Category Archives: General Devotions

June 12th 2017 – The Holy Spirit

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“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11)

Im not sure that you realize this, if you have ever accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is also available to you. The defining moment of the world and all the power that was behind His glorious resurrection is for you. That is what Romans 8:11 says. Are you living life defeated by sin? Have you been diagnosed with an illness maybe even terminal? Seize the moment! Now is the time! Never before have you been more able to live life to its fullest. The potential of your Creator is dwelling in you. The Holy Spirit, given to you by Jesus wants to perform a work in you so amazing you will never be the same. Victory has been declared … are you taking part in it?

(Philippians 4:13) “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

You are being perfected. As you allow God to work in you, you are being conformed to the image of Christ. That’s powerful! You can do all things through Jesus, including overcoming obstacles that you may have had no hope or power to do on your own. Even that sin that you keep going back to.

Stop feeding it. Feed your spiritual nature. Going to church, personal time in the Bible, prayer and serving others is the way to grow in God and these things are products of the Holy Spirit working in you. You don’t owe sin anything, but you owe Jesus for dying for you. You were purchased at a high price. Jesus changed your life. Live that change.

“You have resurrection power available to you by the Holy Spirit.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You that I do not have to be a slave to sin, but can be a bondservant of righteousness through You. Please forgive me for my sins and give me the power to live for You. Heal me of my illness, my human condition. Help me to grow in You through fellowship, study, prayer and by loving and serving others. Send people into my life that will love me and encourage me in a way that I have never experienced before.  Break off any lables and titles that the world has placed on me. I invite You into my life with absolute surender and obedience. I love You Jesus!  In Your heavenly name, Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, pleaseClick Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

 June 9th 2017 – Breaking Free!

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“The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.” (Galatians 5:17)

When it comes to breaking free from bondage, I have found that many people often dread the work that comes with being free…And to be honest, I completely understand!  I don’t know about you, but just hearing the phrase, “breaking free from bondage” seems strenuous and down-right uncomfortable! This is especially true for many people when it comes to the certain areas such as theese. Quitting addictions, losing weight, or even reaching a health or fitness goal.

After years of working with people, and experiencing change in many areas of my own life, I have come to find that the reason change often seems so difficult is that we are trying to make it happen backwards! The bible says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7), this means that if you are ever going to experience freedom in any area, you are going to have to start to see yourself as free on the inside before you see it on the outside.

I have learned that lasting change in any area truly starts and takes place right in between our ears, or in our minds. We must realize that we have an enemy, the devil, and he can only attack us in one area, in our minds, and he does so with lies and deception. One of the most common lies that the enemy tries to get us trapped in is to make us think that we are, (and will always be) slaves and in bondage to things. He comes at us with this lie because he knows that as long as he can get you to believe that you are a slave to a certain habit, behavior, or thing, you will never be able to break free, which is right where he wants you to stay.

The good news is that Christ came to set us free from ALL bondage! In fact, if you are born again, the Bible says you are ALREADY free. “Whom the son has set free, is free indeed” (John 8:36).  This means that when you ask Jesus to be your Savior, that you are free from the power that sin once had over you.

I like to think of it it like a person who is in a jail cell with the door locked, and when Jesus comes along, He comes and unlocks the door, and says, “come on out, your free!” But just as we are about to step out, the devil says “wait, who told you that you could leave? You are not really free, and you never will be. You will be in bondage to this thing, habit, or lifestyle forever!” And so, the born again believer stays in the jail cell, with the door wide open, when all they needed to do was take a step out into freedom!

Taking this step into freedom does require action on our part, and it takes effort to a•new* our minds with God’s Word, and learn our identity in Christ.  The first step often requires us humbling ourselves before the Lord, and repenting of our behaviors that are not glorifying to Him, and ask for His help to change, maybe even a make public confession to people that can hold us accountable. Jesus will always be there to respond to our cry, and He is a good Father that loves and desires to take our hand and lead us into freedom.

The next step is getting into the Word of God, and asking God to a•new* our minds, and help us to see ourselves as the overcomer that He has created us to be. It also means praying specifically about the things that we desire change in on a daily (sometimes multiple times a day) basis!

