Reading: Romans 5:12

Today’s verse:

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12)

How many times have we sinned . . . really? If you sin only once a day times one year, that equals 365 sins! In ten years, 365 sins times ten, you will have sinned 3,650 sins! Let’s say you live 70 years. 3,650 sins times 70 years will reveal that your lifetime total sins equals 25,550!! This is true if you sin only once per day! Multiply this total by the possibly countless sins we actually do in one day.

This devotional was designed to help you realize your spiritually lost condition. Going to church will not save you. If it did, this would be something you could do on your own and Eph. 2:8-9 says that salvation cannot be by works because you would “boast” about what you had done. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” (Ephesians 2:8) “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:9)

Being good will not save you. Only One is good and that is God. “And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.” (Mark 10:18)

Saying pious prayers – praying the same prayers over and over – nor praying 24 hours a day will save you. “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” (Matthew 6:7)

Oh dear friend, you have been reading for 30 days. I pray that the Holy Spirit of God has worked in your heart and that you can see your lost, sinful condition. Repent and accept Jesus Christ as your only hope to heaven. If you desire to be saved, to become a born-again Christian, pray with me:

Dear Heavenly Father, I am a sinner. I know now that there is no way I can gain entrance into Your Holy Heaven without the shed blood of Your Son Jesus Christ. I know I deserve hell because of my sin. Thank You Lord for sending this Perfect Sacrifice in my place. I accept Jesus’ work on the cross as punishment for my sin. I believe Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, He died for my sin, He arose from the dead and He now sits at Your right hand until He comes again. Father, I repent from my sins and wish to turn directions. Please save me and welcome me into Your family. I pray that You would guide and direct me as I strive to live my life for You. I ask these things in Jesus’ Name. Amen!

Friend, if you prayed this prayer and meant it, you are now born again! You now walk with a new nature! There is a celebration in Heaven occurring right now because you have repented and have been born again! “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:10)

If you have been born again as a result of these daily devotionals, please post a comment to let me know. I would love to hear from you!!

Dear God….
Today I give Thee all my heart
I pray may Thy Spirit teach
Direct my path and keep me from sin
Every day as I live for Thee.

Reading: Jeremiah 17:9, James 2:10, Matthew 23:28, Titus 1:16

Today’s verse:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

Some will read this daily devotional and convince themselves that they are “OK” and “not that bad.” How very sad that their own thoughts will convict them to an eternity in hell! Dear friend, do you know realize that the Bible says your heart is deceitful and desperately wicked? I don’t say this to offend you, my friend. I say this to wake you up! Your heart is not “good.” Have you not lied at least once? Yes, even asking your spouse to tell someone on the phone you don’t want to talk to that “you’re not here” IS a lie.

Do you believe in the Ten Commandments and keeping them? The Bible is clear. The Bible says that if you disobey even ONE of those commandments, you’re guilty of ALL of those commandments and sins. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10) Now do you see that your heart is desperately wicked? God says you have sin on your heart.

Surely we are all doomed then! Surely there is not one person on earth, from the beginning of time to today that can make it to heaven on their own merit!! You’re right! “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:12)

Yes, we ARE doomed. That is why God sent Jesus to die on the cross because there was no way that we could gain entrance to heaven on our own. Man was continually evil – man could not go one day, one week, one year without a sin. ANY sin keeps us from God.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Dear God…
Please open my eyes to my own sin.
Let not logic get in the way
With the work that Your dear Holy Spirit
Is trying to do in my heart today!

Reading: Romans 3:18

Today’s verse:

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Rom 3:18)

Be honest in your heart today. Do you fear God? If not, you should. When you lie, do you fear the repercussions? The old saying, “Pay day, some day.” holds true. If you don’t fear this, you should! If you are not born again, do you fear the judgment that awaits you when you stand before God? If not, you should!

God says that every man will have to give an account for his own sins. Every man will have to pay for his own sin. Are you one of those?

Job 19:4, “And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.”
Deuteronomy. 24:16, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”
Galatians 6:5, “For every man shall bear his own burden.”
Romans 14:12, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

The born-again believer does not have to worry about this sin debt. The born-again believer no longer has to try to cover his sin with the blood of sacrificed animals. Our covering is the grace of God – Jesus’ shed blood on the cross and it is THIS precious blood that covers our sins. But to the unbeliever, there is no grace. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” (Ephesians 2:8)

“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” (Rom 4:4) So the unbeliever does have a debt to pay because they do not accept Jesus’ sacrifice as payment for their debt.

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:5) Our faith in Jesus Christ’s shed blood covers our sins in the eyes of the Father. All the Father sees is Jesus’ righteousness, not our own. Our own righteousness (or good works as an unbeliever) are dirty rags in God’s eyes.

