Card Devotions

[The Guardian]

Hey guys, this is something that God put on my heart a few weeks ago and I am finally getting around to doing it. I am going to try my best to do a card devotion every week. Redemption is more than just a game as it is based on something very real--the redemption that we have in Christ. Our redemption in Christ should be a part of our everyday lives so I would like to take a closer look on the meaning behind some of the cards.

I would like to keep this thread only for things people would like to share on the devotion. If you have a card you would like to see used in a devotion, please PM them to me--I may not do it right away, but I will try to get any and all requests.

[The Guardian]

Card Devotion #1

Card: Not Alone
Verse: Matthew 13:41

The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity.

I started with this card because "Not Alone" is my favorite card title in Redemption. It is simple yet when one thinks about it, there is so much power in that phrase. If we are in Christ, we are never alone no matter how much we mess up, or how lonely we feel. Last year was a very difficult year for me. I went through some tough times and made some poor decisions. Even as I despaired during the bad times, I knew that God still loved me despite my mistakes. A major part of all that was a loneliness that I often felt, which I knew was a lie of the enemy but allowed myself to believe much of the time. The verse says that the Son of man (Jesus) will send forth his angels to gather everything in God's kingdom that does not belong there and cast it out. How great it is that as God's children, we do belong in God's kingdom, but all of our mistakes and imperfections do not. Those things will be weeded out as God gathers His chosen people. Even before this happens though, He is still watching over us in every part of our lives. No matter what trial we face, what mistakes we make or what lies the enemy uses, there is hope. There is hope because no matter what, we are...Not Alone.

[The Guardian]

Well, I decided I couldn't wait a whole week to do another one, because I had already decided which card I was going to do, and it fits very well with the first devotion. Tonight at "The Gathering" (a bi-weekly fellowship/worship time for young adults at my church) I shared a part of my testimony including some of the things I shared in the first devotion.

Card Devotion #2

Card: Blood of the Lamb
Verse: Revelation 12:11

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

This has long been one of my favorite Bible verses because it states quite clearly how we are able to overcome Satan. It is through the redeeming blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, as well as the word of our testimonies that Satan is ultimately defeated. Testimonies are powerful things. In a court of law, testimonies have the power to condemn or vindicate a person. In the spiritual battle that we face, our testimonies have the power to overcome Satan and his demons. A testimony does not need to be dramatic or involve a near-death experience in order to have power. God is glorified just as much by the testimony of someone who grew up in a loving Christian home as He is by the testimony of someone who used to be in the occult or an atheist or came from a broken home where God was never mentioned. Whether a person commits their life to God at a young age or on their death bed, the testimonies of both have great power! Furthermore, we are called to be living testimonies. What does that mean? I believe it means that we are to live our lives in such a way that people cannot help but notice there is something very different and very good about we as Christians. A testimony of actions is greater than a testimony of words because we can say whatever we want, but our actions will truly define who we are. Let us be defined in Christ!

Wow, I didn't even get to the last part of the verse, might have to come back to this one.

[wk4c]

So true, espescially the part about your testimony not having to be exciting to touch someone.  Keep them coming, man

[gospelsinger717]

to go further with the last part, "and they loved not their lives unto the death" , we as Christians should all feel the same way, this world is like a land of bondage to those who are lost, but we are the redeemed!! at the same time we still struggle with Satan and his tricks, which makes us hate or (love not) our lives until death, heaven is the perfect place, where we will receive true victory through the only true lamb, Christ Jesus.

[The Guardian]

I was away from the forum for a few months, but I was inspired by a recent event in my life to start these up again. The problem is...there's no card for the passage I want!!!  What does that mean? Yep, you guessed it (maybe, unless you guessed wrong...) a card devotion/card creation contest combo!

