.....::::: RINSED OR FULL? :::::.....

Have you ever been to a restaurant and before your food arrives, they served you water? Have you ever looked at the glass before you drank? I do. Sometimes, not to criticize them, but the glasses aren't always spotless. I do believe that sometimes they wash these glasses in dishwashers and not by hand. If cleaned by hand, they would be thouroughly washed. That is why not all stains are removed. No one likes to drink from a dirty glass.

If I may, lets visit the Scriptures. In Matthew 23, Jesus speaks about the religious leaders. But He says something very interesting in verse 26. He says: "Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."

Jesus condemned the Pharisees and religious leaders for outwardly APPEARING SAINTLY and holy but inwardly remaining full of corruption and greed. Living our Christianity merely as a show for others is like washing a cup on the outside only. When we are clean on the inside, our cleanliness on the outside won't be a facade. The question that I would like to ask is have you been truly FILLED with God or RINSED by God? Have you allowed yourself to be throughly cleaned or just rinsed? There is a difference. Someone who is FILLED is changed completely. They live for Christ and not matter how hard times get, they do not dare to go back to the life or the things that once defined them because they know their identity lies in Christ and they are a new creation. But the one who is RINSED seems clean and holy on the outside but their insides haven't been cleaned. Which are you? Forgive me for asking....

(This post is actually inspired by a sermon I heard from Pastor George Morisset Jr.)

(Devotions/ Devotionals)

.....::::: DO YOU REMEMBER THE TIME? :::::.....

Do you remember the time when you fell in love with Jesus Christ? Do you remember the time when you first met Him? Do you remember the time when you were kind to God, or were you only expecting God to be kind to you? Do you remember when everything you did in your life was to please Him, or did you constantly complain because things didn't go your way? We love it when a friend keeps his or her commitments but we are disappointed when they fail to keep their promise. Do you remember the time you first fell in love with God? Are you as filled with overwhelming love for Jesus Christ as you were in the beginning? That time where you went out of your way to prove your devotion to Him? Sin distances us from Him but how bad do you want to return to that place and time where it was just you and Him? Think about your original commitment to obey God, and ask yourself if you are remaining truly devoted.

Jeremiah 2:2 - "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: “This is what the Lord says: “ ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved Me and followed Me through the wilderness, through a land not sown."

(Devotions/ Devotionals)

.....::::: DO YOU NEED A MIRACLE JUST TO BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST? :::::.....

A miracle is an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs or a divinely natural phenomenon experienced humanly as the fulfillment of spiritual law. In Matthew 16:4, the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested Him by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven. Many people, just like these so called leaders say they want to see a miracle so they can believe but Jesus knows that even if some of us were to receive the sign, we would still be skeptical. Nonetheless, Jesus had feed thousands, raised the dead, and healed plenty but they still wanted Him to prove Himself. Do you doubt Christ because you have yet to see a miracle? Jesus said it Himself: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." In the Bible, there is 2000 years worth of such evidence. Those who won't believe are either too stubborn or proud. Pray to have faith and believe in God! Count on Jesus! I will pray for you! Stay blessed!!!

Matthew 16:4 - "A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away."

(Devotions/ Devotionals)