As I have said before on this blog, I try to stay away from current events. I do not want this to become my personal soap box. I want people to come to this site for the simple truth of learning some common sense principles and something new about the Holy Bible. This website/project was created to motivate more to do the simple yet life changing act of reading the Bible. This devotion seeks to only put a spotlight on the New Testament, on the teachings of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Because, only from the New Testament are we taught how to love and how to live. But first, before you can ever get to that level of understanding, you have to read the Bible. Not just hold it for a photo opportunity.
This country has been on edge for a long time. I am still praying that this is not the final line in the sand. There will be a time when good will be fighting against evil, but the problem with our country right now is we don’t have a clear side for good or for evil. We have the good coming from these protests, but the evil of the rioting and looting. We have the good of a President who is willing to put his foot down and protect innocent people’s property and livelihoods, but immediately displays his evils by pushing away a peaceful demonstration for a photo op with the most important book in the history of mankind. A photo op that tarnishes the good that could come from more people reading the Bible, and instantly does nothing to help strengthen the cause of Christ. But I know, because I have actually read the Bible, not just held it up for pictures, that God sees the heart and knows what is in our hearts. And God will judge this country and this world according to what is in our hearts.
I am going to share Elevation Church‘s sermon from this past weekend everyday this week because it is worth listening to. So if you clicked on the message yesterday, continue on to today’s devotion. If not, make time this week to sit and watch this authentic conversation that this country needed to have long before last Memorial Day weekend.
June 2
18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is pain to them, because God had made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)
The verses above begin Paul’s broad painting of the failings of humanity. Paul wrote this account nearly 2,000 years ago. Back then, it was clear to Paul that God’s presence has always been known to mankind, but mankind has chosen to ignore their creator. Well, as advanced as we have become in society, our connection to our creator has not strengthened at the same pace as our “intellect” has. For some reason, the more advanced we become, the more we question God’s existence. Well, not for some reason, that’s exactly what the enemy wants to achieve. For myself, the more I learn about how miraculous the world is, the more I realize that it has been, and could only be, created by design.
Paul’s writings continue to point out that due to mankind ignoring God, sin was able to come into our world and further separate us from our creator. Throughout the next two millenia, sin has continued to push us further and further from having the best relationship possible with God. We’ll probably never know how wonderful our relationship with God could have been on this side of existence. Sin has indeed poisoned our existence and we can only hope to resist it’s grip to be able to live righteous lives and earn a place in eternity. God showed His eternal grace and love for us by sending Jesus to open the door for us to have a relationship with God. But we see every day how mankind continues to ignore that truth. Only you know where you stand in your connection to God and Jesus. And only you can make the change needed to strengthen that relationship.
Reading plan: Romans 2
Deeper reading plan: Psalms 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
Prayer and meditation: Pray for our country. Pray for love to conquer all. Pray that Christ infects our hearts and ignites a final fire of revival to sweep this land.
Fitness challenge: Sprint work. The dreaded 400 meter. If you can access a track, it’s the perfect place to work on this sprint ladder. The 400 is the longest “sprint.” The goal is to try to run the entire lap as fast as you can. But it’s so long, you will have to pace yourself. Break it up into four 100 meters, building up speed so your last 100 is the fastest. Here’s the workout:
½ mile warm-up
100, 200, 300, 400, 300, 200, 100
½ mile cool-down
Common Sense Reborn 