Toni Writing for The Master - Daily Devotional

Today's devotion

4/6/2018

Our Spirits Will Soar

Toni Smothers

Scripture Reading: Psalms 71:1-9

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Scripture Quote: Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:30-31)

Eagles live to a very old age compared to a lot of other birds. They molt their youthful feathers periodically and, whether fact or fable, their strength is said to be renewed repeatedly with the growth of new feathers. We, on the other hand, wilt hair and lose elasticity in our skin, as our muscles and organs progressively weaken with our increased years. Bodies that eventually disintegrate are part of our inheritance from Adam's fall.

Though our physical strength fades, our faith and hope increases with the years. Experience interacting with the Holy Spirit brings us ever closer to the image of Christ. Through trials and joys we grow closer to our spiritual roots and come to understand that the part of us that we identify with as our true, inner selves is pure spirit. Separation from the body in death is the beginning of spiritual freedom without encumbrance. We are now new creatures in Christ Jesus, but later, when we will see Him in all His Glory, sin and sorrow will be distant memories and the joy of the Lord will let our spirits truly soar.

Today’s meditation: Look ahead joyfully at the prize that awaits us.

Memory Verse: Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. (Psalms 71:3 NIV)

Today's devotion

4/6/2018

Our Spirits Will Soar
Toni Smothers
Scripture Reading: Psalms 71:1-9
Click here to read the scriptures
Scripture Quote: Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:30-31)
Eagles live to a very old age compared to a lot of other birds. They molt their youthful feathers periodically and, whether fact or fable, their strength is said to be renewed repeatedly with the growth of new feathers. We, on the other hand, wilt hair and lose elasticity in our skin, as our muscles and organs progressively weaken with our increased years. Bodies that eventually disintegrate are part of our inheritance from Adam's fall.
Although our physical strength fades, our faith and hope increases with the years. Experience interacting with the Holy Spirit brings us ever closer to the image of Christ. Through trials and joys we grow closer to our spiritual roots and come to understand that the part of us that we identify with as our true, inner selves is pure spirit. Separation from the body in death is the beginning of spiritual freedom without encumbrance. We are now new creatures in Christ Jesus, but later, when we will see Him in all His Glory, sin and sorrow will be distant memories and the joy of the Lord will let our spirits truly soar.
Today’s meditation: Look ahead joyfully at the prize that awaits us.

Memory Verse: Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. (Psalms 71:3 NIV)

Daily devotion

4/5/2018

Living Victoriously
Toni Smothers

Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 4:3-8
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Scripture Quote: For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 NIV)

We are truly blessed whenever we are able to stand against temptations and trials. The Bible tells us that we will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. All worldly glory will only wither and perish. Also, there is a crown of righteousness for those who live the Christian life with dignity and humility, serving and loving others as Christ has taught us.

The crown of exultation is offered to us for the people we have encountered during our lives that we have influenced in some way for Christ. They truly are "our hope and our joy." When there is good purpose in our hearts, Christ uses that to welcome others into the fold. Just by opening ourselves up to be used, God blesses others with the Gospel message and draws them to the cross. To be a miniscule part of the glorious transformation of a newly saved soul has got to be better than great fame or fortune. And then, when our time here is done and we go to our true forever home, we will be privileged to lay our crowns at the foot of our Lord and our joy will truly be complete.

Today’s meditation: In everything you do, glorify Jesus.

Memory Verse: You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. (Revelation 4:11 NIV)

Daily devotion

4/4/2018

Culpability
Toni Smothers

Scripture Reading: John 3:16-21
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Scripture Quote: Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16 NIV)

Christians who profess to love God, also love, comfort and support each other, so that we can feel confident to share our troubles and mistakes without fear of gossip or betrayal of personal issues. But, this is an accountability that is not often pursued because our secrets can shame us. Where we might reveal an illness in a prayer request, that seems to be where our willingness to be vulnerable can often end. The idea of confessing our sins to one another makes some faint-hearted. God's Word instructs us to be accountable, humble our souls and openly seek another to pray for our specific sins, as we pray for theirs, which helps both to be more watchful of our slips.

