Category Archives: Loving God

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Devotional: The Power of a Mighty God

“… the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 HCSB

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FreeImages.com/Nino Satria

Despite my efforts to write a devotional every week, I find I keep coming up short. I loose track of the day. I find something else I need to do. I tell myself I can’t think of anything to write.

I’m not trying to make excuses, but sometimes it seems like I have so much to do, I don’t know where to start, so I don’t get started at all. (Does that make me ADD?)

My goal is not to just feed you spiritually, but to feed myself as well. Somehow, I need to overcome this “slump.” The only person who can help me is Jesus Christ.

In the Bible, there is a story about a man named Jonah. God told him to go to Nineveh and preach. He was to tell them that they faced destruction if they didn’t change their ways. Jonah chose to board a boat headed in the opposite direction than where God told him to go. God sent a storm to threaten the ship. The sailors, in an effort to save themselves, tossed their cargo overboard and struggled to row to shore. When they discovered that God sent the storm because of Jonah, they were very afraid.

Jonah told them to throw him overboard and the storm would stop. At first, they refused. The storm continued, so they prayed asking God to not hold their actions against them. Then they tossed Jonah over. Immediately the storm ceased.

The rest of the story continues: Jonah spent three days in the belly of a whale, God caused the whale to be sick and spit Jonah onto dry land, Jonah walked for days preaching repentance, the people repented and were saved.

All those things that happened, demonstrates the power God has over everything. He is all powerful. And His Spirit lives in me. That tells me that, though the devil keeps distracting me, God will bring me back to His work.

I Praise you, Lord God because you have already overcome the world and everything in it. Keep me focused on Your work. I love you.

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Devotional: Praising God Every D​ay

“Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:11 HCSB)

I don’t know if I said this or not, but I sing in the choir and on the praise team Sunday mornings. One song from this past Sunday keeps running through my head. That is: “Today is the Day” by Lincoln Brewster. So, I thought I would share it with you to see if it gets stuck in your head. There are worse things.

Every day, every living thing, everything he lets us have is reason to praise him. Hope you enjoyed this video.

Lord, we have had some struggles lately. Help us to see the good in everything and remember that you have made it all.

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Devotional: Beautiful Creation

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

IMG_2033I’m at Boy Scout Summer Camp this week. We’re camping outside in tents, hiking short distances to the dining hall (which is not air conditioned), and learning many different skills while going without technology. Well, the boys are, I am sitting in the air conditioned Scoutmaster’s Lodge with air condition and wifi.

This week isn’t about me. It’s about the boys. Hopefully, they will come from this camp having learned something new that they will be able to use their whole life. Something that will make them better men, better husbands, and better fathers. Me, I get to sit back and try to guide them on the journey.

Today, I tried to get them to tell me one thing they liked so far. They’re teens, so there wasn’t much of a response. It was more of a mom question than a Scoutmaster question. I can’t hope for too much.

I can say that there are several things I like so far, but I won’t tell you all of them. I will tell you about one. We came a day early because we drove a long distance; almost 7 hours. Once we set up camp, we had to go to the closest town to eat dinner. On the way there, we came around a curve and saw something so beautiful there was an audible gasp from almost everyone. We had to pull over and take pictures.

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I am reminded that God created this. In the first chapter of Genesis, we read that God created the land on the third day. It says, “Then God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so.” (Genesis 1:9 HCSB) God didn’t stop there. He continued by adding plants fruit trees. He says that it was good.

One look at the picture my son took for me and you can’t help agreeing with God. The beauty of the Earth is good. More than good. It’s beautiful.

 

Thank You, Lord, for the beautiful creation we live in. Help us to take care of it so it can be appreciated for generations to come.