Pastor Stephen Dedman

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Daily Devotional

A Bag With Holes

Encouragement, Trust

A Bag With Holes

You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
‭‭Haggai‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭

Daily Devotional

Priorities

In some point in our life we’ve all had to learn some valuable lessons the hard way. Sometimes God will allow us to go our own way so that we finally realize that we are wrong. It may take a little while but eventually we come to our senses. The best biblical example is with the Prodigal Son. After going his separate way, he finally came to his senses and came back to his father. It is the same with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to turn back to Him.

In the Book of Haggai the prophet was sent by God to instruct the people of God to get their priorities straight. The people knew the importance of serving God but had drifted away and started living with an intellectual belief system. They were busy bodies but for the wrong things. They were living for pleasure and not for pleasing the God who had blessed them so much.

We are going to face times when it seems like our life is falling apart.  There will be times when our work does not seem productive, our money that we earn is never enough, our clothes seem to grow old, and our food never satisfies. If we don’t trust God for all things we tend to try to make it on our own only to no avail. Remember to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew‬ ‭6:33‬)

Prayer

Lord, I turn to You for my joy and strength. You are all that I need.

Daily Devotional

Wait For The Promise

Encouragement, Trust

Wait For The Promise

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, which, He said, “you have heard from Me;”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭1:4‬

Patients

No one likes to wait especially for something great and wonderful. We want what we want right now.  And sometimes we jump ahead and force things to happen on our timing. Waiting on the Lord and His promises is not a simple task for most people.

Jesus instructed the disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them.  That’s all the details they were given.  They didn’t know how long they were going to have to wait.  But what we see them doing is great.  They were together in the upper room praying and seeking the direction of God.  They were spending time together preparing for the next great thing to happen.  They were eagerly awaiting the power of God to come.  They were also taking care of business as they replaced Judas with Matthias. They were focussed on the things of the Lord.

What do you do when you are waiting on the Lord?  It is important to focus on the things of God and never jump ahead of God’s timing.  Waiting is sometimes referred to as suffering, but the suffering is part of our character building.  Patiently waiting on the Lord requires self-control and wisdom.  The reward is worth the wait.  When you are in a waiting period of your life consume yourself with the Word of God, surround yourself with godly people, and focus on doing the Lord’s work.

Prayer

Lord, I will wait patiently on You.  I will seek You and search You with all of my heart.

He Prayed

Trust

He Prayed

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed.
‭‭Mark‬ ‭1:35‬

All About His Father’s Business

The disciples knew where to find Jesus. He was always praying. If He wasn’t outside praying to the Father, He was inside praying. It’s no wonder that Judas knew where to tell the guards they could find Jesus praying in the garden. Jesus was always about His Fathers business and always in communication with the Father.

When Jesus was tempted, He prayed. When He faced important decisions, He prayed. He could spend an entire night in prayer.  One reason why He was always in the Father’s will was because He was focused on praying. His earthly ministry’s agenda was dominated by prayer. Prayer was His priority.

We can clearly see why prayer was so important to Jesus. But how important is prayer in our life today?  Do we pray as often as we should?  Do we seek God in prayer for all things?  Is prayer a priority in your everyday Christian life?  Prayer is the most effective tool that a Christian can use. It is the direct line of communication with God. We pray through Jesus because He is our mediator. He takes our prayers to the Father and we pray in the name of Jesus. The prayer of a Christian is always answered. The answer may be yes, no, or wait. God hears your prayers and desires to give you an answer. Just because you didn’t get a prompt answer doesn’t mean you stop seeking God in prayer.  The best thing we can do is spend more time and effort in prayer seeking God’s will and way for our life. Make it a priority.

Prayer

Lord, I need You every hour.  I long to spend time with You.  I want to start my day with You and end my day with You.  Thank you for listening to me.