The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
Psalm 19:1-2 (NLT)
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Tag Archives: daily devotions
God’s Handiwork
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10 Powerful Prayers
1. “He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.”
1 Chronicles 4:10 NLT
2. “Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven (left, remitted, and let go of the debts, and have given up resentment against) our debtors. And lead (bring) us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Matthew 6:9-13 AMP
3. “Be merciful to me, O God, because of your constant love. Because of your great mercy wipe away my sins! Wash away all my evil and make me clean from my sin! I recognize my faults; I am always conscious of my sins. I have sinned against you — only against you — and done what you consider evil. So you are right in judging me; you are justified in condemning me. Sincerity and truth are what you require; fill my mind with your wisdom. Remove my sin, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me. Do not banish me from your presence; do not take your Holy Spirit away from me. Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.”
Psalms 51:1-4, 6-7, 10-12 GNB
4. “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”
Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT
5. After Jesus finished saying this, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your Son, so that the Son may give glory to you. I have made you known to those you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your word, and now they know that everything you gave me comes from you. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those you gave me, for they belong to you. I gave them your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One. Dedicate them to yourself by means of the truth; your word is truth. I sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message. I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me.”
John 17:1, 6-7, 9, 14-15, 17-18, 20-21 GNT
6. Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”
Luke 1:46-55 NLT
7. Solomon said, You have shown to Your servant David my father great mercy and loving-kindness, according as he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and uprightness of heart with You; and You have kept for him this great kindness and steadfast love, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of David my father, and I am but a lad in wisdom and experience; I know not how to go out (begin) or come in (finish). Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who cannot be counted for multitude. So give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge and rule this Your great people? ”
1 Kings 3:6-9 AMP
8. “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.”
Psalms 63:1-8 NLT
9. Hannah prayed: “The Lord has filled my heart with joy; how happy I am because of what he has done! I laugh at my enemies; how joyful I am because God has helped me! “No one is holy like the Lord; there is none like him, no protector like our God. The Lord kills and restores to life; he sends people to the world of the dead and brings them back again. He makes some poor and others rich; he humbles some and makes others great. He lifts the poor from the dust and raises the needy from their misery. He makes them companions of princes and puts them in places of honor. The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord; on them he has built the world.”
1 Samuel 2:1-2, 6-8 GNB
10. “I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.”
Ephesians 1:16-20 NLT
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God’s Blueprints
Blueprints fascinate me. When I see a set rolled out, I have to look through them. I don’t know how to read them, but I still flip through as though I do. One person will look at them and see where the plumbing goes. Another will see how much concrete is needed for the foundation. Another will see where the electrical lines need to be run. To the rest of us, what looks like lines on a page actually give exact detail of how to build a structure. Whether you understand them or not, they have the ability to make a concept into a reality.
God has blueprints for your life. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you.” Your life is not a series of random events caused by karma. It has been carefully planned out by God. Most of the time, we don’t understand the plans He has for us. We look at our lives and wonder what He’s doing or how something tragic could be part of it. The different events in our lives, both good and bad, shape us into who He created us to be. It’s normal for us to question what we don’t understand.
In the times I find myself questioning God, I’m reminded that He is the one who drew up the blueprints of my life. He alone understands them fully. When I look at them, I see two dimensional lines on a page, but He sees it in three dimensions. He sees how it’s all fits together. He understands what needs to happen in my life to connect it all together. He knows what needs to happen in order to take a line off a page and to bring it into reality. He also knows how to readjust when our decisions conflict with His plan.
I’ve often asked if God planned out for the bad things that have happened in my life. I’ve come to believe He didn’t plan them, but He planned for them. The bad things that have happened were mostly a result of my poor decisions and not of His doing. He allowed me to face the consequences of my choices, but He never gave up on His plan for me. He found a way to engineer my struggles, faults and poor decisions into the person He wants me to become. He knows how to take the things that disqualify us from being His kids and to use them to qualify us to spread His love.
