Daily Devotional By Archbishop Foley Beach

Civil Unrest, Cultural Turmoil, and Health Threats Bring Fear Today; but Fear Is Overcome By a Personal Relationship With God

DEVOTIONAL VIDEO

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

Be Strong & Courageous (Commencement -- Reformed Episcopal Seminary; Oreland, PA)

Courage is acting and speaking even though you are afraid. If you follow God’s call and seek His will to live and act in His Word, there is no reason to be overcome by fear because: “your God is with you wherever you go”. After God’s grace through Jesus, God is in you through His gift to you of the Holy Spirit. You get strong by exercising the “muscles” of your faith and commitment to God’s will and His word – often pushing your “commitment to God” beyond levels you thought possible. In Joshua 1:9, God commands you to be strong and courageous because He is with you: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”. When you obey God’s commands, He steps into your life with support for you to achieve His command. You have been equipped, as God told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:11-12, for God’s purposes in your life: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.".

Spiritual strength comes to you from having God with you and in you.

 

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).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Jeremiah 29:11-12; Joshua 1:9; Joshua 1:6; Joshua 1:7; James 1:22; Hebrews 10:23; Joshua 1:8: 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Matthew 28:16-20. Ephesians 6:10-12.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Dr. Beach Provides a Context and Call to Action for Clergy and Lay Persons to Become Part of the Solution for “Race Issues” Facing Us Today": at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/.

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Dr. Beach Provides a Context and Call to Action for Clergy and Lay Persons to Become Part of the Solution for “Race Issues” Facing Us Today”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Given All that Is Happening Around Us Today, Have We “Numbed Our Conscience” and Lost Our Fear of God

DEVOTIONAL VIDEO

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

The Interior Life – Part 5: The Conscience (Holy Trinity; Madison, MS)

Our Conscience is that part of our soul that brings our hearts and minds into knowledge of God’s requirements and expectations for living a Godly life. In 1 Timothy 1:5, the conscience is related to love: “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”. Do we have a clear conscience before the Lord? There are three aspects of our conscience: 1) the part of our person that knows right and wrong within ourselves – our moral compass; 2) as Christians, our conscience becomes God’s moral compass within us; and 3) a reminder that we have sinned against God or our neighbor. The Holy Spirit deals with conscience first and not our intellect or emotion. What happens when we ignore our conscience: 1) we begin to dumb down the power of our conscience to speak into our lives; 2) even though our conscience speaks to us all the time, we begin not to hear it; and 3) our conscience becomes polluted by the world – a defiled conscience. Ignoring our conscience leads us towards self-deception and depravity.

How do we keep a clear conscience: 1) confess our sin to God as instructed in Hebrews 10:22-23: "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.", and in 1 John 1:9-10: "We confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."; 2) make a confession of our sin to a Christian friend; 3) sometimes, confess our sin to a minister; and 4) sometimes, we need to make restitution to those to whom we have sinned, when appropriate.

Our conscience is a mighty gift to us from God if we listen to it and keep a clear conscience. Your conscience is God with you and in you.

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Fear. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Faithfulness. “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).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 1 Timothy 1:5-6; Job 27:6; 1 John 1:9-10; Psalms 131:1-3.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “How Much Time Do I Have Left as a Father to Meet God’s Expectations and Receive the Joys of Being a Father In Christ?": at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/.

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “The Apostle John Tells You: ‘You who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life’”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

The Coronavirus Has Brought Fear and Uncertainty, but Remember that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge”

MESSAGE SUMMARY: 

We are told by the prophet Isiah that God is the awesome God who put it all into effect by creating everything. Therefore, you should not be surprised to learn, in Proverbs 1:7 and 3:13,  that fear and respect for our  “awesome God” is smart: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction . . . Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding," Also, our “awesome God”, In Isaiah 64:11-13, is disappointed in being snubbed by His chosen people, the Jews. However, Isiah describes how pleased God is with being welcomed by the Gentiles: “’But you who forsake the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.’ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame.’". God takes care of His own. Those who wait upon {seek} the Lord will not be disappointed. Malachi presents, in Malachi 4:1-3, God’s support for those who fear His name and who will be spared as He punishes evildoers: “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.".

