Tag Archives: christian living

March 7, 2025 · 5:32 AM

Self Examination

I don’t remember many people who liked taking exams in school. Why don’t we like them? I believe it’s because it is a tool that shows where you are a academically and how much you’ve learned. Imagine if churches gave out tests to determine where you are spiritually seeing where your relationship with God really is. The good news is that they don’t do that. However, the Bible does mention several times that we should examine ourselves to do just that. It’s easy to quickly say that everything is fine. It’s much more difficult to truly scrutinize where you really are. When we’re willing to do that, we’re willing to grow and move closer to God.

Here are some Bible verses that ask you to examine yourself:

1. Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

II Corinthians 13:5 NKJV

2. But each one must carefully scrutinize his own work [examining his actions, attitudes, and behavior], and then he can have the personal satisfaction and inner joy of doing something commendable without comparing himself to another.

Galatians 6:4 AMP

3. Examine your motives to make sure you’re not showing off when you do your good deeds, only to be admired by others; otherwise, you will lose the reward of your heavenly Father.

Matthew 6:1 TPT

4. But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way.

1 Corinthians 11:31 NLT

5. Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the Lord; Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven.

Lamentations 3:40-41 NKJV

Here’s an exam I use to give me a snapshot of where I am in the different areas of my spiritual growth. Click here.

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March 6, 2025 · 5:30 AM

A Change Of Heart

My pastor said something that really resonated with me. He said, “In the history of the world, church has never been done better than it is today, yet never have we had such little impact on our culture.” It has me thinking, “Are we focused on the right things corporately and individually?” What are we concerned with? Is the music too loud? Is there too much fog in the sanctuary? Is it too cold? Are we concerned more with our entertainment than reaching the lost? Are we too focused on our comfort and not enough on the lost? Do we spend our time talking about God rather than to Him? I don’t know, but I know that if our ability to impact the culture around us is going to improve, it has to start with us as individuals.

After Jonah preached to the city of Nineveh, he went outside of the city, sat down and waited to see what would happen. Even though he had obeyed God, in his heart, he still wished that God would destroy the city. To expose his heart, God caused a plant to grow up and provide him with shade. The next day, the Lord sent a worm to eat the plant. Jonah was mad enough to want to die over it. God responded in Jonah 4:10-11, “This plant grew up in one night and disappeared the next; you didn’t do anything for it and you didn’t make it grow—yet you feel sorry for it! How much more, then, should I have pity on Nineveh, that great city. After all, it has more than 120,000 innocent children in it, as well as many animals!” (GNT)

God is concerned with people and their salvation. Scripture says that it’s His kindness that draws us to repentance (Romans 2:4). We need to pray what Bob Pierce prayed, “God, break our heart for the things that break yours.” Jonah was more concerned for his comfort than 120,000 people dying. That’s a recipe for not having an impact on culture. God was able to move then, and He’s able to move now despite our heart. It’s much better though when our heart is aligned with His. I wonder if the story of Jonah ends abruptly right there so we don’t miss that point. As Jonah pointed out in verse 2, God is loving and merciful, always patient and kind, ready to change His mind and not punish people. Shouldn’t we be the same way?

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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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March 4, 2025 · 5:31 AM

Connecting People To God

We live in a world full of people who are disconnected from God. Some have never known Him and don’t know to connect with Him. Some have been through traumatic events in their life that have them disconnected. Some refuse to acknowledge Him and are purposefully disconnected. No matter their reason for being or remaining disconnected, you and I as believers are to be connectors that keep one hand holding onto God and one reaching out to them. Before I step on a stage as a minister, I’ll pray and ask God to use me to help people reconnect or to connect with Him. However, it’s not just ministers, or people on stage in ministry, whose job it is to connect people. It belongs to each of us as believers because every day we walk through crowds of people disconnected or are in meetings with them.

In John 3 we read the story of John the Baptist. He was at the Jordan river baptizing people and calling out to them to reconnect with God through repentance. When Jesus walked by one day, God revealed to Him that He was the Messiah. As he called it out, two of his followers left to follow Jesus. After he baptized Jesus people began leaving his ministry to follow Jesus. Others came to him to try to stir up jealousy, but he remained humble. He told them that he said all along he wasn’t the Messiah and that his job was to go before Him to prepare the way and connect people to God. Then in verse 30 he said, “He must increase [in prominence], but I must decrease” (AMP). As a connector, John kept everything in perspective and remained humble.

