Ocoee Church of God - Devotionals

Devotionals

June 2023

By: Bill Odom

A life fulfilled

Col 2:8-10 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit,
after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are
complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:”

Verse 10 tells us that we are complete in Christ. Our faith in this will determine
our outlook on life.
If we believe this we will have confidence and fulfillment; if we don’t believe we
will be like the wave of the sea tossed here and there.
My attempts to be complete and fulfilled always come up short, but Faith in what
Jesus accomplished in His death and resurrection make us complete and right
with God and satan can’t touch us.

July 2023

By: David Swallows

The Sovereignty of God

Explain the sovereignty of God without looking it up. This was a question posed to me in one of my classes at Lee. Basically, the professor wanted to know if the students understood what sovereignty meant for the believer. To be honest I had to stop and ponder on this matter for a moment. I understood sovereignty but in no way could explain it. So before researching it I came up with an answer of kingship or sovereign authority. We here in America have never lived under a kingship or monarchy and do not understand what it is to be ruled by one king, whose authority is the final judgment in any given matter whether we like it or not. We are just now learning the kingdom concept and kingdom principles.

The Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines God’s sovereignty as His, “absolute right to do all things according to His own good pleasure.” The Bible teaches us some things about His sovereignty as well,

“6The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. 7He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. (Psalms 135:6-7 NIV)

7I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things. 8“You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the Lord, have created it. 9“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? (Isaiah 45:7-9 NIV)

3Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. (Psalms 115:3 NIV)

So, what does this mean for us, His children, and how do we apply it to our daily lives? What does the Bible say?

9 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.10:29 Or will; or knowledge 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Matt 10:29-31 NIV) 17“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. (Jer 32:17 NIV) 17“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. (Psalms 121:2 NIV)

Taking these things into consideration we must understand that God is in control at all times. Even though the storms of life toss us to and fro we must keep our focus on God or the world will become too much to handle. When Peter walked on the water with Jesus he began to sink because the boisterous winds and waves of the storm made him lose focus of the one that had sovereignty to control it all. He let his outside surroundings influence his inside spiritual abilities. Thus, it is the same today, we tend to let our outside worldly influences distract us from the one that has the sovereignty and power to control all things. It is after all His creation to begin with and He can do as He pleases. I would encourage some of you today to give your cares to Jesus and realize the sovereign power He has in this universe. He wants you to place your cares upon Him because He cares for you. I leave you with this. 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1Pet 5:6-7 NIV)

August 2023

By: Steve Acuff

Time to Put Our Hand to the Plow

Have you ever procrastinated and keep thinking that it would get done later? It's like our spiritual relationship with God. We procrastinate and become sluggish and don't get anything done. Proverbs 20:4 "The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing."(NKJV) We to often put off the things of God and we end up not doing anything for the Kingdom of God. We become lazy and sluggish and gradually pull away from God. We have to get busy for God. Luke 9:59-62 ""Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God. "And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”" (NKJV) God said to follow him and proclaim the Kingdom of God. We need to not get lazy or sluggish in doing God's work because you don't know when your should will be required of you.

Ephesians 5:15-17 "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." (NKJV) We need to redeem the time and use our spare time and not waste our lives on worldly things. We need to be about the Father's business because time is running short.

We need to be committed to doing something and not procrastinating. we need to take action and not let our ego mind make decisions four us and let God lead us on what to do. Matthew 6:33 " But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (NKJV) If we will put first the Kingdom of God and His will. We will not have time to procrastinate and we will use our time wisely. If we keep putting things off we can't get a breakthrough and do God's will. We need to use all of our time wisely.

September 2023

By: Kenneth Walker

Ready At Any Time

When a hurricane warning begins people begin to prepare their businesses and their homes. They board up the windows and build walls of sandbags all around them. then they begin the evacuation process. Shelters open their doors hundreds run to the nearest shelter and hunker down for a long night. A Child of God prepares differently. They pray, read the Word of God and fast. He didn't say it would be easy but He said in Psalm 34:19 "Many are the afflictions of the Righteous but the Lord delivereth them out of them all. " Be prepared spiritually because storms will come.

Isaiah 59:19 "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him."