“One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
Many times in life we go after things, but this scripture states that all we need is one thing. What is that “One Thing” that we should desire over anything? What is that “One Thing” that should burn in our hearts? I know for me, it is to know Him. I have found that when I put Him first, everything just seems to work out.
Jesus said it this way in (Matthew 6:33) “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
As we seek Him first and make Him the main part of our lives, it just seems that everything comes together.
So today, make a decision to make Him the “One Thing” that you desire above anything. Fall in love with Him, and enjoy His goodness. Your Heavenly Father loves you so dearly and only wants the best for you.
He desires “One Thing” more than anything, and that “One Thing” that He desires is you. Sometimes that seems so hard to fathom, but it is true! Anyone who would take the time to count every hair on my head must truly love me. So enjoy Him, let Him enjoy you, and you will see that the “One Thing” is the best thing!
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I come to You humbled and broken, Please forgive for not always seeking You first in everything I do. Today, I choose the “One Thing” that is the best thing, my Heavenly Father, and I make You the main thing in my life today. You are my number one!In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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“In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts.” (Daniel 7:1)
It was a time of rumblings in the kingdom of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had been dead for at least 15 years. His successors had been in bloody power grabs leading into this time when Daniel received a vision from the Lord. Daniel, in many ways was outside of the public eye, yet in Daniel chapter 7, he receives one of the most amazing prophetic visions from the Lord in all the Bible.
Perhaps you have found yourself in an obscure situation, feeling like you want to start over somewhere else. Perhaps like the apostle Paul you have been, or at least felt like you have been in prison to a situation or circumstance. Like Daniel in obscurity Paul received many letters from the Lord to write to the churches he had planted. These letters are part of the New Testament we have today. Did you know that you can also see a vision from the Lord in the middle of your situation? As long as you are willing to pursue Him with all your heart He will be faithful to work in you and with you even in the most trying times.
(Daniel 7:13-14) “As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.”
Isaiah also saw a vision of God’s throne in Isaiah chapter 6 where he was given a mission to be a witness on behalf of the Lord. Isaiah felt himself unworthy to deliver God’s message so He was given a sign in the vision that encouraged him to fulfill his mission. When God imparts a vision of himself into our lives it invokes a change upon all that we are, conforming us into the image of Jesus and empowering us to know Him and make Him known. Take the time to be persistent with the Lord in prayer, diligently digging in His word and faithful in fellowship with other believers in Christ. It is in our walking after Him in these things that our vision of Him is enlarged in such a way our lives will be eternally impacting.
“A real vision will change your perspective, change the way you speak and change your heart toward God and toward others. So don’t run from it, engage in it!”
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You that You are willing to impart to me Your will and vision for my life even when I’m not in the best of circumstances. Please forgive me when I lose sight of You. And please continue to give me the power to pursue You with all my heart. I know that You will give me the vision to see You as I walk after You in faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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“Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town.There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich.He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. (Luke 19:1-2)
According to the world’s standards for evaluating worth, Zacchaeus was a failure. He was extremely short; he was disliked by everyone because he was a tax collector; and he even hated himself.
He was not proud of what he had achieved in life because he knew he had cheated people to get where he was. He was powerful and had a lot of money, but he absolutely had no friends and was incredibly lonely.
But one day Zacchaeus’ life was completely changed because Jesus walked by and wanted to spend time with him, he realized how much he mattered to God.
When Zacchaeus learned that Jesus was coming to town, he wanted to see him, but he was too short to get a glimpse above the crowd.
“So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”” (Luke 19:3-5)
That very moment when Jesus looked up and noticed Zacchaeus. Can you imagine how Zacchaeus’ felt? Did his heart start pounding, did he experiance butterflies deep in his stomach? Jesus was looking right at him, a small, despised, insignificant man.
Why did Jesus stop at that tree and look at him? Because He knew that’s exactly where Zacchaeus was.
God knows exactly where you are too. He knew where you were a week ago and he knows where you now and even where you will be tomorrow. You may feel like you’re stuck in a tree right now in your life. God knows where you are. You may feel like you’re out on a limb, Jesus knows. You may feel all alone, but Jesus stops and notices. You are not forgotten, you are not alone.
No tear has ever been hidden from Him. No hurtful word said to you has ever passed that he missed. No abuse has ever occurred that he didn’t see and grieve with you. He sees it all.