2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us; we [as Christ’s representatives] plead with you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God.” Never forget that you are an ambassador for Christ wherever you go. Your job as Christ’s representative is to reconcile, or reconnect, people with God. You must remain connected to Him though as you reach out to others. Pray each day that God would open your eyes to see people who need help connecting with Him. Ask Him to give you boldness and courage to reach out and to know what to say. It’s also good to ask Him to help you stay humble as John the Baptist was. When we have this mindset and are grounded in prayer, God will use us as His ambassadors to help a disconnected world reconcile and connect with Him.

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March 3, 2025 · 5:52 AM

God’s Shaping Process

In 1501, a 26 year old named Michelangelo was commissioned to create the statue of David. The project had been attempted by two other artists who hadn’t completed the work. When the 18 foot tall slab of marble arrived, Michelangelo began chipping away large chunks of the stone. He then began taking away smaller pieces. Finally he began to sand and refine certain parts of it until it was completed. Three years later, what is now one of the most famous statues in the world, was completed. In 1504 the statue of David was placed in a chapel in Florence. There’s a story that when the pope saw the statue, he marveled at iPad asked Michelangelo what the secret to his genius was. Michelangelo replied, “It’s simple. I just remove everything that isn’t David.”

We read about this statue’s namesake in the books of Samuel. He was called to be king while he was just a teen. However, he wasn’t quite ready to be king. This young man would face giants, play his harp for a king who was jealous of him, be ran out of his home country, forced to live in caves, be joined by hundreds of society’s rejects and outlaws, and more for fourteen years. He had multiple opportunities to kill the current king and take his promised place as leader of the country, but waited on God. He understood God was chipping away everything that wasn’t David. He was being shaped and refined before he could be placed where God planned. He understood the artist knows better than the art when it’s ready. Until then, he submitted to God’s shaping and processes.

Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (NLT). Don’t fret if God is taking His time working on your life and moving you into place. He’s simply taking away everything that isn’t really you as He’s refining your life. We each have a need to recognize and understand that He is the artist and we are the work of His hand. He will be faithful to complete what He began. You are His masterpiece created for the works He created you to do (Ephesians 2:10). Like a master artisan, He is working diligently in your life at His pace not yours. Today, make a point to tell Him you submit to His design and timing. Let Him continue the work of shaping you until He’s ready by submitting to His shaping process.

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February 27, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Broken And Beautiful

There are a few ways to do a puzzle. Some people open the box and pull out a couple of pieces at a time. Some people grab a handful to see if there are any matches. Then there are people like me who dump the whole box in the middle of the table. I like to see all the pieces I’m working with and begin forming the puzzle from the outside in. No matter how you start a puzzle, I think you’ll agree that it’s frustrating to get all the way to the end only to find that you’re missing a piece or two. You check the box, the floor, your chair and all around the table where you’re working. You need all the pieces if you’re going to be able to complete it. There’s just something satisfying about completing a puzzle with all the pieces.

If you’re reading this, then your life has been broken somewhere along the way. It’s part of the human condition. Our lives get shattered, we scoop up the pieces and try to move forward by putting them back together again. Sometimes our brokenness makes it hard to trust people again or even God. If only He would have intervened, then our life wouldn’t have been shattered. If only He would have answered our desperate prayers, then we would be whole still. When you’re holding the broken pieces of your life, it’s easy to look back and think that you’d be whole right now “if only (you fill in the blank).” The truth is we’re all broken to some degree and we’re holding the pieces of our life trying to put things back together the way they were. But what if you were broken so God could put the pieces back together in a more complete and beautiful way?

I love mosaic art because it’s formed from broken pieces. I believe it’s the same type of artistry God uses when we give Him the pieces of our brokenness and allow Him to put our life back together. Psalm 18:20 says, “GOD made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him” (MSG). For God to make our life complete and whole again, He can’t have any missing pieces. You must surrender all the pieces to Him. He knows there are parts of us that we hold back from Him because of fear, but He patiently and lovingly waits for us to trust Him enough. God rewrites the story and picture of our lives when we give Him all the pieces and He makes something beautiful out of the mess. He does His part when we do ours and surrender the pieces. He takes our brokenness and makes something beautiful out of our mess.

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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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February 25, 2025 · 5:36 AM

Being A Peacemaker

I’ve learned that there are peacemakers and there are instigators in life. Peacemakers look to resolve conflict wherever they go. Instigators incite conflict through manipulation to get people to react in a way they normally wouldn’t. Peacemakers are good listeners, while instigators talk.i can think of a number of times when things were fine until someone started talking and started getting everyone worked up. They turned on people they normally wouldn’t have. Instigators will often try to undermine the work of a peacemaker. You’re probably thinking of people right now that fit the bill for each of these. Where do you fit in? Jesus told us that the peacemakers are blessed in the Sermon on the Mount.

In Matthew 20, Jesus told the parable about a land owner who needed help bringing in the harvest. He went out and hired people at dawn to hire workers. He offered them a days wage to work. He went out at nine and did the same thing. He followed this pattern at noon and at three. Then at five o’clock he found more people needing work and offered them a days work. He then paid the last people hired first and worked his way to those who worked the longest. When they saw the people who worked the least get paid what they were promised, the instigators started working them up causing them to assume they would get more. When they didn’t, they complained to the land owner saying he cheated them. He then reminded them that they agreed to work for that price. They took their money and left. It doesn’t what their attitude was, but instigators set wrong expectations hoping to incite conflict. The land owner was wise and brought peace to a delicate situation.

Hebrews 12:14 says, “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord” (NLT). It is often work on our part to live at peace with everyone. When we’re hurt, the easy thing is to incite people against that person or to hold a grudge. However, Biblically it is our responsibility to go to that person to make peace. Part of living a holy life is making peace where there is strife. The responsibility falls on us, not someone else. Has someone offended you? Did you go to them or someone else? It’s not easy being a peacemaker. It’s not easy to live at peace with everyone either, yet it’s what we are called to do. In a divided world, let’s do our part to bring peace rather than conflict. Let’s speak healing rather than hate. Let’s seek the best for others and stop trying to manipulate. It’s the peacemakers who are blessed.

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February 20, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Offering God Excellence

I heard the story of a carpenter who spent his whole career working for one builder. When it came time to retire, he spoke to his boss. The builder begged him to stay on for one more job. Reluctantly he accepted even though he didn’t want to. During the whole job, his heart wasn’t in it. He cut corners and did some shoddy work. When the house was finished, he called the boss to come do a final walk through. After walking through the house, the builder turned to the carpenter and handed him the keys. He told him that he had been a good worker all those years and wanted to gift him a house. The carpenter was very thankful, but all he could think about was how he was going to have to live in a house where he cut corners and did shoddy work.

In Genesis 4, we read the story of Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve. Both were raised in relationship with God and knew Him. Cain became a farmer and Abel a shepherd. The Bible doesn’t tell us if they gave offerings to God often or if the offering in this chapter was the first one. Both decided to give God an offering from their work. Verses 3-4 say, “When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock” (NLT). Cain gave from his harvest, but not really his best. That’s why God rejected his offering. It was a half hearted gift while Abel brought his best.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever you do, do well.” I believe excellence is a choice. Every day we’re faced with the opportunity to give God our best or something less than that. Our offerings to God are more than our money. Paul said in Philippians 2:17 that our faithful service is an offering to God. Everything we do for God should be done from our best efforts. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it can’t be our leftovers. Look at your life and the service you’ve been offering God. Is there room for improvement? Find ways to give God excellence in your life. When you give Him your best, He honors you and blesses your life.

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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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February 19, 2025 · 5:40 AM

Prioritizing What Matters

John Maxwell says that if you don’t have a plan for doing what’s most important to you, you’ll spend your time reacting to what’s important to someone else. How many times have you gone to bed wondering where the day went and of all the things you still needed to get done? When we live without prioritizing the things that are important to us, the things we need to get done are sacrificed. Many times we sacrifice our quiet time with God. It starts as, “I’ll just double up tomorrow.” The next thing you know days, weeks and months go by and you’ve missed the most important thing of your day. In times like that, I have to refocus my attention on the eternal things because of the demands of the physical things. I have to put things into perspective and make my commitment to what lasts forever.

In Acts 6, the Early Church was growing by the thousands at a time. The disciples were trying to manage everything, but found themselves drowning in the administrative side of the Church. A group of non-Hebrew Jews came to them to complain that their widows weren’t receiving help. In that moment, they realized that they were spending their time on everyone else’s priorities, and were neglecting their prayer time and the preaching of the Word. They decided to delegate some priorities, like caring for widows, so they could focus on what was most important. In verse 4, they said, “But we will [continue to] devote ourselves [steadfastly] to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (AMP). The solution pleased everyone there. It’s amazing what happens when we prioritize the eternal over the physical. God rewards us for diligently seeking Him first.

