Category Archives: Daily Devotions

Spending time with God and the Bible each day.

Living for Today

We fall into a situation so many times where we regret the past or worry about tomorrow. I personally forget to live in the present and enjoy what God has given me today. Concerning the past, we can learn from our mistakes, concerning the future, we can prepare and learn to trust God.

Sunrise near the Columbia River

Sunrise near the Columbia River

Here is the attitude we need for the future from 1 Peter 5:7. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”  So our attitude needs to be one of trusting God for the future.

Our attitude should be thanking God for what we have today and not wishing for things to be different:   This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it  Psalm 118:24.   We should have a thankful heart as Paul talks about in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 In every thing give thanks:for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Live in the now, thanking God for what we have, what He has given us in people, friends, family, relationships, spiritual blessings and material stuff. (Yes, even thank God for our stuff)

Thank Him for negative and hard things that teach us to thank and trust Him.

Sunset on the Columbia River

Sunset on the Columbia River

Thank God for the grace given to us through His Son Jesus Christ who took all our sins away and made a way for us to come to God just as we are. John 1:17 Grace came by Jesus Christ.

A 16th century monk in writing to comfort his wife said “Pray, and let God worry”. That was Martin Luther who did much to bring people back to the Bible and back to Jesus Christ.

Paul shares his attitude towards the past in Phil 3:13. but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Deer in the trees

Deer in the trees

We can learn to accept moving or not moving.  We can accept who we are in God. We can accept what God has given us in talents, friends, relationships, spiritual and material stuff.  We can accept our social and financial level in society, and not wish to be somewhere else. We can accept our marriage as from God, there is not a better mate for us. God did that just right. He has given us exactly what we need.

When we don’t accept we can easily fall into regret for the past and then carry a root of bitterness going forward. Eventually this makes us get old really fast and makes our life (not the other person) miserable. Do not get bitter, it will destroy you.

So our attitude towards the past and future is important.  When it comes to the past we should forgive and forget. Thanking God for all He has given us.  When it comes to the future we trust God and refuse to worry or carry a grudge.  This leaves us living right now in the present thanking God for who He is and all that He has done for us.    For the past, we always learn from our mistakes, for the future, we prepare as best we can and trust God.

Here is a simple way to pray:  “Father God, thank You for what we have, what You have given us and what You will yet provide in the years to come. I give this day to You, I trust You and rely on You for all that we need”.

California Beach

California Beach

The best devotional videos are at www.AnimatedFaith.com

God Does Not Give Up on Us

Everything in the garden was wonderful between God and man. But once sin same in there was a problem, but God does not give up on us. God made a way through His Son Jesus Christ for us to come back to God.

So watch this short video on “God Does Not Give Up on Us”

God never gives up on us.  God loves us, He cares for us.  God is thinking about us every day.  We were created for a purpose, and God does not loose sight of that purpose. He cares so much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ.

God Does Not Give Up on Us

God Does Not Give Up on Us

Jesus Prays for Us – Encouragement to Go on with Christ

Encouragement to go on with Jesus – that could also be the title of the book of Hebrews.

Jesus is praying for us to be encouraged to move forward with Him.

The author of Hebrews is trying to get the readers to get moving in a positive direction toward Jesus. The writer of Hebrews did not want the believers to go back, shrink back or accidentally fall back to an older way of tradition and legalism. So this verse mentions that Jesus is praying for us. Jesus is praying for us to be encouraged to move forward with Him.

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. So have confidence in Jesus’ prayer for us.

In the New Testament,  everything focuses around Jesus. Jesus is the focus and the way to God. There is no other way.

Here is a short devotional video on “Jesus Prays for Us”

The word “uttermost” indicates the salvation Jesus gives us handles everything, so we can have complete confidence He will bring us to full complete maturity,  and not let us slide back to an old dead way such as legalism.

The phrase “He is able also to save” means that Jesus, because He is fully God and fully man, has the ability to save us and free us from sin. Here “save” is not just saving from Hell, but saving us from a sinful life.

The phrase “come unto God by Him” indicates that Jesus is the mediator between us and God. God is Holy and we are sinful. How could we touch or pray to the holy God except by Jesus, who because of His perfect sacrifice, on the cross fully made a way for us to come to God.

The phrase “He ever liveth to make intercession“, means He is constantly praying for us. Don’t worry,  Jesus is praying for us. He knows our every need.

I believe Paul wrote the book of Hebrews, but I could be wrong. Many students of the Bible do not agree that Paul wrote it. Some think Paul wrote it and some do not think he wrote it. To my realization the level of understanding of the place of the Old and New Testament, and the understanding of the unique place Jesus has in God’s overall plan and economy dictates that a very well Bible educated and understanding person wrote this book of Hebrews.

