Author Archives: Chris Hendrix

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About Chris Hendrix

My name is Chris Hendrix and I live in Houston. I've had some spectacular failures in my life. I've been divorced, bankrupt, lost a business and just about everything I once held dear. I've lived through them and learned from them. God has somehow found me worthy enough to use me to share my testimony, give hope, teach lessons I've learned and to bring encouragement from His Word to others. My hope is that in reading these devotionals that I post Monday through Friday, you will start your day off thinking about God and His promises to you instead of all the worries that life brings. If we learn to focus on Him first instead of our problems, we will see that He is greater than anything we'll face today. You haven't gone further than His love can reach or failed so badly that He can't use you. You can follow me on twitter at @devotionsbyme or to set up a speaking engagement, you can send an email to chris@devotionsbychris.com
September 18, 2015 · 5:30 AM

God Sees Your Tears

Crying is something that each one of does at some point in our life. Sometimes the tears come from a heart that is broken and sad. I’ve seen them flow when our heart is so full of joy and pride that it couldn’t be expressed enough in a smile. Other times, anger can bring them out. In any case, tears are something that God has given us as an overflow of emotion. Below, you’ll find several verses in the Bible that give us some examples of these emotional overflows and God’s responses to them.
  
1. You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.

Psalm 56:8 NLT

2. My tears will pour out in a ceaseless stream Until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees us.

Lamentations 3:49-50 GNB

3. Ah, GOD, listen to my prayer, my cry—open your ears. Don’t be callous; just look at these tears of mine. I’m a stranger here. I don’t know my way— a migrant like my whole family. Give me a break, cut me some slack before it’s too late and I’m out of here.

Psalm 39:12-13 MSG

4. Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add to your life fifteen years.

Isaiah 38:5 AMP

5. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.

Psalm 126:5 NLT

6. The Lord saved me from death; he stopped my tears and kept me from defeat.

Psalm 116:8 GNB

7. My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O LORD; I lift my hands to you for mercy.

Psalm 88:9 NLT

8. He who goes forth bearing seed and weeping [at needing his precious supply of grain for sowing] shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Psalm 126:6 AMP

9. In his life on earth Jesus made his prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God, who could save him from death. Because he was humble and devoted, God heard him.

Hebrews 5:7 GNB

10. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.

Revelation 21:4 NLT

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September 17, 2015 · 5:48 AM

Being An Uplifter

In my job, I work with both management and their employees. Something I see more and more often is employees who take very little responsibility in situations and shift the blame to leadership. If something goes wrong, it’s management’s fault. They don’t take the initiative to repair the situation themselves. They offer malicious obedience so that when they fail, they have a scapegoat. Maybe you’ve seen this too. The is a problem in our churches too and, all of us are guilty of doing it. When things aren’t being done the way we think they should be done, we blame the pastor or leadership instead of doing things ourselves.

One of the most memorable stories in the Bible that captures this attitude comes from Exodus 17. The children of Israel had left Egypt and were wandering in the desert. They were hot and thirsty. Instead of looking to resolve the problem, they complained and blamed Moses. They said, “Why did YOU bring us out of Egypt? To kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (GNB) They took no responsibility themselves. Ultimately, God spoke to Moses to travel to strike a rock with his staff, and water would come out of it. God did it as a favor to Moses rather than as a reward to the people.

In the following verses of that chapter, we see the characteristics we should display instead. While there in the desert, they were attacked by the Amalekites. Moses commanded Joshua to get some men and to go fight. He then went with Aaron and Hur to the top of a hill to watch the battle while holding his staff in the air. While his arms were up, the Israelites prevailed; when his arms were down, they began to lose. The problem was that holding up the staff for a long period became tiring and soon he could no longer hold up his arms.

Instead of complaining about leadership’s responsibility in the battle, Aaron and Hur found a rock for Moses to sit on. They then held his arms up for him as long as was needed until the Israelites had won. They recognized it wasn’t Moses’ job alone to lead the battle. They saw what needed to be done, without being asked, and they did it for their nation. In doing so, they provide for us a great example of how our lives should be. We can choose to be complainers, or we can choose to be uplifters. We can either blame, or we can be the solution. It’s up to each one of us to do our part in the church so that the body as a whole is successful. Will you be a complainer or will you be an uplifter?

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September 16, 2015 · 5:30 AM

A Little Bit Of God

He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭13:2, 20-21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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September 15, 2015 · 5:30 AM

To Know God

In Matthew 9, Jesus is at the home of Matthew eating with some unsavory people. The top religious leaders saw him dining with them and asked, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” (NLT) They asked it loud enough that Jesus heard them, which meant that Matthew and his friends heard. Jesus said, “Heathy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do.” Then he challenged them to go and find the meaning of the scripture that says, “I desire mercy [that is, readiness to help those in trouble] and not sacrifice and sacrificial victims. For I came not to call and invite [to repentance] the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God), but sinners (the erring ones and all those not free from sin)” (AMP).

