​eek God’s Presence
 Toni Smothers
 
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 8:22-31
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Scripture Quote: Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:4 - all verses NIV)
 
Jesus performed many miracles demonstrating His divinity, salvation being His most glorious of miracles. Some Christians today think that believing in Jesus back when people saw Him first hand and heard Him teach, should have been a slam-dunk. In retrospect, Jews in Christ's day were rigid and reluctant to believe, but are we any different? Miracles still occur today, many for our personal benefit, yet some still say that these occurrences are coincidence or wishful thinking.
 
Jesus was from the beginning with the Father and has since been seen with human eyes as a man that was touchable and accessible. The Word of Life, our Lord, came to show us the way to God. We could well be like the blind man, afflicted with a different kind of blindness, but still unable to recognize current miraculous works. Believing in Jesus and His miracles, both then and now, has required the same leap of faith for all generations. So let us all leap together into the knowledge that Jesus Christ's divine power delivered to His people in the form of miracles has not diminished with time and it never will.
 
Today’s meditation: God’s presence is real - Today and always.
 
Memory Verse: See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world doesn’t know us is that it didn’t know him.(1Joh 3:1)

​The Devil Made Me Do It1 Corinthians 10:13b
But when you are tempted...

Thoughts for Today:Forty years ago, comedian Flip Wilson unveiled two characters in his television show: Reverend Leroy, the pastor of the "Church of What's Happening Now", and Geraldine Jones, one of his parishioners. Geraldine would impulsively buy a dress, and then excuse the urge by saying, "The Devil made me do it!" America laughed at Geraldine's silly excuse. We all know Satan wants us to sin, but we also know the truth.

In our passage today, Paul doesn't say, "If you are tempted." He says, "When you are tempted." Unfortunately, while on this earth, temptation is a part of life that we must all learn to deal with. In the Garden of Eden, God confronted Adam and Eve (the first man and woman) after they sinned. Their response set the tone for all of mankind. Just like Geraldine Jones -- they shifted the blame to someone or something other than themselves. Adam said, "The woman You gave me made me do it." The implication of course was that it was not only his mate's fault, but God's as well. Eve said, "The serpent deceived me." However, regardless of Satan's influence, God held them both accountable for their sin. The Devil might have provided an enticement, but he did not make them do it.

What was God's solution to the sin of Adam and Eve? Was it to blame Satan? Rather, God encouraged a confession of sin from the sinners, "I ate." He then provided a sacrificial death as compensation for their transgression. Genesis 3:21: "The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them." The animals had to be slain by God so He could give them garments of skin. This was the beginning of the concept of sacrifice and the shedding of blood as covering for sins. Hebrews 9:22 spells this out clearly: "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

Nothing has changed. God's plan for removing our guilt involves removing the sin that caused it. In other words, when we recognize our sin and receive God's provision through the finished work of Jesus Christ, we have the forgiveness we desperately want. We no longer need to try and excuse our guilty consciences by shifting the blame to someone else.

Questions to Ponder:Do you have a guilty conscience? Who or what is to blame? If you answered, "Sin," you got it right. When we cross from temptation into transgression it is no one's fault but our own. But there is a way back to grace. 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Will you go to Him now?

​Satan’s Ultimate Defeat
By, Toni Smothers
 
Scripture Reading: Act 2:31-39
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Scripture Quote: “This man was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” Acts 2:23-24 (NIV)
 
Jesus shared in our humanity, suffered a brutal death, and broke Satan's power over death. Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after His death and gave them convincing proof that he was really alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. Jesus told them that they would receive power through the Holy Spirit, which Jesus would send them so that they would be His witnesses to people everywhere.
 
It is with our hearts that we believe and are saved and it is with our mouths that we profess our faith. Faith seems to put the almighty power of God into our hearts and hands, whereas wavering belief and contempt seems to drive Christ out of even a Christian’s heart. That’s why faith is the power behind Satan's defeat. Death was intended by Satan to be the final ruin of mankind - But it has become the instrument of our journey into endless glory. So, the death brought in by Satan has been flip-flopped on him because it was rendered ineffectual by Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection.
 
Today’s meditation: Ponder your glorious resurrection into Heaven.
 
Memory Verse: “So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith,” Galatians 3:26 (NIV)

​                                                                     Safety in Jesus
 Toni Smothers
 
Scripture Reading: John 15:4-12
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Scripture Quote:  Who then is the one who condemns? No one. 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. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword. Romans 8:34-35 (NIV)
 
There is incredible safety for those who believe the Gospel spelled out in the Word of God. Our Savior is constantly interceding for His elect. We are the ransomed, protected from our flaws because God has chosen us. Are we so special that we avoid all idolatry, injustice and wrong? Or can we honestly say that we do not have ruined morals or shameless moments of pure selfishness? We wish! The only reason we have been chosen children of God is for His good pleasure and not our perfection. Let's face it, left to our own devices, we are a mess.
 
Our hearts are purified by faith and we struggle and wrestle with our old selves once we are born again followers of Jesus. But if we hold fast to our faith and resist the temptation to turn away when we go through the various trials in our lives, Jesus said that He will abide in us - And that is the promise we can hold on to when we feel like we fall so short of the goal. Christ literally lives in us and helps us to evolve into fruitful branches.
 
Today’s meditation: Thank you, Jesus, that you are our protection.
 
