Election Day Devotional #3

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What Have We Done in the Last 40 Years?

What have we done in America the last 40 years?

What have we done in the last 40 years? We have driven God out of our schools. We have removed His commandments from our courts. We have taken the mention of His name out of the public square. We have banned Him from our morals. We have engaged in the worship of Moloch, the idol of the old testament era, and the people of Israel. Moloch, before whom people sacrificed their children. In the last 40 years, I have watched as we have sacrificed over 50 million of our children. The Israelites killed thousands, we’ve killed millions. And we boast about it. We have seen in our time how a nation can turn its back on what is true and abandon that which our ancestors paid for with their lives. We have seen a land that has rewritten the law of God even as we’ve rewritten our constitution. We have changed what for millennia God has decreed as one man, one woman committed together for life. And, we say we have the right to rewrite that. Can anyone do those things without consequences? There will be a day of reckoning. It will come. And at that point it’s very easy for us to get up on our high horses and say, “Amen, brother you preach it, Chris. At least the church is moving in the way God would have us move!”

But, here’s what I’ve seen in the last 40 years in the church. I’ve watched mainline Christianity abandon the truths of the Bible and simply adopt self-help and entertainment as their gods. I’ve seen mainline Christianity that says, “Ah, but we are holding fast to the word of God.” We have institutionalized the Holy Spirit, and I use that word, that verb, in the very real sense of the term. We have institutionalized Him, we have put Him away, and we have said, “Well, He comes to you when you get baptized, now sit back and enjoy your life and don’t think about this anymore.” And God says, “Unless you live by the Spirit you are living in the flesh. Unless you walk in the Spirit, you are walking in the flesh. Unless you walk in the Spirit, you do not know the Living God, and you do not know His Messiah.” Because you are worshiping a false God, two-thirds of the Trinity at best, one-third at worst, and none in many instances.  Is God pleased? What is He saying? His heart is breaking, and He’s calling His people back to Himself!

Prayer: Have mercy on us, Father! You have stood by as America has abandoned the truths of the Bible, as the church as abandoned Your truth and I, too, have done this. Lord, I ask for forgiveness for my part in this. I have not always stood strong for you, forgive the church and forgive America. Give me strength to walk in Your will, give the church that same strength, that America would once again walk in Your way, and in Your will.  Amen

From Pastor Dodge’s teaching, “Real People…Real God: Moses – Idolatry” https://youtu.be/rNTgpEJjVfg

Election Day Devotional #2

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Last Days

Bible Text Romans 8:38-39 (KJV) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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In these last times, Jesus is calling us back to Himself.  That isn’t accomplished through mindless religion, or through halfhearted faith, but through wholehearted commitment to Him. It’s about having a true relationship with Him! The times we live in can be pretty unsettling due to the unsure nature of events happening in the world around us. But as Paul said, Romans 8 is a truth we can hang on to! NOTHING can separate us from God’s love, not our hurts or pains, not what’s going on around us, NOTHING can separate us from the love that God has for us because of what the Savior did for us!

We all need a Savior and Jesus is that Savior. What He offers is not a little religious instruction and not merely a little spiritual knowledge. What Jesus offers is Himself and that changes EVERYTHING!

Prayer: Thank Jesus that because of what He did on the cross, nothing can separate you from the love God has for you. Talk to God about your relationship with Him….

Quoted from Pastor Dodge’s “Last Days” series. For more information on “Last Days,” go to http://www.awakeusnow.com/the-last-days.html

Election Day Devotional #1

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Revival in America

Bible Text Jeremiah 29:12-13 ‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ‘

Lord, revival America!

I have seen God move in remarkable and incredible ways in the lives of individuals in my life, in the lives of my friends, and my family. I’ve also seen the enemy push back in ways that I could not have imagined, but as I read the scripture I say to myself, “It shouldn’t have surprised me,” because it’s always been the case.

But, I know something else and that is that God keeps His Word! And the Word He speaks will not fall to the ground. It will be accomplished to His glory. As a result, I believe what God is saying is that He is going to do a mighty thing. I don’t know if I’m going to live to see it, but He did say the day was coming when people will listen to His voice, when they would hear Him, when they would return to Him. And, that is what I pray for.  That is revival.

Prayer: Lord, move in power over America and her people and do a mighty thing. Bring her to her knees in humility before You. Bring forth a revival in this nation, Lord, and let now be the time when people will listen to Your voice, hear You and return to You. This is the prayer of our hearts. Amen.

From Pastor Chris Dodge’s series entitled “Real People. Real God.” This teaching is from “Samuel: Listening” at https://youtu.be/LT9mNX8tllE

5 Lessons Your Refrigerator Teaches About Reformation

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Today, October 31, is Reformation Day, the day we remember Martin Luther posting the Ninety-Five Theses on the door of a Wittenberg church.  Pastor Phil Bickel has written “5 Lessons Your REFRIGERATOR Teaches About REFORMATION” that are great prompts for thought and discussion for today.

Periodically your fridge needs a good cleaning.  So does the Church and each individual follower of Christ. 

Apply each of these refrigerator factors below to yourself or your church.

  1. Preserve what is healthy.    A refrigerator maintains food in a healthy state. Similarly, churches are responsible to teach “sound doctrine” (Titus 1:9 & 2:1) NIV). The Greek word translated “sound” is hygiainō, which means to be sound, healthful, wholesome, not decayed, and therefore safe. No wonder it’s the root of the English word “hygiene.” So let’s feed on the milk and meat God supplies us in the Bible and preserve its integrity. Lord, may I hunger for the wholesome and find the toxic indigestible. Our fridge chores parallel our faith chores. Both result in greater health. So handle with prayer.

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  1. Clean regularly.  For hygienic purposes you periodically frisk your fridge for food items that have gone bad. Paul warns: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Tim. 4:3). When rotten items are in your fridge, you need to smell them out. Lord, give me a nose for Your truth. Our fridge chores parallel our faith chores. Both result in greater health. So handle with prayer.

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  1. Clean thoroughly after spills. An accident with milk, overripe fruit, or meat can leave an overpowering stench that seems to permeate everything. A quick swipe fails to do the trick. We have to pull everything out and clean all the areas where the spill has seeped. Similarly, the apostles call us to clean the house of God thoroughly, so that false teachings and their stench are no longer present. (1 Corinthians 5:1-9; 3 John 9-12.) Lord, purify us from any lingering influences of past errors. Our fridge chores parallel our faith chores. Both result in greater health. So handle with prayer.

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  1. Toss old containers. Even after cleaning, an undesirable fragrance may linger. Old containers may reek from years of absorbing odors. So take a whiff of each container and pitch the stinkers. This parallels Jesus’ warning that new wine requires new wineskins (Mark 2:22). When a believer or a church is so comfy with its containers (traditions) that it can’t distinguish them from God’s teachings, it needs Reformation. (Mt. 15:1-11) Lord, help us detect and demolish the golden calves we are idolizing. Our fridge chores parallel our faith chores. Both result in greater health. So handle with prayer.

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  1. Don’t chill freshness. Bread dries out in the fridge. Melons and nuts decrease in nutritional value. Berries exude more flavor at room temperature. At times these foods may require the cool treatment, but we need to manage them wisely. When Christians grow harsh and judgmental, the fruit of the Spirit loses its zest and zing. Reformation diligence includes sensing when we have lost the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15). Lord, when my heart grows cold, warm me with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Our fridge chores parallel our faith chores. Both result in greater health. So handle with prayer.

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