Monthly Archives: July 2021

OUR-DEVOTIONAL — 7/7/2021

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July 7, 2021

“Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” —Isaiah 64:8

I love you, My child! I Am your Potter. You are My clay. Your trial has broken you into many pieces. I have taken your pieces and Am grinding them into fine powder and will reuse them with pliable clay, as I will soon remold you. When I Am done remolding you, I will put you in My kiln for you to bake and dry. When done you will be a new cup. One that is designed to be filled with My faith, My hope and My love. One designed to overflow with so much of My love that you will share it with others so their cup can also have the same contents as yours. Before your trial, your cup had developed some cracks and could no longer get full of Me. My child, for a while now, you struggled in experiencing a full cup My faith, hope and love. You experienced these things, but not in its full abundance. I desire for you to experience Me in full abundance. You tried to share what you had in your cup with others. But it wasn’t from the overflow. So you could only share what you had with others—a limited half cup experience of Me. Don’t get Me wrong. I Am pleased that you are out there sharing Me. But now you know why you always seemed to hit empty when sharing. It’s because you weren’t sharing from the overflow. You couldn’t. Your overflow had stopped. I Am allowing this trial so you come out a new cup without the cracks—So you can experience Me to the fullest. So others who encounter you will see and desire Me because of your overflowing cup. But before we get there, I have to grind you up, reshape you and heat you in high temperatures. Each step is painful. But keep trusting Me, stay in My Presence and you will endure to your new cup. Hang in there, My child, okay? I’m right here. I love you!

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” —John 10:10 (ESV)

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” —1 Corinthians 13:13

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” —Psalm 23:5

OUR-DEVOTIONAL — 7/6/2021

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July 6, 2021

“The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” —Job 1:21

I love you, My child! I love that your faith in Me remains, despite your ongoing trial. I know it’s hard, but please be patient in your affliction. Remain faithful in Me. I will provide when the time is right. You remind Me of many of My children that I recorded in My Word. Take Job for example. He lost everything and he still remained faithful. Throughout his ordeal, I gave no indication that his trials would end, let alone get better. And while he was frustrated, hopeless and in agony, he participated with Me by constantly & honestly talking to Me. He had every worldly reason to lose faith and no longer talk to Me. But he didn’t. In the end, I restored and provided what Job lost and then some. Or how about Moses? He and My people were up against insurmountable challenges in the wilderness. Remember when the Egyptian army was in pursuit of them? They got stuck at the Red Sea. All seemed lost & hopeless. But Moses participated with Me as we did what seemed impossible—divide the Red Sea. He had faith in Me and I provided a way out. Or how about when I tested Abraham’s faith with Isaac’s sacrifice. Abraham participated by willing to go through with it, even though he preferred not to; and I provided a ram in the place of Isaac. And how about David? I provided just a few stones and David participated by going out there as the heavy underdog and defeated the giant Goliath. Job, Moses, Abraham and David all had faith in Me first & foremost. They knew that the battle or trial they were enduring belonged to Me. And all participated with Me because they trusted the results to Me. This is how faith grows. My child, things seem bleak for you right now. Your trial is difficult. But please continue to have faith in Me. Participate when I tell you. I will provide. Okay? Your battle, your trial is really mine. I love you!

“Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.”—Exodus 14:15-16

“Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide.” —Genesis 22:13-14

“for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” —1 Samuel 17:47

OUR-DEVOTIONAL — 7/5/2021

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July 5, 2021

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” —John 1:12

I love you, My child! To give you perspective today, let’s talk about My Grace and mercy. Mercy is when I withhold the punishment you deserve for your sin. Grace is undeserved favor. I Am Holy. Therefore, I hate that of which is unholy. I hate sin! Sin is anything you place above Me—if even for a moment. That anything becomes a “god” to you. You desire it ahead of Me. It could be your reputation, a person, money, sex, your job, personal comfort, etc. Sadly, you know what I’m talking about. The first commandment tells you that you shall have no other gods before Me. You and everyone have broken this first commandment. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of Me. Your sin has created a debt that you cannot repay no matter how many good works you do. And the penalty of that unpaid debt is eternal separation from Me—hell! But I Am also Love! I love my greatest creation in humanity. And I desire for all to be saved from My just punishment. But Someone had to pay this debt. That Someone had to be Perfect & free from sin. And that Person had to pay the ultimate price with His life! Only His Perfect life was sufficient to pay for the due penalty of yours and everyone’s sin. My Son Jesus did this for you at the cross! I and My Son are One, as I demonstrated when He resurrected from the tomb. Hence, My Son is Me! The penalty has been paid! And you whole-heartedly received My Gift of Grace in Jesus. You received Me through My love for you, even though you are undeserving because of your sin. You are saved from the penalty of sin! Now, we have a relationship that extends to eternity in heaven. And this is why I call you My child! Do you see how I have granted you my abundant mercy through My Gift of Grace? My child, as you go through your trial, maintain this perspective. It will help you heal. I love you!

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” —Ephesians 2:8-9

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” —John 3:17-18

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” —Romans 3:23; 6:23

OUR-DEVOTIONAL — 7/4/2021

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July 4, 2021

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” —Galatians 5:1

I love you, My child! Today, you celebrate Independence Day—when the U.S. declared independence from England. Freedom indeed! As you go about today, stay in My Presence. Contrary to the day you’re celebrating, you have freedom because you are dependent on Me. Apart from Me, you are a slave to sin. As a child of Mine, you are free to choose to be dependent on Me…To choose My strength to get you through the day—to get you through your trial. As you grow closer to Me, you will choose Me more often. But sometimes you will not. Sometimes you will choose to deny Me in sin—You will choose to try and find your own life independent of Me. When you do, you’re on your own strength and not Mine. Know I will never leave you as I indwell in you. But I will allow your choice, as free-will comes with the freedom you get from Me. You have chosen to deny Me many times since I have come to know you as My child. But as My child, know your salvation is assured. Nothing can snatch you from My Hands. However, your sin & denial—your independence from Me—will have earthly consequences. Trials are sometimes born from these. I allow trials not as punishment, but as a way to get you back depending on My strength; and sometimes to further you away from your sinful denial of Me. They will be difficult, painful, and more than you can handle. Sadly you know this, as you are going through a grueling trial right now. But that is so you rely more on Me. To be more in My Presence—to experience My strength & love more. My child, you are beginning to feel again the freedom you have in Me by staying close to Me in your trial. Your trial is not over. Stay dependent on Me! I love you!

“…We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God…” —2 Corinthians 1:8-9

“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” —Matthew 10:39

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” —John 10:28

OUR-DEVOTIONAL — 7/3/2021

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July 3, 2021

“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” —Psalm 37:4

I love you, My child! I know your trial has adversely affected what you normally like to do—share My Gospel. I do understand. But I need you to keep making yourself available so I can work through you, despite the pain you are experiencing. Okay? The other day, I really loved how you allowed Me to share the Gospel through you with that young man who cut your hair. Did you see how hesitant he was at first, but then he opened up as you started talking about My love? We’ll see him again. Most people who have heard of Me, who do not truly know Me, are like this. Deep down they yearn to have true intimacy with Me. They just don’t know how. The world runs contrary to having a relationship with Me. It either limits Me to some cosmic genie hoping to grant their wishes only when they need something. Or it dismisses Me all together. As such, so many people miss out on My true love. See, I love how you & I can talk just as we are now. I love when you pray to Me. I hear every word of yours, the spoken & unspoken. I love speaking back to you—when you’re quiet & contemplating Me. Or when you’re in My Word. I love our growing intimacy! My child, your trial will end one day. And you will experience joy again, I promise! When it does, I desire the intimacy of our relationship to continue to grow. Your trial has brought you close to Me like never before. When your joyous days return, let’s keep this growing intimacy going, okay? In lament, praise or thanks-giving, always delight in Me. And then you will continue to receive the true desires of your heart. Which is to be intimate with Me! I love you!

