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The king talked with them; and among them all was found no one like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore stood they before the king. In every matter of wisdom and understanding concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchante... -
If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, "Don't handle, nor taste, nor touch" (all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and doctrines of men? These things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imp...
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While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:6-7 WEB.While his wife gave birth in a stable, the strong smell of farm anima...
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Sweet and Sour
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Yahweh appeared of old to me, saying, 'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness.' Jeremiah 31:3 WEB.
There is an old saying that you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. Yet, when I was growing up in the Bible Belt, most of the things I heard about God were seasoned with vinegar. As in, "God loves you, but He will kill you if you don't do what I said." I was always worried about being struck by lightning.
Over the years, I've learned that God isn't like that at all. Yet, people will create their own version of god, then expect you to bow to the god they made. Nebuchadnezzar did this very thing in Daniel 3:1 with his image of gold. The only way to recognize the difference is to know the word of God.
While Jesus was ministering on the earth, the Pharisees condemned Him for not teaching His disciples to follow their traditions. Some of His disciples didn't wash their hands up to the elbow seven times before eating (Mark 7:1). Now, this was just a man-made tradition, but it had been passed down through the generations. It was taught alongside the word of God as if it was the word of God. The problem was that it wasn't.
In my own life, it has taken years to weed through that baggage. I still find pieces that don't belong now. It is easy for us to believe the lie that God is mean or that He is mad at us for some reason. It is much more difficult to believe that He truly loves us, that we are forgiven, that we can now come boldly before Him. Yet, these are the truths that Scripture teaches.
The first time I read the Bible cover to cover, I was so amazed by what wasn't in there, and at times, by what was. I found it liberating. We have a choice: To believe what someone told us is in the Bible or look for ourselves and see what is actually written in there.
Some things in there are these: God loves us with everlasting love, and it is not a conditional love that changes based on your behavior. He doesn't love you more when you think you are good or less when you feel you are bad. The Lord draws us with His loving kindness to get us to turn to Him. He loves us first. When you fall, get up, He still loves you. When you come to know the Lord, you will only find sweetness, compassion, and His unconditional love. Throw out the vinegar.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your unconditional love. Please help me filter out man's traditions and focus on actually knowing You and Your word. Teach me the things that I need to know. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!
Note: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.' (John 5:14) ~ If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network> You can subscribe to our daily devotional here <
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Beautifully put. Thank you Pastor Dion.
Thank You. AMEN !
Amen
Amen. Heavenly Father, My Faith and Trust is in the Lord. You are First always. Amen
Thank you Heavenly Father for loving me so much. Thank you for everything, in Jesus name, Amen
Amen Father I Thank You for Your love and kindness to forgive me. I want to always do better for you Lord.
Jesus,please teach us the things we need to know.We love you. Amen
Thank You Father, I want to know You and Your word, Amen!
Amen yes Father teach me your ways and help me to understand your words better
Amen
Amen!!
Thank you God that we are more enlightened to know what a kind loving God you are. Praise GOD Praise JESUS Amen
Praising the Lord for this day to learn! Teach me the things that I need to know, Lord. Thank you. In Jesus' name, Amen
Amen Good Morning Everyone
Amen
We thank You Heavenly Father for all the unconditional love You are given us, show us the way to be closer to You in everything we do and to understand Your word. In Jesus Christ name we pray, Amen.
Well put Pastor, thank you and Sylvia for showing us the right way to follow the word, God bless you both, Amen.
Dion,
I do believe that God is perfect love, and He will forgive you any time you ask!
However, I believe we are on a slippery slope here.
Many churches today preach about His perfect love and fail to mention His perfect judgement. As a result many have come to the conclusion that, God being perfect love, would never send anyone to Hell.
This is a dangerous belief to have. I can't think of anything worse that coming to judgment day and realizing I'm condemned to Hell.
The Pastors of the Church must all realize that they will be held accountable for the souls that are lost when people hear only God is perfect love and don't hear that God is also perfect judgment!
Robert Hayes ????❤️
I hear you, Robert! However, Pastor Dion brings excellent Words from the Lord on judgement, love, and much more in the RHM Sunday worship service. I recommend joining (10am Eastern time). I believe sermons and teachings are also posted on the website. It's extremely difficult to condense the Message in a single devotion topic. So thankful for growing in the Lord!
Robert Hayes I agree with you whole heartedly.
Thank you, Robert, for taking a moment to write and share your thoughts. If you have read my devotionals for very long, you already know how I feel about sin. You know that I believe that those who practice lawlessness will not inherit the kingdom of God. John makes that really clear:
(1 John 2:3–4 NKJV) Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
Have you read "Soul Shine" from earlier? I share a lot of my thoughts there: https://www.refreshinghope.org/blogs/1/3093/soul-shine
The devotional Sweet and Sour's message was meant to encourage people to read the bible themselves and not simply believe what others tell them without first checking it out.
Things like, "cleanliness is next to godliness." And "money is THE root of all evil" are not actually found in scripture. My point is that we need to be more like the Berean Christians who searched the scriptures to see if what Paul said was true.
Obviously, I could have written it better because the meaning was not immediately apparent to you. When I revise it, hopefully, I will clarify what I meant to convey.
May you be blessed abundantly and have a wonderful day, in the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
Amen!
Yes amen Lord