Daily Devotionals

“Owe no one anything except to love one another,
for he who loves another has fulfilled the law”
(Romans 13:8).

We live in a time of debt. People, families, institutions, and even countries are indebted. It is said that human beings have three nerve centers: the brain, the heart, and… the pocket! We usually get more restless when they touch our pocket than when the brain and heart are at stake, right? In our text for today, Paul did not say that we should not borrow money; he said that if you owe something, you must pay it. Sometimes the debt is legitimate, and it is used to supply real needs. Other debts could have been avoided.

“Many people spend money they have not earned to buy things they do not want, to impress people they do not like,” said Will Smith, ironically. And so it is. Debts create additional complications. For example, many relationships between family and friends have been affected by debts. As Seneca said, “a small sum of borrowed money makes a debtor, but a large one, an enemy.”

The Bible challenges us to avoid greed and materialism; to plan ahead, save, and learn to be content (Phil. 4:11). However, beyond every intention and habit of being careful, there may be situations that make it necessary to go into debt. Not having debts would be the best way to avoid defaults, but if debts exist, Paul recommends that they be cancelled as soon as possible.

A very well-known writer also advised us of the following: “They very highest kind of education that could be given is to shun the incurring of debt as you would shun disease” (Testimony Treasures, vol. 2, p. 469). The writer adds that we can live in harmony with our income, keep expenses within those limits, learn to economize, flee from selfish complacency, avoid ostentation, not spend on unnecessary things, and not use debts as an excuse to stop being faithful in returning tithes or being generous with offerings.

When Jesus performed the miracle of feeding the multitude, in addition to loving them, He taught them a lesson in economics. He told the disciples to gather up the leftovers so nothing would be wasted (John 6:13).

Christians may be able to pay all their debts, but Paul assures us that there is one they will never be able to pay: loving their neigbor in response to the love they have received from Jesus. This is an obligation that will never be settled as long as there is a neigbor to love.

May God help you today to pay off all your debts except one, since
“the debt of money and the debt of gratitude are different things” (Cicero).
Debts of money are paid, but loving your neighbor
as an expression of gratitude to God lasts your whole life.

God bless you, my dear neighbor…

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”
(Romans 12:21).

We all know how to treat well those who treat us well. However, we do not always manage to do so. Now, attempting to do good to the one who does us wrong is serious business. The traditional “law of talion” is a legal principle of retributive justice in which the rule imposed a punishment commensurate with the crime commited, thus obtaining reciprocity. Talis in latin means “identical” or “like”; in other words, the penalty should not be equivalent, but identical. Jesus and Paul presented an opposite idea so that we may not be overcome by evil: they said that we should overcome evil with good.

When Canadian writer Margot van Sluytman was a teenager in 1978, her father Theodore was murdered in the store where he worked. When the family received the news, they were devastated. Glen Flett, a repeat offender, was imprisoned and convicted of the murder. In prison, he learned about Christ, repented of all his sins, and was converted to the gospel.

When his sentence ended, he discovered that Margot was a brilliant and award-winning writer, and together with his wife, made a secret donation to her work. Soon after, Glen’s wife received an e-mail from Margot asking whether she was married to Glen Flett, the man who had killed her father on March 27, 1978. This e-mail opened a virtual dialogue for a while, until they met face to face. Glen asked for forgiveness and cried, and Margot hugged her father’s killer.

How was this possible? Friends told Margot not to reopen her wounds, but she just said, “Now we are restored and we have hope.”

What a tremendous example of forgiveness! Regardless of the gravity of the situation, we cannot put a question mark where God has already placed a period.

“If you want to be happy for a moment, take revenge;
if you want to be happy forever, forgive” (Tertullian).

That is what it means to repay evil with good. That payment does good as much for the offender as for the offended. Only those embraced by God can embrace in this way.

