From: The Greatest Gift Given, a Love God Greatly Study
Read: Luke 11:1-13 and SOAP: James 1:17
Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
James 1:17
“God is good, and His character does not change when our circumstances change.” Read today’s full LGG Devotional –
For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Ephesians 2:8
Reflection Question(s):
What makes salvation a gift from God?
No gift we could ever receive on this earth will last forever. It will become worn, run out of batteries, break, or be replaced by something new and exciting.
Read: Psalm 34:8, Psalm 84, Mark 10:18; SOAP: Psalm 84:11
For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.
Psalm 84:11 NLT
Reflection Question: How can it be comforting to know that God is your protector?
Although the gifts God gives us aren’t wrapped up with bows and beautiful paper, they are worth so much more than anything we will ever find under the Christmas tree.
Truth: Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32
What do you think?
Where do we find truth?
What does it mean to ‘walk in truth’?
If we want to stand firm against deceit, we must learn to walk in truth.
The link shared below is something I found both encouraging and helpful. I wanted to share it with the hope that it will also encourage you to spend some quality time with God. I will preface it with this … prayer can also be spontaneous which Scripture supports in Colossians 4:2, where it tells us to pray continually or devote yourselves to prayer as some translations say, painting a picture, not of praying once a day, but praying throughout the day.
However, as Pastor John teaches in this devotional, Plan for Prayer, prayer is also meant to be a time planned or set aside to spend purposefully with God – for the specific purpose of praying. I will also add – we should set aside time to spend in His Word – the two can be combined but neither should be neglected or we cheat ourselves out of one of the greatest privileges of our salvation – a personal relationship 💗 with the True and Living God💜 . This includes entering into His presence boldly and with confidence both to talk to and to hear from God (Ephesians 3:12 and Hebrews 4:16 [14-16]), knowing that we have been brought near through the blood of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:13 [11-18]), and believing He wants us to understand His Word and know His will for us (Luke 24:45, Romans 12:2, and 2 Timothy 2:15) – May this add strength and encouragement to your day and blessings to your weekend 😊
This is a segment of “Solid Joys” from Desiring God, a site I follow by John Piper
THE TRUTH: The godly grow like a palm tree; they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the Lord’s house, they grow in the courts of our God. They bear fruit even when they are old; they are filled with vitality and have many leaves.
Psalm 92:12-14
THE TRUTH: Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in your speech, conduct, love, faithfulness, and purity. 1 Timothy 4:12What do you think?
Does your age make you feel inferior?
How can God use the young and the old?
Have you ever put an age limit on God’s plans for your life? We often feel that our age restricts us from accomplishing our goals or dreams. Like the height restriction at a rollercoaster, we stand stretching to see if God will let us on the ride.
The devil will tell us over and over again that we are too old or too young to serve Him. He will make you doubt your ability, your capacity, and your skills.
THE TRUTH: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, don’t depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6
We live in a world that values individualism. Asking for help appears weak.