Monday Devotion and Prayer – July 3, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv. Monday Devotion …
Author: Etta Mhoon-Walker
Sunday Devotion and Prayer – July 2, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv. Sunday Devotion and …
Saturday Devotion and Prayer – July 1, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv.
Saturday Devotion and Prayer. July 1, 2023
“Remember Who We Belong To”
“And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.” Philippians 4:3
God sees us in the proverbial back corner amongst all the other people the world neglects and rejects, lovingly calling us His own. Adopted into the family of God, we get to do life on earth for His glory. Rescued, redeemed, and given a purpose, He cherishes us. He can remember the days of our lives with much more prominence than I can recall the memories around my family table.
In the verse above, Paul recognizes faithful saints who spread the gospel’s good news with the days of their lives. He presents them as an example of how to live in pursuit of Christ. “Paul calls for reconciliation, joyful faith, and disciplined thinking,” the ESV Global Study Bible notes, “the book of life refers to God’s record of those who belong to him.” It’s the everyday moments of our lives that mean the most. The times we could have changed the subject but chose to talk about Jesus. The people we invited, even though others wouldn’t welcome them. The celebrations, laughter, and love are written on the pages of our days. Those are things God cares about the roots of His love propel the action of our lives. And when our Savior is the center of our universe, our names are written in the Book of Life.
“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Revelation 3:5
Eyes fixed on Jesus, we can anticipate the end of suffering in this life and embrace the hope of eternity. Fixed on Jesus, the Author, and Perfector of our faith, He protects us from distraction and derailment. We live with the pains of this world daily, but that doesn’t have the power to steal the joy and hope we have in Christ.
Heavenly Father,
Let our lives be centered around You, God. We want the days of our lives to be littered with the love of Jesus we have walked out on this earth. Thank you for seeing us for who we are and guiding us faithfully through this life.
God, You proclaim authority over all creation, including us, determining who belongs to You. Sometimes, we are too concerned over the faithfulness of those around us. Our responsibility as Christians is to follow Jesus wholeheartedly and love those around us obediently, leaving judgment in the hands of God. Help us to embrace and cherish the memories we accumulate in this life and let them all be rooted in Your great love.
Thank You for writing our names in the Book of Life. You are the center of our universe, God. Our joy comes from obediently living out and telling others the Gospel truth the truth we are loved, rescued, and redeemed in Christ Jesus. Keep our eyes fixed on You. In Your son Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.
Friday Devotion and Prayer – June 30, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv. Friday Devotion and Prayer. June …
Thursday Devotion and Prayer – June 29, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv. Thursday Devotion and Prayer. June …
Wednesday Devotion and Prayer – June 28, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv.
Wednesday Devotion and Prayer. June 28, 2023 “Enduring Marriages”
“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband”—Ephesians 5:33
Sadly, marriage is under attack. It’s being devalued, avoided, redesigned, and mocked. But God designed marriage as a sacred union to be respected and revered, holy before Him. Unlike current cultural trends, marriage is not a legal contract but a covenant with God. It’s His idea, design, and set of laws surrounding it. Human laws do not trump His ways, and He has not given us the freedom to reinvent it. Marriage is vital to God’s plan because it represents the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Church. The breaking down of it on earth is the enemy at work to try and destroy God’s will for the Church. Revelation 19:7 paints the picture of what is to come with Christ and His Church. “Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.” Marriage is something to fight for, just like the Church of Jesus Christ is worth fighting for. If Christians are unwilling to fight for their marriages, how can they stand up and fight for the Church?
Marriage Is God’s Mystery
Believers in Jesus Christ must consider their earthly marriage covenants with reverence and commitment. Ephesians 5:25-33 explains the mystery of earthly marriage, designed to form an unbreakable bond between husband, wife, and God. He reveals the mystery of His Bride, the Church. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through word and to present her to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:25-27
Marriage is our God-designed model for what the Church is to become, which is the body of Christ on earth. Ephesians 5:28-30 explains, “In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the Church—for we are members of His body.” Ephesians 5:31 explains God designed marriage as a profound mystery that reveals His eternal plan for Christ and His Church. “For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the Church.” Like a physical, earthly marriage, God calls us to purity, as it is key to becoming one with our spouse and with the Church becoming one with Jesus Christ. “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” (Hebrews 13:4)
Heavenly Father,
Marriage is Your sacred, holy design under Your authority alone. Today holy matrimony, Your vision for the relationship between Jesus and the Church is under attack. But You, O Lord, can strengthen and bind us as one in our marriages so that the enemy cannot tear apart what You have joined together. We ask You today to embolden us to stand up against his assaults and remain faithful to our vows to You and each other.
It’s not by our might or our power that we can stand, but by Your Spirit, who empowers us to withstand the enemy’s attacks against our marriages. Thank you, Father, for daily strengthening and encouraging us to be holy as You are holy. Let us be a picture to the world of Jesus’ unfailing faithfulness to His Church. In Your son Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Sunday Devotion and Prayer – June 25, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv.
Sunday Devotion and Prayer. June 25, 2023
“Durable Joy”
“As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” – 2 Corinthians 6:10
Joy is a radical concept in the Bible. Difficult circumstances accompany many verses about joy. The Bible tells us to rejoice when we suffer (Romans 5:3) And to consider it joy when we face trials (James 1:2). The Bible says to be glad when we are persecuted because we will be rewarded in heaven (Matthew 5:12). And to greatly rejoice when we experience bouts of grief (1 Peter 1:6). This concept confuses most of us because we equate joy with happiness. Happiness is a fleeting emotion completely dependent on our experience or circumstances.
But joy is not a feeling, and it is not fleeting. Joy is not dependent on favorable circumstances. If anything, the Scriptures insinuate the opposite. The more unpleasant our circumstances are, the greater the opportunity to experience joy. Joy, unlike our fleeting feelings, is durable. Joy persists despite hardship. Joy propels us to endure despite extreme difficulties. Joy is never-ending and ever-present. When Jesus endured the heinous suffering of the cross, He was empowered to do so because of joy.
“…the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:2
Joy is durable because it is found in the presence of God, not in the absence of struggles. “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” – Psalm 16:11
Today if you’re facing unfavorable circumstances, acknowledge and experience the durability of the joy made possible by Christ. I hope you understand that joy is always available in difficulties and despite hardships. Our hearts may ache, but we will always have joy because of our relationship with Christ (2 Corinthians 6:10).
Heavenly Father,
I don’t know what my brother or sister in Christ reading this message is experiencing right now, Lord. They may face the deepest heartache or the most ravenous trial or difficulty of their life. Lord, I don’t know the details, but you do. You see them struggling. And not only are you carefully watching over them, but you suffered just like them. You were despised. You were mocked. You were rejected. You were hated and spit upon. You were jeered at and insulted. You were beaten and shamed.
You were stripped of your dignity. You suffered for our sake. You were wrongly punished for our shortcomings and sin, Lord. You deeply and compassionately understand my friend’s suffering. And you endured your suffering by thinking about the joy of being with us in heaven for all eternity, where there would be no more sadness and no more sin.
This joy was you thinking of perfected relationships with your children and between your children for all eternity. That is an unshakeable and sure source of joy. That is secure joy. That is durable joy, made available to us right now. The seal of Your Holy Spirit ensures that joy. God, thank you for suffering so we can be eternally joyful. Thank You that nothing can take our joy in this life or the next if we are in You, Jesus. Let my brother and sisters listening or reading along immediately notice and rejoice in this truth. Comfort them and care for them through this trial. Remind them of the gospel and bring others along to redirect their thoughts to this truth with love and grace. In Your son Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
