Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. Look to Him and be saved.
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For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.
Psalm 86:5 NASB
Psalm 86:5 NASB
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Today is the Lord's Day.
There is no better place to be than with the people of God, worshiping the risen Christ. Come hear the Gospel. Come sit under the authority of God's Word. Come encourage and be encouraged by fellow believers. Come worship the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Christ is worthy of your time, your attention, your praise, and your obedience.
Let's gather and worship Him.
There is no better place to be than with the people of God, worshiping the risen Christ. Come hear the Gospel. Come sit under the authority of God's Word. Come encourage and be encouraged by fellow believers. Come worship the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Christ is worthy of your time, your attention, your praise, and your obedience.
Let's gather and worship Him.
❤6
Don’t begrudge the days of weakness and apparent uselessness. They are not detours for God, though they may feel like it to you.
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July 9: Moving Forward
#Devotional
1 Samuel 16:1–23; James 4:1–17; Psalm 119:137–152
Moving on after a person, a hope, or a dream has died can be one of the most difficult challenges of life. It certainly was for Samuel. The prophet Samuel believed that God had chosen Saul as king, but Saul failed God and His people (1 Sam 15:10–35). Now God was ready to select a new king, but Samuel was dragging his feet. Moving forward meant readjusting his expectations about the future and about God’s work in general. God called him out on his hesitancy: “How long will you mourn about Saul? I have rejected him from king over Israel! Fill up your horn with oil and go” (1 Sam 16:1).
Samuel had to learn that things rarely play out the way we think they will. We inevitably end up on a different path than we planned—whether because of our own actions or because God’s route turns in a direction we never anticipated. The key is recognizing the changes when they occur and preparing ourselves for a new reality. Clinging to misguided expectations can drive us into the ground, effectively driving God’s work out of us.
Unlike Samuel, Saul’s problem was not that God sent him in a new direction. Saul created his own situation when he chose a different route—he disobeyed, and God responded by taking away from Saul what was his to steward but not to own: a kingdom. Saul’s story illustrates James’ statement, “From where are conflicts and from where are quarrels among you? Is it not from this, from your pleasures that wage war among your members?” (Jas 4:1). But Saul’s ultimate responsibility did not lessen Samuel’s pain.
All of us must be willing to realign our expectations. More important, we must seek to be aligned with God all along. We must move on from destructive behaviors and disobedience. Along the way, we must be mindful of the things God wants to create, and we must be ready to respond when God calls us to “Fill your horn with oil and go.”
What do you think God is asking you to move on from today? What is He asking you to move toward?
#Devotional
1 Samuel 16:1–23; James 4:1–17; Psalm 119:137–152
Moving on after a person, a hope, or a dream has died can be one of the most difficult challenges of life. It certainly was for Samuel. The prophet Samuel believed that God had chosen Saul as king, but Saul failed God and His people (1 Sam 15:10–35). Now God was ready to select a new king, but Samuel was dragging his feet. Moving forward meant readjusting his expectations about the future and about God’s work in general. God called him out on his hesitancy: “How long will you mourn about Saul? I have rejected him from king over Israel! Fill up your horn with oil and go” (1 Sam 16:1).
Samuel had to learn that things rarely play out the way we think they will. We inevitably end up on a different path than we planned—whether because of our own actions or because God’s route turns in a direction we never anticipated. The key is recognizing the changes when they occur and preparing ourselves for a new reality. Clinging to misguided expectations can drive us into the ground, effectively driving God’s work out of us.
Unlike Samuel, Saul’s problem was not that God sent him in a new direction. Saul created his own situation when he chose a different route—he disobeyed, and God responded by taking away from Saul what was his to steward but not to own: a kingdom. Saul’s story illustrates James’ statement, “From where are conflicts and from where are quarrels among you? Is it not from this, from your pleasures that wage war among your members?” (Jas 4:1). But Saul’s ultimate responsibility did not lessen Samuel’s pain.
All of us must be willing to realign our expectations. More important, we must seek to be aligned with God all along. We must move on from destructive behaviors and disobedience. Along the way, we must be mindful of the things God wants to create, and we must be ready to respond when God calls us to “Fill your horn with oil and go.”
What do you think God is asking you to move on from today? What is He asking you to move toward?
❤1
July 9 - Differences in Foundations
#LifeOfChrist
“‘Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. . . . Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand’” (Matthew 7:24, 26).
