Today's Devotions

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Showcase: Assorted Treats

  • More than the Flavor of the Moment +

    If God is not first in your thoughts and efforts in the morning, he will be in the last place Read More
  • Transformation +

    Do we really want to be transformed by God? In the passage (below) from Isaiah, not only a person is Read More
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200px-OswaldChambersHe moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel,

and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord -Genesis 12:8

Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love-gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded (see Exodus 16:20). God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others.

Bethel is the symbol of fellowship with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abram "pitched his tent" between the two. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time- there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must "pitch our tents" where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life- worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God's idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.

 

Reflections to Consider

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Publications

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Music

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Audio & Video

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Favorites

  • Praise Adonai by Paul Baloche +

    Who is like Him The Lion and the Lamb Seated on the throne Mountains bow down Every ocean roars To the Lord of hosts  Read More
  • An Interview with Paul Washer by Tim Challies +

    You probably know Paul Washer as the man who preached the infamous "Shocking Youth Message," a sermon that has tallied Read More
  • Glorious by Paul Baloche +

    Look inside the mysterySee the empty crossSee the risen SaviorVictorious and strong Read More
  • Paul's Prayers +

    How do we pray? What should we pray for? Yes, there is the Lord's prayer--Jesus teaching his disciples, and us, Read More
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Hidden Blessings

  • The Patience and Compassion of God's Love +

    We have an amazing God. Read More
  • The Fear of the Lord +

    Why is fear of the Lord so important as a follower of Jesus? Read More
  • Praying to the Trinity: Our Heavenly Father +

    The following is a modified version of a prayer by John Stott, an Anglican theologian from the 20th century. Read More
  • Praying to the Trinity: Jesus +

    The following is a modified version of a prayer by John Stott, Read More
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