Devotionals – Page 14 – The Kingdom Sat

February 7, 2022

Yahweh Jireh: God Our Provider

“So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided'” (Genesis 22:14). Read Genesis 22:1-14. What would you think if God asked you to take your beloved son to a distant mountain and offer him up as a sacrifice? If you’re like Abraham, you would trust the Lord so much that you would obey, knowing that nothing is impossible for God—not even the resurrection of the dead, if it were to come to that (see Hebrews 11:19). Before ascending the mountain, Abraham told his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you” (Genesis 22:5). Did you catch that? “We will come back to you.” Abraham knew that if he simply obeyed the Lord, all would be well. He and Isaac would walk down the mountain together. Sure […]

January 31, 2022

Yahweh: The Great I AM

“Moses said to God, ‘Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” Then what shall I tell them?'” (Exodus 3:13). Read Exodus 3:1-15. When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and told him He was sending him back to Egypt to deliver His people, Moses was afraid and tried everything to get out of the assignment. The job seemed impossible to him, and he had no reason to think the Israelites would accept him as their deliverer. But Moses wouldn’t be going to Egypt on his own; God promised to remain with him every step of the way. God told the quaking shepherd, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you'” (Exodus 3:14). God is Yahweh, the great I am. He is the self-existent God, the God who is […]

January 24, 2022

For His Renown

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). God wants to hear big prayers that seek to bring Him “renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations” (Jeremiah 33:9). Yes, God does want to hear our small prayers. He wants us to reveal our hearts to Him and share our concerns and hopes. Yet the prayers that seek to glorify God, to honor Him, to further the work of His Kingdom, to transform the hearts of nonbelievers, to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ, and to reveal His majesty—those are the prayers that are most powerful. God responds to a heart that is truly devoted to Him and in awe of Him. God knows every inner corner of our hearts. We do not fool Him by saying we want something for His glory when secretly our motivations are selfish. We do not fool Him […]

January 12, 2022

Poor in spirit

“Repentance for the poor in the spirit, for they are the angels of the heavens” (Matthew 5: 3) Poverty is not a common denominator. The difference that exists in it is far from God, and we do not know the nature of human beings. We are the poor souls in the spirit of the Holy Spirit. We cannot choose sincerity and penetration in the realm of personal interest without being poor in spirit. It is not possible to get rid of it, but it is possible to get rid of it. p> ِّنَّ الانكسار الذي نختبره عندما نقص خلاص المسلم على الدوم ، وعندما ننضج في اليمان And when we enjoy the life of our worlds, we return to the one and only source and the source of all blessings in our life, our hearts are filled with joy and happiness. Prayer: O Lord, I know that I do not list things without you. Thank you for your superiority over […]

January 6, 2022

The Reason We Say “Merry Christmas”

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14, NKJV). Today, there are professing Christians who believe that being a good person is the path to salvation. They do not feel like they need someone to save them because their sins are nominal. It is enough that they attend church and have never committed “major” sins. They are perishing as they believe a lie. The Bible says that every one of the 7.9 billion people living today was born with sin. This sin was passed along to us genetically from Adam and Eve—the root of a sin system that exists in every person. Like Adam and Eve, we want to do things our way. We want to stay in charge of our lives while paying God lip service. We justify our sin and minimize its consequences. We hide from God and others in our shame. Instead of confessing our sin and turning to a […]

January 2, 2022

Jesus Seeks and Saves the Lost

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Read Luke 19:1-10. There is a word that’s central to the Christmas story that many don’t want to hear. That word is sin. But Scripture is clear: Jesus came to save us from sin (see Matthew 1:21; John 1:29; 1 John 3:5). Today our culture doesn’t want to talk about sin. But to give in to culture’s demands to ignore the word sin would be scandalous in light of what Scripture says. Sin is not a toy; it is a tyrant. It has the strength of death, and its power has not lessened in all of human history. That is why the ultimate deception is to deny the existence and power of sin. Sin is real, and we are powerless to free ourselves from its grasp. But praise God He sent His Son on that first Christmas to bring us the only cure for sin: […]

November 22, 2021

His Second Coming

“‘Look, he is coming with the clouds,’ and ‘every eye will see him, even those who pierced him’; and all people on earth ‘will mourn because of him.’ So shall it be! Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty'” (Revelation 1:7-8). The book of Revelation tells us about Jesus, the glorified, returning King. He will wear many crowns as the conqueror of sin and Satan and as the eternal King of kings. His diadems will testify that He has no rivals. While many try to ignore Jesus, when He returns in power and might, this will be impossible. Jesus’ first coming was in humility. His body was crucified on the cross to save all who would believe in Him. But in His second coming, He will return in His full glory. At the cross, He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. […]

November 15, 2021

King of Kings

“On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16). While many try to ignore Jesus, when He returns in power and might, it will no longer be possible to look the other way. Jesus’ first coming was in humility. His body was broken to save all who would believe in Him. But in His second coming, He will return in full splendor. At the cross, He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. At His return, King Jesus will lead the victorious parade of His faithful soldiers. In His first coming, He wore a crown of thorns. In His second coming, He will be crowned with many crowns. Our Savior is the King of kings who reigns and rules the entire universe. He is superior in His nature, infinite in His wisdom, mighty in His reign, and He is from everlasting to everlasting. Have you forgotten who […]

November 8, 2021

Trusting God When Satan Attacks

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Jesus described the end of the age as a time when “many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:10-13). Satan knows he cannot remove Jesus from the throne of heaven, but he will stop at nothing to see Jesus removed from the throne of our hearts. This is his agenda until Christ returns. How are we to respond to his schemes? The Bible clearly teaches that Satan and his minions are very real. This present world is a battlefield where unseen and powerful forces operate (see Ephesians 6:11-12). We see […]

November 1, 2021

The Ultimate Truth

“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long” (Psalm 25:4-5). Truth is objective, not subjective. Truth is absolute and not a sliding scale. The Truth is not open to redefinition to make it more winsome for new believers. The Truth does not seek to be politically correct because it refuses to tell people that they are safe believing lies. Truth is not trendy. As a Christian, it is not your job to make the Truth easier or more attractive. It is your job to love people by remaining faithful to the Truth. We can trust the Holy Spirit to take care of the rest, drawing people into God’s Kingdom. The ultimate Truth that cannot be compromised is that Jesus is our eternal hope. There are not many paths to God. There is only one, and that […]

September 13, 2021

The Choice of Obedience

“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands” (2 John 1:6). In his book of devotions Morning and Evening, Charles Spurgeon wrote, “[T]he first thing God requires of His child is obedience.” But human nature often rebels against obedience. The Bible is full of examples of individuals who disobeyed God. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Lot’s wife blatantly looked back to see the destruction of Sodom. Jonah refused to go to Nineveh. Moses struck the rock, instead of speaking to it as God commanded. We all can remember incidents when we have disobeyed—whether it was against an authority figure, a law of the land, or a Biblical principle. Most likely, we even remember our punishment or the consequences we suffered. The act of disobedience brings guilt, sadness, and shame. There is no long-lasting pleasure in getting our own way. It brings grief to our heavenly Father because He longs for us to walk with […]

September 6, 2021

A Jonah-Sized Challenge

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12). After Jonah allowed God to use him, we see the greatest miracle in the book of Jonah: the salvation of the Ninevites. These cruel pagan people experienced one of the greatest revivals in Biblical history. The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. . . . When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. (Jonah 3:5-6, 10) You may doubt your abilities or eloquence in sharing about Christ. You may […]