Tag Archives: christian living

July 22, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Without Excuses

Years ago I taught a class where I posed a series of “what if” or “if only” questions. I would write their answers on the board. If only I had more time. If only I was paid more. If only management would do this or that. The answers were flowing until I stopped and read them their answers. I asked them what their answers looked like. When no one answered, I simply pointed out that their answers were excuses to not do things. They were things that were holding them back from their potential and keeping them from moving up. Some times those answers are right, but when we allow them to hold us back, they become excuses.

There were many people in the Bible who gave God excuses as to why they couldn’t do what He asked. Moses said he stuttered and wasn’t a good orator. Jonah said he didn’t like the people God called him to minister to. The people who wanted to follow Jesus, but first wanted to go back to bury the dead or get their inheritance. Even Jeremiah gave an excuse that he was too young to call his nation back to repentance. In Jeremiah 1 God told him that He had set him apart and called him to the nations. In verse 6, Jeremiah gave the excuse, “O Sovereign Lord, I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” (NLT) These are some big names in the Bible who tried to use an excuse to hold them back from their purpose and calling. Thankfully God didn’t accept of their excuses.

In Jeremiah 1:7-8 God replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” He went on to say that He would put His words in Jeremiah’s mouth and empower him. It’s got me thinking about the excuses I’ve used with God. Maybe you’ve given Him some too. If God has called you to it, He will empower you and help you do it. You haven’t messed it up nor have you done anything to remove His calling. It’s time we owned up to our excuses and allowed God to help us do what He created us to do. Start living your life without excuses.

Photo courtesy of Max Andrew on Pexels.

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July 21, 2025 · 4:30 AM

Purposefully Planted

I grew up having watermelon seed spitting contests with my friends. These days you have to look hard to find a watermelon with seeds in it. There’s a lot of seedless fruit these days in the produce section. While it’s convenient to eat, I can’t help but think about we’ve learned to circumvent God’s process for growth and reproduction. Seedless fruits are created through processes where fertilization occurs, but the seeds to reproduce the fruit don’t mature. It produces fruit that’s easy to consume, but lacks generational continuance.

I love the story of the woman at the well in John 4. Jesus asked her for a drink to open the conversation and then let her know that He had living water to satisfy her spiritual thirst. Verses 28-30 say, “Then the woman left her water jar, and went into the city and began telling the people, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done! Can this be the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)?” So the people left the city and were coming to Him” (AMP). Once she experienced salvation, she ran into the city spreading seeds about Jesus. The people came out to the well and believed in Jesus as well.

In John 15:16 Jesus said, “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting.” You have been planted right where you are to plant seeds and bear fruit that remains. God isn’t looking for superficial results from your life where it’s busy with activity but doesn’t plant seeds in others. When we fail to share our faith, we’re just like a seedless watermelon. He’s purposefully planted you so you can multiply the kingdom the way the woman at the well did.

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July 17, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Your Holy Pursuit

Today’s world has us concerned mainly with our output. We measure what’s important to us. That could be our bank account, our income, our work, our busyness, etc. We’ve learned to value ourselves by our output. In this pursuit of value, we’ve overlooked our inputs. When do you feel most mentally alert? When are you feeling your best physically? When do you feel closest to God? Those are tough questions that we rarely give any thought to, but if you will think about them, you’ll notice patterns and behaviors that increase those feelings. Output activities drain you mentally, physically and spiritually, but input activities increase your energy in those areas. As I mentioned, we’ve become so focused on outputs that many of us feel tired, mentally drained and far from God.

Jesus constantly took time to get alone with God in prayer. That was His method of input or recharging Himself. All day long He would be doing output things like preaching, teaching, healing and forgiving. To make sure He had enough in the tank each day, He woukd withdraws to secluded places. David found his spiritual inputs in God’s Word and in worship. If you’ve ever read Psalm 119, you know it’s all how much He loved God’s Word. For the leaders of the Early Church, prayer was their input. In Acts 6, they appointed seven men to oversee some of the administrative side of the church so that they could give their full attention to prayer and the Word of God. So I’ll ask you again, what are your spiritual inputs? Have you been too focused on your outputs?

In Paul’s last letter before he was martyred, he wrote final instructions to Timothy on how to conduct himself. Part of 2 Timothy 2:22 says, “Whatever builds up your faith and deepens your love must become your holy pursuit” (TPT). Your spiritual inputs must become your holy pursuit. They must take precedence in your life. While this world, and even the Church, is concerned with your outputs, God wants us to be focused on our inputs. An empty vessel will have nothing to pour out. An empty vessel simply goes through the motions. Yet, it’s the empty vessel who will say, “Lord, didn’t I do all these things (outputs) in your name?” And Jesus will reply, “Depart from me. I never knew you (you never took the time to know me (inputs)).” Outputs are important, but inputs need to be our holy pursuit.

