Monthly Archives: December 2023

December 15, 2023 · 5:29 AM

Growing Deeper Roots

I was speaking with someone recently who in a matter of days was robbed, had their car break down, lost their job and had a family member diagnosed with cancer. They still trusted in God, and though they were shaken, they believed God would meet every need. A person like that has deep roots in their faith. A season like this will not blow them over, but actually cause their roots to go deeper. Have you considered how deep your roots in Christ are? In Matthew 13 Jesus told a parable about a farmer scattering seeds. Some fell in shallow soil and when the heat came, they dried up. Some fell among the thorns and the roots were chocked out. Some fell in fertile soil and the roots went deep. This person planted their roots in God’s Word and not only survived, but produced in every season. Determine today to plant your roots in Christ and trust Him no matter what season you’re in.

Here are some Bible verses on growing deeper roots.

1. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:7 NLT

2. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV

3. Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots.

Proverbs 12:3 NLT

4. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

Ephesians 3:16-17 NLT

5. There is hope for a tree that has been cut down; it can come back to life and sprout. Even though its roots grow old, and its stump dies in the ground, with water it will sprout like a young plant.

Job 14:7-9 GNT

Photo by AMAL BEN SAAD on Unsplash

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December 14, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Getting In The Wheelbarrow

I like to tell people that you will always act on what you truly believe, especially when you’re under pressure. It’s easy to say you believe something, but the proof comes when stress is applied. There’s a story of a man named Charles Blonden who famously put out a tightrope across Niagara Falls. He crossed it several times using different methods like stilts, backwards, blindfolded, carrying a stove and cooking on it. One time he pushed a wheelbarrow across it. When he arrived on the other side, the crowd applauded. He then asked who believed he could push someone in that wheelbarrow across the tightrope. Everyone cheered agreeing that he could. He then asked for a volunteer from the cheering crowd. The crowd fell silent and no one volunteered. Later his manager Harry Colcord did ride across on his back.

It’s easy to say we believe something until we have to get I to the wheelbarrow. In the Old Testament, God asked Abraham to take his only son to the land of Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice (Genesis 22). This was a faith testing moment. God had already told him that through Isaac he would have many descendants. He took Isaac to the mountain anyway because He truly believed God. David’s faith was tested too. He had been anointed king, but God delayed in that promise. He had several opportunities to kill Saul, the current king, but he trusted God’s timing instead. Many opportunities presented themselves, but he passed on them all as he waited for God’s perfect timing.

Testing is part of God’s means of proving our faith just like He did for those in the Bible. If He tested them, He’ll test us. 1 Peter 1:7 says, “Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed” (GNT). Testing purifies and solidifies our faith. Don’t back down from what you believe when hard times come or when you’re called out on it. Get in the wheelbarrow and trust God to carry you across Niagara’s Falls. He’s proven time and time again He’s able to, but it’s up to us to trust Him enough to get in.

Photo by Sergey Pesterev on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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December 13, 2023 · 5:29 AM

Eliminate Hopelessness

In the 1950’s a professor did an experiment where he placed rats in water to see how long it would take for them to drown. Several died within minutes. He then decided to introduce hope into the experiment to see if that changed anything. He placed more rats in the water and waited until they were giving up. Once they began to drown, he reached in, grabbed them and held them a few minutes before placing them back in the water. This time they didn’t give up. They continued to swim for much longer than before. He wrote that the rats quickly learn that the situation is not hopeless and when hopelessness is eliminated, they do not die.

When Abraham was 75 years old, he had given up on having kids. He began to reason and come to terms that everything he had acquired in life would go to his servant. He was hopeless at that point, but God visited him and told him he would have a son. Abraham was excited and believed God. However, a year passed without Sarah getting pregnant. Then another. Soon a decade passed. Then another. Because God eliminated hopelessness, Abraham continued to believe. When he turned 100, his wife finally became pregnant and had a son. They named him Isaac, which means laughter. God did the impossible for a couple and all they could do was laugh when He did.

