July 21-Refuge
Write out the Scripture.
Luke 1:37-38, For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Observe what it is saying.
Imagine the angel’s visit to Mary, announcing that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to Jesus, the Messiah. Her response shows her faith. She says that “no word from God will ever fail.” In short, she believed it would happen just as the angel said. From Mary, we learn a valuable lesson about making God our refuge: trust every word from God completely. Mary never flinched or fought for her own desires. She listened and embraced God’s new plan for her life. She showed perfect submission. We do well to follow suit. Also, notice that Mary saw herself rightly in relationship to God. As the Lord’s servant, she stood ready to do whatever the Lord asked her to do. Only people who make God their refuge take this humble position with such confidence and commitment. The decision to carry the Christ child would change everything for Mary for the rest of her life. She welcomed the task as God’s will for her. May we have the same receptivity as we make God our refuge. (Michael (Mykhailo) Cherenkov and Gary S. Hoag, page 18, Refuge)
Relate it to your life
I can count on Scripture to be absolutely true for no word from God ever fails.
Do something.
Lord God, thank You that I can trust every word from You. I am Your servant. May your purposes be fulfilled in my life. Amen.
July 22-Refuge
Write out the Scripture.
John 3:16-18, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Observe what it is saying.
God loves you. Sit in that reality for a moment. When life is full of hurt or God seems distant or silent toward you, it can seem hard to believe. Perhaps you have heard someone say, “If God loves me, then why would He allow this or that to happen?” Maybe you have thought this. It’s okay. We have thought it too. But when we step back from our temporary situations, we discover that because of His great love, He sent His Son to accomplish something bigger for us, our eternal salvation. Each of us will die - some from sickness, others from accidents, crimes, or other causes of death. God made us to live with Him forever, but our sin separates us from Him. Through the work of Jesus for us on the cross, he solved our sin problem. We can spend eternity with Him. To receive this gift, all we need to do is believe. (Michael (Mykhailo) Cherenkov and Gary S. Hoag, page 19, Refuge)
Relate it to your life.
In the midst of daily trials and tribulations, I must not forget the bigger picture of eternal life.
Do something.
Lord God, I declare to You today I believe You love me and have given me the way to life, abundant life, and eternal life. Amen.
July 23-Refuge
Write out the Scripture.
Matthew 8:26, He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
Observe what it is saying.
When Jesus speaks into a situation, it goes from chaos to completely calm. If chaos describes your current condition, then take heart. This reading is for you. If not, it will make sense on your next crazy day. The disciples were overcome by fear because they looked at the storm instead of the Savior, their difficulty and not their Deliverer, and the crisis instead of Christ. Rather than judge them, we do well to admit that we do the same thing in hard times. Sometimes, we find ourselves in the storm of emotions, and we need Jesus to calm us down. If we want to experience God as our REFUGE who can make things calm, then we must keep our eyes on Jesus. When we do, our faith, rather than our fear, dictates our responses to the situations. Imagine how this might shape our witness as well! People do not sense a need for God on good days. But on bad ones, they look with desperation. What if they saw us completely calm? (Michael (Mykhailo) Cherenkov and Gary S. Hoag, page 20, Refuge)
Relate it to your life.
Regardless of what is going on in my life today, Jesus can speak peace into my heart if I have the faith to hear Him.
Do something.
Lord God, please make me calm in the storm of my fears and help me keep my focus on You alone in times of crisis. Amen.
July 24-Refuge
Write out the Scripture.
Matthew 28:19-20, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Observe what it is saying.
The Great Commission to make disciples and teach them everything Jesus has taught us comes with a special promise. Jesus concludes by saying, “Surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” If we summed up this charge in two words, we would hear Jesus proclaim, “With you!” We hear these words in all the best Bible verses. Remember the charge from Moses to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous…for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Or consider the proclamation of Isaiah the prophet: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Or Paul’s last words to the church in Rome, “The God of peace be with you all. Amen.” We find this amazing expression 384 times in Scripture. It seems fitting that these words, “with you,” should be connected to Christ who has become our refuge, because He calls Himself “Immanuel” which means “God with us.” Our mission, and even our survival in this world, would be impossible without God’s presence in our life and without His supernatural power at work in us. He is both with us and empowering us. (Michael (Mykhailo) Cherenkov and Gary S. Hoag, page 21, Refuge)
Relate it to your life.
To say God is with me is to say God gives me strength to sustain my life and empower my mission.
Do something.
Jesus, I celebrate You as my refuge. I hear You say “with you” to me through Your Word, and it fills my heart with joy and courage. Amen.
July 25-Refuge
Write out the Scripture.
Acts 3:2, Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.
Observe what it is saying.
