Sing Your Heart Out Baby!  Devotional #24

 

 

            I love to sing!  My parents tell me that when I was a baby I hummed along with the commercials from the television.  My grandmother told me that there was one time as a toddler I stopped in the middle of the street to dance along with the music that was blaring from a boom-box.  As long as I can remember I have always loved music.  I sang in choirs while in school and in the church.  As a kid I would sing with my hairbrush in hand as my microphone and my mirror as my audience.  I’d belt it out like if I were really giving a concert!  What an imagination!

            Now that I’m married with three children singing is still a part of my life but only in the van as I’m chauffeuring the kids around or while I’m cleaning the house.  I love to praise the Lord through song.  How about you my dear friend?  Do you praise the Lord through song?  How about when times are rough?  That is when my praise time goes up.   

            There’s an example in the Bible of praising the Lord in the harshest of conditions.  Paul and Silas were on the mission field.  They were on their way to a place of prayer when they were confronted with a situation.  Throughout their whole ordeal they remained faithful and praised the Lord even though they were in a whole heap of trouble!  Their troubles started when they met a young girl who was a slave.  She had an evil spirit and it was because of the evil spirit her owners used her as a fortune-teller.  She made a lot of money for her owners, which is why they were very upset with what happened next. 

            Acts 16:17-18, “She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, ‘“These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”’ She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, ‘“In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!”’ At that moment the spirit left her.” (NIV) Even though the evil spirit was telling the truth Paul did not want the people to associate anything evil with Jesus.  There was to be no confusion, Jesus has absolutely nothing to do with evil.  When the evil spirit left this girl her ability to do fortune-telling was over.  The owners were not happy with this loss of easy money so they had Paul and Silas beaten and thrown in jail. 

            Acts 16:25-26, “Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.” (MSG)  They were singing a “robust hymn” and praying.  Did you catch how they sung?  “Robust” means strong determination. They were singing their hearts out!  They were not wallowing in their situation.  They were in the inner jail where they could be constantly watched and their feet were in stocks (Acts 16:24).  They weren’t going anywhere which was how the worst of criminals were treated.  But even though they were in this situation they were living what Paul penned in Philippians 4:11b, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” 

            After the earthquake Paul and Silas did not run away even though they had the opportunity to.  Not only did they not run away, none of the prisoners ran away.  Under Roman rule the jailer would have been killed if any of the prisoners had run away.  He was about to kill himself when Paul shouted out to him that they were all there.  It was then that the jailer fell to his feet and asked what he needed to do to be saved.  Not only did Paul and Silas share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the jailer and with his whole household (family and servants).  They were all saved that night.  It was due to their faithfulness in the harshest of conditions that inspired the jailer and his family and servants to accept the Lord as their Savior. 

             It is what you do with the circumstances of your life that speak the loudest to the people around you.  Even though Paul and Silas were stripped naked, flogged and were put in stocks found in the center cell.  The earthquake was God’s answer to their prayer request.  They needed something huge to happen and it did.  The answer was not to run away but to stay and minister to the jailer and his family. 

            Praise the Lord with all your heart in the good times and in the bad times.  People are watching to see how you deal with the circumstances of life.  Just like all of the prisoners and the jailer were watching Paul and Silas.  When the earthquake happened the jailer believed that this was the answer to the prayers from Paul and Silas’ God.  What he didn’t know was that God had something in store for him through Paul and Silas.  What we do not know is what God has in store for others through us.  So sing baby!  Sing praises unto the Lord with prayer and thanksgiving.

 

Thank you for reading this devotional.  My dear friend, I appreciate you and am praying for you.  God bless you! 

*If you would like to read this same devotional in Spanish or know of someone that would please visit my Spanish blog at www.ministerioreflejandolaverdad.blogspot.com

 

 

“Shine Brightly!”  Devotional #23

         

            I find lighthouses to be beautiful.  The few times I have seen one I can’t help but wonder how many maritime vessels it had helped out.  Gone are the days of the popularity of the lighthouse.  They are hardly used in today’s modern world because of all of the electronic navigational systems.  But, there are still some that are being used around the world.  They are a great source of light for many ships to navigate safely to harbors and spot hard to see coastlines that can be dangerous due to the darkness or heavy storms “hiding” rocks or reefs.  There have been many people that have been saved due to a lighthouse guiding ships in perilous conditions.

