Read:
Romans 15:7
Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God
On April 26 2007 around 10:00 p:m in my prayer time, I was worshiping the Lord in song and music. The Lord began to speak to me about being accepted by him. I laid my guitar down and began to pray and humble myself before the Holy Spirit. I prayed a prayer that God would help me to believe that he is for me. I began to weep before the Lord, and God spoke to me, “Son, stop presenting the gifts that I have given you to be accepted by me.” It’s only by faith alone that we are accepted. The Holy Spirit is grieved by this. Lord, here is my teaching gift. Do you accept me now Lord. Lord here is my attendance to church. Here is this and here is that. Now we do these things unto the Lord, but we need to have the right motive from why we do these things. Maybe you just love the idea of God than God himself. My friend, God accepts you because you repented and was made new in Him. We do the things of God not because we do them alone but rather because we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit helping us by His grace to do the things that we need to do. It's so easy to get to this place and God has His hands out to you today to bring you back to that first love with Him, a love that surpasses the idea of God, our gifts, or anything else that we seem to enjoy and move in apart from the inner strength of Christ within us. It’s by faith alone, and that faith alone will cause our father to shine his love down upon us as sons and daughters of the most high, and with that anointing of God will come the strength and desire to walk in the spirit. It will give us that assurance that he does love us, and he does care for us. When we don’t feel like he really cares for us, we may be very well walking the works of our own righteousness. It’s not the question of will God accept us, but the realization that he already accepted us when we accepted him as our Lord and Master. Now let’s worship him with that realization that he has accepted us. Let’s present our gifts to the body of Christ to encourage and come into the unity of Christ Jesus as one. It is very important what we bring into the presence of God. We need to understand who we are in Christ Jesus, and we will understand that the Father God does accept us.
Prayer
Lord we come to you in your name and thank you that we are accepted by you, not because of the things we necessarily do alone, but because of who you are within us, and who you are within us will help us walk in your spirit. Thank you Lord for the gifts and talents we have, but most of all we thank you for who your are. Amen.
by Keith Edwards
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Good! Now Go Get A Job August 27th Devotional
Read:
Philippians 1:6
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
A teacher from our bible college told us that when he graduated from bible college, he went up to his pastor and said, "I know what the Lord has called me to do! He has called me into full time ministry." The pastor looked at him with a grin and said, "Good! now go get a job! God needs to mold and shape some things in you. This teacher did what he said and went to Arby's to work scrubbing toilets and cooking hamburgers, we'll, not in that order lol. Anyway, he did it for three months and after those three months of God shaping things in him, God moved him into full time ministry. This is so important for us to realize that one, if we have been called to full time ministry we can have hope that God will move us to the place we need to be in. Two, if you are not called in full time ministry, you can have a good attitude where you are at, and God will begin to unfold you destiny and dreams here on earth. As we are faithful in our home church, the pastor will see the gifts' in each one of us, and our calling will unfold before us as well. I want to encourage us today to remain as faithful as we can as God moves us where we need to be. God will be faithful to complete our calling, and love us too much to let us do our own thing, and our own thing will kill our first love with our Father God.
Prayer:
Lord, we ask that you will help us to remain faithful where we are at until you move us where you want us to be. Help us Lord to keep our first love with you in the middle of it all.
Philippians 1:6
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
A teacher from our bible college told us that when he graduated from bible college, he went up to his pastor and said, "I know what the Lord has called me to do! He has called me into full time ministry." The pastor looked at him with a grin and said, "Good! now go get a job! God needs to mold and shape some things in you. This teacher did what he said and went to Arby's to work scrubbing toilets and cooking hamburgers, we'll, not in that order lol. Anyway, he did it for three months and after those three months of God shaping things in him, God moved him into full time ministry. This is so important for us to realize that one, if we have been called to full time ministry we can have hope that God will move us to the place we need to be in. Two, if you are not called in full time ministry, you can have a good attitude where you are at, and God will begin to unfold you destiny and dreams here on earth. As we are faithful in our home church, the pastor will see the gifts' in each one of us, and our calling will unfold before us as well. I want to encourage us today to remain as faithful as we can as God moves us where we need to be. God will be faithful to complete our calling, and love us too much to let us do our own thing, and our own thing will kill our first love with our Father God.