Isaiah 40 was written to Israel while they were in captivity in Babylon. They were on the verge of giving up. God spoke to them on verse 31 and said, ”But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak“ (GNT). If God can give a 100 year old a baby and deliver an entire nation from captivity, He can meet your need. He will eliminate hopelessness from your situation and give you strength to keep going. When God is involved, it is never too late, never too far gone and never too hopeless. One word from Him and the situation will turn around. Receive His strength today to keep going and to trust Him.

Photo by Hu Chen on Unsplash

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December 12, 2023 · 5:40 AM

Lifted Back Up

My wife and I made our first trip to Haiti a couple of years after the catastrophic earthquake of 2010. As we made our way out of Port au Prince, we drove through what was known as tent city where thousands of people who lost their homes lived. We made our way north to a village where we were going to be working with an orphanage. The village was very primitive. The people would carry a 5 gallon bucket for several miles each day to get fresh water. I remember seeing them carrying that heavy load all the way back and wondering how many generations have been bent over carrying water that far. The organization we were with wanted to ease that load on the people. The next year, we drilled a well and installed a reverse osmosis system so the people could have free water and not have to carry those buckets so far.

In Luke 13:10-17, Jesus encountered a woman while He was teaching in the synagogue who was doubled over. It says that she was this way because of a demon held her in bondage. Jesus decided to heal her even though it was the Sabbath. The leader of the synagogue reprimanded Jesus for healing her. He then responded by reminding him that each person in there had untied their animals at some point on a sabbath to lead them to water. He then said that this woman had been bound up and doubled over for 18 years under this load. Should she be untied and lifted up? The leader was ashamed, but the people and the woman rejoiced that Jesus lifted her up.

Psalm 145:14 says, ”The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads“ (NLT). Commentaries say that this phrase “bent beneath their loads” is referencing people who are doubled over under their worries, their duties or their trials. God is one who lifts people up. He doesn’t want to leave you bent over under the heavy load you’re carrying. In fact, in Matthew 11:28 He offers for you to go to Him with your heavy load and He will lift you up and give you rest. He will take that load you shouldn’t be carrying off your shoulders and give you His burden instead, which is light. God can release you today from the things that are weighing you down. Release them to Him today and ask Him to take the weight off your shoulders. He wants to lift you back up.

Photo by Aditya Saxena on Unsplash

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December 11, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Seeking Sharpness

Do you know someone that just rubs you the wrong way? Every time you meet, you clash. It seems like every time you’re around each other, they bring out the worst in you. Then there are others you come into contact with who seem to make you want to be a better person. You have long, deep, conversations about things. They ask questions that keep you thinking for days. You can’t wait to be near them because they bring out the best side of you. I think it’s good to have both types in your life. I know it sounds crazy, but even the people who seem to bring out the worst in you can help you be a better person.

The people who bring out the worst in me reveal my rough edges. They show me the side of me that I work hard at covering up. When that side of me flares up, it’s a reminder that it’s still there and that I still have work to do. We all have rough edges in our lives that need smoothing out. When a piece of wood is rough, we don’t hold back the sandpaper. We apply it because we know that wherever it is applied will even be smooth. When a knife is dull, we don’t throw it away. We apply it to a whetstone or a grinding stone in order to make the edges sharp. Relationships, the good ones and the difficult ones, can have that same affect on you.

Proverbs 27:17 says, “It takes a grinding wheel to sharpen a blade, and so one person sharpens the character of another” (TPT). One of the things I pray often is, “God, put the right relationships in my life who will help me to be who you’ve called me to be, and take out the ones who don’t.” God is able to use relationships to smooth out our edges and to make us sharper people so we can fulfill our purpose. If you’re around people who seem to bring out the worst in you, ask God to use them to make you better or to help you break away from that relationship. We all have room for improvement in becoming more like Christ. Some relationships require you to end them so you can improve, and others will be used to smooth out your rough edges. Seek God’s wisdom for what to do in those relationships in your life and keep seeking to be sharp.

Photo by Manki Kim on Unsplash

I’m taking my annual break from writing this week. I hope you enjoyed this devotion I wrote a few years ago. I’ll be writing new devotions again starting tomorrow.

