Good morning; as we are pressing forward on our journey “to the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus,” Peter reminds us of some things we are to be laying aside along the way. “Wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking” (1 Peter 2:1). Malice, guile, envy, evil speaking, and hypocrisy are sins that will hinder our Christian growth and prevent us from living a life of holiness The Lord has called us to. But “as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby”: (v.2). My Christian friend, our desires in this life determines which way we are growing. A Christian must desire, must be thirsty for the Word of God to grow in the holiness of the Lord. If we do not desire God’s Holy Word, we can never grow in Holiness; we only learn of the Holiness of God from His Word, as the Holy Spirit teaches us. I pray you are joined to a local church where the Word of God is “rightly divided,” and the Word is front and center of everything that takes place in the body. I encourage you to thirst after, to desire the Word of God; Job said he desired God’s Word, “More than my necessary food.” Make sure you join with your local church and Worship around God’s Word. Father, I pray as we continue to live in this world that our desire for your Word will continue to grow and that our worship will be centered around your Holy Word. Be Blessed in Jesus’ Name!”

Good morning; I am thankful for the day God reached down and delivered me from the sin I once lived in. “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise take thy wife and they two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city” (Gen 19:15). If you are saved this morning, would you stop for a moment and thank God for sending the Holy Spirit of God to convict you and draw you to Himself? Abraham prayed for Lot that God would spare his life and his family from being destroyed with the sinful city of Sodom and Gomorrah. My friend, we must continue to pray for our loved ones that God would convict them and save them before the destruction of this world occurs. All that you see will one day burn and be destroyed just as Sodom and Gomorrah. But, I want to encourage us this morning; once God has delivered us from a life of sin, don’t look back. “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt” (v.26). Many folks are trying to walk with God and looking back the whole time. My friend, keep your eyes on Jesus; look straightforward, and as long as you stay focused on Jesus, you can “walk on water”. Father, I pray this morning that we as the people of God, those who have experienced your deliverance from the destruction of this world would not look back to the life of sin, which will end in ruin. But that our focus will be more on where we are going and not where we have been. Be Blessed in Jesus’ Name!

Good morning; “In the Genesis account of Lot’s movement, we see that Lot first gained the grasslands near Sodom (13:10). then he pitched his tent outside Sodom (13:12), only to eventually move into the city itself (14:12). Chapter 19 opens with him “sitting in the gate of Sodom”–the place where the city elders held court. Lot was part of Sodom’s council of elders, which means that he knew what was going on there, even if he could do little to stem the tide of pervasive sin. Although a NT passage states that he was tormented by the wickedness of the city (2 Peter 2:7, 8), still he stayed. This greatly contrasts with Abraham. Abraham lived in a tent, while Lot had a house. Abraham was a pilgrim and stranger in the land; Lot settled down in corrupt Sodom. When judgment fell on Sodom and Gomorrah, God extended mercy to Lot, only because of Abraham (remembered Abraham”; 19:29). Our moves toward wickedness in any regard subject us to not only comprise but danger and, often, even destruction. No good can come from a believer’s failure to flee from sin and temptation”. Precious Lord, I pray for all believers that we would hate what you hate (sin) and that we would love what you love(righteousness). Be Blessed in Jesus’ Name!

The Devotion was taken from an excerpt from Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible this morning.