Tag Archives: christian living

May 19, 2022 · 5:30 AM

The Plumb Line Of Truth

One of the classes I train has me ask the group, “Is this your truth,” at the end of each section. If someone says it’s not their truth, I’m to engage them to find out why they don’t believe what I just taught. I’m looking for their objection to the truth I’ve presented. My goal is to not just get them to accept the truth, but to go back and implement that truth into their life and job. Our actions are always based on what we believe, so it’s important to know what the truth is before we act.

We live in a world where the lines of truth are constantly being blurred. Over the last two generations, Truth has gone from something we all accepted as a whole to what each of us believes individually. What I’ve learned is that truth is truth no matter what I believe personally. I can choose to not believe in gravity, but that doesn’t stop me from coming back to the ground when I jump. There are still universal truths in our world whether people choose to believe them or not.

I was talking with a man recently about truth, and I brought up Jesus in Pilate’s court in John 18. When Jesus said that He came to testify to the truth, Pilate asked, “What is truth?” (GNT) I wish the Bible would have recorded Jesus’ answer. However, we know from John 14:6 that Jesus said He was the way, the truth and the life. Also in John 1, we read that Jesus is the Word Of God made flesh. He, and the Bible, are our absolute truth in this world. They are the plumb line in a world that has lost its direction.

The reason you use a plumb line in construction is because your eyes can deceive you. In the same way, the Word of God is our plumb line in this world. Our eyes can deceive us, and it can be difficult to determine what the truth is. Psalm 33:4 says, “The words of the Lord are true, and all his works are dependable.” We must know God’s Word if we are going to depend on it and use it as a plumb line to build our lives. Otherwise, we will be like the foolish man who built his house on the shifting sands of what culture believes at the moment. Take time today to hold your life up against God’s plumb line of truth to make sure your life isn’t leaning.

Photo by alexey turenkov 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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May 18, 2022 · 5:48 AM

Fighting Bitterness

I’m fascinated by body language and micro expression experts. They look at what’s going on outside the body to determine what’s going on inside the mind. I had always heard that your outside will reveal what’s going on Inside. It’s important for us to control our self talk, which is that voice in our head that’s constantly talking to us. It repeats things it’s heard from others. It tells us how we should be feeling. It also helps us make decisions. I believe this voice is what 2 Corinthians 2:5 is talking about when it tells us to take every thought captive. This voice controls how you see yourself and ultimately your actions.

The story of Ruth is one that draws so many of us in. Naomi, her husband and two boys had to move out of their home to a foreign land because of a famine. Some time after they moved away, her husband died. Her sons married foreign women and about ten years later they died. After a while, she decided to go home with Ruth choosing to go with her. When she arrived back in town, the people were excited to see here and called out her name which means sweetness. She told them to quit calling her that and to instead call her Marah which means bitter. She had allowed her self talk to change her self image to the point that she had become a bitter person. Thankfully God didn’t leave her in that bitter state.

Psalm 73:21-23 says, “When my thoughts were bitter and my feelings were hurt, I was as stupid as an animal; I did not understand you. Yet I always stay close to you, and you hold me by the hand” (GNT). God didn’t leave the author of this psalm in their bitterness either. In verse 26 he penned, “My mind and my body may grow weak, but God is my strength; he is all I ever need.” Your mind may wander and convince you that you’re something other than God created, but He will still woo you and try to pull you from that place. He is your strength to get out of the hole you’re in. He is your strength to fight the negative self talk. And He is your strength to get to where He’s leading you. Your current season is not your destination. Don’t let your self talk convince you that it is. There are greater days ahead.

Photo by Noah Silliman on Unsplash

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May 17, 2022 · 5:46 AM

Being Successful

Sometimes when I’m teaching a sales skills class I’ll ask people to share their undisputed secret to success in sales. Everyone has a different answer it seems. Some tell me how they never give up. Some say it’s their personal skills. Others talk of determination, relentlessness or positioning. Books have been written, classes have been taught and lectures have been given on the subject, but there’s no one answer really. Because of that people keep looking for it hoping it will make them rich in the process. Yet, some of you reading are thinking, “If I had to make a living in sales, I’d starve!” It’s a good thing there are other ways to make a living.

We typically equate money or winning with success, but that’s not always the case. In Judges 20, eleven of the tribes went to fight the tribe of Benjamin because of an evil they had allowed. The eleven prayed asking God which tribe should lead the fight. God told them Judah should. They marched 400,000 men out to battle and we’re quickly beaten by 26,000. They went back to camp, cried and prayed again asking God if they should fight again. God told them yes, and the same thing happened. A third time they prayed and asked God if they should fight or stop. God told them to fight. They were successful this time, but only after taking some devastating losses in the process.

In Philippians 4:12 Paul wrote, “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little” (NLT). His secret of living was to be content with whatever season God brought him to. Whether he was winning and had all his needs met or was losing and didn’t have anything, he trusted God through it all. Success in life isn’t defined by wins or losses or even your bank account. It’s found in trusting God to be your source no matter what you’re going through. Can you keep going back to Him daily asking if you’re doing the thing He wants you to? Can you trust Him when you don’t have much? Can you recognize Him as your provider when you do? Can you be content with what you have?

