Reflections of a lost sheep

  31 Jul 25 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion What are you willing to give up for God This man's wealth made his life comfortable and gave him power and prestige. When Jesus told him to sell everything he owned, Jesus was touching the very basis of his security and identity. The man did not understand that he would be even more secure if he followed Jesus than he was with all his wealth. Jesus does not ask all believers to sell everything they have, although this may be his will for some. He does ask us all, however, to get rid of anything that has become more important than God. If your basis for security has shifted from God to what you own, it would be better for you to get rid of those possessions. “When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was ver...

  30 Jul 25 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion God’s children It was customary for a mother to bring her children to a rabbi for a blessing, and that is why these mothers gathered around Jesus. The disciples, however, thought the children were unworthy of the Master's time-less important than whatever else he was doing. But Jesus welcomed them because little children have the kind of faith and trust needed to enter God's kingdom. It is important that we introduce our children to Jesus. “People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬ ————————- Reflections Indeed we can learn life lessons from the little ones. I recently saw a video on how a little kid diffuse a very h...

  29 Jul 25 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion Persistent Prayer To persist in prayer and not give up does not mean endless repetition or painfully long prayer sessions. Always praying means keeping our requests constantly before God as we live for him day by day, believing he will answer. When we live by faith, we are not to give up. God may delay answering, but his delays always have good reasons. As we persist in prayer we grow in character, faith, and hope. “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬ —————————- Reflections This parable talks about the persistent widow who did not gave up and also reminds me that I ought not to give up asking and praying because I know for sure He will definitely answer. It may not be according to what I ask but I know He will answer in the best manner and at the most perfect timing. Even if He did not answer, I should stil...

  28 Jul 25 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion Your Kingdom Come The Pharisees asked when God's kingdom would come, not knowing that it had already arrived. The kingdom of God is not like an earthly kingdom with geographical boundaries. Instead, it begins with the work of God's Spirit in people's lives and in relationships. Still today we must resist looking to institutions or programs for evidence of the progress of God's kingdom. Instead, we should look for what God is doing in people's hearts. “Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.””Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬ ————————- Reflections Whenever we prayed the Lord’s Prayer, we will recite.. “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in he...

  27 Jul 25 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion Loving rebuke To rebuke does not mean to point out every sin we see; it means to bring sin to a person's attention with the purpose of restoring him or her to God and to fellow humans. When you feel you must rebuke another Christian for a sin, check your attitudes before you speak. Do you love the person? Are you willing to forgive? Unless rebuke is tied to forgiveness, it will not help the sinning person. “So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬ ——————— Reflections “Better is open rebuke than hidden love.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭27‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬ I have perhaps mentioned this before but I love how it brings across a concept based on love. That love doesn’t just mean acceptin...

  26 Jul 25 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion Extraordinary Love We may be able to understand a God who would forgive sinners who come to him for mercy. But a God who tenderly searches for sinners and then joyfully forgives them must possess an extraordinary love! This is the kind of love that prompted Jesus to come to earth to search for lost people and save them. This is the kind of extraordinary love that God has for you. If you feel far from God, don't despair. He is seaching for you. ““Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders”Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬ ———————- Reflections  In the beginning before I came to Christ, I struggled with feeling worthy for Christ. I was like, I'm not holy as other Christians are. I am not a good person. I sinned so much...

  25 Jul 25 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion The Narrow Door Finding salvation requires more concentrated effort than most people are willing to put forth. Obviously, we cannot save ourselves-there is no way we can work ourselves into God's favor. The effort we must put out "to enter the narrow door" is earnestly desiring to know Jesus and diligently striving to follow him whatever the cost. We dare not put off making this decision because the door will not stay open forever. ““Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’”Luke‬ ‭13‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬ —————————— Reflections This bible verse is a total situation reverse from Revelation 3:20. It reads, ...

  24 Jul 25 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion Be on guard Jesus says that the good life has nothing to do with being wealthy, so be on guard against greed (desire for what we don't have). This is the exact opposite of what society usually says. Advertisers spend millions of dollars to entice us to think that if we buy more and more of their products, we will be happier, more fulfilled, more comfortable. How do you respond to the constant pressure to buy? Learn to tune out expensive enticements and concentrate instead on the truly good life-living in a relationship with God and doing his work. “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬ ————————— Reflections Yes, I used to buy a lot of things only to realised it will end up not being used, expired, etc. so over time, I learn to sieve out the extras in my life. Some...

  23 Jul 25 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion Our true value Our true value is God's estimate of our worth, not our peers'. Other people evaluate and categorize us according to how we perform, what we achieve, and how we look. But God cares for us, as he does for all of his creatures, because we belong to him. So we can face life without fear. “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬ —————- Reflections I used to struggle with worthiness because my every cell in my body felt like it was trampled on. I had no dignity whatsoever. It got to a point I even felt depressed and asked myself why this is happening? All these were before I came to Christ. I struggled with identity and felt like a total failure and emotions just went spiralling down. Coming to Christ made me realise my identity and my worth. Indeed, we are all worth more than ma...

  22 Jul 25 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion The lamp is Christ The lamp is Christ; the eye represents spiritual understanding and insight. Evil desires make the eye less sensitive and blot out the light of Christ's presence. If you have a hard time seeing God at work in the world and in your life, check your vision. Are any sinful desires blinding you to Christ? ““No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”” Luke‬ ‭11‬:‭33‬-‭36‬ ‭NIV‬‬ ———————...

  21 Jul 25 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion Family ties Jesus was speaking to people who put extremely high value on family ties. Their genealogies were important guarantees that they were part of God's chosen people. A man's value came from his ancestors, and a woman's value came from the sons she bore. Jesus' response to the woman meant that a person's obedience to God is more important than his or her place on the family tree. The patient work of consistent obedience is even more important than the honor of bearing a respected son. “As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.””Luke‬ ‭11‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬ ———————— Reflections When we started out as men and women, identities are important to us. Our family names and our names, especially more so even for u...

  20 Jul 25 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion For Christ How does this verse relate to Luke 9:50: "Anyone who is not against you is for you"? In the earlier passage, Jesus was talking about a person who was driving out demons in Jesus' name. Those who fight evil, he was saying, are on the same side as one driving out demons in Jesus' name. Here, by contrast, he was talking about the conflict between God and the devil. In this battle, if a person is not on God's side, he or she is on Satan's. There is no neutral ground. Because God has already won the battle, why be on the losing side? If you aren't actively for Christ, you are against him. ““Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭11‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬ ——————— Reflections It is important for us to hold our focus on where it should be. When we lose our focus, it is where it gets dangerous, because there is ...