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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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July 16, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Changing Direction

One of the questions I pose to leaders is a good question to ask yourself. Imagine you are going from Houston to Jacksonville, Florida on Interstate 10. After a day of driving, you end up in El Paso, Texas, what would you do? Would you turn around and head back toward Houston or keep driving and reevaluate in Phoenix, Arizona? The correct answer is easy in this scenario, but in real life, we tend to keep going toward Phoenix. We rationalize that decision because of how much time, money and effort we’ve put into it. However, no amount of time, money or effort is going to get you to your destination until you change course.

In Luke 19, Jesus was walking through Jericho and everyone crowded the roads trying to see him. Zacchaeus, who had become rich by overtaxing people, wanted to see Him too. He climbed up a tree and Jesus saw him. Jesus then went to his house for dinner. People were upset that Jesus was hanging out with a despised sinner. Then in verse 8 we read, “Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!’” (NLT) Jesus saw that Zacchaeus had changed direction and said, “Salvation has come to this home today.”

Psalm 119:59 says, “I considered my ways And turned my feet to [follow and obey] Your testimonies” (AMP). Take a look at your life. Each of us need to consider our ways often. Are we headed the wrong direction in certain areas of our life? Are we like Jonah and going the opposite direction from what God called us to? We need to be willing to turn our feet to follow and obey God’s ways. Like Zacchaeus we need to repent, which means to change directions. God’s blessings follow our obedience. It’s not always easy to admit we need a change of direction, but we can’t afford to keep going the wrong way. There’s too much at stake.

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July 14, 2025 · 5:25 AM

Standing For Righteousness

About a hundred years after King David died, one of his descendants named Jehoshaphat took the throne of Israel. He inherited a divided and distracted kingdom. He had the choice to lead with courage and conviction or compromise. He chose to lead God’s way no matter what. His decisions weren’t easy or popular at times. In fact, he removed his grandmother from her place in the palace because of her idolatrous influence on the people. He wasn’t driven by what was popular politically but led with moral conviction based on the precepts that God had given them to live by. He understood that you can’t lead people to God while tolerating what pulls them away from Him. He loved his family, friends and nation enough to speak the truth and do whatever it took to stand for righteousness in an unrighteous generation.

The love God calls us to show is one that calls people out of their sin rather than to accept it. He is looking for leaders like Jehoshaphat who will stand up in their generation to lead with conviction of what is right and what is wrong. 2 Chronicles 17:6 says, “He was deeply committed to the ways of the Lord” (NLT). He wasn’t just passionate about God’s Word, he was bold enough to stand for righteousness when the culture around him was opposed to it. He taught people the truth and called them to live holy lives. He also demonstrated this commitment in his own life. Because of his courage and leadership, the nation turned back to God. 

He faced the same pressure to fit in than to stand out that we do. Like him, we must identify what is distracting us and pulling us away from God first. Once he got his heart right, he then found the boldness to stand up to the culture around him. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” We must keep our eyes on Jesus who showed us how to love with grace and truth. He will strengthen you and give you the courage to stand up for Him so you can lead others to salvation.

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July 11, 2025 · 5:45 AM

Deliverance

The Bible has the theme of deliverance running through it. From the Children of Israel being delivered from Egypt to the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace to the cross. God desires that you would be free from sin, sickness, oppression and any other kind of bondage. I love how Galatians 5:1 reminds us that it was for freedom that Christ set us free. We are not to return to the bondage that He delivered us from. The Biblical meaning of deliverance is to draw you out of or to rescue you. He has delivered us from sin and He will continue to deliver us from anything that would hold us back from the freedom He gives.

Here are some Bible verses on deliverance.

1. Consider my affliction and deliver me, For I do not forget Your law.

Psalms 119:153 NKJV

2. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Matthew 6:13 ESV

3. I will answer your cry for help every time you pray, and you will feel my presence in your time of trouble. I will deliver you and bring you honor.

Psalms 91:15 TPT

4. Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

2 Timothy 4:18 NLT

5. In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; Incline Your ear to me and save me.

Psalms 71:2 AMP

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July 10, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Just Do It…Again

Have you ever had to start over at square one? It’s one of the most frustrating things there are. After you’ve done the work and made progress, something happens and you have to start over. I’ve had to do that in life, with dreams God has given me, with work and in relationships. I don’t have many pet peeves, but doing work I’ve already done is one of mine. It’s redundant, but I’ve learned to not look at what I’m having to do over. Instead I focus on the outcome. The work is worth the payoff in the end.

After Isaac inherited all of Abraham’s wealth and land, people became jealous and didn’t like him. They poured dirt into the wells that Abraham had dug and forced him to leave that area. Genesis 26:17-18 says, “So Isaac left. He camped in the valley of Gerar and settled down there. Isaac dug again the wells which were dug in the days of his father Abraham but had been clogged up by the Philistines after Abraham’s death. And he renamed them, using the original names his father had given them” (MSG).