Differences between wise and foolish builders are more important than the similarities. The greatest differences are the types of foundations the builders choose. One selects a solid expanse of bedrock—stable and unmovable. The other selects sand—unstable and very movable.
The house built on a foundation of rock is a life that believes and obeys Jesus’ sermon and places all its hope in God. The sand, by contrast, represents paying little or no attention to the Word. The house built on that foundation is a life that relies on self-righteousness and trusts in changeable human opinions.
The indicator of real discipleship is not merely hearing and professing, but believing and doing. True converts fit James’s picture: “One who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25). False disciples, however, fit the other picture James paints: “merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was” (vv. 22–24).
We can be assured of salvation only when we build on the rock of truth and obedience, not on the standards of human opinions and speculations.
Ask Yourself
Do you have a current undertaking—no matter how large or small—that’s tempting you to hurry up and build without spending much time on the foundation? What will every effort or enterprise suffer from if more thought is given to wallpaper than to substructure?
#LifeOfChrist
“‘Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. . . . Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand’” (Matthew 7:24, 26).
Differences between wise and foolish builders are more important than the similarities. The greatest differences are the types of foundations the builders choose. One selects a solid expanse of bedrock—stable and unmovable. The other selects sand—unstable and very movable.
The house built on a foundation of rock is a life that believes and obeys Jesus’ sermon and places all its hope in God. The sand, by contrast, represents paying little or no attention to the Word. The house built on that foundation is a life that relies on self-righteousness and trusts in changeable human opinions.
The indicator of real discipleship is not merely hearing and professing, but believing and doing. True converts fit James’s picture: “One who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25). False disciples, however, fit the other picture James paints: “merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was” (vv. 22–24).
We can be assured of salvation only when we build on the rock of truth and obedience, not on the standards of human opinions and speculations.
Ask Yourself
Do you have a current undertaking—no matter how large or small—that’s tempting you to hurry up and build without spending much time on the foundation? What will every effort or enterprise suffer from if more thought is given to wallpaper than to substructure?
When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers.
John Calvin
John Calvin
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Before Abraham was, I Am!
John 8:58
I Am, who I Am!
Exodus 3:14
The sobering reality, Jesus is God.
John 8:58
I Am, who I Am!
Exodus 3:14
The sobering reality, Jesus is God.
💯4❤3
Before you argue online, worship.
Before you panic, pray.
Before you speak, hear from God.
Before you correct others, search your own heart.
Before you complain, give thanks.
Before you react, be still.
Before you post, consider your witness.
Before you lead, serve.
Before you fear tomorrow, trust God's promises.
Before you face the world, bow before the King.
Before you panic, pray.
Before you speak, hear from God.
Before you correct others, search your own heart.
Before you complain, give thanks.
Before you react, be still.
Before you post, consider your witness.
Before you lead, serve.
Before you fear tomorrow, trust God's promises.
Before you face the world, bow before the King.
Dear Daughter,
Speak life and encouragement over your husband daily 🌟
Call out the godly man in him. Support his vision with honor.
Your words shape his confidence in Christ.
'Death and life are in the power of the tongue' (Prov 18:21).
What encouraging words will you speak today?
#DearDaughter #WordsOfHonor #StrongMarriage
Speak life and encouragement over your husband daily 🌟
Call out the godly man in him. Support his vision with honor.
Your words shape his confidence in Christ.
'Death and life are in the power of the tongue' (Prov 18:21).
What encouraging words will you speak today?
#DearDaughter #WordsOfHonor #StrongMarriage
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“The Christian believes the Bible because he has met its Author.”—Ray Comfort
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July 9 (Thursday)
Choose joy and laughter in your marriage! 😄❤️
Don’t let summer busyness steal the delight God intended for your union! Prov 17:22 💞
When did you last laugh together? #StrongMarriage #July
Choose joy and laughter in your marriage! 😄❤️
Don’t let summer busyness steal the delight God intended for your union! Prov 17:22 💞
When did you last laugh together? #StrongMarriage #July
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Every earthquake, everyday, pronounces He is coming soon.
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“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
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The Shepherd does not abandon His sheep when the valley gets dark.
r God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16
This world, desperately needs Jesus Christ.
John 3:16
This world, desperately needs Jesus Christ.
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“No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” Psa 84:11.
Christian, if there is something God is withholding, it is because it is not a good thing for you right now.
Christian, if there is something God is withholding, it is because it is not a good thing for you right now.
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