Tag: love faith sabbath

Living With a Sense of Urgency

Our Daily Walk with Christ – Sabbath Devotional – August 2, 2024

“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” —Revelation 22:7

“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

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ “—Revelation 22:20

Three times Jesus forewarns us that He is coming quickly. The scoffers, naysayers, and Christian believers who fail to cooperate with the Holy Spirit for Spiritual transformation of their minds, characters, and personalities are not preparing daily for Jesus’ Second Coming. What proof do we have that we are not preparing for eternal life? The failure to surrender is evidenced by a lifestyle of self-reliance that overrides our desire to faithfully obey God.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). In the Old Testament, Jesus is referred to by the title, Lord God. Jesus wrote the Bible, therefore, He says, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:17-18).

“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

For most believers, their contention and inner battle involves the Creation Seventh-Day Sabbath which Jesus tells us, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27). These words of the Savior remind us that the Sabbath day was meant to be a spiritual blessing rather than a burden to those who observe it.

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

Satan has introduced many false doctrines to prevent us from receiving our reward of eternal life. Not only has he attacked the Fourth Commandment [the Seventh Day Sabbath], but we struggle with trusting the written Word of God by embracing human interpretation of the Law of God. Jesus’ death replaced the Ceremonial Law of animal sacrifice.

In the book of Revelation, Jesus specifically gives us the characteristics of the righteous who will enter the gates of New Jerusalem: Patient, Obedient, Commandment-keepers, Faithful, and Courageous. To be told and accept that only Nine of the Ten Commandments are still valid is jeopardizing our reward of eternal life. Pray and fast, asking the Holy Spirit-The Spirit of Truth for spiritual clarity regarding the Fourth Commandment.

“Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” —Luke 6:12

My beautiful mother is 90. Recently we reminisced on the all-night prayer meetings conducted decades ago which she attended and I accompanied her as a young girl. Not only did the saints of God have steadfast faith, but when faced with tribulation, prayer was always their first response, and God showed up with Sovereign power that most of today’s believers can never imagine.

Every Christian’s Responsibility: “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” —Philippians 2:12-13

We have a lifetime responsibility regarding our salvation. Think about your current lifestyle, full of busyness and distractions without sufficient time to deeply commune with God. Christ who was divine and human in His earthly life focused on spending much time in prayer with God, the Father. Considering our spiritual struggle, we desperately need to maintain a heart-to-heart relationship with Christ reinforced by intentional prayer, fasting, and diligent study of the Bible under the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

Reflect on your status with God. If Jesus came today, would you receive eternal life? Matthew 25:1-13 is the parable that describes two types of believers, those who have enough “Oil” in their lamps which represents the Holy Spirit, and those who failed to have a steadfast relationship with Christ and ran out of oil. How is it possible to run out of oil?

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” —John 4:24

The use of our time either strengthens or weakens our relationship with Christ. With the gift of 24 hours per day, we reveal gratitude to God by spending time on activities that promote our spiritual growth and maturity bringing us closer to Christ, or we waste our precious gift by using our time to pursue frivolous things. To live a sanctified life requires obedience, perseverance, and continuous anointing and guidance from the Holy Spirit.

To abide in Christ requires time spent in solitude every day in prayer and spiritual quietness meditating on the love of God and the Holy Scriptures. When our hearts are consecrated and filled with love and loyalty to God, we seek the will of God with the desire to reverence and glorify Him through surrender and faithful obedience. With gratitude for Redemption, we dedicate our lives wholly to God.

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” —Matthew 16:24-26

Eternal life is a reward. Faith produces spiritual works. God expects us to have a dual spiritual focus. Not only are we responsible for working out our salvation, but we must also witness God’s Truth to others. Recognition of our spiritual plight is the catalyst to abide in Christ through discipleship. We use our spiritual gifts to glorify God, spread the Good News of the Gospel, and help those in need.

“You are the branches. Whoever abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit. For without Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Our journey is a personal one-to-one relationship with Jesus who promises to complete the Spiritual Process of Sanctification [Philippians 1:6] when we fully surrender ourselves and commit to serve Him with loyalty and obedience.

Every second of the day, we face Satan who is striving for our souls, but we must fight back in the strength of our Warrior King. To serve God is not for the weak-hearted, to give up our beliefs, desires, and free will requires courage and steadfast faith. Yes, brothers and sisters, it is a daily fight and a tough spiritual journey to live holy, but in the strength of the Almighty God and the heavenly angels who fight our unseen battles, we can live as victorious overcomers!

