Thursday, June 16, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Updated list of "God Is" devotionals. Blessings to you in Christ!
2011 Devotionals – God Is!
My goal is to write a devotional once a week on the theme: God Is!My theme verse for the year is Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. “
Week 1: Seeking Idols or God in 2011
Week 2: God is Light
Week 3: God Is!
Week 4: God Is Beyond Us
Week 5: God Is Knowable
Week 6: God Is Near!
Week 7: God Is Merciful!
Week 8: God Is Holy
Week 9 – God Is Perfect in Justice
Week 10 - God is Righteous!
Week 11: God is Judge
Week 12: God Is The Lawgiver
Week 13: God Is King
Week 14: God Is Sovereign!
Week 15: God is Good!
Week 16: God is Faithful
Week 17: God Is True – part 1
Week 18: God is True – part 2
Week 19-20: God is Wise
Week 21: God is Powerful!
Week 22: God is Spirit!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Weekly Devotionals on the Theme: God Is!
To save time I have been only posting devotionals on my ministry blog: http://magnifythelord.wordpress.com/
My theme verse for the year is Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. “
2011 Devotionals – God Is!
My goal is to write a devotional once a week on the theme: God Is!My theme verse for the year is Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. “
Week 1: Seeking Idols or God in 2011
Week 2: God is Light
Week 3: God Is!
Week 4: God Is Beyond Us
Week 5: God Is Knowable
Week 6: God Is Near!
Week 7: God Is Merciful!
Week 8: God Is Holy
Week 9 – God Is Perfect in Justice
Please feel free to pass these links on to others who would be blessed by them.
With prayer, mark
Thursday, February 10, 2011
A Definition of Love for the Whole Year -- not just this Valentine's Day
This is the passage i turn to when i am not being loving:
I Corinthians 13:4-8a -”Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.8 Charity never faileth.”
For a more detailed study of each description click on the highlighted text:
1. Love is longsuffering – It bears injuries or provocation for a long time; it is patient, not easily provoked – Is there someone you need to continue to be patient with in a loving way?
2. Love is kind – Disposed to do good to others – Is there someone you can show kindness to this week in a loving way?
3. Love does not envy – It desires not to deprive others of what is rightfully theirs, it does not wish that they did not have it or had it to a lesser degree. – Is there someone or something you are envying that is keeping you from being loving?
4. Love is not proud – Is there something that you are proud about that is keeping you from loving God and others?
5. Love is not unseemly – it is not unfit, unbecoming, or indecent. Do you have unloving behavior in your life for which you should receive correction from the Lord, so you can be a more loving person?
6. Love seeketh not her own – Love is not selfish! Are there some selfish thoughts and motives in your heart that are keeping you from loving others?
7. Love is not easily provoked – Is not quick-tempered, touchy, irritable. Have you been irritable with someone today? If so the loving thing to do is to make it right by asking forgiveness.
8. Love thinketh no evil – It does not keep a ledger of the wrongs – it does not store up the memory of any wrong it has received. Do you have a list of someone’s wrongs stored up that you just won’t forgive? If so, do the loving thing and give it to God.
9. Love does not rejoice in iniquity – Love finds no pleasure in the sin of others that brings hardship and judgment into their lives. If you are rejoicing over the downfall of others, repent and pray for God’s mercy to be upon them.
10. Love rejoices in the truth – What truth have you rejoiced in today? Can you think of something true, that you can rejoice about in a loving way with others?
11. Love bears all things – It enduringly protects and covers the beloved in all things. What ever the hardship, difficulty, attack, and trial, the loving person is there to help, not only to back you up but also to be a shield. Are you being a protecting shield in your love for others?
12. Love believeth all things – love is completely trusting, it is not suspicious. Have you failed to give someone the benefit of the doubt lately? The loving thing is to check it out!
13. Love hopeth all things – It does not despair, it keeps on hoping for the best in regard for all men. Love refuses to take failure as final it does not give up on someone. Have you been tempted to give up on someone for whom you care deeply? Love keeps caring!
14. Love endureth all things – Love sustains the assaults of suffering or persecution, in the sense of bearing up under them, and enduring them patiently. Is your love for someone being tested? Let God help you to love them for the long hall.
