Devotional

Hey Sis,

Welcome to this 28 days walk with God. There are devotional passages for your personal spiritual nourishment for 40 days. Be blessed as we journey along.

Day 1.

Its my birthday month. I praise God for bringing me this far and for blessing me with amazing friends like you.

I am amazed of how much God loves me. He loves us so unconditionally no matter who we are He just can’t stop loving us. He showed this great love by sending Jesus Christ “His only son to die for our sins”. No love can surpass the love of God. His Grace is abundant. All we need to do is to come to God “just as you are”. He knows you..everything about you and He is waiting with open hands to welcome you to His throne of Grace.

* Come to God. He is ready to forgive.

Psalm 51 ( please read the psalm)

Vs 1
1) God’s love is unfailing. God will never stop loving us. His compassion is abundant so He is ready to forgive.

What do you need to do?
Vs 3-6
2) Come to God just as you are. He knew you right from your mother’s womb. Acknowledge your sins before God. He is ready to forgive and receive you.

3) Desire God’s forgiveness and the Holy spirit. Talk to God to cleanse you and send His Holy spirit your life to help you overcome your sins. On your own you can’t do it but by God’s Grace it is well.

4) Praise God for forgiving you and receiving you at His throne of Glory. Praise Him with your words, works, and deeds.

That’s how the word of God inspired me today. Glory to God and have a blessed day.

your sister

Vanessa

DAY 2

James 1:1-18( please read)

Meditation.

*How do you handle;
1) Trials and Temptation
2) Your needs.

1) A) How to handle temptation:
God does not tempt us but our evil desires drags us away, entices us and gives both to sin.
– So how can I overcome temptation?
a) Meditate on God’s word day and night (Psalm 1)
b) Pray often ( Luke 22:40)

B) How do I handle trials? …Trials may be in any form e.g poor health, financial problems, spiritual problems, family problems etc. Perceive trials as a test of your faith in God.
– so what do I do in times of trials?
a) Persevere – James 1:1-4 ..Perseverance makes you mature.
b) Meditate on the God’s word and pray for God to guide your physical steps in overcoming the trials.
Remember Jesus’ perseverance in trials and temptations only edified Him for His great purpose and ministry on earth.

2) *How do you handle your needs?
a) Believe that “Every good gift comes from God” and if you lack anything ask God with the right motives. James 4:2-3
b) Seek God for Wisdom. Wisdom is what we need to make daily choices to carry out our physical activities. So, seek God for wisdom to carry out your daily work.
c) Trust: When in need believe every good gift comes from God and trust Him to supply your needs. You may not receive what you ask God because you doubt Him. But remember to ask with the right motives.

That’s how God’s word spoke to me today. Have a blessed day.

Vanessa.

DAY 3

*Listening Christianity and doing Christianity
James 1:19-27(Please read)
Main verses 22-25

It is necessary to listen to God’s word but more important to do what it says. God blesses those who are doers of the word.

“Listening” to God’s word is necessary but “Doing” what it says is ultimate.

Are we mere listeners or doers of the word?

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa
[2:29 AM, 3/9/2017] Vanes: 2017…My Devotion

James 2:1-12(Please read)
Key verse 8-11

* Keep the royal law:- “Love your neighbor as yourself”

Do we really love our neighbors as ourselves? Or Do we show favoritism to our family, friends etc over other?

Your neighbor is anyone around you.The law is not love your family, friends, colleagues. It is love your “neighbor as yourself”.

Do we know favoritism is a sin because once you show favoritism you have failed to love your neighbor as yourself and have broken the law. Favoritism easily produces judgement over mercy. We are quick to judge those we don’t favor.

Our world problems today are caused by favoritism. When people favor their family, tribes, country, culture over others, they don’t care what happens to others. So even when they kill in favor of themselves and those around them, they don’t care.

James urges us to shun favoritism and to show mercy over judgement.

Remember to Love your “neighbor as yourself” and let Mercy triumph over judgement in your life.

Have a blessed day.

Vanessa

DAY 4

Its my birthday today and I love to share my birthday package with you.

James 2:14-26(Please read)

Key verse: 17..”In the same way, faith by itself if not accompanied by action is dead”.

*Let your deeds reflect your Faith.

Do you know God’s physical hands are the hands of us Christian Believers who have faith in God?

Do your deeds reflect your faith in God?

How many times have we hated, slandered, quarreled, insulted, castigated, judged others etc and then tell them with our mouths that we are Christians.

* Good deeds without faith is empty works!
* Faith without deeds is dead! And Faith comes by hearing and meditating on the word of God.