This process of walking into total freedom can often happen in steps and stages, like peeling back layers on an onion. The reason for this is simply because many of us have lived in bondage to things for many years and it often takes time for our minds to be renewed, and our hearts to respond to the Lord and change. The important thing to remember however, is that God has already given you everything you need to walk in total victory and freedom in every area of your life.

“See yourself as you truly are in Christ…totally and completely set free!”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Your word tells us, that our flesh lusts or wars against our spirit. I am not to gratify the lusts of my flesh. I will walk by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Father, You know at times, we will struggle with the temptation to gratify the desires of our flesh. I understand that lust is saying, “I must have this” Much of this battle is in my mind and thought life. Because of loneliness and inner pain at times, we may entertained lustful fantasies in our minds and thoughts. This only increased the desire for us to gratify our flesh. At times, this battle has been more than we could stand and we may have given in to our flesh. I ask You, Father, reveal to us any ways in which we have broken your moral laws. I Pray for a breakthrough in the life of who you led my way today. I pray for continued guidance and verbal articulation of your word. I love you Lord .. Amen.

(Please pray this prayer)

Father God, I am truly sorry. I repent and ask You to forgive me. I want to follow you and ask you (into) or (back into) my life. I acknowledge that Jesus Christ died on the cross for me all my sins are forgiven in His name. I repent and cancel all access to my life by evil spirits. I claim the blood of Jesus over me as my protection. I command all evil spirits that have entered my body or mind, to leave me now in Jesus’ name. I now make a new commitment to guard my eyes and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. I will walk by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I will work to take control of my body and anew my mind, not giving into fleshly lusts. I will depend on the Holy Spirit to help me accomplish this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Asking Jesus into your life.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural  Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

June 8th 2017 – Emotions

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“So I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit.” (2 Corinthians 2:1)

In 2 Corinthians, Paul recognizes a delicate balance in confronting, challenging and encouraging people in ministry. He had a deep love for the people of Corinth and because of that love, he needed to steer them the correct way. Unfortunately, even when there is loving intent, any corrective action can be seen as mean. This is why we must make every effort to walk in love and grace when we are confronting others or being confronted.

In those times of correction, emotions can run high and can often cloud our view of what’s really happening. Practice bringing your emotions under control so that you can be led by the Holy Spirit and not raw emotions. This is helpful on the receiving end of a correction, but is also important for those who must correct. Be sure if you are sharing with someone, you are seeking balance and not reacting out of anger or frustration. Seek the Lord, control your emotions and then act. God will take care of the rest.

“As followers of Jesus, the Holy Spirit should control our will, and our will should control our emotions. Our emotions should not control our will.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I praise You for Your grace towards me. While I deserve punishment, I am thankful for Your grace. Help me to respond to others with as much love and grace as You have shown to me. Give me a heart to love at all times and to offer correction when needed. In Jesus’ name, Amen

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

June 6th 2017 – A Potent Prayer Life

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“But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.” (Daniel 6:10 )

A lot of us see a lot of talk about this thing called prayer. We may toss it out as a blessing to folks who are going through a difficulty or when a sudden need crops up. None of that is wrong, but a good question to ask ourselves is how we can have a potent prayers. Most of all, an effective life of prayer where we experience authentic intimacy where we genuinely hunger, thirst, and actually experience fellowship with the living God.

There is a lot we can lean from the prayer life of Daniel the prophet. You see, Daniel was consistent and faithful for more than 70 years of his life in prayer. He prayed according to God’s word, humbled himself on his knees, had a set appointment three times a day without distraction to pray, and he gave thanks to God for all God had blessed him with. He prayed not only because of any specific trial, but because he had a real relationship with God as a priority.

We can get easily distracted from prioritizing our time with the Lord. Prayer becomes something we only do in a crisis, but in order for us to have a real relationship with God we need to give him the rightful place and time in our lives.

(1 Peter 4:7) The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.

