Today's Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:9-13

9“This, then, is how you should pray:'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'"

Excerpt:

You are a part of heaven. If we are a part of God's kingdom and we are destined for eternal life, then you are able to share a glimpse of that here on earth. You are filled by the Holy Spirit for a reason - so that a peace of heaven may be alive here on earth amongst death and the suffering. Through loving your neighbors, and by your very actions and prayers you bring heaven here on earth to those who may feel as though this life may be like hell to them.

Music by:

AShamaluevMusic - "Family Christmas" (https://www.patreon.com/ashamaluevmusic)

Peter Thompson - Devotional Tracks - "01" (www.ourworshipsound.com)

Today's Scripture Reading: Psalm 46:10 

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Excerpt:

When life gets most difficult and overwhelming, we either flee from it and hide out somewhere in our guiltiest of comforts, or we tend to respond by becoming more aggressive with the situation at hand. We work harder and become more determined to win the circumstance regardless of the outcome or to force the outcome, or give up and walk away with our heads hiding in the shade. When there is injustice in our lives we tend to respond in such ways, but Psalm 46:10 teaches us otherwise...

Music by:

AShamaluevMusic - "Family Christmas" (https://www.patreon.com/ashamaluevmusic)

Peter Thompson - Devotional Tracks - "01" (www.ourworshipsound.com)

Today's Scripture Reading: 1 John 3:16

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 

Excerpt:

As Christians we cannot be in the business of condemnation any longer and cannot keep treating compassion as charity. When we choose not to love, it is the same thing as hating and condemning. Love and restoration of God's people must become our first priority, and we can only do that when we who consider ourselves saved stop putting lines out on the water and start diving in to rescue them. 

Music by:

Tobu - "Nostalgia" ( https://soundcloud.com/7obu/nostalgia )

Dragon Roots - "fow now." ( https://soundcloud.com/dragonroot )

Today's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 53:4-6

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Excerpt:

Jesus was in utmost discomfort so that you and I may be comforted by His grace. He suffered and died on the cross, but also lived a completely abandoned life so that he would serve comfort for his people. He was born into a manger, he owned no home, nor did he build a wardrobe beyond what he wore that day. He abandoned what on earth we would consider all of his creation, so that you and I would know that he came only for our salvation and that we would know the greatness of his love for us.

Music by:

Tobu - "Nostalgia" ( https://soundcloud.com/7obu/nostalgia )

Peter Thompson - Devotional Tracks - "01" ( www.ourworshipsound.com )

Reference:

John Calvin. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 07:19, Feb 16, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/john-calvin-9235788.

Today's Scripture Reading: John 3:17 (NIV)

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 

 

Excerpt:

Salvation is not given to those who feel that they have overcome their sins, but rather in acknowledging that Christ died on the cross and overcame them for us. To forgive oneself means we have faith in knowing the unconditional love and forgiveness the Lord has for us. To know the depth of God's forgiveness for us is then first to take the step in forgiving ourselves.

Music by:

Tobu - "Nostalgia" ( https://soundcloud.com/7obu/nostalgia )

Peter Thompson - Devotional Tracks - "01" ( www.ourworshipsound.com )

Today's Scripture Reading: Genesis 5:23-24 (NIV)

23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. 

Excerpt:

There is a significant intimacy in the very act of walking together and conversing with the people we love. Sometimes those walks together might be silent, but it is not just the words one shares with that person – it is just knowing that they are there with you. There are friends out there that even though you may not talk about much all the time, there is a certain trust and bond that you have that their company is enough to keep the friendship together.

Walking with God at times is similar. When we look at the brief description of Enoch’s life, it states that he ”walked faithfully with God.” The Lord was so pleased with him that it says ”then he was no more, because God took him away.” There was no record of any struggle of death, no pain, nor sickness. It is almost as if he walked away with God.

Music by:

Tobu - "Nostalgia" ( https://soundcloud.com/7obu/nostalgia )

Peter Thompson - Devotional Tracks - "05" ( www.ourworshipsound.com )

Today's Scripture Reading: James 1:22-25

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 

Excerpt:

To read the word of God and to live it out daily is a task that requires much perseverance and a willingness to be challenged daily. In that perseverance, there is hardship, but meanwhile is a beautiful contribution to the formation of ones character. If we want to experience the fullness of what the Lord has in store within his promises, we need to take time to live being obedient to his commands. The Word of God is something that begins to work in our lives when we begin to act by it. Although at times difficult, it becomes beautiful marks and stains just as that pair of jeans becomes worn to give that beautiful patina. Scratched, frayed a bit, and stretched - but beautiful.

Music by:

Tobu - "Nostalgia" ( https://soundcloud.com/7obu/nostalgia )

Sensi Eye - "Don't be Shy" Instrumental ( https://soundcloud.com/sensisye/dontbeshyinstrumental )

Today's Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:26-27

" 26'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold." 

Excerpt:

There are conflicts that seem like we are unable to move on from. There are pains that we carry with us in our sleep, and allow it to become part of our dreams. But what sort of dreams do we dream of life? what endeavors do we want to pursue? People differentiate the dreams we have in our sleep versus the ones we have in our fantasy and hope for. But in reality the dream we do remember is the one we want to pursue. Our bitterness and unforgiveness becomes the strangling hold on the dreams that we actually desire to come true.

Music by:

Tobu - "Nostalgia" ( https://soundcloud.com/7obu/nostalgia )

Peter Thompson - Devotional Tracks - 04 (http://ourworshipsound.com)

Today's Scripture Reading: Hebrews 13:5-6

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have,because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Excerpt:

You are not Forgotten. There is nothing more perfect and nothing more good than what God gives us, and nothing more true and right than God himself who never would, nor ever could forget us. If we believe in an Omniscient (all-knowing) God, then it is imperative for us to understand that you are never gone from his mind.

Music by: 

Tobu - "Nostalgia" ( https://soundcloud.com/7obu/nostalgia )

Peter Thompson - Devotional Tracks - 04 (http://ourworshipsound.com)

Today's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:28-31

Music by:

Tobu - "Nostalgia"

Peter Thompson - Devotional Tracks - 04