Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: devotional

Joy And Peace

Encouragement, Faith, Salvation

Joy And Peace

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13

The Source of Peace And Joy

God wants you to be filled with joy?  He also wants you to experience peace in all areas of your life.  He wants you to have peace with your family, peace with your friends, peace with your church family, and peace with the world.   He wants you to have peace within your work, your play and your worship.  The only way to experience peace and joy is through a right relationship with Jesus Christ.

The reason most people don’t have peace and joy in their life is because they are missing the free gift of salvation.  God gives us peace and joy through our faith in Jesus Christ.  Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Because we are born with a sin nature we are naturally at war with God.  Once we surrender and submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ we are at peace and all sin is forgiven.

Another reason why most people don’t have peace and joy in their life is because they are seeking to be filled with worldly pleasures instead of the hope of God.  Even as a Christian we can get caught up in the trap of worldly living.  If we are not careful we will find ourselves seeking pleasure in things that will only last temporarily and will soon fade away.  However if we keep our minds and hearts set on the things of God we will enjoy the peace and joy that only God can give.

Prayer

Ask the Lord to fill your heart with peace and joy and then seek the things of God.

Daily Devotional

Endurance And Encouragement

Faith, Trust

Endurance And Encouragement

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
‭‭Romans‬ ‭15:4‬ ‭

Daily Devotional

For Our Instruction

Reading and studying the Scriptures is not just to gain knowledge and wisdom.  We engage ourselves with Scripture so that we may be encouraged as well.  It must become a routine of our life in order to make a difference in how we live.  As this verse says, it takes endurance.

The Word of God brings us hope.  It is what connects us to the will of our Heavenly Father.  It’s one thing to say that you are a Christian, it’s another to live as a Christian. God has given us His Word so that we may know what is expected of us as we live out our faith here and now.  We are in the process of sanctification.  Until we meet our Lord we are preparing for Heaven.  How well are you preparing?

There are many things competing with the things of God. That is the reason why many today feel hopeless.  The things of this world are not eternal and therefore will not sustain.  The things which bring us hope are the things that are eternal.  God’s love for example is eternal.  God’s love brings us hope and sustains us even right now.  God’s mercy and grace brings us hope.  God’s patience brings us hope.  The list can go on and on.  But the fact of the matter is this; if we never dive into the Word of God for what it really is, then we may never really know lasting hope and contentment.  Make God’s Word be part of your daily routine.

Prayer

Lord, I love Your Word.  May it be my guide and way for living during these evil days.  Speak to me today through it.

Daily Devotional

 

Are You The One

Trust

Are You The One

And John calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭7:19‬

No Need To Doubt

In Luke 7:28 Jesus says, “there is none greater than John.”  John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus who preached repentance of sin to prepare the way of the coming of the Messiah.  When John baptized Jesus, he heard the audible voice of God and saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus like a dove.  There was no doubt that John knew that Jesus was the Messiah.

After John was arrested and held in prison for a long period of time, he began to question if Jesus was really the Coming One.  There are three notable reasons that caused him to doubt and these can create doubt in our minds as well.  First, the circumstances he faced made him question if Jesus cared.  John was in prison because he stated the truth of Herod’s sin.  Sometimes the circumstances we endure make us wonder if Jesus really cares for us.  Second, listening to outsiders can cause doubt.  While in prison, John heard a report about Jesus and obviously it was in contrast to what he believed.  We must be careful to who and what we listen to.  If it’s not the truth, it can cause us to doubt.  Third, since we don’t have full knowledge, we question how things will work out.  Jesus was just the opposite of what everyone expected.  He was a humble servant instead of coming as one who would be treated like the king of the Jews.  Limited information causes us to doubt if all things will work out in our favor or not.

When John doubted, he searched for truth from Jesus.  We too should turn to Jesus when we start to doubt.  He will give us what we need.

Prayer

Search the Lord through the Word of God and ask Him to reveal the truths that you need to know.