Daily Devotional By Archbishop Foley Beach

We Are Accountable to God for Our Finances Because All “Our” Money and Talents Are God’s

Message Summary We are all God’s stewards and His supervisor of all God’s talents and money which God has provided us during our earthly lifetime by meeting our Stewardship and Fiduciary responsibilities and accountability to Him – all that we call “our own” is from God. The author of Hebrews, in Hebrews 13:5-6, presents God’s expectations of us in the management of our finances: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you,’ So, we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’”. Also, John Wesley, an Anglican Priest and founder of the Methodist denomination, said in his Three Rules About Money: 1) Make as much money as you can – be industrious and diligent; 2) Save as much money as you can -- be no spendthrift and live frugally and prudently; and 3) Give away as much money as you can. That is Devine destination of money; that makes it an everlasting blessing. John Wesley’s “Rules” provide us a pathway to fulfill God’s expectations for our Stewardship and Fiduciary responsibilities.

 

Today’s Affirmation: Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Anger. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Forgiveness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

 

This Sunday’s Sermon: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Prayer for America”, at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

 

Website Link to the Video: “The Promise of Belief” (St. Thomas Anglican Church, Athens GA),  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/`

 

Scripture Reference (ESV): Mathew 25:14-30; Mathew 18:23-35; Mathew 6:24-25; Psalms 24:1-10.

Are You Ready to Let Jesus Be Lord Over His Finances?

Message Summary: We are so focused on earning money and related activities that it is easy for money and finances to become our god, thereby, violating the Second Commandment. If Jesus is Lord over all, as we are told in Psalms 24:1: “The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.”, then everything is God’s. In James 5:1-3, the author of the Book of James provides insight into one who does NOT make God the Lord of their finances: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.”. Therefore, let God Be Lord over your finances, which really are His finances.

 

Today’s Affirmation: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

This Sunday’s Sermon: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Prayer for America”, at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

 

Website Link to the Video: “The Promise of Belief” (St. Thomas Anglican Church, Athens GA),  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/`

 

Scripture Reference (ESV): Psalms 24:1-10; James 5:1-6; Psalms 25:1-22; Psalms 23:1-6.

Get Out of Debt; Don’t Be a Slave to Debt

Message Summary: We don’t realize how we can become enslaved to debt – it’s so easy today. In Romans 13:8, Paul tells us: “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”. While debt will not terminate our Salvation, it can bring hurt and potential destruction to us and to our families. In Mathew 7:27-29, Jesus tells us: “And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”. Get out of debt, and keep your eyes upon Jesus.

 

Today’s Affirmation: I affirm that because I am in Jesus Christ,  I will seek God’s perspective on my situation.  For I know that in all things God  works together for good to those of us who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (From Romans 8:28).

 

This Sunday’s Sermon: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Facing Difficult Circumstances”, at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

 

Website Link to the Video – “The Promise of Belief (St. Thomas Anglican Church, Athens GA):  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/`

 

Scripture Reference (ESV): Romans 13:8; Mathew 7:27-29; Psalms 16:1-11.

How Can We Return to God During These Tough Times in America?

Message Summary: In the Bible, we can find five exhortations, from the Lord, that are right on point for these tough times in America: 1) Do not fear; 2) Continue to tithe; 3) Get out of debt; 4) Help our brothers and sisters in need; and 5) Pray. The people in Malachi’s day were withholding what was God’s, and they were paying a price. But even in those conditions of sin, God said to the nation, in Malachi 3:7, “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’.”. God does not change – God today is the same faithful Creator of the Universe as He was in the time of Malachi. Return to God, both as an individual and as a nation; and see how God will bless us!      

Today’s Affirmation: I affirm that because I am in Jesus Christ,  I will entrust to Him my future. I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.  (From 2 Timothy 1:12).

This Sunday’s Sermon: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “The Ultimate Call of a Father”, at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

Website Link to the Video – “The Promise of Belief (St. Thomas Anglican Church, Athens GA):  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/

 Scripture Reference (ESV): Malachi 2:1-17; Malachi 3:7; Malachi 3:16-18; Psalms 146:1-10.

Why Church?

Message Summary: When we show up at our church on Sunday, what is our purpose – is it to serve or to be served? Too many of us go to church seeking what the church can do for us. Our church should provide us a place to worship Jesus in Spirit and in the truth of His Word. Also, our church should provide a chance to serve others -- To serve is Christ. We will never be more like Jesus than when we are serving others. We are all serving someone, but who are we serving; are we serving ourselves or others? In Mark 10:43b-45, Jesus explains that His followers must have mind focused on service and being a servant to others: “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”. The longer that we stay focused on ourselves and not God or others, the longer we will remain stuck in a miserable spiritual condition. To serve is Christ.

Today’s Affirmation: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).

