April 25, 2025 · 5:57 AM

Sharing Is Caring

When I was a kid, my parents would force me to share things with my siblings or other people. I didn’t like having to share. As humans, we’re naturally selfish. Then I began to share from selfish motives. Id say, “I’ll share this with you if you share that with me.” It’s the opposite of God’s idea of sharing. His idea is sacrificial and used to build people up rather than transactional. When we share things Biblically, we transform lives by sharing our faith, sharing their burdens or sharing our blessings. When we share God’s way, we glorify Him rather than serving ourselves. What is God asking you to share with someone?

Here are some Bible verses on sharing:

I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective and powerful because of your accurate knowledge of every good thing which is ours in Christ.

Philemon 1:6 AMP

2. Whoever receives a prophet because he is God’s messenger will share a prophet’s reward. And whoever welcomes a righteous person because he follows me will also share in his reward. And whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of my disciples, I promise you, he will not go unrewarded.

Matthew 10:41-42 TPT

3. The people asked him, “What are we to do, then?” He answered, “Whoever has two shirts must give one to the man who has none, and whoever has food must share it.”

Luke 3:10-11 GNT

4. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2 NLT

5. And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

Hebrews 13:16 NLT

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 24, 2025 · 5:30 AM

The Law Of Favor

If you were to stand on a chair and jump. 100 times out of 100 jumps you would go down. No matter how many times you try it, you will always go down. Why? Because the Law of Gravity is at work. You don’t have to believe in gravity for it to make you go down. You don’t have to see gravity for it to work. Laws work no matter what. You and I would never challenge the Law of Gravity because we’ve seen it at work our entire lives. Isaac Newton simply observed it, tested it and put it into words giving it at name.

God’s laws are no different that the laws of nature that He created. They work 100% of the time whether you believe in God or not. The Bible is full of these laws and they are constantly at work in our lives. For example, you will reap what you sow. If we think of it in the farming context, if you plant corn kernels, you will grow corn. You can’t plant a corn kernel and expect a potato. If you plant kindness in others, you can expect kindness. If you give, it will be given to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over because this is God’s law.

Another law at work is found in Proverbs 11:25. It says, “Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them, and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favor” (TPT). This law works just like the others. If you will live to bless others and pour your life out, you will find God’s hand of blessing and favor. My wife and I like to say, “Favor ain’t fair,” because it’s in direct proportion to your blessing others. You don’t have to have money to bless someone. Spend time with them, walk through their struggles with them, send an encouraging message, show them unconditional love or anything that reflects Christ. If you do these things, the Law of Favor will go into effect for you.

Photo by Luis Alexander Minchola Jiménez on Pexels.

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 23, 2025 · 5:28 AM

Completely Satisfied

Not long after Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl, he was interviewed. They asked him what it was like to achieve a life long dream. He said in the moment it was great, but that feeling went away and he wondered if that was really all there was in life. He was looking for more. In a recent interview with Will Smith, he was asked what it’s like to be worth $350 million. He said, Will Smith “Once you’ve bought everything you want and there’s literally nothing on earth else that you want to buy, I just wish that was a gift that everybody could have because there’s nothing that material can do to satisfy you. You realize none of it can make you happy” (people.com).

Solomon, who was one of the wisest people to ever live, also became one of the wealthiest people too. He had it all: a kingdom, money, fame, women and servants. In the book of Ecclesiastes, he talks about having tried everything he can to give him pleasure, but it was all vanity. He was saying that it’s all fleeting and unsatisfying. In chapter 5 verse 10 he wrote, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its gain. This too is vanity (emptiness)” (AMP). He, like so many of us, chased and hungered after things of this world in order to fill a hole inside that only God can fill.

In Matthew 5:6, Jesus said, “Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.” There’s nothing in this world that can bring true fulfillment to your life. The hunger you have can only be satisfied by a relationship with God. We’ve all thought, “If only I had this or accomplished that, then…” You’ll find like Tom Brady and Will Smith did that it won’t bring what you think it will. True satisfaction is found in actively pursuing God because those who seek Him find Him. We were created by Him and for Him. Until we find our identity and worth in Him, everything else is empty.

Photo by Richard Burlton on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 22, 2025 · 5:40 AM

Spiritual Effectiveness

One of the draws for Peloton stationary bikes and some treadmills is the screen in front of it. You can choose a city, a trail or woods to bike or run through. As you’re exercising, you can watch the screen and feel like you’re in that environment covering a lot of ground. However, the truth is that you never went anywhere and you’re wore out. That’s about the same thing that happens to us when we try to be spiritually effective in our own strength and abilities. Our effectiveness only comes through our relationship with Jesus. When we fail to spend time with Jesus, our busyness for Him wears us out and is ineffective. It can feel like we’re going places and making a difference, but it’s only an illusion.

In John 15, Jesus was giving some final instructions to the disciples before His crucifixion. In verse 5 He said, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing” (AMP). He used the example of a branch on a vine. We can only Produce fruit when we’re connected to the vine. Once we’re disconnected, we might appear green for a while, but we’re not receiving the nutrients we need to produce anything. His encouragement to them and to us is to stay connected to Him through prayer and intimacy if we want to be spiritually effective. Otherwise our efforts are in vain.

Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.” Have you been so busy for God that you’ve sacrificed your time with Him? It happens to all of us from time to time. That is a recipe for burn out and spiritual ineffectiveness. When we spend time with Him each day, He refills us, strengthens us and makes us produce fruit. God doesn’t call us to do things in our own strength because apart from Him we have none. He is who makes us spiritually effective in our work for Him.

Photo by Worshae on Unsplash

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 21, 2025 · 5:48 AM

Obedience Through Action

One of the great missionary stories I remember learning about from my childhood was the story of Jim Elliot. He and his wife felt the call of God to take the Gospel to an unreached people in Ecuador. In 1956, Jim and four other men went in to tell the Huaorani people about Jesus. They were killed by the tribe. After two years passed, Jim’s wife felt like God wanted her to go to that same tribe and try again. She, their daughter and the sister of one of the slain men went back to the Huaorani tribe and shared the Gospel. Many people gave their heart to the Lord, including some who killed her husband.

In Joshua 5, the Israelites had crossed the Jordan and were headed toward Jericho for their first battle in the Promised Land. As Joshua was getting near the town, he saw a man with a sword in his hand. Joshua asked Him, “Are you with us or against us. He replied, “‘Neither one,’ he replied. ‘I am the commander of the Lord’s army.’ At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. ‘I am at your command,’ Joshua said. ‘What do you want your servant to do?’” (NLT) He then tells Joshua to march around the city for seven days. On the seventh day, they needed to march around it seven times and then shout. If they obeyed, the walls would come down. It might not have seemed like it would work, but God was looking for obedience through action in order to give the victory.

Isaiah 1:9 says, “If you have a willing heart to let me help you, and if you will obey me, you will feast on the blessings of an abundant harvest” (TPT). What God asks us to do doesn’t always make sense. We must remember that His ways are higher than ours, and His thoughts are higher too. He sees what we can’t. Obedience is an act of trust, especially when we don’t understand. However, when we do trust and obey, His blessings follow. I wish we could have an experience with an angel like Joshua, but most of us will be like Elisabeth Elliott and need to obey having only heard God speak to our heart. Are you willing to be obedient even when it doesn’t make sense? Are you willing to trust God for to bring down walls using His strategy rather than yours? If so, your obedience through action will yield the results only God can give.

Photo by Kid Circus on Unsplash

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 18, 2025 · 5:54 AM

Easter Reflections

In the book of Exodus, the Israelites had been slaves for over 400 years. The night before they were set free, they sacrificed a perfect lamb and placed the blood on their door posts. They ate a meal of bitter herbs and unleavened bread to remember their time in Egypt and to think about how they were set free. Jesus became that lamb and was sacrificed for our freedom. As you celebrate Easter with family and friends this weekend, take time to reflect and remember what has been done for you. Jesus established a new covenant with us as He sacrificed Himself so we could be free of the slavery of sin and be made righteous with God.

Here is the Easter story in five verses.

1. “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?” But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!” So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Mark 15:14-15 NLT

2. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

John 19:30 NLT

3. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Matthew 27:54 NLT

4. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

John 19:40-42 NLT

5. “He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise [from death to life].”

Luke 24:6-7 AMP

Photo by Mark Jones on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 17, 2025 · 5:30 AM

The Way Of Suffering

I had the opportunity to visit the room where the Last Supper took place, walk through the Garden of Gethsemane, visit Caiaphas’ house and then walk down the Via Dolorosa. To walk in the final footsteps of Jesus before His crucifixion can be a moving experience if you can block out all the chaos around you. As I went to each place, I tried to imagine the emotions of Jesus in each place and to feel the tension He must have felt knowing He was leaving the Passover meal a free man to cross the Kidron Valley, but would return a prisoner. It’s a very sobering journey.

As I entered the Church of All Nations at the foot of the Mount of Olives where the Garden of Gethsemane is, I walked around the outskirts of the sanctuary instead of down the middle. The purple glass in the shape of a cross makes sure that the room is lit, but remains dim. I went to the front where there is a rock protruding out of the foundation of the church. I stood outside the barrier as I watched people lay on it and weep. On the barrier were pieces of paper in different languages. I walked around until i found one in English. It had a portion of the Gospel of Luke that ended in Luke 22:46. It said, “Jesus went to the disciples who were sleeping and said, ‘Why are you asleep? Wake up and pray that you won’t be tested.’”

Are you and I like the disciples? Are we awakened to the things God is asking us to do or are we asleep? Do we realize that the moment God has us in right now is in preparation for greater things? God’s plan for you is always good. It may involve some suffering and times of emotional stress. There are times we will walk in darkness so we can share God’s light. The only way to achieve God’s desired outcome in our lives is to pray like Jesus prayed in the darkest time of His life. Luke 22:44 says, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup [of divine wrath] from Me; yet not My will, but [always] Yours be done” (AMP). Submitting to God’s will, even in suffering and pain always yields the greatest outcome.

