Daily Inspirations
Scriptural “tidbits” and devotions to connect the Bible to our lives…
The Scrutiny of the Holy Spirit
““Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” – Matthew 7:21-23 (NLT)
As followers of Christ, we’re not only called to profess our faith and humbly serve others in love, but also to place our every thought, word and deed under the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit that we may ensure that God’s will is indeed being served.
Let The One Who Has Never Sinned…
“As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
“No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”” – John 8:3-11 (NLT)
We all sin. We all fall short. And yet, how many times each day do we find ourselves judging and condemning others for what we perceive as their failings, while we gloss over or justify our own misdeeds… In this powerful example from John, Jesus addresses this hypocrisy head on by reminding us to recognize our own sinful natures before decrying the deeds of others, and that the exercising of compassion and mercy is often the most direct way for our hearts to be transformed.
I Never Leave Your Hands
“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”” – John 13:34-35 (NLT)
When we place our pain, our struggles and our joys in the loving hands of Jesus, our hearts can truly find the peace He desires for us…
“When my world is shaking, Heaven stands…
When my heart is breaking, I never leave Your hands.”
~Phather Phil
Your Promise, and My Prayer
““No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6:24-33 (NLT)
Heavenly Father,
I come to you this morning both to give thanks, and to pray for Your continued guidance as I begin the week ahead;
You know my needs Lord, as You know each hair on my head and every yearning in my heart. Help me Father; aid me in seeing through the veil of my own perception of need, that I may clearly discern Your direction and desire for my life, and embolden my heart to embrace those opportunities that lie along that path You’ve laid.
As I endeavor to clear my thoughts today Lord; casting aside the “noise” around me to better gain Your presence, I pray You find me receptive; willing and driven to bring Your voice into sharp focus with everything I say and do, and allowing the deceptions of this world to fade into the background.
And as You guide my steps Lord, please help me share that joy with others; shining Your light from within that they may know the peace You bring, even when the world appears to be crashing all around us.
For it’s in Your name I pray,
Amen.
~Phather Phil
I Choose Contentment
This morning I wanted to share the great devotional message I read in the Joyce Meyer reading plan I’m following on YouVersion…
“Living with Contentment and Satisfaction
The Bible says that godliness accompanied with contentment is great and abundant gain. What I take from that is, a godly person who is content is in the very best place he can possibly be.
Joy doesn’t come from having your circumstances in order and under control; it comes from what’s in your heart. For example, the world is full of people who have what they think they want, and they’re still not happy. In fact, some of the most unhappy people in the world are people who seem to “have it all.”
Contentment is not about fame or being well-known, how much money you have, your position at work or your social circle. It’s not found in your level of education or what side of the tracks you were born on. Contentment is a heart attitude.
There’s nobody happier than a truly thankful person, a truly content person. The word content means ‘being satisfied to the point where nothing disturbs you no matter what’s going on, but not satisfied to the point that you never want any change.’
We all want to see things get better. But where you are right this minute doesn’t have to disturb you. You can choose to believe that God is working and things are changing, and you will see the result of it in due time.
Life is all about the choices we make, so choose contentment and satisfaction every single day of your life. You won’t go wrong when you do.
Prayer Starter: God, I want to be content and satisfied with where I am, right here, right now. Give me the strength to choose to be content every single day.”
I choose to believe God has all my situations well in hand, and that He’ll lead me where He wants me to go… I choose contentment through Him.
Deliberately Seek Joy
I’ve been chewing on some advice given in my Daily Devotional reading from the “Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life – A Daily Devotional” Reading Plan on YouVersion.com…
“…
God wants His children to have some fun. The Bible says a merry heart does good like medicine. I think we all need a healthy dose of laughter every day – many times during the day. You just can’t overdose on joy!
I encourage you to deliberately look for something to smile or laugh about every day, and be sure to share a smile or a laugh with someone else and brighten their day too!
Prayer Starter: Lord, Your Word says that a cheerful heart is like good medicine. Thank You for helping me to find the joy and fun in life!”
I think in many cases, we allow the trials, struggles and worldly requirements placed on us each day to detract from seeking the joys God places all around us. It’s important for us to remember that while we’re certainly going to have difficulties in our lives, God very much wants us to fully delight in the peace and joy He offers us as well.
Mending the Chasm
“For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.” – Colossians 1:19-20 (NLT)
When sin entered our world, it painfully corrupted the harmony between creation and Creator. Through the blood of Christ, that chasm was mended, allowing us to enjoy the intimate and personal relationship with God that we were intentionally designed to have.
A True Resolution for Change
“Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” – 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 (NLT)
True change begins when we accept Christ into our hearts and give ourselves fully to His care. When we live in Him, our identity and direction are no longer constrained by the way the world sees us, but are instead freed to experience the peace and joy He desires for our lives. Therefore, as we approach this New Year and the world pulls at us to make resolutions for change, all we need do is draw closer within the gentle embrace of our Savior and allow Him to transform us.
Out of Our “Box”
“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” – Luke 1:26-38 (ESV)
Although Mary was certainly shaken by the Angel Gabriel’s message and likely fearful of the way her sudden pregnancy would be received by others, she chose to reaffirm her commitment to God’s will and trust. Some of God’s most powerful works in our lives begin when He calls us to step out of our “box”, and proceed in faith. As we prepare our hearts to receive God’s Perfect Lamb this Christmas Season, may we do so following Mary’s example of obedience and trust.
That Will Be For All The People
“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”” – Luke 2:8-12 (ESV)
To herald the arrival of His Perfect Lamb, God didn’t direct His angels to alert royalty, nor to court the attention of religious leaders; instead they were directed to the company of pious, simple shepherds, alone in a field, tending their flocks. God’s miracles are not reserved for those of influence or position, but instead are offered freely to all of His beloved children.
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day. 