Prayer:
Lord, we ask that you will help us to remain faithful where we are at until you move us where you want us to be. Help us Lord to keep our first love with you in the middle of it all.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Priority In The Home August 25th Devotional
Read:
Ephesians 5:25
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Also Read:
1 Timothy 3:5
5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)
It was late that one night, and my son looks up at me with those exciting eyes and says, "Daddy, will you play little cars with me?" I was thinking that I could do the usual and spend about five minutes with him just to get it over with. For some reason or another I spent about twenty minutes with him playing cars. Then I felt compelled to play chase around the house, and then I spent some quality time with my little nine year old girl. Then I felt like I needed to read the bible kids book to my kids, so I reached over to get the book and read to them for about twenty minutes. My little boy looked up at me with those huge colorful brown eyes, and he said with the most gentle voice, "I love it when you read the bible book to me Daddy." WoW! what a night. You know, I felt good though when I spent that quality time with my family. I had forgotten what I prayed for earlier that day. You know, "Lord I want to know your will?" Give me direction Lord! As I was on my way to work that night, the Lord began to discipline me. I don't ever cry, so for me to shed some tears was quite unusual. I shed alot of tears that night. The Lord began to show me where I was missing it in my time management. Although I was living a moral life and wasn't sinning in my personal life with lust or anything else like that, the Lord told me that my sin was not having a balance with my family. Many times we can even do good things, and our family is suffering right before us. Yet we are oblivious to it for some reason or another. We can be doing ministry and good things, but we need balance in our family. Ministry is in our home, and we need to set an example as Husbands and Fathers to our wife and children. I found myself working on my new Christian album, working on my ministry, and other things that was not a good balance in my own home. My wife was very excited and she called me later that night while I was at work and told me that God was dealing with her about some things because of the example I was showing to her. You may be at that place minister of God where you are too busy to spend quality time with your family. You may not necessarily be in full time ministry, but as a Father and Husband you are a Priest to your own home. Ministry is definitely in the home, and God can touch your life and set you on that course that you try and fulfill yourself apart from managing your family. Last thing in this devotion that I want to bring forth to you as we depart is the definition for manage here in 1 Timothy 3:5. It means to pay close attention to. I want you to reflect on this scripture today, and I encourage you to pray about time management in your own home.
prayer:
Lord we come to you in repentance for not watching over our family like we need to. We've done all but this one thing, and this is very important to you Lord. Help us to spend quality time with our family, and give us wisdom on how to make the changes in our lives. Amen.
Ephesians 5:25
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Also Read:
1 Timothy 3:5
5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)
It was late that one night, and my son looks up at me with those exciting eyes and says, "Daddy, will you play little cars with me?" I was thinking that I could do the usual and spend about five minutes with him just to get it over with. For some reason or another I spent about twenty minutes with him playing cars. Then I felt compelled to play chase around the house, and then I spent some quality time with my little nine year old girl. Then I felt like I needed to read the bible kids book to my kids, so I reached over to get the book and read to them for about twenty minutes. My little boy looked up at me with those huge colorful brown eyes, and he said with the most gentle voice, "I love it when you read the bible book to me Daddy." WoW! what a night. You know, I felt good though when I spent that quality time with my family. I had forgotten what I prayed for earlier that day. You know, "Lord I want to know your will?" Give me direction Lord! As I was on my way to work that night, the Lord began to discipline me. I don't ever cry, so for me to shed some tears was quite unusual. I shed alot of tears that night. The Lord began to show me where I was missing it in my time management. Although I was living a moral life and wasn't sinning in my personal life with lust or anything else like that, the Lord told me that my sin was not having a balance with my family. Many times we can even do good things, and our family is suffering right before us. Yet we are oblivious to it for some reason or another. We can be doing ministry and good things, but we need balance in our family. Ministry is in our home, and we need to set an example as Husbands and Fathers to our wife and children. I found myself working on my new Christian album, working on my ministry, and other things that was not a good balance in my own home. My wife was very excited and she called me later that night while I was at work and told me that God was dealing with her about some things because of the example I was showing to her. You may be at that place minister of God where you are too busy to spend quality time with your family. You may not necessarily be in full time ministry, but as a Father and Husband you are a Priest to your own home. Ministry is definitely in the home, and God can touch your life and set you on that course that you try and fulfill yourself apart from managing your family. Last thing in this devotion that I want to bring forth to you as we depart is the definition for manage here in 1 Timothy 3:5. It means to pay close attention to. I want you to reflect on this scripture today, and I encourage you to pray about time management in your own home.
