Daily Devotions

26 Jul.

“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

Under Old-Testament law, animal sacrifices were required to cover man’s sins. Jesus—the spotless Lamb of God—changed that requirement when He sacrificed His own body and blood to activate the New-Testament covenant of grace.

25 Jul.

“Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble” (Proverbs 17:17, MSG).

Unlike worldly friendships, godly friendships edify, strengthen, and build us up. It’s in these healthy relationships that we find loyal friends who love us enough to be called family; they won’t disappear on us when the storms of life hit.

24 Jul.

“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye” (1 Corinthians 16:1).

Religion gives us the wrong idea about our identity as believers. After we’ve accepted Christ, we’re no longer “sinners saved by grace,” but saints; this is how God sees us.

23 Jul.

“Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

A critical spirit can cause us to say foolish things we’ll later regret. When we’re upset about something, sometimes it’s better to say nothing until we can think clearly.

22 Jul.

“People who despise advice are asking for trouble; those who respect a command will succeed” (Proverbs 13:13, NLT).

Being hardheaded and stubborn is a trait of emotional immaturity, and holds us back in life. By comparison, being flexible enough to accept instruction and direction helps us learn and grow, and gives us success; this is a spiritual law.

21 Jul.

“Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever” (Psalm 106:1, NLT).

When we take a moment to remember all the good God has done in our lives, it’s hard not to be thankful. A grateful attitude helps us deal with life’s ups and downs.

20 Jul.

“For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better” (Philippians 1:21, NLT).

Believers don’t have to fear death, because it allows us to slip out of the stream of time and go home to be with the Lord. A relationship with God lets us put on our spiritual body when we get to heaven.

19 Jul.

“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death… So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?... But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:26, 54, 55, 57).

The Bible portrays death as an enemy. However, Jesus forever conquered that enemy when He rose from the grave and ascended into heaven.

18 Jul.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22, NKJV).

The world still lives under the sin brought onto mankind. Thankfully, faith in Christ and in His resurrection brings us out from sin and gives us eternal life.

17 Jul.

“These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep” (John 11:11).

Although we’ll all die physically one day, physical death isn’t the end. We’re spirits living in physical bodies, which are our temporary houses; when we leave this earth, we’ll transition to eternal life with Jesus Christ.

16 Jul.

“Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15, NLT).

Believers have been given authority over their emotions, but that doesn’t mean not to feel anything. Just like Jesus, we can wholeheartedly join in others’ joyful celebrations and mourn with those who mourn the passing of a loved one.

15 Jul.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died” (1 Thessalonians 4:13, 14, NLT).

It’s always painful when a loved one dies, but unlike the world, born-again believers have hope beyond the pain. Jesus was resurrected from the dead for eternal life in heaven; therefore, we have the same thing to look forward to.

14 Jul.

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15, 16).

For the results we want in life, we can’t be lukewarm, mixing old, law-based thinking with a new, grace-based mindset. Many churches still do this, but it displeases God.

13 Jul.

“No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles” (Mark 2:21, 22).

Grace and the law must be kept completely separate. Trying to mix a little bit of law-based thinking into a grace-based lifestyle cancels out any results we want to experience.

12 Jul.

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, NLT).

11 Jul.

“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life” (Romans 5:17, 18).

We were born into this world as sinners because of something we had nothing to do with. We therefore are justified and made righteous saints in God’s eyes not because of what we do, but because of what Jesus did and our belief in it.

10 Jul.

“Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law” (Galatians 2:16, NLT).

People who are still living under the Mosaic Law struggle uselessly to do right by God. Now that Jesus has died on the cross and been raised from the dead, our faith in Him enables us to live right; this is why it’s vital to avoid the pitfalls of undeveloped faith.

9 Jul.

“For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us” (Deuteronomy 6:25, NLT).

Under the law, man was considered righteous when he performed perfectly, as defined by following a long list of rules and regulations. Under grace, righteousness is now measured by faith, not by works.

8 Jul.

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39).

Everyone has an innate need to be loved. God’s love is perfect and unconditional; it fills an empty space in us that the world, with its imperfect, conditional love, simply can’t.

7 Jul.

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5, NKJV).

After we get born again, the first act of the Holy Spirit is to pour God’s love into our hearts. The Spirit living in us, constantly reminding us of God’s love, mercy, and compassion for us, gives us hope when life gets painful.

6 Jul.

“If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people, he said: ‘The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah’” (Hebrews 8:7, 8, NLT).

The old covenant of the law was impossible for man to keep, because it was demanding, unforgiving, and made no provision for human imperfection. The old covenant’s “Thou shalt not” warnings constantly reminded the people of their sins; by comparison, God’s new-covenant “I will” promises focus on faith in His grace.

5 Jul.

“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship” (Hebrews 10:1, NLT).

Although the law was perfect and holy, its sacrificial system was only able to provide temporary forgiveness for man’s sins. God therefore decided to replace the law with grace; this required a one-time, perfect sacrifice of Jesus’ body and blood.

4 Jul.

“Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit” (3 John 1:2, NLT).

Wellness is defined as the quality or state of being in good health, especially as an actively-sought goal. The “actively-sought goal” of this definition deserves attention, because this goal has already been attained for us through the finished works of Jesus Christ.

3 Jul.

“And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately” (Acts 9:33, 34).

It’s not God’s will that we tolerate sickness; He therefore gave us the same healing power that He gave to Jesus Christ. We have the same ability to get results that the apostles had.

2 Jul.

“Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all” (1 Timothy 6:20, 21, NIV).

Paul wrote this letter to warn against the influences worldly philosophies have on a believer’s way of thinking. There are countless theories that go against the Word that can infiltrate our mind; what begins in the mind eventually works its way into the heart.

1 Jul.

“And He spoke a parable to them: ’Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?’” (Luke 6:39, NKJV).

Jesus told this parable to illustrate what happens when we listen to the religious leaders and philosophers of the world who are blind to God’s truths. Without God’s Word to give us true spiritual vision and illuminate our spiritual walk, we’ll stumble along and eventually fall.

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