From our dedication to resisting the snare of today’s prevailing “form of godliness,” in the power of His Might, we march forward as soldiers in the Army of God. Yes, the righteous who struggle and suffer to live as Christ-focused, Commandment-keeping, obedient, disciples, one day soon, we will hear from our Lord and Savior, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Prayer: Jesus, we love You and desire to live with You forever. We ask You to search our hearts and reveal our sins, habits, and behaviors that separate us from You. Lord, we pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit on living holy so we may receive our Crown of Life. In Jesus’ Holy and Righteous Name, Amen.

“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” —2 Peter 3:8-9

© 2024 Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions Ministry

Jesus Is Coming – Get Involved

Our Daily Walk with Christ Devotional July 28, 2024

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right [contrite] spirit within me.” —Psalm 51:10

Our faith is the spiritual conduit that links us to Christ who covers us with His Righteousness. Like King David, we pray, asking God to search our hearts for any wicked thing and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God’s gift of Redemption includes the washing away of all sin, past and present completed by Jesus ‘ blood sacrifice on Calvary.

We are covered by an all-inclusive plan of salvation. Yes, without “respecter of person,” everyone who calls on the Lord Jesus to confess and repent their sins has the assurance they are forgiven for their transgressions. From daily surrender, we receive the outpouring of Jesus’ love, strength, direction, and protection for the given day.

“Just as each one of you has received a special gift [a spiritual talent, an ability graciously given by God], employ it in serving one another as [is appropriate for] good stewards of God’s multi-faceted grace [faithfully using the diverse, varied gifts and abilities granted to Christians by God’s unmerited favor].” —1 Peter 4:10, Amplified Bible

To be a follower of Christ requires commitment to living a sacrificial life of self-denial. “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). The prophet Isaiah reflects the chosen who are anointed and received [from Christ] the spiritual gifts and talents to reflect the love of God and to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). For those who serve God in humility, the Holy Spirit not only reveals our Chosen path and guides us daily to fulfill God’s will and plans, but we also receive the spiritual wisdom and discernment to learn the things we do not know.

Isaiah Chosen to be a Prophet: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory.’ ” —Isaiah 6:1-3

Every Believer’s Innate Condition of the Heart: “So I said: Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” — Isaiah 6:5

Jesus Christ, Our Heavenly Intercessor’s Divine Intervention of Washing Away Our Sins: “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” — Isaiah 6:6-7

Isaiah realized the wretchedness of his human heart and he immediately confessed his plight of being a sinful man. The angel was not self-directed in placing the coal on Isaiah’s lips to cleanse the prophet from all sin and unrighteousness. Jesus Christ, our Triumphant King and the Commander of Angel armies gave the Divine order to the seraphim. Only Christ, our High Priest and Heavenly Intercessor can forgive us of our sins.

Do we possess Isaiah’s humility as demonstrated by prayers of daily confession and repentance?

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” —Hebrews 4:14-16

Through prayer, fasting, and spiritual meditation, we invite King Jesus in all His Majesty and Glory into our lives. Our only acceptable worship is faithful obedience. Like Isaiah, when we accept our sinful condition, we acknowledge the merciful privilege given to mortals to be in the presence of a Holy and Righteous God. Our only acceptable response to a Sovereign and Righteous God is to bow ourselves in humility and surrender daily with the commitment to faithfully obey our King of kings.

Who Will Go? “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’ ” —Isaiah 6:8

Once we have surrendered ourselves to the service of God, we abide in Christ by seeking His will in all aspects of daily living. Jesus’ strength and wisdom is imparted by the Holy Spirit to the righteous, obedient believer who possesses the humility, love, patience, and the desire to be a true follower of Christ. Although we are blessed with various spiritual gifts, our primary role is one of a disciple with the spiritual assignment to Obey and Go!

God has blessed us with the advancement of technology to minister globally to a world in darkness. Still a crucial part of our ministry should be face-to-face witnessing which many Christian believers intentionally avoid. Unless our physical condition places us on a homebound status where we are unable to leave our dwelling, we should use every opportunity to tell someone by direct contact “Jesus loves you, have a blessed day!”

” ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ ” —Isaiah 55:8-9

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” —Proverbs 3:5-7

“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” —Proverbs 14:12

As believers, God has forewarned us of the dangers of following our own inclinations. With prayer and deep reflection on the Holy Words of God, we know whether or not we are traveling on the Chosen path designated by Christ. The decision to follow Jesus is not one of compromise. We cease listening to our wayward hearts that provoke us to disobey God and suffer sin’s consequences. True discipleship is praying for God’s will and thinking, speaking, and carrying out His commands.

The Chosen Twelve: Jesus’ disciples were unlearned men from various walks of life who had unloving and rowdy characters. These men constantly argued among themselves of who would be the greatest in his kingdom, were selfish, prejudiced, disliked children, and faithless. Still with all of their faults, they obeyed Christ’s every command. Their reverence, honor, and respect for Christ was revealed through obedience which they did even before they loved Jesus and acknowledged He was the Son of God.

“Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ ” —Luke 11:1

Spiritual growth, maturity, and transformation occur on a daily basis when we strive to obey Christ as he obeyed God, His Father. In their daily interactions with Jesus, His disciples finally acknowledged within their hearts that He was the Son of God. And we know this because they asked Christ to teach them how to pray, and at that moment, the Holy Spirit began their transformation.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—John 14:15-16

From beholding Jesus’ loving and righteous character, the stony, rebellious hearts of 11 of the 12 disciples softened from the powerful influence of Agape love. Yes, eleven of Jesus’ original disciples were transformed into steadfast, faithful, and obedient apostles who possessed the character of Christ. Not only will they receive their Crown of Life, but Jesus also promised, “The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:14).

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” —Matthew 7:13-14

To receive Revelation 22:12 is not easily obtained. Good people do not go to heaven. The righteous who decided to live a sacrificial and obedient life fueled by their faith give reverence and adoration to Jesus by abiding in Him. Yes the true disciples worship God in Spirit and Truth and allow the Holy Spirit to change and mold their minds, characters, and personalities into the likeness of Christ.

It is the remnant who obey Christ even if it means loss of material goods, family, and friends who desire to be a servant of Christ. The sacrificial life of self-denial and obedience to God places us on the Narrow Path. Very few Christians follow the path of servitude required to receive eternal life.

Whether we are on the narrow or wide path is displayed by our mindset and lifestyle. Every morning the believers who have wholly consecrated themselves to Christ pray and ask for His will to be revealed. Jesus tells us that we must obey His commandments to be guided by the Holy Spirit.

The life of the faithful few who entered the narrow gate and walk daily on the Narrow Path of Righteousness live an earthly life filled with suffering. Not only are we working out our salvation, but we also cooperate with the Holy Spirit to have the Fruit of the Spirit which identifies us as true disciples of Christ.

Our love, honor, and reverence for Christ are demonstrated in our desire to “Go!” and witness that Jesus is our Savior, through daily consecration, surrender, and faithful obedience. Yes, deep within our hearts, we live with the joyful expectancy of, Jesus, I will see you soon!

“To him who overcomes shall receive the Crown of Life.” —Revelation 3:11

Lord God, we desire to live a consecrated and holy life of faithful obedience and witnessing to others. Lord, we desire to receive the reward that is given to those who can proclaim, God, I have finished the work You have given to me. In Jesus’ Holy and Righteous Name. Amen.

© 2024 Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions Ministry

© 2018 no_foreign_lands (Used with permission)

Trust Is Our Key to Victory

Sabbath Peace and Blessings – Our Victorious Daily Walk with Christ

Is your Faith compass pointed in the right direction? There are only two points on a Spiritual Compass. Either our faith is steadfast and dependent 100% on God or displaced indicating we trust our [limited abilities], or even worse, trusting someone else. Redirecting our faith in God results in living victoriously—never suffering consequences or wondering whether or not the outcome will be conducive only occurs when we fully trust God.

Prayer: Lord God, we thank You for the invitation to come boldly to Your Throne of Grace so we may receive help in our time of need. As we honor and worship You on this Holy Sabbath, we pray for a blessing of strength, wisdom, and discernment. In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen.

© 2024 Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions Ministry

The Assurance of God’s Help

Our Daily Walk with Christ Devotional – July 23, 2024

We were not created to stand alone, figure it out, or rely on our intuition. Nor do we ever have to suffer from the consequences of misguided decisions. Yes, the life of God’s righteous ones is filled with faith tests, temptations, and tribulations, but we should never feel desperate. Divine Help is God’s Promise! “I will never leave you nor forsake you…” (Hebrews 13:5). “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20).

Pray in faith, thank God for His Divine Love and Intervention, and wait. Time is insignificant to God. While waiting, wait in joyful anticipation for your victorious outcome. Just have faith! While waiting on God, when feeling feeble, anxious, or unsure, pray, open your Bible, and refer to Isaiah 40 for a reminder of who God He is. He is Holy, Holy, Holy! Worship God by Giving Him the Utmost Gift of Reverence: Surrender and Faithful Obedience. Amen.

God Declares His Sovereignty Over this Earth and Its Inhabitants

“To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?” Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.” (Verses 18, 21-22)

” ‘To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?’ says the Holy One. “Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things…” (Verses 25-26)

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (Verses 28-31)

Prayer: “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, Forever and ever. Amen.”

© 2024 Steps 2 Success with Solutions Ministry

The Universe Represents the Majesty and Glory of Your Holy Name
[Satellite picture of the planet Earth]