Daily Devotional: 1/21/2019 - SCRIPTURE SERIES PT. II (PE)

"Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1

This is a continuation of a series that I started back out towards the end of July, The Scripture Series. I was inspired after going on an encouragement date with a sister from Long Island and one with from our region. Usually at the end of these dates like the next day, later or whenever they have the chance the sisters will write a card. And because I am me and I feel if someone gets me something I have to get them something in return, so I decided to combine the love for art and Scripture into one. But then I was like "BRAIN BLAST" why not make one for all the sisters in our campus for an encouragement for the upcoming semester and year. That was how The Scripture Series was created. We are now on Part Two with one more part to come so we can encourage and give sisters hope all across the world for days to come.

• Women have it hard no matter where they go or what they do. They lack equality in every aspect. They are constantly objectified and are constantly being taken advantage of. It is our job as men and as human beings to treat all these women with respect, love and the dignity they deserve.
• I am going to try and keep these relatively short, but if God leads long we go long. Going to throw some fun facts and some scripture and call it a day.
• The last series was all to sisters in the church (plus one very special woman outside the church). This series is dedicated to the people I call family, whether they be actual blood or women that help keep me sane at school.

Here are a couple fun facts for you, the first being that sunflowers display a behavior called heliotropism. The flower buds and young blossoms will face east in the morning and follow the sun as the earth moves during the day. Yellow is a color that is easily visible, this is why it is commonly used to indicate caution, for example, on a set of traffic lights, yellow divides the red and green light, meaning the drivers can go, but be cautious.

We serve an ultimate God, one that does so much for us on a daily basis and all he asks for in return is that we love him, follow him, spread his love, and do not sin. Sin is the worst thing we can do in God's eyes . Sin is what causes our death to the Spirit. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Jesus was sent to this world to be the example. He came, he saw, and he conquered this world and he did it all in the flesh. He encountered sin and the devil, but he never failed.

• He died on the cross in order for our sins to be forgiven. So if we sin, it is like the ultimate slap to the face.

Romans 3:22-24 says, "This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

All sin is the same. We are all sinners and that is not going to change, but we have to try. No matter if you steal from the store or kill someone in the eyes of God sin is sin, so we have to be careful who we keep around us. If we do not have godly people around us, we have to cut them off. God wants us to prosper, but we cannot prosper and bear fruit if we have the weeds choking us out.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”… “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:1-13,18-23)

The Parable of the Sower is a passage that is important to the way that we live. We see four different seeds in four different situations. We have the seed that does not hears, but does not understand or care so the devil just and snatches them up. We have the seed that hear the word and receives it with joy, but does not have a solid foundation. These are the people that goes to events or church a couple of times, but are not effected and they are able to let something small scare them away. Then we have the seed that hears the word, but worries about worldly things which chokes them. These are the people that hear the Word and make a change in their life, but never continue to make that change. They let the world and the people around them help them fall away. Then we have the people that hear the Word and prosper like no body else. These are the people that makes changes and continually make changes, they are the ones that live the Word.

• It is important to constantly check yourself and have other check you, too. We always need to know where we are in the eyes of God. What seed are you?

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

We are constantly running a race, the race we call life. Every day is a new leg to it. We have to prepare and be ready each day. Think about it in the athletic perspective. We practice and train everyday. We eat, sleep, breath our sport. We do this all for the final game and the final prize, but we cannot do it alone; we need a support system. We have the best coach in God. We have the best playbook in the Bible. We have the best teammates in the Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Kingdom. We train everyday for the final Race with the Grand Prize of Salvation.

• But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time —God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:11-16)

Sunflowers follow one of the things that gives it nutrition, the sun, it is where it gets its energy from. We need to do the same, we get all our energy and our purpose from the Son. No matter where he moves in our life we have to follow. We know the end goal and the main purpose, and that is salvation and to spread the Word and glorify him in all that we do. There is nothing else that we should be doing other than facing and following our God. Yellow is a color that is easy to see and means that we should be cautious. On a traffic light, red means to stop, green means to go and yellow means to slow down. God puts and takes people out of our life on a daily basis. He throws three colors up on people, we just have to be aware of it. We have to be aware of the yellow because we never know when they will turn red.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)

Lord, thank you for all that you do. I pray you give us your sight when it comes to who should or should not be in our life. I pray that you take all the people that will bring us down and will not help us grow out of our life and fill it with people that will help us. You truly are an amazing God and I pray you give us the wisdom to constantly keep our eye on you, even when the times are tough. Help us run this race and win that prize. You are the best coach. I pray all this in your son's awesome name, Amen.

#LetsBeAMovement