Prayers Devotionals

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 “How does someone know if they’re deceived, or if they’re in a church that’s been deceived and deceiving their members? We know that the only answer is for the Holy Spirit to remove the scales of deception from their eyes. Then, through studying the scriptures and by the illumination of God’s word, they’re able to identify false teachings and practices. In many cases, the solution for the deceived individual is salvation. They are false converts who have been seduced by a false gospel – they need to be born again to grasp spiritual truths (1 Corinthians 2:14). This is precisely why so many warnings concerning false teachers and their false teachings fall on deaf ears. In other cases, despite their biblical ignorance in areas and need for sound doctrine, people need to be convicted of their sin – because inevitably you’ll find that their motives for believing what is false, are impure.” Read more… Paul & Emily Massey https://wewouldratherhavejesus.com/2022/12/at-least-christ-is...

The Bible doesn’t say anywhere that a pastor shouldn’t call someone a false teacher and warn the flock about him just because the pastor doesn’t know for sure what’s in the person’s heart or because he’s afraid of what others might think. We are all to look at their words and their behavior and judge (that’s right, I said “judge“) whether or not they are teaching what accords with sound doctrine. And if they’re not, they need to be denounced. Not in a wild-eyed, foaming at the mouth, wingnut way, but certainly loudly and decisively as a mature man of God. Remember the words of your brother and fellow laborer Paul, who, after condemning false teachers in Galatians 1:6-9, may have anticipated the same backlash you might receive: For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10   https://michellelesley.com/2023/03/22/fighting-off-the-wolves-2/  

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You can't see God. But be assured, He is very, very real. He is walking right beside you. Worship is the recognition of God for Who He is, what He has done, and what we are trusting Him to do in the future. Jesus has given each of us a race to run. Each of our races are different, this means that we cannot compare our race with others. At times, our race is difficult. We become tired and worn out, but then God reminds us of how much we need Him! We are not running alone! God is waiting on our faith to show up before He does what He has already determined to do. Dear God, The human in me says, “Why, Lord?” whenever I have to bear suffering—but the Spirit-filled me that was born again says, “I trust You, Father.” The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and He doesn’t engage in manipulation—emotional or otherwise. A Prayer for When We Feel Tempted to Sin Dear God, It is so hard to fight against temptations. The devil bombards us constantly. Teach us how to wisely and effectively use Y...

 Bible verses to help you fight the Devil, demons and evil spirits In the spiritual realm we are all at war and the enemy is fierce. Reality is that our enemy, the devil, is a formidable one. He's had thousands of years of experience in tempting, destroying and taking people out of God's presence. But as big as our enemy is, our God is even bigger. And one thing is for sure: we are now on the winning side. Because of what Jesus did on the cross for us, we now share in His victory and can fight the enemy with a determination to win. God fights for us and equips us to win. In times of spiritual battle, temptation, accusation, deception and condemnation, God has equipped us with His Word to fight against the forces of evil and push back the plans of the enemy. Chances are that you are in some form of spiritual battle today. And your means of fighting is knowing what God has to say about this battle in His Word. Here are seven verses on spiritual battle and how to win against the e...

  NAR and the Asbury Revival: Why We Should Be Concerned Written By Holly Pivec and Doug Geivett What should we make of recent events at Asbury University? Did a genuine revival occur there or not? We’ve heard a lot of opinions and perspectives, but, surprisingly, one thing we haven’t heard much about is the considerable influence from the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) that cropped up at the revival.[1] We are not saying the Asbury Revival was a NAR revival, from start to finish, because Asbury University is of the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition and is not a NAR institution. However, we do suggest that NAR influence at the revival was significant. And this is a cause for concern. NAR teachings that apostles and prophets must govern the church are extreme. They are not merely historic Pentecostal or charismatic teachings about the miraculous gifts (such as speaking in tongues and prophesying). In NAR, the role of authoritative apostles and prophets in revival is pivotal. There cannot...

Churches are not only trying to appease the secular aspect of pagan culture, but they are also attempting to dilute one of the most offensive biblical teachings to the world, which is the exclusivity of Jesus. (Jesus himself claimed that there is no other way to God but through him, and this fact is detested by the world.) However, many churches and church leaders are engaging in syncretistic efforts to water down this clear biblical fact. Watering down or altering the gospel to make it more palatable to the culture not only diminishes its power but also misrepresents the heart of God. The gospel demands repentance and a turning away from sin. It is not something that can be altered to fit the changing whims of society. https://disntr.com/2023/03/17/how-the-church-compromises-the-gospel-by-seeking-to-be-relevant-to-the-culture/

 Praying for others is a source of healing for us. Praying for others enables us to let go of the anger and frustration we carry against people. The fire of resentment and rage acts like a slow consuming fire that can potentially harm our physical and mental well-being. Praying for others releases us from this and quenches the destructive power of our negative emotions. In essence, praying for others transforms us first before it transforms others. New age ideologies always talk about the power of positive thinking. But have we ever explored the power of “positive praying?” When we pray for the good of others, it does a work of transformation within us. The quickest way to change a relationship from bad to good is to start thanking God in prayer for the people we are not particularly fond of. What should we pray for others? Have a little chat with God.

