Category: Daily Devotional

Scripture 2 Chron 31:6 And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the LORD their God they laid in heaps.

Observation: One of the first things I did when I was saved was to tithe. Not sure why that was important to me then, because I was a very selfish person and what was mine was mine. It was one of the most dramatic changes in my life at that time and now over 16 years later there has not been anything that I have received that I haven’t tithed on. I’ve told others we should tithe on our first fruits as it tells us in the Bible and I tell others the most precious thing God has given us is time. To give a tithe of our time is 2.4 hours a day or 17 hours a week in studying, praying and serving others in our Lord’s name. I don’t come close even though those times that I dedicate to God are the times that are most full of joy and peace. Our Lord deserves so much more than a tithe and most of us haven’t been able to even mustard up that for the One who has given us everything.

Application: I need to work on my selfishness, which is what keeps me from giving to God what he deserves. If I wasn’t so concern about my time to rest or do what I want to do for my own pleasure I would be more free to give to my Lord who deserves all of my love praise, obedience and time. God needs to be my priority in this life and the life to come and if there is anything left I should be giving to others with me receiving what is left. I know if I live like that God would bless me even though I don’t deserve anything, because that’s the God we serve.

Prayer: My Lord you deserve so much better than I give you. Help me please set me free of the bondage of my selfish desires that I will give you freely all you deserve from this life you have blessed me with. I want to be a joyful servant in your presence and serve you will all of my heart mind and soul.

Scripture 2 Chron 30:9 For if you return to the LORD, your brethren and your children will be treated with compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.”

Observation: God doesn’t keep a grudge. If we return to Him and ask for forgiveness and mercy, He will give it. Not because we deserve it, because He wants to. He loves us and He will rejoice when we come running back to Him like the prodigal son. God wants us to come to Him, He waits until we come to our senses at times and is ready to protect and bless us for our obedience to seek Him.

Application: I need to stop trying to do things on my own, but do them with my Lord. My life should be a living sacrifice which means it is no longer my life but it’s God’s. I need not just to return to Him, but to stay with Him always each day. Living in a way that others can see Him too.

Prayer: My Lord keep me near and convict my spirit if I stray. I know I might not have too much longer to go on this earth, so please Lord guide me the rest of the way that I may honor you with the life that is left. I love you Lord.

Scripture 2 Chron 29:10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us.

Observation: Before you do something for the Lord make sure it’s from your heart and not your head. Our Lord wants and deserves our love and obedience which comes from wanting to give those things and not from feeling we have to. God loves us freely, He doesn’t have to but he loves us from His heart and desires that we love Him back. So when we make a promise to God it needs to be from the heart, that we want to do it in glory and honor to Him and not because we might think we’ll get something out of it. God knows our motives and our heart and cannot be deceived.

Application: I need to grow close to God and to try to understand His love for me and to love my God with all of my heart, mind and soul. He deserves the very best I can give and I need to dedicate myself to giving it to Him. Whatever I commit to do for my Lord it has to come from a desire to please Him and not out of obligation.

Prayer: My Lord you are worthy of all of my love, praise, obedience and time. Help me give you these things in a way that will honor and please you. I love you with all of my heart and I want to get this right before I come home. Help this sinner please.

Scripture 2 Chron 28:13 and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives here, for we already have offended the LORD. You intend to add to our sins and to our guilt; for our guilt is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.”

Observation: Sometimes we sin and instead of stopping we might think will I already sinned might as well just go on and finish. When we sin and realize it and don’t stop we had onto our sin and show God we don’t need to obey you. When you realize you’ve sinned that is the Holy Spirit convicting you of your actions and if you continue you are only feeding your sin and disobeying God. Unless you stop the sin you are committing and ask God for forgiveness your sin just multiplies and there will be a consequence to your actions.

Application: I do this exact thing. I justify my actions and when I realize that I’m sinning I try to downplay the sin, but I continue, making it worse. Sin doesn’t stay the same you either ask for forgiveness or you let it grow, I need to stop and ask God for forgiveness and repent, turn away from sinning. I need to get rid of these lustful thoughts and this laziness that prevents me from doing what I know is right to do, which is also sinning. This life needs to be dedicated to God at all times.

Prayer: My Lord I need your help to be better. I want to please you and be the man that will honor you, but I’m too busy honoring myself. Rid me of this evil and fill me with the Holy Spirit and give me the strength to do what honors you. I love you and want to please you my Lord.

Scripture 2 Chron 27:6 So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.

Observation: So often we go off doing our own thing without praying and asking God for direction. We act as if we know what we are doing and we do what we want. Then we wonder why things don’t go right and we even blame God at times for our trials. If we plan ahead and ask God for direction using His word to guide us even if we go through a trial we can see what God is showing us.

Application: I need to stop and wait on the Lord. I’m too anxious and go off halfcocked most of the time. I need to have more patience and not to act until God guides me on what direction to go. I’m here to fulfill a purpose that only God knows and I need to take it a step at a time always going in the direction God calls me to go. I want to finish well, but I have a difficult time each day. I need my Lord I can’t do it without Him.

Prayer: My Lord help me please hear your voice and direct me each day. Give me the strength and desire to live each day for you. Help me complete the task you have created me for and give me the patience I will need to wait on you.

Scripture 2 Chron 26:16 But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.

Observation: Uzziah reigned in Judah for 52 years. He did what was right in the Lord and the Lord protected him and allowed him to prosper. He got to the point where, that he forgot about God and thought it was all him. He disobeyed God and paid the price and all that he did with God is gone and he spent the rest of his life as a leper. That is why we go through trials to keep us weak and dependent on God, but when everything is going well we think we can do it without him and that is when we truly fail and a life time of blessings can become an instant curse because we forgot our first love.

Application: My mind is always going and I think way too much. I get confident in my abilities and think I can do things on my own and will take the credit for something that God allowed me to do. I need to stay dependent on my Lord and never get over confident of the gifts and abilities that God has given me, because they were given to me for God’s glory and not my own.

Prayer: My Lord humble your servant and be with me always. Apart from you I can do nothing, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Keep me close and show me how to always give you the glory, for you deserve all of my praise, worship and obedience. Help me finish well.

Scripture 2 Chron 25:9 Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?” And the man of God answered, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.”

Observation: We are so worried about losing what we have in this world without considering what God is offering. God offers us eternal life with Him with a body that will last forever with no more pain or sorrow a life full of joy, but yet we are so concerned for what we have here. We are afraid to use or money to do God’s will, because we are afraid we won’t have enough for us, we worry about the time God has given us to the point we are afraid to use any for the purpose we were created for in the first place. We are so focused on the here and now we don’t see what God has planned for us, more than we could ever imagine or hope for.

Application: I’m part of the we. I worry about money and using my time for rest and to do things that I want to do instead of focusing on what God desires of me. My first priority should always be God and to trust that He will provide for me the way He desires. I need to say Proverbs 3:5, 6 each day until it rings true in my heart, trust in the Lord with all my heart, do not lean on my own understanding, but in all of my ways acknowledge Him and He will make my paths straight.

Prayer: My Lord I believe, help my unbelief. Give me the wisdom and strength to trust in you completely, knowing that you will take care of me the way you desire. I love and trust you my Lord guide me each day so I may be drawn nearer to you.