So let your actions reflect your faith in God.

I thank God for this heavy message on my birthday. That is how the word of God spoke to me today.

Have a blessed day
Vanessa.

DAY 5

James 3:1-12 (Please Read)
Key verses: 2b and vs 9-10.

*Keep your body in check by taming your tongue.

Do you know the tongue may be a small part of you but it has significant control over your body?

How can we use out tongue to praise God and use the same tongue to curse man made in God’s image?

What you say determines who you are. Remember a fig can not bear olives.

Remain blessed.

Vanessa.

DAY 6

James 3:13-18(Please read)

*Two kinds of wisdom

Did you know you need wisdom in everything you do or choice you take in life. Sometimes we call this wisdom “common sense”

Did you know there are 2 kinds of wisdom?

1) Divine wisdom (Heavenly wisdom) which is peace-loving, pure, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere; and every act done with Divine wisdom is done in humility.

2) Unspiritual (earthly) wisdom is full of envy and selfish ambition which causes disorder and evil practices.

When we want to take decisions in our lives. Are they decisions that will bring peace to others, are they considerate, impartial, done in humility etc OR are they done because we envy others, to hurt others, cause problems or done in pride etc

Be careful which wisdom you use because one brings peace (Divine) the other leads to destruction (Unspiritual).But if you desire Divine wisdom seek God ( James 1:5-6)

Blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 7

James 4:1-12(please read)
* Submit Yourself to God.

Many negative things happen to us and around us because we have not submitted to God.
We quarrel, we fight, we slander, we judge, we are proud etc because we have not submitted our thoughts to God. So all these negative things are a physical manifestation of out thoughts.

But God is always there with Grace and open hands ready to receive those who come to Him.

James urges us to submit to God in total humility and God will lift you up; Resist the devil and he will flee from you; Come close to God and He will come close to you.

In all God loves us so much and is ready to provide our needs all we need to do is to ask. But sometimes we ask and do not receive because we ask with wrong motives.

So, submit to God in humility and ask what you want with the right motives and He will provide. Just draw close to Him and He will draw close to you.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 8

James 4:13-17 (Please read)

*Do you know tomorrow? Then why boast about tomorrow.

Many times we take life for granted because we get up each morning to a new day. Have you ever thought that you may not get up one morning? Its a Scarry thought but it is a reality.

James urges us today not to boast about tomorrow we do not know of but use today we know of to entrust our tomorrow in God’s hands.

Read the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:13-21 and understand that a man’s life does not consist of the abundance of his possession because you may be storing it up today to die tomorrow.

Know that your life depends on God so plan in His will and learn to say “If it is the Lord’s will, I will live and do this or that”.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 9

James 5:1-6 (Please read)

* How do you use your wealth?

Wealth to me here signifies money; your profession; your top position in your community etc.
Do you use your wealth to oppress others or do you use your wealth to help others? Do you spend it on only drinking or buying the most expensive clothes or do you save to build a home? We have seen even situations where parents prefer drinking than paying children’s fee.

Do you know God is the one who gives you the ability to produce wealth and He is concerned how you use it?
Deuteronomy 8:17-18..” You may say to yourself, “My power and strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…” Deuteronomy 6:11-12…”then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord…”

If you remember that God gives you the ability to produce wealth, then you will you will begin to use your wealth for positive and not negative purposes for God’s glory.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa

DAY 10

James 5:7-12(please read)

*How to handle suffering-Learn from Job’s perseverance.

Are there times when you feel like the best things you want in life don’t come your way or are there times when it looks like the best things you have in life are taken away from you?

James urges us to be patient until the Lord comes. For blessed are those who have persevered. In other words stay positive in God.

Do you know Job loosed all his possession and even family? But because he persevered with faith in God he was restored double fold.

Therefore stand firm in your trials. Persevere, be patient, do not grumble, do not swear by heaven or earth, let your yes be yes and no be no and in all WAIT ON THE LORD.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 11

James 5:13-20(Please read)

*The power of Prayer and Praise.

James is a book that touches very important things on living the Christian life and in the conclusion of the book tells us to PRAY and PRAISE. This is a summary of how to live the Christian life.

A) PRAYER: When in trouble PRAY in Faith. Verse 15 says a prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. Verse 11 says Elijah a man like us prayed earnestly that it would not rain and it did not rain for three and a half year. Prayer made in Faith can move mountains! But remember faith must be accompanied by action. e.g If you are job searching, pray in faith and your action should be learning skills to fit into the job and searching for the Job.

