Daily Devotionals

Read Exodus 20:22-26 An alter of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you. Exodus 20:24 (NKJV)  After being given the Ten Commandments on Sinai, God instructed the people to build an altar of sacrifice. Before Christ came to earth, the sacrificial system bridged the gap between heaven and earth. The priest would intercede on behalf of the people and transfer the sins to the animal….

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Read Genesis 9:13-17 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.” Genesis 9:13, 17 (NKJV) Today, after two hours of heavy rainfall, the sky shone with a beautiful promise from God, the rainbow. It was so awe-inspiring and beautiful that everyone, myself included, went outside to admire and take pictures of it. When asked which color was my favorite, I…

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Read Philemon 1:1-25 No longer as a slave but more than a slave-a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. Philemon 1:16 (NKJV)  It should not be a surprise that during the rule of Rome, the early Christian church dealt with the issue of slavery. The apostle Paul addresses the case of a runaway slave who became a believer of Christ and was returning to his Master, Philemon. In Acts of the Apostles, E. G. White speaks of the Apostle Paul’s time in Rome and interactions with Onesimus:…

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BITTER WATER SWEET Read Exodus 15:22-27 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. Exodus 15:25 (NKJV)  This week’s children’s lesson discussed the Israelites’ first experiences in the desert after their deliverance. Three days after God parted the Red Sea and saved them from the Egyptian Army, they were unhappy with Moses. They complained about his leadership, forgetting God was leading Moses and them (Exodus 13:21-22). Why would God lead the people to an undrinkable and bitter water source? Wasn’t Moses familiar…

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IN THE FIERY FURNACE Read Daniel 3:8-25 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.  – Daniel 3:19 (NKJV) Yesterday, I worked with the pizza ovens at my part-time job. Fear of burning the pizzas, I kept a close eye on the thermometer, which read 540 degrees Fahrenheit, and continuously requested my supervisor to double-check the oven temperature. He would always reply, “The oven needs to be hotter!” Whenever I checked the pies,…

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TIME WITH GOD Read Matthew 26:36-58 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Matthew 26:40 (NKJV) Have you ever had the experience where you got up early in the morning and tried having a worship experience with God, but you were so sleepy that you could not stay up? Such was the disciples’ experience when Jesus asked them to watch and pray. Their eyes were heavy, and they could not find the energy they needed to pray for the master. Were they disinterested in…

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OVERCOMING TEMPTATION Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-22 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV) All humans on earth experience temptations daily. Christ, when He was here, experienced temptation constantly from the devil (Matthew 14:1-11). God never promised us that He would remove our temptations but provide us the ability to endure and be overcomers. Christ was…

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A GOD OF CHANCES Read Luke 23:26-56 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:42-43 (NKJV) Have you ever had a bad habit you wanted to break? How often did you find yourself doing that thing you no longer wanted to do? Our struggle with the flesh, sin, is similar. Paul speaks of his battle with sin and the desire to do good. He wrote,  “For I know that in me (that is, in…

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A MATTER OF CHOICE Read Joshua 24:1-28 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers serve that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 (NKJV) Have you ever had a moment when everything seems to be going right? You look in the mirror and say, “You are amazing, and look at all you have accomplished.” Joshua…

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