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, 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).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Deuteronomy 28:58; Nehemiah 4:1-11; Malachi 4:1-6; Psalms 66b:11-20.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Because of Jesus’ Resurrection. You Are Forgiven of Your Sins and You Have Eternal Life – If You Have Faith, Confess, and Follow Jesus", at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/.

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “In Times of Uncertainty, Like Today, We Search for “Answers”; If You Are Filled with the Holy Spirit, You Have the Ultimate “Answer” Source!”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Health Fears Control Us Today, but Remember “Fear of the Lord” and His “Praise” Bring His “Compassion” and “Blessings” Along with ”Knowledge”

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

Proverbs 1:7 tells you that the “Fear of the Lord”, while bringing the Lord’s “Compassion” and “Blessings”, also, brings you “Knowledge”: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.". David models again and again, as in Psalms 117:1-2, how we should praise God: "Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.". In Psalms 112:1-2, David again admonishes you to praise and to fear the Lord: “Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.". Therefore, God, as our Father, has compassion on us His children as we praise and fear Him.

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Addictions. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Self-Control. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).

 SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Proverbs 1:7; Psalms 112:1-2; Psalms 51:1-19.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Surprise – Jesus is Not Dead; but We Don’t Realize Jesus Is Alive Until We Come to Him in Our Faith", at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/", at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S EASTER VIDEO – “In All the Death Around Us Today, Jesus Resurrection Gives Us a Culture of Life!”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Disobedience to God Leaves You to the Consequences of Your Sin

MESSAGE SUMMARY: You may have a Godly father and mother, but your relationship with God is not based on their relationship with God; it is solely your relationship with God. God has given you covenants as ways to build your relationship with Him. As God told His people in Exodus 19:5-6a: “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”. The people of Israel found out quickly that when they desired to live their lives apart from God that they brought disaster upon their lives. God is a covenant God. He will bless you if you obey Him. However, if you disobey the Lord God, it leaves you to the consequences of your sin, just as you are told in Proverbs 1:7: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.".

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because I am in Jesus Christ, I will trust in the Lord with all my heart. I will trust in the Lord with all of my heart and lean not on my own understanding.  In all my ways I will seek to know Him, and He will make my pathways straight. (From Proverbs 3:5f).

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 1 Corinthians 11:23-32; Nehemiah 9:26-32; Acts 3:22-26; Psalms 14:1-7.

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/

 

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Following Jesus – Jesus Calls Us to Follow Him Without Reservations", at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/.

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Becoming God’s Broken Vessels to Serve the Needs of Others)”: www.AWFTL.org/watch

 

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Our Wisdom Begins with the “Fear of the Lord”

MESSAGE SUMMARY: In Proverbs 1:7, we find that the “fear of the Lord” provides us with “wisdom”. On the other hand and in the absence of our “fear of the Lord”, Proverbs 1:7 tells us that we are “foolish”: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”. Additionally, Malachi 3:5, articulates those transgressions, including the absence of a “fear of the lord”, in which God: “will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.” These, in God’s Judgment, are the people of God that He is talking about in Malachi 3:5. These people aren’t the unbelievers; these are the people that say they are following God. To this end, Paul reminds us again in Romans 2:4-5 of a pathway to or away from God’s Judgment: “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.". The messenger of the Covenant is coming – He coming to purify us or to judge us.

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Insensitivity. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Gentleness. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV):  Exodus 19:5-6; Romans 11:25-32; Mark 14:22-25; Psalms 119c:25-36.

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.awordfromthelord.org/bible-search/

 

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “The Day of Pentecost – The Promise Fulfilled (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA)", at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/.

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “The Day of Pentecost – The Promise Fulfilled (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA)”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

 

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

God, the Creator of the Universe, Is Awesome!

MESSAGE SUMMARY: Isiah says that God is the awesome God that put it all into effect by creating everything. Even though God is so awesome, In Isaiah 64:11-13, Isiah relates God’s disappointment in being snubbed by His chosen people, the Jews; but how pleased He is with being welcomed by the Gentiles: “’But you who forsake the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.’ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame.’". He takes care of His own. Those who wait upon the Lord will not be disappointed. Malachi relates, in Malachi 4:1-3, God’s support those who fear His name and who will be spared as He punishes evildoers: “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.".

