Glory to God – our responsibility

 

An Emoji Devotions for Fri, Feb 11 2022

Topic: Glory to God – our responsibility

Highlights: 

Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. Why do the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. (Psalm 115:1-3)

May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race. It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to the place of silence; it is we who extol the Lord, both now and for evermore. Praise the Lord, Hallelujah! (Psalm 115:15-18)

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12:48b)

When we read through the Old Testament we are reminded to praise and glorify the Lord time and again. Nevertheless as we arrive in the last chapter of it, we hear the God fearing people complain and speaking harshly against God. ‘You have spoken arrogantly against me,’ says the Lord. ‘Yet you ask, “What have we said against you?” ‘You have said, “It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.”’ (Malachi 3:13 -15) What happened? The asking of the nations mentioned in Psalm 115 got so strong that the God fearing people began to get in tune with the evil song. God got degraded to a weak “quantity negligible” and human power and achievement were praised. They forgot to praise the Lord, which is the foremost task of his followers. With the neglecting of glorifying God they lost their joy and inner balance and slowly but surely, following God grew to a mournful and futile burden. It is not enough to preserve the scriptures and to adhere to what the Lord has done in the past, although this is the basis for our living with God in the here and now. We are responsible to praise the Lord for his past deeds and for what we are experiencing with him in the present. By diving into his goodness and love we will be renewed daily in our living hope for the glory to come, in which he grants us a place on his side. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (Ephesians 1:3-6) He has bequeathed us with his whole inheritance. Is this not enough to publicly sing his praises?

His handiwork, the heavens and the earth, his whole creation worships and praises him, but Psalm 115 reminds us that it is we, who are responsible to extol him. He has given us not only much, but literally everything.  He has a right to expect thankfulness and praise from us. Dear Brother, dear Sister, let us stop complaining about hardships and let us fill our environment with glorifying him and singing his praises, no matter what! 

Prayer:  Dear Lord God, dear Lord Jesus, I repent from my being gloomy instead of giving you thanks and praise for all you have done for me and for all you are presently doing for me on a daily bases. I want to open my mouth and fill my life and the lives from the people around me with your praise and glory. I am weak, but you are strong. Fill me with your spirit so that my life will glorify you in the mighty power of your wonderful goodness, your mercy and your strength. Amen. 

God wins and rewards the faithful

 

An Emoji Devotions for Thu Feb 10, 2022

Topic: God wins and rewards the faithful

by H.U. Wenger

Highlights:

I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle-bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth. (Zachariah 9:10, compare Isaiah, 11:1-9; 60:1-22)

 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:8-11)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

The Heavenly King, who was here in the appearance of an ordinary man, born through a virgin into a normal family, will return as the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords. His reign will include the whole world and it will be a thousand years of peace and prosperity. 

The Prophet Isaiah grants us glimpses, on how the glory of God may look like in the coming kingdom: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9) Concerning the country of Israel, which will be considerably larger than we know it today, Isaiah writes: “Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and well-being your ruler. No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end. Then all your people will be righteous and they will possess the land for ever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor. The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.” (Isaiah 60:18-22) 

The Apostle Paul who was caught up in Paradies, tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:4 only that he “heard inexpressible things, things that no-one is permitted to tell.” It must have been just stunning and out of any human experience: “However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’ – the things God has prepared for those who love him – these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10) We do not know in detail how the coming glory of the faithful followers of Christ will look like, but with 1John 3:1 - 2 we can state for sure:  “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Paul too expresses that the sufferings and the shame we endure as followers of Christ are negligible compared with the future glory. He exclaims: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2. Corinthians 4:16-18) There could be said much more about the glory that awaits the faithful followers of Christ. Let me close with Matthew 10:42 which assures us that nothing remains unrewarded by God: “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, your love and your goodness are beyond my grasp, but I wholeheartedly thank you for who you are and for what you do for me and for my entire fellow Christians. Forgive me the doubts and the complaints I sometimes have and help me to stay close to you and faithful to you in my good and my bad days. To you alone belongs the glory and the praise and my deep thankfulness that you let me and all your followers participate in the glory only you really deserve. Amen 

 

Shame for clinging to God

 

An Emoji Devotions for Wed, Feb 9 ,2022

Topic: Shame for clinging to God 

Highlights:

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last for ever, my righteousness will never fail. ‘Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have taken my instruction to heart: do not fear the reproach of mere mortals or be terrified by their insults. (Isaiah 51:6-7)

‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5: 11-12)

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1. Timotheus 6:11-12)