We naturally want our friends to think well of us. When we admit to them offenses they would otherwise never have known, it humbles our pride and makes us deny rationalizations. We face ourselves in an amazingly fresh way - We definitely learn to desert self-applause. This confession is not meant for the Pastors or Elders of the church, but for other members of the church body. We can improve our faith walk when we share sin and prayer with a trustworthy Christian friend. Try it, you may not like it, but you will grow as a result of it.

Today’s meditation: Answerability improves sin-self-awareness.

Memory Verse: Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21 NIV)

Daily devotion

4/3/2018

Contemplate God’s Attributes
Toni Smothers

Scripture Reading: Job 11:7-18
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Scripture Quote: (Ecclesiastes 8:17 NIV) then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.

Our most inspired thought cannot grasp the concept of divinity or even eternity. We can define those words to human satisfaction, yet verbal explanations are shallow at best. Those realities are so beyond our perception that we haven't the ability to adequately express them to each other. Our human denial of the spiritual dimension in which Christ is King is only altered as far as our willingness to believe. We cannot see Christ who is spirit.

We can feel and be led by the Holy Spirit to read God’s Word and experience a small measure of His Divinity, but without any prior experience or source of reference, we simply cannot conceive of an eternal dimension in which total purity and holiness exists. Only our faith can venture into those realms and take the smallest taste of what we believe to be our eventual destiny. This much we do know: Power belongs to God, and with Him is unfailing love. How glorious that day will be for us when we finally go home to witness and exist in His glory for all eternity.

Today’s meditation: Contemplate Almighty God in awestruck wonder!

Memory Verse: Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33 NIV)

Devotion for the day

4/2/2018

We Are New Creatures
Toni Smothers

Scripture Reading: John 15:5-11
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Scripture Quote: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2 NIV)

Christians know that they are accountable to God's Law. We can't conform to the world's view of a fulfilled life through material gain and the worship of personal comfort and gratification of the lustful desires of their hearts. Instead, we are to fashion our lives after Christ's example, which leads us to find pleasure in more morale and substantial practices. We feel a strong aversion to the low standards of this world and do not wish to follow its vain pleasures.

We are new creatures in Christ Jesus and because of that transformation, God's will has become our dominate motivation. Our renewed minds gave us a disposition to obey Him and a capability to understand His precepts. The precious occasions when we walk solely in His will, we can see the appropriateness and beauty of His commands. Though we wander from Him entirely too often, His grace draws us back to appreciate our need for humility, repentance and awe of His great love for us. Our God rescued us from this world's ways. We are able to embrace the incredible thing He has done in our lives. Because once we were lost and now we are saved - Praise God!

Today’s meditation: Offer yourself to God’s will for your life.

Memory Verse: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)

Daily devotion

3/27/2018

We Are Chosen
Toni Smothers

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14
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Scripture Quote: For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Romans 8:29 NIV)

Isn't it great that the Gentiles were brought into fellowship with the Jews and that it was God’s plan all along? God has always had you and me in mind, even from the beginning of the creation. We were always meant for the salvation by our precious Jesus. God had us Gentiles as much in the contemplation of his mercy and goodness as he had the Jews and He always wanted us included in His plans. God dispensed the blessings of the Gospel so that we might all learn to be holy and without blame before Him. God still wants us all to love each other as He loves us.

Without any Mosaic rite, Gentiles were admitted to all the privileges of God's church and His eternal purposes. It's incredible to try to grasp that before the foundation of the world, God predetermined that we would be His own. We did not have any special goodness or merit in us - God calls His children according to the good pleasure of His benevolent will. He has pardoned the sins of all of us who have turned to Him with repentance and true faith. We will all be gathered into glory one day with our wonderful God. Praise Him with grateful hearts!

Today’s meditation: God has predetermined our calling and we are His.

Memory Verse: And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:30 NIV)

Daily devotion

3/23/2018

Loving the Unlovable
Toni Smothers

Scripture Reading: Romans 12:9-21
Click here to read the scripture
Scripture Quote: "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27-28 NIV)

God loves His children and can use any circumstance, whether we believe it to be evil or good, to our betterment or advantage. It's a hard truth to swallow, but we are not to respond with anger to anyone, even someone who is obviously worldly with evil intent. We can choose to be more concerned with the salvation of an evil doer, rather than to dwell on contempt for the person. It isn’t easy to be of the same spirit as Jesus, but that is what we are called to be. It takes a faithful heart and a noble mind to respond to unmerited abuse with peaceful resolve.

