here are some Bible verses on resurrection.

1. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will take back with Jesus those who have died believing in him.

1 Thessalonians 4:14 GNT

2. But now [as things really are] Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, [and He became] the first fruits [that is, the first to be resurrected with an incorruptible, immortal body, foreshadowing the resurrection] of those who have fallen asleep [in death].

1 Corinthians 15:20 AMP

3. And I continually long to know the wonders of Jesus and to experience the overflowing power of his resurrection working in me. I will be one with him in his sufferings and become like him in his death.

Philippians 3:10 TPT

4. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die.”

John 11:25 GNT

5. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.

Matthew 28:6 NLT

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November 2, 2021 · 5:30 AM

Personal Famine

A Barley field in Angus, Scotland.

“Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt; and after them seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ravage the land. So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe.”

Genesis 41:29-31 (NASB)

“Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land.”

Ruth 1:1 (NASB)

There are times in the Christian walk where the river runs low, right down to a trickle. Suddenly all is silent about you, concentration is hard and the Word of God doesn’t appear to say much. I have times like these, usually through fatique which is a regular effect of my health issues. Tiredness and pain can make big and small things difficult, including spiritual matters. Yet God can use these times to help us grow in Him. During such dry times in life our Father God provides abundantly, literally from nothing. 

It was while searching for inspiration in what has been a hard day, I found myself looking at my Bible notes from Friday 26th June 2020 and I found the scriptures I present to you today. In my notes I wrote that day: “in Scripture when we find famine, God is at work in the midst of it with bountiful blessings.” Look at the story of Joseph, and how God through a famine blessed him, his family and, also his nation. Then we have Ruth, which is a truly beautiful Biblical story. To escape famine Naomi and her daughter in law Ruth return to Judah. Ruth meets Boaz in the harvest fields who becomes her husband, their son Obed is the great grandfather of David, and a forerunner of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. What a truly a great harvest in the midst of a famine!

Dear reader, in times of personal famine when life is difficult our Father God is still present, right beside us. No matter how low the water level in your reservoir, the Almighty can still work a miracle with it. He is the Master of taking the small and weak to fulfill His purpose. Let us never despair in our famine, He will feed us from His bountiful harvest!

I’m taking my annual sabbatical from writing. I hope you enjoyed this devotional by Devotional Treasures.

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October 19, 2021 · 5:46 AM

Your Daily Bread

In Exodus 16, the Israelites were in the desert on the way to the Promised Land. They were tired and hungry, so they began to complain. In verse 4, the Lord said, “Now I am going to cause food to rain down from the sky for all of you. The people must go out every day and gather enough for that day. In this way I can test them to find out if they will follow my instructions” (GNT). For the rest of their time in the wilderness, the people went out every day to get manna from Heaven, taking only what they needed. God did not fail to give them their daily bread, but it was up to them to go get it.

In John 6, Jesus fed the 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread and two fish. Everyone had more than enough to eat. Because it was late, many stayed the night there. That night, the disciples went across the Sea of Galilee, and were hit with a storm. Jesus went to them walking on water. The next morning, the people who had been fed were looking for Jesus. When they found him, they asked for another miracle. Jesus wanted them to trust in Him for the Bread of Life. They were stubborn and brought up that Moses fed the people every day in the wilderness. Then Jesus reminded them it was God who provided the bread, not Moses. He went on to say, “I am the Bread of Life. Come every day to me and you will never be hungry. Believe in me and you will never be thirsty” (TPT).

God cares more for your spiritual condition than your physical one. Yes, He cares and provides for our physical needs, but it’s the eternal needs that matter most. Just like our physical body needs sustenance, so does our spirit. Jesus is inviting you and I to meet with Him daily for the manna He provides for our spirit. We can’t be like the people in the Old and New Testaments who are only looking for the temporary things from God that meet our immediate needs. He wants to give you so much more, but it requires you to set aside time to go get it every day. You wouldn’t neglect your physical hunger, so don’t neglect your spiritual hunger. Jesus is waiting for you with your daily bread right now. Ask Him to feed your spiritual hunger and thirst today, then listen for His voice. Taste and see that the Lord is good today. He is the Bread of Life.

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November 19, 2019 · 5:59 AM

Being Permeated By God’s Word

One of the artisan things that has been mostly lost is the art of making bread. It’s so easy to go to the store to buy a loaf that few of us have time to make it unless we have specific dietary needs. My father in law though still makes tortillas. While it’s not a loaf of bread, the process is similar. He always heats water on the stovetop while he mixes the dry ingredients. He then adds a little water at a time until the mixture is just right. He then separates it out into smaller balls of dough, then he takes a wet paper towel, covers them and waits. He gives the yeast time to activate and interact with the dough. Once it has permeated the whole ball of dough, it time to roll them out and cook them. It’s a process that can’t be rushed or you change the end result.

