Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #130

Feeling Alone?

Matthew 27

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 22) "Pilate asked them, 'Then what shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?' 'He should be crucified!' they all said." (v. 28-29) "They took off his clothes and put a bright red cape on him. They twisted some thorns into a crown, placed it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. They knelt in front of him and made fun of him by saying, 'Long live the king of the Jews!' (v. 39-40) "Those who passed by insulted him. They shook their heads and said, 'You were going to tear down God's temple and build it again in three days. Save yourself! If you're the Son of God, come down from the cross.' " (v. 46) "About three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' which means, 'My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?' "

My Thoughts

Another large amount of verses for this post, huh? Each shows how Jesus was treated before He was actually crucified, and then even after. It was horrible, the things that people did! Jesus was completely forsaken by everyone. Pilate handed Him over, even though he didn't want to and knew that Jesus had done nothing wrong. He was in a position of power and authority and could have stopped it! Instead he gave in to the people's demands.

Have you ever felt alone? I am sure you probably have at some point. I have. Sometimes things get so bad that we just feel everyone is against us and we feel totally alone. Jesus knows what that feels like because He was in that place Himself. Everyone was against Him and people mocked and insulted Him. Even those who could have stopped it turned the other way. Yes, this was all part of God's plan, but that doesn't make it a good thing. It was a very bad thing that God turned into great good.

God turned away from Him because if Jesus hadn't died, He would have gone through all that He did for nothing. Jesus' sacrifice was the ultimate sacrifice for the rest of eternity. God's people used to need to make sacrifices to atone for their sins on a regular basis. Jesus took care of all that forever and He was the sacrifice that atoned for all of our sins, past, present and future.

Whenever you feel alone, know that Jesus is there with you. He went through so much more than you are, I am sure, so let Him comfort you. Talk to Him and tell Him what you are going through and how you feel. Even if everyone else actually is against you, even for a moment, Jesus won't be. Remember God's promise that He will never leave you or forsake you. It is a promise that God has kept for a long time and a promise that He will not break.

The reason why Jesus went through all that He did was because He loved us so greatly. Nothing was going to stand in the way of His love for us. Jesus has already gone through all that, so He can be there for us when we are as well. God can turn anything that is happening in your life into good. It may not be pleasant right now, but God can make it so.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #57

Making a Vow

1 Samuel 1

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 10-11) "In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord. And she made a vow saying, 'O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." (v. 20) "So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, 'Because I asked the Lord for him.' " (v. 28) " 'So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.' And he worshiped the Lord there."

My Thoughts

I talked a bit about making a vow or a promise in my post on how God always keeps His promises. This one focuses on our end, rather than on God's. It is still the same as before that we need to be careful when making a vow. A vow is slightly different than a promise, it is more binding. With a promise, you are just saying that you will do something, but with a vow, you are giving something up.

There are two ends of a vow, one is the promise made with words and the other is the payment of assurance of the vow. Does that make sense? I am trying to explain in my own way, so I hope it is understandable. The example from this passage is that Hannah wanted a son, but her womb had been closed. She made a vow to God that if He were to give her a son, she would give her son back to God. So in this case, Hannah wanted something, and her vow was that IF God gave her what she wanted, she would do something in return.

God fulfilled Hannah's request and she conceived and had a son. Hannah had no choice but to fulfill her end of the vow, and she kept her end faithfully. A vow can also be made that you, in a round about way, give collateral as assurance that you will fulfill it. Bargaining and making a vow are similar, but the difference between them is that a vow is a sacred thing and consists of, usually, two people, like in that case of a marriage vow. Also, a bargain is just a plain deal that is made, whereas a vow is expectant of greater things in the end.

Vows are complicated things to explain. What I want to say though, is that we need to be careful when making a vow. If you know you won'f be able to fulfill it, then you shouldn't be making it. If you do make a vow, you need to be careful to keep it. A marriage vow is probably the most common vow people make, and there are probably tens of them made each day. It is still one of the most important vows people make. Marriage is a sacred thing and the vows that are made are sacred as well and should be kept that way.

Always be careful to keep any vow you make, be it marriage or anything else, and don't make promises or vows that you won't be able to keep.

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Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #43

God Keeps His Word

1 Kings 15

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 3-5) "He (Abijah) committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. Nevertheless, for David's sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord's commands all the days of his life--except in the case of Uriah the Hittite."

My Thoughts

God made a promise to David that he would never fail to have a son on the throne. We see in these verses that God's promise to David was kept. Even when there was an evil king, God gave him a son to succeed him as king. Sometimes, though the father did evil in God's eyes, the son did the opposite and did what was right in God's eyes. The children do not always follow in the footsteps of their parents.

The promises that God makes to us are always kept. He never fails, no matter what. God's love is unconditional and no matter what we do, have done or ever will do can ever take His love away from us. Neither the promises that He makes to us. God's word is always true, and never does He deceive us.

Even though David committed adultery with Uriah's wife and had Uriah killed to cover it up, God kept his word to him. David was not perfect; none of us are or ever can be. David's heart was fully committed to God and that is what matters. Asa, who succeeded Abijah, had a heart that was fully committed to God as well. Even though Asa did not remove the high places, he still did what was right in God's eyes.

Because God keeps His word to us, we need to do the same. If you make a promise or a vow to God, you had better keep it. Be very careful to keep any promise you make to God or any vow. I would advise against doing this because it can cause a lot of problems for you. You know that God will keep His end of it, so you need to ensure that you keep your end. That is why we need to be careful not to bargain with God. We are likely to fail to keep it and that will cost us. There will be consequences, especially spiritually.

Remember, any promise that God makes to you, He will keep it without fail. Every single promise you find from Him in the Bible, or even if it is a personal experience for you, will not fail. Trust in that and have faith in Him. Remember as well to be careful about making promises, especially to God. Don't make promises you can't keep.

Previous PostNext Post

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!