Lay down my life for the calling of Christ

 S - Luke 14: 26 -35   (NASB)

26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not [r]hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’ 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace. 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not [s]give up all his own possessions.

34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be [t]seasoned? 35 It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile, so it is thrown out. The one who has ears to hear, [u]let him hear.”

O - Jesus is speaking to His disciples and the thousands who had gathered to here Him teach and see Him heal the lame and afflicted.   He tells them the kind of people who will be able to follow Him and receive healing from the one who sent Him.  They needed to give up their entire life and follow him,  carrying each their own cross.   He explains to them it is important they count the cost of this choice to follow Him, much like the person who sets out to build a tall skyscraper must count the cost to build the building before they start so they have confidence they will finish it.   Therefore each one of us needs to count the cost of following Jesus and should follow Jesus as His disciples have.  

A -  The application for me is to be sure I understand the cost of following Jesus.   I must consider separating myself from my mother and sister,  from my wife and daughters,  for my fathers and their son and daughter.     I must pick up my cross that I must bare in order to follow Chris for the cause of winning souls for the Kingdom of God.  For what King would fight a war against a far superior army without having assurance they will be victorious,  it would be better for them to surrender and become slaves.  

P - Dear heavenly Father, help me to follow the example of Jesus,  your chosen one.  Help me to lay down my possessions on the alter as an offering to you.   Then equip me in the full armor of God so that I might fight our great enemy Satan who seeks to kill and destroy all of Gods people.   I want to be know as Joseph,  follower of Christ, and warrior for God's elite fighting force and a friend to the sons of Man.   I pray all this in Jesus Christ name, Amen. 

Storing up my treasures in Heaven

 S - Luke 12:33-34  (NASB)

33 “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

O - Jesus is speaking to His disciples about the treasures of this world that do not last.    It comes from a man who asks Jesus to tell his brother to give him half of the family inheritance.   Jesus tells him not worry about where he will get clothes to wear or food to eat but rather seek to store treasures in heaven that the moth will not destroy.   Instead he tells him to sell his possessions and give the profit to charity.   He says fill his money belt with the abundant treasures in heaven where no thief comes to steal.    For where you treasure is , there your heart will be also.

A - The application for me is to be sure to I am storing treasures in heaven and not on earth.  I must commit to selling my possessions and using the profit to give to charity.   Only then can I begin to store God's gift in storage in bags I will carry in heaven.  This treasure will be protected from thieves and  from the the destroying appetite of the moth.   When I store up my treasure in heaven then there my heart will be in heaven also.

P -  Dear heavenly Father, thank you for today's devotion may it be sealed to my heart.   I pray Lord that you would help me to give away my treasures here on earth and give them to charity. I want to seek treasures in heaven to fill the hole in my heart that came from excavation in my heart of the things that I acquired here on earth.  I pray all this in Jesus' Christ name, Amen.

Seeking, Asking, Knocking

 S - Luke 11:9-13 (NASB)

9 “So I say to you, [i]ask, and it will be given to you; [j]seek, and you will find; [k]knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. 11 Now [l]which one of you fathers will his son ask for a [m]fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him a snake? 12 Or he will even ask for an egg, and his father will give him a scorpion? 13 So if you, despite being [n]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will [o]your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

O -  My observation is this we are to do three things to seek the things of God for our life   1) Ask   2) Seek   3) Knock.   Each one is progressive and requires increasing action on our part.   Each one comes with the promise that if we are moved to action God will answer.   Our our Heavenly Father is a good, good Father and he will not give us something we have not asked for, and despite our sin He knows how to give good gifts to us that are beyond our ask.  The most important gift God will give those who ask Him is the Holy Spirit.

A - The application for me is to rejoice in the Lord's love and grace.  He is my good Father and when I asked gave me the Holy Spirit to guide and correct me.    I ask from that which the Holy Spirit reveals.   I seek out God's kingdom on earth and heaven.   I  knock on the door and Jesus opens it and makes a way for me.   

P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for today's word, may it be sealed to my heart.   I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen

A prayer for grace and mercy

 S - Psalm 6      (New American Standard Bible)

6 Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor discipline me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am frail;
Heal me, Lord, for my bones are horrified.
3 And my soul is greatly horrified;
But You, Lord—how long?

