Today’s Bible Treasure Devotionals

Christianity is a lifetime of making choices. Here’s where you’ll find encouragement, challenges, inspirations and my take on Scripture as revealed by the Holy Spirit to me.

Of Bones and Marrow

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Of Bones and Marrow

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires (Hebrews 4:12 New Living Translation).

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how alive Scripture is; I am always amazed every time I sit down to read. There is always something speaking directly to me and my current situation, as well as times when I will read a portion of Scripture I never quite understood and BAM! I understand it clearly now! I am certain this does not only happen to me, but also to you, and it is a wondrous thing when it does!

God’s word is alive and powerful and what I love most about it is the cutting it does. His word cuts, prunes and divides – it says between soul and spirit and between joint and marrow. Soul and spirit, I can see it cutting and dividing there, but bones and marrow? They go hand in hand, don’t they? Think about it, bones are what our flesh wraps around, keeping us from being a mushy pile of matter; the marrow inside our bones is where new blood cells are formed. In the human body, the breakdown of either can lead to catastrophic consequences. Naturally, we wouldn’t want our bones and marrow cut apart.

In a spiritual sense, the word of God needs to separate apart bones and marrow, exposing hidden lurkers. Recently the Lord has shown me different pictures and given me various words. After praying about them and meditating on them, I can see the correlation of what we actually believe about Scripture, our doctrines, our faith walk and how that can exponentially differ from actually walking out a faith and love walk with God. You see, it really does all come down to love. On Sunday, the Lord spoke to me that He was giving “accelerated love”. He will teach us to love simply by loving on us. We must purpose in our hearts to love others no matter what they are doing, or how they are living, and if we need help loving, He is there to teach us. Too often, we condemn others by sharing with them “in love”, yet constantly point out all the things they do we don’t agree with. Still, others are beat over the head with Scripture, but continue to face condemnation from Believers. This breaks God’s heart. We were given two commandments by Jesus – to love God with all our heart, with all our mind and with all our strength, and to love others as ourselves. Tell me, would you appreciate constantly being berated because you made different choices than someone else? Would you like to be constantly told you are going to hell? When digging into the life of Christ, we see pictures throughout where He did not condemn a repentant sinner, nor did He constantly wave the sin in their face. He did, however, speak out against those who were self-righteous and proud such as the Pharisees and Sadducees. How like the Pharisees and Sadducees we can be when we put ourselves in a position above those we consider lost and unsaved? Jesus knows the heart of every person and He knows love is the key to opening the door of the heart.

We speak what we have been taught, most of the time without questioning it, and while it often is sound doctrine, there can often be seeds of man peppered throughout. God spoke to me about being on the bandwagon – not to always follow the crowd, for all things may be lawful, but they are not all good for us. He has spoken to me about asking Him my deep questions and testing the spirit behind every teaching. We are human, we don’t have all the answers, we don’t interpret Scripture all the same, and we each have a different relationship with God than someone else. We will notice when God begins to separate our bones from our marrow when we decide to search Scripture seeking deeper revelation of Him and His love. The Bible was written for everyone; to know God for ourselves, to learn how to love others, to gain wisdom in sharing Christ and Him Crucified, and to explain how powerful the name of Jesus really is we must allow for the Word to cut, separate and divide the marrow from our bones.

Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the blessing of a new day! Thank You for being faithful to show us the correct way, Your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We praise You because You are wonderful and You desire for us to grow and go to a deeper level with You, to understand just how much You love us and to enable and equip us to love others. Father, teach us to love, cut and separate our bones and marrow, removing the doctrines of man and religion, cutting off the roots of Pharisaical thinking and burning away the chaff of our flesh. Give us clean hearts and new spirits, and make us contagious, loving reflections of Christ in this world, for as He is, so are we. May we not get caught up in trying to “do” all this in our own strength, but from the place of rest in You. Oh, how we love You and desire to know You more. You are so worthy of it all, all our praise, all our worship, all the adoration and all the glory! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Today’s Attitude of Worship: Instead of giving someone “how to live” advice, try simply loving them instead. Serve them with a smile and kind words. I dare you. 😉

Additional Scriptures: Hebrews 4:13; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 1 Corinthians 6:12

Shalom,

Prudence ♥

Buyer Beware

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Buyer Beware

God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good (Numbers 23:19 NKJV)?

I once went to pick up a few items from a store I don’t visit very often. After I selected what I needed, I noticed they were also by the checkout with a special advertising a free tote bag with purchase. Since I needed three of the items to get the tote bag, and I have a penchant for all things “bag”, I selected a third item from the advertising display. At checkout I was pointedly informed my third item did not qualify me for the free bag. This upset me; I informed the cashier the item was selected from the display case containing multiple bottles of said item. She maintained her stance the item did not qualify and I could choose any of the other items, just not that one, even though it was with the display. I was disappointed to say the least, because this was false advertising. I decided to not pick another third item and left the store with my original items and no tote bag.

As I thought about what had just happened, I felt the tug of the Lord beginning to show me why it had happened. Satan is a master at deception, diversion and bait and switch. He is a false advertiser. Sinful temptations entice us with the allure and promise of complete satisfaction and lasting results. We are bombarded with things we simply “must have” to live our lives to the fullest with little to no repercussions, and we are told it is okay to do whatever we want whenever we want just because. As I contemplated what would have happened if I had pressed the issue and demanded to be given the tote bag, I realized what I would have gotten out of it were items I simply did not need. The tote bag was simply a ploy to spend more money on things not necessary and with no lasting investment. I was reminded how I could simply make myself a new tote bag if the need arose.