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)

Dear one, fear God and His impending judgment. This is the beginning of your wisdom.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: …” (Psalms 111:10a)

Dear God…
Please let fear be stirred within me.
Help me see my sinful heart
The way Thou seest my wickedness.
From Thy truth let me not depart!

Reading: John 14:26

Today’s verse:

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26).

The Third Person of the Trinity is known as the Holy Ghost, also called the Comforter. God knows man’s frailty and how man needs to have descriptive words to define the Godhead. It helps us to get to know the Trinity. God the Father is also known as Abba. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. (Mar 14:36) Jesus had that Daddy-type relationship with His Father. Born-again believers do as well. Jesus is known as the Word – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) The Holy Spirit is also known as the Comforter in today’s verse. What beautiful attributes for God! Not only is He the born-again believers’ Daddy, but He is the Word (our daily Bible and spiritual bread) and He is our Comforter.

Dear one, do you have that promise? Do you have that kind of relationship with God the Father that you can safely say that you can call Him your Daddy? If not, wouldn’t you want to? Don’t you need a Daddy right about now as you struggle? Don’t you need a Comforter? I’m sure you have come across a born-again believer in your life who appeared calm on the outside during a major trial in his or her life. Maybe that born-again believer has lost a loved one and is calm in the midst of this storm. Does not this make you wonder how they can do it?

It is because they possess the Comforter. The believers who waited in the Upper Room after Jesus ascended into Heaven, received the Holy Spirit. The Comforter was now given to all those who believed in Jesus Christ as their Saviour. What a blessing it is to be able to rely on the Comforter to pull you through your trials. God promises that once we have Him in our hearts, He will never leave us or forsake us.

Hebrews 13:5b “… for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Dear God…
I want to have the Comforter
Reside in my heart each day.
Let my search in Thy most holy Word
Be a light to show me the way.

Reading: Numbers 32:23

Today’s verse:

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).

Do you think that there’s a “little white lie” that God won’t care about or He won’t find out about? God knows every sin. God is there when you’re all by yourself and reading that dirty magazine or watching that X-rated movie. He is there when you’re alone in your room and your thoughts go to adultery against your spouse. “O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.” (Psalms 69:5)

Or do you think that you’re just not “that bad”? “Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Psalms 53:3)

Don’t kid yourself. God knows every sin you have every committed. Because He is holy, He cannot possibly allow any sin into heaven. His heaven is holy as well. The Bible lists three verses that command us to be holy: “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 20:7)

“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;” (1 Peter 1:15)

“Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16)

You won’t be able to get away with your sin if God has commanded you to be holy. Again, don’t kid yourself. Your sin is like a seed. You sow it and whatever grows will show what kind of seed it came from. Just as carrot seeds grow carrots, so will your sin sow eternal damnation in hell. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

Dear one, don’t you want to reap eternal life in heaven? The Word will guide you. Don’t depend on your Rabbi, your minister or priest. God will hold you accountable for your own sin. Not someone else. If you don’t know where to start, start with God’s Word. The Bible promises that if you believe on Jesus Christ, you will have eternal life.

Jesus did not want us to doubt that we have eternal life. This verse says “so that ye may know” that you have eternal life! I don’t see any doubt in this verse! Praise God that He loves us so much that He has given us a Book where all the answers are kept to our questions. Won’t you turn to the Bible and let its words cleanse you?

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13)

Dear God…
I never want to doubt
Where I shall spend eternity
Therefore show me the way to Christ
So I may spend those days with Thee!

Reading: Revelation 20:13-15

Today’s verse:

“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” Revelation 20:14

If you are not born again, you will be born once and you will have to die twice according to the Bible. The first time you are born is when you came from your mother into this world. You are born with flesh. The first time you die is when your body wears out and dies. The body is buried but the unsaved soul will go to hell until the end of Jesus’ thousand-year reign. At the end of this reign (called the Millennium), the souls in hell will be released to stand before Christ to be judged for the works they did while they yet lived on earth. Because they refused to accept Jesus as their Saviour, they will now have to stand before Him to receive the punishment for their sins while they were on earth. This is where the Charles Mansons of the world will receive their harsh punishment for all eternity. This is where the liar will be judged and will receive punishment for those lies for all eternity. This is where you will stand before Christ and He will have to send you to the Lake of Fire where you will burn for all eternity. Verse 14 says this will be your second death. So the unbeliever is born once and will die twice.

The born again Christian is born twice (first in the flesh and the second birth is the spiritual birth) and will die only once when he or she gives up this earthly body to go to Heaven. The Christian does not have to worry about the second death because his or her name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. That is why the Christian is born twice and dies only once.

What a beautiful way to look at our lives. Won’t you be one of those who will only taste death once?

“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27)

Dear God…
I fear that I’m not saved!
I tremble on bended knee.
Forgive my sins and enter in
So I will eternally live with Thee.