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Addictions. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Self-Control. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Deuteronomy 28:58; Nehemiah 4:1-11; Malachi 4:1-6; Psalms 118c:16-29.

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/

 

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “The Day of Pentecost – The Promise Fulfilled (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA)", at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/.

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “The Day of Pentecost – The Promise Fulfilled (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA)”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

 

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Do You Believe that the “Ten Commandments” Are Relevant for America Today?

MESSAGE SUMMARY: Today, are we saying that the Ten Commandments are irrelevant for America? If so, why? As a nation, we no longer teach or practice the Ten Commandments. We have made it illegal to post God’s Law to us, the Ten Commandments, on most walls of our courts and government schools. From a spiritual perspective, how can God, the Creator of the Universe, bless a nation which mocks and/or ignores Him? Paul, in Galatians 6:6-7, cautions both us, as individuals, and nations regarding the mocking of God: “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”. From a practical perspective, how can a society and a government function when their foundation has been removed? Our form of government was founded on the ethical base of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were in the thoughts and cultural norms of the people that created our country.

 

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 calledaccording to His purpose. (From Romans 8:28).

 

THIS SUNDAY’S SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Beginnings of Prayer – Part 5: Start Now and Improve Your Prayer Life -- A Robust Prayer Life Will Transform Your Life", at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S RECENT VIDEOS:  https://awftlvser.podbean.com/.

 

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

 

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Mathew 27:51-52; 2 Corinthians 4:7-15; Romans 4:16-17; Psalms 47:1-9.

Followers of Jesus Should “Fear Not” at Their Time of Judgment

MESSAGE SUMMARY: As David’s praise tells us in Psalms 103:13: “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.”. David models again and again, in Psalms, how we should praise God. For example, in Psalms 146, David says: "Put not your trust in Princes; Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, Oh my soul!". When we are wondering how to praise the Lord, we can read one of David’s Psalms to God like David’s praises to the Lord in Psalms 112:1-2: “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.". Also, we learn in Proverbs 1:7, the “fear of the Lord” and “wisdom” are closely linked: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.".

These verses from the Old Testament point to the fear, respect, and praise that God warrants and demands from His power and Holiness. On the other hand, as we see when the Apostle John quotes Jesus from Revelation 1:17-18, when Jesus, in all His power and Glory, reassures us of God’s Grace and His plan for working out the Salvation and Eternal Life for all those that have accepted Jesus as their Savior: “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.’”. Yes, you should fear and respect God’s power and Holiness; but, as a follower of Jesus, you should “fear not” at your time of judgment.

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Heartlessness. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Kindness. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).

 

THIS SUNDAY’S SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Beginnings of Prayer -- Part 3: Prayer is Not About Us, It Is About Others", at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S CURRENT VIDEO: “Prophetic Glimpses of the Coming Messiah” (Third Sunday in Advent; Holy Cross Anglican Cathedral; Loganville, GA),  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/

 

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV):  Revelation 1:17-18; Psalms 118:1-20; Proverbs 1:7; Psalms 37a:1-10.

“The Fear of the Lord Is the Beginning of Knowledge”

MESSAGE SUMMARY: As David’s praise tells us in Psalms 103:13: “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.”. David models again and again, in Psalms, how we should praise God. For example, in Psalms 146, David says: "Put not your trust in Princes; Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, Oh my soul!". When we are wondering how to praise the Lord, we can read one of David’s Psalms to God like David’s praises to the Lord in Psalms 112:1-2: “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.". Also, we learn in Proverbs 1:7, the “fear of the Lord” and “wisdom” are closely linked: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Despair. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Joy. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).

 

THIS SUNDAY’S SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “My Grace is Sufficient", at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S VIDEO: “The Upper Room Part 2: The Promise of Forgiveness (Christ Cathedral; Kampala, Uganda)”,  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/`

 

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Psalms 103:13; Psalms 118:1-20; Proverbs 1:7; Psalms 120:1-7.