Toni Writing for The Master - Daily Devotional

Daily devotion

10/22/2018

The Holy Spirit
Scripture Reading for the day: Ephesians 1:15-20
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Scripture Quote: “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17 (NASB)
            Worldliness is not a list of external taboos – drinking, smoking, dancing, whatever. Worldliness is an attitude of acceptance and tolerance of the fallen world’s way of defining life.  As Christians we must seek to view the world with our hearts sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Only then can we understand the dangers and temptations that often slip their way into our lives before we even realize it sometimes. God doesn’t want us to follow a bunch of arbitrary rules and miss out on good times and a happy life. But true happiness is found in and through the Holy Spirit.
            Know that your enemies are the devil, the flesh and the world, who do not want you to abstain or resist their lures. Believers are comforted and guided by the Holy Spirit who brings joy and peace and will help us know when we are in God’s will.
Today’s meditation: “Praying in the Spirit is but cooperating with the will of God and as such, prayer is always victorious.” E.M. Bounds
Memory Verse: “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.”  John 15:26 (NASB)

Daily devotion

10/19/2018

Daily devotion

10/18/2018

Suffering & God’s Comfort

Scripture Reading For The Day: Job 5: 1-11

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Scripture Quote: "but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5: 3-5 (NASB)

Have you ever wondered how God feels when one of his children suffers? Does he feel the same as we do when we comfort our own child in illness or despair? I think that he must. Although He is the one parent who has the power to alleviate suffering, so often he does not. Instead, He refines us as we endure this life’s hardships, permitting our suffering. It is all part of the design and yet I know that God suffers with us.

How would our faith grow if everything were peachy-keen and we had little or no need for God’s help? If our faith were never put to the test, would it remain? How can God's children grow stronger in spirit, and closer to Him, without trials? And how much more does our faith increase when we do see His Almighty intervention on our behalf or feel His Mighty Comforter sustaining us as we somehow find the strength to endure? It is the trials and sufferings we experience that teach us God’s continuous presence in all our circumstances and our dependence on God in our weakness – And by all this we grow and are strengthened.
Today’s Meditation: God holds us within the palm of His hand.

Memory Verse: For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:5 (NASB

Daily devotion

10/17/2018

Spiritual Blessings

Scripture Reading for the day:  Ephesians 1:1-14

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Scripture Quote: “I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.” Ephesians 1:16-17 (NLT)

            We are blessed in Christ and have all the benefits of knowing God. As adopted children, chosen for salvation, we have every spiritual blessing - God’s forgiveness, insight, the fruit of the Spirit, power to do God’s will and the hope of eternity with Jesus. Those Christians, who pursue an intimate relationship with Christ on a daily basis, can have all these spiritual blessings now. They are not supposed to be seen as some far off prize but as our treasure here on earth.

            We can know without any doubt that we are set free from the law and from death and have become pure and holy in Christ – No condemnation awaits us. We will be made alive at the resurrection to sit with Christ in the heavenly realms. We are deemed justified through Christ and can come with joyful freedom and confidence into God’s presence. How can we ever stop praising our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?

Meditation for the day: “Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me. Break me! Melt me! Mold me! Fill me! Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.” David Iverson

Memory Verse: “And now God is building you, as living stones, into His spiritual temple.” I Peter 2:5 (NLT)

Daily devotion

10/16/2018

Salvation

Scripture Reading for the day: Acts 10:30-43

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Scripture Quote: “Peter told them, you know it is against the Jewish laws for me to come into a Gentile home like this. But God has shown me that I should never think of anyone as impure.” Acts 10:28 (NLT)

The good news of Christ is for everyone. Peter would not normally have approached a Gentile, but God’s message was clear: The Good News of Christ is for each person, and there can be no barrier, whether language, culture, prejudice, geography, economic level, or educational level, to prevent our telling others about Christ. So Peter was obedient and went to the Roman, Cornelius, giving him a brief but powerful sermon.

God is perfectly just, but because He is perfect, He recoils from our sin. Jesus lived a perfect life and gave the ultimate sacrifice, which pleased God. By faith we can claim God’s approval of us through Jesus. All who hear and accept the Gospel are set apart for God’s purpose. God caused Jesus to be a living Savior and friend to all people. Sin separates us from God, but Jesus’ victory over death gives us His pardon and peace.

Meditation for the day: “But in fact ‘Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father’ (Romans 6:4). The success of his suffering and death was vindicated. And if we put our trust in Christ, we are not still in our sins. For ‘by the blood of the eternal covenant,’ the Great Shepherd has been raised and lives forever.” John Piper, ‘The Passion of Jesus Christ’.

