Devotionals & Poems

Posts tagged Faith

The fruit of the Spirit (Part sevent...

The fruit of the Spirit  (Part seventeen)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is…faith” Galatians 5:22 KJV. Many of the newer versions use faithfulness instead of faith; the original King James translators separated faith and faithfulness which come from two different Greek words, their definitions however being very compatible, perhaps even complementary, with each other. Faith and faithful are distinguished by only […]

The fruit of the Spirit (Part two)

The fruit of the Spirit  (Part two)

As we continue our journey into God’s orchard in Galatians 5:22-23, the first fruit we come to is Love. Love is very characteristic of the Christian life; it is the quality of which Jesus said to His disciples, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” […]

Trust

Trust

2 Corinthians 1:10 says, “Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us.” This verse seems to allude to three stages of salvation, “delivered us” being the moment we were “born again” and sins power over us was broken; “does deliver us” […]

Watchful and ready (Parables of Jesu...

Watchful and ready  (Parables of Jesus, part Thirty-seven)

Our focus of attention in Mark13:32-40 is drawn once again to being watchful and prepared for the return of Jesus. Since several parables focus in this area it underlines the importance of the message. Here Jesus speaks about a man going abroad who committed his business affairs into the hands of his servants during his […]

Two debtors (Parables of Jesus part ...

Two debtors  (Parables of Jesus part thirty-four)

In Luke 7:36-50 Jesus has been invited to dinner at a Pharisees house when a sinner woman (possibly a prostitute, at any rate a known sinner) shows up at the banquet room; according to H. H. Haley “an oriental banquet was a sort of public affair” so in accordance with that culture she had the […]

Be prepared (Parables of Jesus part ...

Be prepared  (Parables of Jesus part thirty-two)

In Matthew 25:1-13 we have recorded one of Jesus well known parables. Keep in mind that a parable is a story of earthly activity with a spiritual meaning, and all the details which are part of the earthly side of the story need not necessarily apply to the central theme, which in this parable is […]

A friend in the night (Parables of J...

A friend in the night  (Parables of Jesus part three)

In Luke 11:5-8 Jesus uses the story of someone who had an apparently unexpected guest to arrive in the night; not having food in the house to set before the hungry traveler, he went to a friend’s house to ask for three loaves (some food), but this friend was not overanxious about being disturbed at […]

Getting to know God (Part Eight)

Getting to know God (Part Eight)

As we look at 2 Samuel 22:33 we find David praising God for deliverance and victory over enemies, and in his praise we are introduced to God as Elohei Mauzzi, our “strength and power”. Literally this means a fortified place, and figuratively a defense. In Psalm 18:2 he declared “The Lord is my rock and […]

Pressing in

Pressing in

In Luke 16:16 Jesus said “…the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.” In another statement found in 17:21 He said “…the kingdom of God is within you.” Today the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom established within those who believe on Jesus as their personal Redeemer and Savior. […]

Pray always

Pray always

Jesus said “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you” Matthew 7:7. To me that sounds like persistence which He also teaches in Luke 18:2-8; no, this is not trying to “twist” God’s arm or to manipulate Him, but by persistently pursuing […]