The New Testament represents a transition in what God expects and demands. In the Old Testament it was keeping the law, in the New Testament it is believing on Jesus. So we move from legalism to grace.

It is my theory that the letter of Hebrews would be better received by believers in Paul’s day if it was not perceived to have been written by Paul. This is just my theory.

A great transitional verse is John 1:17 where John says: For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. So we move from the “law” to “grace”. So which writer/author of the Bible really understood this and could express it as we see in the book of Hebrews. I think only Paul, but I realize there are other considerations.

Paul had the best understanding of the transition to the new and could wade through the Old Testament Jewish ceremonial law (given by Moses) and interpret in in light of what Jesus did on the cross.  Please look at Romans 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.  Again here we see the law is not able to save man, so God sent His son. Trying to keep the law and legalism will not take us on to maturity in our Christian life. Only grace takes us on.

Also Paul said this in Galatians 2:20  Christ liveth in me:and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Paul was so clear the new way is just Jesus. The new way is not a compromise between the old and new,  and not something added to the old. It is just Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them

This verse in Hebrews indicates that Jesus is praying for us to go on with Jesus and not go back or compromise to an older way such as the law or legalism.

Jesus Prays for Us – Encouragement to Go on with Christ

Jesus Prays for Us – Encouragement to Go on with Christ

Be Encouraged.

God Never Gives Up on Us

God Never Gives Up on Us. Don’t worry, we may fail, but God finds a way to restore us. God never forgets the purpose He created us for. We were make for a purpose and God knows that. So don’t worry about failure, God will make a way.

So watch this short devotional video on “God Never Gives Up on Us “

God make a way through His son Jesus Christ to take care of the sin issue between us and God. Sin and failure cannot stop God’s purpose with us.  We may give up, but God does not give up on us.

Consider some failures in the Bible:  Adam, Abraham, Peter, (and us).  We all are sinners, so God has made a way through His son Jesus Christ to bring us back to God and back to His purpose.

We may give up, but God does not give up on us.  

Priest Lake, Idaho

Priest Lake, Idaho

Consider Philippians 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ

Isa 42:3  A bruised reed shall he not break,
and the smoking flax shall he not quench:
he shall bring forth judgment unto truth

God Never Gives Up on Us

God Never Gives Up on Us

Isa 54:10  For the mountains shall depart,
and the hills be removed;
but my kindness shall not depart from thee,
neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed,
saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee

God Never Gives Up on Us

God Never Gives Up on Us

God is the God of Fellowship – Video

God wants fellowship between us and God. He is desperate for communion. It’s like two friends talking over coffee or tea. God wants an intimate relationship between us and God. When something like sin got in the way of this fellowship, God sent His son Jesus Christ to bridge the gap. So we can have a morning devotion with God because of Jesus His son.

Please watch this short devotional video on “God is the God of Fellowship”

The best Bible verse on this subject is: 1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

God Helps Us Pray

God Helps Us Pray

Here are three key verses in the Bible showing us how God helps us pray.  Even Elijah the great prophet in the Old Testament was weak like us, and many times had trouble knowing how to pray. In James 5, James describes Elijah as a man with “like passions” which means he has feelings and weaknesses like us. So don’t feel bad when you or I feel like we don’t know how to pray, or even don’t want to pray. Elijah had very similar feelings.

In this video I present three key verses in the Bible indicating how God helps us pray.

John 15:7
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Romans 8:26
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Why Be Anxious, Just Pray

If we are honest, we all have to admit that we have a problem with anxiety. Some, obviously, are more prone to worry than others. It seems that no matter how many problems God solves for us, there is always another problem on the back burner that we can bring to the forefront of our mind and start worrying about. Paul provides a wonderful antidote to this frustrating problem in Philippians 4:6, Be anxious about nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (by prayer); and the peace of God, which surpasses our understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts by Christ Jesus.

Here is a video in which I shared on this subject.

Paul frequently addresses this issue in the Bible because he understands how easily believers can become anxious and worried. Life is full of challenges and problems. God often allows these problems to come into our lives to humble us, to test what is in our hearts, and to encourage us to turn to Him in trusting prayer.

We have a volitional decision to make. We can choose to worry or we can choose to pray. Prayer takes us into God’s presence, and results in peace of mind as we acknowledge that not only is He able, but He will always bring about the best result for His glory, and for the development of our character. When we choose to keep our eyes on the problem instead of on God, the result is continuing anxiety, restlessness, and discouragement. Paul had to keep reminding his audience, “Let your requests be made known to God”. In other words, we should always remember to pray. Prayer should be our first resort when we face troubles of any kind. Our heavenly Father delights in our prayers, and promises to hear them. These are very encouraging truths from God’s Word.