Conclusion: Love Never Fails
I Corinthians 13:4-8a -”Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.8 Charity never faileth.”
For a more detailed study of each description click on the highlighted text:
1. Love is longsuffering – It bears injuries or provocation for a long time; it is patient, not easily provoked – Is there someone you need to continue to be patient with in a loving way?
2. Love is kind – Disposed to do good to others – Is there someone you can show kindness to this week in a loving way?
3. Love does not envy – It desires not to deprive others of what is rightfully theirs, it does not wish that they did not have it or had it to a lesser degree. – Is there someone or something you are envying that is keeping you from being loving?
4. Love is not proud – Is there something that you are proud about that is keeping you from loving God and others?
5. Love is not unseemly – it is not unfit, unbecoming, or indecent. Do you have unloving behavior in your life for which you should receive correction from the Lord, so you can be a more loving person?
6. Love seeketh not her own – Love is not selfish! Are there some selfish thoughts and motives in your heart that are keeping you from loving others?
7. Love is not easily provoked – Is not quick-tempered, touchy, irritable. Have you been irritable with someone today? If so the loving thing to do is to make it right by asking forgiveness.
8. Love thinketh no evil – It does not keep a ledger of the wrongs – it does not store up the memory of any wrong it has received. Do you have a list of someone’s wrongs stored up that you just won’t forgive? If so, do the loving thing and give it to God.
9. Love does not rejoice in iniquity – Love finds no pleasure in the sin of others that brings hardship and judgment into their lives. If you are rejoicing over the downfall of others, repent and pray for God’s mercy to be upon them.
10. Love rejoices in the truth – What truth have you rejoiced in today? Can you think of something true, that you can rejoice about in a loving way with others?
11. Love bears all things – It enduringly protects and covers the beloved in all things. What ever the hardship, difficulty, attack, and trial, the loving person is there to help, not only to back you up but also to be a shield. Are you being a protecting shield in your love for others?
12. Love believeth all things – love is completely trusting, it is not suspicious. Have you failed to give someone the benefit of the doubt lately? The loving thing is to check it out!
13. Love hopeth all things – It does not despair, it keeps on hoping for the best in regard for all men. Love refuses to take failure as final it does not give up on someone. Have you been tempted to give up on someone for whom you care deeply? Love keeps caring!
14. Love endureth all things – Love sustains the assaults of suffering or persecution, in the sense of bearing up under them, and enduring them patiently. Is your love for someone being tested? Let God help you to love them for the long hall.
Conclusion: Love Never Fails
Friday, January 14, 2011
Week 3 Devotional - GOD IS!
Last week we considered the fact that God is Light. In so doing we just assumed that God is – or God exists! For a few moments let’s consider this big assumption that God is!
As a teenager I tried to convince myself that there was no God and was very willing to embrace evolution as an explanation for the origins of life. However to be honest deep in my being or God-given soul, I knew that an all-powerful Creator-God existed, and I was accountable to Him. I tried to suppress that truth because I wanted to do my own thing and call the shots of my own life. John 3:19 certainly applied to me, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Thankfully, God worked in marvelous ways and brought me to the point when I believed that He is! That is where people have to start with God, as Hebrews 11:6 indicates: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Have you come to the point in your life that you believe that God is? If so, you will appreciate the Scriptures that reveal the God who is.
In Genesis chapter one we are introduced to God as the Creator who spoke and light was made as well as everything else. Interestingly, no proofs for God’s existence are offered in the chapter besides the creation itself. The inherent design in this world begs for the conclusion that an all-powerful and all-knowing Designer-Creator exists. You would think me crazy if I told you that the painting on the wall did not have a painter. The fact of the painting presupposes the fact of the painter. Much like the artist’s signature on a painting, God has left his unique signature all over His creation. Sadly, those who have chosen not to believe in God refuse to recognize His verifying signature. Paul makes this clear when he wrote: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). David announces his conclusion in Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” The existence of God is a safe and right supposition to make when you look at His creation with an open heart and mind rather than a heart and mind closed to God.
