Daily Devotional By Archbishop Foley Beach

“For they {Earthly Parents} disciplined us for a short time . . . but he {God} disciplines us for our good, that we may share his {God’s} holiness" (Hebrews 12:10)

“For they {Earthly Parents} disciplined us for a short time . . . but he {God} disciplines us for our good, that we may share his {God’s} holiness" (Hebrews 12:10)

MESSAGE SUMMARY: The Lord disciplines his children; therefore, so should we. Our discipline can take many forms, for example: 1) teach children a lesson, even hard lessons; and 2) it is OK to take away children's privileges. The Lord's discipline is out of love; and our discipline, for our children, should, also, be out of our love. Nobody likes discipline -- we do not like it; our kids do not like it. However, discipline works to bring righteousness and peace, and discipline brings fruit to us and our children down the road. In Hebrews 12:7-10, the author of Hebrews succinctly describes the Biblical perspective regarding discipline: It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as {His} sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they {Earthly Parents} disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he {God} disciplines us for our good, that we may share his {God’s} holiness.".

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, help me to be still and to wait patiently for you in silence. In Jesus’ name, amen.      Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 125). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that, because I am in Jesus Christ, I will serve others (Philippians 2:3f). “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”. (Philippians 4:14).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 2 Samuel. 7.13-15; 1 Corinthians. 11:32; Ephesians. 6.1-4; Psalms 42:1-11.

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

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Christians in the Church Must Become Christians in the Marketplace of Unbelievers”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/

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Jesus Followers Can Influence and Lead a Return to God by Our People, Churches, and Nation Through the “Five Exhortations”

Jesus Followers Can Influence and Lead a Return to God by Our People, Churches, and Nation Through the “Five Exhortations”

MESSAGE SUMMARY: In the Bible, you can find five exhortations, from the God, that are right on point for our times of uncertainty 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 the nation’s sin and faithlessness, 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 individuals and as a nation; and see how God will bless us!

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Forgive me, Father, for at times treating you as if you were my personal assistant or secretary. Your ways are unsearchable and beyond understanding. Help me to put my trust in you and not in my circumstances. In your presence, I am silenced. In Jesus’ name, amen.          Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 87). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

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

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Malachi 2:1-17; Malachi 3:7; Malachi 3:16-18; Psalms 41:1-13.

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

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Stop Making Excuses for Not Following Jesus and Follow Him Without Reservations”,  at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/

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Jesus Followers Maintain a Constant Presence of Jesus in Their Lives Through Prayer and a Focus on Their Personal Relationship with God

Jesus Followers Maintain a Constant Presence of Jesus in Their Lives Through Prayer and a Focus on Their Personal Relationship with God

MESSAGE SUMMARY: As a Jesus Follower, you must maintain a constant conversation, through prayer, with Jesus; and you must look to see how God is involved in the events surrounding your daily life. If the Lord is in your life, then your life’s circumstances will relate to Him. The Psalmist tells us, in Psalms 100:2-5, that God is with you because He made you to: “Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to generations.". Therefore, practicing the presence of Jesus in your life helps you to stay in tune with Jesus’ influence in your life. Being in tune with Jesus’ presence, in your life, is like listening to an FM radio station – you must tune into the right station and then listen. Tuning into the right station, for the presence of Jesus, requires that you maintain an awareness of your circumstances and their relationship to Jesus.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Father, I confess that when difficulties and trials come into my life, large or small, I mostly grumble and complain. I realize the trials James talks about are not necessarily “walls,” but they are difficult to bear, nonetheless. Fill me with such a vision of a transformed life, O God, that I might actually consider it “pure joy” when you bring trials my way. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief. In Jesus’ name, amen.    Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 94). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

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): 2 Corinthians 4:13-15; 2 Corinthians 3:16-18; 1 John 1:5-10; Psalms 104a:1-13.

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

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Christians in the Church Must Become Christians in the Marketplace of Unbelievers”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/

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

Jesus Followers’ Righteousness Will Flow, with the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, from Their Heart Through Their Personal Relationship with Jesus

Jesus Followers’ Righteousness Will Flow, with the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, from Their Heart Through Their Personal Relationship with Jesus

MESSAGE SUMMARY:  You are called, as a Christian, to live a life that is deeply righteous and not shallow, superficial, or hypocritical. As Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.". Your righteousness, as a Jesus Follower, should flow from your heart and from being in communion with the Holy Spirit. You should allow the Holy Spirit to create a clean heart and a pure heart within you. The righteousness of a clean heart is the righteousness that Jesus wants of His followers, as the Psalmist tells us in Psalms 51:10-12: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.".

