Category: Daily Devotional

Gen 25:27-34 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field & he was famished; & Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” & Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, & sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread & lentil stew; & he ate & drank, & rose & went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. — Esau traded his birthright for a bowl of stew! Quote Wikipedia, one of John Capgrave’s sermons, c1452, “A mess of pottage is something immediately attractive but of little value taken foolishly and carelessly in exchange for something more distant and perhaps less tangible but immensely more valuable.”—Have you ever taken an account of the things in life being traded for some small pleasures for today? Do you see in the story of Esau that he even thinks that if he does not get this stew, then he will die! What is controlling or driving you to do the things for short term gain? What are the things that you think that you have got to have? It is better to take into account the long term vs the short! Also consider the importance of the action & the final outcome! Quote, Jon Dyer, “If you allow your appetite to get strong enough for the pleasures of this world, you will be tempted to cash in the riches and fullness of Christ for a morsel of temporary happiness.”— It is time that we think about the choices we make! Love Mel

Gen 9:13-16  I have set My rainbow in the clouds, & it will be the sign of the covenant between Me & the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth & the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between Me & you & all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it & remember the everlasting covenant between God & all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”  Ez1:28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. & when I saw it, I fell on my face, & I heard the voice of one speaking. — Our God makes promises & keeps them! He even paints them across the sky! The rainbow is His symbol of grace, & willingness to forgive His children! He is still sending His sign to us in the sky as a reminder that He is still keeping His promise! Don’t forget the Rainbow is His symbol & it is for ALL! The Rainbow is proof that He is with us! Love Mel

John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, & the life. Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is Good, acceptable & perfect. —Moral Reasoning is the most important criteria for the safety of this country! Without it you will end up in destruction & utter chaos! You might ask why! The reason for this is people no longer know the difference between right & wrong! To live as Christ! To treat other as you want to be treated! To live for His Glory & not our own! To treat the body as the temple of God! To willfully do anything different is considered wrong! How are we doing? It is easy to be kind to a stranger, because the desire to impress is on the front burner! However we are not so nice to those who we call family! But that is truly the relationships that are what is most reflected in our character! Remember the will of God is what is Good, acceptable & perfect. We should pray daily for this world & our family! God is the only answer & we are to reflect Him, because we are created in His image!  Please read the profound quote to follow! It is time to live this life on purpose! That is especially the everyday life! Love Mel
Q: St. Augustine, “They want to be happy even living a life that will not make them so.”

Eccl 2:26 For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. —What can we conquer? There are some problems that we encounter in life that are easily conquered, & others that are impossible in our strength! One of those that fall into The impossible is Death! It is the number one thing conquered by Christ & this one thing is where our HOPE is! For hope for eternity is really the most important thing. Anything else is a fake! & ultimately a lonely place to be at the end of this life! There are many who have tried it all in this life, only to come to the end still searching for “what this life is really all about”! For ALL is VANITY! —Ecclesiastes 1:7 All the rivers flow to the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers flow, there they keep on flowing. —Life can become wearisome if we focus on the wrong things! The most important is focusing on God, alone! Eccl 12:13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God & keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.  Love Mel

From Bill & Mel —God gives us what Winkler calls “divine dynamite” to blow through the strongholds the devil places in our minds. —EPHESIANS 6: 12 “For our struggle is not against enemies of flesh & blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” — So we MUST stand on His promises. “The way to stand on a promise is to announce it over your life or your situation. This is called a declaration. In this case you may declare, “Because I share in the inheritance of Abraham, I declare that I am blessed to be a blessing.” Since the promise also includes your offspring, you should speak it over your children too: “I declare that my children are blessed so that they too can meet the needs of others.” Let me make it clear. If tormenting yourself with guilt or memories or fear helps you, then do it. But on the other hand, since you know that such torment gets you nowhere, If a thought pattern troubles you – forget it & treat it as an attack of the evil one. God gives instructions to put on the full armor. If He wants you to do something He will tell you. If a thought pattern makes you feel bad – forget it!!!! That’s IT – FORGET IT! Even if there is truth in the attack, FORGET IT! Replace IT with another thought! This is part of renewing the mind! We can’t think on two things at the same time! Why not choose to think positive! As a little child, Look for the good! Play some beautiful music! Music can chase the demons away! Our praise brings God’s power! Remember the walls of Jericho came falling down when they played music & praised God! Believe what God says. That is what matters! Love Mel