“The real greatness and nobility of the man is measured by the power of the feelings that he subdues, not by the power of the feelings that subdue him. The strongest man is he who, while sensitive to abuse, will yet restrain passion and forgive his enemies. Such men are true heroes” (Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, p. 689).

Be a true hero today and do good to the one who did you wrong.
It is not easy, but it is necessary and worthwhile.
God will always repair a broken heart.
For Him to do that, you must give Him all the pieces.

God bless you, may He fill you with His Love…

“Patient in tribulation”
(Romans 12:12).

In the previous passage, Paul emphasized the gifts given to the church and the joy of hope. Now, immediately, the contrast of those who are “patient in tribulation.” Paul repeated this subject a lot. He himself suffered all his life with health problems, so he recommended that we be patient, enduring, and persevering, because sooner or later, the divine purposes will be fulfilled.

A mother, just twenty-six years old, stood by the bed of her little boy, who was living the last moments of his life. He was only six, and would not have the opportunity to grow up and achieve his dreams, so his mother did everything she could to make at least one of those a reality. Holding her son’s hand tightly she asked, “Billy, what would you like to be when you grow up?” Whithout hesitation, the boy said, “I always wanted to be a firefighter.”

The mother quickly made the arrangements. She went to the fire station in Phoenix (Arizona, United States) and found a very kind firefighter named Bob. She explained his son’s situation to him and asked wheter, as a last wish, they could give him a ride in the fire truck. Smiling, Bob offered to do more than that: they would make him an honorary firefighter an entire day, have him with them at the station, eat together, answer calls, and go out to take care of emergencies. They would even make a uniform for him.

Three days later, firefighter Bob visited Billy and gave him his new uniform. Then they took him from the hospital to the fire station in the fire truck. Three incidents took place that day, and Billy was there for each of them.

After this show of affection, Billy improved and lived three months longer than the estimated in the medical prognosis. One night, his vitals began to fall dramatically. The whole family was there with him and they had the idea to call the fire brigade.

The commander decided to go with the fire truck and, in front of the hospital window, they sounded the siren and turned on the lights. With the ladder extended to the window, sixteen firefighters climbed swiftly to his room. With his last strenght, Billy asked the commander if he had been a good firefighter. “Yes,” he replied, “you were one of the best!” With a smile, Billy closed his eyes and did not open them again. 

Whatever your tribulations may be, you can go to the “fire station”
of the universe. The Commander will surround you with all His resources,
and at the right time and in the right way, your struggles will be conquered.
While being patient, not only will you be comforted;
you will also find the strenght to come out victorious.
God always fulfills His dreams.
Surrender yourself into His arms today.

God bless you!

“Rejoicing in hope”
Romans (12:12).

The term “Agent,” when used with passive verbs, refers to the subject carrying out the action of the verb. Some examples of agents are literary, economic, security, infectious, biological, pathogenic, casual, and permanent.

For Paul, hope was the greatest reason for a joyful life, since its scope is both present and eternal. Individuals who rejoice in hope are those who, in the name of the Lord, make a big impact on an environment infected with sin, and, as an agent, transmit good, restorative news of health and life.

Agents of hope are needed to reach people who are without hope.
“If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving.”
“If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody…
then my living will not be in vain” (Martin Luther King Jr.).

In 1977, in the city of General Roca, Argentina, there was a wonderful church group. In this group, there was a gentleman named Hector, who had been hit hard by bad habits, especially alcohol. This bad habit was ruining his health, his economy, and his family.

One day he fell into a well almost thirty yards deep. With no way out, everything seemed to be over. Before he passed out, in the depths of the well and of his existence, he cried out for divine help. He was pulled out and taken to the hospital, where he spent weeks hovering between life and death. However, the Lord saved his body since He also wanted to save his soul.

As soon as he was discharged, he went home, and as soon as he was able to, he began to walk around the city looking for a church. That was when he found this wonderful group. He came in and never again left. Later, he studied the Bible and was baptized together with his family. He also later became a School teacher and elder, and after that he became the outreach director. He had the joy of leading dozens of people to Jesus every year. Why? Because he was a joyful agent of hope who worked for people without hope.