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, help me to grab hold of you today. I need you. Set me free to begin reorienting my life around you, and you alone. Help me to pay attention to and honor how you have uniquely made me. Thank you for the gift of rest. In Jesus’ name, amen.            Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 122). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM A CHILD OF GOD. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. John 1:12f

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 5:6; Matthew 5:10; Psalms 112:1-6; Psalms 39:1-13.

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

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Stop Making Excuses for Not Following Jesus and Follow Him Without Reservations” at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/   

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

For Jesus Followers, Jesus Presence Provides Confidence and Light in Times Which Could Bring Fear and Uncertainty into Your Life

For Jesus Followers, Jesus Presence Provides Confidence and Light in Times Which Could Bring Fear and Uncertainty into Your Life

MESSAGE SUMMARY:  If You are a Jesus Follower, you can live in the presence of Jesus for your life. Living in the presence of Jesus means that you live in personal holiness; therefore, you are living in the light of Jesus. Many times, you are so tempted to walk in the darkness of doom and gloom; and when you go through something difficult in your life, you walk in darkness without the presence of Jesus and His light for your life. The Apostle John, in 1 John 1:5-7, so clearly presents what it means to “walk in the presence and light of Jesus” for those times that bring fear and uncertainty into your life: “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.". One day, the Lord will come in judgment; but for now, you can walk in the light and presence of Jesus through your prayerful personal relationship with Him.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, I have spent much of my life running from pain and loss, medicating my pain, and quickly moving on to the next project — the new urgent demand. I ask for the grace to embrace all of life — the joys and the sorrows, the deaths, and the births, the old and the new. In Jesus’ name, amen.    Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 110). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

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): John 7:12-16; 1 John 1:5-10; 2 Corinthians 3:12-18; Psalms 38b:12-22.

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

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Christians in the Church Must Become Christians in the Marketplace of Unbelievers” , at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/

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

Jesus Followers Are Expected to Serve the Needs of Others and to Reflect Jesus to Others as We Serve their Needs – “To Serve is Christ”

Jesus Followers Are Expected to Serve the Needs of Others and to Reflect Jesus to Others as We Serve their Needs – “To Serve is Christ”

MESSAGE SUMMARY:  You will never be more like Jesus than when you are serving others; and your best way to witness to non-believers is for them to see Jesus in you. Your best example of service is Jesus. To serve is Christ. Jesus instructed us, regarding serving others, 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.”. Jesus, 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 you, as a Jesus Follower, not realize that you 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.". To serve is to live as a reflection, to others, of Jesus in you.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, fill me with the simple trust that even out of the most awful evil around me, you are able to bring great good — for me, for others, and for your great glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.  Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 91). Zondervan. Kindle Edition

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).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 8:28-29; Romans 14:18-19; Daniel 4:17; Psalms 38a:1-11.

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

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Christians in the Church Must Become Christians in the Marketplace of Unbelievers” at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/

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

Today’s Fear-Laden Events and “Noise” Will Not Matter If You Practice the Presence of God as You Live Your Life

Today’s Fear-Laden Events and “Noise” Will Not Matter If You Practice the Presence of God as You Live Your Life

MESSAGE SUMMARY: You cannot practice the presence of God when you practice the presence of fear. You may be inclined to fear for the future of our country or fear about your personal finances or family or health issues. If you practice the presence of God, you will have peace in amidst your life-storm and trauma. The “Presence of Jesus” in your life begins with persistent prayer to the end that you constantly and consistently seek to include Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, in all aspects of your life. “Practicing the Presence of Jesus” in your life will prove to be life changing a rewarding. Jesus provides comfort for your anxieties in Mathew 6:33-34: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.". Also, in Mathew 11:28-30, Jesus makes it clear to you that He wants to walk with you in your times of trouble and fear so that you can offload to Him, the Creator of the Universe, some of those issues that drive your fears: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.". If you practice the presence of God, it will not matter what this world or the devil throws your way.

