Christian Community Fellowship Northside Daily Word

  Today’s Devotional by Priscilla Everett Look straight ahead and fix your eyes in what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. Proverbs 4:25-27 (NLT) The devil is constantly busy, always working on distracting us from  focusing on Jesus and the path he has set before us. There are a lot of distractions today, such as your career, social media, friends, politics, the economy, and family matters, amongst others. While these distractions are genuine and valid, the devil can still use them to shift our attention, so that we barely have time to focus on the Lord. The enemy keeps our attention on our problems and everything else happening around us. In this way we lose focus on Jesus, the maker of all things and the only one that can turn every bad situation around. As the book Proverbs advises, look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you, as what lies ahe...

  Today Devotional By Bro Samuel Lantion. And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, Deuteronomy 10:12.(NASB). After the Jews sold themselves out to the golden calf causing Moses, in anger, to break the first set of ten commandments, God took him back up the mountain. The Lord wrote the same words on another set of tablets, and Moses interceded for the people. God then ordered his servant to get up and get moving. As they journeyed again, Moses gave the people the word of today's text. God owns the heavens and everything on earth. Still He chooses to offer Himself to His people. Oh what a mighty God we serve! He presents us as objects of His love. But His graciousness is not without rules. He requires us to fear Him, walk in His ways, and love Him. Families are similar in their own ways. We tell our children, that we will ...

  Today’s Devotion by Priscilla Everett He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, the young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength, they will soar high on wings, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:29-31 (NLT)   The prophet proclaimed the word of the Lord to the children of Israel while in captivity in Babylon. God was assuring his children that he sees them and acknowledges their struggles. The prophet further declares the sovereignty of God as well as his power to save the weary and the weak and give strength to endure to the end. Why should we labor, live in anxiety, worry and exhaustion? When we can cast all our care on God and trust that God gives us the strength to run the difficult race of life, where everyone is weary, tired and cannot figure life out.  Our strength should come from the Lord alone as he is able to push us forwa...

Today's Devotional by Takiela Harris Romans 10:17 "Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ" NLT. Listening is one of the easiest things you'll ever do, and one of the hardest. In a sense listening is easy and hearing is easy but it seems to be a big problem for us to do fully. James 1:19 reads let every person, be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. It is simple enough and nearly impossible to live. Too often we are slow to hear, quick to speak, and quick to anger so learning to listen won't happen overnight. It requires discipline, effort, and intentionality, but you'll get better with time. Becoming a better listener is a pattern you have to develop and focus on we can't listen with half of an ear. That's why God gave us two ears to hear and one mouth to speak to do more listening and understanding and comprehending. And speak when necessary, or need to speak. We're half eared because our attention is divided b...

Today’s Devotional by Samuel Lantion Remember the days of old,  Consider the years of all generations.  Ask your father and he will inform you,  Your elders, and they will tell you. Deuteronomy 32:7. NASB Moses wanted the children of Israel to always remember God‘s goodness. In today's verse, he declared all they had to do to learn about God was to ask their parents and grandparents. Then they would find that He is "a faithful God, without bias, He is righteous and true"(v.4,NASB). This brings the question to mind: are we doing our job of passing down stories of God's faithfulness to the generation following us? Part of our Christian journey should be testimonies of God's goodness that we pass on to our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and anyone that will listen. We see how the Israelites shared stories about God with the younger generation. Well the same God delivered us, cares for us, and provides for us! We should always be ready to tell our s...

Today's devotional by bro Samuel Lantion The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. Acts 15:3 NASB Some church members become upset when people who are "different" join their Church. And let's be honest some see them as a threat to the status quo. Hey there's nothing new under the sun, this is not a new problem. Some things never change. See Paul and Barnabas had started churches among the Gentiles on a recent mission trip, but they didn't require the new Gentile believers to follow Jewish law and one law most noticeable, circumcision. There were some men from Judea that said Paul and Barnabas were wrong for doing this. After debating with these men, Paul and Barnabas went up to Jerusalem to settle the issue once and for all. As they traveled to Jerusalem, they came across other Christians who were glad to hear what God was doi...