Church, we must be watchful and aware of what is going on around us as well as coming at us from all forms of media. False advertising not only leads us to go after something we are fooled into thinking we need, but Satan’s version also includes elements of unworthiness and disqualification. Just as my advertised item did not qualify me for the tote bag, Satan often bombards the minds of believers with thoughts of not being worthy of the promises. Drawing closer to God and resting in His arms ensures strength for our walk, discernment when needed and peace for our souls. Walking in the Spirit gives us eyes to see beyond what is in our face enabling us to recognize the false advertisement of Satan. We must pray for our Brothers and Sisters, especially when we see them leaning towards the allure of something free and falling into unhealthy mindsets. God has sufficient grace enabling us to soldier on.

Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the great Love You have for us. Thank You for the blessing of Your peace, Your strength and Your wisdom. Thank You for eyes that see and ears that hear, we cannot do this life on our own and we can only do it by resting in You. Father, may we have discernment to know when we are being misled and strength to turn away from it, may we have compassion on our Brothers and Sisters who have given in and the words of Love to encourage them to walk away. Father, we love You and give You all praise! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Additional Scriptures:

Matthew 10:16; Proverbs 2

Shalom 🙂

Crushed

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Crushed

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies (2 Corinthians 4:8-10 ESV).

At an intersection close to my job, someone lost and entire ream of paper. Five hundred sheets strewn all over the road, crushed into the wet road, pressed into the snow and driven over repeatedly. Each blank sheet filled with opportunities for a story that will now go unfulfilled.

As followers of Jesus sometimes we can feel like that ream of paper. Strewn about willy-nilly, blank, crushed and pressed into wet, unforgiving and unrelenting places. However, in Christ, we have hope!

No matter what we go through, He is there with us. His life in us sustains us through adversity, empowering us to push back what Satan pushes on us. He whispers that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. He directs our paths with the Light and Lamp of His word.

Unlike the ream of blank paper decorating the intersection this morning, Jesus picks us up from where we’ve been pressed and writes a fresh page in our story book each day. He is the author and finisher af our faith and our lives. We are His poetic masterpiece.

Let’s Pray: Thank You Jesus for not forsaking us when we feel squished and crushed. May we look to You when adversity rears its head and remember the well of Your strength. Your faithfulness and mercy endure forever and You are worthy of our worship!

Today’s Attitude of Worship: Give thanks for all He has seen you through and trust Him for so much more!

Our Object of Praise

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Our Object of Praise

And Thou [art] holy, Sitting — the Praise of Israel (Psalm 22:3 YLT).

Who, or what, is the object of our praise? This is a deep and contemplative question we must ask ourselves, often. Is it our accomplishments? Our children? Our jobs? Our ministries? Our church? Our Pastor? Some translations render this verse as God inhabits our praise. Doesn’t He already inhabit us? We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, He has said He is with us, never leaving nor forsaking us. Yet, it is a popular phrase to use to get people to worship as though if we don’t praise enough, He won’t bless us with His presence.

God is already with us, He is habitational. His presence is all around us and in us. He sits with us, stands with us, walks with us, dines with us, etc. We do not praise Him to ask Him to be among us, we praise Him because He is Holy, and HE is our praise. That which we elevate above us is the object of our praise and our worship. He is the ONLY one who matters, the only Source, the only one who is Worthy.

So, I ask again, who, or what, is the object of your praise?

Let’s Pray: Dear Papa, You alone are our praise. You alone are worthy, You dwell with us in the temple that is us, and You are the source of all we are and all we need. In You we live and move and have our being and in You we find strength. You are God and there is none other. Help us to put aside that which we have elevated above You, and to lift You and You alone up. We love You and give you thanks! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Today’s Attitude of Worship: Praise Papa for all He is, all He’s done, all He’s going to do and all He has blessed you with. Ask Him for fresh eyes, fresh anointing and fresh courage to surrender solely to Him.

Additional Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 Peter 2:5;

He Knows the Heart

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But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 AMP).

Appearances are not all they seem, yet often, we judge based mainly on appearances. Not only as individuals, but as groups. What do I mean? Contextually, today’s Scripture is speaking about when Samuel was told by the Lord to go to Jesse’s house and anoint one of his sons as King. It’s a familiar Bible story, and we know that Samuel looked at this particular son of Jesse, based on what he physically looked like and thought this surely must be the new king. Yet, God tells him he isn’t and eludes that it is because of the contents of his heart. David was the youngest son of Jesse, the one who was probably the smallest at the time, and the one who had the job of tending the flocks. David, while keeping the sheep, developed an intimacy with the Lord that it was said he “was a man after God’s own heart.”

We can often unwittingly be like Samuel, looking at others and elevating them to a status they aren’t meant for simply because their hearts aren’t where they should be for that particular position. We can also demote those who God has lifted up if they don’t “look the part” as we think they ought. It is imperative that, like Samuel, we stay in lockstep with the Spirit of God to make sure we don’t make mistakes like this. Jesus was critical of the Pharisees, in part, because they were appearance and works based. Some churches today are very pharisaical in their approach to evangelism, servanthood, attendance and basic hospitality. Our positions shouldn’t be based on what we wear, where or how much we serve, how often we attend church, who we are friend’s with, or even our financial status. God positions us based on the content of our heart and how He sees it.

Let’s pray: Dear Papa, may we see others through the lens of Your Spirit and connect with Your heart in their heart. May we treat others the way we’d like to be treated and not judge them based on their appearance. We trust You to give us words to encourage and edify others, to build up, to help them walk the path You have set before them. We thank You and give You glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Today’s Attitude of Worship: Make a conscious effort to listen to the Spirit in all your communication and interaction with others.

Additional Scriptures: Proverbs 16:2; Luke 16:15, Luke 6:31