prayer:
Lord we come to you in repentance for not watching over our family like we need to. We've done all but this one thing, and this is very important to you Lord. Help us to spend quality time with our family, and give us wisdom on how to make the changes in our lives. Amen.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Mercy Seat august 24th Devotional
Read:
Romans 3:25
25 Whom God put forward before the eyes of all as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment.
The greatest thing that a Christian can learn in his or her walk with the Lord is having a deeper revelation everyday of Christ, and His death, burial, and resurrection. What we focus on through prayer and worship is very important how deep will can enter into the holy of holies. The bible says that because of Jesus shedding His blood upon the mercy seat of God, it appeased the wrath of God upon man. God now sees us as righteous by the blood of His son Jesus Christ. The Greek word for propitiation is hilastarion, and it means mercy seat for our sins. The secret for walking in the spirit is by first submitting to what God has already done for us. We need to walk in that which we have recieved. In the old testament the priest would take the blood of animals and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat upon the ark of the covenant. This would not take away the sins completely, but it would cover their sins temporarily. The priests would have to do this periodically for the sins of Israel. Christ was the ultimate sacrifice, and through our faith in this revelation will come a deeper revelation of how God really sees us through our worship and prayer. Christ' death and resurrection caused us to be a child of God now. I want us to focus on how much God really loves us today. He loved us so much that he allowed His very Son to die upon a cross for us. Christ' blood satisfied God, and now we are righteous by that ultimate sacrifice. Another thing that the propitiation of the blood upon the mercy seat did is cause the Holy spirit to come and indwell within us as believers, which Jesus told His disciples would come after He was crucified. When Jesus blood satisfied God it brought forth the anointing.
prayer:
Lord, we enter in your holy of holies by that precious blood. It's only by that blood Lord that we can enter, and your blood heals us, delivers us, and saves us. Thank you for that blood you shed Jesus, and as we offer up incense of worship to you today let your glory so fall upon us as your children and priests of your holy throne, Amen.
by Keith Edwards
Romans 3:25
25 Whom God put forward before the eyes of all as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment.
The greatest thing that a Christian can learn in his or her walk with the Lord is having a deeper revelation everyday of Christ, and His death, burial, and resurrection. What we focus on through prayer and worship is very important how deep will can enter into the holy of holies. The bible says that because of Jesus shedding His blood upon the mercy seat of God, it appeased the wrath of God upon man. God now sees us as righteous by the blood of His son Jesus Christ. The Greek word for propitiation is hilastarion, and it means mercy seat for our sins. The secret for walking in the spirit is by first submitting to what God has already done for us. We need to walk in that which we have recieved. In the old testament the priest would take the blood of animals and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat upon the ark of the covenant. This would not take away the sins completely, but it would cover their sins temporarily. The priests would have to do this periodically for the sins of Israel. Christ was the ultimate sacrifice, and through our faith in this revelation will come a deeper revelation of how God really sees us through our worship and prayer. Christ' death and resurrection caused us to be a child of God now. I want us to focus on how much God really loves us today. He loved us so much that he allowed His very Son to die upon a cross for us. Christ' blood satisfied God, and now we are righteous by that ultimate sacrifice. Another thing that the propitiation of the blood upon the mercy seat did is cause the Holy spirit to come and indwell within us as believers, which Jesus told His disciples would come after He was crucified. When Jesus blood satisfied God it brought forth the anointing.