 

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, everything in me resists following you into the garden of Gethsemane to fall on my face to the ground before you. Grant me the courage to follow you all the way to the cross, whatever that might mean for my life. And then, by your grace, lead me to resurrection life and power. In Jesus’ name, amen.   Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 100). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

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).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): John 3:16-17; 1 John 5:1-5; Psalms 37e:41-50.

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

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Christians in the Church Must Become Christians in the Marketplace of Unbelievers”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/

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

As You Live on Earth, God Has Work for You; You Are to “Live in Christ” So that Others See Jesus in Your Life

As You Live on Earth, God Has Work for You; You Are to “Live in Christ” So that Others See Jesus in Your Life

MESSAGE SUMMARY: As a Jesus Follower, God Expects You to Both Work for Kingdom and Witness for the Gospel. Also, as a Jesus Follower, you are to live in Christ and to let others see Jesus in your life. If you are to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for you – God has work for you; God’s work for you is real work. The spiritual life is work – it is fruitful labor. Also, Godly conduct is a necessity to live in Christ as we are instructed in Philippians 1:27: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ . . .”. Not only does God have a work for you, but you, also, have a witness for Him through your actions, words, and your attitudes. Your actions, words, and attitudes constantly reflect who and what God is in your life. Paul admonishes us, in Galatians 6:2,9-10a to follow the law of Christ and to do good and live a moral life: “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ . . . And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone.”. Also, Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12, succinctly presents what it means for a Jesus Follower “to live in Christ”: “To be a witness, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.". Are you following Jesus so that you are living in Christ and letting others see Jesus in your life?

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Father, I confess that when difficulties and trials come into my life, large or small, I mostly grumble and complain. I realize the trials James talks about are not necessarily “walls,” but they are difficult to bear, nonetheless. Fill me with such a vision of a transformed life, O God, that I might actually consider it “pure joy” when you bring trials my way. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief. In Jesus’ name, amen.        Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 94). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that, because I am in Jesus Christ, I will live as Jesus would (Philippians 1:27). “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”. (Philippians 4:14).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Galatians 5:18-26; 1 Peter 1:15-19; 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12; Psalms 37d:21-40

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

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Christians in the Church Must Become Christians in the Marketplace of Unbelievers”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/

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

Your Focus on Yourself and not on God or Others Will Lead to a Miserable Spiritual Condition – To serve is Christ

Your Focus on Yourself and not on God or Others Will Lead to a Miserable Spiritual Condition – To serve is Christ

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 PRAYER Lord, I praise you because your love seeks my good in any and every situation. Forgive me for the seeds that I have squandered. Soften my heart to surrender to your will in and through me. In Jesus’ name, amen.     Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 120). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, 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).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 20:1-16; Philippians 2:21-30; Matthew 25:34-46; Psalms 99:1-9.

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

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Christians in the Church Must Become Christians in the Marketplace of Unbelievers”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/

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

Jesus Followers Have a Personal Relationship with the Creator of the Universe So Pray, Listen, and Be Patient for God’s Call

Jesus Followers Have a Personal Relationship with the Creator of the Universe So Pray, Listen, and Be Patient for God’s Call

MESSAGE SUMMARY: No interaction with the Holy Spirit is too small for you or for God, and no Spiritual outcomes are too big for you or for God. Jesus illustrates, in the “Parable of the Mustard Seed", that big things come from small beginnings. The selection, by Jesus, of His initial twelve Apostles, led to the growth of Christianity from twelve followers to more than two billion Christians. So, when God gives you a vision or He puts on your heart to start a ministry or to visit the home bound; and you think the Spirit’s is so small or inconsequential, just remember small beginnings lead to significant outcomes through the Lord. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus commissions and promises His support to His Apostles and to us; therefore, how can any call, from the Holy Spirit, be too inconsequential or unsupported for us to embrace: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.’” Pray, listen, and be patient. After all, you have a personal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe!

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus’ name, amen.    Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

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

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 20:1-16; Philippians 2:21-30; Matthew 25:34-46; Psalms 37b:11-20.

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

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Christians in the Church Must Become Christians in the Marketplace of Unbelievers” at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/   

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