DEVOTIONS
Monday, June 12 – “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23) There’s a lot here to ponder. First, this is a word for “us”. The collective connection with the community of faith. We are being called to “hold unswervingly”. You’ve got the faith, so never let go. Why? Because in our faith is found the “hope we profess”. The collective connection with the community that professes faith, because of hope. Why do we hope? For God is faithful. God has never broken a promise. And our hope rests in this fact. Combined with the hope that God will continue to keep his promises.
Tuesday, June 13 – “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” (Daniel 6:10) The decree, if you were wondering, was that nobody can pray to anyone but the king. Daniel found himself in a foreign land, subject to foreign laws. Yet, being that his hope wasn’t in the foreign laws, he continued to pray to God. How about you? If you lived in a foreign land, with foreign laws that prevented you to pray to God, would you still pray?
Wednesday, June 14 – “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.” (Isaiah 42:6) Never forget that Jesus didn’t save you, just for you. Yes, you get the benefit of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, you get the benefit of forgiveness of sins. Yes, you get the benefit of eternity in heaven. But God has given you all of these benefits, and more, so that you can live your life as a light to the world around you. So, today live as if you are saved, indwelled by the power of the Holy Spirit, forgiven and have a first-class ticket to heaven.
Thursday, June 15 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) The world teaches: “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt). Jesus teaches: When you find yourself at the end of your rope, let go. For God’s got you. Nothing against FDR, but too often the world will teach you the exact opposite of the truth of God’s kingdom. So much so that it seems counter intuitive. The first shall be last. Boast in your weakness. Lose your life in order to save it. Surrender. The list of the upside-down way of Jesus goes on and on. The Kingdom of God can only be found without. For it’s only when you confess that you’re without, that you will ever discover God’s kingdom.
Friday, June 16 – “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17) Janice Joplin was onto something when she sang, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” True freedom is something that no government, no church, no family, no man or no woman can give to you or take away from you. For freedom is who you are. Not something that you do. God is giving you freedom, through the Holy Spirit living in your life right here, right now. The question for you today is if you truly believe that you have nothing left to lose?
Saturday, June 17 – “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118:22-23) The “cornerstone” is the stone that unites two masonry walls at an intersection. Jesus unites the old and the new. The fulfillment of what God has been doing since the very beginning. The question for you, playing the role of the builder, is if you will accept the cornerstone or reject the cornerstone.