Meditating on God’s Word is a lot like that process. We have to take the water of God’s Word and add it to the dry mixture of our lives. It then has to be kneaded into every area so that the dryness is gone. This means that we can’t just read the Bible for the sake of reading it. We must look at it and consider how we apply it and live it out. After that, it’s time to stop and think about it on a deeper level. What is the context? Why did God put this in the Bible? What all is He trying to say? You then look at it from the angle of every person in that passage thinking about its implications to them. By asking these questions and really chewing on the verse or passage before applying it, you allow it to permeate your entire being and gain deeper understanding of it. Then, when you’re crushed or walk through fiery trials and the heat of life is applied, you will produce the life you’re called to live.

In Matthew 13:33 Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and worked into three measures of flour until all of it was leavened” (AMP). Each of our lives must allow the Word of God to be worked into our lives through meditating on it. There are promises of being successful if we do (Joshua 1:8) as well as having a life that produces fruit in every season of life (Psalm 1:2-3). We are also told in James 1:22 to not just be hearers of God’s Word, but to also be doers of it. To do that, we must pray for insight and direction as we read, then spend time asking the question and meditating on it. God’s Word, like yeast, is alive and active and is wanting to permeate every ares of our life if we will slow down the process and allow it to do its work. Don’t read it to check off a Christian box. Read it to transform your life, to guide you and to lead you into His promises.

Photo by Nadya Spetnitskaya on Unsplash

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June 29, 2018 · 5:59 AM

A Lasting Foundation

When I look back on the time in my life where I hit rock bottom and lost just about everything, I see a picture of me laying down in the rain. There is wood and other things thrown about the yard from what used to be the life I had built. As I was talking to God about it one day, I was lamenting on how I had lost everything. That’s when God pointed out what I was laying on. It was the foundation of my life. Everything else may have been stripped away, but I could always rebuild on a firm foundation, especially one that had weathered the storm.

Every one of us build our life out of things and on a foundation. Every one of us will face storms in life. What we’ve built our life out of and on will determine how well we weather those storms. Jesus told us to be wise by building our lives on the rock so that we would have a good foundation for those times. That rock He told us to build on was the truth of God’s Word. All of Heaven and earth will pass away, but His Word will remain. Be wise and build your life on what will last.

Here are some verses on having a good foundation.

1. “If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.”

Luke 6:48-49 MSG

2. In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.

Isaiah 33:6 NLT

3. Through [skillful and godly] wisdom a house [a life, a home, a family] is built, And by understanding it is established [on a sound and good foundation].

PROVERBS 24:3 AMP

4. But the solid foundation that God has laid cannot be shaken; and on it are written these words: “The Lord knows those who are his” and “Those who say that they belong to the Lord must turn away from wrongdoing.”

2 Timothy 2:19 GNT

5. When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.

Proverbs 10:25 NLT

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May 15, 2018 · 5:29 AM

Hard Knocks University

When people ask where I went to school, I often say, “Hard Knocks University.” For the longest time, it seemed that life kept knocking me down. No matter what I did, I couldn’t gain ground. In fact, it felt like the bottom kept falling out from underneath me. I learned that the only way to fail Hard Knocks University is to quit. I also learned that the only way to graduate was to get closer to God. The troubles we face in life can either make us bitter or better. We get to choose by how we respond when we keep getting knocked down.

For me, I let it push me closer to God. I found myself praying more asking God for the wisdom to make better decisions. I also started reading the Bible more. I knew there were principles in it that could help with the things I was facing, so I began to consume the Bible looking for answers. What I got was a deeper relationship with God and the promise that He wouldn’t abandon me in my troubles. I began to put my focus on Him instead of my problems, and then I began telling my problems about Him instead of the other way around.

The Psalmist must have graduated Hard Knocks University too. Psalm 119:71 says, “My troubles turned out for the best – they forced me to learn your textbook” (MSG). If you’re in the toughest school around, let it draw you closer to God and His textbook. He probably won’t take the troubles away as quick as you like, but you are guaranteed that He will walk through them with you. Failure can’t be an option, and you don’t want to keep taking the same course. If you want to graduate, you’re going to have to read the textbook. I recommend you start with a chapter in Proverbs each day to get the wisdom you need.