I figured if Jesus wanted them to find the meaning, He probably wanted us to find the meaning as well. The original passage is found in Hosea 6:6. It says, “I want your constant love, not your animal sacrifices. I would rather have my people know me than burn offerings to me” (GNB). The first thing God wants from any of us is an unconditional, constant love. A couple of verses back, He says His children’s love vanishes as quickly as the morning dew. The kind of love that irritates God is the conditional kind that depends on what He does.

God loves you no matter what you do, and He expects the same. Jesus was upset with the Pharisees who asked about His eating with sinners because they were the same ones who were astonished at His miracles and His teachings. When His actions didn’t meet up with their expectations, their love waned. What Jesus was pointing out to them in the Scripture He sent them to was that they really didn’t know God, and He would rather they know Him instead of knowing the Law.

We have to be careful of the same trap. We cannot let our love for God depend on expectations we have of Him when we don’t fully know Him. God knows that the more we know Him, the more we love Him. The more we love Him, the more we will have a readiness to help those in spiritual danger. They are the ones who need our help the most. Jesus knew it, and He wanted us to know it too. The heart of God beats for the lost, and He’ll do what it takes to reach them, even if it doesn’t make sense to others. When we truly know Him, our heart beat for the lost like His.  

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September 14, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Getting Wisdom

Wisdom is something each of us should desire to have in our lives. It helps us to make the best decisions regarding our life and actions. Google defines it as, “The quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement.” It’s more than just knowledge; it’s how to use your knowledge in the most effective way. There are people with a lot of knowledge that have very little wisdom. It’s important that you and I get wisdom.

In my life, I’ve only found three ways to get wisdom: praying to God for it, asking those more experienced for theirs and making mistakes. Of those three, praying to God for wisdom seems to be the easiest for me to do. God knows how flawed I am and where the limits of my wisdom lie. There are no secrets between us because He sees everything. I rely on James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally” (NKJV) I’ve asked Him many times in my life for it, and I’m sure I’ll ask many more.

Asking others for their wisdom seems to be harder. As I get older, I want to prevent those coming behind me from making the same mistakes I did. I try to offer unsolicited insight and wisdom to them, but just like I wouldn’t listen when wisdom was offered to me, they won’t listen either. Pride and stubbornness stand in the way of getting wisdom from other people. We’d rather fail than to ask someone else for their help. When we fail, we get wisdom the costliest way of all. At a minimum, it costs us double the time, double the effort, and double the energy to get what we could have received freely.

As discussed earlier, getting wisdom is more important than getting knowledge. Proverbs 16:16 says, “Get wisdom—it’s worth more than money; choose insight over income every time” (MSG). Getting wisdom should be more important to us than getting money. That’s a powerful statement in today’s world. Money comes and goes, but wisdom stays with you a lifetime. If God or others are willing to freely give you wisdom that’s worth more than money, sit down and listen. It’s a lot cheaper and easier than getting it the hard way.

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September 11, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Words Of Comfort

Life can be very unpredictable. Things can be going well and then the rug gets pulled out from under us. I heard someone say, “All people are in one of three places: in a trial, coming out of a trial or heading for one.” Life is a series of ups and downs. No one gets to stay on top of the mountain forever, no matter what they say on social media.

In my own trials and tests, these scriptures have brought me comfort; I hope they do the same for you.
  
1. From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. 

Psalm 61:2-3 NLT

2. 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.

II Thessalonians 3:16

3. When I walk into the thick of trouble, keep me alive in the angry turmoil. With one hand strike my foes, With your other hand save me. Finish what you started in me, GOD. Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now. 

Psalm 138:7-8 MSG

4. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their distress and troubles. 

Psalm 34:17 AMP

5. Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect GOD to get here soon. 

Psalm 31:24 MSG

6. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 

Psalm 46:1 NASB

7. I sought (inquired of) the Lord and required Him [of necessity and on the authority of His Word], and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 

Psalm 34:4 AMP

8. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time. 

Psalm 34:19 NLT

9. Call to me when trouble comes; I will save you, and you will praise me. 

Psalm 50:15 GNB

10. My mind and my body may grow weak, but God is my strength; he is all I ever need. 

Psalm 73:26 GNB

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September 10, 2015 · 5:30 AM

God’s Faith In You

One of the many reasons I love the book of Job is that it gives us a behind-the-scenes peek into what goes on in the spiritual realm. In the first chapter, verses 6-12, we read how the angels presented themselves before God. As they were assembling, the accuser, Satan, came to join them. The Lord quickly noticed him and asked him what he’d been doing. Satan replied, “I’ve been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.” The Lord then asked, “Have you noticed my servant Job?” Satan said that he had.