B) PRAISE: Is any one happy, he should sing songs of Praise. Have you ever helped a friend with say even 50000frs and the person goes away without saying thank you. How will you feel? In our praise we acknowledge God first for who He is and then for what He has done.

PRAYERS and PRAISE are the fundamentals of Christian life.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 12

James 5:13-20(Please read)

*The power of Prayer and Praise.

James is a book that touches very important things on living the Christian life and in the conclusion of the book tells us to PRAY and PRAISE. This is a summary of how to live the Christian life.

PRAYERS and PRAISE are the fundamentals of Christian life.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 13

Romans 1:1-17(please read)

* The righteous shall live by faith.(vs 17b)

What is faith?
Faith is believing in what we cannot see. To the Christian Faith is belief and trust in God.

Do you have Faith?
Many times we believe in God but we don’t thrust Him. e.g You pray for a need to be fulfilled believing God can fulfill the need but start doubting if God heard the prayer or if He can fulfil your need. Faith means total believe and thrust.

How can I have faith? Faith in God comes by hearing the word of God! Romans 10:17.

Is your faith reported in the world?
Paul tells us not to be ashamed of the Gospel and is happy that the faith of the Romans is reported all over the world. Vs. 8.
So let’s listen to God’s word and meditate on it day and night so that we can grow in Faith and encourage the World with our Faith. Remember Abraham was God’s friend because of his faith accompanied by sacrifice (action).

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa

DAY 14
Romans 1:18-32.

*Are you wise or foolish?

Today the word of God has humbled me. So I will share extracts from the passage in the bible and we determine if we are wise or foolish.

The wrath of God is being revealed from Heaven against all godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them…although they know God, they neither glorify Him or Give thanks to Him…. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of God for images… They served created things rather than the creator.

…Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts…to do what they ought not to do.. Women exchange natural relations for unnatural ones…Men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, …sexual impurity, shameful lust..envy, greed,evil,murder, God-haters, arrogant, insolent, gossip, disobey their parents, heartless, ruthless,faithless, slanderers,wickedness.

…Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these things but also approve to those who practice them.

So are we wise or foolish? I have seen all these things happen in our generation. These days, evil is applauded over good. So is our generation wise or foolish?
* Let’s go back to God with contrite hearts and seek his forgiveness and also pray for our nation.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 15

Romans 2:1-16

*God’s Righteous judgment.

Have we ever thought about the fact that God will judge “EVERY” man’s secrets through Jesus Christ?

God is the one righteous judge so we mere men should avoid judging others. Vs 1b says whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself because you who pass judgement do the same thing.

Remember!
God want us to be righteous and flee from eternal condemnation. The righteous are not those who hear the word but those who “OBEY” it.God will reward each person according to what he has done. Vs. 6-11

Remember the righteousness of God comes only through faith in Jesus Christ…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.

God presented Jesus as a sacrifice to atone our sins and its only by believing in Him that we can be saved from sin.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 16

Romans 2:17-29 (please read)

*Does your Christianity bring Glory to God or is God’s name blasphemed by your Christianity?

Its so touching to learn today that as Christians what ever we do either brings glory to God or God’s name is blasphemed.
When we know what is right to do and fail to do, God’s name is blasphemed especially amongst unbelievers.

e.g We know the great commandment ” Love the Lord your God…and Love your neighbor as yourself. But many times just as we face a trivial problem with our neighbor we pick up a quarrel, insults and in the insults some of us will be saying “God Na my witness”. In that case did you just witness to your neighbor about God’s love or did you just blasphem the name of God?

Vs 22-24 tells us to be careful because our actions have two impacts to the World… Lead them to God or away from God because blasphemy will only make others move away from God.

But in all we can only avoid blasphemy of God’s name and witness for Him if “OUR HEARTS ARE CIRCUMCISED” by the spirit of God and not by the written law (vs 29). Its only the spirit of God that can make us obey the law. Remember when the spirit of God circumcises your heart your life will be evidence of the fruits of the spirit… Love,joy,peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 17

Romans 3:1-22(Please Read)

* God is Always Faithful

I am so touched by this passage on how much God loves us. It says God is faithful even to those who don’t have faith in God.It tells us that our lack of faith will not nullify God’s faithfulness.Vs 4b says “LET GOD BE TRUE, AND EVERY MAN A LIAR”

Also, paul urges us not to feel we are better than others because all have sinned and fallen short of God’s Glory but we are only made righteous by God’s Grace which comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who “BELIEVE”.

Its Amazing how much God loves us. Even in our sin and lack of Faith, He still loves us and remains faithful. God still gives us Grace through faith in Jesus Christ to dwell in His presence.

