Tag Archives: christian living

September 17, 2025 · 5:36 AM

Spiritual Recalibration

When I was in my teens I was in a scouting program through my church. When it came time to earn my orienteering badge I had to get a compass. The first thing I remember learning about it was that the little, metal arrow inside was magnetized and that’s how it found north. I went on to learn that it was pointing to magnetic north instead of True North. The North Pole of the earth never shifts. It is a geographic constant, but magnetic north is constantly moving. Because of that, and our reliance on maps in our phones, software companies have to send packets every so often to recalibrate north on our devices so they stay up to date with it.

In Luke 22, after spending up to three years with Jesus, Peter was confronted by a teen girl who accused him of being a follower of Jesus. He denied knowing Jesus just as he had been told he would. Not long after, in John 21, Jesus pulled Peter aside to ask him, “Do you love me?” Then He told Peter to feed His sheep. What Jesus was doing was recalibrating Peter’s heart and directing it back to True North. Once he was recalibrated, we read how he went on to be one of the Early Church leaders, led thousands to Jesus and even became a martyr. It was a significant turn around in his life and for the Church.

Colossians 3:1-2 says, “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth” (NLT). There are a lot of distractions in this world that take our eyes off of Jesus, Heaven and eternity. It’s easy to take our eyes off of True North and to begin following the magnetic north of this world that is constantly changing. Paul’s reminder to us here is that we need to keep recalibrating our hearts and minds to look beyond this life and to keep our eyes on Jesus. When is the last time you asked Jesus to recalibrate your heart and mind? Today is a great day to reset and refocus on what matters most.

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September 10, 2025 · 5:48 AM

A Posture Of Pursuit

In my first year of marriage, my wife pointed out a habit of mine that I didn’t know I had. When I would walk in the door to my home, I would go straight to the remote control and turn on the TV. I wouldn’t watch it. I would just have it on as background noise. When she asked why I did it if I wasn’t going to watch it, I didn’t have an answer. It occurred to me that many of us treat the Lord this way in our life. He’s just background noise. We don’t really pursue him or pay attention to Him until we need something. He’s constantly talking to us, but we aren’t really listening because we aren’t pursuing Him.

As David wrote Psalm 61, he was fleeing King Saul. He was displaced from his home, his family and friends while having to live in the desert wilderness. The first verse says, “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water” (NLT). He didn’t have the posture of despair despite his situation. Instead he was seeking the Lord continually. He compared his need for the Lord to the need his body had for water while living in the desert. His posture wasn’t one of complaint regarding his situation. It was one of praise and understanding of how much he truly needed the Lord.

Psalm 105:4 says, “Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.” We must be purposeful in our pursuit of the Lord. We must seek Him for strength to help us each and every day. Instead of seeking affirmations from social media when you wake up, seek Him. Instead of complaining about the day, praise Him. Start your day with worship instead of worry. Ask God for direction and guidance. When He moves from background noise in your life to the One you pursue and seek, everything changes. When you pursue Him as your greatest need, you can be content in whatever situation you find yourself in.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.

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September 8, 2025 · 5:48 AM

A Heart Of Compassion

I knew a girl who grew up in church, but started going out to clubs once she hit 21. It wasn’t long before she posted she was pregnant. Her posts stated how she needed help as a single mom. After the baby was born she struggled to find a job to pay enough for someone to watch her baby. She bounced from job to job and apartment to apartment with each post stating how hard life was. The more posts she made, honestly the less compassion I felt for her situation. I went from wanting to help with baby items to she put herself in this situation. My heart began to grow hard instead of seeing her through the eyes of compassion. She is just one example of a shift in compassion in my life. It challenges me to want to be more like Jesus instead.

In Matthew 9, Jesus talked about how healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do. He raised a little girl from the dead, He called a tax collector to follow Him and healed a blind person. The chapter starts to wrap up with a comment about Jesus going through many towns and then an observation from the tax collector. He wrote, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (NLT). He never quit having compassion on people whether their predicament was self inflicted or not. He recognized they were confused and helpless. Then in the very next verse Jesus said the harvest is great, but the workers are few. I wonder if the workers are few because of our lack of compassion.

Colossians 3:12 says, “You are always and dearly loved by God! So robe yourself with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others” (TPT). Robing ourselves with the virtues of God is an act we must do that doesn’t come natural. We must become merciful as we see others in their needs and compassionate as we show kindness to everyone. The way we do that is to be gentle and humble towards them whether they created their mess or not. Jesus modeled these virtues for us to follow as His workers in the field. If you struggle with this sometimes like I do, ask God to give you eyes to see people the way He does and to have His heart of compassion.