One day, he confessed a “secret”: He was illiterate. That is, he was a teacher, Bible instructor, and preacher… and did not know how to read! Then he showed everybody his Bible, full of ribbons that marked the different topics and passages. He asked the questions and asked people to read the answers. That way, he ended up being able to recite the passages by heart, and eventually learned to read the Bible.

How much God can do when we put everything in His hands!

That same day, Hector showed everybody some marks on his chest, the result  of the “deadly” fall into the well that God’s love and power transformed into new life. His marks were marks of hope. Hector lived as an agent of hope with gratitude and joy. Today he rests in the Lord’s sure promises.

What marks of joyful hope are there in your life?
What kind of marks are you leaving in other people’s lives?

God bless you, let’s be agents of hope together…

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought,
but rather think of yourself with sober judgement,
in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you”
(Romans 12:3).

According to Maxwell Maltz, “low self-esteem is like driving  through life with a handbrake on.” Malcolm S. Forbes, on the other hand said, “There are too many people who overestimate what they are not and underestimate what they are.” Some people undervalue themselves, while others overvalue themselves. Where is the healthy midpoint?

The human body contains oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, magnesium, and other trace elements. What would the monetary value of the basic chemical elements that make up the human body be? A few dollars. What would the cost be of the most complex structures formed from the basic elements such as DNA, proteins, and antibodies? Thousands of dollars. What would the cost of vital organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and bone marrow be? Millions of dollars.

Would that supposed total amount give us the true value of a human being?

How much are a clean consciense, healthy life, good reputation, affections, family, friends, peace, faith, and hope worth?

In our verse of today, Paul says that we should not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to. What is the right amount? It is not considering ourselves beyond what we should, and to do it reasonably, that is, wisely. We must recognize our virtues and flaws, strenghts and weaknesses.

Humility is the result of surrendering our lives to God, which leads us to have a renewed mind. It is very important to value ourselves, and to do so with good judgement. Jesus Himslef showed us the way: by loving God above all things and our neighbors as ourselves.

Paul added another detail: everything according to “the measure of faith.” The sinful nature is appreciated according to the value of the world; each one is worth according to what he or she has. In contrast, for those who are dependent on God, the greater their faith, the more valueable they become; however, they acknowledge that it is by virtue of God’s love.

We can never be proud of our humility because that would not be true humility.

What image or concept do we have of ourselves? Idealized, fictional, or balanced? Some people try to show themselves in social media as the would like to be, not as they are. If our self-image matches reality, then we will have a healthy personality, but an inconsistency will end up destroying everything.

Nothing puts us in perspective as accepting
and being thankful that we were redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice.
I am so unworthy that He had to die for me.
I am so worthy that He would have done it just for me.
I will update my value.

God bless you, know that you are worthy, you are the apple of His eye…

“Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”
(Romans 12:2).

Unless we are transformed, we will be conformed to the world.

Conforming means adapting, accommodating, agreeing, harmonizing, adjusting, being resigned, tolerating, going along with, giving in, acceding, compromising, submitting, and consenting.

Conforming is molding to the world, that is, acquiring the way of the world, its violence, its anti-values, its inconsistent discourses that are far from (or opposite) to practic, its materialism, its self-centeredness, its indifference, its superficiality, and its “save yourself if you can.” We are bombarded by advertising, influenced by the environment, and overwhelmed by an increasingly strong outside world and a progressively weaker inner life.

Conforming to the world does not require any effort; you only need to let yourself be carried away by the current.

In contrast, daily transforation through the renewal of your mind is something entirely different. This requires the exercise of the will, self-control, discipline, and a permanent struggle. The decision is to know and submit permanently to God’s will. It is rowing against the current. It is a nonconformist or dissatisfied way of living with the world, not through criticism or political manifestations, but through conduct that harmonizes and shows the character of Jesus.

