Tag Archives: Repentance

A Daily Purpose

Bible Study, Teen Bible Study, , , , , , , , , , ,

Bible Study & Devotional Day 77

Written By Torrie Slaughter

 

Guiding Scripture: Luke 3:1-21 and Proverbs 11:17 Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.

 

🔴In and Out

Are you a different person online? Let’s be honest it’s easy to stand up for injustice or hide our emotions behind a repost. We can vent, brag, or show kindness with a few clicks. But what is meant to be private will eventually see the light of day. It could be shameful or worse, a buried skeleton that peeks out at Satan’s command.

The proverbial shoe dropping. 

I’m not perfect. I’ve made numerous mistakes, there are things I’m not proud of and wish had never happened. I know the enemy will make use of my past as this ministry grows. However, I am ready. (Matthew 10:28) God prepares us when we repent and make improvements. The Truth of His Word is good for correction, training, and reproof. While I know God did not remove the consequences of my transgressions, I (we) can walk faithfully forward with God leading the way. Living a transformed life is the goal of a Christ-follower. Forgiveness, kindness, understanding, grace, and mercy are attributes of our Divine Holy Rabbi. Getting to know Him is how we increase our awareness and spiritual maturity.  

(The following is an excerpt from Publicy Pious, Privately Perverse -Gospel of Luke 24 Day Devotional)

John, the forerunner of Christ, came to preach the two sides of repentance 1. to turn away from sin and 2. to turn toward God. (Luke 3:3) John called out the corrupt religious leaders, referring to them as “a brood of vipers.”(Luke 3:7) They outwardly appeared holy, but inwardly, they were sinful and did not follow God’s command. (Matthew 23:1-7) They wore their fine robes, enjoyed celebrity status, sat with high-ranking politicians and leaders. The Pharisees rested on the fact that they were descendants of Abraham, earning them a place in eternity simply because of their ancestry. (John 8:33) John was a stark contrast to these refined teachers. (Matthew 3:4) His clothing was something straight out of the wilderness, his diet was odd, and his message made people uncomfortable.

What we ‘like’ or lust over is a choice.

We usually aren’t suspicious of the wealthy, well-dressed, prosperous, alluring people in life and rarely question their motives. We imitate them and support whatever business venture or idea they’re selling. However, we are turned off by people who push us to become morally righteous because we don’t like how the lesson is ‘packaged.’

The truth is we think we can hide behind our online personas, our excuses, our busyness, and our emotions as if God can not see through it all. (Hebrews 4:13) The more we try to conform to this world, the less like God we will be. During John’s ministry, he called sinners to repent; that message is also for us. When we repent, we should regret what we have done. The forgiveness we receive will help us lead a changed life, turning towards God.

 

Points to Ponder:

  • What areas do you lack restraint?
  • What are you constantly apologizing for but have not turned away from doing?

 

 

 


 

 

 

This devotional was written and submitted with an excerpt from The Luke 24 Day Devotional by Torrie Slaughter the founder of Our Given Purpose® in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

 

🔴 The Bible In A Year Daily Reading Plan

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Numbers 26:52-28:15, Luke 3:1-22, Psalm 61:1-8, Proverbs 11:16-17

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Prospect of Recovery

Faith, , , , ,

Bible Reading: Luke 15

Have you ever looked for something only to notice you were holding it in your hand? Or perhaps turned your car upside down looking for eyeglasses only to catch a glimpse of yourself in the rear view mirror and see them resting on top of your head?… I’ve actually looked for my cell phone then realized I was talking on it. (LOL!)

We lose things all the time.

There is a popular piece of text circulating on social media; which reads:

“I don’t always lose stuff, but when I do it’s because my wife moved it.”

My husband and I found this hysterically funny and for those of you in relationships, I’m sure you can relate. We often go to those we live with when something isn’t in its usual place. Living in a household with other people (or pets) we learn that items aren’t lost they have actually been moved.

We should ask ourselves:

What moves us to think or understand things differently? (Is it a person, a life event, or a desire for change?)

What moves us emotionally? (Is it a person, a life event, or desire for change?)

