Daily Team Devotions for February 2024

316Judith

Thursday, February 1

All You Need

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life. 2 Peter 1:3, NIV

In 1943, Abraham Maslow, the son of Jewish immigrants to America, published his famous diagram illustrating the hierarchy of human needs.

It was a triangle that explained our physical needs, our need for safety and love, and our need for esteem and for self-actualization.

But Maslow was a humanist who neglected to mention our spiritual needs as described in the Bible.

Recommended Reading:
Psalm 23

Instead of devoting ourselves to trying to meet all our needs, the Bible tells us to devote ourselves to Him who can and will meet all our needs—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, and eternally.

His divine power has given us all we need for a life pleasing to Him.

The patriarch Jacob said, “God has been gracious to me and I have all I need” (Genesis 33:11, NIV).

Can you say the same thing today?

Yes! With the psalmist we can all say in a moment of clarity, “Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need!” (Psalm 23:1, TLB)

Be thankful for that today! Praise the Lord for His abundant provisions!

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; sight, riches, healing of the mind; yea, all I need in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come! Charlotte Elliott

Devotion by Turning Point- David Jeremiah

316Judith

Friday, February 2, 2024

All Grace for All Things

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Most Christians know the story of the hymn “Amazing Grace.” The author was John Newton who was converted to Christ while engaged in the British slave trade in the eighteenth century.

He went on to become a pastor and worked energetically to abolish the slave trade in England.

Though his memory began to fail him in his final years, he was always clear about two things: “That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.”

Recommended Reading:
Romans 5:20-21

Newton’s conviction—that God’s grace is greater than our sin—was probably based on Paul’s words in Romans 5:20: “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.”

As he wrote in “Amazing Grace,” Newton considered himself a “wretch” for having trafficked in the buying and selling of fellow human beings.

But he found God’s grace and forgiveness to be greater than his sin.

Regardless of what you may have done, never wonder if God’s grace is sufficient for you. God makes “all grace abound toward you” in “all things,” qualifying you for “every good work.”

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! John Newton

Devotion by Turning Point- David Jeremiah

316Judith

The Greatest: Faithfulness

Saturday, February 3, 2024

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

Recommended Reading:
2 Timothy 2:11-13

Mercy and grace are different.

Grace means receiving blessings we don’t deserve; mercy means not receiving discipline or punishment we do deserve.

While both grace and mercy are present throughout the Bible, in very general terms the Old Testament is the story of mercy, while the New Testament is the story of grace.

Why is the Old Testament the story of mercy?

Because of how unfaithful Israel was to God and how faithful (loyal) He was to them.

Israel deserved to be judged—and was judged at times—but God always restored them. His love never failed.

As Jeremiah wrote when Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed” permanently.

God’s faithfulness was great; His compassion for Israel was renewed with the rising sun every morning.

Paul highlighted God’s faithfulness when he wrote that even if we are unfaithful, God is faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).

Thank God today for His great faithfulness to you, that His mercy and compassion never fail.

In spite of our sins, His mercy and grace are always present (1 John 1:9).

Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see. Thomas O. Chisholm

Devotion by Turning Point- David Jeremiah

316Judith

How Can You Promote Unity in the Body? February 4, 2024

My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? - 1 Corinthians 1:11-13

A man and his wife were walking through a park in Miami one afternoon when they saw a Cuban family enjoying a picnic.

The family was tossing scraps of bread to a raccoon and saying repeatedly, “Oye, chico, ven aca” (Come here, boy!).

The man thought for a moment and laughed.

He confessed to his wife that his first reaction was, “That’s silly. Raccoons don’t speak Spanish!”

Whatever our background, it’s our nature to see the world through our own experiences.

This can sometimes create a problem when well-meaning people from different backgrounds try to resolve conflict, each carrying his or her own assumptions for how the world “should” work.

When we look at much of the disunity in our churches today, this has been the crux of the issue: People from different ages, races, and backgrounds come together with their own ideas of how Christianity works. But the truth is that these ideas are just that… ideas. They’re preferences based on our own life experiences.

To have unity in our churches, we as members must submit our preferences to a simple question: What is the best way to carry out the Great Commandment of loving God and loving people? So instead of just fighting for what seems right to you, question your own assumptions and be part of the conversation for how to move forward in unity!

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to help you see your opinions on non-biblical matters as secondary to unity in the Body of Christ.

Questions for Thought

Think of a time when a disagreement arose with another believer over a non-biblical matter. What happened?

How might having a unity-focused perspective on your own opinions help you the next time you encounter a conflict like that?