Psalm 5:3 says, “In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will prepare [a prayer and a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].” David writes in this psalm about the distractions in his life and the enemies who pursue him. He prioritizes seeking God first though. He commits to meeting with God in the morning with a heart that is prepared to pray and to listen. He’s not just trying to check off a box by reading a chapter a day. He came with a prayer prepared and with time set aside to wait on the Lord in order to hear from Him. It’s a great model for all of us. Don’t just try to get through your quiet time in order to get to your day once you’ve prioritized it. Take the time to really pray and to wait for God to respond. When we seek His kingdom first, all these other priorities will fall into place and be given to you.

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February 18, 2025 · 5:38 AM

Fighting Strategically

I grew up watching and playing sports. My favorite part about them to this day is all the strategy that goes into them in order to win. You always go into the game with a strategy to win. The greatest coaches have always been the ones who have a strategy of disrupting the other team’s strategy. They do what they can to take away their best weapons and to get them off of their game plan. The goal is to get the other side to quit playing the game the way they planned and to play into yours. There’s a lot of mind games involved too. We used to do what we could to disrupt their thinking and concentration because we knew how much it would affect their ability to score. As I’ve grown up, I’ve learned that as Christians, we are in a war. We also have an enemy that is strategizing against us. It’s important to know and recognize his tactics.

In 1 Samuel 17 David went to the battlefield in obedience to his father not long after being anointed the next king. When he arrived, Goliath had been forcing Israel out of their strategy for forty days and the army was paralyzed with fear. David started asking questions and his brothers tried to belittle him to disrupt his strategy and keep him on the sidelines. King Saul then tried to force him into armor that didn’t fit. That strategy would have slowed him down and caused him to fail. He rejected both and stepped onto the battlefield with his strategy. Goliath taunted him and tried to use fear and intimidation to get him to change his strategy, but David didn’t flinch. He kept the strategy God gave him and ran to Goliath. God gave him the victory over the giant because he stayed on point with what God had placed in his heart and he didn’t deviate from the strategy.

Jesus said in John 10:10 that we have an enemy that wants to steal, kill and destroy us. We can’t forget that when things start disrupting our plans and God’s calling on our life. Ephesians 6:11 reminds us, “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil” (NLT). God’s plan for you is to wear His armor and not to get disrupted by the enemy’s strategies. You must stand firm in your faith, trust God’s plan and keep doing what He’s called you to. Don’t allow the strategies of the enemy make you feel unworthy, not enough, that you’re doing it wrong or so afraid that you quit following God’s plan. Armor up and fight back. God had given you what you need to be successful in what He’s called you to. Don’t fall for the strategies of the enemy. Instead, fight back. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.” You have the power to stand against his strategies and to destroy them.

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February 12, 2025 · 5:28 AM

God Is Always There

I used to work for a cell phone company. Internally they always told us that we were a utility company and that we needed to be available at all times. When Hurricane Katrina moved into the gulf, they told me to pack a bag and be ready. I remember getting a call in the middle of the night telling me to grab my bag and head to work. It made landfall at night and we were headed to it. They said that we run to a crisis not from it. We put in twenty hour days getting communications back up. We sleep on the floor of the building we worked in to be as efficient as possible. We wanted the people of New Orleans and the gulf coast to know we were there for them in their time of crisis and that they weren’t alone.

A couple of years before that, I had gone through my own personal crisis. People that had said they would always be there for me, disappeared. When everything came crashing down, there were only a couple of people who were truly there to help me through it. Even though they checked on me and spent time with me, I was still alone at night. I couldn’t run from the pain or escape the thoughts that filled my mind. In those moments, I learned to run to God. I found that in my loneliest moments, He was there. When I didn’t feel like I could call someone in the middle of the night, I called on Him. He proved to be a very present help in my time of need.

Psalm 46:1 says, “God, you’re such a safe and powerful place to find refuge! You’re a proven help in time of trouble— more than enough and always available whenever I need you” (TPT). It is believed that this psalm was written during a time when Jerusalem was besieged by the Assyrian army and there was no hope of anyone coming to save them. The people cried out to God and He sent the Assyrians home miraculously. He truly never leaves you and is there when there seems to be no way out or forward. He will make a way where there seems to be no way, and He will not abandon you. He will stick with you closer than a brother. He is always available when you need Him most. He had proven it throughout history and He will do it for you. Don’t despair. There is always hope because you have a place of refuge in your time of need who is more than able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than you need.

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