prayer:
Lord, we enter in your holy of holies by that precious blood. It's only by that blood Lord that we can enter, and your blood heals us, delivers us, and saves us. Thank you for that blood you shed Jesus, and as we offer up incense of worship to you today let your glory so fall upon us as your children and priests of your holy throne, Amen.
by Keith Edwards
Monday, August 23, 2010
Holy Seed August 23rd Devotional by Keith Edwards
Read:
Ezra 9:1,2
1Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
2For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
All throughout the old testament God wanted to keep the seed or lineage pure for the birth of Jesus, and marrying unto foreign wives who were involved in idolatry was forbidden from God for the Jews. Eighty years prior to Ezra coming to Jerusalem as a spiritual leader, the Jews had done this, and Ezra gets there with sadness in his heart. He knew this is what destroyed Jerusalem, so he falls on the ground and cries out to God for forgiveness. The leaders came to Ezra and said that they to were sorry for this sin and told Ezra that we can't do this all at one time, but we will begin the process of divorcing the foreign wives. They did do this in time, and Jerusalem carried on the journey of completing the reconstruction of Jerusalem with Nehemiah coming on the scene a few years later. I want us to see two things here for us as the body of Christ. The bible tells us in the new testament that we are living stones and are a temple not made with hands, but a spiritual temple called by a new name. We have a holy seed that is the great commission, and we are to go forth in the mighty name of Jesus to win souls and do the works of Christ, and the seed will bring forth pure fruit as the Holy Seed. The other thing I want us to see is that the leaders told Ezra that it would take some time but that they would divorce the foreign wives they intermingled with. It's like this today. God is in the process of filtering out any mixture that does not belong in His marriage as the body of Christ, and He is wanting His body to be pure and holy. Also, restoration is a process, and many today are in that process of repentance and divorcing those things that we let in the church. We have allowed politics and things into the church and it has hindered the move of God. I believe that in the tip end of the last days we are going to see something that hasn't been in the church in a long time. We are going to see millions come to Christ by true conversion, and we are going to see many minister's repent and change some of the things they have been teaching, but we will see a great apostasy the bible teaches come forth as well. It is a separation of the tares and wheat. I don't think that God wants us as the body of Christ to just sit around and watch the great apostasy unfold before us. God needs His body to still go forth in His name and proclaim the message of the cross to an ungodly world. It is the same process that Ezra and the Jewish leaders went through. We need to get the mess out and bring the real in. We need true revival, and true revival will always fill so pure and holy. The church is looking for the next revival, and what they are looking for won't come unless there is a heart of repentance and humbleness for Christ Jesus. Let's look to Jesus today and lift Him up.
Prayer:
Lord we come to you in your mighty name and ask that you will forgive us for letting a mixture come in to that holy seed. We know Lord that this is what happened to Jerusalem when they sinned, and this is what can happen to us if we fail to stay pure and holy. Help us Lord to focus on you, and help us to repent so that great revival can be born again. Amen.
by Keith Edwards
Ezra 9:1,2
1Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
2For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
All throughout the old testament God wanted to keep the seed or lineage pure for the birth of Jesus, and marrying unto foreign wives who were involved in idolatry was forbidden from God for the Jews. Eighty years prior to Ezra coming to Jerusalem as a spiritual leader, the Jews had done this, and Ezra gets there with sadness in his heart. He knew this is what destroyed Jerusalem, so he falls on the ground and cries out to God for forgiveness. The leaders came to Ezra and said that they to were sorry for this sin and told Ezra that we can't do this all at one time, but we will begin the process of divorcing the foreign wives. They did do this in time, and Jerusalem carried on the journey of completing the reconstruction of Jerusalem with Nehemiah coming on the scene a few years later. I want us to see two things here for us as the body of Christ. The bible tells us in the new testament that we are living stones and are a temple not made with hands, but a spiritual temple called by a new name. We have a holy seed that is the great commission, and we are to go forth in the mighty name of Jesus to win souls and do the works of Christ, and the seed will bring forth pure fruit as the Holy Seed. The other thing I want us to see is that the leaders told Ezra that it would take some time but that they would divorce the foreign wives they intermingled with. It's like this today. God is in the process of filtering out any mixture that does not belong in His marriage as the body of Christ, and He is wanting His body to be pure and holy. Also, restoration is a process, and many today are in that process of repentance and divorcing those things that we let in the church. We have allowed politics and things into the church and it has hindered the move of God. I believe that in the tip end of the last days we are going to see something that hasn't been in the church in a long time. We are going to see millions come to Christ by true conversion, and we are going to see many minister's repent and change some of the things they have been teaching, but we will see a great apostasy the bible teaches come forth as well. It is a separation of the tares and wheat. I don't think that God wants us as the body of Christ to just sit around and watch the great apostasy unfold before us. God needs His body to still go forth in His name and proclaim the message of the cross to an ungodly world. It is the same process that Ezra and the Jewish leaders went through. We need to get the mess out and bring the real in. We need true revival, and true revival will always fill so pure and holy. The church is looking for the next revival, and what they are looking for won't come unless there is a heart of repentance and humbleness for Christ Jesus. Let's look to Jesus today and lift Him up.