Satan started his accusations against Job by saying that he was only faithful because of the blessings God had given him. He wanted God to turn on Job so that Job would turn on God. The Lord knows that Satan tries to put a wedge between God and us. He accuses us of things we’ve been forgiven of, and tells God our faith will fail if bad things happen in our lives. God knows the levels of lies and deceit the enemy will go to try to separate us from His love for us. He also knows the level and strength of your faith.

What I see in this story is how God often has more faith in us than we do in Him or ourselves. He trusts us to hold on to Him when our world seems to be crashing down. He knows that testing proves how deep our faith is, and it also strengthens it. An easy road doesn’t produce a strong Christian. If anyone should have been crushed by their problems it was Job, and his faith endured because of his faith inside.

You are stronger than you think you are. I John 4:4 says, “Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world” (NASB). You are not left to pass the test alone. God is with you every step of the way. He watches over you and limits what the enemy can do to you as His child. Just like Job, if we will keep our faith in the hard times, God will bless us more after them than He had before them. God will not let the enemy push you beyond your ability to trust in Him. He knows your limits and has given you inner strength to overcome by filling you with the Holy Spirit. Don’t give up on God or your test. God believes you will pass. Prove Him right to the one who accuses you.

Here are some other devotions I’ve written on this topic:

“Why Bad Things Happen To Good People”

“God’s Blueprints”

“Peace In Uncertainty“

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September 9, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Developing Endurance (Video)

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.

Romans 5:3

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September 8, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Valuing The Imperishable 

I recently went with our church’s youth group to serve an inner city mission. This ministry doesn’t just serve the needs of those who live on premises, but they also serve the community around them. We were there to help them organize, clean, do yard work, and to serve lunch. About an hour and a half before lunch, people began arriving in the lobby to wait for the food to be served. Some were individuals and some were families who needed a little help. They come each day for a meal that won’t cost them anything.

In John 6, Jesus fed 5,000 with only five loaves of bread and two fish. The people were ecstatic about the free meal, but also realized they were a part of a miracle. The next day, they went looking for Jesus, who had gone to the other side after walking on water to the boat. When they got there, Jesus called them out. In verse 26, Jesus said, “You’ve come looking for me not because you saw God in my actions but because I fed you, filled your stomachs—and for free” (MSG). People were looking for a free meal, but Jesus was wanting them to be hungry for spiritual food.

In verse 27, He said, “Don’t waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does are guaranteed by God the Father to last” (MSG). The people at the mission waited a couple of hours for food that would only satisfy their hunger for a few hours. Don’t get me wrong, they needed the food and there was lots of ministry going on during the lunch, but the people went for the physical food rather than the spiritual food.

Our human nature seems to crave the perishable things of this world instead of the imperishable. You and I have to teach our minds to expend our energy and time on the things that matter for eternity. We have to re-teach our minds to value the things of God. You’ll know that you’re valuing the imperishable when you make time for things like spending time in prayer, reading God’s Word, and serving your neighbor. That’s the food that satisfies more than a few hours, and that’s worth waiting for.   

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September 7, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Loving Your Neighbor

Recently, the news has been covering stories of people who have devalued the lives of others. I’ve watched as people have cheered when another human was murdered because of the color of their skin or for their profession, and I’m heartbroken. Whether a person is guilty of a crime or work in a profession that others don’t like, they have a soul that will spend eternity somewhere. In the end, we are all guilty of breaking God’s laws, and we are all in need of grace. Please don’t misunderstand me, I believe people should receive justice for their wrongdoings, but I won’t cheer when a life is taken, whether deserved or not.

These recent stories in the news remind me of the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man, who was looking for a loophole in the second greatest commandment, which is to love your neighbor as yourself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” He was looking for Jesus to cut out certain people groups that he didn’t like. He was trying to get Jesus to say that some races or lives mattered more than others, but Jesus didn’t take the bait.

Jesus told him the story of a Jewish man who was robbed and beaten while traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. Luckily, a fellow Jew who was also a priest came walking down the road where he was. When the priest saw the hurt man lying there, he crossed the street to walk past him from a distance. He didn’t want to get involved and run the risk of getting hurt. After he passed, a Levite scholar came by who was also Jewish. He avoided the hurt man as well.

Then Jesus added a twist to the story. He said a Samaritan came by. The Jews didn’t value the lives of the Samaritans so they expected him to walk by, but Jesus used him to help the injured Jew. He was driving home the point that our neighbor isn’t just someone with our nationality, heritage, or with the same political persuasion. Our neighbor is any other human and God expects us to love them as much as we love ourselves because He created us all as His children.

If you believe that Jesus died for our sins, then you must believe that His grace is strong enough to save even the worst among us. Instead of putting down those we don’t agree with or calling for their death, we should be showing them love, caring for their wounds, and being a neighbor. If our neighbor, according to Jesus, includes those we have a deep conflict with, then it’s time to stop tearing them down, avoiding them, and to start loving them like we love ourselves. It’s time to value the lives of others as much as we value our own life.

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