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September 4, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Symbiotic Encouragement

There are at least three types of relationships we need to have in our lives. If you don’t have these, you need to make them. The first one is where I’m the encourager. There are certain people in my life that need encouragement when they call or want to meet. Then there are the people who encourage me when I need it. Finally, the most important one is the one where you mutually encourage each other. These relationships are symbiotic and benefit both parties involved. It’s important that you identify who fit into these categories in your life. We all need to both encourage others and to be encouraged.

David and Jonathan had the symbiotic type relationship. They loved each other dearly, looked out for each other and encouraged one another. They learned to put the other’s needs ahead of their own, thereby bringing value to each other. In 1 Samuel 23, Jonathan’s father Saul was chasing David to kill him. Saul wanted Jonathan to succeed him as king, nut Jonathan valued David more than the position. In verse 16 it says, “Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God” (NLT). They then renewed their pact of encouragement to each other and Jonathan went home.

Who is that person in your life? Who is the one who comes running in your time of need? Who is it that when you both walk away from conversations you feel better? Chances are the two of you are intentional about your conversations and meetings. In Romans 1:12, Paul was looking forward to going to Rome to meet with the believers. He wrote, “When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.” Encouragement is born from intentionality. It doesn’t just happen. Be praying that you would be an encourager, that there would be someone in your life who encourages you and most importantly that you would find a person to share symbiotic encouragement with.

Photo by Joseph Karges 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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September 2, 2025 · 5:35 AM

Don’t Manage Sin

My mother in law loves plants. She has plants all over her yard and on her porch. When she lived with us for a while she planted some in our yard too. There is one that I hate. It gets wide and it’s invasive. I cut it down with the weedeater, and it grew back. I dig it up once, and it grew again. We had a freeze that killed it. So I thought. It grew back. I tried poison and everything else you can think of, but it kept coming back. Finally, I took the shovel, dig out the whole flowerbed around it two feet deep, got everything root or pod I could find and then put in new dirt. That finally got rid of it. I hope.

Hebrews 11:25-26 says, “He (Moses) chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward” (NLT). I wonder how hard it was for Moses at times to go in the palace and not want to return to the freedoms and luxury he grew up with. Did he see the delicacies he once ate and get tempted? Egypt is often used as a metaphor for sin throughout the Bible. Our sin nature tries to call us back often. We read here how Moses chose daily not to enjoy those pleasures. He didn’t partake in temporary pleasures at the expense of the eternal ones.

Galatians 5:24 says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.” Notice it doesn’t say they manage them at the cross. No, we have to crucify (kill) them there. Like that plant, they’ll keep coming back if we don’t crucify them. Sin doesn’t lose its power because, we try to not do that anymore. We must choose like Moses live as one of God’s people rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin. We must choose not to allow sin to rule our life anymore or dictate our choices. As Paul said here, it must be crucified at the cross so it doesn’t keep popping back up.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

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September 1, 2025 · 5:33 AM

Inconvenient Opportunities

Years ago I saw a video of Arnold Schwarzenegger telling how he became Mr. Olympia seven times and Mr. Universe five times. He said he would get up early and workout before he went to his job. Then after working all day, when everyone else went out for dinner and drinks, we would go back to working out. He said that he would work out even when he wasn’t feeling it because he had a desire to win those titles. He pushed himself in the hard times and on the days when he felt unmotivated because he knew if he didn’t do the work then, he wouldn’t achieve the results he was working for.

In Genesis 6, God told Noah to build an ark. Eva use there was going to be a flood. After getting the instructions from God, he went to work. When people didn’t understand, he kept building. Before there was a drop of rain, he kept building. He obeyed even when it wasn’t convenient, when things were t going well and when people mocked him. He trusted what God said more than he trusted his current situation. When the rains and flood came, he had the only thing floating. His obedience in the hard times paid off when the rains came.

Proverbs 20:4 says, “The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing” (NKJV). The lazy person gives up in the times of inconvenience. What he doesn’t understand is that faithfulness in the season of plowing determines your fruitfulness in the season of harvest. There’s always an excuse to not do what God is asking, especially when it’s inconvenient and you don’t see any movement from God. Keep plowing though. Your harvest depends on your obedience in the hard times. God’s greatest opportunities often come wrapped in inconveniences. Will you be faithful when you’re not feeling it so you can receive a harvest later?

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August 27, 2025 · 5:46 AM

Presence Over Performance

We live in a culture that celebrates hustle, visibility and results. I worked for a company that placed a high value on those things as well. It became ingrained in me to say the right things, be seen by the right people and to produce the right results. It became a problem when those values seeped into my spiritual life. It can be easy to get into the habit of being performance driven instead of presence driven. What God values is different than the world. He’s not wowed by us going to the right church, doing the right ”Christian” things or going through the motions of performance if we aren’t truly honoring Him.

