Below are some very powerful verses of scripture that I came across in my devotions this morning. I strongly encourage you to read them. It will help you live the blessed life.
• James 3:13-18 •
“Are any of you wise or sensible? Then show it by living right and by being humble and wise in everything you do. (14)But if your heart is full of bitter jealousy and selfishness, don’t brag or lie to cover up the truth. (15)This kind of wisdom doesn’t come from above. It is earthly and selfish and comes from the devil himself. (16)Whenever people are jealous or selfish, they cause trouble and do all sorts of cruel things. (17)But the wisdom that comes from above leads us to be pure, friendly, gentle, sensible, kind, helpful, genuine, and sincere. (18)When peacemakers plant seeds of peace, they will harvest justice.” (CEV)
Today, our Bible verse, and devotion, is from Philippians 2:12.
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” (ESV)
✝️ Philippians 2:12: “as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence,”
• Paul is saying here; You always obeyed while I was with you, now it’s even more important that you obey the Lord, and His Word, while I’m away.
• Obedience is the evidence of faith in God.
• Paul encourages each of us to continue to obey the Lord, which means to adopt the attitude of Christ in our relationships with one another.
✝️ Philippians 2:12b: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,”
• To “work out” emphasizes that obedience is intentional and purposeful.
• To “work out your own salvation” doesn’t mean to reason it out, but literally means to work it out. Once we receive salvation, we must “work it out” by putting It into practice. We do this by obeying Jesus, by living for Jesus, by serving Jesus and by sharing Jesus with others.
• To “work out your own salvation” means to do all that we can do, in serving the Lord, and to persevere faithfully, with Him, until the very end of our lives.
✝️ Philippians 2:12c: “with fear and trembling.”
• To “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” refers to having complete reverence and awe before God.
• Matthew Henry said, “fear and trembling, (means) with great care and circumspection: Trembling for fear lest you miscarry and come short. Be careful to do, every thing in religion, in the best manner, and fear, lest under all your advantages you should so much as seem to come short. Fear is a great guard and preservative from evil.”
Obey, serve and share the Lord Jesus. Work hard at it, persevering until you leave this world for Heaven.
I want you to read, and remember, the following two verses of scripture. They include a Command and a two Promises.
“The Lord gives perfect peace to those whose faith is firm. So always trust the Lord because He is forever our mighty rock.” — Isaiah 26:3-4 (CEV)
PROMISE: “The Lord gives perfect peace to those whose faith is firm.”
• Notice, to get this “perfect peace,” you must firmly, and securely, place all your faith, and trust, in the Lord Jesus.
COMMAND: “Always trust the Lord”
• Depend on, and trust in the Lord, then believe, without any doubt, that His Word is true and that He will do what He says that He will do.
PROMISE: “He is forever our mighty rock.”
• Usually, when the Old Testament speaks of the Lord being a “rock,” it means that the Lord is a place of protection, like a strong tower, that we can run to, hide in and be safe.
Never forget, that Jesus is your place of protection, and all you have to do is run to Him through prayer, and His Word.
I’m believing great things for you today, and praying that you have opportunities to speak up for Jesus.
The Bible gives us great instruction when it says, in Hebrews 10:25, to not give “up the habit of meeting for worship” together.
“Some people have given up the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.” — Hebrews 10:25 (CEV)
🎚 Some people have stopped attending Church services.
🎚 But we must stop that!
🎚 We all must keep on attending Church services, and encouraging one another, especially since we know that the Lord is coming very soon.
• Are you being faithful to attend Church?!
• To worship the Lord with like believers?!
• To hear the Lord’s Word?!
• To be encouraged by Christian brothers and sisters?!
• To pray together with others?!
If you’re not currently attending church faithfully, each week, may I encourage you to reconsider that?
Whether you realize it, or not, you really need fellowship with Christian believers. You need their encouragement, you need the Word of the Lord and you need the prayers of other faithful believers.
Find a Bible believing, Bible preaching/teaching church to belong to, and be faithful to that fellowship. Remember, the Lord, in Hebrews 10:25, tells us to do this.
Have a Great SUNDAY!
— Pastor Gene FamilyChurchAG.com
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“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (ESV)
This verse is pretty self explanatory, but the bottom line is…
✝️ Seek out Jesus, accept Him and place Him first and foremost in your life.
✝️ Live a righteousness life. Do what is right. Be faithful to Jesus. Live by the Word of God (Bible). Treat others right, preferring them before yourself.