Photo by Levi Meir Clancy 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.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

April 16, 2025 · 5:36 AM

The Garden Of Surrender

After God had created everything, He planted the Garden of Eden, where He chose to place Adam. Everything Adam could want was there, including the Tree of Life and also the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God gave Adam a helper in Eve as well. Yet in this paradise the serpent came to temp them. He had them question the truth of what God said. They ate the fruit in disobedience to God. In this garden, that started off representing abundance, sin and death entered the world because they chose their will over His.

On Thursday night of Holy Week, Jesus and the disciples entered into the Garden of Gethsemane. It was an olive tree grove with a name that means the place of pressing. The trees are dark and wiry. It looked nothing like paradise. As Jesus went off to pray, He told the disciples to watch and pray so they wouldn’t enter into temptation. Jesus felt the pressure of the enemy in this garden too. He sweat drops of blood as He agonized over what was ahead, yet He submitted to God’s will instead of His own. Gethsemane represented pressure and struggling, but it became the place of surrender and redemption.

In Luke 22:42, Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (NLT). Jesus taught us how to surrender to God’s will instead of our own. He chose surrender rather than selfishness. There are times I pray very specifically for things because I desperately want them. However, I add that I ultimately want His will to be done instead of mine. I also ask God to conform my will to His when what I want differs from what He wants. Each of us must learn the discipline of surrender that Jesus demonstrated in the garden. Romans 5:19 sums it up. It says, “Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.” We have life and righteousness because Jesus chose to surrender and obey.

Photo by David Boca on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 15, 2025 · 5:53 AM

Clearing The Clutter

Mark 11:15-16 says, “When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace” (NLT). Just outside the Temple, there was a large open area called the Courtyard of the Gentiles. It was created so people who weren’t Jews could come to worship God, engage in theological discussions and encounter Him too. This area was filled with an open air marketplace with vendors yelling, livestock making noises and filled with the stench that comes with animals. Jesus was upset that an area God designed for people to engage with Him was filled with of chaos that distracted them from their purpose for being there.

In Luke 10:38-42 Jesus was visiting the house of Martha and Mary. While He was teaching the people, Martha was busy in the kitchen banging pans, moving chairs and serving people. Mary, however, sat at the feet of Jesus hanging on every word. Martha got upset that her sister wasn’t helping take care of everything and everyone. She asked Jesus to rebuke her sister and make her help, but Jesus replied, “Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions?” (TPT). Instead of worshipping, engaging in theological discussions and encountering God, she was not only distracted, but was creating a distraction. Instead of flipping tables, Jesus gently reminded her that she was missing an encounter.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world” (NLT). If you’re surrounded by chaos, busyness and distractions, it’s time to clear the clutter so you can encounter God. Like Mary, we need to make space to sit at His feet and listen. We need to flip over some tables in our lives that are distracting us from our purpose. God wants to have daily encounters with you. He’s created space. Have you? Find time to be still and honor Him. It won’t be easy, but as Jesus told Martha, it’s the most important thing. It needs to take priority over everything else. Let this Holy Week be the time you cleared the clutter and made room for Jesus.

Photo by Fahad Bin Kamal Anik on Unsplash

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 14, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Divine Interruptions

I didn’t grow up in a church that taught any of the reflective practices of Lent, so when my first ministry job was at a church that did, I had some learning to do. As we approached Easter, I had the opportunity to travel to Israel. I remember making it a point to walk down the Via Dolorosa and stopping at the different stations of the cross before finishing at the Garden Tomb. At Station Five, I came across a man I knew little about. His name was Simon of Cyrene. Mark 15:21 says, “A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus)” (NLT). He was coming in to celebrate the Passover, and through divine interference, he was forced to carry Jesus’ cross, which changed the trajectory of his family. Paul and Luke mention Simon’s sons listed here in their letters to the Early Church.

Take a moment to look back at your life when things seemed to go off the rails. Can you now see God’s hand in those moments? Simon didn’t know it, but when he was forced to carry the cross, he was able to see the Son of God up close. Like the Roman guard, he must have had a moment when he realized who Jesus really was. While he was on his way to sacrifice a Passover lamb, he came face to face with the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. I can see him rejoining his sons at the foot of Calvary, exhausted from the journey. I wonder if he stood near John and Mary as Jesus spoke to them. Did he cry as Jesus said, “It is finished”? I don’t know any of these answers, but I do know that he was chosen by God for this moment. It was no accident that he was the person the guards grabbed.

This story has me reflecting on divine interruptions in my life. In the moment, they take me off schedule, mess up my day, and wreck my plans. Divine interruptions can be frustrating in the moment, but I’ve learned that divine interruptions are where transformation begins. Proverbs 19:21 says, “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail” (NLT). His purposes often conflict with my plans. When I start to complain, I’ve learned to stop and ask, “Lord, is this You?” I’ve been divinely interrupted enough to know to be grateful when He does interrupt me. I want His transformation and purposes to prevail in my life. Without those intersections, I would simply stay on my current trajectory. What about you? Are you willing to invite God to divinely interrupt your plans in this season of Lent?

Photo by Luis Georg Müller on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,