Tag Archives: Christianity

June 6, 2023 · 5:36 AM

Consider God’s Benefits

In recent years, there’s been a rise of subscription apps. They got them for TV, groceries and a host of other things. The market place is getting crowded, so they’ve started to add incentives. I didn’t even consider getting the grocery app I have now until they started adding benefits to owning it. I get ten cents off a gallon of gas, which adds up to offset the cost. I also get free deliver of online items or even in store groceries. They also added a year’s subscription to a TV app to the benefits package. All of a sudden it had enough value for me to go ahead and pay. To me, the benefits now outweigh what it costs me to make it worth it. We do this same analysis in many areas of our lives.

If you’re familiar with the Bible, you’ve probably heard that Hebrews 11 has been called the Hall of Faith. It’s full of people in the Bible who had to trust God through difficult circumstances. They held onto their faith in God when all seemed lost. Verse 37 says, “Some of these faith champions were brutally killed by stoning, being sawn in two or slaughtered by the sword. These lived in faith as they went about wearing goatskins and sheepskins for clothing. They lost everything they possessed, they endured great afflictions, and they were cruelly mistreated” (TPT). Each of the heroes of the faith paid a high price, but they keep the benefits of following God in mind to help them endure. Many never saw the fulfillment of their promise from God, but because they held onto their faith, their future generations did.

Romans 6:22 says, “But now, as God’s loving servants, you live in joyous freedom from the power of sin. So consider the benefits you now enjoy—you are brought deeper into the experience of true holiness that ends with eternal life!” You and I must also keep in mind the benefits that God offers us as we continue down the path of Christianity. You may not be faced with the same hardships these heroes of the faith had to, but you will still face difficulty times and be forced to trust in God instead of your circumstances. Our faith comes at a cost to us. It is freely given to us, but living in the world while being separate from it can be difficult at times. Trusting God over what we see can exact a price in our lives. Always keep in mind that God has more in store for us than we can even comprehend now. Remember all His benefits and hold fast to your faith. He will always do what He promised.

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June 1, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Living The Lifestyle

In the fall of 1995, I was living in Egypt. My family had sent me a care package with goodies from home. I got some Dr Peppers, VHS tapes of my favorite TV shows, a tape recording of my favorite radio station and a stack of CD’s from the local Christian bookstore. As I shifted through the CD’s, one in particular caught my attention, “Jesus Freak” by DC Talk. It had been a few years since they released an album, so I was excited. I immediately put it in and hit play. When it got to song 4, I heard the words of Brennan Manning for the first time as “What If I Stumble?” began to play. The quote said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” It shook me to say the least.

I had been raised in a church with a pastor whose slogan for the church was, “Christianity isn’t a religion…it’s a lifestyle Jesus commanded us to live.” I had been discipled to live that lifestyle, but for some reason when I heard the words on that CD, it hit me that I wasn’t supposed to live like a Christian just for Jesus. There is a world of people all around me who don’t know Jesus and are basing their opinion of Him based on how they see me live and act. My faith couldn’t be just something that I talked about. I didn’t want anyone to turn away from the cross based on the things I did, so I determined to live a life that would point people to Him rather than to push them further into unbelief.

Colossians 4:5 says, “Walk in the wisdom of God as you live before the unbelievers, and make it your duty to make him known” (TPT). As we mature in Christ, our lives begin to change as we are made new from the inside out. The way we think, behave and speak begin to change the more we become like Him. Each of us have to come to a point though where we choose to undergo that chrysalis so that our lives on the outside reflect what we believe on the inside. We will never arrive at living for Him perfectly, so perfection is not the goal. Getting a little bit more like Jesus every day is. We still have to contend with our flesh and we will still stumble, but as we mature, we learn to rely on His grace more. Our lives become living examples of the freedom and change God brings and that’s what will help an unbelieving world find attractive.

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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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May 31, 2023 · 5:45 AM

Waiting On God’s Promise

One of the things I’ve learned is that when God gives you a dream or a promise, it’s usually followed by a period of waiting. In my experience, the bigger the dream or promise, the longer you’ll have to wait. It’s natural in the waiting to wonder if God is still at work, if He has still chosen you or if it will ever come to pass. In the waiting, our circumstances can cause doubt, but it’s in the waiting that God positions us and grows us to be able to receive the fulfillment of the dream or promise. He’s at work when things appear to be hopeless. He’s working all things out for your good despite what your present situation is. Don’t give up on the promise. Even though you may have made mistakes, you haven’t disqualified yourself or caused God to abandon His Word to you.