Isaiah 58 is a warning to Israel over doing just that. Verse 2 starts out, “They act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me” (NLT). He goes on to say that they fast, but they fight among themselves. They go through the motions of performance but lack humility. In verses 6-8 God says He’s looking for action over performance. He prefers justice, lightening the burdens of others, removing chains, helping the oppresed and helping the needy. When we do that we will receive His blessings.

Micah 6:6 says, “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Have you fallen into the trap of performance over presence? God wants us to do more than go through the motions of church. He’s wanting us to make a difference in the lives of others for His name’s sake. He wants us to spend time walking with Him, talking with Him and hearing His heart for a world that doesn’t value what He does. It’s not about acting like Christians, it’s being Christians. God doesn’t look on our outward performance the way man does. He looks at our heart instead. If you’re struggling with this, take time to be in His presence and ask Him to change your heart.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.

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August 25, 2025 · 5:43 AM

Choosing Selflessness

I was really into basketball as I was growing up. I played it every day, watched movies about it and watched a lot of games. While everyone was trying to be like Michael Jordan, I gravitated to Magic Johnson and John Stockton. I loved how Magic saw the whole court and could pass without looking. With John Stockton, I loved how selfless he was in passing the ball to Karl Malone. To this day, John Stockton is the all time assist leader in giving up the ball so Malone could score. Stockton gave up the ball so much that Malone is third all time in scoring. In a world where ball hogs exist, these two showed what being selfless created greatness.

In John 3, while Jesus is gaining in popularity and having people follow Him, John the Baptist was losing followers. Some of those who remained with him were upset that people were leaving their ministry to follow Jesus. John explained that he was very clear about not being the Messiah. He then said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (ESV). The words used to say “I must decrease,” weren’t passive as a response to Jesus increasing. They conveyed active and intentional humbling of self so that Christ could increase. John was actively being selfless while his disciples were being driven by pride.

James 4:7 says, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (NLT). Again we see the Bible telling us to be intentional about being humble. If you want more of Christ in your life, you’re going to have to be more selfless. You’re going to have to build up His name rather than your own. He will increase in our life as we submit to Him and actively decrease as John the Baptist said. We live in an age of self promotion, yet God’s call to us as believers has been just the opposite. Resisting the devil begins with resisting pride. When you learn to lose yourself for the sake of Christ, you will find life. Instead of being driven by pride, determine to be humble and selfless. As you decrease, Christ will increase and the devil will flee.

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August 18, 2025 · 5:37 AM

Undistracted

Every era in recent memory has had their share of distractions. With the invention of the radio, the television and more, our lives have become increasingly filled with things that keep us occupied. Today’s distractions go with us everywhere in our pockets and on our wrists. We have access to everything at the touch of a screen. If we get board we can play a game, endlessly scroll through videos or reach out and contact someone. We have become accessible 24/7. However, we have lost the art to sit down, be silent and simply reflect or be alone with our thoughts.

Being distracted is nothing new though. When Peter was walking on the water, he got distracted by the waves and took his eyes off Jesus. Lot’s wife got distracted by the life she was leaving behind. In Luke 10 Martha was distracted by all of her duties of cleaning, cooking and preparing for the people in her home. Yet when she complained to Jesus about her undistracted sister, Jesus said that Mary had chosen the right thing. Even though there were things to do, she sat uninterrupted at the feet of Jesus to listen and to learn.

Psalm 46:10 is more important for us now than it ever had been I believe. It says, “Be still, and know that I am God!” (NLT) When is the last time you turned your phone off, took off your watch, turned off the TV and just sat alone and undistracted in the presence of God? Something happens when we go into our prayer closet and get alone with Him. Suddenly our problems that overwhelm us get put in their proper perspective. We get to sense how incredible God truly is. We can also hear His voice more clearly. I do love the era God has placed us in, but let’s be careful not to sacrifice being undistracted in His presence for all of our modern conveniences. Just like every generation before us, we must learn to be undistracted.

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August 15, 2025 · 6:05 AM

Multifaceted Growth

By midsummer, all the plants I pruned in the winter have shoots going in every direction. The growth in all directions is a sign of health and life. When I see the greenery and the growth, I think of how God’s plan is for healthy things to grow. Our lives are no different. The Bible is full of verses about our growth as a sign of maturity and spiritual health. We each have unlimited growth potential in so many areas of our walk with Him. The parts that get pruned, fed and watered are the ones that will see growth. Just like my plants, it should be multifaceted extending in all directions that affects others.

Here are some Bible verses on the different areas of growth we need:

1. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Ephesians 4:16 NLT

2. 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

3. But continue to grow and increase in God’s grace and intimacy with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May he receive all the glory both now and until the day eternity begins. Amen!

2 Peter 3:18 TPT

4. May the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow more and more and become as great as our love for you.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 GNT

5. For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord.

Romans 1:11 NLT

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