We can be influenced by culture or influencers of culture. Jesus’s prayer was not that we should be taken from this world, but that we should be kept from evil (John 17:15). He Himself sends us to the whole world to carry and live a message that transforms and changes lives, that generates peace, hope, and destiny for eternity.

Is there anything in which you are conforming to the world? A style, a habit, a practice, an attitude…? We need a transformation through the renewal of mind.

Matthew used the same original word that Paul used for “transformation” when he told the story of the transfiguration of our Lord, when His glory and divine inner being were clearly reflected and evidenced on His outward life. Likewise, the transformed belivers show it in their inner and outer lives that are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. This is showing Christ in one’s daily life, and this happens only when our minds are renewed by the action of the Holy Spirit by studying His Word and by praying “without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).

Do not conform today to this world and its evils.
The world needs people who are nonconformists,
transformed by the Spirit and stranghtened by His Word.
Do not say, “Everyone is doing it,” because God says,
“Do not live like the world lives.”
Let us not take the world into our lives or into our church;
let us take our lives and the church into the world.

God bless you, let us be the difference!

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice”
(Romans 12:1).

Being justified by grace through faith brings a life of sanctification as a result. Paul prayed that, in consideration of God’s mercies, we might voluntarily and intelligently present our entire lives – body, mind, and spirit – as a “living sacrifice” to God.

The ceremonial services of the Old Testament offered dead sacrifices, but Paul urges us to live for Christ. After all, whoever lives for Him is also willing to die for Him. The Lord may ask some to die for Him, bu He asks all of us to live for Him.

On the occasion of Peru’s independance, declared in Lima on July 28, 1821, José Olaya’s sacrifice took place. He was an excellent swimmer who served tha cause of independance. Army commander Sucre needed to communicate with the patriots in Lima, as he wanted to know the movements of the royalists, and Olaya was the message bearer.

He carried the message secretly by swimming almost ten miles by sea between Chorillos and Lima. That route was heavily guarded, so the risk was very high. On June 27, 1823, while carrying (among other messages) a letter from Sucre for Narciso de Colina, Olaya was discovered by he royalists. Before he was caught, he got rid of the letters – one version says that he ate them.

In order to get information, his captors tried everything. But flattery, promises, bludgeoning, nail removal, thumb crushing, and the painful presence of his mother were all useless. What a dilemma! He was choosing between endearing affection for his mother or the safety of the patriots. Was it better for his mother to mourn his death than to be ashamed to see him alive and a traitor? During the tortures and before he was shot, he uttered his famous phrase: “If I had a thousand lives, I would give all of them for my homeland.” We are moved by such dedication and commitment in favor of the liberation of his people.

Are you ready, like Olaya, to give your life for a cause? What price are you willing to pay for faithfully living your faith and sharing hope with perseverance? How willing are we to give our lives in living sacrifice and in faithful service unto death?

Our lives must be offered to God as a perfect offering and a living sacrifice
because “God will not be pleased with anything less than the best
we can offer. Those who love Him with all the heart, will desire
to give Him the best service of the life, and they will be constantly
seeking to bring every power of their being into harmony with the laws
that will promote their ability to do His will” (Christ in His Sanctuary, p. 47).
How many lives are you willing to give?

May God bless you in miraculous ways today!

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable”
(Romans 11:29).

In 1988, and earthquake of 6.9 magnitude on the Richter scale devastated Armenia in less than four minutes. In the midst of the destruction and chaos, a father ran to the school where he hoped to find his son. When he arrived, he discovered that the building had been flattened. In tears, he recalled the promise he had made to his son: “Whatever happens, I will always be with you to help you.”

And it was there, right where his son’s classroom had been, where he began his rescue work. Other parents, firefighters, and policemen, all with good intentions, wanted to dissuade him: “It’s too late, it’s not worth it to put so much effort.”

