Devotionals

When Jesus stepped onto the Palestinian scene 2000 years ago he uttered the words, the
kingdom of God has come. One has to wonder what does this mean, because though myriads
were touched, and multitudes healed and delivered, and hearts were set ablaze, we find that it
ended abruptly, as Jesus was killed, the disciples scattered, and the world seemed unchanged.
But indeed, the kingdom has come. In that Jesus rose again, and birthed his kingdom in the
hearts of all those who would believe him according to John 1 and John 3. Through these first
disciples we see the inception of the church of God, that is still growing powerfully today.

What about you? Ever wonder what your life would be like without Christ? What if that family member had not brought you to church when you were young, or that friend hadn’t impacted you in school? Where would you be today? Like me I am sure you are overwhelmed at the goodness of God, and maybe also at the precise timing of God, where things fell into place so that the right relationships were in place to lead you to Christ

Is it possible to marry the wrong person? This is a question that I have thought about for years sort of in a philosophical way. This is because as Christians, since we believe marriage is till death do us part, then when you marry the person, wrong or right, it really doesn’t matter. Jacob discovered this for himself, in the story of Jacob and Leah (found in Genesis 29) where he married Leah accidentally, and had to make the best of the situation.

Peace that not only comes from knowing that all our accounts are settled with God. But see many of us still have claims against God that haven’t been fulfilled. An unanswered prayer, a pain in our heart, broken promises, disappointments, failures, and the list goes on.

Have you ever been left behind? Maybe a car forgot to pick you up, or your family or friends left you behind. And you missed out. It’s not a good feeling at all. Many of us have probably heard of the movie Left Behind. This is an older end time movie about those who were left behind at the event of the Rapture.

Jacob reminds me of Moses, who while in Egypt awakened to his destiny to be a freedom fighter. Clearly God had awakened in him a consciousness of justice for his fellow Hebrews and simply sitting in the palace observing at a distance wasn’t enough. It was time for action, and Moses did what many young people do, use their might and their ability to force the way.

As many of us including me wrestle with the impacts of the pandemic, I have been able to do some personal reflection on what God is doing in this season, and I believe it really has to do with fortifying our foundation of trust. I believe God wants us to truly stay on the rock that is Christ.

Paul’s concluding greeting in his letters are quite a phenomenon particularly in the letter to the church at Corinth, in which he greeted a couple dozen or more individual people. For someone of Paul’s clout it may seem strange that he would take the time to do such a trivial thing as greeting people, some seemingly so insignificant. However I believe the reason was that he truly understood the power of unity. He wanted to let everyone know they were important. Both to him, and to God, and he couldn’t do what he did without them. It was a team effort.

Respect is earned before its given is a common adage, that goes smack against what Peter is saying to the church. Respect is actually commanded therefore it must be given. That’s right commanded. We are commanded to respect and honor not just our leaders but everyone.

If God is a loving God, why is there so much evil in the world, is a question that I hear so often. While the question is a simple one, the implications are profound and thus this discussion is often quite convoluted and not very helpful.