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land.” —Psalm 63:1

“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 does not know us is that it did not know him.” —1 John 3:1

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” —John 3:16

OUR-DEVOTIONAL — 7/2/2021

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July 2, 2021

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance…” —Proverbs 21:5

I love you, My child! Today & going forward, I need you to be more deliberate throughout your day. Especially in the little things; the uninspiring things. Like when you wake up. Be deliberate in your routine. Take that shower, brush your teeth, shave, eat a healthier breakfast. My child, you have struggled in being deliberate in your daily routine. Your trial has derailed you that even daily self-care has often become difficult. You’re alone, depressed and seemingly do not feel the need to get ready. Well, I need you to be ready for Me. Because you never know what I might bring throughout the day. And you won’t see it if you’re not ready. But if you are ready, then you’ll be more apt to identify, do and participate in what I might bring. My child, your lifestyle has become sedentary—mainly because of your trial. To be more active, I need you to be prepared to be active. Similarly, you’ve prepared yourself for My inevitable return. You don’t know exactly when, but you know I will. You took the first step in deliberately accepting Me as Lord & Savior many years ago. And today, you’re deliberately allowing Me to grow you in sanctification through your current trials, however painful. The pain of your trial is humbling you so I can work on you. You are in essence allowing Me to prepare you to be with Me for all eternity—to clean you up, to take that spiritual shower. To get rid of those dirt stains of sin that still exist in your life. Trials tend to bring you to repentance. And that’s what cleans you up—continual repentance! My child, you’re always going through a cleanup process. And thank you for allowing Me instead of pridefully denying that you have dirt stains. My child, when that day comes you will be ready for Me in heaven. All because of what I did and Am doing. In the meantime & likewise, please be deliberate and ready for the things that I might bring throughout the day. Don’t deny it by not being ready. All this to be in My Presence here today and soon for all eternity in heaven. I love you!

“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” —Matthew 24:44

“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” —Psalm 51:7

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” —Matthew 4:16

OUR-DEVOTIONAL — 7/1/2021

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July 1, 2021

“Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.” —John 1:16

I love you, My child! This trial of yours is painful. I see it in your face all day long. You haven’t had a sense of joy & happiness for quite a while now. Sadness has become your default demeanor. And it makes Me sad too. I know in your heart how much you still love the people that are causing you this trial. You miss them. You wish so much that you could’ve done things differently. But I need you to stop wishing what could’ve been, what you wish you didn’t do. It’s done, and the reality is this trial. The truth is, I placed these people in your life ultimately for My glory. For a period of time, these relationships were joyful. Sadly, things happened and these relationships are ending, hence this trial. It’s painful, I know. But your perspective needs to move from “What I lost” to “What I gained.” Truth is, because of your sinful nature, you do not deserve anything good from Me. But you do because I love you. You know this, it’s called Grace—or undeserved favor. It’s hard to see now, but the people that entered and are now exiting your life was a gift of Grace from Me. Don’t view it so much as you are losing them. Rather, look at the amazing experiences you gained with them. And I need you to keep loving them no matter what. Moreover, a new relationship was created out of all this. One that is not just biologically bound to you, but forever bound in love. This one will never exit your life. What a gift that is! My child, you gained a lot more than what you think you’re losing. You gained a lot more than you deserve. Continue to grow in humility and please look at what you have and will have after this trial concludes. You are still beyond blessed—that is My Grace! Your sense of joy & happiness needs to center around Me and My Grace! Okay? Hang in there. You’ll be fine. I love you, My child!

“But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’” —James 4:6

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” —1 Peter 5:10

“Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.” —Psalm 127:3