Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: daily devotional

You Have Hope

Encouragement

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
‭‭I Peter‬ ‭1:3‬

Are you thankful for the works of Jesus Christ? We have hope through Jesus’ death and resurrection because he defeated sin on the cross. Jesus’ last words on the cross were, “It is finished.” His final words give us a living hope only found in Him. 

The hope that we have is based upon the fact that Jesus is coming back soon. When Jesus comes all things will be made new. This earth will be dissolved and a new earth will be created for our good. Until Jesus comes back we patiently wait for the glorious day to appear. 

Some days we let the worries of the world get the best of us. We sit and sour over things that sometimes are meaningless. If we dwell in the living hope of Jesus our mindset will give us a positive outlook on life. Our hope in Jesus will give us courage to face opposition of the enemy. And our assurance of Jesus’ return will Make for a great anticipation of good things to come. 

Until the day Jesus comes back we honor and praise His wondrous name. We live our life in a way that brings glory to God. We set ourselves apart from evil and resist the devil. We live every day like it is our last day here. We desire to hear Jesus say, “good and faithful servant.” 

You may be faced with a dilemma today but rest assured in the blessed hope of Jesus. He will see you through to the end. It may not be the outcome you were expecting but God has a purpose and a plan just for you. Will you trust in His blessed hope today?

Pray

Lord, thank you for giving me hope and assurance. I praise you and honor you for who you are. As I go through this day, help me to see what you have in store for me. 

God’s Eternal Love

Encouragement

The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

We need people in our lives that love us regardless of our failures. We need people who will lift us up and encourage us when we feel like giving up. Do you have someone that can cheer you up when you are down?

You need to realize that God goes far and beyond what anyone else can do. God loves us no matter what we look like or what we have done in the past. God loves with an unconditional, eternal love that is just unfathomable. 

Today’s verse makes us realize that God is always with us in all of our circumstances and is in the very middle of what is going on in our lives. It’s comforting to know that the One who loves us the most is right in the center of our lives. Even though we may think He is not actively involved, He is actually the One who is holding all things together in our lives. 

It’s great to have people in our lives that will help us when we need help. But the One who we need the most is Jesus Christ. We need Christian people in our lives that will point us back to Jesus when we have turned away or have lost all faith. 

Remember that the next time you witness someone who has given up faith and hope. Point them to the One who loves the regardless of what they have done. Direct them to the God who can bring them out of their circumstances and give them a new beginning.

Never forget how much God loves and cares for His children.

Pray

Lord, thank You for loving me and holding all things together when I feel like it is falling apart. Help me to point people to You so they can have the same kind of hope and peace that I have. 

Worship That Matters

Encouragement

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
Isaiah‬ ‭1:16‬

In Isaiah chapter 1 God had enough of Judah’s meaningless worship. The evil king, Ahaz, and the evil leadership of the nation had spilt over into the mindset of the people. 

God said in verse 11 that their sacrifices and burnt offerings were dissatisfying to Him. They were meaningless and not from the heart. God said enough is enough!

Have you ever been part of something that seemed meaningless to you? Maybe it was a lame business proposal or even a job that was not giving you a purpose. Or maybe you’ve just been going through the motions but not connecting physically, mentally, or spiritually. 

Take note of what you’re doing because if you’re not giving your whole heart to it, you’re just wasting valuable time and energy. If your heart is not in it nothing great will come of it. 

God had a solution for Judah’s problem beginning in verse 16. He said the first thing they needed to do is to be washed and cleansed from all evil. Then their worship to Him would mean something special. Obviously their worship was so routine and ritual that they were just following instructions and not worshipping from the heart. 

It’s easy for us to follow the same behavior. We can get caught up in the routine, day in and day out, meaningless activities of life and lose the purpose of what God has set before us. 

We must live in this world but be different from this world (Romans 12:1-2). And our worship to God needs to be meaningful. We need to have our hearts renewed and cleansed from all evil to make our daily, living sacrifice mean something special to God. 

Going through the motions is not enough. Jesus said we need to be either hot or cold, but not lukewarm. Is your heart on fire for God? Is your worship to God straight from the heart? If not you have the solution. 

Pray

Lord, I live this day for You and for Your glory. I ask that you remove all evil from my heart and mind and give me joy to live freely in Your will.