+DEV+ Building On The Rock

Date: January 22, 2015 10:10 PM

Topic: +DEV+  Building On The Rock

Building On The Rock

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."  Matthew 7:24

Scripture Focus: Psalm 62

Children in our little community of Sligo, who lived across the creek from the school had to use the bridge on the main road. When the river froze in winter, it was tempting for those whose homes were directly across from the school to walk over on the ice rather than trudge to the North end and backtrack several miles, especially when running late. The ice could be rock-solid, but then it could be treacherous following even a brief thaw. Two of my first-grade classmates learned this when the ice gave way and they fell into the frigid water. Thankfully, they were rescued, and it was a while before anyone risked the shortcut again. 

Sometimes life can feel like we're stepping onto thin ice. But with our trust solidly in our Savior, what we step onto will be firm and safe. His Word is our guide. Psalm 62 tells us to remember two things about our Lord: that He is strong and that He is loving. We can move forward in faith this New Year, knowing that He is our Rock and Fortress, and we will not be shaken.

Insight: On Christ, the solid rock, I stand!  (Edward Mote, 1834)

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in urgent need of Prayer and financial partners,

If you would like to become a prayer partner and or a financial partner with monthly or one time gifts.

A freewill offering to Restoration Ministry may be made via PayPal at our web site:    http://www.rollanet.org/~restore/donations.htm

+DEV+ But In These Last Days...

Date: January 20, 2015 12:52 AM

Topic: +DEV+  But In These Last Days...

But In These Last Days...

"...but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe." Hebrews 1:2

Scripture Focus: Hebrews 1

Another year has come to an end, and the God of the Bible continues to reveal Himself to mankind through time, first with "In the beginning..." and then "...in these last days." He arranges all things; He orders all things; He appoints all things. The psalmist writes, "all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:16). 

The time is short, and "this world in its present form is passing away" (1 Corinthians 7:31). But in these "last days" God has "spoken to us by his Son" and He "determined the times" so that "men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:27-28). 

Is this the LORD's appointed time for you? Do you see that He is not far from you? "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon" (Isaiah 55:6).

Insight:  "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  (Jeremiah 29:13)

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in urgent need of Prayer and financial partners,

If you would like to become a prayer partner and or a financial partner with monthly or one time gifts.

A freewill offering to Restoration Ministry may be made via PayPal at our web site:    http://www.rollanet.org/~restore/donations.htm

+DEV+ The Law Leads to Christ

Date: January 19, 2015 1:47 AM

Topic: +DEV+  The Law Leads to Christ

The Law Leads to Christ

"So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith."  Galatians 3:24 

Scripture Focus: Galatians 3; Romans 8:2-4

God gave the Law to Israel not to make them healthy or spiritual or righteous, but to convict them of sin. The Law was given so that they would see the "sinfulness of sin" (Romans 7:13). It was given so they could clearly see their imperfections. It was given so they would see their need for Jesus the Jewish Messiah. 

The Law of Moses could never save.  "...no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin" (Romans 3:20). But the Law, and the shadows it contained, pointed Israel to her Redeemer. 

When Paul wrote Galatians 3, he would have had in mind the role of the most trusted household servant. This trusted servant would lead the master's children safely to school, while guiding and protecting them. In the same way God's Law is not our final destination; it is God's trusted servant who leads us to Messiah. Allow it to lead you to Jesus, so you can be cleansed from sin and strengthened to live for Him. Come to 

Jesus today!

Insight:  "The law detects, grace alone conquers sin."  (Saint Augustine Of Hippo)

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in urgent need of Prayer and financial partners,

If you would like to become a prayer partner and or a financial partner with monthly or one time gifts.

A freewill offering to Restoration Ministry may be made via PayPal at our web site:    http://www.rollanet.org/~restore/donations.htm

+DEV+ Rejoice In The Lord Always

Date: January 15, 2015 11:06 PM

Topic: +DEV+  Rejoice In The Lord Always

Rejoice In The Lord Always

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"  Philippians 4:4

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 16:13-16

After the final harvest was gathered, the Feast of Tabernacles became a time of great rejoicing in Israel. And the joy was not optional, for the Lord said "Be joyful at your Feast..." (Deuteronomy 16:14). This appointed time was a season of thanksgiving in Israel, and they had much to be thankful for. 

Rejoicing in the Lord is not dependent on our circumstances or surroundings. It is not dependent on the size of our 401K or the house we live in. It is not dependent on our position or our physical appearance. It is dependent on our relationship with Jesus Christ. Though we may face the greatest challenges, trusting in Christ, we can rejoice in the Lord! 

"... for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:11-13).

Insight: Rejoice and be thankful for his love; there is no greater treasure.

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in urgent need of Prayer and financial partners,

If you would like to become a prayer partner and or a financial partner with monthly or one time gifts.

A freewill offering to Restoration Ministry may be made via PayPal at our web site:    http://www.rollanet.org/~restore/donations.htm

+DEV+ Do You Depend on God?