“What is the price of five sparrows, two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them.And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)
The greatest gift of love anyone can ever receive is attention. When you give people your time, you give them your life. When you pay attention to someone and look them in the eye, you are saying, “You matter to me. You are valuable.”
There is never a moment, never a second in your life that God is not paying attention to you. He notices you 24 hours a day because he loves you; you are valuable to him.
Don’t forget to call your loved ones this Thanksgiving holiday and spend some time and let them know they matter to you. Make amends to the ones you may need to, and brighten the day of someone that wouldn’t expect you to call. Let them know that they matter and you still care.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Thank You for the always noticing me no matter how insignificant I may feel in the world, how lonely I may be because family doesnt call or how screwed up I may get. Today I come to You with nothing but empty hands and a heart that desires more of You. Please Lord, take my life and do with it as you please. I trust You and desire to glorify Your name in all that I do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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Invitation:
If you are reading these devotions and are not a follower of Jesus Christ, please be aware that these seeds of scripture are being sown in your heart right now… I am praying that they start to take root in your heart and you come to know personally the greatest truth you will ever hear.. Jesus Christ died on a cross for you. He loves you and He cares for you. When you call His name and ask for His help, He will set you free.. Click Here if you would like to learn more about Gods salvation, or ask Him into your heart.
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“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
To rightly the divide the Word of God it takes times of reading it, meditating on it, and also studying it. Each way opens up the truth of the Word. I look at the Word of God like a miner seeking for gold. Yes, he might get lucky and find some on the top, but most gold takes a lot of digging and working.
When we open our Bibles and start reading it, sometimes things can jump right off of the page and we are amazed and we get all excited. But there are other times that we read the Word and nothing really hits us. That’s when we need to ponder and chew on it for a while. Do it during the course of the day.
You might say, how do I do that? Here, let me show you a couple of different ways. When you find a verse that speaks to you write it down or put it on the wallpaper on your phone, then, throughout the day look at it, say it a few times and think about what it’s saying to you personally.
Before I got a Smartphone, I used to write scriptures on 3 by 5 cards and carry them with me, or hang them in places I would go, like a mirror, or on the door of the fridge. Be creative and you will see that you will be digging up nuggets before you know it. His Word will be rightly divided in your life and you will be used for the kingdom of God, who is not ashamed.
“One who uses the Bible as his guide never loses his sense of direction”
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Starting today, I’m going to be a doer and a digger of the Word. I’m going to let the Your Holy Word have first place in my life and study it so that I can rightly divide it and not be ashamed. I also ask that you allow me to experience Your word visually while reading and meditating on it. Give me insight and understanding on the scriptures. We ask this in Jesus precious name. Amen.
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“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)
This is a popular verse that is spoken alot in recovery programs.. however often people get confused with what it means.
Jesus is speaking about a kind of spiritual poverty. Simply this: We must be humble in our spirits. If you put the word “humble” in place of the word “poor,” you will understand what He is speaking about.
Taken from the Beatutides. Let us begin today with the first “beattitude to be in our lives”: the attitude of humility. By talking about being “poor in spirit” Jesus is saying that this is the opposite of self-sufficiency. “Poor in spirit” speaks of those who realize that they are totally helpless and lost apart from God. The person who is poor in spirit realizes his own utter helplessness without the Lord, and puts his whole trust in God.
When we think we are ok because we are a good person, we are depending on our own self-righteousness. But self-righteousness will not make you happy. Self-righteousness will not get you into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Apart from God, we are totally lost. It is only by God’s grace that we can be saved. (Ephesians 2:8-9) says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
We have to remember that going to church will not save us. Reading our Bible will not save us. Praying will not save us. Only a relationship with Jesus will save us. Only making Him Lord of our lives will save us. Good works are good, but salvation only comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
(John 14:6) Jesus said to him, :I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
When we come to this place of knowing that all we are, and ever will be, is because of Jesus, life takes a big turn for the better. Being poor in heart, this true humility of soul, says, “Lord, You are the great Shepherd. I have messed up my life in so many ways. Today, I give it to you and I know that You will make a success out of it.”
That is true humility! That is knowing that He is Lord, and giving Him the lordship of your life. So today, do not back down. Go ahead and live the abundant life by being poor in spirit. When we are poor in spirit, we are rich in life, because He gives us His Kingdom.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father. I thank you for your presense in my life, I pray that will draw me close during this time of heartache and pain. I continue to choose to let humility of heart rule within me. Jesus You are lordship of my life, and I know that You will guide me in the best path for my life. I love you Jesus.. in Your precious name, Amen.