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March 23, 2018 · 5:59 AM

Seeking Wisdom

My son recently asked me, “Dada, do I have a lot of knowledge?” I replied, “Yes, for someone your age. What you really want though is wisdom.” He then wanted to know what wisdom was and how to get it. I explained that knowledge was easy to come by, but wisdom only comes in one of two ways. You can gain it from learning from your mistakes or God can give it to you. Since we all make mistakes, we all have the opportunity to gain wisdom. The problem is that most of us would rather beat ourselves up over failure rather than to see it as a place to grow.

Most of us are familiar with the story of Solomon. When he became king of Israel, God let him ask for one thing. Solomon asked for wisdom to rule the people, and God blessed him for that request. I believe you and I can ask for that too. This world is getting more complicated by the minute, and Christians are in need of wisdom now more than ever. Pray that God would give you wisdom over your finances, your relationships and how you share the Gospel. I believe God will honor that prayer.

Here are some Bible verses on wisdom.

1. Be devoted to one another with [authentic] brotherly affection [as members of one family], give preference to one another in honor; never lagging behind in diligence; aglow in the Spirit, enthusiastically serving the Lord; constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ], steadfast and patient in distress, devoted to prayer [continually seeking wisdom, guidance, and strength], contributing to the needs of God’s people, pursuing [the practice of] hospitality.

ROMANS 12:10-13 AMP

2. For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:6 NLT

3. Get wisdom—it’s worth more than money; choose insight over income every time.

Proverbs 16:16 MSG

4. Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people].

EPHESIANS 5:15 AMP

5. But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and graciously to all.

James 1:5 GNT

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February 16, 2018 · 5:37 AM

Searching For God

If something is lost in the house, my wife will tell you I’m not the greatest choice to search for it. I can look everywhere and not find it. Then a minute later, she’ll find it in an area where I looked. What’s the difference? I’m looking at things, and she’s searching for things. Unless there are lights from Heaven shining down on it, and angels singing, I’m not going to find it by scanning the area. When she searches, she’s lifting things up and going through everything.

So many of us search or seek God using my method. As believers, we are to continually seek God’s face and search for Him with our lives. We need to be God chasers who pursue His presence like the pearl of great price. I believe God rewards us and takes us to deeper levels of maturity when we seek out and search Him to know Him better. We can’t be satisfied with a surface level knowledge of who He is. There are greater depths to be searched and only those committed to searching Him out will know them.

Here are some Bible verses on searching for God.

1. But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, “The Lord is great!”

Psalms 40:16 NLT

2. You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:12-13 HCSB

3. For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, “Seek Me [search diligently for Me and regard Me as more essential than food] so that you may live.”

AMOS 5:4 AMP

4. His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.

Acts of the Apostles 17:27 NLT

5. Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually [longing to be in His presence].

1 CHRONICLES 16:11 AMP

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February 12, 2018 · 6:12 AM

The Plumb Line Of Truth

One of the classes I train has me ask, “Is this your truth,” at the end of each section. If someone says it’s not their truth, I’m to engage them to find out why they don’t believe what I just taught. I’m looking for their objection to the truth I’ve presented. My goal is to not just get them to accept the truth, but to go back and implement that truth into their life. We always act on what we believe, so it’s important to know what the truth is before we act.

We live in a world where the lines of truth are constantly being blurred. Over the last two generations, Truth has gone from something we all accepted as a whole to what each of us believes individually. What I’ve learned is that truth is truth no matter what I believe personally. I can choose to not believe in gravity, but that doesn’t stop me from coming back to the ground when I jump. There are still universal truths in our world whether people choose to believe them or not.

I was talking with a man recently about truth, and I brought up Jesus in Pilate’s court in John 18. When Jesus said that He came to testify to the truth, Pilate asked, “What is truth?” (GNT) I wish the Bible would have recorded Jesus’ answer. We know from John 14:6 that Jesus said He was the way, the truth and the life. Also in John 1, we read that Jesus is the Word Of God made flesh. He, and the Bible, are our absolute truth in this world. It is the plumb line in a world that has lost its direction.

The reason you use a plumb line in construction is because your eyes can deceive you. In the same way, the Word Of God is our plumb line in this world. Our eyes can deceive us, and it can be difficult to determine what truth is. Psalm 33:4 says, “The words of the Lord are true, and all his works are dependable.” We must know God’s Word if we are going to use it as a plumb line to build our lives on the rock of truth. Otherwise, we will be like the foolish man who build his house on the shifting sands of what culture believes at the moment.

Photo by Marco Ceschi on Unsplash

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