How useful is the source we gravitate towards when we feel lost? (Do we seek a person, the Bible, or other outlets such as television, social media, alcohol, shopping, or other addictions? What is our identity found in?)

 Luke 15:11-32

In the parable of the lost son, Jesus spoke of a father and his two sons. The younger was ready to go out on his own and take his inheritance. The older son stayed with the family. After a series of bad decisions and losing all of his money, the younger son decided to sell himself by working in a foreign country. However, once he came to his senses he realized he had sinned against Heaven and his father. He made the decision to go back to work for his family, to his father, but not as a son, as a servant. What happened next can only be described as mercy. Not only did his father welcome him with open arms he celebrated his return! Exclaiming that his son was no longer dead in sin!!

Just like the father in the parable, Jesus wants our souls to be united to Him. He is merciful to us when we are sincere and comes humbly to Him. We are owned by Christ, we are bought and paid for by the shedding of His blood. When we acknowledge His great love for us we will never be completely cut off from Him.

No matter how broken we are physically and emotionally God embraces us. It is time to put our trust in the one and true living God. His mercy and grace are everlasting and unconditional.

~Torrie

© Torrie Slaughter, Torrie Slaughter Photography, and http://www.ourgivenpurpose.com (Our Given Purpose trademark pending), 2018-2048. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Torrie Slaughter, Torrie Slaughter Photography, and http://www.ourgivenpurpose.com (Our Given Purpose) with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

 

 

 

A Balanced Purpose Part 4

Devotional, , , , , , ,

What irritates you? I mean really i-r-r-i-t-a-t-e-s you? Like fingernails on the chalkboard irritating- getting lost irritating- bad odor coming from the litter box irritating- being cut off in traffic irritating- not being paid for services rendered irritating- flat tire irritating- someone drinking the last cup of coffee irritating!!!! What is it that makes you roll your eyes, throw up your hands, spout angry words and ask: why do other human beings exist? Now while I have you all riled up thinking about being irritated what do you think irritates God about you?

Let’s continue with Zacharias and Elisabeth’s story. How did Zacharias pray? He was unable to talk, so opening his mouth to give thanks, praise, or to complain to God would have been impossible. Of course, he could think about what he wanted to say to God. After all, Zacharias was a Priest, he used his voice often. I believe there are several occupations that we are never fully released from and being a priest is one of them. So how irritated was God at Zacharias?

Well let’s attempt to look at this from God’s perspective:

  1. Zacharias and Elisabeth were righteous and followed the commandments of the Lord.
  2. Zacharias was a Priest from the division of Abijah and Elisabeth was from the daughters of Aaron. So both “ministers” and knowledgeable about the Word of God.
  3. Elisabeth would have had a first-hand understanding of God’s miracles not only from the scrolls but also from her family. In that time the passing down of stories was not only common but expected.
  4. Zacharias and Elisabeth prayed for a child. Likely this was a continuous action.

Now we arrive at the culmination of living righteously, being obedient to the Lord and a prayer being answered.

God sent the angel Gabriel to deliver the news. Zacharias had the audacity to question it. I mean how silly of him, right?! Because we would never do something so idiotic as to have a prayer finally answered but then question how it could possibly happen …would we? Luke 1:18 KJV Our human reasoning is what gets us in trouble. We try to figure out how God could do something from our human perspective and that’s where it all goes downhill. We are NOT God. God is God! If we allowed our inner spirits to control our tongues the result would be different. What we should do is be quiet and wait for further instructions. Yes, I believe that would be the best action. But we just don’t do that..at least not the majority of the time. So we are left with the consequences of our actions. We may be left..

.

.

speechless.

•As we go through this life focus on change and the strikingly irritating things we may be doing that brings God to anger. If we focus on how we can be more respectful, loving, and kind to others we may become less irritating.

Matthew 22:37-39

37And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

 ~Torrie
© Torrie Slaughter, Torrie Slaughter Photography, and http://www.ourgivenpurpose.com (Our Given Purpose trademark pending), 2018-2048. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Torrie Slaughter, Torrie Slaughter Photography, and http://www.ourgivenpurpose.com (Our Given Purpose) with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.