Emanuel Ministries Devotionals

“Releasing the old—taking hold of the best “ Psalm 18:1” I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength.” Have you ever tried to get a bone away from a dog? It’s not too easy, unless you have something better for him. Try offering a T-bone steak, and  that dog will drop his bone like a bad habit. In the same way, the writer of Hebrews tries to encourage the Jewish Christians, new believers who had a tendency to cling to the old customs of the Old Testament, to leave the dry bones of ceremonies and feast upon the delights of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s a lesson we all must appropriate in our lives. It can become comfortable for us to hold to our traditions, rather than try something new. But my friend, there is no one and nothing that can compare with Jesus. You may learn to love Jesus better, but you can never love anything better than Jesus. Ask God to begin showing you the delights of a close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus our Savior and Lord likes to hear this kind o

“Happiness is a choice. ” Psalm 7:17 “I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high. “ Did you know that happiness is a choice? A man said to a beggar one day,” Good day my friend.” The beggar answered ,” Well, thank you, but I never have a bad one.” The man responded, “Well, may God give you a happy life, my friend. “ And the beggar replied, “ I thank God that I am never unhappy.” The man was speechless. And the beggar continued ,”When I have plenty to eat, I thank God. When I am hungry, I thank God. If it is God’s will for me to endure this, then whatever is God’s will for me makes me happy. “ He chose to be happy. What do you want? Do you want to be happy? Then choose to be happy today no matter your circumstances... by praising God. You are called to praise the Lord and sing praise to the name of the Lord not according to your circumstances or what He can bless you with, but according to His righteousness and bec

"The sin of silence " 2 Kings 7:9 "Then they said one to another, "We are not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves.If we wait till the morning light, punishment will come upon us : now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household. " Andrew Murray said, " There are two classes of Christians: soul winners, and backsliders. There are two great sins a Christian can commit : the greatest is to fail to love the Lord Jesus. The second greatest is not adultery or drunkenness, but is the sin of silence – to refuse to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Suppose you knew the cure for cancer. Would you not tell it? Suppose you were on an island where people were starving to death and you knew where there was a vast hoard of food . Would you not tell it? Ours is the greatest mission, the greatest message, the greatest Master the world knows nothing about. Our mission is the Great Commission . Our message

"It came to pass." Matt.11:1 It is said that King David once called a jeweler and said,"Make me a ring who's appearance will gladden my heart when I am sad, and make me sad when I am joyful. You have two days for this. If you bring the ring, you will be richly rewarded . If not, your head will be where your legs are now." The jeweler left in despair. He knew his life would be forfeited. Who could make such a ring? When he crossed the palace yard, little Solomon, who was playing, observed his grief and asked him what it was about. The jeweler told him of the foolish demand the King had made. The child laughed and said,"Make him a simple ring of tin  and write on it the words," Gam ze iavoh"- “This will pass, too."  Nothing more is needed. In moments of darkness, the king will read that this will pass and find comfort. In revellings the ring will remind him that joys in this world are transitory." The jeweler made the ring and rece

“Ministers of deception “ 2Tim.4:3” For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” Did you know Satan has put his ministers all across America? On Sunday, people will come down and sit in a service, and the man in the pulpit will look like a minister, but he will be a minister of Satan. Isn’t that frightening? You need to understand that Satan is not against religion. He’s always wanted to be like God. His temptation to you is not to be ungodly, but to try to be like God , but in Satan’s way. Satan is the master of deception. Matt.24:24” says,” If it were possible, he would deceive the very elect. That’s the reason we have to be discerners of truth. When you go to church don’t just sit and soak in the service. Test the message against the Word of God and apply it to your life. The time has come when many believers like to hear teachings that will tickle their ears but not

"What is the crucifixion ?" Rom.5:6-11 Most of us are overwhelmed by the physical and emotional suffering that He endured-the scourging, beating,thorns,nails, mocking, and shame. But during crucifixion, far more was happening that the eye could see. God was carrying out His plan to rescue mankind,providing everything we need for salvation : 1) Redemption -Jesus paid the full price of the debt we owed for transgression : death. His payment set us free from bondage of sin. 2) Forgiveness- God could now release us from the punishment we deserved. 3) Propitiation Chris's payment satisfied the Father by fulfilling His demand for justice while letting Him forgive us. 4) Justification -On the basis of Jesus' sacrifice ,the Lord now declares believers not guilty. This is a legal declaration that can never be reversed. 5) Reconciliation -The sin barrier that separated us from the Father was removed by Christ's death on our behalf. We're now God's child

"Jesus our substitute " Lk.23:33"When they came to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals, one on the right, the other on His left." Jesus carried our sin to the cross. The spot where that happened was Calvary, also called Golgotha-the same spot known as Mt.Moriah where in Genesis Abraham offered Isaac to God. Mt. Moriah, the Temple Mount , and Calvary are all on the same limestone ridge-all the same mountain. Centuries before Christ was born, God told Abraham, the brightest star in the Hebrew heaven," Abraham, I want you to take your son, your own son, the son that you love,the son of promise, to a place I will show you . Not just any place-a certain place. And there you are to offer your son." That spot is the very spot where one day , centuries later, Jesus Christ would be crucified. For Abraham and Isaac , a ram caught in a thicket provided the substitute. There was no such substitute for Jesus Christ-for He was o

"You must hold on with both hands."  James 2:5 “ Listen, my beloved brethren : has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?  Are you facing a struggle in your life today? Perhaps there is a decision that you need to make, but don't know what to do. My friend, let me tell you the way to find what God wants for you .Take hold of the Lord with both hands and in faith tell Him, " Sink or swim, live or die, once and for all, now and forever, I'm going for You, God. "  John Dryden, the famous English poet, said, "Reason saw not, till faith sprung the light."  Charles Spurgeon said, "Faith goes up the stairs that love has made and looks out the window which hope has opened."  You don't know what God can do through you until you step out in faith.  Take that step today. Do you believe that you are rich in faith ? Where do you get faith from?  &quo

"How do you build up your intimacy with God? "  Intimacy with God doesn't just happen. It requires determination and a significant investment of time and effort. As we seek intimacy with Him, we must learn : 1) Conflict resolution. God is always right. No matter the circumstances, tension with God can be resolved by yielding our desires and seeking His viewpoint. 2) Trust- intimacy grows only in an atmosphere of trust. As we understand God's character better, our confidence grows, and we are drawn closer to Him. Our part is to show ourselves trustworthy. 3) Risk taking – the more we reveal who we are in Christ to those around us, the more we risk facing arguments, experiencing rejection, or being misunderstood. 4) Agreement – for us to maintain a close affinity with God,our schedule and plans must reflect that He is a priority. We are to be available for His use and open to His direction. God designed us for intimacy with Him.  All that He requires is our

"Do you want a renewed mind? Do you want a clean heart? "Proverbs 23:7 "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink,he says to you but his heart is not with Thee." A teacher asked a little boy to finish this proverb :"Cleanliness is next to..." He answered, "Cleanliness is next to impossible." Well, my friend, He wasn't far wrong, was he ? It's amazing what people do to try to purify themselves – fast, pray, kneel, walk, self- flagellate, hibernate, isolate . But sadly, they discover that human efforts aren't the pathway to purity because they keep doing what Zig Ziglar calls "stinkin'thinkin'.  Before we can hope to have a life of purity, we must have a clean thought life. God works from the inside out. He knows you can't purify the water by painting the pump. When was the last time you memorized a verse of Scripture? It's easier to stay away from "stinkin' thinkin' when your min