Quarrelsome retaliation is not appropriate behavior for the Christian. We are to leave each matter of unjust treatment to our Father God, who is the righteous judge. We can reprove with mildness whatever our enemy’s fault, but we must ultimately trust in God's willingness to use evil for our eventual good. God's children think that using something bad for good would be plain and simple. However, sometimes God's manipulation serves purposes that we are not privy to - We may never know the chain of events that God orchestrates for His purposes. Simply trust and obey, knowing that God’s way is always best for us.

Today’s meditation: Christians are supposed to be the peacemakers.

Memory Verse: But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Matthew 5:44 NIV)

Daily devotion

3/23/2018

Scripture Reading: Romans 12:9-21
Click here to read the scripture
Scripture Quote: "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27-28 NIV)

God loves His children and can use any circumstance, whether we believe it to be evil or good, to our betterment or advantage. It's a hard truth to swallow, but we are not to respond with anger to anyone, even someone who is obviously worldly with evil intent. We can choose to be more concerned with the salvation of an evil doer, rather than to dwell on contempt for the person. It isn’t easy to be of the same spirit as Jesus, but that is what we are called to be. It takes a faithful heart and a noble mind to respond to unmerited abuse with peaceful resolve.

Quarrelsome retaliation is not appropriate behavior for the Christian. We are to leave each matter of unjust treatment to our Father God, who is the righteous judge. We can reprove with mildness whatever our enemy’s fault, but we must ultimately trust in God's willingness to use evil for our eventual good. God's children think that using something bad for good would be plain and simple. However, sometimes God's manipulation serves purposes that we are not privy to - We may never know the chain of events that God orchestrates for His purposes. Simply trust and obey, knowing that God’s way is always best for us.

Today’s meditation: Christians are supposed to be the peacemakers.

Memory Verse: But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Matthew 5:44 NIV)

Daily devotion

3/22/2018

God Is Mighty to Save
Toni Smothers

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:25-31
Click here to read the scriptures
Scripture Quote: He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
(Isaiah 40:22-23 NIV)

How can we ever imagine in what manner God created and holds all of the universe together? Isn't the creation proof of the wisdom and power of God? How can we even try to compare the majesty and glory of God to anything we have ever known? We cannot. God is sovereign over all the earth, yet He loves broken humanity. He is great and glorious and worthy of the confidence of His people.

Even the most powerful leaders in our culture today are as nothing compared with our incredible God. We are a busy, agitated, impatient multitude, spread out all over the earth as God sees and cares for each of us. It's almost impossible to believe, yet we do believe - His presence in the form of the Holy Spirit is always with us and confirms God's faithfulness to all who love Him. We bring nothing more to the table than our hearts and obedience, yet God has promised to be our provision and our strength. Like Psa 27:1a says, “The LORD is my light and my salvation-— whom shall I fear?

Today’s meditation: We can rest confidently in God’s might and love.

Memory Verse: Christ Jesus who died, more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. (Romans 8:34b NIV)

2 Timothy 3:16-17New International Version (NIV) 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work

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Bio: Toni Smothers has written articles for “Total Health”, “Let’s Live”, “People In Action” and “The North American Mentor” magazines. She is a member of the Faithwriters.com writing community and was previously the editor for the teen section of their on-line magazine. She has written many programs, sermons, and skits and has edited several websites. Additionally, she has answered hundreds of questions for GotQuestions.org, a biblical resource site. Here is just one of their many testimonials: "Thank you for this insightful website! I was able to look up many questions I have asked over the years since becoming saved. The site is easy to navigate and gave me so much biblical background for answers that I feel my armor has been strengthened. You and your staff be encouraged to continue to speak the truth for God's glory." When Toni is not writing, she can usually be found cuddling with her 5 pound, furry, Chihuahua muse, “Princess Sweet Pea.” Toni Smothers studied homeopathy extensively and became a proficient layman. She wrote about homeopathy for “Total Health” and “Let’s Live” magazines. Smothers describes her experience befriending a refugee family from Laos in her article published in the travel magazine, “People in Action.” Additionally, “American Mentor” magazine has published some of her poetry. Smothers drew upon her fun experiences as a youth pastor to provide the needed insight to function as the editor of the teen section of “Faithwriters” magazine and she is a member of the Faithwriters.com writer’s community.

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