Author Archives: jsjdevotions

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July 28, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Fruit of the Spirit, Holy Spirit, Love & Works, Spiritual Gifts

RECIPE FOR A FRUITFUL LIFE

Because you have these blessings, do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God; to your devotion add kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness add love. [2 Peter 1:5-7 (ERV)]

Take a large bowl and gently stir together the above ingredients, adding one element at a time. Mix well. Taste and evaluate. Are you a little short of any component? Some chefs need a dash more self-control while others need to add more kindness. For best results, add extra love. Place in an empty life and sprinkle with plenty of prayer. Be sure to exercise perseverance during the cooking process and feel free to call on the Holy Spirit for help. When in doubt, refer to the Holy Bible for more detailed directions.

If all these things are in you and growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [2 Peter 1:8 (ERV)]

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July 27, 2014

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Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, God's Plan, Trusting God

FROM BAD TO WORSE

I hate my life, so I will complain without holding back; I will speak because I am so unhappy. [Job 10:1 (NCV)]

When Job’s life became a chronicle of disasters, he honestly expressed his anger to God. Most likely, we all have felt like Job at one time or another. We can barely get out of bed to face another day where things just seem to go from bad to worse through no fault of our own. Unlike Job, we may not have lost family, health and wealth in one fell swoop and we may not have expressed our feelings so vividly, but we’ve all endured times of despair and misery. Although Job wrongly believed that his problems were a result of God’s anger at him, the one thing he never did was turn from God in his misery. In spite of wondering where God was in all of his wretchedness, Job refused to curse God in his despair.

Lord, it’s easy to believe in a loving and merciful God when our lives are filled with your blessings; it’s much harder when life goes wrong. Keep us strong in our faith so that we never let outward circumstances alienate us from you. Help us accept your plan for our lives, no matter what it may be. The outer circumstances of our lives won’t necessarily change with our acceptance, but the inner ones surely will.

His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong. [Job 2:9-10 (NLT)]

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July 25, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Thanks & Praise

THE GIFT OF TIME

DSC02311-at the stationWEBMay the Lord continually bless you with heaven’s blessings as well as with human joys. May you live to enjoy your grandchildren! [Psalm 128:5-6a (TLB)]

Lord, thank you for the many blessings that have come my way. I especially appreciate the gift of time. You have blessed me with a wealth of years and I thank you for the privilege of old age! May all those I know and love be so blessed. Don’t ever let us forget that while you add the years to our lives, we are the ones responsible for adding life to those years.

Each day is a miracle unearned. [From “A Perfect Day” by Richard Paul Evans]

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July 23, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

LOOK INTO OUR HEARTS

Jesus told this story to some people who thought they were very good and looked down on everyone else: “A Pharisee and a tax collector both went to the Temple to pray. The Pharisee stood alone and prayed, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people who steal, cheat, or take part in adultery, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I give one-tenth of everything I get!’” [Luke 18:9-12 (NCV)]

Sometimes we’re more interested in appearing good than being good. Sometimes we’re more concerned about besting our neighbor than being our best. Sometimes we’re more interested in pointing out the failures of others than admitting our own shortcomings.

Lord, forgive us; we are sinners all.

“The tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even look up to heaven. But he beat on his chest because he was so sad. He said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you, when this man went home, he was right with God, but the Pharisee was not. All who make themselves great will be made humble, but all who make themselves humble will be made great.” [Luke 18:13-14 (NCV)]

Everyone with a conceited heart is disgusting to the Lord. Certainly, such a person will not go unpunished. [Proverbs 16:5 (GW]

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July 22, 2014

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Faith & Hope, Trusting God

WHAT IS FAITH?

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. [Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)]

Paul tells us that faith and hope go hand in hand. We can’t see into heaven and we can’t see into the future, so we have to have faith that what we hope for actually will occur. We must have faith in the reality of God’s promises. Yet, what exactly is faith? Faith isn’t just belief in our Triune God; faith is loving that God, following him, and accepting His will for our lives. Faith encompasses our minds and bodies, our hearts and souls, our thoughts, words, and actions. For me, clearly defining faith poses the same problem Supreme Court Justice Stewart had when defining obscenity: “faced with the task of trying to define what may be indefinable … I shall not today attempt further to define [it]… But I know it when I see it.”

Dear Lord, I may not be able to define or explain faith, but I know it when I see it! Let me filled with your Spirit and strong in my faith.

Faith is a work of God in us, which changes us and brings us to birth anew from God. It…makes us completely different people in heart, mind, senses, and all our powers, and brings the Holy Spirit with it. What a living, creative, active powerful thing is faith! … Faith is a living, unshakeable confidence in God’s grace; it is so certain, that someone would die a thousand times for it. This kind of trust in and knowledge of God’s grace makes a person joyful, confident, and happy with regard to God and all creatures. This is what the Holy Spirit does by faith. Through faith, a person will do good to everyone without coercion, willingly and happily; he will serve everyone, suffer everything for the love and praise of God, who has shown him such grace. [From “Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans,” by Martin Luther, translation by Bro. Andrew Thornton]

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July 20, 2014

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Prayer, Thanks & Praise

I JUST CALLED TO SAY “I LOVE YOU”

Morning, noon, and night my complaints and groans go up to him, and he will hear my voice. [Psalm 55:17 (GW)]

None of us enjoy getting a call or email from people only when they have a question that needs answering, a problem that need solving or simply need a favor. Friends share good news as well as bad. Maybe He’d like some good news now and then; give Him a call today!

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart [Stevie Wonder]

Call to me, and I will answer you; I will tell you wonderful and marvelous things that you know nothing about. [Jeremiah 33:3 (GW)]