            Jesus calls His believers the light of the world.  Mathew 5:13-16, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (NIV)  It is like we are the lighthouses to the world around us.  What is this light we need to shine to others? 

            Jesus is our light.  He is the light in the darkness.  John 1:3-5, “Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!—came into being without him.  What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by.  The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.” (MSG)   Ephesians 5:8-10, “You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.” (MSG)

            “The good, the right, the true…” that is “the light” that we are to shine to the world around us.  Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” (NIV)  It is when we are in step with the Light that lives in us that we can reflect His Light out to the world around us.  No one that needs and wants to see something in the dark would hide a working light, right?  No one would expect a light to be hidden, so why is it that it is hidden sometimes if not all of the time by some?

            My dear friend, shine brightly!  Shine your light to those in your world without any reservations.  Do not worry about what people would say or think about you if they were to know that you are not only a believer but a believer that has no qualms about the world knowing that you are one.  Every now and then I get a question from a student in one of my classes that goes something like this, “do you mean I have to stand on the sidewalk and yell out that Christ is coming again and if they don’t repent they’ll be going to hell?  I don’t know if I can do that.”

            No, that is not what Jesus meant when He said that we are the light to the world.  What He meant was if you never open your mouth and share Him with those in your life how will they know about Him?  How will they know what living for Christ means if you don’t exhibit that?  How will they know what it means to have a loving relationship with Jesus if you never share anything about it. 

            Yes, we are to respect the rules of the schools, workplaces or public buildings but when given the chance, every chance the Lord provides we need to shine His Light.  We need to shine brightly!  In a Sunday School class I was in a long time ago the teacher said something I’ll never forget, “testimony, testimony, testimony, and if you need to speak then speak.”  In other words, it is in the way we live our lives, how we respond to the circumstances in our lives, how we treat our spouses, our children, our friends, our integrity, our honesty.  Our way of life as well as what we say is how we can shine brightly!  

  

Thank you for reading this devotional.  My dear friend, I appreciate you and am praying for you.  Thanks for passing on this blog to others!  Please continue to pass it on.  God bless you!

 

*If you would like to read this same devotional in Spanish or know of someone that would please visit my Spanish blog at www.ministerioreflejandolaverdad.blogspot.com

 

           

“The Influence of Love” Devotional 22

            Love: a strong affection, desire, or devotion (as per the Life Application Study Bible, NIV). 

 

            There are many in the world who believe they are unlovable, unworthy of anyone’s love.  There are others that believe that they will never be loved, truly loved for who they really are.  There are yet others that are loved but yet do not believe they are loved due to the many conditions that have been set before them.  Conditions and or expectations that mind you may never be met in their lifetimes.  Others have been the ones that have set these conditions and feel they have every right to do so because they “deserve” to be loved the way they dictate they should be loved.  Those that are loved, fully and wholeheartedly, without any set of conditions or expectations that need to be met are blessed. 

            There is One who loves you for you.  No ands, ifs, or buts that need to be added to this statement: He loves you.  Point blank.  There are no conditions.  You will never lose His love.  There is nothing that anyone can ever do, say or pay to get Him to stop loving you.  You are loved by the Almighty just because.  Isn’t that comforting?  I hope my dear friend this devotional will bring you comfort and a pleasant reminder of just how special you are to God.

            In Ephesians 3:16-19, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

            The Lord doesn’t just say that He loves you, He demonstrated His love in a very big and extraordinary way!  John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Romans 5:5-8, “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  1 John 3:1, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!  The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”  1 John 4:9-12, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son in to the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

            The Lord Jesus Christ has given to us a beautiful love note, His Word.  While Jesus was here on earth He said to His future believers, John 17:20-23, “‘My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.  May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.’”

            May His love be like a warm blanket that is wrapped around you, which brings not only warmth but hope and encouragement, 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”  Psalm 144:2, “He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge…”  Psalm 145:8-9, “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.  The LORD, is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.” 

