Worship God in Spirit and in Truth —Sabbath Peace and Blessings

Our Daily Walk with Christ Sabbath Devotional – May 24, 2024

“But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” —John 4:23-24

The religion of Christ means more than the forgiveness of sin it means taking away our sins and filling the vacuum with the graces of the Holy Spirit. It means divine illumination, rejoicing in God. It means a heart emptied of self and blessed with the abiding presence of Christ. When Christ reigns in the soul there is purity and freedom from sin.

The glory, the fulness, and the completeness of the gospel plan are fulfilled in the life. The acceptance of the Saviour brings a glow of perfect peace, perfect love, perfect assurance. The beauty and fragrance of the character of Christ revealed in the life, testifies that God has indeed sent His Son into the world to be its Saviour.—Christ’s Object Lessons, 419, EGW

Lord, we can do nothing without Your power and strength. We ask You to accept our covenant to serve You in faithful obedience and to anoint us with joy and peace as we worship You on this Sabbath Day. In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen.

© 2024, SDJ, For the rest of my life, I will give Christ the best of my life

Rejoice Always! The Lord is Faithful

Our Daily Walk with Christ Devotional – May 21, 2024

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” —Lamentations 3:22-23

Because God is Sovereign and Faithful, we rejoice in our challenges and sorrows as well as in peaceful times. We entrust our lives to be led by Christ because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord.” —Lamentations 3:25-26

We can rejoice because we are living a Christ-centered, Faith-Based life [through surrender and obedience] continually striving for holiness under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

“Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the Lord; Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven.” —Lamentations 3:40-41

We can rejoice because we search God’s Holy Scriptures to use as a Righteous Standard to measure our hearts, our motives, our love relationship with Christ, and our love for others. We rejoice because our hearts are open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and we repent of the sins of thinking our own thoughts which is the source of all transgressions against God.

“If you love Me keep my commandments.” —John 14:15. “If you love me, obey my commands, and my commands are not burdensome…” —1 John 5:1-5

We can rejoice because our hearts are converted by the love and redeeming power of Jesus Christ. Our love for Christ is demonstrated through obedience to the Ten Commandments and His Righteous Principles. Yes, we love as Christ loves by loving God and placing Him above all. We rejoice because we love others despite their background or status.

“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” —Revelation 14:12

We can rejoice because we strive to be like Christ, our Perfect, Righteous Role Model who obeyed the Commandments in His earthly life and lived a life of humility and surrender to God, the Father. The faith of Jesus is His Righteousness which we also pursue, not in our own power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Every day we present ourselves before the Throne of Grace to seek God’s will and to receive Christ’s blessing of His strength to live holy. From our pleas for Divine Help, the Holy Spirit imparts Christ’s Divine strength. We are empowered to renounce sin and receive the wisdom and discernment to perceive sin for what it really is—spiritual death.

Artist’s Rendition of Jesus’ Second Coming

“Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.” —Revelation 22:14

“And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.” —Revelation 15:2

We can rejoice because we envision ourselves living with Christ forever in the New Heaven and New Earth! Hallelujah! Amen!

Lord God, we pray for ourselves that we will prepare today for Your soon coming and stay prepared. We bow to Your Sovereignty as our Lord, Savior, and King and ask for Your strength to be poured out as we persevere in Your Name to live righteously. In Jesus’ Matchless Name, we pray. Amen.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” —1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

© 2024 SDJ-For the rest of my life, I will give Christ the best of my life

The Faith Walk to Victory!

Our Daily Walk with Christ Devotional – May 20, 2024

“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands…” —Revelation 7:9

God created and gifted us with faith, love, power, and a sound mind to worship Him. Our acceptance and commitment to Christ changes our status from an unrighteous believer to the royal priesthood that will reign with Him forever and ever. God has predestined us to enjoy a perfect, sinless life in the New Heaven and New Earth.

The conditions: We are to honor Christ as our First Love, obey God’s will by remaining loyal, and worship Him in spirit and truth by renouncing our thoughts, and inclinations, and saying no to sin. “Behold, it is better to obey than to sacrifice.” We demonstrate our love to God as Christ did in His earthly life, one of daily surrender, Not my will but Your will, Heavenly Father be done.

“What is man that You are mindful of him?” We are the only recipients of salvation. Not even the angels understand why Christ would die for humanity—a race who refuses to obey His commandments and do His will through a life of sacrificial self-denial for which we would receive many blessings including the precious gift of eternal life.

With joy and thanksgiving, we should freely worship the Ancient of Days and the Triumphant King with overflowing love and reverence because their very Names are Holy and the Plan of Redemption required Jesus’ death on Calvary’s Cross. The theme of the Bible is God’s Agape Love for us. Jesus promises us provisions, tells us we are more valuable than sparrows, and He will never forsake us.