Photo by Dingzeyu Li on Unsplash

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May 16, 2022 · 5:52 AM

Choose Peace

Have you ever given a gift to someone that was supposed to make their life easier only to find out they never used it? I came from a family that gave functional gifts rather than luxury gifts. We got each other something that was needed rather than what was wanted. I was always on the look out to see if there was a kitchen gadget, yard equipment or something like that that could make a family member’s life easier. It would have been frustrating to see them struggling to do something while my gift was still sitting in the box. They would have had to make the choice to continue doing it the old way not using the gift.

In 2 Kings 6, Elisha had been supernaturally given the plans of the enemy several times.Elisha sent word to the king of Israel each time to thwart the attack. The king of Aram, who was trying to attack Israel, got word that Elisha was messing up his plans, so he decided to go after Elisha. Overnight they encamped around Elisha. When Elisha’s servant went outside he saw the army surrounding them. He panicked and ran inside to tell his master saying, “Oh no! What are we to do?” Elisha told him to not be afraid because there were more with them than against them. He the prayed, “Lord, please, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servants eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha. (AMP).

Jesus told us that we were going to face trouble in this world. It shouldn’t come as a surprise when we’re surrounded. He also said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge]” (emphasis is added by me) His peace is a gift that we need to choose to use. We use it when we decide to trust what He’s. said over what we’re seeing. We need our eyes opened to know that there are more with us than against us. We need to look beyond the physical aspect of whatever we’re facing in order to trust God allowing His peace to calm us in every circumstance. Choose His peace instead of fear today.

Photo by Will van Wingerden on Unsplash

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May 11, 2022 · 5:49 AM

Tenth Anniversary: God Is Your Source

This week I’m reflecting on ten years of writing devotions. In the early days of writing, my mind was beginning to be consumed with fear. I felt the pressure of coming up with something to write about each day. I made a list in my phone of possible topics that I would add to. I would ask friends what they thought I should write about. Some mornings I sat there frozen, not knowing what to write, and feeling the pressure of an audience expecting something from me. Doing what God asked me to do was making me miserable and fearful – neither of which come from God.

I went to a writer’s conference hoping to gain insight. When I went to the registration table, they gave me a ticket to have a private breakfast with William Paul Young, writer of “The Shack”. Over breakfast, I explained my predicament. He gently told me that I was approaching God the wrong way. I was looking at Him as a well that could run dry. Instead, God is a never ending river of creativity. He said, “If you go to God’s creative river each day with an empty bucket and pray, ‘God, here’s my bucket. Would you fill it up with what you want to say,’ He will do it. You are going to have to spend time at His feet in order to do that.” Immediately I felt freedom and the fear left me.

What I realized is that God is the source of creativity, not me. I was trying to do what He asked me to in my own strength, creativity and knowledge. That was creating a mental mess. Zechariah 4:6 says, “Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord who rules over all” (NET). Whatever God has called you to do, He has called you to do it in His strength, not yours. Yes, you must show up and do the work, but you are not the source, He is. Don’t let the fear of your inadequacy take over your mind. Instead, go to God each and every day, recognizing He is the source, and ask Him to fill that bucket with whatever you need to fulfill what He’s called you to. It will free you up and restore the joy of your calling.

Photo by Amritanshu Sikdar on Unsplash

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May 9, 2022 · 5:49 AM

Tenth Anniversary: Redefining Success

Ten years ago today, I wrote and posted to this site for the first time. In those years I have written around 2,600 devotions and over 1,000,000 words. I didn’t start out thinking I’d be writing 10 years later. In fact, I had (incorrectly) assumed that my site would be overwhelmed with clicks and that a publishing agent would be contacting me to write a book simply because I felt God tell me to start writing. In my mind, obedience to God equaled success by the world’s definition. I thought it meant that I would be known for writing and changing lives. Instead, the success in my life has been a closer walk with God and greater understanding of His Word as I’ve spent more time in prayer and contemplation through this process.

Years ago I heard Andy Stanley speak to a room full of ministers at a Catalyst conference. He told us, “Do for one what you wish you could do for many.” We all want to help lots of people, but when they don’t come flocking to us, we get discouraged and give up. That’s where I found myself in the early days of writing. I was obsessing over the number of clicks, subscribers and comments. I wasn’t getting very many. My wife would ask, “But did one person say it spoke to them? If it did, then today’s post was a success.” I had to quit looking at the statistics for my site and focus on that in order to change my mentality. It wasn’t easy because we are a numbers driven society with numbers being the primary indicator of success.

In Matthew 18:12, Jesus asked, “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?” (NLT) Jesus placed the value and success on the one. Most of the time being obedient to God isn’t going to bring success by the world’s standards. It’s about saving the one. Finding the one. Redirecting the one. Don’t fret if your obedience to God isn’t noticed by the masses. It’s noticed by the One who matters. We need to redefine our idea of success to match God’s. If we don’t do that, we may get discouraged and give up losing the opportunity to rescue the one we were sent after.

