Daily Devotional By Archbishop Foley Beach A Word From The Lord (AWFTL)

To Become a Follower of Jesus, You Must Have Faith; and Your Faith Comes From YOU Hearing God’s Word
MESSAGE SUMMARY:  Others to whom you minister, such as your children and friends, can her about the Lord and the Gospel from you – for the first time or in reinforcement; but they must hear for themselves and believe for themselves to be saved. Many of us first believed because of what our parents taught us; but then we heard for ourselves, and we believed. You cannot live on another’s faith in Jesus. We must hear the Gospel for ourselves and come to the Lord in our own faith. As Paul tells us in Romans 10:16-17: “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?’. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." You will stand before the Lord alone in judgment – you will speak for yourself with only Jesus to speak for you. Share God’s good news with your family and friends so that they can hear and believe for themselves.
 
TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, fill me with the simple trust that even out of the most awful evil around me, you are able to bring great good — for me, for others, and for your great glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.     Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 91). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because I am in Jesus Christ, I will trust in the Lord with all my heart. I will trust in the Lord with all of my heart and lean not on my own understanding.  In all my ways I will seek to know Him, and He will make my pathways straight.   From Proverbs 3:5f
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 2 Timothy 1:5; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Matthew 7:24-27; Psalms 72b:11-20.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Pentecost: A Fresh Outpouring of the Holy Spirit is Needed Today”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/
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Jesus Followers Need to Acknowledge the Sufficiency of Jesus, Through Praise, Irrespective of Our Trials and Problems
MESSAGE SUMMARY: Some of us and some of our acquaintances have gone through horrendous circumstances. Therefore, we ask, given these circumstances, how can we rejoice in the Lord? Paul tells us, in 2 Corinthians 12:10, that Jesus Followers need to acknowledge the sufficiency of Jesus, through praise and thanksgiving, irrespective of our trials and problems: “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.". To fulfill God’s exhortation “to rejoice always”, you can rejoice “always” if you keep your eyes on Jesus. David tells us, in Psalm 30:4, to: “Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”. Paul instructs us for continuous thanksgiving in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.".
 
TODAY’S PRAYER: Father, I confess that when difficulties and trials come into my life, large or small, I mostly grumble and complain. I realize the trials James talks about are not necessarily “walls,” but they are difficult to bear, nonetheless. Fill me with such a vision of a transformed life, O God, that I might actually consider it “pure joy” when you bring trials my way. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 94). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Heartlessness. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Kindness. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19; Psalms 95:1-11; 2 Corinthians 11:23-30; Psalms 71b:13-24.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Pentecost: A Fresh Outpouring of the Holy Spirit is Needed Today”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

How You Respond to Jesus, In Your Earthly Life, Will Determine How You Are Judged By Jesus
MESSAGE SUMMARY: Jesus claimed to be the unique, divine Son of God; therefore, Jesus is on an equal footing with God. Jesus said that He would one day judge the world. How you respond to Jesus, in your life, will determine how you are judged. The Apostle John summarizes, in John 20:27-29, the interchange between Jesus and the Apostle Thomas when Thomas realizes who Jesus, the man that he had been following for years, is: “Then he said to Thomas, ’Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”. You, as follower of Jesus, have not seen Jesus or His wounds. Therefore, do you believe through your faith; and are you able, by your faith, to say: “My Lord and my God!”? If not, why not?
 
TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, you know how difficult it is for me to be in silence before you. At times it feels almost impossible, given the demands, distractions, and noise all around me. I invite you to lead me to a quiet, silent place before you — to a place where I can hear you as Elijah did. In Jesus’ name, amen.     Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 123). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Resentment. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Compassion. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Matthew 12:36-37; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; Psalms 70:1-5.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Pentecost: A Fresh Outpouring of the Holy Spirit is Needed Today”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Jesus Tells Us that “Eternal Life” Begins Immediately Upon Receipt of the Holy Spirit, Even Before Your “Physical Death”
MESSAGE SUMMARY:  Jesus has promised “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16b). In John 5:24, Jesus tells you that when you receive the Spirit during your earthly life, your eternal life has begun in your earthly life even before your physical death: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”. Also, in John 6:40, Jesus promises: “this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”. What is eternal life? In John 17:2b-3, Jesus defines eternal life: “since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”. Therefore, eternal life is the ability to know God and to have an intimate personal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe. When you come into your belief in Jesus and confess your sins to God, then Jesus baptizes you with the Holy Spirit; and you begin your new life and service in His kingdom. Also, remember that when you receive the Spirit, your eternal life has begun even before your physical death.
 
TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, everything in me resists following you into the garden of Gethsemane to fall on my face to the ground before you. Grant me the courage to follow you all the way to the cross, whatever that might mean for my life. And then, by your grace, lead me to resurrection life and power. In Jesus’ name, amen.   Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 100). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that, because I am in Jesus Christ, God is working His will in my life. (Phil. 2:13). “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”. (Philippians 4:14).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): John 6:40; John 5:24; John 17:2b-3; Psalms 72a:1-10.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Pentecost: A Fresh Outpouring of the Holy Spirit is Needed Today”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Jesus Followers Are Told to: “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you”
MESSAGE SUMMARY: Jesus expects you, as a Jesus Follower, to go and to make Disciples while sharing God’s Word through your personal relationships! Therefore, you should share the Word of the Lord with people that you know. However, when you discuss the Gospel with those you know well, you are often inhibited and constrained. Paul tells you, in Romans 1:16, that you should never be ashamed to communicate the Gospel: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.". When you communicate stories of your life situations and experiences with the people you know and with whom you have relationships, they will ask you questions. From these conversational questions will come a natural discourse about your faith and relationship with Jesus in your life because you are a Jesus Follower. In Mark 5:19-20, Jesus was very explicit that we are to go to our “friends” and tell them of Jesus’ good news: “’Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.". Jesus, in Luke 9:26, also, cautioned us about being ashamed or constrained in communicating His Word: “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.".
 
TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, fill me with the simple trust that even out of the most awful evil around me, you are able to bring great good — for me, for others, and for your great glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.     Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 91). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Addictions. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Self-Control. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 11:5-8; Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew 16:13-20; Psalms 71a:1-12.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Pentecost: A Fresh Outpouring of the Holy Spirit is Needed Today”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Jesus’ Death and Resurrection Tore the Veil that Stood Between You and a Personal Relationship with God
MESSAGE SUMMARY: With the “Veil torn”, Jesus wants your life-focus to be on following Him -- your life should be about impressing Him and not others. Jesus assumes that Jesus Followers will practice the piety of giving, praying, and fasting; therefore, they will do things in the right way and with the right motives. To this end in Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus instructed the Apostles in fasting: “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.". Therefore, your worship and prayers should be about growing and deepening your personal relationship with God and not in consideration of others and their impressions of you.
 
TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, I come this day inviting you to cut those deeply entrenched chains that keep me from being faithful to my true self in Christ. In doing so, may my life be a blessing to many. In Jesus’ name, amen.      Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 44). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Anger. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Forgiveness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Acts 14:23; Matthew 6:16-18; 2 Samuel 12:15-17; Psalms 119i:97-108.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Pentecost: A Fresh Outpouring of the Holy Spirit is Needed Today”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB