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December 2016
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The DoorkeeperDevotional for Friday 2 December 2016 / 2 Kislev 5777
I would like to share a beautiful passage that I hope is a blessing to you too, when you consider these very comforting words.
Psalms 84:10-12 "For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.
O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee." Amen!
May God bless and keep you!
C. Read
The MessiahDevotional for Tuesday ~ 13 December 2016 / 13 Kislev 5777
I would like to share a passage of Scripture about John the Baptist when he was in prison. He had wondered whether Jesus was the long awaited Messiah the Jewish people had been longing for.
Luke 7:19 "And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
Luke 7:20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
Luke 7:21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
Luke 7:22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
Luke 7:23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."
It is important to note that Jesus quoted the Holy Scriptures to John's disciples to prove who He was. And it is interesting to me that even though John knew Jesus all of his life, he wasn't certain that Jesus was the Messiah, the Holy One of God.
Jesus is the fulfillment of the Word of God, and only through Christ can we know the truth of God's word. And only by His Spirit can we faithfully live out the truth in our lives. Anything else is our own works! Prayerfully consider the following passage which reveals what God thinks about our righteousness.
Isaiah 64:4 "For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
Isaiah 64:5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Isaiah 64:7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."
Only what Christ does through us, by His Holy Spirit, will matter in the end! Everything else will burn up! May we strive to be pleasing to the Lord, and obedient to God and His Holy Word!
My earnest prayer is that I will be unashamed on that Day when I stand before the Lord God Almighty to give an account of my life. And may the same be true for you too!
May God bless and keep you and your loved ones--always!
With the love of Christ,
C. Read
ForgottenDevotional for Tuesday 20 December 2016 / 20 Kislev 5777
It is such a travesty when I consider that so many "Christians" just forget God and leave Him out of their lives! I know the world can be so enticing, but for those of us who have truly met up with the true and living God, by His Holy Spirit, this world has lost its appeal, and we will never be the same!
May we always remember to look at our lives and consider whether we are truly pleasing to God, and encourage others to do so too! May we never forget our “first love”—who is Christ Jesus—the “True Light” who God sent into this dark and dying world to show us the way back to our Creator!
I'd like to share a favorite passages that I would also do well to remember!
James 1:19-27 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
One last passage I want to share. (To read it in context, I encourage you to go back and read Deuteronomy chapters 4 through 8—preferably from the KJV).
Deuteronomy 8:10-18 “When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”
As “Real Christians,” let us never forget the Lord our God! May we continue to serve the Lord God Almighty with a thankful heart! He is so worthy of our love and devotion, especially when I consider all that He has done for us in securing our salvation and promise of eternal life with Him forever!
May Almighty God be with you and your loved ones during this very special season! You all at the “Real Christian” community are always in my prayers! And I truly thank you for yours!
With the love of Christ,
C. Read
Those Who Sleep in JesusDevotional for Tuesday ~ 3 January 2017 / 6 Tevet 5777
I would like to share a poem that I recently read at the funeral of my mom on 31 December 2016. It was originally written for a very dear family the day after they lost their beloved teen-aged daughter in a tragic car accident.
The family said it helped to relieve some of the pain in the midst of their grief, and I sincerely hope the Lord will use these words to comfort others who are also facing the death of a loved one.
It can be a dark and lonely place to be, but thank God for the “True Light” that He sent to give His people hope until we finally reach the other side!
Those Who Sleep in Jesus
Remember when your little child would go to sleep for the night,
and the sense of relief that she was going to be all right.
No need to worry about her being led astray.
No need to worry about her being stolen away.
No need to worry that she might fall down and get hurt.
At least for that day you could finally have a peace in your heart,
that your precious little girl was safe and sound.
So too is it with our Heavenly Father I have found.
For those who fall asleep, yet love and belong to Him,
He no longer has to be worried or concerned about them.
However for those that remain here on earth they are filled with grief,
but for Almighty God the burden is finally lifted and replaced with relief.
He no longer has to worry that we could ever fall away from Him.
He no longer has to worry that the Devil may lure us into sin.
For those who Sleep in Jesus can no longer be led astray.
For those who Sleep in Jesus have finally found the perfect Way.
For those who Sleep in Jesus will forever be with them;
and I Am very certain that your darling daughter fell asleep in Him.
So comfort your hearts in the knowledge that her life has just begun;
and more importantly that she will be standing right beside the Glorious One,
Who suffered and died in order to bring us back to Life.
For those who Sleep in Jesus will He bring
when He comes to claim His Wife.
C. Read 10/01/1995
1 Thessalonians 4:14-18
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,
that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord
shall not prevent (or precede) them which are asleep.
For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
May the Lord be with all "Real Christians" who visit here!
With the love of Christ,
C. Read
Mod
Yes, thanks for everything C. It is a beautiful poem to think on...
Thank you Aerykah and Karis! I truly appreciate you both!
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
As I said in the group message, I'm not doing a schedule for December. If you want to go ahead and post on your usual day, that is perfectly fine.
But if anyone has a devotion or thought that God lays on your heart to share with the group... please feel free to share it! Even if someone else has already posted something for that day, it never hurts to have more than one in a single day. ;)
And a REMINDER!
-- As I said in the group message, I am starting the devotionals schedule over from scratch so if you are interested in volunteering to do a devotion each week-- or even every other week-- please send me a message & put "Devotionals" in the subject line! And if you have any questions about the devotionals, I will do my best to answer them for you.
If you were on the previous schedule and you would like to keep the same day, please let me know as soon as possible! This will be a "first come" type of situation. Every day is now available so just let me know which day you would like to sign up for! I will do my best (may not happen, but I'll certainly try) to send out the new schedule before January 1st.