Devotion for 1/13/21 - 8 Minutes

Good evening everyone watching by video this evening,,, it's time for our weekly devotion.

I'm praying that all of you are having a wonderful week so far.

As I've said the last several weeks,,, we need to continue to remember those that are dealing with this virus.

Those that are sick,,, since there are many others dealing with this sickness as it continues to grow and,,, those that have lost loved ones,,, we need to continue to remember them as well.

Remember the medical teams that are dealing with this and any others that must work and take a chance of contacting this virus.

Also,,, continue to remember those on our prayer list,,, and our country and it’s leaders.

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Our devotion this evening comes from the book by David Jeremiah "Morning and Evening Devotions".

Our scripture will be Hebrews 10:32-34 and I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Hebrews 10:32–34 (HCSB) —

32 Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions, and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way. 34 For you sympathized with the prisoners and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession.

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this evening.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this evening,,, with all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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Our devotion this evening comes from the book by David Jeremiah "Morning and Evening Devotions".

Our scripture will be Hebrews 10:32-34 and I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Hebrews 10:32–34 (HCSB) —

32 Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions, and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way. 34 For you sympathized with the prisoners and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession.

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this evening.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this evening,,, with all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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In the scriptures that we have this evening,,, the writer is telling the people that even though they are going through terrible times,,, they must remember that they have a better and enduring possession.

If you go back and look at the terrible things that the people were going through at that time,,, it will help you to better understand these words of encouragement that he is using here.

The book of Hebrews was written mostly for those with Jewish background and they were leaving Judaism for Christianity.

During this time,,, the Christians were being persecuted tremendously and they were being thrown out of their homes,,, their family would disown them,,, lose their jobs,,, public mockery,,, imprisonment,,, the list just goes on and on.

That's what they had to deal with.

They also ran the risk of denying Christ because they had the opportunity to deny Christ and return to Judaism.

It was this danger that prompted the author to write this and the very real danger that the people were in danger of committing.

So the author here is trying to get the people to remember past times where they had been through bad things in the past and they had gotten through them with God's grace.

My Wesleyan Commentary says,,, They were not to live in the past, but to conquer their present perils and go on unto perfection by reminding themselves that they were Christians,,, and that as God’s grace had formerly sustained them,,, it would now do so.

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David Jeremiah,,, in his devotion,,, talking about the ways that struggles can help us,,, used a moth and its cocoon to illustrate the scripture for today.

He told how the cocoon is made and the way that it is shaped.

He also talked about the way that the moth must struggle to cut it's own way out of the cocoon.

To develop into a perfect insect,,, the moth must force its way through the neck of its cocoon with hours of intense struggle.

Entomologists explain that this pressure is nature’s way of forcing a life-giving substance into its wings.

It is very important for this to happen so that it can get the spread of the substance on its wings and give it the strength so that it will be able to fly.

But someone watching the moth's struggles,,, might decide to cut away the cocoon and help the moth to come out.

If this is done,,, the moth never develops wings.

For a brief time before its death, it will simply crawl,,, instead of flying through the air on rainbow-colored wings!

If the moth had been allowed to finish struggling,,, its life would have been transformed into beauty.

In the same way,,, sorrow,,, suffering,,, trials,,, and tribulations,,, are wisely designed to grow us into being like Christ.

Today’s temptation can become tomorrow’s strength,,, today’s trial, tomorrow’s triumph,,, today’s crisis, tomorrow’s crown.

Christians suffer from spiritual atrophy when they are not strengthened through struggles.

The refining and developing processes are oftentimes slow,,, but through grace,,, we emerge triumphant.

Jeremiah, David . David Jeremiah Morning and Evening Devotions (p. 25). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.