There are plenty of people who went through this in the Bible. We often count them as heroes of the faith, but they were human like us. They had long periods of waiting. They felt hopeless at times. They made mistakes that you would think would disqualify them, but God kept faithful to His promise to them. Abraham waited 25 years for God to fulfill His promise, and Abraham tried to bring about the fulfillment himself. Joseph spent around 14 years waiting as a slave and in prison. David had to wait about 15 Years. In that time he was chased away from his family and friends. He had to live in a cave with a bunch of societal rejects. His home was burned down and his wife was captured just before he became king. The list goes on and on of people who had to wait.

Psalm 57:2 says, “I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me” (NLT). This verse was written by David while he was running from King Saul. He continued to cry out to God while He waited. He continued to trust that God was going to fulfill His plan. Just as God was faithful to David, He will be faithful to you. Remind yourself of the goodness of God. Remind yourself that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it (Philippians 1:6). If you’re still waiting, God is still working. Pray that He prepares you and positions you while you wait.pray that He will encourage you and give you strength. None of the people I listed above were ready when God gave them the dream or the promise. It was in the waiting that they were matured and grew their faith to be able to faithfully walk in God’s promise. God will fulfill His promise to you when you’re ready.

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May 19, 2023 · 5:27 AM

Time For Rest

I saw a friend of mine wearing a hat the other day that said, “Jesus took naps. Be like Jesus.” I laughed and thought of Jesus sleeping in the boat knowing the storm was coming. I also thought of myself because I don’t take naps. I’ve got too much going on in my mind and in my life to take a nap. I began thinking of Jesus again and how He would often draw away from the crowds to be alone. Whether He was napping, praying or just being alone, Jesus was creating space to rest. The Gospels include this attribute of Jesus as a reminder to us that we need to take a break often. The very first ordinance that God instituted for us was the Sabbath. The words means to stop and rest. God did it. Jesus did it. You need to do it.

Here are some Bible verses on resting.

1. You shall work for six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; [even] in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest [on the Sabbath].

Exodus 34:21 AMP

2. He (Jesus) said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while”—for there were many [people who were continually] coming and going, and they could not even find time to eat.

Mark 6:31 AMP

3. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Psalms 127:2 NLT

4. Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest.

Matthew 11:28-29 GNT

5. He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace near the quiet brook of bliss.

Psalms 23:2 TPT

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May 18, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Divine Disruptions

How do you respond when your plans get disrupted? How do you feel when things don’t go according to the way you thought they were? At times, we follow God’s leading in our life, thinking it’s going to go one way, when things happen and they go another. It drives me nuts when that happens. I’ve already played everything out based on the information I have from the Holy Spirit, but then I find out that I don’t have all the information. He often has a different plan than the one I have. He has other motives that I don’t know about. So when He disrupts what I think is the plan, I often don’t recognize that it’s Him. Instead of rolling with the changes, I often push back.

In Acts 8, the Early Church was growing rapidly until Saul came on the scene and started persecuting Christians. People had to move away from their homes to escape. One person that did that was Philip. He went to Samaria where Jews were hated. He preached the Gospel and revival broke out. So many people were getting saved and healed that Peter and John went there and took over Philip’s ministry. An angel then told him to go down the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. There he encountered an Ethiopian reading Scripture. He explained it to him and he got saved. After baptizing him, the Spirit caught Philip away and transported him to Ashdod instead of Gaza where he thought he was supposed to go. That was a seven hour walk away.

In each of these cases, the plans Philip had were disrupted or changed. Because of the persecution, the Gospel spread around the world. Because he followed God’s leading after his ministry was taken from him, aN Ethiopian took the Gospel to Africa and established the Church there. Romans 8:28 says, “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose” (TPT). Whatever disruption you’re facing right now could be from God. Even if it’s not, God can work it out for good and for His purposes. Instead of throwing a pity party, ask God what He needs from you in this time. Who knows the ripple effect of what God can do through you when you submit to His will instead of your plans.