Devotion by Senior Living Ministry

316Judith

Monday, February 5, 2024

Diligence

Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11

The word diligent means to pursue something with keen attention and effort. It’s a word that often appears in God’s Word. We’re to “diligently” heed Scripture and do what’s right in His sight (Exodus 15:26); we must keep His precepts diligently (Psalm 119:4). Paul wrote, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed” (2 Timothy 2:15). Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”


Recommended Reading:
2 Peter 1:5-11

Peter used this word twice in the first chapter of his second letter. In verse 5, he told us to diligently add virtue to our faith, and knowledge to our virtue. And in verse 10, he said, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure.”

God has a purpose for us, and He’s given us all we need to achieve it. We must therefore be diligent. Can you think of an area of your spiritual life that needs extra diligence today? Let’s pursue Christlikeness with keen attention and effort.

Patience and diligence, like faith, remove mountains. William Penn

Devotion by Turning Point- David Jeremiah

316Judith

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Racing to Please the Lord

Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 2 Corinthians 5:9

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said about his father and namesake, the famous NASCAR driver, “You wanted to please him all the time, make him happy.” That’s the way most of us feel about someone we admire.

But sometimes we forget that our greatest satisfaction in life comes from pleasing our Heavenly Saviour.

Recommended Reading:
Psalm 69:29-33

Just as Jesus focused on pleasing His Father, we should strive to please Him by living with virtue.

Peter told us to add to our faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge (2 Peter 1:5).

That involves having the attitudes and actions that please the Lord. Ephesians 5:10 says: “And find out what pleases the Lord” (NIV).

Colossians 1:10 tells us to “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (NIV).

Ask the Lord today to enable you to please Him in every thought, deed, habit, and word.

Every Christian should have a passion to please God. We are to delight in honoring Him. It is our greatest pleasure to please our Redeemer. R. C. Sproul

Devotion by Turning Point- David Jeremiah

316Judith

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Power of Affirmation

And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17

Children live and long for their parents’ approval, and parents struggle to communicate approval when a child’s choices don’t match a parent’s expectations.

Approval and affirmation are key in the transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Recommended Reading:
2 Peter 1:17-18

Jesus was a young adult—age thirty—when He left His family’s home and began His own adult life.

He had experienced some level of His earthly parents’ disapproval as an adolescent (Luke 2:41-51) but seemed to have been met with affirmation prior to setting out on His own (Luke 2:52).

Thankfully, at the very beginning of His public life, He received the most important approval He could have desired: the approval of His Heavenly Father.

On the day of His baptism by John the Baptist, God audibly communicated His approval in a voice from heaven: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This approval was also confirmation of Jesus’ Messianic role (Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 42:1).

God approves of you today by grace, not based on your works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Look for an opportunity today to unconditionally affirm someone who may need encouragement.

The church should be the community of
encouragement. Fred Catherwood

Devotion by Turning Point- David Jeremiah

316Judith

February 9, 2024

Come to Me

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:28-29

When the prophet Jeremiah warned Judah and Jerusalem that God was about to submit them to the “yoke” of Babylon in judgment, he actually wore a heavy wooden yoke around his own neck to illustrate his words (Jeremiah 28:10-13). A yoke connected two oxen for plowing, but it came to symbolize submission and oppression.

Recommended Reading:
1 John 5:1-3

Jesus pictured the religious oppression of the Jews as “heavy burdens, hard to bear, [laid] on men’s shoulders” like a yoke laid on the shoulders of oxen (Matthew 23:4).

God’s commandments “are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3), but the religious leaders had made them a burden by adding their own traditions to them (Mark 7:13).

So Jesus invited people to come to Him and take His yoke upon them and learn the ways of God and “find rest for [their] souls,” for His yoke—His way—is easy and light (Matthew 11:29-30).

The key to taking Jesus’ yoke is “come to Me.”

Rest is not in religious requirements but in a relationship with Jesus.

Faith is reason at rest in God. Charles Spurgeon

Devotion by Turning Point- David Jeremiah

316Judith

The Greatest: Love
FEBRUARY 10, 2024

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. John 15:13

Recommended Reading:
John 10:11-16

John Harper, a Scottish Baptist pastor and a widower, was on board the RMS Titanic when it struck an iceberg and sank.

He put his young daughter and niece in a lifeboat and stayed behind to preach the Gospel to fearful passengers.

As the Titanic was about to sink, he finally jumped into the freezing waters but did not survive. Being the caretaker of two young children, he could have claimed a seat in a lifeboat, but he gave his life for others.

John Harper displayed, according to Jesus, the greatest love one can show: laying down one’s life for his friends.

Eternity will no doubt reveal those who found eternal life because a faithful pastor gave his life for them.

In that way, John Harper imitated the sacrifice of Christ who gave His life that we might live. Rare are the occasions when one person is called upon to die that another might live.

Yet we can demonstrate the “greatest love” in countless other ways when we die to our own desires and choose the good of another over ourselves.