I grew up in a small village in rural Switzerland where all the inhabitants knew each other quite well and almost nothing could be kept hidden from the public knowledge. My parents were part of a small very conservative church that was preaching the Gospel as well as they could, but intertwined it with their view, how a Christian man or women should be clothed and groomed. In the village the “Bergerians” named after their founder with the name Berger were rather looked down upon. We kids had therefore to endure quite a lot of mockery. When in a group our playmates often turned against us and pointing at us chanted: “Jesus Bergerians, Jesus Bergerians … We hated it and more than once we confronted our parents with the fact that we get regularly shamed because of their church affiliation. My father knew the two highlights from Isaiah and Matthew well, and he consoled us with them, telling us that he endured the same shaming in his childhood. Of course his answer was not really satisfying to us kids, but we just had to live with it. Our text from Isaiah tells us that even in the Jewish community the people, who sincerely tried to walk within the decrees of God, got shamed. In the about thirty years Jesus walked the earth, Jesus got shamed and attacked for witnessing his intimate relationship with the Father. He was well aware that his disciples, who live in this world, but do not belong to this world anymore, would get shamed because of his name. He tells us:  ‘If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.’ (John 15:18-21) Being shamed for clinging to God the Father and to his son, Jesus Christ is almost like a medal of honor and should therefore never depress us. Much more it should encourage us to refrain from the futile earthly honors and fight the good fight of faith. Our home is in the heavens and by witnessing God and Jesus despite the mockery and persecution we may have to endure we hold on to the life eternal we have received through the cross and the resurrection of Christ Jesus, our Lord. 

Our reward will surely come and with it, we will deal in tomorrow’s devotional.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus and dear Heavenly Father. I do not enjoy the hate of the world and the disdain that comes with it. But I do thank you that you have open my eyes for the perspective of eternity and I feel humbled and honored that you consider me worthy to bear just a little bite of the spite you both have to endure from the world, despite your incredible love and your offer of life eternal even to all your enemies. I praise you for your love and goodness. Amen 

Trusting the Lord and giving him praise

 

An Emoji Devotions for Tue, Feb 8, 2022

Topic: Trusting the Lord and giving him praise

By H.U. Wenger

Recently I had to prepare a message for Sunday morning. I felt kind of empty and was not really aflame for any topic. In such situations I normally turn to the pastor’s guide that gives suggestions for every Sunday. The Bible verse that was given as theme for the very Sunday reads: “Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind!” (Psalm 66:5) For the preaching the text out of Matthew 14:22-33 was suggested and for the Bible reading they proposed Mark 4:35-41. As a start I read the Bible portions and suddenly a multitude of ideas flooded my brain. The Matthew text depicts the events straight after the feeding of the five thousand people. From the report John gives us about the happening, we know that the feeding caused people to make Jesus the King against his will. He therefore forced his disciples to take a boat and sail to the opposite shore. He then dismissed the crowd and went into the hills for prayer. Meanwhile the disciples experienced adverse weather conditions on the see. In the early morning hours they were still in the middle of the sea of Galilee. Already afraid for their lives and exhausted, their horror culminated, when they saw a human shape walking on the unsteady water. Jesus immediately told them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Peter, who recuperated‘’ first from the shock, responded: “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus called him and Peter experienced totally against his experience and knowledge that he could walk on the water. The wind was, however, strong and the water stormy and Peter looked away from Jesus and began immediately to sink into the waves, crying out for the Lord’s help. Jesus took him by the hand and helped him out, telling him: “You of little faith, why did you doubt?“ 

In the report from Mark, Jesus had been preaching all day from a boat close to the shore and was craving for a break. He therefore asked his disciples to bring him across the Sea of Galilee. They took him into their boat and set out. Exhausted, as he was, Jesus fell immediately in a deep sleep, while the disciples came into a furious squall. The waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. It seems that they got angry at him and finally they woke him reproachfully up: “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ (Mark 4:38b- 40)

The two events show us that the power of Jesus comes out of his trustful relationship with the Father. Although he will be the long promised King of the world, he does not want it to be before he has redeemed and saved his creation, you and me. He escapes to be with the father, to confess and proclaim his word and to show the people the character of the father. He does not want to exert power over the people he has created – he just wants to invite them into a close relationship with him. He is the living word of God and through him the whole creation is made, inclusive you and me. In full concordance with the father even the laws of physics are void. The Almighty God is above them and they have to listen to his command. In concordance with the Godhead even the stars have to listen and to bow to his command (Joshua 10:12)

In the presence of our storms of anxiety, insecurity and distractions we easily forget that there is no power above the power of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus does not want to be King prematurely. First he wants to open up the way back to the Father for all of us. That is why he dies on the cross to pay for our sins and iniquities and to redeem us with the Father. He loves you like nobody has ever loved you and he is for you. You can trust him fully. Nobody in heaven and on earth has more power to save you than him. Call on him in all of your situations. He promises: “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” (John 6:37b-38)

Call on him not only in times of troubles, but as well in your good times. Try to word out your personal Psalm according to the Psalm 66. Praise him for all the protection he has given you and praise him for all the challenges you have faced. His love is present in your life, look for it.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I worship you for who you are and for your love for me. Help me not to doubt, when things get rough. I know that nothing can separate me from your love. Help me to cling to you in my good and my bad times. To you belongs the glory, and all power in heaven and earth and it fills me with immeasurable joy to be your child. Amen.   