The man had been lame from birth. Imagine his hard, hopeless, and monotonous existence. Every day, others carried him and set him in in a place where he could beg for alms. He had never walked. He never dreamed that he would ever walk. He relied on others to survive. In this scene, we find the lame man taking refuge by a particular gate. As names matter in biblical stories, we discover the name, Beautiful, which, though common in English, was rare in the New Testament. In fact, this Greek word appears only here in the New Testament. “Beautiful” implies physical beauty but also refers to something divinely planned and perfectly timed. This reveals a deep idea for us: God makes the man beautiful in His time. Perhaps you find yourself in a similar situation. Some difficulty has left you disabled or dependent on others. You cannot comprehend that your situation could ever change. What should you do? Ask those around you to put you by the “Beautiful” gate. We don’t mean a physical location, but a spiritual doorway to a new future. Your place of pain and injustice could be a place of God’s miracle and salvation. (Michael (Mykhailo) Cherenkov and Gary S. Hoag, page 22, Refuge)
Relate it to your life.
God’s beauty is seen throughout creation and His redemptive work to bring about a new creation in our lives and our world.
Do something.
Lord God, I feel hopeless. I cannot imagine good in my future. Find me by this Beautiful gate. Make a doorway for me to find hope. Amen.
July 26-Refuge
Write out the Scripture.
Acts 9:4-5, He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.“ I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.
Observe what it is saying.
Here, Jesus appears to Saul and describes Himself as the one whom Saul was persecuting. This teaches us that when people persecute or hate us, it is really Jesus whom they hate. Consider how this truth can minister to those who experience real suffering while following Him. A common response for victims of harassment or hardship is: “Why me?” This text offers the answer. We can expect mistreatment because we declare allegiance to Christ who suffered it first. And while this truth does not change the situation, it does explain it. The world hates us, because the world hated Jesus. It means we are not alone. He suffers with us and even works through us to save our haters. Notice Saul’s response: “Who are you, Lord?” It shows us that he did not know Jesus and yet reveals submission to Him. This teaches us that God can convert the merciless and murderous. Every moment of our suffering for Christ could be a mission moment for those who hate us. Not only that, but He can also make them productive for the Kingdom. He turned into Paul who became the catalyst of the Christian movement across the entirety of the ancient Mediterranean world. (Michael (Mykhailo) Cherenkov and Gary S. Hoag, page 23, Refuge)
Relate it to your life.
Believe it or not, even our greatest enemy can be changed by the power of God.
Do something.
Lord God, thanks for helping me see the reason behind persecution. I pray that You will transform oppressors today as You did with Paul. Amen.
Write out the Scripture.
Luke 1:37-38, For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Observe what it is saying.
Imagine the angel’s visit to Mary, announcing that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to Jesus, the Messiah. Her response shows her faith. She says that “no word from God will ever fail.” In short, she believed it would happen just as the angel said. From Mary, we learn a valuable lesson about making God our refuge: trust every word from God completely. Mary never flinched or fought for her own desires. She listened and embraced God’s new plan for her life. She showed perfect submission. We do well to follow suit. Also, notice that Mary saw herself rightly in relationship to God. As the Lord’s servant, she stood ready to do whatever the Lord asked her to do. Only people who make God their refuge take this humble position with such confidence and commitment. The decision to carry the Christ child would change everything for Mary for the rest of her life. She welcomed the task as God’s will for her. May we have the same receptivity as we make God our refuge. (Michael (Mykhailo) Cherenkov and Gary S. Hoag, page 18, Refuge)
Relate it to your life
I can count on Scripture to be absolutely true for no word from God ever fails.
Do something.
Lord God, thank You that I can trust every word from You. I am Your servant. May your purposes be fulfilled in my life. Amen.
July 22-Refuge
Write out the Scripture.
John 3:16-18, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Observe what it is saying.
God loves you. Sit in that reality for a moment. When life is full of hurt or God seems distant or silent toward you, it can seem hard to believe. Perhaps you have heard someone say, “If God loves me, then why would He allow this or that to happen?” Maybe you have thought this. It’s okay. We have thought it too. But when we step back from our temporary situations, we discover that because of His great love, He sent His Son to accomplish something bigger for us, our eternal salvation. Each of us will die - some from sickness, others from accidents, crimes, or other causes of death. God made us to live with Him forever, but our sin separates us from Him. Through the work of Jesus for us on the cross, he solved our sin problem. We can spend eternity with Him. To receive this gift, all we need to do is believe. (Michael (Mykhailo) Cherenkov and Gary S. Hoag, page 19, Refuge)
Relate it to your life.
In the midst of daily trials and tribulations, I must not forget the bigger picture of eternal life.
Do something.
Lord God, I declare to You today I believe You love me and have given me the way to life, abundant life, and eternal life. Amen.
July 23-Refuge
Write out the Scripture.
Matthew 8:26, He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
Observe what it is saying.