4 Return, Lord, rescue my [b]soul;
Save me because of Your mercy.
5 For there is no [c]mention of You in death;
In [d]Sheol, who will praise You?

I am weary with my sighing;
Every night I make my bed swim,
I flood my couch with my tears.
7 My eye has wasted away with grief;
It has grown old because of all my enemies.

8 Leave me, all you who practice injustice,
For the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my pleading,
The Lord receives my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be put to shame and greatly horrified;
They shall [e]turn back, they will suddenly be put to shame.

O - This is my observation that David a man after God's own heart.  It appears that God is angry with David due to what we can assume is David's disobedience or sin but he asked to not be disciplined.  He asks for healing from the effects of his sin so he will not forever be separated from God on earth and in Sheol.

A -  The application for me is to pray the same prayer that David has prayed.   I too know I have done things which have separated me from God and seek to not be disciplined but receive God's grace.  My hearts desire is to spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven and not forever separated from God in Hell.

P - Dear heavenly Father I thank you for this word which is for me my salvation.   I am a sinner in need of a savior.   I have sinned greatly in your eyes by allowing my eyes to fill me with pornography and lust.   I have allowed my heart to be filled with greed chasing things of this world. I pray for your grace and mercy so that I can honor you with my words and actions.    I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.

Parable of the Sower

 S - Luke 8:4-8, 13-14 (NASB)

Parable of the Sower

4 Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: 5 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. 6 Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. 8 And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “The one who has ears to hear, [b]let him hear.”

...

13 Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; [g]they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they [h]fall away. 14 And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity.

O - My observation is that Jesus gave the people following a parable to reveal that not all who receive God's word will grow in their faith and go on to bear much fruit.   In fact for the seed that fell on rocky soil, it sprouted up but it withered away because it had no life giving water; this meant that those who receive the word on rocky soil is for those who have heard the word of God and it grew among the thorns and are choked out by worries, riches and pleasures and therefore bring no fruit to maturity.

A-  The application for me is readily revealed to me that I have had the seed planted on rocky soil early in my Christian walk and therefore I did not grow to maturity as I was tempted and fell away.   God continued to pursue me and plant more seed, this time it grew and took root among thorns that eventually choked it out due to my giving in to the pleasures and riches of the world.

P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your word.   I pray you would continue to plant seed in my heart.  I promise I will try and take care of it, but I need you to continue to water it and make it grow, and pull the weeds and thorns from my garden before they choke me out. I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen

God's covenant with Abraham

 S -  Genesis 17:9-10    (NASB)

9 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your [i]descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your [j]descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.

O -This is the second time God has promised to Abraham a covenant with his descendants.  He didn't believe the first time God told him this and he ended up fathering Ishmael with Hagar.  Now this time God fulfilled His promise to Abraham when he fathered Isaac with Sarah. 

A - The application for me is to recognize first off that I desire the same blessings for my family, but secondly and most important I am a descendant of Abraham and therefore have this blessing... but it is mine to keep or lose.  I must not disobey the Lord's commands for my life or my family will be more like Ishmael whose generations continued but not with the fullness of the promise of God.

P - Dear heavenly Father,  this is my hearts desire that my children and their children and their children's children would be blessed by your covenant with Abraham.  I know I may not be worthy of this promise because I continue to sin and disobey your commandments.  I am sorry for this and want to turn from my ways and turn toward you.  With your help God I can resist the devil.  I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.

Faith that heals

 S - Luke 5:20-26 (NASB)

 20 Seeing their faith, He said, “[j]Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” 22 But Jesus, [k]aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” 25 Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. 26 [l]They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

O - Jesus' healing of the paralytic that was paralyzed by his sin had the Pharisees questioning Jesus who but God alone has permission to forgive sin.  So Jesus shows that He has authority to forgive sin by telling the paralytic to get up and walk.  No it was the friends who brought the paralytic,  faith that healed him.   

A- The application for me is to know despite my sin, my faith has the power to forgive my sin and heal my paralysis.  For this I am to glorify God for his grace and mercy has saved me despite my sin.  I am the one and he left the 99 for the one.

P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your word.  I pray my faith would be made whole so that I might walk as a man of faith, who is able to bless others with the forgiveness of sin and healing of others ailments.  I pray this in Jesus name,  Amen.