✝️ If you place Jesus first and foremost in your life. If you Live right and follow the Word of God. If you treat others better than yourself — Through Jesus, all the things you need, and seek after, will be added to your life.
This is my life verse. I stand on this promise everyday of my life. I do my best to place Jesus first in my life, I do my best to live by His Word and I do my best to treat others right.
Doing this, I can now trust Jesus to meet all my needs (Philippians 4:19) and give me the desires of my heart (Psalms 37:4).
Remember, you can never go wrong by loving, and serving Jesus and living by His Word.
May the Lord’s greatest blessings be poured into your life, as you faithfully serve Him.
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” — Romans 12:12 (ESV)
Paul in 1 Thessalonians…
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)
Not just great advice, but life altering biblical commands that we are to follow.
Our Bible verses today are from Psalms, chapter 34.
• Psalms 34:17, 19 •
(17) “When His people pray for help, He listens and rescues them from their troubles.”
(19) “The Lord’s people may suffer a lot, but He will always bring them safely through.” (CEV)
✝️ Verse 17a: “When His people”
• Those who have an ongoing relationship with Jesus;
✝️ Verse 17b: “pray for help”
• Calls on the Lord Jesus in their time of need,
✝️ Verse 17c: “He listens and rescues them from their troubles.”
• The Lord hears your prayers and answers them according to His will.
✝️ Verse 19a: “The Lord’s people may suffer a lot”
• Various problems, trials & troubles, etc.
✝️ Verse 19b: “but He will always bring them safely through.”
• When we pray and trust Jesus, He either gives us the power, and ability, to walk through our suffering, or He completely delivers us from them.
Key Point:
You are never alone when you’re living for, and walking with, Jesus. He is always a prayer away and assures us that He will help us in our time of need.
‼️ TRUST JESUS ‼️
❓Do you have an ongoing relationship with Jesus?
❓Are you praying, and trusting Him, for His guidance, protection and His divine will for your life?
❗️If you can answer the above questions with a resounding YES, then you can always count on Jesus to meet your needs (Philippians 4:19) and give you the desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4).
May the Lord’s greatest blessings be given to you!
• Obey the Word, • Please the Lord, • Make your Pastor happy …
‼️ ATTEND CHURCH TODAY ‼️
Our scripture and devotion comes to us, today, from…
• Psalm 119:114-117 •
“You are my hiding place and my Shield; I hope in Your Word. (115)Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God. (116)Uphold me according to Your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope! (117)Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for Your statutes continually!” (ESV)
✝️ V. 114: The phrases, “my hiding place,” and “my shield,” are common images of protection in the Psalms.
✝️ V. 115: The psalmist, here, addresses all of his opponents, telling them to leave him alone because he wants to follow God’s directions without any hindrance.
✝️ Vv. 116-117: The psalmist asks God to help him remain loyal to His Word and directions.
Though the psalmist wants life (v. 116), he also wants God to enable him to continue to remain faithful to Him throughout his life, staying true to God’s Word and keeping all of God’s commands (v. 117).
How long has it been since you prayed these two prayers:
🙏 “Lord keep me pure.”
🙏 “Lord, keep me faithful.”
Today would be a great day to reaffirm your faith in the Lord, and pray the above prayers.
Let’s talk about something that may be a little hard to swallow.
Did you know that your most effective ministry comes out of your weaknesses and not your strengths?
The apostle Paul was a pro at using his pain as a witness. He wrote from a prison dungeon in Rome,
“I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.” — Philippians 1:12 (NLT).
Paul used his pain to model the message God had given him. While he was chained in prison, he wrote letters to the church that became part of the New Testament.
The Apostle Paul said, “In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God” — 2 Corinthians 6:4 (NLT).
That includes how you handle pain, failure, defeat, problems, mistakes, sin, and all of the bad things that can happen in your life.
You may have some incredible strengths. Maybe you’re…
• an incredible preacher. • a gifted leader. • a dedicated teacher. • an impactful counselor. • a great listener. • an energetic encourager.
However, your greatest witness to the world won’t come from any of those areas. Your witness to the world will come out of your weaknesses, not your strengths.
What impresses non-believers is how you handle adversity, not prosperity. Your suffering, not your success, gives you credibility. Your faithfulness, not your fame, earns respect.
🎚Your deepest ministry will come out of your deepest hurt—and your deepest life message will come out of your deepest pain.🎚
In every area of your life where you’ve had pain, you have a testimony. —> The question is, how will you use it to help bring others from despair and into the fullness of life in Christ?
Use all of yourself, the good and the bad, to be a witness for Jesus.
Pastor H. Gene Allen 