“The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” —Zephaniah 3:17

Our prayers rise as sweet incense to Jesus Christ, our High Priest, and Heavenly Intercessor who invites us to boldly come to the Throne of Grace for forgiveness and His Divine help. Holy Spirit, give us the wisdom and discernment to comprehend the faithful love of our LORD who rejoices over us with singing and quiets us with His peace. In Jesus’ Righteous Name, Amen.

We cannot keep Christ’s love to ourselves—someone else needs to know that Jesus’ blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Genuine love for God gives one a burden for souls. Agape love is the catalyst to fulfill our commission of witnessing to a broken and hopeless generation who desperately seeks peace even when they are deceived into purchasing the world’s version of false peace. It is our assignment to tell them, “Jesus loves you!”

“Be holy, for I AM Holy!” “…Without Me, you can do nothing.” The Holy Spirit empowers us with Christ’s strength to use self-control to renounce sin and overcome temptation. Yes, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” In faith, we follow Christ on the Chosen Path that leads to the heavenly reward of eternal life.

“In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer…I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.” —John 16:33

Time is fleeting. Our trials will never cease—our characters must change to reflect the Righteousness of Christ. We face many challenges and temptations, often presented by familiar people and situations. Every day we choose our destiny as reflected in our thoughts, spoken words, behaviors, habits, and choices of friends. To remain safe, Never choose the familiar over the Divine.

Our heart’s desires prevent us from understanding the love that God has for humanity. Though sinful, we are redeemed by the blood of Christ and enjoy the privilege of entering His Most Holy presence with prayer and supplication, which His sinless angels enjoy, therefore, we should bow and honor God as the angels who cover their faces and cry Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty!

“For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.” —Psalm 91:11

And speaking of the angel armies, they are Christ’s messengers and our guardians whose duty is to protect the righteous from physical harm and spiritual warfare [they fight and stand down Satan’s evil angels]. We have all in heaven as our Spiritual Reinforcements, still, we decide if good or evil will prevail by our choices.

The LORD’s Grace and Mercies!

“If only, I had prayed or waited for God’s answer.” When all is well, we easily become overconfident in our abilities, and fall into temptation. Immediately, the Holy Spirit sounds the alarm of Conviction. Bowing our heads in humility, we cry out, Against You, O Lord, I have sinned, please forgive me. Great is His faithfulness, we are never abandoned: “Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand” (Psalm 37:24).

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth…” —John 14:16-17

From our turbulent history of following our hearts, we acknowledge that we can only live an obedient and righteous life through the Divine power of the Holy Spirit. In our earthly lives, we will remain on a forever spiritual learning curve. To keep us on the Right Path, our struggles are intense. But suffering from disobedience differs from the trials given to change our characters.

Suffering from consequences wearies us to the core of our souls, thankfully, we eventually come to our senses and acquiesce to the Sovereignty of God. Through prayer and study of the Scriptures, we learn to hear the Voice of God and fully rely on the Holy Spirit. Our faith in God directs us to ask the Holy Spirit for the wisdom to understand Christ’s Righteousness, to teach us how to live holy, to lead us to the Narrow Gate, and to guide our steps to stay on the Narrow Path.

Jesus Warning: I come, like a Thief in the Night! “And behold, I am coming quickly and My reward is with Me to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Revelation 22:12-13).

Covered by God’s Grace, we receive New Mercies every day. Our gratitude is demonstrated by remaining anchored in Christ through continuous surrender, prayer, and praise. Our response of faith to God’s love is to live a Christ-centered, faith-based life and to give our best effort as we prepare daily for Christ’s soon return. Our surrender invites the Holy Spirit to empower us to live a victorious life through the Strength of Jesus Christ.

Lord, we pray for Your strength in this journey of life. We thank You for sending the Holy Spirit, our Teacher, Helper, Comforter, and Transformer. May we continue to possess a heart of gratitude by consecrating ourselves daily to serve You with surrender and obedience. In Jesus’ Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

© 2024 SDJ – For the rest of my life, I will give Christ the best of my life

Be Content with What the Lord Gives—Sabbath Peace and Blessings

“And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them…” —Jeremiah 45:5

When studying the Creation Story, we have evidence that God loves abundance and beauty. “Scientists estimate that there are about 8.7 million animal species on Earth, with 2.2 million of those being marine. However, only about 1.2 million species have been identified and described, mostly insects.” God is still giving humanity an abundance and desires that we develop and nurture a spirit of contentment.

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” —Micah 6:8

Develop a spirit of contentment—Be content with what you have. Our character matters to God. If we cooperate with the Holy Spirit, we will develop a character overflowing with love, justice, mercy, and humility, and focus on the needs of others instead of our desires. Remember, God never withholds what is good and necessary for us to enjoy a fruitful life.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” —James 1:17

Lord, we pray for a revival in our souls to prepare for Your soon coming. In Your Holy Name, we pray, Amen.

© 2024 SDJ