Imagine a stubborn son who disobeys His father and goes far from home and when He returns to apologize, his father does not reject him but embraces him with a smile and says Welcome home. What will the son do? Will he not stay and obey his faithful father for remaining a faithful Dad?

Please let’s take time to ponder on how our sins have taken us far from God. But the good news is “God is waiting with open hands for us to repent and come home” Remember GOD IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL!

Blessed day
Vanessa.

DAY 18

Romans (3:21-31)please read.

Righteousness through Faith.

God is God of all. God accepts that we should uphold the law. But the righteousness of God comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.

Vs 23-25 “says for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through redemption that came by Christ Jesus.God presented Him as a Sacrifice of atonement.” Atone means to make right by paying a penalty.

Jesus died on the Cross to pay the penalty of our sins and make right our relationship with God. This is AMAZING GRACE. This is how much God loves us that He sacriced His only son. The summary of the ten commandments is “Love the Lord your God…and Love your neighbor as yourself”.

The kind of love the bible teaches is of sacrifice. Our love for neighbor should be evident in our sacrifices for them even when such love is not given back. That is the love the bible teaches.

So, in our prayers for our Nation, Let’s pray for God’s Grace to deliver us and to give us a heart of love even to those who hurt us.

Blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 19

Romans 4( Please Read)

*Faith against all Hope

Are there times when your situation be it health, financial, professional, spiritual, marital etc make you feel like giving up on prayers?

Today we learn that Abraham was justified by his faith in God which he accompanied by sacrifice.

Vs 18-21 “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations…without weakening in faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old and Sarah’s womb was dead.Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but strengthened his faith and gave glory to God being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he promised” and Abraham became father of Isaac and nations as God promised.

God is able to do just what He said He will do. Don’t give up on God because He won’t give up on you. Let’s exercise our faith by trusting God accompanied by our sacrifice to Him, praising His holy name. Psalm 18:25 says ..To the faithful God shows himself faithful.

Blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 20

Romans 6:1-14(Please read)

*Alive in Christ
Today the meditation passage really spoke to me. It answers many questions we Christian ask.

Vs 1-4 says…”What shall we say,then? Shall we go on sinning so that (God’s) grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin;how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Vs 6 …” For we know that our old self of sin was crucified with Him…that we should no longer be slaves to sin…”

Vs 12-14 says ” Therefore do not let sin reign over your mortal body…do not offer the parts of your body to sin…but rather offer yourselves to God…and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under the law but under Grace”.

My prayer is for God to grant me Grace to be master over sin and make myself to Him as an instrument of righteousness.

Blessed day.

Vanessa.

DAY 20

Romans 6:15-23.( Please read)

*Slave to sin or slave to Holiness.

The question Paul ask is if we would continue in sin because God has granted us abundant Grace?

Imagine that your house is burning and you are inside about to burn to death. Then someone rushes in, carries and push you out then instead the fire burns him and he dies. Will you forget the person or will you not forever live knowing he saved you? If this person kept a will that you should take care of his only child, will you ever have peace if you forget about this child after the death of that person?

That is what Christ did for us. Died for our sins, and we are justified freely by grace. But do we remember him in holiness or do we keep on in sin because of abundant Grace.

Vs 19b says “you are weak in your natural selves” but through the Spirit of God we are empowered to overcome sin.

Prayer: Father on my own I am weak and cannot make it. I pray for your spirit to edify me to live a holy life. Amen.

Blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 21

Romans 7:1-13 (Please read)

*The Law or the Spirit.

In the old testament, the people lived according to the written laws. That was how it was determined if you sinned or not.

But in the new testament, Jesus died on the cross as an atonement for sin and he promised and fullfilled His promise of sending us the Holy spirit to guide us.

So now, as Christians, we are convicted by the Holy spirit in us about what is right or wrong to do. But many times we suppress the works of the Holy spirit in us. For instance, if someone wants to steal money, he does it in hiding because he knows from his innerman that it is wrong. But he suppresses this and goes ahead to steal.

On our own we cannot overcome sin but with the help of the Holy spirit in us we can.Let’s pray for the Holy spirit to direct us through our life paths.

Blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 22

Romans 7:14-25(Please read)

*The Battle of the mind.

Many times we battle in our mind. It looks like two voices are talking in us. One telling us what is right to do and the other encouraging us to do what is wrong. The question is which do we do?