Here is the passage for the devotion:
Matthew 25:31-40 (NIV)

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

 34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Last Thursday started out like most other Thursdays for me. The few days before then I had been looking forward to the weekly night of playing Ultimate with a group of friends. It's a great time and tons of fun. So Thursday morning as I'm checking e-mail and such, I read a message from Ben, the leader of the young adult group I am involved in at my church. He's also my close friend and mentor. Anyway, he sent me and a couple of the other guys in the group a message about a young man who was in the hospital dying of cancer. The young man's name was Justin and he was 24... I was stunned. Ben explained he was looking for a few guys to come with him to visit Justin, pray for him and encourage him. As I sat there thinking about how often I take my health for granted, I knew as badly as I wanted to play Ultimate with my friends, I would not feel right about passing up this opportunity. I went, and it was a really cool experience. Justin has had a tough life the past few years dealing with leukemia and will now have to have a bone marrow transplant simply to have a chance at surviving. He is about as upbeat you can get for someone in his situation though, and I truly believe he was blessed by the five of us who went to see him.

[The Guardian]

I'm not posting this as a "Yay, look at Justin (me)...he's a great guy for doing that." I certainly wanted to play Ultimate that night, (which is selfish, but that is the human nature without God), but the more I thought it over, I knew God wanted me to visit this guy and I knew He would take away the disappointment of not getting to do what I had planned. It was also good because it's not something I do everyday, so it was kind of out of my comfort zone, but that is what God wants for us. To make steps in our walk with Him by trusting Him with our lives and the decisions we make. I've reflected a lot on this passage, and I now want you to make a card for it.

The card name will be "Unto the Least" and I think it makes the most sense for it to be a good enhancement. Other than that you are free to do whatever you like. The one tip I will offer is that I would like it to be similar in style to Primary Objective where you are forced to give up something for a greater lasting reward. Send entries to me via PM and I will pick the winner 2 weeks from now (couple days after Nationals is over). If you would like, you can submit 2 entries. The prize will be a pack of TexP. 

Hope you enjoyed this, and I will be posting another one sometime soon!

[The Guardian]

So this is a little longer than I planned, but God has been doing some cool things in my life--in particular increasing my desire to read His word, so I want to take advantage of this place we have to share.

Today's card is Kingdoms of the World--yes, it's an evil card but the devotion is more to do with the story. From Luke 4

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted[a] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

   “‘He will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

 12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

I read this passage last night and it was encouraging to realize that Jesus was tempted just as we are. Imagine (hard as it is) being given the opportunity to be the most powerful person in the world. Kind of a crazy thought, right? Even now it's hard to comprehend what that would look like. This was the temptation put before Jesus yet he stood firm in the word of His Father and resisted the devil. One thought that came to my mind was "Well, it would be easy for me to resist temptation too, if the devil was the one standing right in front of me giving me the opportunity" but then I realized that's basically what happens every day, and too often I mess up and give in. We might not fall for the temptation of worshiping the devil, but how often do we give into the temptation of worshiping things other than God? Everything in this world that is not of God or does not point towards God is something that is used by the enemy. Sometimes these can be "good" things or things that seem harmless, but anything that takes away from or inhibits our relationship with God is something the enemy uses against us. The Word says to "set your eyes on things above" yet so often we fall for the world's counterfeit alternative. A friend of mine uses the analogy that it's like accepting a crap-filled Twinkie from the world when God is offering you a seven-course gourmet meal. Which one would you want when you're hungry?

Jesus was given perhaps the greatest temptation any man could face--the opportunity to be all-powerful in this world. But Jesus knew who He was in His Father, and that this world will eventually pass away. The opportunity to be the most powerful person on earth is just like all the other cheap alternatives the devil offers--temporary and worthless in the light of eternity.

I would challenge you to examine your life and think about what cheap alternatives (crap-filled Twinkies) you are accepting in place of the great things that God has for you!

Peace and blessings,
Justin

[punkrat777]

Love this stuff! Keep em coming!

[irapaul]

Great interpretation of the scripture, keep it up Justin, you are anointed!

