Daily Bread Devotionals

06/13/2023

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Ps 1:2 KJV

For the longest time following Jesus wasn't my first choice when waking up every morning. So to delight in His law was more like being a buzzkill to all the things I wanted to do. I wanted to love my life, make money, drink, do all the things, and I would come to God on my own terms when I was ready. His laws?! Pffttt no thanks!

But then He came full force into my life when I had nowhere to go. When the Earthly things could no longer sustain me or keep me happy. He picked me up, and showed me why I should delight in His laws.

Just, merciful, peaceful, righteous, loving, Holy, on and on. His laws keep us whole, keep us safe, are for our protection against what is unholy. Like a parent to a child that sets out rules of "restriction" for us, it's not to limit our joy, it's for protection to do what's best for the child. His laws and His word have helped me grow from a child to a man, and to Love God and Love people more.

I still fail often to follow His laws, but Christ knew we couldn't keep them, so He paid that penalty for us. Seeking Him and His law are so much more rewarding than all the Earthly desires could ever bring. I have so much joy in the Lord.

My prayer for you today is to delight in the Laws God has given us. That you would think about how they have helped you grow as a person and have helped you to grow closer to God. Most importantly, reflect how the law was fulfilled by our Savior.

-Godbless

03/20/2023

"As prayer will not be truly prayer without the Spirit of God, so it will not be prevailing prayer without the Son of God"

-Charles Spurgeon

03/05/2023

Despair should not yield Deviation

"As long as my breath is in me,
And the breath of God in my nostrils,
My lips will not speak wickedness,
Nor my tongue utter deceit.
Far be it from me
That I should say you are right;
Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go;
My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live."
Job 27:3-6 NKJV

Oh poor Job, he continues to declare his innocence before his friends, and yet they still point the finger at him and call him a lying siinner. In this passage Job has told them how God has made his soul bitter, yet he proceeds to point out that regardless of what God has allowed him to go through, he will remain rooted in nothing but integrity.
What we go through in life can either make us or break us. We can stay dedicated to who are personified in Christ, or we can simply return to our old ways and abandon all that we've become. But that's just it though, staying dedicated to who we are in Christ shouldn't ever change if we've sold out for HIm. Friends, here's how I look at it.
Christ found me when I was at my bottom, when I had nowhere else to turn. So any thing that I go through now, I will never go through it alone. I'm also convinced that even though I didn't know it before I really knew Christ, I didn't walk alone then, He saved me from so many messes that I didn't realize until I looked back. I told Christ that I'm His, and vowed to do my best to follow Him every step of the way. It's the least I can do for someone who saved my soul right? So now, deviating from my identity in Christ should not happen if I told Him I will follow Him. What can this look like for us as Christians, standing in integrity.
When someone challanges our faith, stand firm and give a defense for why you beileve it to be true (1 Peter 3:15), don't fear judgement for your beliefs because you won't fit in. When hardships and trials come you way, stand firm that God will deliver you through and complete what He has started (Phillipians 1:6). Even just holding onto what is good and avoiding any sort of evil in it's simplest form (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Upholding integrity to our new creation in Christ can only yield fruit bearing seeds onto others. The constant call to be the light of this word starts with standing in that very same thing. Do not deviate from sharing and bearing the love and light of Jesus.
Today's challenge is to focus on an area of your life that may be causing you or has caused you to lack your true integrity. Ask God to help strengthen you to stay rooted in Christ and overcome that area of weakness. I know it's hard to always do what's right, Apostle Paul even knew that better than most, and yet we regard him as one of the greatest desciples of Christ, but leaning into God in those difficult moments will make all the difference. As always, continue with all things through prayer and supplication, you'll never fail.
As followers of Christ, people hold us to a higher standard. Maintaining integrity in all things means our actions can help lead others to Him has well. If I can help at least one person know Jesus, then I will do my best daily to stay true.

"The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy"
Proverbs 12:22

03/03/2023

"Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power? "

"They spend their days in wealth, And in a moment go down to the grave. Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways."

Job 21:7‭, ‬13‭-‬14 NKJV

Enjoy the life apart from God, for it is only temporary. Satan would rather you enjoy your Earthly riches and possessions and abandon God. Satan will tempt and stray people away as long as he can. So don't wonder why sometimes wicked people live better Earthly lives, it will never satisfy or feed your soul.

Our riches lie in the salvation of our souls through Christ.

03/02/2023

03/02/2023

Just Because

"In all this Job did no sin nor charge God with wrong"
Job 1:22 NKJV

In so many moments in our life we can come to a place where we feel God may be unfair in our circumstances. Howver with that, have you considered His servant Job?
For as long as the foundation of this Earth was formed, we have been in the middle of this cosmic battle of good and evil. God and His righteousness verses Satan and his wicked schemes. That's honestly it, that's the simplest form to our existence. We exist to prove to Satan that another created being with free will can exist to beleive in a God who saves. I bring this up to circle back to the point of Job, and how we question our circumstances.
Job was a blameless and just man in the eyes of the Lord, but in the blink of an eye Satan was allowed to interfere with Job's life. Why do you ask? Just because, plain and simple. We aren't always going to know the why of the things that happen in our life. We won't get to see the fruits produced by our trials, and how they spread out to other people. What matters is that we stay rooted in the vine in all things. God will allow us to go through trials and tribulations no matter how "good" or how "bad" we are. Our "unfair" circumstances need to be looked at as how can I glorify God through this difficult time. Listen, I know it's not always to go in with that mind-set, but it's crucial that we look up when we're feeling down, and when we're up that we bow down.
2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us that Gods grace alone is the only substance that we ever need to carry through in our life. Facing physical pain? His grace is enough. Facing circumstancial issues? His grace is enough. I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get the point. We will go through these things to build endurance, test our faith, sharpen iron, and sometimes simply just because it's what God has called for us in that time. We are in the middle of a battle, and glory to God that He has given us the outcome!