This Sunday’s Sermon: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Being Born of the Spirit”, at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

Website Link to the Video – “Pentecost – The Day of the Holy Spirit; the Promise Fulfilled” (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA):  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/

Scripture Reference (ESV): Matthew 20:1-16; Philippians 2:21-30; Matthew 25:34-46: Psalms 133:1-3.

True Followers of Jesus Serve Others

Message Summary: Our best example of service is Jesus. To serve is Christ, as Jesus instructed us in Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”. We will never be more like Jesus than when we are serving others – the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. If Jesus came, lived and died on earth as a servant, why would we, as followers of Jesus, not realize that we are expected to serve? If, as Paul tell us in Romans 8:28-29, we are being conformed into the image of Jesus, then we are being taught how to serve: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.".

Today’s Affirmation: I affirm that because I am in Jesus Christ,  I will not be ashamed of the Gospel. I will not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (including me). (From Romans 1:16).

This Sunday’s Sermon: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Pentecost -- Be Ye Filled with the Holy Spirit”, at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

Website Link to the Video – “Pentecost – The Day of the Holy Spirit; the Promise Fulfilled” (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA):  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/

 Scripture Reference (ESV): Romans 8:28-29; Romans 14:18-19; Daniel 4:17; Psalms 132:1-18.

Christians Inherit a Culture of Grace, Mercy, and Kindness; Do We Pass It On?

Message Summary A culture of grace, mercy, and kindness is an environment in which there is no griping or murmuring; no putting people down. Paul relates, in Galatians 5:22-26, and defines the outcomes or “Fruits of the Spirit” and how they relate to a “Culture of Grace”: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.". This culture of grace, mercy, and kindness gives people the benefit of the doubt; and it provides a visible demonstration of the value of other people while, also, providing an atmosphere that is filled with the fruit of the Spirit.

Today’s Affirmation: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Resentment. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Compassion. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

This Sunday’s Sermon: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Personal Pentecost”, at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

Website Link to the Video – “The Upper Room – Part 2: The Promise of Forgiveness (Christ Cathedral, Kampala Uganda)”:  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/

Scripture Reference (ESV): Micah 6:8; Matthew 5:1-11; Psalms 51:1-2; Psalms 123:1-4.

A Culture of Grace, Mercy, and Kindness

Message Summary: A culture of grace, mercy, and kindness provides an environment in which there is no griping or murmuring; no putting people down. Paul relates, in Galatians 5:22-26, by defining the “Fruits of the Spirit” and how they relate to a “Culture of Grace”: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.". This culture of grace, mercy, and kindness gives people the benefit of the doubt; and it provides a visible demonstration of the value of other people while, also, providing an atmosphere that is filled with the fruits of the Spirit.

Today’s Affirmation: Today, I affirm that because I am in Jesus Christ, He will supply all my needs. (Philippians 4:19). “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:14).

This Sunday’s Sermon: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “The Five Needs of Mothers”, at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

Website Link to the Video – “The Upper Room – Part 2: The Promise of Forgiveness (Christ Cathedral, Kampala Uganda)”:  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/

cripture Reference (ESV): Micah 6:8; Romans 3:21-26; Matthew 5:1-11; Psalms 119b:27-54.

Does Anybody Here Want to Be a Real Christian?

Message Summary: Paul, in Titus 3:4-8, powerfully lays out that we, as Christians, receive our Salvation through our faith and God’s Grace; however, we are given the opportunity to mirror Jesus in our actions and works: “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.". What would happen, if the next time you are in the grocery store, you see a young family in need at the register and you pay their bill? Or, what would happen if you paid the bill of a young family in line behind you at a fast food restaurant? Or, what would happen if you got in your car and visited the shut-ins living in your community? Or, what would happen if you went next door and actually met, got to know, and helped your neighbor? If we want to be real Christians, then we need to follow the “Great Commission” set forth by Jesus, for us, in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”"

Today’s Affirmation: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

This Sunday’s Sermon: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “The Five Needs of Mothers”, at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

Website Link to the Video – “The Upper Room – Part 2: The Promise of Forgiveness (Christ Cathedral, Kampala Uganda)”:  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/.

Scripture Reference (ESV): John 13:34-35; Romans 2:6-10; Titus 3:4-8: Psalms 117:1-2.

The Bible Commends Hard Work and Saving for the Future

Sunday Sermon Note: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: Contemplating Mighty Acts, at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

 

Message Summary: Message Summary: In the Bible, having possessions is not condemned; and the Bible commends those that save for the future. In Proverbs 6:6, the propensity of the ant to “store up” in the summer for the winter is posited as behavior we should emulate: “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.". The Bible encourages the followers of Jesus to work hard and to be thankful for what God provides while having joy, as we learn from Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.".

 

Today’s Affirmation: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

Website Link to Archbishop Beach’s Video Sermon – “Taking Care of Our Interior Life Through Exercising Our Mind:  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/ (Note: This link is to both an introductory One-Minute Video Clip and the complete video Sermon.).

 

Scripture Reference (ESV): 1 Corinthians 15:58; Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 14:29; Psalms 76:1-12.