 1 Timothy 6:3-5    

 Why Are there so Many Christian Denominations? by Don Boys, Ph.D. I have often heard the complaint about so many Christian denominations. We are told that there is one Bible, and we Christians are supposed to love each other; so why have Christians split into 9,000 different denominations? That’s a reasonable question. According to the New Testament, the church was started by Christ and nourished by Peter, Paul, John, James, and others. During those early days, the church was known as “the church in Jerusalem” or the “Jerusalem church.” Later, churches were established in homes in Corinth, Antioch, and Rome. Being human (and fallible), Christian leaders disagreed (wrongly) with some of the Apostolic teachings and formed churches that reflected their interpretation. Some were minor and some were major departures from the Scripture. They then wrote false “gospels” to support their erroneous departure from the truth. The many denominations came into existence because of such departur...

New Doesn’t Always Mean Improved Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. (1 John 4:1 NLT) However, we need to be careful. As we mature, we realize that just because something is new doesn’t mean it is better. We can be looking for a new experience, truth, or revelation and get ourselves into a lot of trouble. Instead, we need to apply judgment and realize that we’re potentially vulnerable. If we can’t find it in the Bible, then we don’t need it from someone else. The Bible is the arbiter of truth.  

 SIMPLE PRAYERS We have been tuned to think of prayer as a recital or a show of a person’s spiritual standards. The Bible actually tells us otherwise. Matthew 6:5 NIV says, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” The wildest prayer that we can pray is one that doesn’t focus on the exuberance of verbosity or exaggeration of words but focuses on expressing all that is ebbing within the depths of our hearts. There are three elements in a simple prayer that can yield wild results in our lives: Get alone: Jesus says, “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” God loves to get alone with us. Why does God want us to be alone with Him? - He wants us to spend some undisturbed time with Him. - He wants some of o...

 "Then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark." Genesis 8:9 Wearied out with her wanderings, the dove returns at length to the ark as her only resting place. How heavily she flies--she will drop--she will never reach the ark! But she struggles on. Noah has been looking out for his dove all day long, and is ready to receive her. She has just strength to reach the edge of the ark, she can hardly alight upon it, and is ready to drop, when Noah puts forth his hand and pulls her in unto him. Mark that: "pulled her in unto him." She did not fly right in herself, but was too fearful, or too weary to do so. She flew as far as she could, and then he put forth his hand and pulled her in unto him. This act of mercy was shown to the wandering dove, and she was not chidden for her wanderings. Just as she was she was pulled into the ark. So you, seeking sinner, with all your sin, will be received. "Only return"--those are God's ...

Joyce Meyer. Meyer is a charismatic false prophetess who operates Joyce Meyer Ministries out of Fenton, Missouri, just outside of St. Louis. Joyce Meyer is well-known for her Prosperity Gospel type preaching. The Prosperity Gospel–also known as “Health and Wealth Gospel,” “Name it and Claim it,” and “Word of Faith”–is a perversion of the biblical gospel that teaches that the primary purpose of Jesus’ death and resurrection is to create material gain for those who have enough “faith.” In one sermon, Joyce Meyer she explains to the audience that if they continue to seek God diligently, “payday will come.” Perverting the gospel even further, she also holds to and teaches the idea that we can speak things into existence–an act that only God can do. In fact, she once claimed that she was able to “speak her debt away.” If you appreciate our work, you can enjoy ad-free articles, exclusive content, and access to our podcast archive by becoming a member. ►  Join Now Contrary to what the Scr...

 C. S. Lewis Daily There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others. The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility. You may remember, when I was talking about sexual morality, I warned you that the centre...

  Psalm 139:18   WBT  "when I awake, I am still with thee." NLT "And when I wake up, you are still with me!" KJV "when I awake, I am still with thee." NASB "When I awake, I am still with You." CSB "when I wake up, I am still with you." HCSB "when I wake up, I am still with You." https://biblehub.com/psalms/139-18.htm  

God’s will is joyful, and He wants to reveal His will to us. God’s will is not something that we are forced to do, but it should be something that we want to do. And we’ll find joy in doing the will of God.

 Not Good Enough (Some try the door of good works.) . . . not having mine own righteousness . . . —Philippians 3:9 People go through many doors which do not lead to the Kingdom of God. Some try the door of good works. They say, “I can get to heaven if I only do enough good things, because God will honor all the good things I do.” It’s wonderful to do good things, but we cannot do enough good things to satisfy God. God demands perfection, and we’re not perfect. If we’re going to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we have to be absolutely perfect. You ask, “Well, how will I ever be perfect?” We need to be clothed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus. There is one door to the Kingdom and it’s Jesus. And we will never get to heaven unless we go His way. Prayer for the day Almighty God, there is nothing I can do to be worthy of Your love, and yet You have given me Jesus—my Savior and Lord! B.G.