Date: January 13, 2015 7:33 PM

Topic: +DEV+  Do You Depend on God?

Do You Depend on God?

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"  Matthew 6:26

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 8:1-6; Ephesians 3:20

The appointed time of the Feast of Tabernacles comes with the command for all of Israel to dwell in booths for seven days (Leviticus 23:42-43). These temporary, vulnerable shelters were to remind Israel of God's faithfulness during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt These booths symbolized man's need to depend on God entirely for His provision of food, water and shelter. 

The nation of Israel wandered in the wilderness with little or no possessions. Every step of the way they had to depend totally on God to provide and meet their needs. Isn't it interesting that when we have little in the way of material possessions, we have great dependence on God? When we have much, it is easy to forget Him. 

God tested Israel to show them what was truly in their hearts. He said to them, "Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 8:11). Do we depend on God, in good times and bad? "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).

Insight: No soul can be really at rest until it has... been forced to depend on the Lord alone.  (Hannah Whitall Smith)

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in urgent need of Prayer and financial partners,

If you would like to become a prayer partner and or a financial partner with monthly or one time gifts.

A freewill offering to Restoration Ministry may be made via PayPal at our web site:    http://www.rollanet.org/~restore/donations.htm

+DEV+ Are You Holy?

Date: January 12, 2015 10:06 PM

Topic: +DEV+  Are You Holy?

Are You Holy?

"I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy." Leviticus 11:45

Scripture Focus: Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:13-23

Our God is a God of grace. He calls us to be holy yet realizes that on our own we could never maintain His perfect standard. So in His unending compassion and mercy, He provides a sacrificial system and a day for atonement to be made. But we needed something more...something better. The Old Testament sacrifices could never cleanse a man from within. Animal sacrifices could never cleanse the conscience, and they could never do anything for a person's heart. 

Jesus didn't need to keep offering His sacrifice year after year. In one moment in time, with one act of perfect love, God gave us exactly what we required to stand complete and holy before Him. Jesus the Messiah "did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12). "For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence" (Hebrews 9:24).

Insight: "Man may dismiss compassion from His heart, but God never will." (William Cowper)

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in urgent need of Prayer and financial partners,

If you would like to become a prayer partner and or a financial partner with monthly or one time gifts.

A freewill offering to Restoration Ministry may be made via PayPal at our web site:    http://www.rollanet.org/~restore/donations.htm

+DEV+ Sin's Atonement

Date: January 11, 2015 9:56 PM

Topic: +DEV+  Sin's Atonement

Sin’s Atonement

"For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." Leviticus 17:11

Scripture Focus: Leviticus 23:26-32; Hebrews 10

The 10th day of the Hebrew month of Tishri is the holiest and most somber day for Jewish people. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the appointed time given by God when Jewish people could seek atonement and forgiveness for their sins. It is a day of reckoning and a day, believed by Jews, to determine their fate for the coming year. 

The Hebrew word for "atonement" in the Bible means a "covering." On the Day of Atonement sins could be "covered over" by the shedding of blood sprinkled on the only place atonement could be made: the mercy seat atop the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies (Leviticus 16). 

The repeated covering up sins would leave us all longing for a sacrifice that would be enough, once and for all. Could the "covering up" of sins from one year to the next truly remove those sins from us? Could the blood of bulls and goats really cleanse us? Or would it just cover sins for a time? "The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not the realities themselves" (Hebrew 10:1).

Insight: "The beginning of atonement is the sense of its necessity." (LORD BYRON)

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in urgent need of Prayer and financial partners,

If you would like to become a prayer partner and or a financial partner with monthly or one time gifts.

A freewill offering to Restoration Ministry may be made via PayPal at our web site:    http://www.rollanet.org/~restore/donations.htm

+DEV+ The Trumpet Call

Date: January 7, 2015 9:11 PM

Topic: +DEV+  The Trumpet Call

The Trumpet Call

"And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." Matthew 24:31

Scripture Focus: 1 Corinthians 15:51,52;  1 Thessalonians 4:16,17

There were three reasons why the trumpet was blown in ancient Israel: to sound an alarm, to call the people to assembly, and at the coronation of a new king. Do you remember God's appointed times are only "pictures" or "shadows" of things to come? The alarm is sounding right now, and He is calling all people to repentance. The King will be crowned and Messiah Jesus will sit on the throne of David as King of kings and Lord of lords. And He will rule the nations. 

The great Feast of Trumpets given to Israel will one day have its final fulfillment for all those who have placed their faith in the completed work of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus. Are you listening for God's trumpet call? Will you recognize the sound? If you are "in" Christ then one day you will "be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." Just imagine - we who have heard the trumpet call will be with the Lord for all eternity.

Insight: Death has been swallowed up in victory!

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in urgent need of Prayer and financial partners,

If you would like to become a prayer partner and or a financial partner with monthly or one time gifts.

A freewill offering to Restoration Ministry may be made via PayPal at our web site:    http://www.rollanet.org/~restore/donations.htm