Tag: salvation

faith

Devotional for March 20

Bruce ColemanLeave a comment

Let All the Earth Understand

13 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Psalm 33:13-19 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

How you play your cards is more important than the cards you have been dealt. How you live is more important than where you live, and what you seek is more important than what you have. All that we have, and all that we are, will serve the desires of the heart. The desires of our heart direct our feet toward God and the things above, or toward self and the things of this world. Obey the Sprit, or you will be enslaved by the flesh. There is no third possibility. (Mathew 6:19-24; Colossians 3:2; Romans 8:5-8; Mathew 5:6; Luke 12:15; Galatians 5:16-17; Romans 6:16; Matthew 7:13-14, 16:24-25; John 17:3, 17:17; Psalm 51:10; Proverbs 3:13-26)

Today’s Bible Reading

Exodus 31; John 10

Proverbs 7; Galatians 6

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant me the fullness of your grace, that I, running to obtain your promises, may become a partaker of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The Book of Common Prayer

faith

Devotional for January 21

Bruce ColemanLeave a comment

No Harm Will Overtake You

8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Psalm 91:8-13 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

Half-stepping in the Christian life will hinder our ability to model the gospel to a world that so desperately needs to see it. Worry is for unbelievers, and is a sure indication of not knowing God well enough. Keep your mind fixed on who God is. Worry will flee from you when you remain in His presence. Let His peace, which surpasses all understanding, be the default setting in your heart. A doubleminded man should expect none of this however. The heart of the doubleminded is tossed about by winds that sometimes blow hot and sometimes blow cold. Being wishy-washy creates a lukewarm commitment and an incomplete consecration to Jesus Christ. The full blessings are reserved for those who place their all on the alter before God and take none of the old self-life back. Do not be content with merely arranging and re-arranging the pieces of the sacrifice on the altar. Pray for fire from above! Believe and receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire. He who promised is faithful, therefore He will surely do it.

Today’s Bible Reading

Genesis 22; Matthew 21

Nehemiah 11; Acts 21

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The Book of Common Prayer

faith

Devotional for December 30

Bruce ColemanLeave a comment

Holiness Adorns His House Forever

1 The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
2 Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.
4 The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
5 Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever. Psalm 93 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

The Bible tells us that when the world was young, mankind’s thoughts were only of evil. All would have perished had Noah not found favor in the eyes of God. The hour of God’s judgement came and Noah was 75 years in preparing the ark as God commanded. It had one door. God closed the door sealing Noah, his family, and the animals inside. After which, the flood came suddenly wiping the earth clean. Only those in the ark lived. Now we have come full circle. The earth is once again filled to the brim with those who only think of evil constantly. God, in His mercy, has provided another ark to save those who know that judgement is coming. This latter day ark of God is Jesus Christ. Just as non-believers were sweep away suddenly by the flood, so too will those who have not taken refuge in Jesus Christ perish when the last trumpet sounds. The judgement day of the Lord draws near, and only those who are in Christ Jesus will be saved. So says the Holy book. Jesus is the only door and the only way. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life have the boarding pass for eternal life. Let us press on then to make our calling and election sure by receiving the true freedom that comes through an inward obedience to the word of God in Christ Jesus.

Today’s Bible Reading

2 Chronicles 35; Revelation 21

Malachi 3; John 20

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born of a pure virgin: Grant that I, who have been born again and made your child by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through my Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen. Book of Common Prayer

faith

Devotional for December 4

Bruce ColemanLeave a comment

Send Out Your Light and Your Truth

3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. Psalm 43:3-5 (KJV)

Morning Exhortation

Regardless of your current need, grab hold of a promise from God to meet it. Knowing the character of God provides the necessary reason upon which to base our expectation of the fulfillment of all the promises of the written Word of God. Continue therein, without giving in to the temptation to doubt, and the full assurance of faith will come. God is faithful and true. Therefore, His word is faithful and true. A paper check only has value when there is a bank that stands behind it, when the account number is valid, and it carries an authorized signature. How much more reliable is our Heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Saving faith cashes the checks and receives the promises. Unbelief does not comprehend the value of the promissory notes of God and never bothers to take them to the bank, stand in line, and cash them. Blessed is he who trusts in the Lord with all his heart, and is able to praise God for what he has asked for in prayer even before seeing it. Such a faith produces prayers that avail much.

Today’s Bible Reading

2 Chronicles 3-4; 1 John 3

Nahum 2; Luke 18

The Prayer Appointed for This Week from the Book of Common Prayer

Almighty God, give all of us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.