Paul in this passage seems worried and says in vs 18b-19…”For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.For what I do is not the good I want to do;no, the evil I do not want to do, this I keep doing” Vs 22-23 says”For in my inner being I delight in God’s law, but I see another law at work in my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin..” Vs 24-25 he says” What a wretched man I am, who will rescue me?Thanks to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord”.

Interesting to know that even Paul faced thesame battle with sin. (No one is perfect) but Paul acknowledges that only God through Jesus Christ can rescue Him. This means we can never overcome sin on our own except through the power of the spirit of Jesus Christ. So the remedy to living a Holy life is inviting the Holy spirit of Jesus Christ to lead us.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 23

Romans 8:1-17

*Life in Jesus Christ.

Are all Christians in Jesus Christ?

Paul says in vs 1 ” there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ”.
So who are those in Christ? …vs 14 says “…those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” vs 15…”you received a spirit of sonship” vs 17…”Now if we are children, then we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ”

But vs 8 says”Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God”

My prayer this day is for God to forgive and cleanse me of my sinful nature and give me a renewed heart guided by His spirit so that I can walk in His ways.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 24

Romans 8:18-39.(Please Read)

*Hope in the love of Christ.

The passage tells us to hope in Christ’s love.
Amazing love! The love of God is sacrificial. He showed this by letting His only son to die for us and the passage still assures us that nothing can separate us from the love of God

The question is do we reciprocate the love of God? The Gospel of Christ is all about love. That is why Christ summarized the commandments to this “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself”.

The love of God is a love of sacrifice.
The love of Christ is ultimate and teaches us how to love one another. The love of Christ never fails! So hope in this love and remember vs 28b.. “God works for the good of those who love Him”.

When you love Christ and learn to love like Christ, you will be able to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Blessed day.
Vanessa

DAY 25

Romans 9: 1-21(Please read)

*The Mercy of God.

Many times, when we have problems and difficulties, we may start questioning God why this is happening to me and sometimes loose faith in God.

Today we learn that many things which happen to us depends on God’s mercy. The difficult situation you may be going through is just for a moment and through it, God’s glory will be revealed. Even the hardened heart of Pharaoh to the Israelites was for God’s glory to be revealed.

Remember the bible says every good thing comes from God, but it does not mean children of God will not have difficulties. These difficulties are not compared to the Glory of God to be revealed if you remain in the faith and STAY POSITIVE IN GOD.

Have a blessed day
Vanessa.

DAY 26

Romans 9:22-33

*Thrust in God

Are there times when you feel like giving up? Or are there times when you feel like the answers to your prayers are not forth coming?

The passage today tells us that those who TRUST in God will NEVER be put to shame. Pursue the things you want with Faith in God. Every answer that comes from God be it YES, WAIT or NO is for the good of those who trust in Him. Remember He knows the end from the beginning.

2Corinthians 12:9b says “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness” Even in hard times, TRUST God and you will never be put to shame. These hard moments in life only make the power of God perfect and reveals His Glory.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 27

Romans 10(Please read)

*Faith in God

What do we put our faith in? Is it in the creator or the created? Is it in your job, family, pastor or is it in GOD?

Faith in God is ultimate. The bible says it is faith that pleases God. Remember Abraham’s faith made him “a friend of God”

How then can we grow in faith? Vs 17 says …Faith comes from hearing the word of God! Without knowing God you cannot believe Him vs 14 says…how then can they call on the one whom they have not believed in or how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard?

Note: A man’s ways are determined by what gets into him.(especially by What he watches, reads, hears). Vs 8 says…The word of God is near you. Study and meditate on it day and night, believe in your heart that and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you shall be saved.

Vs 13 says…”Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Vs 11 says”…Anyone who trusts in Him will NEVER be put to shame”.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 28

Romans 11:1-10(Please read)

*Chosen by Grace.

Do you know before you were born, God knew you. Do you know every good thing comes from God?

The passage tells us about being chosen by Grace. Grace is undeserved favor. It is not by our works that we are even alive today while others are dead. It is by God’s Grace. So one thing we always
need to be thankful to God for is His boundless Grace.

But interestingly many times our hearts are hardened to appreciate the Grace of God. When things are bad we cry to God but when they are fine we forget about God’s Grace and become proud. Vs 8 says “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear to this very day”

The question I ask myself is do my eyes really see and do my ears really hear?

I pray this day for God to open my eyes and ears to know Him more and appreciate His Grace by working in His ways.

Have a blessed day.
Vanessa.

DAY 28
On this day please read Romans 3:21-31.
Psalm 20; Psalm 27; Psalm 31 and Psalm 40.

God bless you.
Vanessa.