            My dear friends, you are loved by God.  God bless you and yours.

(All verses in this devotional are from the NIV)

 

My dear friend I appreciate you and am constantly praying for you.  Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and read this devotional.  I’d love to read your comments.  Also, would you be so kind as to pass this blog on to your friends and family?

*If you would like to read this same devotional in Spanish or know of someone that would please visit my Spanish blog at www.ministerioreflejandolaverdad.blogspot.com

           

 

“A grown man climbed a tree…”  Devotional #21

         

            I’m afraid of heights.  Most of my childhood was spent in New York City.  My father drove the family car and my mother used public transportation, mainly the trains.  I can remember holding on to the stair rails that were right off of the train platforms for “dear life.”  Mind you I was completely safe but I didn’t feel safe.  Walking to the edge of the platform to check if the train was coming never made sense to me.  What was the purpose of “risking your life” just to check if the train was coming?  Since I had no choice but to ride these trains, and most of the time I was on platforms that were higher than some buildings, my fear of heights got worst over time.

When I was in the sixth grade my family and I lived in Puerto Rico for a few months and during that time I attended school there. There was this tree in the school courtyard.  Every day during lunch the tree was full of kids that enjoyed climbing it, they always looked and sounded like they were having so much fun.  Up until then I had never climbed a tree.  I wanted in on this fun and so I talked myself into climbing this tree.  Even though I was afraid I did it!  I remember the first time I climbed it!  A girl that was afraid of heights climbed a tree!  Not a bad day for me, wouldn’t you agree? 

There’s a story of a man in the Bible that decided to climb a tree one day and that was the day that changed his life forever!  Luke 19:1-4, “Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.  A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.  He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.”  (NIV)

It seems to me that Zacchaeus didn’t think too much about climbing a tree, not as much as I did anyway.  He just ran to it and climbed.  Now this man was considered the scum of the earth.  He was a chief tax collector for the Roman Empire.  Taxes were important to the Romans because it helped finance their empire.  The taxes imposed on all the nations in the empire were always high and on top of that tax collectors were known to overcharge the people.  Now Zacchaeus was not only a tax collector but a chief tax collector.  He was considered a traitor to the Jewish community because he worked for Rome and his wealth only meant that he was cheating the people out of their money.

Jesus on the other hand did not despise this man.  He loved him.  He wanted to spend time with him.  He wanted to change his life.  He sought Zacchaeus and wanted to save him, even though he was who he was.  Luke 19:5-6, “When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘“Zacchaeus, come down immediately.  I must stay at your house today.”’  So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.” (NIV)  The crowd disapproved and made sure Jesus knew it. 

Luke 19:7, “All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.”’ Hold the phone everybody!  Jesus was in the presence of a sinner!  Hello!  Didn’t they know that they were all sinners!  They viewed him as a sinner but not themselves.  Interesting isn’t it?  Aren’t people this way even today?  There are many people that are so quick to judge others…so quick to pass blame…so quick to get angry when anyone pays any attention to anyone deemed “bad,” “not good enough,” “shameful,” “distrustful,” “a waste of time.”  Jesus didn’t care about their reaction nor does He care about what anybody thinks about you or me today.  Zacchaeus didn’t defend himself or get angry with anyone for being upset that the Lord was going to his house.  What he did was do something rather noble.

Luke 19:8, “But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”’  (NIV)  Four times the amount!  By offering to give this money Zacchaeus was reflecting what was in his heart, change.  He had changed!  Not by his doing but by Jesus’ work in him.  Luke 19:9-10, “Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”’  Jesus doesn’t care where you’ve been, He just cares about where you’re going! 

So, a grown man climbed a tree.  He was despised.  He was avoided.  Yet he was sought by the Savior.  He not only had Jesus at his house as the guest of honor he was also saved.  Not a bad day for Zacchaeus, wouldn’t you agree? 

 

My dear friends thanks for visiting my blog and reading this devotional.  I appreciate  you and am constantly praying for you.  God bless you and yours.