I’m sure Isaac was frustrated, but he did the work anyway. I believe that’s what you and I need to think about today. You may be frustrated at how clogged up life is at the moment. You may feel like you’re at square one with the dreams God planted in you. Don’t quit or give up. Do the work with gladness and push forward. There is a reward and times of refreshing coming, but you’re going to have to do the work. It may require sacrificing other things, spending more time in prayer, reading the Bible or fasting, but God’s rewards for you are on the other side of your obedience. Pick up a shovel and start digging.

Photo by Lucas van Oort 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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July 8, 2025 · 5:33 AM

Hope Beyond The Moment

Hope is fuel for an aching soul. I’ve been in some hopeless situations where daily I was looking for the smallest glimmer of hope. Just a little bit would give me energy and increase my faith. It’s in times like those that I also learned my hope lies beyond my current circumstances look like. My true hope comes from the Lord. His report is greater than anything I can see with my physical eyes. It’s in those hopeless situations that I have to activate my faith in God and lean into Him because He is the ultimate authority.

In Romans 4, Paul is using Abraham as an example of someone who had hope in a hopeless situation. Verse 18 says, “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, ‘That’s how many descendants you will have!’” (NLT) He trusted God over his circumstances and held onto hope when everything else told him that God’s promise was an impossibility. The next verse said his faith didn’t weaken as he waited for God to fulfill what He said. His example to us is something we can emulate and strive for as we face situations where there is no reason to hope.

Paul goes in In Romans 5:5 to say, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Just like Abraham’s faith grew stronger, ours can to in whatever we face. In Christ, there is always hope. When we face the toughest of circumstances, our faith has the greatest opportunity to grow. God uses situations to produce in us character traits, faith and hope. The hope we have in Him is the hope that will not disappoint even when whatever we’re facing doesn’t go according to our plan or desires. Our hope in Him can still remain strong because it goes beyond the moment. Our hope and faith are eternal.

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July 7, 2025 · 5:29 AM

The Wilderness Of Preparation

There have been times in my life when things were clicking and moving quickly. God’s plan for me was gaining ground so fast as if it were making up for lost time. Then without warning, things would come to a screeching halt. In those seasons I would wonder if I did something wrong or if I made God mad. He would seem to be silent during those times too. These periods would last days, weeks , months and even years. It made me think that the wilderness I was in was a place of punishment. However, I’ve learned that those seasons in the wilderness are periods of preparation for what’s coming.

In Exodus, we read the story of Israel being delivered from Egypt. We don’t know how long the period of the plagues were, but there were instructions for the tenth plague. In chapter 12 verse 11 God told them, “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover” (NLT). Freedom came quickly and they took off in the middle of the night. They hurried toward the Promised Land. God parted the Red Sea and met them at Sinai. Then the entered the wilderness of preparation for 40 years. God had moved them out of Egypt, but He had to get the Egypt out of them before they were ready to possess the land.

In 2 Corinthians 4:17 Paul reminds us, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” God uses periods of troubles, set backs and aimless wandering to produce in us the things we need. The longer we sit and complain in these seasons, the longer it will take to get out of. They are to remove things from our lives that we can’t carry with us into the next season and to produce character traits we will need. The wilderness isn’t to necessarily punish you for mistakes as much as it is intended to prepare you and produce things in you that can’t be brought about any other way.

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July 2, 2025 · 5:08 AM

Productive In Every Season

In every season, farmers are doing something to get the most production out of their plants and trees. In one season they prune in order to create new growth opportunities. In another season they work the soil giving it what it needs so that the plant can grow and produce healthy fruit. In one season they wait and let God do the unseen work. Finally there’s harvest season where they reap the rewards of all they’ve been doing. Harvest time is the result of their productivity in the other seasons.

In the late chapters of Genesis, we read the story of Joseph. He went through several seasons himself. He was planted in his father’s house and tended to by him. There was a season of pruning by his brothers and the Egyptians where he lost things and people in his life. There was a season of waiting where he felt forgotten in prison. There was also a harvest time where Pharaoh called for him and he interpreted dreams no one else could. He was given the position of being second in command of Egypt. It didn’t happen overnight. Instead it was the culmination of trusting God in the other seasons. The productivity in the other seasons produced a great harvest.

1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “We know that we prosper and excel in every season by serving the Lord, because we are assured that our union with the Lord makes our labor productive with fruit that endures” (TPT). I don’t if you’re in the waiting season, the pruning season, the soil working season or harvest season. Whatever one you’re in, keep serving and trusting in the Lord. The harvest will come at the appointed time. Don’t grow weary in your work. You will reap the harvest at just the right time that God has appointed (Galatians 6:9). Keep tilling. Keep planting. Keep fertilizing and watering. Keep being still before the Lord. Be faithful in this season and God will do His part to bring about the harvest.

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