God’s blueprints also include tragedies and losses that are not a result of our decisions. We may never know why those things happen in our lives, but we can trust that He has a plan, He knows what He’s doing and that He can use those events to fortify our foundation. When I don’t understand why, I can trust Him still. His ways are higher than mine. His understanding of the plans He has for me are beyond anything I can imagine. When I’ve looked back at my life, I’ve seen His handiwork. I’ve seen how He has used tragedies and consequences to fulfill His plans. He’s got a proven track record that helps me trust Him even when I don’t understand.
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10 Scriptures On God’s Emotions
1. You must worship no other gods, for the LORD, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you. (Exodus 34:14 NLT)
2. There are seven things that the Lord hates and cannot tolerate: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that kill innocent people, a mind that thinks up wicked plans, feet that hurry off to do evil, a witness who tells one lie after another, and someone who stirs up trouble among friends. (Proverbs 6:16-19 GNT)
3. O GOD, You have rejected us and cast us off, broken down [our defenses], and scattered us; You have been angry–O restore us and turn Yourself to us again! (Psalm 60:1 AMP)
4. But God was merciful to his people. He forgave their sin and did not destroy them. Many times he held back his anger and restrained his fury. He remembered that they were only mortal beings, like a wind that blows by and is gone. How often they rebelled against him in the desert; how many times they made him sad! (Psalm 78:38-40 GNT)
5. Don’t be afraid. Dear Zion, don’t despair. Your GOD is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs. (Zephaniah 3:16-17 MSG)
6. He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. (Isaiah 53:3 NLT)
7. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin). (Ephesians 4:30 AMP)
8. When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36 NLT)
9. I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land. (Jeremiah 32:41 NLT)
10. For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. (John 3:16 GNT)
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Honor Those Who Gave All (Video)
Render to all men their dues…respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due.
Romans 13:7
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10 Scriptures On Remembering
1. GOD spoke to Moses: “Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them that from now on they are to make tassels on the corners of their garments and to mark each corner tassel with a blue thread. When you look at these tassels you’ll remember and keep all the commandments of GOD, and not get distracted by everything you feel or see that seduces you into infidelities. The tassels will signal remembrance and observance of all my commandments, to live a holy life to GOD. I am your GOD who rescued you from the land of Egypt to be your personal God. Yes, I am GOD, your God.” (Numbers 15:37-41 MSG)
2. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. (Lamentations 3:21-23 NLT)
3. Put your heart right, Job. Reach out to God. Put away evil and wrong from your home. Then face the world again, firm and courageous. Then all your troubles will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered no more. Your life will be brighter than sunshine at noon, and life’s darkest hours will shine like the dawn. You will live secure and full of hope; God will protect you and give you rest. (Job 11:13-18 GNT)
4. My whole being shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips When I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches. For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice. (Psalm 63:5-7 AMP)
5. Still, when God saw the trouble they were in and heard their cries for help, He remembered his Covenant with them, and, immense with love, took them by the hand. He poured out his mercy on them while their captors looked on, amazed. (Psalm 106:44-46 MSG)
6. Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. (Hebrews 13:3 NLT)
7. Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their life. (Proverbs 22:6 GNT)
8. When the bow [rainbow] is in the clouds and I look upon it, I will [earnestly] remember the everlasting covenant or pledge between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. (Genesis 9:16 AMP)
9. Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. (2 Corinthians 4:5-6 MSG)
10. Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. (Isaiah 46:9-10 NLT)
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The Power Of The Resurrection
Several years ago, I had the incredible privilege to celebrate Good Friday at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. As I attended the sunrise service, I kept staring over at the door to the tomb. I imagined the size of the rock that once covered that entrance. I pictured Mary weeping just a few feet away. I wondered what direction Peter and John came running from. It was surreal to be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus by the tomb that once held Him. As the sun came up, my mind turned its attention to the Angels who were there and the message they gave to all who came to that place.
Mark 16:6 records them as saying, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” All of christianity hinges on that last statement. I Corinthians 15:14 says, “If Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. (NLT)” Jesus didn’t come just to die. He came to rise again. He wasn’t just going to be crucified for our sins, He was going to be raised from the dead to give us life. His resurrection brought life where Adam’s sin brought death. Jesus defeated the power of death the moment He burst out of that tomb.