Furthermore, when thinking about God we don’t have to complete the phrase “God is”. God is the eternally self-existing one. He has always existed and will always exist. He is eternal and never came into being or was created. He is the Creator and Sustainer of everyone and everything! Paul reveals this person as none other than Jesus Christ in Colossians 1:15-17, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” We should not be surprised that God revealed Himself to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14), Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), and the book of Revelation calls Jesus “the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). Will you join me in worship and awe of the God who is?
With prayer, Mark
© January, 2011
As a teenager I tried to convince myself that there was no God and was very willing to embrace evolution as an explanation for the origins of life. However to be honest deep in my being or God-given soul, I knew that an all-powerful Creator-God existed, and I was accountable to Him. I tried to suppress that truth because I wanted to do my own thing and call the shots of my own life. John 3:19 certainly applied to me, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Thankfully, God worked in marvelous ways and brought me to the point when I believed that He is! That is where people have to start with God, as Hebrews 11:6 indicates: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Have you come to the point in your life that you believe that God is? If so, you will appreciate the Scriptures that reveal the God who is.
In Genesis chapter one we are introduced to God as the Creator who spoke and light was made as well as everything else. Interestingly, no proofs for God’s existence are offered in the chapter besides the creation itself. The inherent design in this world begs for the conclusion that an all-powerful and all-knowing Designer-Creator exists. You would think me crazy if I told you that the painting on the wall did not have a painter. The fact of the painting presupposes the fact of the painter. Much like the artist’s signature on a painting, God has left his unique signature all over His creation. Sadly, those who have chosen not to believe in God refuse to recognize His verifying signature. Paul makes this clear when he wrote: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). David announces his conclusion in Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” The existence of God is a safe and right supposition to make when you look at His creation with an open heart and mind rather than a heart and mind closed to God.
Furthermore, when thinking about God we don’t have to complete the phrase “God is”. God is the eternally self-existing one. He has always existed and will always exist. He is eternal and never came into being or was created. He is the Creator and Sustainer of everyone and everything! Paul reveals this person as none other than Jesus Christ in Colossians 1:15-17, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” We should not be surprised that God revealed Himself to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14), Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), and the book of Revelation calls Jesus “the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). Will you join me in worship and awe of the God who is?
With prayer, Mark
© January, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
God is Light!
Key passages for your meditation: Genesis 1; John 1; 1 John 1; Psalm 119:105-112
In week one’s “Musings” I made the statement that the Bible is replete with verses telling us clearly who God is. Some of these statements refer specifically to God's nature and others to His mighty works.
Let’s consider a fundamental statement about God's very personhood: God is Light (1 John 1:5). This three word statement says volumes about who God is. As light, God exposes or reveals falsehood and truth, sin and righteousness. As light, God warms the heart like the sun warms the body on a cool spring day. As light, God is skillfully powerful like a laser beam used to remove cancer or correct vision loss. Today, we can rejoice because of God’s light! “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
God as light reveals our dependence on Him. In the same way that we are dependent on light in our physical world, we are correspondingly dependent on God as light in the spiritual realm. Light is necessary for life. Absence of light equals absence of life—physically as well as spiritually. Psalm 36:9 says, "For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.” Therefore, we are not surprised that Jesus as Immanuel (God with us ) would say, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12).
Furthermore, we are dependent upon light for physical sight as well as spiritual sight. Jesus said, "I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness." (John 12:46). I have had the privilege of knowing a blind man who cannot see physical light with his eyes because they were damaged at birth. He lives in physical darkness. In like manner, every person is born with damaged spiritual vision. We live in spiritual darkness until God so works in our lives that we respond to His light. Paul's self-righteous eyes were opened as he responded to Christ's appearance to him as light on the Damascus road. Years later while giving testimony to a human king, he quotes Christ's commission to preach the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles. He was sent "to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in [Jesus Christ]" (Acts 26:18).
Have you seen God’s light? Have you put your trust in the God who is light? There is always more light for us to see. Let’s seek help for our spiritual vision by praying David’s prayer in Psalm 119:18, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law." Here is a verse to get us started: Isaiah 60:19, “The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.” Let's keep thinking about the fact that God is our everlasting light and glory!
With prayer, Mark
© January, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Year : Dramatic performance of Mark's Gospel is free online!
I really enjoyed watching
Mark’s Gospel, Performed by Max McLean: Free Online
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