When Jesus speaks into a situation, it goes from chaos to completely calm. If chaos describes your current condition, then take heart. This reading is for you. If not, it will make sense on your next crazy day. The disciples were overcome by fear because they looked at the storm instead of the Savior, their difficulty and not their Deliverer, and the crisis instead of Christ. Rather than judge them, we do well to admit that we do the same thing in hard times. Sometimes, we find ourselves in the storm of emotions, and we need Jesus to calm us down. If we want to experience God as our REFUGE who can make things calm, then we must keep our eyes on Jesus. When we do, our faith, rather than our fear, dictates our responses to the situations. Imagine how this might shape our witness as well! People do not sense a need for God on good days. But on bad ones, they look with desperation. What if they saw us completely calm? (Michael (Mykhailo) Cherenkov and Gary S. Hoag, page 20, Refuge)
Relate it to your life.
Regardless of what is going on in my life today, Jesus can speak peace into my heart if I have the faith to hear Him.
Do something.
Lord God, please make me calm in the storm of my fears and help me keep my focus on You alone in times of crisis. Amen.
July 24-Refuge
Write out the Scripture.
Matthew 28:19-20, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Observe what it is saying.
The Great Commission to make disciples and teach them everything Jesus has taught us comes with a special promise. Jesus concludes by saying, “Surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” If we summed up this charge in two words, we would hear Jesus proclaim, “With you!” We hear these words in all the best Bible verses. Remember the charge from Moses to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous…for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Or consider the proclamation of Isaiah the prophet: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Or Paul’s last words to the church in Rome, “The God of peace be with you all. Amen.” We find this amazing expression 384 times in Scripture. It seems fitting that these words, “with you,” should be connected to Christ who has become our refuge, because He calls Himself “Immanuel” which means “God with us.” Our mission, and even our survival in this world, would be impossible without God’s presence in our life and without His supernatural power at work in us. He is both with us and empowering us. (Michael (Mykhailo) Cherenkov and Gary S. Hoag, page 21, Refuge)
Relate it to your life.
To say God is with me is to say God gives me strength to sustain my life and empower my mission.
Do something.
Jesus, I celebrate You as my refuge. I hear You say “with you” to me through Your Word, and it fills my heart with joy and courage. Amen.
July 25-Refuge
Write out the Scripture.
Acts 3:2, Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.
Observe what it is saying.
The man had been lame from birth. Imagine his hard, hopeless, and monotonous existence. Every day, others carried him and set him in in a place where he could beg for alms. He had never walked. He never dreamed that he would ever walk. He relied on others to survive. In this scene, we find the lame man taking refuge by a particular gate. As names matter in biblical stories, we discover the name, Beautiful, which, though common in English, was rare in the New Testament. In fact, this Greek word appears only here in the New Testament. “Beautiful” implies physical beauty but also refers to something divinely planned and perfectly timed. This reveals a deep idea for us: God makes the man beautiful in His time. Perhaps you find yourself in a similar situation. Some difficulty has left you disabled or dependent on others. You cannot comprehend that your situation could ever change. What should you do? Ask those around you to put you by the “Beautiful” gate. We don’t mean a physical location, but a spiritual doorway to a new future. Your place of pain and injustice could be a place of God’s miracle and salvation. (Michael (Mykhailo) Cherenkov and Gary S. Hoag, page 22, Refuge)
Relate it to your life.
God’s beauty is seen throughout creation and His redemptive work to bring about a new creation in our lives and our world.
Do something.
Lord God, I feel hopeless. I cannot imagine good in my future. Find me by this Beautiful gate. Make a doorway for me to find hope. Amen.
July 26-Refuge
Write out the Scripture.
Acts 9:4-5, He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.“ I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.
Observe what it is saying.
Here, Jesus appears to Saul and describes Himself as the one whom Saul was persecuting. This teaches us that when people persecute or hate us, it is really Jesus whom they hate. Consider how this truth can minister to those who experience real suffering while following Him. A common response for victims of harassment or hardship is: “Why me?” This text offers the answer. We can expect mistreatment because we declare allegiance to Christ who suffered it first. And while this truth does not change the situation, it does explain it. The world hates us, because the world hated Jesus. It means we are not alone. He suffers with us and even works through us to save our haters. Notice Saul’s response: “Who are you, Lord?” It shows us that he did not know Jesus and yet reveals submission to Him. This teaches us that God can convert the merciless and murderous. Every moment of our suffering for Christ could be a mission moment for those who hate us. Not only that, but He can also make them productive for the Kingdom. He turned into Paul who became the catalyst of the Christian movement across the entirety of the ancient Mediterranean world. (Michael (Mykhailo) Cherenkov and Gary S. Hoag, page 23, Refuge)
Relate it to your life.
Believe it or not, even our greatest enemy can be changed by the power of God.
Do something.
Lord God, thanks for helping me see the reason behind persecution. I pray that You will transform oppressors today as You did with Paul. Amen.
Posted in Daily Devotionals