Reading: Matthew 13:47-50

Today’s verse:

Matthew 13:50 “And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Jesus is speaking in a parable here. There are no names attached to individuals but it is clear that the wicked fish (those who are no born again) will be cast into the furnace of fire (hell) where there will be screaming and pain. Oh my!!

But there are some of you who will think that this does not necessarily mean those who are not born again? Let’s let the Bible answer this one. God’s Word always answers its own questions nor does the Bible contradict itself. “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) So dear one, does this dispel your reasoning? Don’t be deceived by your own thoughts and concepts in life. Don’t allow others to tell you what God’s Word says. Find it out for yourself in God’s Word. Toss out everything you have ever learned. It hasn’t done you any good up to now, and it won’t bring you to Christ. Clean your religious slate and approach these readings with an empty glass. Please pray that God will speak to your heart through His word, the Bible.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalms 119:105)

Dear God…
Let me quickly turn to Thee
For answers to all my questions.
May Thy blessed Word direct me
To Thee and Thy home in heaven.

Reading: Luke 16:20-31

Today’s verse:

Luke 16:31 “And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

Jesus spoke many stories to His disciples to teach them. All of them, except for this one, were parables and never gave a name of the person He was referring to. However, in this account, Jesus gives the man’s name, Lazarus. This indicates that it is a true story. Jesus preached about hell more than any other topic. He found this to be of such importance that He made sure there would be no misinterpretation. He made sure that people would not come back with the statement that it was just a parable. This was a true account!

What a scary account for someone who does not know Jesus Christ as their Saviour! The rich man in this account dies and goes to hell, a real place. In hell, he “lifts his eyes, being in torments”! He was able to see Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. All those years on earth that the rich man had in comfort were going to be the only years of comfort he would ever have because he is in hell for all eternity.

On the other hand, Lazarus spent a few years on earth in misery but now has an eternity in a perfect heaven! Which one would you rather have? Notice that the rich man begged Abraham to send someone to warn his family. Abraham’s response was that they had their preachers and the Bible and if neither could persuade them, not even someone coming back from the dead would be able to convince them otherwise. How true is this statement? The occult is alive and well today because people are trying to talk to their departed loved ones! Luke 16:31 states clearly that no one will be able to come back from the dead to warn us.

Are you 100% certain that you will see Lazarus in heaven? Or, is it possible that you may be joining the rich man in torments for all eternity? Dear one, I pray that your heart is not so hardened that you fail to accept Jesus as your only hope of eternal salvation!

Dear God…
Lazarus’ journey on earth was short
In comparison to eternity.
Thy Word says life is but a vapor,
Let me prepare my heart for Thee.

Reading: John 3:1-21

Today’s verse:

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

Again, Jesus doubles up on the word “verily”! It’s as if He is saying, “Nicodemus, I double emphatically say”! This was the custom of the day when someone wanted to drive a point home.

Jesus again says Nicodemus had to be born again. This time, Jesus uses a different term. He says that Nicodemus had to be born of water and of the Spirit. When one is born again, one receives the Holy Spirit of God. “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” (Ephesians 1:13). Also, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)

This was such a simple directive from Jesus to this religious leader. It was not a complicated matter at all. Have you been convinced that the way to Heaven is a complicated one? It’s not complicated at all. There is only one way … Jesus is the way.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

Dear God…
Oh how I searched to find the truth.
My quest was indeed sincere.
I asked the religiously learned ones,
But the Bible I failed to read!I failed to turn to the one place
Where all truth is clearly penned.
Where sin is not made beautiful
Nor its pleasures does it defend!

This Bible led me to Your bleeding side
At the cross where my burden was laid.
You paid the price required for sin.
Your shed blood now the debt has paid!

Reading: John 3:1-21

Today’s verse:

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

Jesus answered Nicodemus directly. He did not mince His words or try to make them ultra religious. Nor did Jesus sugar-coat the words with what He thought Nicodemus “wanted” to hear. Jesus came right out and said “Verily, verily.” Here is double emphasis at the very beginning of Jesus’ statement. It’s as if Jesus were saying, “Nicodemus, surely, surely!” Jesus wanted Nicodemus to pay attention and to understand how important the following words were going to be. He did not want Nicodemus’ thoughts to be clouded with his religious background. He wanted Nicodemus in the “here and now.”

Nicodemus had no idea what Jesus was saying in this verse. This was something new to his ears. No matter how much Scripture he had put to memory, this was still something new. Jesus made it clear that Nicodemus could not see God’s kingdom unless he was born again. Jesus was concise. Jesus was plain in just 19 simple words.

Dear friend, do not let your religious upbringing obscure your thoughts today. Ask God to reveal His truth to you. God does not want you to be ignorant but to have wisdom through the Word.

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; …” (Romans 11:25a)

Dear God…
One day I will meet You face-to-face
Not a deed will I be able to hide
Remove from me the obstacles
Which lead to Your bleeding Side.