Daily Devotions for Kingdom Seekers, Vol II: Daily Devotions For Kingdom Seekers, #2

By Dennis Jernigan

Sometimes, life is hard. Finances, health problems, strained relationships, even daily stresses can make life feel unbearable at times.

But when we fix our eyes on the King...everything changes.

 

Faced with what seemed an insurmountable object, we gain strength to climb.

Despairing over a broken relationship, we find hope to press on for reconciliation.

Lost in a lightless night, we glimpse the first rays of dawn.

Seeing from a Kingdom perspective changes everything.

Compiled from messages Dennis Jernigan wrote to encourage his own soul, these 365 daily devotions are complemented by 25 original songs. They will assure you of the truth, encourage your soul, and help you see life from a new perspective—one grounded in the grace, goodness, and freedom of Christ.

Are your eyes fixed on all that surrounds you? Lift them to the King today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shepherd’s Heart Music, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 4, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948772068

Dennis Jernigan

Known primarily for his worship music with songs like You Are My All In All, Thank You, We Will Worship The Lamb of Glory, and Who Can Satisfy My Soul (There is a Fountain), Dennis Jernigan is also known for having walked away from his former homosexual identity and into that of a heterosexual. Married for 34 years to Melinda, they have nine children and make their home in Muskogee, Oklahoma where they are now welcoming grandchildren. Having been walking in freedom from his old identity since November 7, 1981, Jernigan takes great joy in sharing the grace and love of God with any who desire freedom in their own lives. DJ spends a great deal of time encouraging others to embrace their true identity in Christ.

Book preview

January

January 1

When I need to laugh or cry

Listen to the song "Wider than the Ocean" from the album The Worshiper’s Collection, Volume 3.

Chorus

Wider than the ocean

Deeper than the sea

Stronger than the strongest wind

That there could ever be

Sweeter than a love song

Tender as can be

Is my Father’s love for me

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You are strength in weakness

Joy when I am sad

When this life brings sorrow

You are there to make me glad

You are every answer to every question asked

You are who I cling to when there’s nothing left to grasp

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You are Light in darkness

Peace in stormy wind

When I need to laugh or cry

You are a Faithful Friend

When my heart is hurting

You sing my heart a song

Near Your heart is home to me

Sweet home where I belong

The Lord can handle our honesty. He can handle our anger and our fear. He can handle our confusion and our complaining. He can even handle our most vile spewing, the raving and the rants. In Psalm 137:9, the writer (remember this is in the Psalms, a book of praise) unashamedly asks the Lord to avenge the children of Israel with the words, ‘How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones against the rock.’ In his anger, the psalmist wants the Lord to take the children of his enemy and dash them against the rocks! That’s in the Psalms! The Lord can handle our anguish and our deepest longings (vile and otherwise) and patiently leads us to the place of forgiveness, peace, healing, hope, and joy. Our God meets us right where we are and, in His holy wisdom and gracious mercy, does not leave us there.

Be honest with God today, but do not dwell in the place of complaining. Get it out. Get it confessed. Receive the grace needed and move on to joy.

Hear my cry, O God;

Give heed to my prayer.

From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For You have been a refuge for me,

A tower of strength against the enemy.

Let me dwell in Your tent forever;

Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.

Psalm 61:1b-4

January 2

You are a Faithful Friend

There is something to be said of someone who sticks with you no matter what. I lost two very good friends the moment I decided to share my testimony publicly. Why? They had warned me that my life and ministry would be ruined the moment I shared my secret. Our relationship was never the same after that because they distanced themselves from me. On the other hand, I have another friend who said they would walk toward Jesus with me through the process of my healing. For however long it took, through whatever circumstance arose, they would help me up when I fell, they would be there helping me find Jesus in my darkness. That was twenty-nine years ago as of this writing, and they have held true to their word. They are still walking toward Jesus with me. Which friend was more like Jesus? What kind of friend do you want to be?

See yourself as a friend of Jesus today, and then be that kind of friend to others whom the world has rejected—the Christian world included.

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13

January 3

When my heart is hurting You sing my heart a song

Sometimes, we’ve heard all the advice our mind can contain about finding healing for our wounds. Sometimes, we’ve said all the words we can possibly say to convey our confusion of betrayal at the hands of a trusted friend. Sometimes, we need to take a lesson from our children. When my children were small, I often found myself comforting them in the wounds of their childhood: scraped knee, a disappointing performance on the ball field, the loss of a beloved pet. Each, though seemingly minor from an adult’s perspective, were major wounds to the heart of a child. Holding them close and speaking solace to them was a wonderful experience for me, but my greatest joy came when I would simply sing them a song of comfort. Sometimes, we need to place ourselves in the best position possible to receive that kind of comfort from our heavenly Father. How can we do that? We can quiet our soul. We can cease from the striving of trying to explain our feelings. We can crawl into His arms by faith, and we can listen for a song of healing from the One who surrounds us with songs of deliverance.