“Our prayer life shouldn’t be relegated to just crisis control. It’s meant to be consistent communion and connection with Christ.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,  please give me the grace to make and keep time set aside to worship, connect, and dialogue with You in prayer. Please forgive me when I push aside that time and donít take it seriously. Help me to hear from You according to Your word and allow You to speak into my life that I might commune with You always. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you would like to request a prayer Click Here

Have you ever received Jesus as you Lord and Savior? If you do not know Him personally,you will never be truly free. I encourage you not to pass up the precious gift of His love and eternal life. Jesus died on the cross for you and me. Jesus loves us and wants to help us through the storms. If you have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior please click here 4 Simple Steps to Jesus

Rob Lavallee

 Scriptural Seeds Ministries 

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

June 5th 2017 – Discover a Life Worth Living

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“For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments.” (1 Corinthians 7:19)

We all have unique talents and abilities that God wants to use for His glory. Your act of love for God is expressed when you serve and keep His commandments. Don’t be dissatisfied with your giftings, but obey God and walk in them.

Serving God with your gifts and obeying His commandments should be a high priority in the life of the believer. This is not to say that you are under the law, but because of His amazing love for you, you can respond in love by serving others with your talents. While you are not trying to earn your righteousness, you should desire to be obedient to Him. Not because you are earning your salvation, but because you love Him.

(1 John 5:2-3) “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

You are to love God with all of your heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37). Serving and obeying God should not be burdensome because He loved you first. When I bring a gift to my wife, I do not do so because I am married. I do this out of love. In the same way, show your love and affection for God by being committed to witness, read the Bible, pray and love others.

Do you express your love to God by serving Him and others? Remember how God told us to discover a life worth living? Feel safe and secure in the arms of God’s redeeming power and undeniable love. Step out in obedience to Him and share the hope and love of God to this cold, dark world that does not have anything worth living for and sure does not offer anything worth dying for.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your love that sets me free when I ask you to forgive me of my sins. Thank You for allowing me to come to You. I thank You for the talents and abilities You have given to me. Forgive me where I have envied someone else’s gifts while neglecting to use my own gifts. Help me to be grateful for the call You have for my life so that I can discover purpose and meaning the way You intended. Lord, thank You for Your patience with me. Help me bring hope to a lost and dying world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

June 3rd 2017 – Where God Guides, God Provides

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“And Abraham called the name of the place, The Lord Will Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
(Genesis 22:14)

Abraham was willing to give his all unto the Lord. In obedience to God he was willing to let go of the next most beloved thing in his lifeñhis son. Jesus said this about our following of Him:

(Matthew 10:37) “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

What do you and I put in front of the Lord in our lives? Is it our marriage, kids, work, or our own self interests? God is able to do such an amazing thing in our hearts and lives if we’d simply yield to Him as Abraham did in this chapter. Abraham was willing to offer his only son in obedience, but God instead offered Himself as the sacrifice (Genesis 22:8) through Christ who was to come. Abraham was told his descendants would be as the stars in the sky, basically innumerable. So it is for us in our time of testing. When we yield to the Lord in spite of the pain or difficulty in the current situation, we can trust by faith that the Lord will provide exponential blessing and goodness upon our lives.

“Giving our all to God will yield countless blessings many of which we may never come to know till we are in the presence of God.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, please help me identify those things that have priority over my heart instead of You. Please give me the grace to be willing to forsake all and follow You in all my ways. Help instill in me that You have a plan and are in control. I love You and want the blessing You have for me and my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, pleaseClick Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

June 2nd 2017 – Lay it Down

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“For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true.” (2 Corinthians 7:14)

Are you carrying something around today that God never intended you to carry? The shame and guilt of each of our lives is one of the greatest burdens we hold, but often we are crushed by it because we refuse to put it down. Some of you may have awakened this morning to a flood of memories of past sins and evil intentions. Maybe it’s not something you did, but something someone did to you and you have held onto unforgiveness. Whatever the case may be, God desires to remove that burden of sin and shame from you and in return, give you new life.

