Devotion.al

Feed Your Soul

  • Joy Refill

    Psalm 47, Psalm 48, Revelation 19:6-9

    “…God ascends among shouts of joy…”
    Psalm 47:5

    “…[God’s] holy mountain, rising splendidly, is the joy of the whole earth…”
    Psalm 48:1

    “Let us be glad, rejoice, and him glory because, the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his has prepared herself.”
    Revelation 19:7

    All around God is rejoicing. There is not only and glorifying, there is joy. While God is just, God wants to be surrounded by rejoicing, or joy-filled, saints. You and I are called to be those joy-filled saints. It is one of those strange things where it is our duty to be joy-filled. Dutifully joy-filled seems contradictory, as if we are being commanded (as in obeying the law or a vengeful dictator) to feel a particular way. It isn’t that. Duty acts as a check and balance. It is our duty to assure that we are joy-filled saints. When doing our duty of checking the joy in the tank (so to speak), and we find it empty, we know that we need to refocus on God, thanks to Christ our Savior and surrendering (again) to the .

    The image of bride has been applied to the since the beginning. In that image, there is a tension of collective (everyone) and individual being the bride (not in a gendered way) of Jesus. The bride prepares herself. While she may be crying as she walks down the aisle, the tears should be ones of inescapable joy, of and thankfulness of an bond. A bride that is not joy-filled walking down the aisle should really be rethinking the marriage.

    That is why it is our calling to be joy-filled. Every day we take one more step down the aisle toward Jesus. When it comes to Jesus, it isn’t good to be a runaway bride.

    Lastly, the populace of Heaven (of Heaven!) is rejoicing at this marriage! How amazing is that? Instead of viewing us as dirty or unworthy, we are the celebrated bride, and everyone is happy for the , Jesus!

    1) Heart check. Are you joy-filled toward God?

    2) What things can people do to refill their tanks of joy?

    3) What practices or habits do you use to refill on your joy?

    KD) What does it mean to refill on joy?

  • Laying The Bread Down

    Laying The Bread Down

    Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 4:42–44; Ephesians 3:14–21; John 6:1–21 It is tempting to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We can look at society and even many churches (in particular, their leaders), and just give up. There is such a struggle against the darkness and against sin, that it can be overwhelming. At the…

  • Field Placement

    Field Placement

    Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 4:38–41; John 4:31–38 Flour has become a no-go for many people these days. The fight against gluten and carbohydrates is quite prevalent. Much of this has to do with how much our surroundings have changed. Most of us don’t need many carbohydrates. Those whose bodies are still their primary focus for…

  • Let ‘Em Fight

    Let ‘Em Fight

    Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 3:4–20; Colossians 3:12–17 It can be hard to be rid of wounds. Many physical ones heal with scars, though the deeper body ones may not heal well. For most of us, the emotional and spiritual wounds are the ones with deep and lasting effects. These are the ones that can hold…

  • Burning Call

    Burning Call

    Psalm 145:10–18; 1 Kings 19:19–21; Colossians 1:9–14 One of the issues that has come up in the last year in church-ish circles is the ordination of women. Saddleback took a bold step and ordained women which went against the predominant grain of their partner body (SBC). There was an unexpected explosion in certain circles against…