Daily Inspiration

Daily Inspirational Thoughts

to bless your life.

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A Daily Devotional

Monday through Thursday

by Beth McLendon

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Last week:

Inspirational Miracles of Jesus

Topic for this week:

Loving Jesus

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Monday January 19, 2015

Jesus loves each of us.

But everyone doesn't love Jesus.

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Jesus said:

"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word."

John 14:23 NKJV

Jesus spells love -

o-b-e-d-i-e-n-c-e.

Jesus said:

"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me."

John 14:21 NKJV

John -  one of the 12 disciples -  said:

"And how can we be sure that we belong to Him?
By looking within ourselves:
are we really trying to do what He wants us to?"

1 John 2:3 NKJV

Jesus said the way to heaven is narrow.

Jesus said:

"Enter by the narrow gate;
for wide is the gate and broad is the way
that leads to destruction,
and there are many who go in by it.

Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV

Also note that there is an article by A.W. Tozer that relates to this devotional.

It is placed at the bottom of this page.

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Tuesday January 20, 2015

 The Bible Says:

Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind
that you may prove
what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2 NKJV

One of the ways we conform to this world is
when we decide to watch things
and listen to things
that go against the teachings of the Bible.

http://www.charismanews.com/culture/42616-why-did-christian-artist-natalie-grant-leave-the-grammy-s-early

I know nothing about Natalie Grant's Christian walk except that
I heard that she courageously left the Grammy awards
when ungodly things were done.

I did a search and found an article about it:

http://www.charismanews.com/culture/42616-why-did-christian-artist-natalie-grant-leave-the-grammy-s-early

Reading things like that puts us in a position to make a choice -

What would I have done?

And it puts us in a position to consider -

Do I watch ungodly things?

I've noticed:

One of the first ways a Christian usually starts to see
persecution
(from friends and family)
is when he or she refuses to watch or listen
to media that has ungodliness in it -
especially ungodly sexuality.

It is interesting that Jesus spoke about being persecuted
for righteousness sake.

Blessed are they which are persecuted

for righteousness' sake:

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:10 KJV

Jesus, inspire me with your life,
so that I might
courageously live my life for you.

Proclamation:

God is going to do AMAZING things

in me, for me, and through me this year!

Wednesday January 21, 2015

Jesus spells love -

o-b-e-d-i-e-n-c-e.

Obedience to God involves renewing your mind.

Obedience also involves changing direction.

Renewing your mind:

Reading and thinking about Bible verses

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Changing direction:

God convicts Christians of the ways that
they are following the world.

Following the world leads us into temptation and actual sin.

Then God draws each Christian to stop
following the world
and instead
follow the teachings of Jesus. 

Thursday January 22, 2015

 

Obedience to God involves several things.

Two of them are dedication and courage.

 

 

Dedication to God means obeying him.

Courage is needed to stir up self-control
to obey him.

And courage is needed to stand strong for Christ when people around you
give you peer pressure
to be silent about your dedication to Christ.

ARTICLE

Following Hard...or Finding it Hard to Follow?

Posted on January 14, 2015
by Dr. Tuck Whitaker

 

Taken from

http://evensocome.org/

Note: I have no idea who Tuck Whitaker is.
I have never read anything on this website except this article.

I am not endorsing this website or any other article on this page or website. I am only endorsing this article.

 

So you say you are a Christian, and in fact you can point to a day in your life in which you acknowledged your sinfulness, repented of your sinful nature, and asked Jesus to be your Savior and the Lord of your life. Undoubtedly, every day since has been filled with ease and pleasure, right? What? No?

Is it possible that your faith has brought suffering rather than the happiness you expected? Have you been rejected by family members or friends? Has your relationship with Jesus Christ caused you to have to sacrifice something or someone important to you? Have you been reviled or persecuted because of your faith in Jesus Christ?

Did you know that Jesus Himself told us this would happen? In John 15:18-21 we read;

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.”

Remember, Jesus was mocked, lied about, beaten, spat upon, scourged, stripped naked, and in fact, Jesus Himself was abandoned by all of His disciples except John when He was nailed to the cross.

So, there is something here that we all need to understand as followers of Christ; we need to be prepared to face the fact that in all likelihood, sometime during our life, we can expect to suffer for our faith in Christ. Many of our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ in various parts of the world today are in fact doing that very thing; suffering rejection, persecution, vile depredation, and even death. We may not all be required to face death for Christ, but the Apostle Paul warned Timothy;

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12)

Article that goes with Monday

    REPENTANCE IS RARE
 
      By A. W. Tozer

I am not endorsing A. W. Tozer.
I am just endorsing the following article.

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Luke 15:10 KJV

Humans deceived by the devil and charmed by their own pride and abilities, deny that our world is a rebel province in God's universe. They deny that human society has willfully pulled loose from God's rule and the rest of God's domain.

In fact, they deny that men and women are the creation of God. They deny even that they owe any allegiance to God, their Creator!

The Bible is the record of how God deals with mankind and we can draw but one conclusion: all people are morally obligated to repent and to ask forgiveness of God.

Falling to do so, they will perish.

How rare it is in our day to hear of genuine repentance; we live amid a proud, selfish and self-sufficient people, even in our Christian churches there are those who want nothing more than to be known as "respectable church members!"

When repentance is real and faith is genuine, the atoning death of Jesus Christ is effective for pardon and forgiveness and regeneration.

Sometimes it strengthens us when we hear a tough word.

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