What comes to mind when you hear the word “triage”? Do you picture the emergency room of a hospital full of hurting and injured people, or maybe a military battlefield?
Medical Triage means that when people are coming from all directions, the doctors and medical staff have to assess the degrees of urgency to wounds or illnesses to decide the order of treatment of a large number of patients or casualties.
That is the definition of medical triage, but how do you assess spiritual triage?
This is the invitation the bible gives to those that are hurting:
Matthew 11:28-30
New International Version (NIV)
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Do you know someone that may fit that description? Is the invitation describing you? Jesus wants so much to ease your heavy load and burdens, but being the gracious Savior that He is, he will not force or demand anyone to come. God simply opens His loving arms and says, “Come.”
This morning, the Holy Spirit put on my heart to write today’s devotional on how important it is to have a special time of devotion and intimacy with the Lord.
Studying the Word of God, spending time listening to God’s voice, and learning about the heart and teachings of Jesus Christ are all necessary, on a daily basis, if you want to mature and grow in your Christian walk.
The Holy Spirit reminded me of a passage, this morning. In this passage, Jesus truly was not hard to find. Mary and Joseph just had to know where to look.
Read below:
Luke 2:41-52
New International Version (NIV)
The Boy Jesus at the Temple
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom.43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your fatherand I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.52And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
I pray that everyone had a restful weekend and that you took some time yesterday, Memorial Day, to give honor to the brave men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
There may be some things I wish were different about our country, but I am still grateful, thankful and blessed to call myself an American.
May your day, today, also be filled with pride that you are children of the Most High God. The ultimate sacrifice was made for us, on Calvary, so that we could have the right to be heirs and coheirs with Christ.
Romans 8:16-18
New International Version (NIV)
16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spiritthat we are God’s children.17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Present Suffering and Future Glory
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
We stand for the United States and we stand boldly for Christ. May God continue to bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May He lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26 (NKJV)
We are all a part of the Army of the Lord. As with anything in life, we have all had our good days and our bad days. What I know to be true is that the enemy may try to steal our joy, but God’s joy always finds a way to escape the enemy and find it’s way back to us.
Pain is temporary. Hurt is temporary. Disappointment is temporary. The joy of the Lord is something that always returns to us. Put your trust in God. Get ready, here comes Joy!!!!
Psalm 30:5
New King James Version (NKJV)
5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
I pray that you have a wonderful day. Keep your head up. You belong to the Most High God.
I love you and I am so glad that you are in my life.
The book of the Songs of Solomon is filled with love stories. Did you know that there is a dual meaning in these scriptures? The first meaning is that of a relationship between a man and woman. The second meaning is that between a Savior and His Beloved.
Song of Solomon 2:4
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem
4 He brought me to the banqueting house, And his banner over me was love.
When I was younger, in my early teens all the way through my early twenties, I didn’t feel like I deserved to receive perfect and pure love. Even though I was a Christian and I loved God, I loved him with limitations.
Why would a perfect God love an imperfect me? I knew that Jesus died for everyone’s sins but did He know the magnitude of my sins? I truly thought that there was no possible way that God could look past… well, my past.
One thing that God is very good at is showing us how much he loves us. The greatest demonstration of showing Love was deciding to take the form of man and becoming sin on the cross for us. Why did he do it? God loved us so much that he didn’t want ANYTHING to come between us and Him. God opened his arms wide and essentially said, “I love you this much,” as he willingly took his place on Calvary’s cross.
The song I keep singing this morning is taken from the Songs of Solomon which reminds us that God’s Banner over us is Love. God drapes us, covers us and surrounds us with His love. The same way a man wraps his physical arms around a woman, so God covers us and wraps us in perfect Love.
What I want you to hear today is that you are worthy of All the Love that Christ has to offer. No matter your past, you are worthy and you are Loved. His banner over You is Divine and Everlasting Love.
I love you with the same love that Christ freely gives.
Today is the day that the Lord has made. We will, we are and will continue to rejoice and be glad about it. Amen. (Psalm 118:24)
This morning is a “Thank You” Monday. This morning I want to take the time to praise God. God loved me, changed me, broke me, reshaped me and is continually using me for His glory.
This morning, I have to say, “Thank You.” I praise you, God, for all you have done for and to me. I magnify you, Jesus, and I stand at the cross with my hands lifted. I stand, at the empty tomb, and thank you for conquering sin and death of my behalf. I bow before the Throne, with a humble heart, as you intercede to the Father on my behalf. Thank you, Holy Spirit of God, for guiding me step by step so that I may fulfill the will of God.
