Category: Weekly Devotional

Precious Promises

Published on by PhoenixEliteAllStarsLeave a comment

Peter was a man who knew the value of the promises of God and he knew of no other way to describe them but by calling them what they were: precious. Peter was attempting, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to communicate the intrinsic value and long-lasting impact of that which is found in the Word of God. Peter, the man on a mission, shouts through the ages, “Don’t take the promises of God for granted! Realize the purpose of His promises and hold them dear and close to your life.”

The Bible promises that God’s promises promise that you can share in God’s very own nature. You can savor all He is and then marinate in it to the extent that you become it! You have the potential of ingesting His very personality and exhibiting His very character. Your life becomes a place of demonstration of His fruit and His power. You are no longer like you… because of the promises… you are now like Him. He became what we are to make us what He is.

Here are just a few precious promises to remember to cling to:

Forgiveness and Victory over Sin

We no longer need to feel guilty or ashamed before God. If we come to Jesus on his terms, God will forgive our iniquity and remember our sins no more (Jeremiah 31:34).

“…they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34, ESV).

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:1,37, ESV).

Answers to Prayer

We no longer need to feel helpless, anxious, and alone. We can take everything and anything to God in prayer (Philippians 4:6).

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, ESV).

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” (1John 5:14, ESV).

Security of Our Souls

Provided that we continue to follow Jesus, nobody, not even Satan, can separate us from God.

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39, ESV).

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:27-29, ESV).

Humbleness Leads To Greater Things

Published on by PhoenixEliteAllStarsLeave a comment

“’Don’t be afraid, Mary,’ the angel told her, ‘for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus’ . . . Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.’”—Luke 1:30–31, 38 (NLT)

Among all the great heroes of fiction, Frodo, from The Lord of the Rings films, is one of the most standout characters. Why? Because unlike Hercules, Wonder Woman, Thor, or Superman, he isn’t a huge, superpowered demigod. Unlike Anakin or Luke Skywalker, he wasn’t born with extraordinary force powers. Unlike Batman, he isn’t a ripped, highly-trained ninja bajillionaire with the money to make high-tech weapons and armor. Frodo was none of those things. He was just a simple hobbit from the Shire, a naïve, kind, gentle little guy. But, as Galadriel says in The Fellowship of the Ring film, “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” 

Here’s the thing: What made Frodo special wasn’t his superhuman abilities, super genius, or a birthright . . . it was his willingness to step out in faith. He’s a hero among heroes because even though he knew he wasn’t equipped for this impossible task (he didn’t even know the way to Mordor), he stepped up in humility and accepted the call when it came. 

This diminutive hero embodies something so deeply biblical: God can use anyone, even the humblest of people, to bring about the most amazing work. From the young shepherd boy who took down a giant to a widow who showed incredible loyalty to her mother-in-law to the young virgin girl from Nazareth—where apparently nothing good can come from (John 1:46)—whom “God blessed above all women” (Luke 1:42)—God is in the business of doing big things through the smallest, most humble of people.

So why Mary? Like Frodo, she had nothing mankind would deem as “special.” She didn’t come from a prestigious family. She wasn’t considered great among the people. But she was highly favored by God. When Gabriel told Mary she’d have a child through the Holy Spirit, her response reveals exactly why God chose her and why she was highly-favored and blessed with this honor. 

In Luke 1:38 (NLT), she says, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” Look at the humility she displayed here! Her response to this insane, impossible, frankly terrifying news (she was a betrothed, unmarried virgin, likely between 12 and 14, when she was told she’d have a child) was “I am the Lord’s servant.” 

She knew no one would believe her, that this would likely be a scandalous and dangerous thing (Joseph could have had her publicly shamed or stoned to death for being pregnant as his betrothed, since he was not the biological father), but she trusted God. She believed in Him and His Word. She made herself available to be used by God to do His work. She knew she wasn’t equipped for the call God had given her, but she surrendered her life, will, and future into His hands, because she trusted that He would be with her every step of the way.

This is all the Lord needs from us in order to accomplish wonders in our own lives and the lives of the people around us. He doesn’t need us to be highly-skilled, extremely super-qualified geniuses. He certainly uses people with amazing skills, talents, resources, and abilities just as He uses untrained fishermen, poor widows, and outcasts, but it’s not a prerequisite for Him to do His best work. Instead, God does His best work in the lives of those who are humble, available, and willing to be used. It’s not about what you can do, but what you allow Him to do in and through you. He blesses those who declare, “I am the Lord’s servant . . . May everything you have said about me come true.”

Like Mary, we all have a part in this amazing story of redemption God is writing. We all have an amazing call to make disciples, preach the gospel, and be His witnesses. Do we have to be scholars or dynamic orators to accomplish it? No! We just need to say, “Here I am, Jesus. I’m your servant.”

Devotion By Danny Saavedra

Faith Over Fear

Published on by PhoenixEliteAllStarsLeave a comment

Overcoming Fear

Fear is the shadowy visitor that whispers, “You plus God isn’t really enough.” This unwelcome pest relies on false perspectives and leveraged shadows to appear larger than your best effort and stronger than God Himself. Fear is on the wrong side of John 10:10. Fear’s goal is to suck the life out of you by keeping you from doing the things that lead to really living.

Now, some “fear,” which is more like respect, keeps you safe. That’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about the fear that keeps you unsafe. If you’re wondering if you’re dealing with this kind of fear, just ask, “Does this lead to life and more life?” If it doesn’t, then it’s gotta go. Because you plus God is enough. Anything else is the opposite of God’s story. You know what destroys the wrong kind of fear? Perfect love. A good, loving, heavenly Father. Run to Him, and He’ll cast a different kind of shadow on you—the kind Psalm 91 describes as the shadow of the Almighty. Here’s the thing. Because of Jesus, you’re not just in God’s shadow. Now, you’re in His family. You are no longer a slave to fear; you’re a child of God.

You are an overcomer.

Pray: After you read today’s Scriptures, prayerfully share your fears and anxieties with God. Thank Him for lovingly adopting you as His child. Ask Him to help you see Him as your loving Father and to show you who you are in Christ—more than an overcomer.

“We know that we live in God and God lives in us. We know this because God gave us his Spirit. We have seen that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. That is what we teach. If someone says, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God,” then God lives in him. And he lives in God. And so we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him. If God’s love is made perfect in us, then we can be without fear on the day God judges us. We will be without fear, because in this world we are like him. Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love takes away fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear. So love is not made perfect in the person who has fear.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:13-18‬ ‭ICB‬‬

http://bible.com/1359/1jn.4.13-18.icb

“So be humble under God’s powerful hand. Then he will lift you up when the right time comes. Give all your worries to him, because he cares for you.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:6-7‬ ‭ICB‬‬

http://bible.com/1359/1pe.5.6-7.icb

If you’d like to study the whole OverComer Series check it out by Clicking Here.