Devotionals

Numbers 14:24
But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have.

12 spys went into the land of Israel to scout for their people what God had promised them. They all saw the same things… A land flowing with milk and honey. Yet they all saw the giants as well. Only 2 of them trusted in the promises God had given them, that it would be their land, that he would give it to them to posses. They were blessed because of the attitude they had, their children were blessed because of what they chose to believe.

I heard this quote recently and I don’t know the author but it says…. What I believe by faith about God’s word, will be true when I go through it.

Meaning when I come into the trials of life, because they come to us all, if I believe God orders my steps, that he always provides, always cares, always loves me through them, can use anything for good in my life…. then He will. Caleb believed! He had a different attitude.
We all face hard things in life…. it’s up to us what our attitude is. What we choose to believe about God’s word.

Martin Luther – “Faith alone, plus nothing.”

Joni Erickson Tada – “Faith isn’t the ability to believe long and far into the misty future. It’s simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step.”

George Mueller – The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.

Kenneth E. Hagin Sr. – “Feed your faith and starve your doubts.”

So how do you increase your faith…. simple…. the bible.

Romans 10:17
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Linda Reynolds has been a christian for 30 years and has served as Pastor Leo Giovinetti and Robert Cobb’s Administrative Assistant for 11 years.  She is always loving and serving here are a few words of wisdom from her….

IN TRAINING FOR CHRIST

by Linda Reynolds

MATTHEW 4:4…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

At our church these days, I hear many of the younger ladies talk about training for a triathlon, or doing a killer Zumba class at the gym.  They talk about how hard the workout is although they were able complete it.  Having been a runner my self, I know what diligence and hard work it takes to train your body to get to the point that you can run a marathon, or do a very hard aerobics class at the gym.  One day I sat in envy saying “I wish I could train like that again.” (as I am 20 years their senior)  At that point, God spoke to my heart (loudly I add) saying I wish you would train as hard in the spirit as you do for your vanity in the flesh.  I was crushed.

Of course God’s timing is everything, and as it happens so many times in my life, Pastor Leo wrote in a recent letter to the congregation and RealLife Radio Listeners:

MATTHEW 4:4…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Jesus is using a natural human idea to convey a spiritual thought. He’s saying to us that what bread (or food) is to the body, the Word of God is to the spirit, or the heart, of man.

You know that if you eat food regularly, it will build you up physically. Yet if you eat right but don’t exercise, all you’ll do is get flabby and out of shape.

In much the same way, you need to feed your faith on God’s Word. But you also need to exercise your faith, because if you don’t, your faith muscles will be flabby. They won’t be able to do much spiritually when it comes to moving mountains in your life.

You can feed your spirit on God’s Word and thereby feed your faith, because God’s Word is faith food. But you also need to exercise your faith to develop it and cause it to grow.

How do we feed the spirit, by reading the Word of God daily!  Our Pastor asks us to read our Bibles one hour everyday, this is how we can train to strengthen our faith.

MATTHEW 17:20 So Jesus said to them, “…I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

If you train for a marathon, you would never miss a training run because the end result of missing same could very well mean you would not have the endurance to finish the race.  With all the physical training possible we no one has ever had the strength to move a mountain.

If we read our Bible every day for one hour, training our spirit to strengthen our faith, God only knows what we can and will do for the Kingdom of Christ.  ZECHARIAH 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Lord please give us the fortitude to pursue our faith with diligence, to finish the race well in Christ!

Here is a devotional written by Jenni Alcantara.  She attends MVCF and she oversees our Prayer Moms Ministry.  If you would like to get more involved with the youth, but don’t feel like a leader just a prayer warrior, talk to her, maybe there is the right spot for you in this ministry.

Isaiah 55: 9-11:

9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

10 “ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,

And do not return there,

But water the earth,

And make it bring forth and bud,

That it may give seed to the sower

And bread to the eater,

11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

I was reading this familiar portion of Scripture the other day when God really seemed to call my attention to it: the rain’s purpose is to cause harvest–harvest that nourishes many and, in producing more seed, ensures future harvests.

God’s purpose for His Word is that it soak into us like the rain soaks into soil, causing us to bear fruit.  Land cannot bear fruit without rain, and we cannot bear spiritual fruit without the Word.

John 15: 7, 8

7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

God’s promise is sure—let the Word sink in deeply to the soil of our hearts, and the harvest WILL follow.  And as we bear fruit, we will nourish those around us and future seeds will be sown.

Lord, rain Your Word on us. Pour it richly onto the soil of our hearts, soil that yearns to bear fruit that nourishes those around us and produces seed for future harvests.  Give us the passion and the purposefulness to sit each day with You.  We desire that You be glorified through our lives! In the mighty name of JESUS, Amen

SCRIPTURE

Jeremiah 32:40b “I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.”

WORD

I have been a christian many years and it’s not always sin or really big evil things that Satan uses to distract us from where God has told us to go. It says in the bible that Satan can come to us as an angel of light. Recently I was presented with a life changing choice, it was noble and good. It was even a choice that I strongly desired to do, a God given desire of my heart. Yet we were having to make this decision in a matter of days. Fear came in, crazy fears, all kinds of stuff. Everyone is my house was suddenly anxious and stressed, some were having nightmares. We were having to make this decision way too fast.
We all know the verse about Gods wisdom bringing peace…. So what did this fear mean?
A wise friend shared with me “the enemy is always trying to destroy the righteous, those that are running well, staying in their own lanes and boom the enemy comes in and blindsides them and uses their earnest desires and prayers and urgently tries to shove them down our throats when God doesn’t deliver answered prayers like that.” Satan used scripture and the promise of good things when he tried to tempt Jesus off of the path that was perfect for him. Why would I be any different.
Yes God was directing me through fear, using the Fear of God, the fear of departing from His way for me, that fear He has instilled in me because I asked Him to. He used that fear to keep me on the right path of what He was directing me to.

A PRAYER

Father God, thank you for all my blessings in life. Thank you for how you give me everything I need. I receive and believe Your Word today which is truth and life to my soul. Help me keep my mind focused on You and what you have given to me to do. And please always guide me for you perfect will for me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen