Daily Devotionals

Comment

Comment by Bishop Christopher Cate on January 12, 2011 at 8:05am

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 1st John 3:2

Who do you trust when you are in pain or uncertain about life?

Now, there are many people who can help us when we hurt. There are pastors, counselors, friends, and others. We need people to hold us up and give us hope.

But too often, we put our complete confidence in men and what other people tell us when there is no substitute for the truth of hope in Jesus Christ!

Have you lost sight of the fact that our greatest and only everlasting hope is from above? I want to remind you that Jesus is sufficient for your needs and mine. He provides a hiding place in the storms of life.

He is a Father to the fatherless. He is the Great Physician to those who are wounded and sick. He is the Beginning and the End to those who face uncertainty. He is the Resurrection and the Life. And He is your Eternal and Living Hope!

If your hope is in Jesus, there is coming a day when all your physical pain will be no more. You and I will have a new body and a new life as Christ and we will live with Him forever. That’s the blessed hope of eternity.

No matter what you’re going through today, no matter how much you hurt, persevere. Hold onto your hope.

Comment by Bishop Christopher Cate on January 10, 2011 at 8:01am

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.  Psalm 1:1-2
 
A number of years ago, a very curious story was reported in the local newspapers . A bus driver had simply driven away in his empty bus and put it on a boat headed to one of the other islands in the archipelago. He was eventually picked up by the police several days later.
 
The driver explained that he had grown tired of driving the same route every day. He had decided to go away on a trip. While he was being brought back, it was clear from the papers that the bus owner was having a hard time deciding whether or how he should be punished.
 
By the time he arrived back, he was a celebrity, and a crowd of people was on hand to welcome him. When it was announced that the bus owner had foregone his prerogative to turn him over for legal punishment and would give him his job back, loud cheers erupted. Obviously a lot of other people were also bored and unhappy.
 
It is not too late in this new year for change. It is a time for making resolutions. It is a time for doing something about those areas of our lives with which we are unhappy. May we in prayer find God's answer to our unhappiness.

Comment by Bishop Christopher Cate on January 5, 2011 at 7:30am

Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. —Romans 14:13

Many people make resolutions this time of the year. Right now, people are still their New Year’s Resolutions. Some are going to swear off alcohol or smoking or television or overeating. Others are going to try to change wicked habits like gossip or worry or losing their temper.

Many people will try to start new habits like getting in shape physically. Health clubs love the first of the year, because people love to commit to going to the gym and working out three to five times a week.

But most of those people never follow through, because they were not serious in the first place.

There are different, more important resolutions you want to make for 2011. There are godly habits you want to start and ungodly habits you want to break.

It has been said, “A habit is like cable. We weave a thread of it every day until at last we cannot break it.” That can be a good or a bad thing depending on your habits.

This New Year, make a concerted effort to develop godly habits—habits that cannot be broken and that will build others up in their love for the Lord.

Comment by Bishop Christopher Cate on January 4, 2011 at 7:23am

“Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.”
Jeremiah 6:16

As we experience the beginning of this new year and the ending of the old one, we might wish we could turn over a new leaf or gain a fresh start in some areas of our life..

I once read about a man who was reading his morning newspaper and was shocked to find his name listed in the obituary column. He called up the newspaper and was outraged that they had made such a mistake. “This is terrible,” he screamed, “How could you do this to me?”

The newspaper’s explanation did not satisfy the man, so he stormed down to their office and demanded to see the editor. After some time of screaming and yelling, the editor grew frustrated and said, “Look buddy! Cheer up. I’ll put your name in the birth column tomorrow and you can have a fresh start.”

You may laugh at a story like that, but wouldn’t it be great just to start over again. In reality, as a Christian you can have a fresh start. 2011 is still a blank slate. There are opportunities ahead of you. You decide which course you are going to take.

In Jeremiah 6:16, God says, “ ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.’ ”

You decide which path you are going to walk in this coming year. You decide what your priorities will be and what direction you will take. Those are decisions that each of us will make each and every day.


In 2011, choose the good way and walk in it. Only there will you find peace.

Comment by Bishop Christopher Cate on January 2, 2011 at 10:25am

Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, And ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way lies; and walk in it, And find rest for your souls. —Jeremiah 6:16

Stand at the crossroads:
If only we did that more consciously. Everyone comes to crossroads: in relationships, in careers, in all sorts of personal decisions. Jeremiah spoke to the people of his time with great urgency. What he urged them to do was stand. Of all the times in our lives, a crossroad time is the time to stand, not run or even walk. Stand; breathe; pray.

And ask for the ancient paths where the good way lies:
We live in a time when most of us look to the future, to "progress," to goals. How wise Jeremiah was to tell the people to ask for the ancient paths, to ask to be reminded of their foundations, to seek the paths where the good way lies. What are those roads in my life?
When did I know I was walking in and on the good way?

And walk in it:
Now it is time to walk. Walk, not run. After standing, after prayerful consideration of the past, after plenty of time for God to guide us in making our decision, walk. What a good and joyful thing it is to make a decision grounded in prayer and contemplation.

And find rest for your souls:
Rest. Peace. Conviction that we have made the best decision we can. Those are the byproducts of the process we have undertaken, guided by Jeremiah's words.

May you have a joyous and blessed New Year !!

Comment by Bishop Christopher Cate on December 24, 2010 at 9:57am

TONIGHT IS CHRISTMAS EVE

“What A Night”

That night when in the Judean skies
The mystic star dispensed its light,
A blind man moved in his sleep
And dreamed that he had sight.

That night when shepherds heard
The song of hosts angelic choiring near,
A deaf man stirred in slumber’s spell
And dreamed that he could hear.

That night when o’er the newborn babe
The tender Mary rose to lean,
A loathsome leper smiled in sleep,
And dreamed that he was clean.

That night when in the manger lay
The Sanctified who came to save,
A man moved in the sleep of death,
And dreamed there was no grave.

Merry Christmas
Bishop Cates

Comment by Bishop Christopher Cate on December 22, 2010 at 12:26pm

One of my favorite stories is about a missionary teaching in Africa.

Before Christmas, he had been telling his native students how Christians, as an expression of their joy, gave each other presents on Christ's birthday.

On Christmas morning, one of the natives brought the missionary a seashell of lustrous beauty. When asked where he had discovered such an extraordinary shell, the native said he had walked many miles to a certain bay, the only spot where such shells could be found.

“I think it was wonderful of you to travel so far to get this lovely gift for me,” the teacher exclaimed.

His eyes brightening, the native replied, “Long walk, part of gift.”
Over the years I have remembered this story and tried to realize that many times we don’t appreciate what others do for us. Remember, “long walk part of gift.”

Comment by Bishop Christopher Cate on December 17, 2010 at 7:28am

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." Matthew 1:23

A young family was going home for Christmas. The car was all packed. The mail and the newspaper delivery had been stopped. A neighbor would keep an eye on the house and feed the dog. All the gifts for parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles were somehow fitted into the trunk of the car. They had plenty of anti‑freeze in the radiator. Their suitcases and hanging clothes were in place. They were finally ready to go.

The husband started out of the driveway, when all of a sudden the wife gasped, "Honey, we've forgotten the baby." It was true. In all the excitement and the grabbing up of luggage and Christmas gifts, they had forgotten their most precious cargo‑‑their baby. We can forget the baby, too, if we are not careful. That's easy to do this time of year.

We see visual reminders, "Don't leave Christ out of Christmas." And we try to keep that from happening. Jesus IS the reason for the season.

Comment by Bishop Christopher Cate on December 16, 2010 at 7:27am

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Isaiah reminds us that God brings into our world and into our lives the light of Jesus Christ during this Christmas season.

I recall a story about one of those busy days before Christmas. A sales clerk was overwhelmed with customers. So, the manager was having the clerk take down everybody's address for a free catalogue.

The clerk took down one family's address, and the clerk trying to be friendly said, "It's a madhouse, isn't it?" "No," said one member of the family pleasantly, "It's a cute little home with a white picket fence around it."

This family didn't see their home as being a madhouse like many places are right before Christmas, but they saw their home as a pleasant place that was full of love and light. Their home was just like the stable, where Jesus was born. Most of us could not imagine being born in a barn, but Mary and Joseph made it their home. And in this place, there was a bright star over Bethlehem which marked the birthplace of our savior.

What does the light of God mean to us?
It means that when we accept the light of Jesus Christ into our lives we meet God.
It means the light takes away the darkness of our lives.
It means we become different people.
It means we live for God and others.
It means we work through the church to make a difference in our community and world.
It means we have experienced God's unconditional love. Wow!

Comment by Bishop Christopher Cate on December 15, 2010 at 12:39pm

And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. Luke 2:16

What in the world is a manger? The easy answer is that it is a feedbox for animals. At the time of Jesus, mangers ordinarily were not made of wood, as they are often pictured, but of stone. Large, elongated blocks of limestone were hollowed out to hold feed. They were not made to be used as baby cribs.

When parents select a crib for their newborn, they want one that is not only safe but comfortable. The first bed for the baby Jesus, however, was as hard and cold as rock—a fitting introduction to the hard, cold world in which we live.

God was born into our world that He might find a place to live within our hearts. Unfortunately, our sinful hearts are often as hard and cold as stone mangers.

Jesus came so that He might warm and soften our hearts with His love. With His forgiveness, He prepares our hearts to be His manger. By His grace, He fits us to be His home. By His Word and Spirit, He draws us to live in Him, even as He lives in us. That is why He has come.

This is the season when we ask ourselves; Is Jesus truly on the THRONE of my heart or is He outback in a stable somewhere ?

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• …
• 13
• Next ›
• Page