Jesus Demystifies Karma

 

An Emoji Devotions for Sat 5th February, 2021

Topic: Jesus Demystifies Karma

Highlights:

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24

The above highlight as it is has a lot of meaning. First, if having money is only the source of your happiness. When money is not in your hands may turn to sorrow for you. It may be difficult to serve God for such people. That version of the Bible is asking us to make God the source of our happiness. If God is the source of your happiness, when we do not have enough money will have hope that tomorrow is in God's hands. 

People who make money their god are  betrayers. They can betray even their own conscience and betray the gospel. Judas Iscariot left the fold of Discipleship with aim of making more money and so he betrayed Jesus Christ because he valued 30 pieces of silver. People who serve money do not believe that God can provide money. They do desperate things. 

Our Lord Jesus says Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:25-26

I do not read Buddhism or Hinduism. I only picked the word Karma because of its English Meaning to me.

Karma effect means that a good deed will lead to a future beneficial effect, while a bad deed will lead to a future harmful effect.

The Karma effect was demystified by Jesus Christ with that Bible verse. Do not jealous people because of money, it will lead to sin, Do not be desperate because of money, it will lead to destruction. Matthew 7:13 There is a way that seems right but the end of it is destruction..

I have seen people who got worn out in the name of chasing a career, they forgot marriage, and they lack good relationship with people, they only served money and in the end they have wealth which in the end lead to their sorrow and death.

It is The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22

It is important to wait on God's promise and work for the goodness of our bright future. While doing so, we may encounter tribulation but in the end we will have joy because it is only what God gives that gives peace of mind.

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:27

Follow God's way Serve Him in Peace. Your future already is bright. Remember that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Give yourself to Jesus and you will be alright.

Prayer: Father give me the original joy that comes from you. I will wait for it. Make it come faster and last longer in Jesus name. Amen

Check your Spiritual Alignment

 

An Emoji Devotions For Thu 3RD February, 2022

Topic: Check Your Spiritual Alignment

Highlights: 

Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. Genesis 5:24 NIV

He will command his angels to protect you wherever you go. Their hands will catch you so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.

Psalms 91:11‭-‬12 ERV

What makes man wants to hit his foot on a rock? Because He does not walk with good vision. The Bible says that “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

Matthew 6:22 (NIV) which means that if we can see with spiritual eyes, we will walk with God like Enoch did. After Enoch, it was only Elijah and Jesus Christ that ascended to heaven in human body. 

Why Enoch own was different remains a special topic. His Spirit Eyes was so clear that he can identify difference between God's direction and human direction. He so much walked with God in a spiritually enlightened way that God was like : Hey yo! this dude is a special breed! I take this one for my self. 

Have you ever wondered why Methuselah was the oldest man in history? Simply because he was the first born to Enoch. I want to conclude that When Methuselah was a child. He had learned the sacred mystery of longevity from his father. It is a great achievement to be the oldest man in history. He had seen it all, it remains only 31 years more to hit the milestone of a thousand years.

Apart from Spiritual eyes, we all need spiritual stamina like Jacob did in Jabbok : who did wrestled with an angel of God at night till day break and did not let him the angel leave until he received a blessing. Genesis 32:24-28

Jesus achieved so many in 3 years of His life because He has a good spiritual stamina and a good spiritual eyes as the son of God. Even His presence makes demon to cry for mercy. Philippians 2:9-11

Today, We must pray to be spiritually aligned in the Holy Ghost Power and in Fire of God's Spirit so we can fulfill God's purpose on earth.

The very first step is to fully accept Jesus as our personal Lord and savior. The we pray for spiritual alignment through His Spirit. John 3:2b. Have you checked your spiritual alignment with God? Go unto God in prayer.

Prayer: Oh Lord God, please Align my Spirit with Your Holy Ghost Power and Fire in Jesus name.

https://emojidevotions.blogspot.com/2022/02/check-your-spiritual-alignment.html

Doing things the new way

 

An Emoji Devotions for Wed, 2nd of Feb 2022

Topic: Doing things the new way

Highlight: 

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Cor 5:17

How can we protect ourselves from destructive ways?

Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say.  Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.  Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.

Always be full of joy. Never stop praying. Whatever happens, always be thankful. This is how God wants you to live in Christ Jesus.  Don’t stop the work of the Holy Spirit. Don’t treat prophecy like something that is not important. But test everything. Keep what is good, and stay away from everything that is evil. 

Cooperate with the Holy Spirit of God to show you how to live a new life because after you have met with Jesus, you are not more the old person you used to be. 

"Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful." Genesis 24:31

Avoid getting used to the old ways as though everything depends on your efforts. Trust, watch and learn from God alone. God will make the finish product possible through His word and directions of His Spirit. "His ways are different from our ways", and He sees the end from the beginning'. Which means you should accept the grace of God through His will in Christ Jesus.

Grow your spirit everyday by taking quality time to study the Holy Bible which the Spoken words of God and join the community of believers around you. Begin to do things the new way. Psalms 1:1-2

Prayer: Teach me father how to do your will and to place my expectations on you alone in Jesus name. Amen