[RTSmaniac]

"If you are the Son of God..."

The devil tried to make Jesus doubt who he was. When he comes against you and you hear these words or you hear such lies telling you that you are not good enough or that no one likes you ect. just remember this instance in the Word and speak to these lies with what the Word says...

• I am a child of God.
But to all who have received him--those who believe in his name--he has given the right to become God's children … (John 1:12).

• I am a branch of the true vine, and a conduit of Christ’s life.
I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me--and I in him--bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing (John 15:1, 5).

• I am a friend of Jesus.
I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father (John 15:15).

• I have been justified and redeemed.
But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24).

• My old self was crucified with Christ, and I am no longer a slave to sin.
We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin (Romans 6:6).

• I will not be condemned by God.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

• I have been set free from the law of sin and death.
For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

• As a child of God, I am a fellow heir with Christ.
And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ)--if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him (Romans 8:17).

• I have been accepted by Christ.
Receive one another, then, just as Christ also received you, to God's glory (Romans 15:7).

• I have been called to be a saint.
… To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours (1 Corinthians 1:2). (See also Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, and Colossians 1:2.)

• In Christ Jesus, I have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption … (1 Corinthians 1:30).

• My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in me.
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you (1 Corinthians 6:19)?

• I am joined to the Lord and am one spirit with Him.
But the one united with the Lord is one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17).

• God leads me in the triumph and knowledge of Christ.
But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and who makes known through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14).

• The hardening of my mind has been removed in Christ.
But their minds were closed. For to this very day, the same veil remains when they hear the old covenant read./netbible2/index.php?header=&book=2co&chapter=3 It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away (2 Corinthians 3:14).

• I am a new creature in Christ.
So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away--look, what is new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17)!

• I have become the righteousness of God in Christ.
God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

• I have been made one with all who are in Christ Jesus.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female--for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

[RTSmaniac]

• I am no longer a slave, but a child and an heir.
So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son, then you are also an heir through God (Galatians 4:7).

• I have been set free in Christ.
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).

• I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

• I am chosen, holy, and blameless before God.
For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love (Ephesians 1:4).

• I am redeemed and forgiven by the grace of Christ.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7).

• I have been predestined by God to obtain an inheritance.
In Christ we too have been claimed as God's own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11).

• I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)--when you believed in Christ--you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).

• Because of God’s mercy and love, I have been made alive with Christ.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you are saved (Ephesians 2:4-5)!

• I am seated in the heavenly places with Christ.
… And he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus … (Ephesians 2:6).

• I am God’s workmanship created to produce good works.
For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them (Ephesians 2:10).

• I have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ.
But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13).

• I am a member of Christ’s body and a partaker of His promise.
… The Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:6). (See also Ephesians 5:30.)

• I have boldness and confident access to God through faith in Christ.
… In whom we have boldness and confident access to God because of Christ's faithfulness (Ephesians 3:12).

• My new self is righteous and holy.
… Put on the new man who has been created in God's image--in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth (Ephesians 4:24).

• I was formerly darkness, but now I am light in the Lord.
… For you were at one time darkness, but now you are/netbible2/index.php?header=&book=eph&chapter=5 light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light (Ephesians 5:.

• I am a citizen of heaven.
But our citizenship is in heaven--and we also await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ … (Philippians 3:20).

• The peace of God guards my heart and mind.
And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

• God supplies all my needs.
And my God will supply your every need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

• I have been made complete in Christ.
… You have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority (Colossians 2:10).

• I have been raised up with Christ.
Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).

• My life is hidden with Christ in God.
… For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

• Christ is my life, and I will be revealed with Him in glory.
When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him (Colossians 3:4).

• I have been chosen of God, and I am holy and beloved.
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience … (Colossians 3:12).

• God loves me and has chosen me.
We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you … (1 Thessalonians 1:4).

The more we embrace these truths from Scripture about who we have become in Christ, the more stable, grateful, and fully assured we will be in this world.