Author: njbc-editor

I recently read a devotional that made me think about growth as a believer. New Christians often believe that once they become saved their lives will be trouble free and can’t understand why they would face a crisis; they might find it unreasonable that something bad would happen to them. Mature Christians understand that in our lives we may encounter crisis, persecution, or suffering. Both types of believers might ask “Lord, why is this happening to me?” It’s a simple enough question, but is it really? The question can have two different meanings: the new Christian asks “why me Lord,” the mature Christian asks “what lesson do you want me to learn Lord?” In John 16:33 we are told “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” To new Christians I say, have faith and grow, to mature Christians I say, learn the lesson and teach. Remember that He is always with us through whatever we face. God bless you!

Imagine you are standing in a crowd listening to Jesus speak. You are getting hungry and you see bread and fish, but not much, AND you are at the back of 5,000 people. Would you start to panic thinking that the food would run out before the basket got to you? Thankfully, that will never happen. Just like for the crowd in Jesus’ day, there is plenty to go around. God has enough to feed all of us, whether it is food or blessings! He can fill our deepest needs. Philippians 4:19 says “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” I invite you to receive his nourishment through His word today. God bless you!

It’s hard to see a loved one in pain and be unable to help. You want to comfort them, but sometimes it’s hard to get through and you feel lost and unsure. You dwell on the possible outcomes and may feel afraid for them and yourself. Fortunately, at times when we are the most concerned, we have God to lean on. Isaiah 41:10 says “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea; I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” In the midst of our trials, trust in Him. God bless you!

The curse of sin is exactly that – a curse. Some sin might be enjoyable for a moment, but it brings to the sinner an immeasurable cost and someone had to suffer for that sin. Galatians 3:13 says: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” Thankfully, because of Jesus we are delivered from the curse of sin; the curse was broken! Praise Him today for His great love and mercy towards us. God bless you!

The Pauli Exclusion Principle is a law of physics that says that two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. This could be said of oxygen and a vacuum, light and dark, good and evil, hot and cold.  It could also be said about God and Satan, who are completely opposite.  We cannot obey God and submit to Satan at the same time.  Two verses come to mind: James 4:7 says “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” and 1 John 4:4 says “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”  Clearly, the scriptures agree with this principle of physics, it tells us that if we are near to God, the devil can’t be there!  Let’s all draw nearer to God today!

It is hard to understand all the suffering that goes on in our world. There is so much homelessness, hunger, and sickness; we see destruction of our cities and destruction of our families. There is unexplained violence in the workplace and in of all places, our churches, which should be places of safety and peace. We see acceptance of alternate lifestyles and the collapse of the morals our country was founded on. Some people might say it is God’s will that we should witness and suffer through these things, but He did not create us to suffer. These things are a consequence of mankind’s sin. Thankfully, God can bring us through these things and save us. We need to give Him praise for all the good in our lives. Joshua 1:9 says “Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whither-soever thou goest.” In the midst of the chaos, let’s draw our hope from the one who is in total control! Amen? God bless you today!

Would you be free from the burden of sin…..? Being set free from sin is an awesome reality that we, as followers of Jesus, get to experience. When the burden and strain of sin in our lives is taken away by the blood of Jesus it is a powerful testimony to the power He has in our lives. However, this freedom we enjoy cost Him his life, so we must guard it with determination and avoid yielding to the temptations we face daily. Galatians 5:1 tells us: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” God bless you as you stand firm in the faith!

Have you ever considered the human eye? What a marvelous thing it is; and oh the things it can do. It has the ability to determine color, depth, width; it can even zoom in and out! But in spite of our human visual capabilities, consider how mighty God’s eyes are and what He can see. He is omniscient! He can see everything at one time! Songs like “His Eye is on the Sparrow” have described his vision, there is even a nebulae named “The Eye of God” (you can Google that to see it’s magnificence). Psalm 15:3a says “The eyes of the Lord are in every place,” I sure am glad He has his eyes on me, how about you? God bless you today!

We all have memories: some good, some bad; but how long do those memories last? There are days when I can’t remember what I did yesterday! The bible is full of rememberings, snippets of things that happened long ago. We have the ability to remember all the things that have happened during our relationship with Christ: marriage to our spouse, birth of a baby, a new job, answered prayers and other little things that mean so much to us. But how can we remember things from years ago? Just as things are written in the bible for us, we can “journal” our thoughts on paper, creating a written record of “reminders” of God’s goodness and faithfulness. David wrote in Psalm 143:5 – “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works: I muse on the work of thy hands.” Just as David remembered, we can too. Give it a try and create lasting memories to share! God bless you today.

Was there ever been a time when you thought there was no hope, that you just couldn’t make it through to the other side of a problem? Just because a situation seems hopeless, it doesn’t mean that we should be without hope, especially when we have so much to hope for! If we put our hope in ourselves or in others we will probably fail at some point, but we can place our hope in God….. Romans 15:13 tells us about hope: “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” We have eternal hope because of Him. I pray that your day is filled with the power of that kind of hope. God bless you!