Memory Verse: Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)
 

​                                                                             Sacrificial Love
 Toni Smothers
 
Scripture Reading: Luke 24:44-51
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Scripture Quote: Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" John 20:17 (NIV)
 
Jesus showed humanity a perfect life as a man. He suffered Gethsemane with the sole purpose of opening heaven's door to us. His Resurrection gave our Savior the right to give eternal life to any person. His cross is the door by which all believers may enter into the life of God. He came back to His disciples and the marks of the nails and the spear were still apparent on His body so that there could be no doubt in their assignment to preach His message of hope for eternal life to mankind. His Ascension proves His entrance into heaven as He continues to hold the door open for us.
 
Jesus went back into His original glory, but not just as the Son of God - Jesus was also then the Son of Man. He provides freedom of access for all Believers directly to the Throne of God. Christ's omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience were all deliberately limited as man, but has been completely restored to Him in full power. Jesus came to obtain salvation for fallen humanity and is now Lord of lords and King of kings. Praise God!
 
Today’s meditation: Oh, how He loves us.
 
Memory Verse: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!...”
1 John 3:1a (NIV)   

​                                                                            Right Relationship
 Toni Smothers
 
Scripture Reading: John 1:11-18
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Scripture Quote: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) 
 
Since we have an inadequate or imperfect idea of God, of His holiness, justice and truth, we are constantly yearning for a closer rapport with Him. We also want to be able to give an intelligent explanation to others of our faith in God. Christianity may seem a difficult concept for some because the non-believer looks at our lives with all its inconsistencies and wonders how to make sense of us. We declare our faith in the abiding consciousness of God, but we stumble with worries and failures associated with worldly issues.
 
The whole of our lives are meant to be absolutely filled by the presence of God. How then can we worry and fret over anything? How do Believers realize that worry is sinful and still remain so controlled by it? When we are able to leave all our concerns at God's feet, we spend our days gratefully oblivious to any worries - That is God's peace that passes our understanding. When we are in right relationship, putting God's Will and plans before our own, it is obvious to observers that an abiding companionship with God means everything to us and though we may be inconsistent, He never is - Simple joy is what our skeptics will observe.
 
Today’s meditation: Enjoy a worry free, God filled life.
 
Memory Verse: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalms 32:8 (NIV)

                                                                      Reward and Punishment
 Toni Smothers
 
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 12:14-24
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Scripture Quote: Since the time of creation, everyone has known that sinful people are happy for only a while. Though their pride and power may reach to the sky, they will disappear like dust, and those who knew them will wonder what happened. They will be forgotten like a dream. Job 20:4-8 (CEV)
 
A nonbeliever who is weak and lacks self-disciple is foolish and easily angered - He speaks whatever comes into his mind, and is not concerned with the pain he inflicts with his injurious speech. Conversely, this person is easily offended, with little turning into his good. Those who honor evil and cruelty act without judgment and listen to no one. All people are rewarded or punished for what we say and do. The wicked are defeated in death and gone forever into a disastrous eternity, but no one who obeys God will be separated from Him by death or any other evil scheme.
 
God makes those who study His Word to be gradually changed by it. As we walk in the path of obedience we increase in goodness, and consequently in the favor of the Lord. Christians know that all things work together for good to those who love God and live according to His purposes. Whatever happens in the lives of believers, whether good or bad, God turns it to our advantage and His glory at some point. God's Plan makes His children as secure as a tree with very deep roots.
 
Today’s meditation: God’s grace gives our lives purpose and security.
 
Memory Verse: Losing your temper is foolish; ignoring an insult is smart. Proverbs 12:16(CEV)

                                                              Rejoicing with the Prodigal
 Toni Smothers
 
Scripture Reading: Luke 15:14-28
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Scripture Quote: But he answered his father, “Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.” Luke 15:29 (NIV)
 
The prodigal son's brother was envious and void of affection for him. Rather than share in his father's joy, the older brother reacted with anger. He had always been an obedient son who worked his father's fields. He neither requested his inheritance early, nor recklessly squandered it away, so he felt slighted by the exuberant attention bestowed on his delinquent brother. He reminds us of the Pharisees who claimed to be righteous, religious experts. But, they were also filled with jealousy over Jesus’ tremendous popularity with the people.
 
The father's property had been divided. What remained belonged to the older son. He was heir to it all and had a right to use it any way he chose. Therefore, the older brother had no right to complain. And though we may understand that he was jealous, it was the father's affection and forgiveness that the older brother craved. Christians are all prodigal children who have returned repeatedly to the mercy and forgiveness of our heavenly Father. We are so privileged to be able to repent of our sins and run to Him as often as we fail, with the full assurance that He will receive us.
 
Today’s meditation: There is always hope for the prodigals among us.
 
Memory Verse:  "'My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” Luke 15:31 (NIV)

​                                                                         Refuge in Prayer
By, Toni Smothers
 
Scripture Reading for the day: Psalms 142:1-7
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Scripture Quote: “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Mat 6:6 (NIV)
 
When we face frequent troubles and difficult circumstances, it is important to know where we can seek the help we need. God is our refuge and strength and a very present help when we are facing our worst problems.
 
We can begin our personal conversation with our Creator by expecting that He will listen. The use of impressive language is not what reaches God's heart. He looks for reverence and faith. Total dependence on His goodness is key. God will provide what is needed. He is faithful to strengthen us and help us to get through whatever rough times we are in. He is always with those who abide in Christ because we are God's temple and His spirit dwells in our midst.
 
God grants us not only what we ask, but even more than we ask. He rewards prayer itself by granting so much more than we can ever ask or think. His ways are just naturally higher than ours and He is the givver of wonderful gifts to those who love Him. Your Father in heaven knows what you need, even before you ask Him, but He does wait for you to ask.
 
Todays Meditation: Go to God first because He hears and answers prayers.
 
Memory Verse: “I call to you, LORD, come quickly to me; hear me when I call to you.” Psa 141:1 (NIV)