Memory Verse: “The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles, too.” Acts 10:45 (NLT)

Daily devotion

10/15/2018

Sacrificial Love

Scripture Reading for the day:  Matthew 18:21-35

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Scripture Quote: “But I say love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust too. If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.” John 3:16-21 (NLT)

            Yes, even the most corrupt of individuals loves someone else. Love is not achieved in its truest sense, though, until it is given in the face of rejection or bitterness. To find compassion and to offer prayers for an abuser’s soul takes the kind of love obtained only from a perfect God. We are incapable of that depth of love on our own. We must decide to try to love the offensive person and then let God’s love strengthen ours and filter through us.

            There are so many times in life that we are hurt by others, either intentionally or inadvertently. God really does want us to cherish love so much that we are willing to sacrifice anything, including our hurt feelings or pride in order to hold love up as the ultimate demonstration of a life changed by Christ’s sacrifice.

Meditation for today: “The master magnet of the gospel is not fear, but love. Penitents are drawn to Christ rather than driven.” Charles Surgeon

Memory Verse: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.” Psalm 42:1(NLT)

Daily devotion

10/12/2018

Sacrificial Love

Scripture Reading for the day: Matthew 18:21-35

Scripture Quote: “But I say love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust too. If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.” John 3:16-21 (NLT)

Yes, even the most corrupt of individuals loves someone else. Love is not achieved in its truest sense, though, until it is given in the face of rejection or bitterness. To find compassion and to offer prayers for an abuser’s soul takes the kind of love obtained only from a perfect God. We are incapable of that depth of love on our own. We must decide to try to love the offensive person and then let God’s love strengthen ours and filter through us.

There are so many times in life that we are hurt by others, either intentionally or inadvertently. God really does want us to cherish love so much that we are willing to sacrifice anything, including our hurt feelings or pride in order to hold love up as the ultimate demonstration of a life changed by Christ’s sacrifice.

Meditation for today: “The master magnet of the gospel is not fear, but love. Penitents are drawn to Christ rather than driven.” Charles Surgeon

Memory Verse: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.” Psalm 42:1(NLT)

Daily devotion

10/11/2018

Repentance

Scripture Reading for the day:  Psalm 20

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Scripture Quote: “Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in afflictions and irons – Because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High, therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces.” Psalm 107:10-14 (NKJV)

            We need only turn from our self-reliance and ask God for help in all areas of our lives – God provides wonderfully if only we will let Him. He knows our weaknesses and can step in at any time to rescue us from our inevitable mistakes. But then we would be little more than robots. No, we will always have free will and it is up to us to repent of our sins, ask God’s forgiveness and embrace His help with loving gratitude.

            God is faithful and will never let us go. We may suffer from our sin’s consequence, but He will remain in our hearts and help us through. To be intimate with Jesus, we must stay in a perpetual state of repentance so that we may lead the abundant life He has for each of us today.

Meditation for today: “Wanderers, prisoners, sick and storm-tossed people all suffered but were saved when they called upon God.” Max Lucado

Memory Verse: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9 (NKJV)

Daily drvotion

10/10/2018

Religiosity

Scripture Reading for the day: John 18:19-24

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Scripture Quote: “Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early, and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.” John 18:28 (NASB)
The hypocrites, who condemned Jesus’ to die, refused to enter into the pagan headquarters of the Roman Governor. Religious dictates would not permit a Jew to enter the house of a Gentile - Doing so would defile the Jew, which also meant that he could not partake of the upcoming Passover feast. Keeping the ceremonial requirements of their religion was everything to them. Meanwhile, murdering an innocent man was irrelevant. Ironically, Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover the hypocrites desired to celebrate so much. The religion of the hypocrites was heartless and had nothing to do with God or truth.
As Christians, we can sometimes fall into thinking that a bunch of rules is the basis for our own religious “correctness.” It is all too easy to become ritualistic in our prayer life or in our worship. Anything that we honor other than the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, will lead us astray. A personal relationship with Christ which demonstrates itself in love, liberty and the practice of imitating Him, will glorify God.
Today’s meditation: Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
Memory Verse: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” John18:36 (NASB)

Daily devotion

10/9/2018

Pride

Scripture Reading for the day:  Psalm 51:1-17

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Scripture Quote: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)

            Rather than approaching God to forgive us for a particular sin, it is better to live in a continual state of repentance so that your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s conviction becomes very intense. Also, living in a state of constant repentance just naturally turns us away from the world toward God. We must continually remind ourselves that although we live in the world, our home is not here - We are just passing through.

            Being repentant is more than just knowing you have a problem of being sinful. It also humbles us so that we can see our inability to do anything about our sin without God’s help. We can pray that God will show us His favor and grant us a pure heart, but He must do the work in our hearts.

            Pride so often is the root cause of our sinfulness. We all are full of pride and constantly struggle to find any true humility within ourselves. We must develop an attitude that is willing to look at our blackest thoughts and desires and hand them over to God so that he can cleanse us. It is foolish to think that we can hide our cold heart’s wickedness from our heavenly Father.

Meditation for the day: “Pride is the cancer and ego its seed.” Glenn Phillips

Memory Verse: “I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.”  Psalm 101:5

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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