Family, I invite you to open your mouth this morning and give God your highest and best praise. Set the tone and the atmosphere for your day today, and start every day giving glory to God.
This morning, I woke up so grateful to God. I’ve been listening to the news and watching TV, in the evenings, and everyone is so excited about the upcoming royal wedding. As a minister and certified wedding officiant, I know the joy of being able to join two people together in holy matrimony.
Most of the time, women marry men that remind them of their father, especially if their father was a good influence in their life. Even though my natural father past away, before he could meet my husband, I still feel like my dad played a major role in who I married. I always tell my husband that I think God and my dad had a conversation and they hand-picked my husband for me.
My husband loves me with the same gentleness and respect that God does. At the same time he makes me laugh the way my daddy did. When I look into my husband’s eyes, I see nothing but pure love. I’m thankful to God that he prepared me to be a wife, friend and helper to my husband.
Father, God, you are a good, good, Father.
Ephesians 5:21-33
The Message (MSG)
Relationships
21 Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.
22-24 Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.
25-28 Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage.
29-33 No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That’s how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become “one flesh.” This is a huge mystery, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.
This morning, I was lead to write this devotional. As a shepherd, David began his life leading, guiding, herding and protecting sheep. It was all that he knew, up until the time he was anointed to be king.
When David wrote this Psalm, he wrote it in a way that illustrated that the roles had been changed. David was now in the one that needed to be led, guided and protected by the Great Shepherd, Jehovah.
Listen to David as he pours out his heart to God:
Psalm 23
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Lord the Shepherd of His People
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lordis my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of theLord Forever.
May you walk with God today and know that he will be ordering your steps, if you would allow him. Seek the voice, knowledge and wisdom of God so that your days may be blessed.
I love you all with an amazing and everlasting love.
I hope you had a weekend filled with joy. If not, I pray that the Love of God would heal and transform the broken and fragile parts of your heart and the hearts’ of those around you. I truly wasn’t expecting to start the devotion off that way, but the Spirit of God urged me to write it.
God knows and understands that not everyone experiences joy and happiness. The message I bring today is that of Love. When you are not able to find love from those around you, whether it’s family or friends, let me remind you that God is always there to offer a powerful and life changing Love.
The love of and from God is unlike any love we can imagine. As a minister, I perform several weddings. One of the most popular scripture passages I read, during the ceremony, is 1 Corinthians 13. It’s also known as the “Love” Chapter. We think of Love when it comes to weddings, but we are the Bride of Christ, God is actually speaking to us and preparing us to take on our godly characteristic, now that we belong to Him.
God is telling us how He loves. And in the same manner wants us to love this way as well.
1 Corinthians 13:4-13
Living Bible (TLB)
4 Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, 5 never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. 6 It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. 7 If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.
8 All the special gifts and powers from God will someday come to an end, but love goes on forever. Someday prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge—these gifts will disappear. 9 Now we know so little, even with our special gifts, and the preaching of those most gifted is still so poor. 10 But when we have been made perfect and complete, then the need for these inadequate special gifts will come to an end, and they will disappear.
11 It’s like this: when I was a child I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I became a man my thoughts grew far beyond those of my childhood, and now I have put away the childish things. 12 In the same way, we can see and understand only a little about God now, as if we were peering at his reflection in a poor mirror; but someday we are going to see him in his completeness, face-to-face. Now all that I know is hazy and blurred, but then I will see everything clearly, just as clearly as God sees into my heart right now.
13 There are three things that remain—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
As the Bride of Christ, we represent our “Husband.” Go today and represent your family well.
Happy Friday. We have been blessed with one more day to do great things in the world. We have been given one more day to show love, grace and mercy to all sentient beings that we encounter.
I am so grateful to God that He never gave up on us. May we never give up on Him. He promised, in His Word, to finish the work that was began in us. May we stay close enough to God that he doesn’t have to chase us down just to bless us. May we be ever-mindful that God has always had a perfect plan.
Philippians 1:1-6
Living Bible (TLB)
1 From: Paul and Timothy, slaves of Jesus Christ.
To: The pastors and deacons and all the Christians in the city of Philippi.
2 May God bless you all. Yes, I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will give each of you his fullest blessings and his peace in your hearts and your lives.
3 All my prayers for you are full of praise to God! 4 When I pray for you, my heart is full of joy 5 because of all your wonderful help in making known the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.
Sacred Journey Devotionals - Where Christianity and Metaphysics Meet 