Tag: Truth

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Your Ticket Out

AUGUST 26

MATTHEW 6:33_the kingdom of God…

If you seek God first, at a young age, you’ve made a wise decision. You are on the right path. If you are toward the end of your teen years, or mid-way through adulthood, or even in your senior years—it’s never too late. Jesus has been knocking on the door of your heart all these years. He is not one to walk out on those He seeks because they don’t welcome Him right away. Jesus patiently seeks you, wherever you are.  Whether that’s the pit, the gutter, or the dead-end street, Jesus seeks you. Don’t think you have to come out from those places for Jesus to want you. Jesus is your ticket out!

Know the most important thing in life and seek it.

Seek the first thing first.

Make the main thing the main thing.

Build a firm foundation on truth.

Proverbs 24:27 (KJV), “Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.”

Work is seeking, the field is the world, and the house is your life. Build your life in accordance to God’s plan, not your own.

Another way to seek God first is in the earliest part of your day. Begin each day with Jesus. Become more aware of His presence.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, Help me seek You in the morning to be aware of You all day. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ seeks me wherever I go—He finds me!

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Seek!

 AUGUST 25

MATTHEW 6:33_But seek ye…

The word seek involves effort on your part. If you sit around and wait for something to happen—it won’t. If you pour water into a pot and place it over heat, sit around and wait, something will happen—it will begin to boil. Even that required some effort on your part. If you needed to boil water, you had to find water, a pot, and some type of heat. 

When you give time to seek something—you want it! Depending upon how much time and effort you put into the seeking—you really want it! Jesus is an action personality. If He tells you to seek, be certain it will require some kind of effort on your part. There is nothing sit around on your hands about Jesus!

At twelve years of age, while accompanying His family to the Passover celebration in Jerusalem, Jesus vanished. The city was packed with people. The frantic parents searched for three days. Where did they find him? Luke 2:46 (KJV), “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors [teachers], both hearing them, and asking them questions.”

Jesus was in the temple not only seeking truth, but giving it!

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, Help me put action to my seeking by prayer and Bible study.  Help me to seek what is true. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ is a seeker of truth—He wants me to be!

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But the Power of Jesus

NOVEMBER 29

MATTHEW 7:22_and in Thy name cast out devils…

Can these people actually cast out demons? Or do they think they can just convince Jesus they can? I don’t claim to know a lot about demonic possession, but I don’t believe there is any power to exhort them but the power of Jesus. 

Because life is spiritual as well as physical, we need to have knowledge of both. We primarily focus on the physical until we have had an encounter with Jesus and answer that knock. John 15:16 (KJV), “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

You didn’t become a Christian because it was your idea. You answered the call, the knock, the pursuing of Jesus. You responded, and now you are doing the asking, seeking, knocking, pursuing. You enter a strait gate and a narrow way to gain wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of truth. And why do you want truth? By now you’ve got this—to live free!

We must face the reality that the spiritual world consists of darkness as well as light. Jesus calls us to be light and light must be free.

Any encumbrances to light keep it from overcoming darkness.                   

PRAYER

God of Heaven, Please keep my light free to serve You. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen. 

Christ’s light is free from encumbrances—He frees mine!

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Nobody Ever Said It Is Easy

AUGUST 18

MATTHEW 6:31_Therefore take no thought…

Remember when the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for a time of testing? There was nothing easy about it. Jesus was called to fast, and the devil tempted Him to break the fast and eat. If you recall, Jesus used the same weapon against the devil that we should use: the words of truth. In this instance Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 (KJV), “… man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.” 

If your family is going through some kind of a struggle, the devil’s temptation is for you to worry. Nobody ever said it is easy not to worry when you are struggling. Use this time to shout out the Joshua chapter 1 cheer: “Be strong and of a good courage.”

This is the time to defy thoughts of worry about where your next meal is coming from, or some other need. This is a time to quote the entire verse of Joshua 1:9 (KJV), “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

You’re not in this alone: Whithersoever covers everywhere. Thou goest doesn’t necessarily mean a certain place. It could mean where you are in the circumstances of your life.

You don’t have strength to just not worry.

Overpower worry with the truth of Scripture.

PRAYER

Mighty Warrior, You know my circumstances and are with me. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ is a warrior for me—wherever I am in life!

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The Wisest Man

AUGUST 11

MATTHEW 6:29_in all his glory…

Like most of us, Solomon had a second name; it was Jedediah, which means beloved of the Lord. God’s call on Solomon’s life was for leadership: kingly leadership. King David promised Bathsheba Solomon would take the throne after David’s death. 

1 Kings 3:5-10 (KJV), “In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give thee.’ 6 And Solomon said, ‘Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.7 And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. 8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?’ 10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.” 

God was pleased with Solomon’s answer. God made him the wisest man who ever lived. Be sure to read tomorrow’s devotion to learn what else God did!

PRAYER

God of Mercy, Hear my prayer to have an understanding and wise heart. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ wants me to be wise—I want it too!