Today, and any day when the wounds of life come along, be quick to set yourself up for healing in the arms and in the song of the Savior.

The Lord your God is in your midst,

A victorious warrior.

He will exult over you with joy,

He will be quiet in His love,

He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

Zephaniah 3:17

January 4

Near Your heart is home to me—Sweet home where I belong

Due to the nature of my ministry, I frequently travel to share my story and music. Even though I feel so welcome in the places I am privileged to share, my heart is still focused on home! My favorite trips are the simple drive there and back in the same day, followed by the fly there one day and home the next. My least favorite trips are the gone for a week kind. Those, thankfully, are the most rare for me. My belief is that my ministry times are made more affective by focusing on home, and my focus on home is so important because home is where my life receives its energy and purpose. Great joy comes from knowing I am simply sharing with others the freedom I have discovered at home. And bottom line? My ultimate home is not this earth. I am simply passing through, but my energy and purpose are made vibrant because my focus is on home. And, after all, home is where the heart is, and my heart, ultimately, is with the Lord.

Focus on home today, and watch everything and every relationship reveal its deeper and true purpose.

Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8

January 5

Why do I worship?

Listen to the song "Holy is the Lord" from the album Celebrate Living.

Why do I worship?

Why do I praise?

Why do I lift up my voice?

When I see the Savior

Who died in my place

I cannot help but rejoice!

And that’s why I cry

---

Chorus

Holy! Holy!

Holy is the Lord!

That’s why I cry

Holy! Holy!

Holy is the Lord!

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Why do I bow down?

Why do I stand?

Why does my heart love to sing?

When I call my Father

And He takes my hand

I know I’m a child of the King!

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Bridge

He is high and exalted in majesty!

He is holy and worthy and Savior and King to me!

Worship in its simplest definition is bestowing worth on something. We tend to worship whatever we place great worth in. For some, money is the object of worship. For others, fame and notoriety are the objects of their worship. Having a great need to be accepted by others can even become the object of one’s worship. When we realize that all the reasons we tend to worship money, fame, or whatever are based on very real needs, we can begin to put those things in their proper places of priority. We must decide who our God is. Either we will worship God or we will worship money, or fame, or sex, or…you get the idea. When we have made the Lord God the focus of our worship, He is then able to show us how to use our money for His kingdom, how to find our need for acceptance met in Him, how to view and use our bodies and our sexual drive for His glory. I worship God because He showed me my own worth by giving everything He had to make me His own. I was worth the greatest price—His life—so I worship Him with that same passion. He is worth my life. And because I choose to give Him the highest place in my worship, everything else becomes an effective tool that I control for His glory rather than those same things controlling me.

Decide who you worship and then live free from the tyranny of idolatry.

Come, let us worship and bow down,

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

PSALM 95:6

January 6

Why do I praise?

From my perspective, praise is simply exalting God with a thankful heart for who He is and all He has done. If God is omnipresent, then we never leave His presence, we simply forget He’s with us or we ignore Him altogether. One of the quickest ways I have found to remind myself to be aware of (come into) His presence is to put on a thankful, praising heart, to have a grateful attitude. When we praise God in spite of our circumstances, we do not deny we are facing those trials, we are simply putting on a kingdom attitude that says, In spite of what I am going through, God is still good, and I am thankful I am not alone! It’s like coming to a pool of water and wanting to take a deep plunge. To get to the deepest places in the quickest manner, we step onto the diving board of gratitude and take the big plunge. And this sends us right into the deepest awareness of God’s presence in the most timely manner!

Try it today and see if I am not right!

I will praise the name of God with song

And magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 69:30

January 7

Why do I lift up my voice?

Not everyone is gifted with a beautiful voice, but every joyful heart has the capacity to make a joyful noise! Just go to a football game and watch the fans when their team scores a touchdown. Now, that’s a very joyful noise indeed! What if your team had just scored but your fear of what others might think kept you from expressing your joy? That would be miserable, wouldn’t it? Love that is not expressed is not love. God so loved the world that he did what? He gave. I worship and praise God because of what He has done for me. Every time He does something amazing in my life, it’s as if He scored yet another winning touchdown for me! In those moments, I celebrate with a little vocalized thanksgiving, whether sung, or shouted, or spoken! As new creations in Christ, as kingdom seekers, if we want to live joyful lives of freedom, we must learn to express our love—vocally, with our service, with our attitudes, with our thoughts, with our entire being. Love that is not expressed really is not love. Love is a verb, an action.