Today's devotional by bro Samuel Lantion. When He entered the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” Matthew 21:23 (NASB) The question in today's message follow Jesus's entire public ministry. The temple was filled with people from around the world that was listening to Jesus's words as He preached the gospel. They witnessed Jesus performing miracles on the Sabbath, which was against Jewish law. The temple authorities were angered by Jesus' actions and they wanted to bring criminal charges against Him. The rulers of the Temple felt that He had no right to interfere. They thought they had trapped Him. Let's ask ourselves this question which is of the utmost importance. Are we sometimes like the priest and elders, questioning and debating God’s authority. Jesus wants us to have faith and totally submit to His omnipotent...

Today’s Devotional by Priscilla Everett  For I am not ashamed of this good news about Christ. It is the power of God at work saving everyone who believes- the Jews first and the Gentile.” Romans 1:16 When we think about it, God has been so good to us- He gave himself to us unconditionally that we may have eternal life. Apostle Paul is encouraging the Church in Rome- as well as us today- to be bold in our testimony of the gospel. The only assignment that Jesus gave every believer is to spread the gospel to all people and to not be timid about it but share it with boldness. Paul also knew that we will be sometimes rejected, laughed at or persecuted as we share the word of God simply because the Christian message will not be accepted by everyone. Therefore, our part is to plant the seed of the word and let God do the rest, as it is the power of God that saves, not how well we speak or how convincin83708212021g we can be. Again, all we must do is tell someone about what Jesus has done ...

Today's Devotional by Takiela Harris (Isaiah 43:18-19) But forget all that—  it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.  For I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. I know many of us are saying make it Go away. We could be crying right now just thinking about life and our failures. We must stop worrying and thinking about what once was, and where we use to be or use to do or still going through. We can not undo any of that. God is saying... forget all that. Trust Me. It's not to late. I got you. We've been in this drought in the wilderness for way to long. This is a New Year. Let's not waste any more time on back then...when God is here right now. God wants to shower, drench, and overflow our lives with forgiveness, blessings and joy. Thank you Lord for this New Thing you're doing.

Let's Go Quickly And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also. Zachariah 8:21. (KJV) It's a promise brewing that's more than 2,000 years old. God promised that he's going to do something so amazing that a massive number of people will turn to the Lord. Now looking back over centuries of church history, we can clearly see how Jesus fulfilled God's plan, and accordance with Old testament prophecy, literally changing the course of the world. Let me tell you about another day promised in Scripture that we should really consider. It's the day when Jesus returns and the whole world knows that He is King. This will be the day when we will no longer have to explain to anyone who God is. It will be completely clear. But until that day comes, our goal is to invest our lives in spreading the good news to the world. So let us go quickly and continuously staying in praye...

The Sovereignty of God Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-while the morning stars sang together, and all angels shouted for joy? Job 38:4-7 No one can explain why the weather changes as often as it does. Nature is very unpredictable. Yet, when we look around us, we see the wonders of God in the air, on land and under the sea. Scientists may have their own theory as to why all creatures come about yet they have limited knowledge and cannot fully explain the origin of nature. In the book of Job chapters 38-41, God posed some thought provoking questions to Job, which of course Job could not answer how all God’s creation existed. Job's response in Chapter 42 verse 2 declares the Sovereignty of God, “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you”. Therefore, when we find ourselves in ...

Let's Give Back To God And now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, Lord have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God; Deuteronomy 26:10 God provided Israel with instructions concerning the harvest He provides for them. They were to give 10 percent of their produce as a sacrificial offering back to God. And, they were to give it from the first fruits produced. Tithing is an act of worship that becomes an act of faith. The spiritual discipline of tithing becomes second nature when you have a cheerful heart. It is not a task. It was Paul who called it "a fragrant offering, and acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God"(Phil.4:18). I'm blessed with wonderful examples of living out the joy of tithing. I've watched a friend of mine's family faithfully give, year after year. To them, tithing is a privilege and a opportunity to show their gratitude for all God has done for them. A...