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December 8, 2023 · 5:30 AM

God’s Peace On Earth

Peaceful. That’s not a word I would use to describe the Christmas season. Hectic is the word I would use. Going store to store to buy presents, looking for parking everywhere you go, going to the kid’s Christmas plays, attending Christmas parties, cleaning house for family that’s coming and so much more. Our schedule is full this time of year, and sometimes we accidentally double book.

When Jesus was born, Bethlehem was just as busy. It was over crowded because of the census. Families that hadn’t seen each other in ages were getting together. There were lines everywhere you went, and the locals were hard at work. Jesus was born into chaos, but the message to the shepherds (and us) is that He came to bring us peace no matter what time of year it is. Just like it did for the shepherds, let God’s peace draw you away from the hustle and bustle, and move you closer to Jesus.

Here are some Bible verses on the peace that God gives.

1. At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

Luke 2:13-14 MSG

2. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].

PHILIPPIANS 4:7 AMP

3. May the Lord himself, who is our source of peace, give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 GNB

4. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Isaiah 26:3 NLT

5. I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

John 14:27 NLT

Photo by Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash

I’m taking my annual break from writing this week. I hope you enjoyed this devotion I wrote a few years ago. I’ll be writing new devotions again starting next Tuesday.

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December 7, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Experiencing Humanity

Earlier this year, one of our local radio DJ’s decided to see what it was like to be homeless. He created a backstory in case anyone asked him how he got there. He also had a police officer go undercover with him to protect him. Each morning he would slip away to call the radio station to report his findings. I looked forward to his calls each day just so I could gain more insight into how we as Christians can help these people who have been displaced from their homes and our society. The experience changed him and the listeners. Even though it was only for a week, his experience allowed him to identify with the homeless population in a way that he never had before. From not being able to get into the shelter on a cold night, to not being able to eat, to having people pretend he was invisible changed his perspective and how he would help going forward.

As we begin celebrating Christmas, I can’t help but think that this man was mirroring what God did a couple of millenniums ago. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, God walked with them daily. After they sinned, they were cast out of the garden and became wanders on the earth. Their sin also separated us and created a fallen world of people far from God. We became guilty of breaking God’s laws and fell under the power of sin. God gave us the Law through Moses, but we were unable to live up to it. We continuously fell short of the desires God had for us. Our sin created a barrier that kept us from being able to cross over to Him. However, when we couldn’t go to Him, He came to us to set us right with Him. He was able to bridge the divide from our side.

Romans 8:3 says, “Yet God sent us his Son in human form to identify with human weakness. Clothed with humanity, God’s Son gave his body to be the sin-offering so that God could once and for all condemn the guilt and power of sin” (TPT). Because He took on flesh and lived among us, He is able to identify with you. He was tempted like you are, hurt like you do and felt the separation from God. He also broke the power of sin over your life and removed the guilt from your name. Christmas is much more than the birth of Jesus. It’s God coming into the world so He could relate to us, be with us and save us. As you celebrate and share gifts, don’t forget to celebrate your salvation through Him and the new life He has given you.

Photo by Greyson Joralemon on Unsplash

I’m taking my annual break from writing this week. I hope you enjoyed this devotion I wrote a few years ago. I’ll be writing new devotions again starting next Tuesday.

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December 6, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Finding True Peace

One of the coolest Christmas stories I’ve ever read about was the Christmas Truce of World War I. On Christmas Day in 1914 on the Western front if the war, some German soldiers climbed out of their foxholes unarmed and approached the British lines calling out, “Merry Christmas!” After realizing it wasn’t a trick, the British soldiers climbed out of their foxholes and shook hands with their enemy. In many places they began to sing Christmas carols, Exchange cigarettes and food. Some even played a game of soccer. German Lieutenant Zehmisch said, “Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.” The next day, the picked up arms again and went back to war.