To the degree that you have received God’s love today, express that same love back to Him in some way. Lift up your voice.

I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness

And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 7:17

January 8

"When I see the Savior Who died in my place

I cannot help but rejoice"

When I think back upon my life and all I have experienced, it is very easy to be grateful. While going through periods of self-focus and willful sin, my heart was anything but joyful. Striving was my middle name, and fear was my mode of operation. Neither of those things is conducive to joy! Joy began to flood my soul the moment I realized the extent to which the Lord had gone to get to me, reaching into my strife and fear and laying down His life to rescue, and give me, mine! When someone feels as valued as the Lord made me feel in that moment, their natural response is one of joy.

Take time today to focus not on the bad things you have been through, but on the things God has done to get you through them to the place you are right now. Regardless of the amount of despair or heartache you have gone through, God has seen fit to get you to this place. Look back and see His magnificent delivering hand and find countless reasons to rejoice, then, rejoice!

But let all who take refuge in You be glad,

Let them ever sing for joy;

And may You shelter them,

That those who love Your name may exult in You.

For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord,

You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Psalm 5:11-12

January 9

That’s why I cry, ‘Holy! Holy!’

When we spend time focusing on what we do not have or on what we have lost, we easily lose sight of what we do have and what we have gained. Gratitude does not depend on our circumstances or past experiences. Gratitude is an attitude of the heart that says, "Regardless of what I experience or feel, God is good, and He wants only my best. He will not put more on me than I can bear, and He is with me every step of the way on my journey through life. I am never alone." We worship God for His holiness, His perfection. Since He is perfect, His love is perfect. When we become born again, we are made holy or ‘set aside’ for His purpose, for our good and His glory. In that sense, our purpose is to seek God and to help others on their own journeys toward God. My greatest desire is to live in the reality that my life matters to the Lord and to others simply because I am His.

Take time to live like you believe that today, and see your life as holy unto the Lord. Let the life you live cry, Holy! Holy! Holy is the Lord!

Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,

The whole earth is full of His glory.

Isaiah 6:3b

January 10

Holy is the Lord

God is holy. This means He is perfect. If He is perfect, then His love is perfect. If His love is perfect, why would we ever doubt that love? Because we tend to see God through the filter of our earthly authority and father figures, and when we do that we always tend to see God as far less than He truly is.

Spend time peeling away the layers of the filter you have always seen God through, and begin to see Him as He truly is: good, gentle, firm, steadfast, loyal, faithful, trustworthy, able, wanting only what is best for you, able to love what you consider unlovely about yourself. Trust His love in ways you may have never trusted before, and watch freedom flow into your life in ways you had only dreamed.

Exalt the Lord our God

And worship at His footstool;

Holy is He.

Psalm 99:5

January 11

Why do I bow down?

To bow to someone, as when one meets a king or president of a nation, shows reverence. To bow down on one’s knee is a sign of allegiance, the sign that says to a king, I will follow you wherever you lead, my liege. When a leader treats his subjects with dignity and care, he has the hearts of his people. They will willingly follow him into battle and willingly tighten their belts in difficult times for the good of the kingdom. Why do I bow down to the Lord Jesus? He is my King. He conquered and vanquished my foes. He delivered me from captivity. He bestowed upon me my true identity. He is constantly with me, meeting every need I could possibly have. And I could go on and on and on with all the reasons I gladly bow before Him. He loves me; I will follow Him. I bow my heart, my mind, my will, my emotions, and my physical being to Him because He is a Good King.

Spend time bowing your life to the King today.

Come, let us worship and bow down,

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

Psalm 95:6

January 12

Why do I stand?

A few years ago, my wife and I had the privilege of visiting the White House. While there, we were part of a special group who heard the President speak. The hundreds who were gathered in the room waited with great expectation for the moment he would enter. As the doors opened and the Secret Service agents cleared the way, the President walked in and, without even being prompted, everyone stood to their feet in respect and honor, regardless of their particular political beliefs. To stand in honor of Jesus Christ is to stand in honor of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Regardless of our condition or circumstances it is a good thing to honor the King. To regard Jesus Christ above all others—above all else—is a most honorable act of worship. Even if we are unable to stand physically, we can stand attitudinally, giving Him the highest place in our consciousness. I stand for Jesus in worship—and in life—because He willingly stood and endured the cross for me. Do I really need another reason?

Stand for Jesus today in ways you may not have thought of before. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you.