 

*If you would like to read this same devotional in Spanish or know of someone that would please visit my Spanish blog at www.ministerioreflejandolaverdad.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

“A Walk to Remember” Devotional #20

           

            I have taken many walks in my life.  I have taken many walks with my husband.  There’s a walk I took with him that I will never forget.  That was my “walk to remember.”  We were on our first date and it was a wedding.  We snuck out of the reception and took a walk.  It was beautiful outside and there was a nice gazebo overlooking a pond.  We sat at the bench there and talked for a while.  It was as if we had known each other for a very long time.  It was during the walk back to the reception that I knew he was the one, the one that I would one day marry.  Well there’s another walk that I know of but boy do I wish I was on that walk!

Peter, Jesus’ disciple, was on a boat with the other disciples.  They had just had a pretty memorable meal with 5,000 other people.  Afterwards Jesus had the disciples go into a boat and go ahead of him.  He wanted to have some alone time with His Father.  At about four in the morning Jesus took a walk.  Mathew 14:22-25, “Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.  After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.  But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.  And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.” (NASB)

            Jesus was walking on water!  I know He can do anything and walking on the water was no big deal to Him but to the disciples it was!  They were afraid!  Mathew 14:26-27, “When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”’ (NASB)  I can understand their reaction.  They had never seen or heard of anyone walking on water.  Apparently there was no other logical explanation than to believe it was a ghost!           

What happened next was also amazing!  Mathew 14:28-29, “Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”  And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.” (NASB) 

Peter was the only one that dared to try and do the same.  He asked Jesus if he could walk on the water.  Notice two things.  First, Peter still had a little doubt that what he was looking at was really Jesus but just in case it was he didn’t want fear to keep him from missing out on an amazing opportunity to actually walk on water.  This was his one shot at doing something amazing.  Second, Peter asked Jesus for permission to walk on the water with Him.  He knew that he couldn’t do it on his own but with Jesus he could do it. 

            Peter was taking a “walk to remember.”  In the Message Bible it says that Peter jumped out of the boat.  That meant that he knew that with Jesus he could do this and was excited.  Also, he trusted that Jesus would take care of him while he was out on the water.  So out he went.  He jumped out and walked towards Jesus!  He knew that he was walking out unto the water and that it was windy.  Yet, somehow, while he was on the water the wind and the churning water distracted him and he started to sink.  Mathew 14:30, “But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”’ (MSG)

            His memorable walk was over!  Why did he get distracted?  Why did he doubt?  Could it be that the others in the boat were yelling out to him and yelling out things like, “Are you crazy man?  What are you doing?  Get back in the boat!  The water is too rough!  You’re going to die!”  Maybe but the Bible doesn’t say that this happened.  Could it be that the water was not as choppy when he was getting out of the boat but while he was on the water it got worst?  Maybe but the Bible doesn’t say that this happened.  Could it be that the wind was so strong that it was pushing against him really hard and it was scaring him?  Maybe but the Bible doesn’t say that this happened either.  All the Bible says is that he was distracted with the wind and the water and he took his eyes off of Jesus and focused instead on his circumstances.

            He knew that Jesus had the power to keep him afloat and if he wanted to they could have walked all the way to the other side, which was where he was headed on the boat.  No matter how, either in the boat or walking on the water Peter was going to make it to the other side because Jesus had already said that was where they were going. 

            Aren’t we like that sometimes too?  How many times have we not allowed distractions keep us from achieving something amazing?  Jesus’ response to us would be the same as it was to Peter.  Mathew 14:31, “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”’  Jesus will reach out his hand to us each and every time we call to him for help just like He did for Peter.  But He will also ask us, why the doubt?  If there is anyone that we can believe, anyone that we can trust wholeheartedly that will never let us down is Jesus.  After Jesus lifted Peter out of the water they walked together into the boat.  (Mathew 14:32)  Jesus not only can lift us up from where we fell He will also walk with us the rest of the way!  Amazing!

 

Thank you for reading this devotional.  My dear friend, I appreciate you and am praying for you.  God bless you!

*If you would like to read this same devotional in Spanish or know of someone that would please visit my Spanish blog at www.ministerioreflejandolaverdad.blogspot.com