Since Adam and Eve sinned, there had been hostility between God and man. We had rejected His rule over our lives and decided we had a better way. He established a temporary covenant with Moses through the Law to make peace between us. However, we kept breaking that peace by going back on our word. In Isaiah 9:6, God announced that a child would be born who would be the Prince of Peace. He would be the one to restore the peace between us. Then, on the night Jesus was born, the angel appeared to the shepherds in the Bethlehem field saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill towards men” (KJV). God, in essence, came out of His foxhole, approached us saying, “Merry Christmas!” The difference was, this wasn’t to be a temporary cease fire. God was trying to establish true peace between us.

Ephesians 2 describes how God was trying to establish true peace with us. Verse 17 summarizes it, “For the Messiah has come to preach this sweet message of peace to you, the ones who were distant, and to those who are near” (TPT). No matter how far away from God you are, He wants to establish peace with you. In John 14:27 Jesus, the Messiah, said, “I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace.“ We only know temporary peace here on this earth, but God desires to create eternal peace with us through His son. When we accept Him as our Savior, we can have that peace that surpasses understanding even while the world around us is in chaos. True peace can be ours, but it’s only found in Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

I’m taking my annual break from writing this week. I hope you enjoyed this devotion I wrote a few years ago. I’ll be writing new devotions again starting next Tuesday.

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December 5, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Christmas Eve Communion

One of my favorite traditions at Christmas is going to a candle light communion service. At a time when we are celebrating the birth of Christ, it’s a good reminder of why He was born. At the last supper, Jesus said, “As often as you do this (communion), do this in remembrance of me.” So in celebration of His birth, we take time to remember His death which is why He came. He wanted to reconcile us to the Father through His death, and also become our Advocate. Because He took on flesh, He was tempted as we are and can empathize with everything we go through.

I love what Hebrews 4:15 says about Jesus. It says, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (NLT). In wrapping Himself in flesh and blood, He also wrapped Himself in our pains, our sufferings, our fears, our joys and our temptations so that He could be our advocate to the Father. He understands what you are going through today and is praying to the Father right now for you and me.

So on Christmas Eve, I choose to remember all of these things in His life as I celebrate His death on the cross. I take time to remember that it wasn’t His birth that saved me. It was His death on the cross and resurrection three days later. Without living a sinless life and dying on the cross, I would still be lost and in sin. On Christmas I will remember and celebrate His birth, but I also take time to remember His life, death and resurrection in order to be my advocate, my salvation and my righteousness.

Photo by Zach Lucero on Unsplash

I’m taking my annual break from writing this week. I hope you enjoyed this devotion I wrote a few years ago. I’ll be writing new devotions again starting next Tuesday.

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December 4, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Hark The Herald Angels Sing

I have an angel as part of my annual Christmas decorations for my yard. This year, my son has been asking me, “Dada, what’s he saying?” I tell him, “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger (Luke 2:10-12 KJV). Then several other angels joined him and they started singing!”

We can only imagine what that celebration looked like. The farther we get from an agrarian society and into a technological one, the harder it is to imagine sitting on a hillside at night, watching sheep, and having angels pop out of no where. In 1739, Charles Wesley must have been imagining that incredible night as he composed, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”. Nor did George Whitefield in 1758, who adapted it to what we sing today.

The verse I want to focus on is this:

Christ by highest Heav’n adored, Christ the everlasting Lord; Late in time behold-Him come, Offspring of the Virgin’s womb. Veil’d in flesh the Godhead see, Hail th’ incarnate Deity! Pleas’d as Man with Men t’ appear, Jesus our Emmanuel here.

My favorite part of that is the second half. This time of year, we celebrate that God came down, took on the form of a human, so that He could be Emmanuel, God with us. He veiled Himself in flesh so He could better be acquainted with all we experience. Philippians 2:6-7 puts it this way, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being” (NLT).

This Christmas season, let’s not forget that the baby birth we are celebrating was God veiled in flesh. He came to being peace on earth and goodwill toward men. The Angels celebrated that night and we have been celebrating since. Our God came to us so that we could be with Him. This baby grew up and died a criminal’s death in order to pay for our sins. When we think of that, we can celebrate with those heralding angels that God and sinners are able to be reconciled.

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

I’m taking my annual break from writing this week. I hope you enjoyed this devotion I wrote a few years ago. I’ll be writing new devotions again starting next Tuesday.

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