Facing life without Jesus will get overwhelming. If you do not know Him personally, 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
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Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” (John 20:15)
Jesus asked two very insightful questions of Mary at this point: “Why are you weeping?” and “Whom are you seeking?” Often in life, we find ourselves in a place where we feel like crying and other times find ourselves in tears. Jesus sees those tears and wants to dry them… if we will let Him.
We need to allow Jesus, sometimes through the hands and wisdom of others, to tend to our tears. Whatever the circumstance, life threatening Illness, brokeness of a marriage or loss of a loved one, spouse or child. Jesus is the answer to our pain..He will comfort us.
Sometimes though, we become strangely comfortable with pain and sadness. They become almost like old familiar friends. Jesus wants to be the better friend. For some, it may mean breaking a cycle long established and for others, it may mean coming out of a short season of pain.
Seek Jesus. Realize that in the midst of trial, trouble, turmoil and temptation, He is there with you. You may need to turn around to face Him. He wants to pull you out of your problems and liberate you from sadness, but before He does, He wants to walk with you through the valley. Even when you are in the valley of the shadow of death, He is there. May you know He is there to dry your tears, lighten your load and be a closer friend than any you have ever known. Loved one, right now take a few minutes out of your busy day and turn to Him. You will be glad you did. And so will He.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Thank You for sticking by me through good times and bad times. You are the true friend. Sometimes, I become content to wallow in self pity. Please forgive me for that and humble me to allow You, through the hands of others, to comfort and even challenge me to trust you and Your promise. Please help me through the times of panic, the times when the pain is crippling and I cant breathe. Hold me close Jesus when I feel all alone. Remind me that You are here and Love me when I am unable to see past the pain. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
“I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.” (Revelation 3:8)
Know this: it’s not always easy to bring people to Jesus.
Don’t expect them to stand and cheer for you in Hell when you bring your friends and family to Jesus. Expect and prepare for radical satanic opposition! You must be prepared for the difficulties, and be ready to overcome them. No half-hearted attempts will succeed.
In Mark 9 there was a man who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus “So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.” (Mark 9:20) In the same way, the devil will throw a fit when we try to bring our friends to Jesus!
That man got his son to Jesus and Jesus delivered that boy. The truth is that we must do all we can to get others to Jesus. I have actually encountered churches where they will deliver a message often leading up to salvation but never offer an invitation to accept Jesus.. Honestly, these are the lukewarm churches that Jesus speaks about in Revelations. If this is the case in your church, speak up, ask why.
The ministry of bringing others to Jesus is so important that when it seems you can’t find a way, you can often make one! Seize the moment!
In Luke 5, we read about some friends of a paralyzed man who brought him to Jesus. Now it would have been great if they could just have come through a door. That is the normal way to enter a house, but the entrance was blocked.
There’s a popular english saying about “open and closed doors” when it comes to life’s circumstances. We will things like, “I tried this or that, but the Lord did not open the door!” This is a biblical phrase, the apostle Paul spoke of an open door to preach the gospel also in the book of Revelation, Jesus said to the church of Philadelphia, “I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it” (Revelation 3:8).
But so often we use the idea of a “closed door” as an excuse. So the door was not open? Did you try getting in through the roof? That’s what these men did! “They went up on the rooftop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus” (Luke 5:19).
“If the door is blocked, try the Roof! It literally is a “Life or Death” situation.”
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Thank You for loving me. Thank You that in Your vastness as creator of the heavens and earth, You desire to know me. You call me to share with others. Lord, give me the mind of Christ so that I may see You and myself more clearly than I ever have. In Your grace and mercy, I am comforted to know that You have offered me forgiveness. Empower me the with a passion to tell others about You so I can reveal Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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“My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:20-23)
“Incline your ear to my sayings” Think about this, we listen to so many people during the course of our lives, yet the Words of Almighty God are the greatest words that we can listen to. Jesus said in (John 6:63) “that the Words that He speaks to us are spirit, and they are life.”
The word incline means to tilt, to tip or slant. I love this, we’re to tilt our ear to the Word of God. Have you ever been with someone and you couldn’t hear them really well? What did you do? Most likely you tilted your ear towards them so you could hear them better. I sometimes do this with my wife when it’s noisy and I couldn’t hear her. This is what God want us to do concerning His Word.