(Matthew 11:28-30) “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Shame and guilt will sink even the most powerful Christians, but even for the weakest believer, there is rest for their soul as they hand over their shame to Jesus. You see friend, when Jesus was on the cross, the Bible tells us that our shame was nailed up there with Him. All our evil thoughts, actions and words were placed there to be destroyed forever. When we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins, He wipes those sins away along with the shame that is attached to them. Because of Jesus, we can lay down our guilt and shame never having to pick them up again.

“Lay it down at the foot of the cross..”

Prayet:

Heavenly Father, I know I have done wrong things, and I come today asking again for your forgiveness. Wipe away the sin and the shame that is with it. Help me to focus on You and the love You have for me. Fill me with Your Spirit so that I can encourage others to find rest in You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, pleaseClick Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

June 1st 2017 – Let Your Light Shine

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“All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” And they praised God because of me.” (Galatians 1:23-24)

God is in the business of using our lives, no matter our past mistakes. Paul had persecuted the church and then he became one leading the church. God was using Paul and his past to be a witness of God’s power and grace.

God wants to do the same with you. I know it sounds a little crazy, but it’s true. God wants to use your life to be a light in a dark world. “But you don’t know what I’ve done in my past.” I may not, but God does and he says that those things are forgiven. Don’t dwell on those things, confess them to the Lord and then move on in faith. Share your testimony, love your enemy, give to the needy or whatever else God may have you do. We are only on this earth for a short time. Use every moment for the Lord and you will find incredible joy in the adventure. Since we are only on Earth for a little while, we should do things that will shine forever.

“Let it Shine!”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your grace. Thank You for saving me and empowering me with the Holy Spirit so that I can live for You. Use my life to shine Your love and Truth to everyone around me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

May 29th 2017 – The Power of Forgiveness

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“And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:59-60)

Jesus gives so many wonderful things to those who follow Him. Some of them are obvious and some are not so obvious. Forgiveness is an obvious and incredible benefit to a relationship with Jesus. Our ability to forgive others is a benefit that might not be so obvious. Matthew, before following Jesus, was a tax collector. In his book, Matthew recorded a pertinent parable from Jesus. In this story, a certain man owed a king a great deal of money. The king was moved by compassion for this man and forgave him of all his debts. Ironically, this forgiven man was also owed money by another. Instead of offering compassion as the king had toward him, he had the man thrown into prison. When the king found out… well here is what happened.

(Matt 18:32-34) “Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?”

You have the power to forgive just as you have been forgiven. Each of us has sinned many more times against God than others have against us. Since we have been forgiven of so much, we should in turn forgive. Forgiving or not forgiving others is an act of your own will. It’s your choice. But to forgive others is imitating Christ. Jesus did it, Stephen did it, and you can do it.

“Do not carry baggage from people who have wronged you.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You for forgiving me of so much. I ask You now to help me forgive others. When bad and painful memories come to me, I ask that I would again be reminded to forgive those who have wronged me. I need Your help to do this because sometimes I don’t feel like forgiving. Thank You for setting me free from carrying this baggage and guilt around. Thank You. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click Here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

May 28th 2017 – Connected in Christ

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“I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me.” (2 Corinthians 2:5)

The church of Jesus Christ is a family. In fact, I would say it can be an even deeper relationship than those found in a family. As believers, we weep together over heartaches, rejoice together in victories and share our lives with each other. This is not odd; this is the way God intended it to be.

(Romans 12:5) “so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.”

If I was to cut myself and you began to bleed, we would definitely know there was a deep connection between us. In the church, we all are connected. When something good happens to you, I will be there to rejoice with you. Unfortunately, sometimes there are Christians who would rather pout over the blessing of another believer than to experience the joy of celebration with them. That person is missing out on one of the many joys of the church. Today, look for ways to connect with other believers. If they are struggling, then be there with them. If they are excited, then cheer them on as they seek Christ. Let’s unite under the name of Christ and find fresh unity among all believers.

“When part of the body is hurt, we all feel their pain. When part of the body is attacked, we all stand with them.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your church and the fellowship of believers. Help us all to remain united and not to allow petty issues to cause division. Give me a heart that rejoices with others and is willing to mourn with them as well. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click Here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org