Tag Archives: christian living

October 13, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Moving Through Seasons

I’ve had this conversation several times this month with people who feel God is drawing them into a new season or situation. My first question to them is always, “Which direction are you heading and what steps are you taking?” Almost always the reply is that they don’t know where God is leading them yet. I reply that it’s hard for God to lead you when you’re standing still. Most of us get paralysis through analysis trying to figure out which direction to move when there are 360 degrees of options. We still have to begin walking towards something and trust God to course correct along the way.

Genesis 12:1 says, “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you’” (NLT). Gods didn’t tell Abram where He was leading him. He only told him to start walking. The changing of seasons in our life often begin with the uncomfortable process of moving away from what’s become familiar to us. God understands that growth rarely comes from places where we are comfortable. In this case, Abram had to walk away from what was native to him so that God could reshape him and give him a new purpose. His obedience redefined who he was to the point God changed his name from Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of multitudes).

When I’m in seasons of change, I cling to the promise in Isaiah 30:21. It says, “Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.” God didn’t let Abraham walk alone, and He won’t let you walk alone either. When we start walking away from the familiar, God’s voice becomes our compass. There’s a tension in transformation from one season to the other, and that’s ok. Tension often pushes us to our knees and into a deeper relationship with God. You may feel like a wanderer, as Abraham did, but you can also trust the voice of the Holy Spirit to guide you into the next season. You can only get there though if you start moving.

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October 1, 2025 · 5:48 AM

Wholehearted Commitment

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a pastor in Germany during Hitler’s rule. He recognized the atrocities that were going on and began to speak out against the Nazis. He believed that our faith demands action against evil and we must stand up against it. He knew there were risks associated with speaking out, and he still did it. He was arrested and placed in a concentration camp. He never let fear dictate his faith. The camp doctor, who saw him just before he died, said that he saw Pastor Bonhoeffer kneeling in prayer just before his execution. His devotion and conviction moved the doctor deeply.

In Daniel 3, the Israelites had been captured and taken to Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, though captives, had proven themselves worthy of serving the king in his court. When the king built a giant statue to be worshiped, they refused knowing the consequences. When they were brought before the king, he offered them the choice to bow or to be thrown into a fiery furnace. They told him they would not and that God was able to deliver them. Then in verse 18 they said, “But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (NLT). They were thrown into the furnace, and God did show up in a mighty way.

Deuteronomy 6:5-6 says, “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.” God doesn’t just want our heart or just our mind. If we’re going to be able to fully commit our life to Him despite the consequences, then we’re going to have to love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength to Him. How are you doing in each of those areas? Have you committed wholeheartedly to follow what He said and willing to stand up in a culture that is opposed to His way of living? Ask the Holy Spirit to shine a light in your life to show where your commitment may be lacking. Also ask Him for courage to stand up for Him despite the consequences even if He doesn’t show up to deliver you from them.

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September 30, 2025 · 5:52 AM

Receiving God’s Delight

I had a friend who could make a sailor blush with the colorful language that came out of her mouth. She seemed angry all the time and cursed out people who made mistakes. Over time I had witnessed to her and one time I invited her to church. She said, “If I ever walked into a church, the walls would fall in on me because of all the things I’ve said and done.” I didn’t give up because I know about grace. Eventually, as she was in the hospital about to pass away, she finally gave her heart to the Lord. I believe God took delight in her that moment because she recognized who she was and who He is.

In Luke 7, Jesus was eating with a Pharisee, who lived a life of strict devotion to the Law of Moses and let everyone know it by their public actions. While they were eating, an immoral woman came into the room. She sat at Jesus’s feet weeping. As her tears fell on His feet, she wiped them off with her hair. The Pharisee was indignant that Jesus let her touch Him. Both were in the presence of Jesus, but only one had a proper understanding of who He was and it brought her to repentance. The Pharisee relied on his right living to get him to heaven, while she recognized her need for a savior. When she saw Jesus for who He was, she saw who she really was. Jesus delighted in her and forgave her.

Psalm 147:10-11 says, “He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might. No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love” (NLT). Where do you see yourself in that story? Have you tried to do everything right in your own strength? Or have you put God in His proper place and trusted in Him rather than yourself? We often think of how we can please God with how we live, but He’s looking at our posture over our performance. Fearing Him isn’t about being afraid of Him. It’s about understanding who He is and showing proper respect for that. When that happens in our life, we can’t help but be like the woman and humble ourselves. When we do that, not only will we receive His grace, we’ll also receive His favor and delight.

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September 23, 2025 · 5:45 AM

Living Counterculturally

Several years ago, a person I worked with told me, “I’d stab my own mom in the back in order to get ahead here.” It hit me that we live in a culture that will do whatever it takes to climb the ladder of success. It’s the opposite of the example Jesus gave. As the Messiah, He put on the apron of humility to wash the disciple’s feet. They had been fighting about who was the greatest, and He showed them that Heaven’s way is countercultural to the world. As a minister friend of mine says, “While men reach for their thrones, Jesus reached for a towel to wash men’s feet.”

In 1Timothy 6, Paul is teaching Timothy about being not just a church leader, but a follower of Christ. He told him to watch out for people who have a form of godliness, but use their ministry or godliness to climb the world’s ideas of success. By contrast, to have godliness with contentment is great gain. In verse 9 he wrote, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition” (NKJV). To chase after the world’s ideals and definitions of success is to open ourselves up temptations.

Verse 11 says, “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.” Instead of chasing the ideals of the world, we must pursue the things of God. Righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and gentleness are what we should be looking to cultivate in our life and to strive for. These are spiritual disciplines that require cultivation on a daily basis. They require us to be intentional about pursuing them as we flee what the world is chasing after Because these not only shape who we are, they change who we’re becoming. If we’re going to live countercultural lives, we need to stop chasing worldly values and start pursuing godly ones.

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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.

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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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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.

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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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