O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,

Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,

Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God

And a great King above all gods.

Psalm 95:1-3

January 13

Why does my heart love to sing?

When God’s Word tells us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord (Ps. 98:4), singing is implied. Even if we cannot carry a tune in a bucket, most of us still love to sing! I find that amazing and very refreshing! Singing is an act of the spirit that engages our minds, our emotions, and our physical bodies. To sing requires the engagement of our entire being! When we sing, we release burdens. When we sing, we release joy. When we sing, we find solace—comfort for our soul. When we sing in worship, we take dominion over our flesh and place it in submission to the Lord. Isn’t it amazing that the Lord gave us this gift of release and that He Himself sings songs of deliverance and rejoicing back to us? To sing to God is to engage in a tangible act of relationship. I sing to Him, and then I listen for His sweet song to be sung over me. When I sing, I hear Him. When I sing, I empty my soul of the debris of life. When I sing, I find cleansing power. When I sing, I know He is in control. Why does my heart love to sing? For all of the above and more!

Take time to sing to the Lord today, or at least make a joyful noise!

O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,

Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

Psalm 95:1

January 14

When I call my Father and He takes my hand I know I’m a child of the King

There is an incident from my childhood that has never left my memory. When I was about four years old, my mom took me and my two younger brothers (another brother would be born later) shopping at a large store. After only a few minutes, I became separated from my mom. Unable to see her or hear her, I went into a panic, frantically crying out for her. Before I ever saw her, I heard her voice crying out for me. That was all I needed in that moment. Just to know she was there was enough. Of course, I ran into her arms as soon as she came around the corner, but it had been her voice that, in a sense, took me by the hand and let me know everything was going to be all right. Knowing Jesus is like that and so much more. Through the dark times of life, I listen for His voice, and He patiently calls out to me by name. In those moments, it is as if He has taken me by the hand. In those moments, I feel most secure, most redeemed; I feel so much like His child.

Spend time calling out to Father today. Let Him take you by the hand. Find security in that place, and find assurance of your deepest identity in Him.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

John 10:27-28

January 15

He is high and exalted in majesty

Majesty is a word that means supreme authority and power. It also means awesome in size, or status, or splendor. Can you think of anyone or anything more supreme in authority or power than the Lord? Can you think of anyone or anything more awesome in size, scope, status, or splendor than the Lord? I cannot! There is no one greater that our Creator! When we worship Him with our entire being, we are making a tangible statement that declares all these things about our God. When we worship Him, we are declaring His authority in our lives. When we worship Him, we are declaring His power over our lives. When we worship Him, we are declaring His greatness over all else. When we worship Him, we are giving Him the highest status, the highest place, in our lives. When we worship Him, we are actually releasing His splendor, His glory, on this earth.

Glorify God today, and declare His majesty in the way you live, as a life-expression of worship to our great God.

On the glorious splendor of Your majesty

And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

Psalm 145:5

January 16

He is holy and worthy

Jesus is holy. There is no one else like Him. He is holy because He is perfect, without sin. That means everything about Him is perfect: His strength is perfect; His care toward us is perfect; His love is perfect. The only reason we doubt His love is because of the lies of the enemy about God’s love or our worthiness to be loved.. Jesus is worthy. That means He is worth our time, worth our thoughts, worth our efforts, worth our praise, worth our very life. He bestowed worth on us in that, while we were still deep in our sin, He wanted us to be His very own, so He shed His blood to ransom us from our sin. He loves us. He says we were worth His own life. I’d say that He is more than worthy of our love and life.

Spend time today meditating on the holiness and worth of Jesus Christ.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.

Psalm 18:3

January 17

And Savior and King to me

Once, I was lost in and held captive by my own sin. My greatest need was for a Savior, someone to rescue me. I tried to rescue myself by my own strength, wisdom, and devices but failed miserably, becoming even more entrenched in the mire of my sin. I was bound in service to the king of darkness. Whether I would ever have admitted to that or not, it was still the truth. My subservience to my sin was actually subservience to the enemy of God. Satan is not a true king; he is an imposter who seeks to rule and reign in place of God. I was in need of a true King, the King of all Kings. Jesus came into my place of captivity and set me free. Jesus began to rule and reign in my life. He sufficiently dethroned the rule of darkness and set me in a place reserved for the heirs of the King—to rule and reign over darkness in my own life, to lead others out of bondage and into freedom.

Take time today to ponder your place in the Kingdom of God, then live and act accordingly.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

1 Peter 2:9

January 18

I will celebrate my new life today

Listen to the song "Celebrate Living" from the album Celebrate Living.

I