In Luke 24:5, the Angels asked the women, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive?” Jesus had told them He would be raised on the third day, so why were they visiting the borrowed tomb with spices to embalm Him? They were looking for a crucified Jesus instead of a resurrected Jesus. Their message goes out to us today. Quit looking for the right thing in the wrong place. Our Lord was crucified, but He rose from the dead. You don’t have to go to a tomb to find Him. He left the place of the dead so that He could walk with you today among the living.
The final thing I thought about as I sat there came from Mark 16:7. The angel said, “Now go tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee.” My favorite part is where he said, “including Peter”. After Peter denied Jesus, I’m sure he no longer felt like a disciple. I’m sure he was beating himself up for the mistake he made. The Angels wanted to make sure he knew that he was still loved and considered by God as a disciple. They sent him a clear message that he was forgiven no matter what he did.
Too many times we beat ourselves up over sins we have committed. We think keep ourselves from the grace that has been given to us because we beat ourselves up. While Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price for your sin, His resurrection gives you new life after it. You can put your name in that message where Peter’s name is. The Angels are speaking to you too, they are saying you are loved, you are forgiven and Jesus is waiting for you. All He’s asking is that you trust the power of the resurrection, that you leave the cemetery of your past and that you move ahead where He is waiting for you.
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10 Scriptures On Palm Trees
1. The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible]. (Psalm 92:12 AMP)
2. Both the main Sanctuary and the Holy Place had double doors. Each door had two leaves: two hinged leaves for each door, one set swinging inward and the other set outward. The doors of the main Sanctuary were carved with angel-cherubim and palm trees. There was a canopy of wood in front of the vestibule outside. There were narrow windows alternating with carved palm trees on both sides of the porch. (Ezekiel 41:23-26 MSG)
3. They spread before me like palm groves, like gardens by the riverside. They are like tall trees planted by the LORD, like cedars beside the waters. (Numbers 24:6 NLT)
4. They discovered that the Law, which the Lord gave through Moses, ordered the people of Israel to live in temporary shelters during the Festival of Shelters. So they gave the following instructions and sent them all through Jerusalem and the other cities and towns: “Go out to the hills and get branches from pines, olives, myrtles, palms, and other trees to make shelters according to the instructions written in the Law.” (Nehemiah 8:14-15 GNT)
5. After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. (Revelation 7:9 NLT)
6. After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water. (Exodus 15:27 NLT)
7. Now Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet, and she was serving as a judge for the Israelites at that time. She would sit under a certain palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel would go there for her decisions. (Judges 4:4-5 GNT)
8. The main room was panelled with cedar and overlaid with fine gold, in which were worked designs of palm trees and chain patterns. (2 Chronicles 3:5 GNB)
9. On the first day gather branches from magnificent trees —palm fronds, boughs from leafy trees, and willows that grow by the streams. Then celebrate with joy before the LORD your God for seven days. (Leviticus 23:40 NLT)
10. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13 ESV)
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10 Scriptures On Rewards
1. May the Lord reward you for what you have done. May you have a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, to whom you have come for protection! (Ruth 2:12 GNT)
2. Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life. (James 1:12 MSG)
3. The [reverent] fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even than much fine gold; they are sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is Your servant warned (reminded, illuminated, and instructed); and in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:9-11 AMP)
4. So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! (Hebrews 10:35 NLT)
5. Your reward depends on what you say and what you do; you will get what you deserve. (Proverbs 12:14 GNT)
6. “If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.” (John 12:26 MSG)
7. But when you help a needy person, do it in such a way that even your closest friend will not know about it. Then it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you. (Matthew 6:3-4 GNT)
8. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 NLT)
9. But love your enemies and be kind and do good [doing favors so that someone derives benefit from them] and lend, expecting and hoping for nothing in return but considering nothing as lost and despairing of no one; and then your recompense (your reward) will be great (rich, strong, intense, and abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind and charitable and good to the ungrateful and the selfish and wicked. (Luke 6:35 AMP)
10. Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. (Psalms 127:3 NLT)
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Fixer Upper (Video)
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
Jeremiah 29:11
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Devotions by Chris Hendrix 