I challange you today to be like Job. To stand firm in your circumstances blameless and upright. To know that whatever God has planned for us today, it won't last forever and with patience and faith it will prodice the glory that He deserves. Give thanks to God for this time, and draw closer to Him. He will strengthen you every single time you ask. I know that when I'm down low, I lean on Him more, and for that I praise God for bringing me closer to Him.

My prayer for you today is for strength and edurance in your hard times. That God would cover you with a peace that only you can understand, and that it would over flow onto others. That through the pain, His love would shine through brighter than the sun.

I pray you would find joy in the "Just because" moments.

All glory to Christ.

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02/24/2023

8:30 PM.

What was once a time where my wife and I would settle down and watch a show, or start to contemplate getting ready for bed, is now us trying desperately to get to a little one to sleep so we can actually sleep for a couple hours.
It's amazing how quickly life can change with addition of a little one to your once party of 2. Figuring out the balance, how to care for, and how to live can be absolutely exhausting, and can push you to limits you never knew you had.
But somehow, someway, God gives us the strength to carry on, and to do so with such a love that was never known. The last two weeks since our son was born, my appreciation for God and what He has done in my life has only grown. It makes me think of the Grinch, you know where his heart grows 3x's the size. It's that kind of love that is un-measurable, and a total heart of grattitude to the one who created this little life, and me as well.
It also gives us just a tiny glimpse to how a loving father cares for his children. How patient He must be, how loving, how selfless, how tired He must get, but He still stands by his children no matter what happens.
I may be run down and tired, but man and I'm thankful for every breath, every minute, every part of my life that He has provided for me.
I serve a God who endlessly pours out His love the way a father does, and it's extremely humbling to be able to share that little bit of likeness with Him.
I can only hope to be as patient, and loving, and forgiving has our God is with us to my son.

8:40 PM - I'll sit here again and praise God one more time for my family and this beautful life.

- Your brother in Christ

02/23/2023

Absolute Trust

"Thus he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate"

Genesis 39:6 NKJV

When Joseph had gone to meet his brothers one morning, he didn't know the series of events that would shape his life to come. Neither did Potiphar, an Egyptian officer to the Pharoah. When he recieved Joseph as a slave, he quickly saw the favor that he had with the Lord. So much so that he allowed a slave to completely run his entire his household and all his belongings.

Can you imagine, putting your entire trust into someone that you don't know? This is the exact kind of faith that Christ anticipates that we should carry out on a daily basis. Complete surrender of all things in our lives. Potiphar only knew of the bread in which he ate of, everything else he let go of.

We struggle to give God every single area of our life because we think that we can retain some control, or think we can handle it on our own and is a minor detail God may not have time for. But the truth is, we need to trust God with every single area of our life. Our health, wealth, relationships, jobs, sorrow, pain, difficulties, life decisions. There's not an area that we should not submit to God in all things. We will have to make decisions on our own accord many times and hoping it to align with God's will, but there's no reason we can't still submit and surrender them to Him knowing He is fully in charge regaardless of the choices we choose to make.

I often have made choices in my life based on my own personal or fleshly desires. The older I get the more i realize that if I choose to seeks God's will for the situation, and stop trying to force it myself, He delivers me through every situation. He has never failed me when I trusted Him fully with my life.

I challenge you to be a Potiphar today. Put your full trust into Christ in an area that you are having a difficult time giving over to. Lay it at His feet, He will surely pick it up for you, all He asks of us is to take upon His yoke (Matthew 11:28-30).

01/23/2023

Tonight, I sit here in the quiet of evening with the warmth of the woodstove pushing back at me. I find in these moments while I sit and write, it's not just me putting thoughts down and expressing my love for God. It's in these very moments that I get to reflect on all that He has done for me, all that He is doing for me, and all the things that He has still in store for me. These are the nights that I feel close to Him, like He's sitting here with me smiling, or even laughing at my dumb jokes. I feel blessed to be sitting here in the comfort of my living room, warm and cozy while my beautiful wife gets ready for bed. I get to see firsthand how truly blessed of a man I am and get to truly understand that being rich in love is the most valuable thing in life we can ever have. I know God meets me here everytime, and all I can ever think to say is just a simple "Thank you Jesus". When I don't always have the words to say, I know that just those 3 words are always enough.
I pray wherever you are, that you would be able to find a quiet spot like this and just reflect and thank Jesus for all He has done for you. Whatever else He does for us is just a bonus, because He's already given us the ultimate gift when He put himself up on that cross.
I think that I'll sit here a little bit longer and watch the snowflakes glisten in clusters as they dance under the streetlight. I think that I'll sit here and thank God again for this peace He gives me everyday. Then, I'll retire to my soft bed, and hold onto another amazing gift He has given me....

Thank you Jesus for meeting me here..