Photo by Stock Birken on Unsplash

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May 4, 2022 · 5:52 AM

A Confident Warrior

One of the misconceptions many of us believe is that when God is with us and for us, we won’t experience bad things. It can be quite a shock when we go through a very long season of difficulties. We question our faith, we question what’s going on and we question God. Almost every time, there are no answers. I remember crying out, “God, where are you? If you’re with me, why is this happening?” I didn’t get any answers, but I did find out that God’s Grace is deeper than any trouble I went through. It was sufficient to carry me through the darkest times.

In Judges 6, Israel was constantly being attacked by the Midianites for seven years. When Israel’s crops would start to grow, the Midianites would come destroy them. They stole their livestock as well so that Israel was without food and became impoverished. Israelites lived in constant fear because of it. That’s when the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and called him a mighty warrior saying God was with him. In verse 13 he replied, “‘Sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites’” (NLT). He didn’t get answer, but he did get a mission to deliver Israel.

Even when we face the longest, darkest struggles, we have God’s promise to never leave us. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “Be determined and confident. Do not be afraid of them. Your God, the Lord himself, will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you” (GNT). It’s hard to be confident in those times. Gideon wasn’t, but God called out the confident warrior in him. There’s a confident warrior in you too. You are able to face any struggle, fight every battle and survive any difficult season because God is with you. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Don’t back down or lose hope now. Be determined and confident in Him. He will not fail you or go back on His promises.

Photo by Aaron Thomas on Unsplash

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May 2, 2022 · 5:53 AM

Having A Limp

I spend a lot of time learning about leadership because that’s one of the areas I focus on training and helping people grow in. A book I’m reading right now isn’t about leadership, but it had a quote from a minister named John Wimber. He said, “Never trust a leader without a limp.” He wasn’t referring to a physical one. There’s a place of brokenness that we must reach in wrestling with God that shows us our limitations, exposes our weakness and causes us to be humble. The opposite type leader is arrogant, sure of themselves and doesn’t rely on God to accomplish things. While they’re confident and charging forward, they may not lead you where you need to go.

Jacob was the grandson of Abraham. He had a serious sibling rivalry with his twin brother Esau, who was the first born of the two. The first born received a double portion of their father’s inheritance because they were to lead the family and care for its affairs. When Jacob stole the first born’s blessing, he ran away in fear of his life for twenty years. The night before seeing his brother for the first time since he left, he was sleeping when a heavenly being came. They wrestled until dawn and Jacob refused to let go until he had been blessed. The being touched his hip and put it out of socket. Genesis 32:31 says, “The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip” (NLT).

I want you to know it’s ok to wrestle with God over things in your life. Be like Jacob and don’t let go until you’re changed. Those wrestling matches often reveal our weaknesses and teach us to depend on God more. They can leave us humbled and broken, but not fragmented and lame. It’s a good thing to have your walk changed by God. Never be ashamed of your limp created by your brokenness through an encounter with God. People can be I pressed with your confidence and strength, but it’s through your brokenness and limp that they will connect with you. Remember that it’s in our weakness and brokenness that His strength is made perfect (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Photo by أخٌ‌في‌الله on Unsplash

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April 27, 2022 · 5:43 AM

Paying The Price

Several years ago my friend invited me to a dinner and auction to support a local ministry. After the dinner the auction started. I was excited because there were some great items in it. When a 9 mm Smith and Wesson came up for auction, I raised my hand at the $250 mark. I kept bidding against the other person until it got to $500. My friend asked why I quit bidding as the auctioneer said, “Going once!” I explained that i had seen that gun in the store for $500. I tnought, “Why pay more?” He gave me a disappointed look as the auctioneer said, “Going twice.” Still looking at me, he raised his hand and said, “$700!” The auctioneer said, “Sold!” I realized in that moment that i wanted the benefit of the gun without paying the cost. I had missed the point of the auction,

In 2 Samuel 24, God was mad at David and caused a plague on the land. As the angel stood over Jerusalem to destroy its people, God sent the prophet Gad to tell David to build Him an offer and to make a sacrifice on it where the angel stood. David rushed to the threshing floor of Araunah and asked to buy the property. Araunah told him to take it for free since he was the king. David refused. In verse 24 he said, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing” (NLT). David understood that in order to get the benefit of God’s blessing and a reversal of the curse, he needed to pay something.

In Matthew 16:24 Jesus said, “If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely reject and disown your own life. And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it as your own, as you continually surrender to my ways” (TPT). There are a lot of people who want to follow Jesus, but aren’t willing to pay the cost. They want the benefit of what He offers, but don’t want to give up their life. There’s no other way to be a true disciple and follower of Christ without taking up your cross daily, sacrificing your old way of living and surrendering to His way of life. To follow Jesus is to give up your life and way of living the same way He did.

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

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