But he cried out, “Are you going to help me or not?” and kept digging out stone after stone, brick after brick. His energy was running out and his hands were bleeding. He spent eight hours digging. Twelve. Twenty-four. Thirty-six. And when he had already been digging for thirty-eight hours, as he removed a large piece of stone, he heard his son’s voice and called him with all his might: “Armand!”

With emotion surging through his tired body, he heard his son’s voice. He was weak, but safe: “Dad, I told the other kids not to worry, that you would save us. You promised me that whatever happened, you would always be with me.” Fourteen of the thirty-three students were there. They were afraid, hungry, and thirsty, but glad he had come for them! When the building collapsed, a wedge was formed, which created an air chamber that saved their lives.

How many lie under the rubble of sin, almost out of oxygen, with no chance of getting out on their own! How many need a rescue team that acts urgently, with perseverance and sacrifice!

We are the only opportunity for many. Our Father, with a bleeding heart, cries out and says to us, “Are you going to help Me, or not?”

Paul shows us in today’s verse that God’s sovereign choice for Israel, as well as for all believers of all times, is immutable because it is the manifestation of His character of mercy expressed in the search, the rescue, and the restoration of the sinner. We are collaborators with God (see 1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor. 6:9). Like Jesus, we must “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

All our energies, dreams, and priorities must be directed
to the work of saving the souls for whom Christ died,
because “the highest of all scienses is the science of soul saving.
The greatest work to which human beings can aspire is the work
of winning men from sin to holiness” (The Ministry of Healing, p. 398).
May our answer be as irrevocable as His love.

Let’s be God’s hands, let’s help Him in His rescue mission. God bless you…

“Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in”
(Romans 11:19).

The olive tree is one of the most long-lived trees. Native to the Mediterranean, its cultivation has spread almost everyehwere in the world. It does not stand out for its height or beauty, but for its deep, strong, and extended roots, the reason for its survival and production. Over a year, a single plant can yield about sixteen gallons of the best and healthiest of all oils: olive oil.

A parable related in the book of Judges says that the trees decided to chose their king. Which one was chosen first? The olive tree was. Biblical writers used the olive tree figuratively to illustrate God’s love and covenant with His people.

Paul also used the parable of the olive tree to refer to Jews and Gentiles. The most common practice was to graft stems of cultivated plants into trunks of wild plants. Of course, the opposite also happened: wild plants stems were used to be grafted into cultivated plants for the purpose of providing renewed vigor.

That is why Paul said that these grafts are contrary to nature, that is, doing something that was not normal, since the wild was grafted into the cultivated. Thus, the Gentiles were “grafted” into the Jews. The word “graft” appears six times in the chapter. The graft could combine the strenght and resistance of the roots with youthful hardiness in order to achieve a better production.

God has a warning for the grafted so that they will not consider themselves superior to the originals: they were grafted because of their fath. Beware of pride and thinking of grandeur! Instead, they needed to maintain humility and a consistent life.

God treats branches severely that are cut off because of their disbelief. It is the only time in the entire New Testament that this word is used, which means “amputate,” “cut,” and “separate.” God treats grafts that are added because of faith with kindness and meekness. Both goodness for the one who believes and severity for the unbeliever are manifestations of the love of God who always seeks to save and restore.

God is telling us that the fundamental thing is not the original branch
or the grafted stem, but the root, since both depend permanently on the root:
“Unless they are rooted and grounded in the truth of the Bible
and have a living connection with God, many will be infstuated
and deceived. Dangers unseen beset our path. Our only safety
is in constant watchfulness and prayer. The nearer we live to Jesus,
the more we will partake of His pure and holy character;
and the more offensive sin appears to us, the more exalted
and desirable will appear the purity and brightness of Christ”
(Counsels on Health, p. 623).

God bless you, may you be rooted and gruonded in the truth…