Look for an opportunity today to demonstrate Christ’s “greatest love” for the sake of another.

Our job is to love people we don’t have to love. Keith Miller

Devotion by Turning Point- David Jeremiah

316Judith

What is the foundation of your life? Senior Living Sunday February 11, 2024

“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.The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” - Matthew 7:24-25

On November 25, 1895, a cornerstone of ice was laid in Leadville, Colorado—the beginning of the largest ice palace ever built in America. In an effort to bolster the town’s sagging economy, the citizens staged a winter carnival.

On New Year’s Day of 1896, the town turned out for the grand opening.

The immense palace measured 450 x 320 feet. The towers that flanked the entrance were 90 feet high. Inside was a 16,000-square-foot skating rink.

But by the end of March, the palace was melting away, along with the hopes of Leadville.

You see, the tens of thousands of visitors who were anticipated to come did not, and those who did come spent very little, leaving the town’s economy in shambles.

Many Christians today also build their own “ice palaces” that eventually melt away. Perhaps they’ve trusted in money for their security.

Maybe they’ve become codependent with another person to the point where they trust in them for everything. Or, it’s possible they’ve allowed their possessions—their home, their car, or their “toys”—to become their idols.

Each of these things will melt away when summer comes. Money won’t last forever; people will let you down; and your possessions won’t follow you to heaven! So instead of building castles of ice, build your life on the rock of Jesus Christ so that when summer comes, you’ll be standing strong! 

Prayer Challenge
Ask God to reveal to you things you’ve built your life on that have no eternal significance.

Questions for Thought

What are some “ice palaces” that many people build their lives on today that eventually melt away?

How can you be diligent to keep your life founded on the rock of Jesus Christ instead of temporary things?

316Judith

Walk in the Way
Monday, February 12

Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”
Jeremiah 6:16

Recommended Reading:
Luke 6:46-49

An American Old Testament scholar spent a summer studying in Jerusalem. He once listened to a Jewish rabbi recite the entire book of Psalms in Hebrew from memory. The rabbi didn’t miss a single word. In one sense, the rabbi knew the Bible, but in another sense he didn’t because he couldn’t see the Messiah—Jesus.

Likewise, there is a difference between knowing the way and walking in the way—a common biblical metaphor for the path one chooses to take.

Jeremiah encouraged his hearers to seek the old, settled paths and “walk in [them].”

And Jesus did the same: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46)

He went on to illustrate: The one who hears God’s words but doesn’t put them into practice is building a life without a foundation—destined to collapse (Luke 6:46-49).

Know the Bible? Yes! But the purpose of knowing is to discover the way in which to walk.

Apply yourself to the whole text, and apply the whole text to yourself. J. A. Bengel

316Judith

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Freedom’s Paradox

A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.
Proverbs 25:28, NLT

One of life’s paradoxes is how self-discipline gives us freedom.

People without self-control live under the tyranny of whatever desires master them—pleasure, sleep, sex, indulgence, addictions, or hatred.

When the Lord becomes the King of our life, He enables us to grow in the quality of self-control.

It’s a fruit of the Spirit. As we’re released from our vices, we’re increasingly free to live healthy and happy lives.

Recommended Reading:
1 Peter 1:13-16

To many people, the word freedom means doing anything you want whenever and wherever you want.

But true freedom is impossible without constraint.

Limitations don’t bring confinement—they enable freedom.

Paul told Timothy, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV).

Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…self-control.”

Identify any area of life in which you find yourself in bondage. Ask God to help you to allow His Spirit to work in your heart so that you will experience true freedom.

Jesus, who lived such a remarkable life, has sent His Spirit to dwell in you. His goal is to reproduce Himself through you—the courage, the self-control, the love, everything. Charles Stanley

Devotion by Turning Point- David Jeremiah

316Judith

The Greatest: Virtue

Saturday, February 17

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

Recommended Reading:
1 Corinthians 13

Every religious and philosophical tradition—both ancient and modern—has a set of virtues it promotes. The list might be formal or informal, but the qualities of life enumerated represent the best of what the tradition promotes to its followers.

The closest Christianity comes to a list of virtues is Paul’s list of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Christian virtues are distinguished from other lists of virtues by their source: the Holy Spirit as opposed to the human ideas and efforts of man.

A shorter list of virtues is found in 1 Corinthians 13:13: faith, hope, and love. Paul makes the point that the greatest of these virtues is love, which he also named first in the list of the fruit of the Spirit.

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Paul explains that no noble or spiritual act—spiritual power, great faith, sacrificial generosity—is worthwhile if love is missing. That is consistent with 1 John 4:8, 16: “God is love.”

Since love is the greatest virtue, ask God to fill you with His love in all that you do today.

Every virtue known to man is found in Jesus. Michael Green