 Abuse of Stewardship (We are living in a day of the commercialization of God) In His Presence: Matthew 19:23-25 We are living in a day of the commercialization of God, where people go to church to find out what God will do for them. Instead of focusing on the goodness of giving to God, some focus on receiving blessing from God. These people have betrayed God for a price, expecting Him to act like Santa Claus, dispensing blessing because of their giving. There are many names for this—prosperity theology, name-it-and-claim-it theology—but it's all the same in that people relate to God simply because of the goodies He provides. In Acts 8:14-24, me meet possibly the first prosperity gospel preacher, Simon. According to verse 13, Simon believed and was baptized, so we know he was a believer. But he brought with him into the church the materialistic mentality of the culture. Through this passage, we can examine some of the problems of materialism that can infiltrate our church today. Fi...

 Our Awesome God (Revelation 4:9-11 9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they [a]existed, and were created.”) In our culture, God’s name is oftentimes mentioned with little reverence. In fact, many people actually use it as a curse. Even among those who love Him, it is far too common to use His name casually, without taking time to ponder who He is. When you say a blessing at mealtimes, for instance, do you realize that you are talking to the almighty Creator God who rules over all things? Our view of the Lord impacts three areas of life. First, it affects our prayers. As we come to k...

According to our axiom, if there is no sowing of seeds, there can be no expectation of harvest. There are many Christians who want a great harvest from God, but they have sown very few seeds for God. Second Corinthians 9:6 says: “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” Your harvest depends on what you sow. If you plant potatoes, potatoes will grow. To plant the flesh means you will simply live to gratify yourself. But to plant the Spirit is to live for the glory of God. One Minute Please If we make no spiritual investment, we should not expect a spiritual return. (axiom [ ak-see-uhm ] noun a self-evident truth that requires no proof. a universally accepted principle or rule. Logic, Mathematics. a proposition that is assumed without proof for the sake of studying the consequences that follow from it.)

 C. S. Lewis Daily We must simply accept it that we are spirits, free and rational beings, at present inhabiting an irrational universe, and must draw the conclusion that we are not derived from it. We are strangers here. We come from somewhere else. Nature is not the only thing that exists. There is ‘another world’, and that is where we come from. And that explains why we do not feel at home here. A fish feels at home in the water. If we ‘belonged here’ we should feel at home here. All that we say about ‘Nature red in tooth and claw’, about death and time and mutability, all our half-amused, half-bashful attitude to our own bodies, is quite inexplicable on the theory that we are simply natural creatures. If this world is the only world, how did we come to find its laws either so dreadful or so comic? If there is no straight line elsewhere, how did we discover that Nature’s line is crooked? From Present Concerns

 "Ye must be born again." John 3:7 https://biblehub.com/parallel/john/3-7.htm Regeneration is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation, and we should be very diligent to take heed that we really are "born again," for there are many who fancy they are, who are not. Be assured that the name of a Christian is not the nature of a Christian; and that being born in a Christian land, and being recognized as professing the Christian religion is of no avail whatever, unless there be something more added to it--the being "born again," is a matter so mysterious, that human words cannot describe it. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." Nevertheless, it is a change which is known and felt: known by works of holiness, and felt by a gracious experience. This great work is supernatural. It is not an operation which...

  The Story Of Joseph Genesis 37–50 “Calling and Purpose” The Almighty is working out His purposes for your life even if your present path appears to be a rabbit trail or even a dead end. Might there be something holding up your progress? In Joseph’s case, forgiveness was something he needed to learn before he could fulfill his purpose on earth. When Joseph was a young buck, he had a series of prophetic dreams about his future. In the first dream, he and his brothers were in the field binding sheaves of grain. According to Joseph, his “sheaf arose and also stood upright” while his brothers’ sheaves “stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf” (Genesis 37:7). “How did his brothers like that dream?” you might ask. They didn’t. In fact, the Bible says they “hated him even more for his dreams and for his words” (verse 8). See, they already hated Joseph because he was his father’s favorite. A dream like that only served to stoke the fires of their anger. Sometime later, Joseph had anot...

 "Now we have received ... the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." 1 Corinthians 2:12 Dear reader, have you received the spirit which is of God, wrought by the Holy Ghost in your soul? The necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart may be clearly seen from this fact, that all which has been done by God the Father, and by God the Son, must be ineffectual to us, unless the Spirit shall reveal these things to our souls. What effect does the doctrine of election have upon any man until the Spirit of God enters into him? Election is a dead letter in my consciousness until the Spirit of God calls me out of darkness into marvellous light. Then through my calling, I see my election, and knowing myself to be called of God, I know myself to have been chosen in the eternal purpose. A covenant was made with the Lord Jesus Christ, by his Father; but what avails that covenant to us until the Holy Spirit brings us its blessin...