Pastor Stephen Dedman

Category: Encouragement

Meditate On It

Encouragement, Trust

Meditate On It

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1:8‬

According To All That Is Written

Moses was dead and Joshua was the one chosen to lead the people of Israel.  He was chosen and appointed by God to lead the people into the Promise Land.  In Joshua Chapter 1 God had some specific words of encouragement and commitment for the new leader.  Even though Joshua was chosen by God he still had to gain the respect of the people and he did so by the grace fo God.

God’s message to Joshua was to be strong and courageous.  Three times in the first nine verses God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous.  He did so to let Joshua know that he was going to face some uncertain days ahead that will be determined by his faith and by his determination of moving forward with faithfulness.  It takes strength to be faithful when times get tough.  It takes courage to keep your faith when everything else seems to be collapsing.  But take note of the specific condition that God lays before Joshua.  He tells Joshua that as long as he meditates on the Law (the first five books of the Bible) then he would have great success and be prosperous in his ways.  The promise of God was conditional upon Joshua keeping his part.

This same promise is for us today.  We need to meditate upon the Scriptures of God and not let them leave our mouth nor our mind.  Meditating upon the Scripture allows our heart to be in alignment with the will of God.  When our heart and mind are right with God then our actions and our decisions will reflect the things of God.  That is how we can be assured that we will be blessed by God.

Prayer

Lord, allow me to know your Word by heart.  Help me to be rooted and sustained by your precepts.

Happy Thanksgiving

Encouragement, Trust

Happy Thanksgiving

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:20‬

Thankful

Thanksgiving means a variety of things to many people. For some it is a day of cooking and eating. For some it means a day of fun and fellowship. For some it involves traveling and visiting. But for most people, it means an expression of gratitude, especially towards God.  What does Thanksgiving mean to you?

We can express an attitude of thankfulness for many things.  Of course it is easy to do when things are going reasonably well. When the bills are paid, the family is healthy, and you have a roof over your head it is easy to praise God and give thanks. But when times are hard we tend to lose our attitude of thankfulness. In today’s verse, Paul clearly states to give thanks always and for everything, good and bad. The Apostle Paul set forth a great example of how to be thankful even when in bad times.

Regardless of your circumstances the Lord deserves honor and praise. Far too often we fail to give God what is due to Him. This is a great time to express our love and devotion towards God for His endless love and mercy. Once you begin to praise Him your attitude will change for the better and you will be a blessing to others who need to witness God’s great grace. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have much to be thankful for.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for your love and grace that You have shown towards me.  I pray that I will be a blessing to others so they see You in me.

Daily Devotional

A Good Conscience

Encouragement, Faith

A Good Conscience

Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”
Acts 23:1

A Clean Slate

If you remember the life of Saul before the Lord changed his name to Paul, you will remember how he was persecuting the church and killing Christians.  He was not considered a good person in our perspective.  But here in this verse Paul says to the Sanhedrin council, “I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”  How could he say such a profound statement?

Paul knew his past was not good.  But he also knew that he had received God’s forgiveness and grace.   Even though he had previously acted out violent persecutions against Christians, he was a new person in Christ.  He always used his testimony to show people how Jesus changed his life.  So Paul could honestly stand before the council and declare that he had a good and clear conscience before God.  His slate was clean and he was cleared from all unrighteousness.

That is a great way to live.  We should all seek to live before God with a good conscience.  The only way you can effectively do so is to confess your sins and turn from all evil.  A problem occurs when we confess our sin but keep doing the same sinful things.  We are to confess, repent, and turn away from repeating the same sins.  The only way to receive a good conscience before God is to be clean and free from sin.  Paul was able to let the past stay in the past and live in the present for the Lord.  Is there any sin in your life that is troubling your soul and keeping you from having peace with God? Confess and repent today.

Prayer

Pray and ask God to reveal any unconfessed sin and repent from it today.