I'm Knocking “Look, I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." Revelations 3:20 NLT At this time in particular, Jesus was talking to The Church of Laodicea. This church was tired; they were fed up with Jesus. They were spiritually bankrupt. The real root cause of all this was their spiritual condition. Like a vine disconnected from the tree will wither away, they were withering away because they would not stay connected to God. Sometimes they would want to do things on their own and in their own way. This church learned a hard lesson that without God it is impossible to produce life. Christ is knocking at the door so let him in so he can change your life for the best. It’s personal. It’s an individual decision. God is knocking on the door of our hearts right now. He is reaching out to you wherever you are and whatever is happening in your life right now. You don't have to be perfect in f...

Worshipping Through Challenges God is a spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. John 4:24 Who would have ever thought that in the year 2020 covid-19 would change so many things in the world and in our lives? We adopted social distancing and had to be quarantined if we got sick. We had to wear masks whenever we're around other people. I remember how awful it was when I woke up after my double lung transplant and not seeing any family or friends because of Covid-19 restrictions. Even churches temporarily suspended physical gatherings, but we still figured out a way to remain connected. We had Church online and it worked. Even though we weren't together in the physical building we were still able to come together and worship Him. Regardless, of the circumstances or conditions...we must worship for He is worthy of all praise and honor. by Samuel Lantion

Pride Is A Problem The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the cliffs of the rocks and make your own on the heights, you who say to yourself, 'Who can't bring me down to the ground? Obadiah 1:3 Pride is when we think we know it all and nothing can touch us.  Obadiah,  the shortest book of the bible,  points out the distress that comes with pride. Pride is a sneaky sin. Pride creeps into our minds and hearts, convincing us that we got it all under control and can't nobody tell us nothing. Pride can have us thinking we don't need God or His Church. And, that's the trouble with Pride.... it omits God from the equation.... And that's a Big Problem, because we don't know what tomorrow holds. And, only God holds tomorrow in His hands. Let Obadiah remind us to be humble and remember that wherever we find ourselves in life, whatever the situation...we need the Lord. Thankfully, He is there and is a very present help in times of trouble (Psalms 46:1...

You Are My Everything You, Lord, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands Psalm 16:5 When God is our portion, we are content and know what it means to have enough. For we are nothing without Jesus, and without Him we can do nothing. The value we have is found in Him, and we can celebrate who we are only because of Him. We must know that we are everything in Jesus and nothing in ourselves. In Him and through Him we are valued and can-do great things. We are not limited when we surrender all to Jesus, because He knows our end from the beginning and beginning from the end. Our future is secured in Him. As a good earthly father wants the best for their children, so does our heavenly father wants the best for us. So, lets trust Him and involve Him in everything we do and get excited about Jesus today! by Priscilla Everett

Christian Hospitality I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us.3 John 9 I remember when I used to visit a friend's home. I loved it because this was a home that practiced Christian hospitality. Each person was treated with respect and dignity. No wonder they had frequent visitors from the neighborhood. In the first century, traveling teachers, philosophers, prophets and missionaries filled the roads. In 2 John, the Apostle John warned the church to beware of false missionaries, prophets and teachers. But in 3 John, he encouraged believers to offer hospitality to true Christians missionaries, prophets and teachers who spoke truth and lived by example. These missionaries did not receive a salary, so hospitality was considered a way to show appreciation for the sacrifices they made for the ministry of the gospel. As the missionaries traveled from place to place local believers often  provided for their food and lodgings. All Christians...

  God Requires Total Commitment Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.  James 4:7 This year has been challenging for many of us, as social injustices, political unrest, and economic issues have affected our commitment to God. When we think about the word commitment, we think of having a made up mind, despite the circumstances. The enemy’s desire is to distract us from total commitment to God by making our problems look bigger than they are.  Therefore, we make excuses as to why we can’t commit to him resulting in us slowly drifting away from His presence, not spending time with him through praying and studying his word.  James warns us to submit to God and resist the devil. Satan wants us to believe we can't afford to  study our bibles or come to church because we are too busy working to pay our bills and take care of our families. Our jobs, relationships and worldly affections...