As we read the Word, or hear it being preached, let’s tilt our ear towards it so we get the fullness of God’s meaning out of it. Jesus said it like this in (Mark 4:9) “And He said to them, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’” Sometimes we hear, but we don’t hear. We hear everything that our mind has going, but we don’t hear what God wants us to hear and that hinders us.
So today, lets make a decision to tilt our ears to hear His voice speaking through His Word.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I tilt my ear toward your Word. I promise to give it my full attention and listen to what the Spirit is saying to me. Your Word is life to me and I want to continue to fill myself with it. I thank you for always being here to guide me and look out for me.. You God are so good and I am so grateful for all You have done for me. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.
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“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:1-2)
What an amazing and loving Heavenly Father we have. He is always at work within us to help us grow up. Many people look at verse two and see the words “takes away” and think that God gets rid of those who do not bear fruit. That is not what it is saying. This verse means that God lifts up those who are having problems bearing fruit and works with them.
A wise farmer doesn’t destroy his branches, he lifts them up, cleans them, and reties them to the vine. Our loving Father does the same thing. He is out for our best and will keep working with us to produce much fruit.
Remember, good trees naturally bring forth good fruit. We are good trees planted in the house of the Lord. If you love God and you have accepted His free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ then God’s love is poured out on you. God is working on the inside to help you produce a great harvest that will last you throughout all eternity.
It’s important to know that it’s not what you do, but it’s letting Him do the work within you. Too many times, we say, “I need to do this or I need to do that” before God will work in my life; it’s just being legalistic. God wants to do the good work within you and as He does and good things develop within your heart, you will see that these fruits of the Spirit will become obvious to others.
If you let God do this pruning within you, you will see that the fruits of love, joy, and peace will start growing, and you’ll look back and say, “Is this really me?” Remember, the fruits of the Spirit are not works of law but gifts of grace.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Thank you for always being “The Good Farmer”, Its Your pruning that produces good fruit in my life. I welcome the planting of the seeds through Your Word to grow and live in me. As I do, You will clean my heart so that the fruits of the spirit can operate big time within me. I praise You for all that you do in my life. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
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“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” (Romans 5:3-4)
Have you ever prayed for someone and the situations in their life got worse, or their ilness got worse, maybe they even died?
In our estimation, sometimes things go the wrong way. We may pray, “Lord, heal this person. Be glorified through this.”
But the Lord might say, “I will be glorified, but I’m not going to do it the way you want Me to. I have a different plan instead.”
Sometimes God will remove the affliction. Sometimes God will heal the illness. Sometimes God will take away the cancer. But sometimes the person will get worse.
We don’t usually like that. But it is in these times that God can be glorified. Everyone suffers in life. Christians suffer too. When a Christian is suffering and can still glorify God, that is a powerful testimony to a lost world. When non-Christians see us honoring the Lord through our suffering, it shows them how real our faith is. And guess what? It shows us how real our faith is too.
“When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. (James 1:2-3)
Do you think that our faith would get stronger if everything were easy in life? Unfortunately, the truth is that our faith can only get stronger through our hardships. The opening scripture today teaches us that we develop hope and faith through tribulation. Romans 5:3–4 “But we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Hope grows in the garden of pain. It doesn’t grow without challenges or difficulty. It grows in hard times. We develop strength through our weaknesses. This is true in our spiritual lives as well.
Jesus is the only one who can give me the fruitful life I long for. I cannot get it by trying harder, but rather by opening my life to Him, letting Him eradicate the weeds of worry in our lives while cultivating contentment and trust. Hope along with trust grows when we surrender to Jesus.
“In life, we should think more about how great God is and less about how great our troubles are.”
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I love You and give You praises for still being here and loving us in such a time like this. The world is ungreatful and broken.. I know that I can often lose sight of hope and faith while I’m in the middle of hard times. Help me to be mindful of Your love, mercy, compassion and strength so that I can endure and even rejoice in the middle of my troubles and pain. Fill me with Your Spirit so that I may live in hope and have an abundance of faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Jesus died on the cross for you and me. He loves us and wants to help us. If you have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior please click here 4 Simple Steps to Jesus it’s the greatest decision you will ever make.
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Scriptural Seeds 