Prayer:
Lord we come to you in your mighty name and ask that you will forgive us for letting a mixture come in to that holy seed. We know Lord that this is what happened to Jerusalem when they sinned, and this is what can happen to us if we fail to stay pure and holy. Help us Lord to focus on you, and help us to repent so that great revival can be born again. Amen.
by Keith Edwards
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Worship Through Revelation August 22nd Devotional
Read:
John 4:24
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Today I want us to focus on worship. The Lord wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. The definition for truth here in John 4:24 is the truth as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of man, opposing alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles and the inventions of the Jews, and the corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians. We need such a revelation through our worship and adoration to our Lord Jesus Christ. What we focus on through our revelation is the difference between hearing God's voice, and not hearing His voice clearly. In this type of worship will come a strength within us to understand His will for us here in our lifetime. I have found that as I worship the Lord and sit at His feet, there is such a fulfilling of what sometimes we seem to miss in our Christian walk with Him. What are you thinking about in your worship? Have you gotten to a place where you think about all of the things you have done and haven't done as you come to the table of worship? Have you gotten to a place where you think upon the things of God only, instead of seeking His face first and foremost in spirit and in truth. I know I need to get to this place in a deeper way, and it is such a crucial place to be in as we go through this life. Lets bring to the table of worship a revelation of the cross, the blood that was spilled upon the cross, and His resurrection. This attitude of worship will bring forth a mixture of character and integrity within us to produce pure fruit and make disciples.
Prayer:
Lord, we ask for such a revelation of who you are and how you see us today. Let our worship be pure Lord before you, and we desire to find that first love for you increase day by day as we walk this journey with you. We repent Lord for thinking upon the wrong things in our worship. Cleanse us by your blood, and touch our lips by your spirit to speak your truth to a corrupt generation.
John 4:24
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Today I want us to focus on worship. The Lord wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. The definition for truth here in John 4:24 is the truth as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of man, opposing alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles and the inventions of the Jews, and the corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians. We need such a revelation through our worship and adoration to our Lord Jesus Christ. What we focus on through our revelation is the difference between hearing God's voice, and not hearing His voice clearly. In this type of worship will come a strength within us to understand His will for us here in our lifetime. I have found that as I worship the Lord and sit at His feet, there is such a fulfilling of what sometimes we seem to miss in our Christian walk with Him. What are you thinking about in your worship? Have you gotten to a place where you think about all of the things you have done and haven't done as you come to the table of worship? Have you gotten to a place where you think upon the things of God only, instead of seeking His face first and foremost in spirit and in truth. I know I need to get to this place in a deeper way, and it is such a crucial place to be in as we go through this life. Lets bring to the table of worship a revelation of the cross, the blood that was spilled upon the cross, and His resurrection. This attitude of worship will bring forth a mixture of character and integrity within us to produce pure fruit and make disciples.
Prayer:
Lord, we ask for such a revelation of who you are and how you see us today. Let our worship be pure Lord before you, and we desire to find that first love for you increase day by day as we walk this journey with you. We repent Lord for thinking upon the wrong things in our worship. Cleanse us by your blood, and touch our lips by your spirit to speak your truth to a corrupt generation.
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