Grow Devotes

“…Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”  Colossians 3:23   If we want to fulfill our ministry, we need to apply ourselves to do the work of the ministry. That means we need to put forth effort, effort toward both spiritual and natural matters that pertain to the ministry that we’ve been called to. The work that we do should be done diligently,...

“…equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry…”   Ephesians 4:12   God doesn’t start a thing without expectation of accomplishment. God does not call you without the expectation of you completing your ministry. God will prepare you, equip you, resource you, shape you, anoint you, instruct you, transform you – so that you will produce results for His glory and bring Him great pleasure.    Preparation provides...

“…that you may know what is the hope of His calling…”  Ephesians 1:18   Before we can run our race, we have to know which race is ours to run.  If I’ve been signed up to run a relay race, but I run a long distance race instead, I’ve lost my race. Even if I outran everyone in the long distance race, the race that counts is the race I...

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21    Because God has given us authority on the earth, the words we speak are powerful. We can speak words that bring life and blessing. We can also speak words that bring trouble and destruction. Because we can cause blessing and cursing with the words that we speak, God...

“…faith without works is dead.” James 2:20   Jesus and His disciples were headed to Jerusalem for Passover. Along the way, Jesus was hungry. Even though it wasn’t the season for figs, Jesus walked up to a fig tree, expecting to find fruit to eat. When Jesus did not find figs on the tree, He told the tree, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” Then Jesus and...

“(29) Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, (30) by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” Acts 4:29-30    When Jesus was on the earth, He demonstrated how to minister the anointing to His disciples. One way that we observe Jesus...

  “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore…” Matthew 28:18-19a    Jesus came to the earth in human form for one main purpose:  to restore the position of mankind back to God through the removal of the penalty of sin. Jesus accomplished His mission by paying death’s ransom by becoming sin and dying on the...

Jesus said, “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.” John 12:49    Even though Jesus was God’s Son, when Jesus was on the earth, He operated as a man anointed by the Holy Spirit. He walked on the earth as an example to us, to illustrate to us how...

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28    After God created life on the earth, He charged the care of the planet to mankind. God authorized both men and women to have...

“God…calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” Romans 4:17   God has all authority; therefore, when He speaks, His words carry authority. His authority is back by His power. We can see God operating in His authority and power when He created the world by commanding it into existence with His words. In the first chapter of Genesis, God spoke into nothing, and life was created....

“Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.”  Psalm 25:4,5 (NKJV)   God is the source of all life; therefore God has the position and the right to establish His ways for ruling His creation. Because God is the originator and the sustainer of all life,...

“Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” Isaiah 43:7   The glory of God is the manifested presence of God – His greatness, His majesty, His splendor, His excellence, His power, His anointing, His fame, His authority, and His riches.  We all were created to know God and to know Him in His glory....

“…In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11b   The only way to know God is through yielding our hearts to Him as our Lord. When we worship God, we are positioning ourselves in surrender to His greatness and glory, reveling in our love for Him. As our hearts are bowed before Him in dependent childlike faith, we come to Him. He...

“Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20   If we want to know the glory of God’s manifested presence, we must live in and operate by the love of God. If we expect to know God in a greater measure, then we must become mature in His love. To experience the glory of God, it requires that...

“…For you are the temple of the living God…” II Corinthians 6:16   Stand in a dark empty room, flip on a light switch, and see how instantaneously the darkness disappears. In a similar way, sin cannot exist in the presence of a holy God. God said to Moses in Exodus 33:20, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” As much as God longed...