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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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May 17, 2023 · 5:34 AM

Faith Lived Out

One of the jobs I’ve had was in a think tank for a large company. They would fly several of us in, present a problem the company was facing and we would go to work to solve. It usually took a week to figure out the cause and how it presented itself. We would then spend the next couple of months creating the solution. We could talk about the solution for days, but until we put it into practice, we didn’t know if it would work. So we flew to where the problem was the worst and implemented the solution. We then watched the results, gathered feedback, refined the solution and retested it over and over until we got the results we were looking for.

In Matthew 7:24 Jesus said, “So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock” (AMP). He said that when the storms of life came and beat against this house, it stood firm because their faith had been tested, refined and proven. Then He contrasted it with a person who just heard His words, but didn’t live them or act on them. When the storms came in that person’s life, their faith crumbled because it was only an idea they were holding onto. This person lacked a strong foundation built on faith that had been lived out.

James 1:22 says, “But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound reasoning contrary to the truth].” Faith is just a concept you talk about until you put it into practice in your life. It’s what you live out Monday through Saturday when you’re in the world. It’s walking and trusting God when you can’t see the next step, but moving forward anyway. It’s trusting His promises when others say there is no hope. God never intended for Faith to be something we identify with. He intended it to be something we lived, grew and built our lives on. That’s a foundation that can withstand even the strongest storms. I know because I’ve proven it in my life over and over.

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May 16, 2023 · 5:38 AM

Maturity Matters

I read something a while back that shocked me. It said the average person only reads one book after they leave school. One book for the rest of their life! That’s crazy to me, and I’m not a person who devours books. That means that the average person will mature physically once they’re out of school, but not intellectually. They do very little to grow their mind, improve their understanding of the world or learn something new. I realize we have a ton of information at our fingertips with the internet, but articles aren’t books. They give you the Cliff Notes, not the full tools that will truly help you improve. It should be worrisome to us that the average person peaks intellectually between 18-24 years old.

Paul spent most of his entire adulthood traveling to young churches and writing them letters on the importance of growing and maturing in their faith. He was constantly telling them and Timothy, his understudy, to grow their roots down deep, mature their faith and produce fruit. He understood that we’re not supposed to stop once we’ve accepted Jesus and are baptized. There’s a lifetime of growth and learning ahead of you. Yet, somehow, the same mentality that affects our learning growth, infects our spiritual growth. It tries to remove our drive to learn more about Jesus, change how we live and mature in our faith. When that happens, we miss out on the abundant life God has for us. We become like the Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years. We’re out of the bondage of sin, but we fail to reach the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey.

Ephesians 4:13-14 says, “This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth” (NLT). Maturity in Christ perfects the Body of Christ from false teachers, builds unity in the Body and makes us more Christlike. Take time to read this full chapter today. God has so much more for us. We can’t be satisfied with milk when He has meat waiting for us. We must be intentional about our spiritual growth and maturity. It requires us to learn more about Him and to live out our faith more than one day a week. It requires us digging into God Word ourselves and relentlessly pursuing Him. God has more to this life for you. Don’t be satisfied with where you are.

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May 15, 2023 · 5:36 AM

Missing Information

Have you ever been sure you were right until you found out you were missing information? I’ve had that happen on more than one occasion. Some told me an injustice that happened to them, so I stood up for them and argued their case. The other person, whom I was going after, said, “Did you know this?” I didn’t. It was a handy piece of information to have. Had I known that, I would have kept my mouth shut. Now I’m standing there with my foot in my mouth feeling kind of small. I had to apologize because I acted on the information I had rather than making sure I had all the information.

Almost all of the book of Job is about him pleading his case with his friends. They’re convinced he’s sinned and God is punishing him. He defends himself, and round and round they go for over 30 chapters. Then he switches his attention to God. He demands God show up so He can be confronted about his injustice. Well, God shows up and asks Job a bunch of questions he doesn’t have the answer to. God’s questions reveal to Job that he doesn’t have all the information. In Job 40:4-5 he answers God, “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say” (NLT). In that moment Job realized God sees the bigger picture and He was wise enough to be quiet and trust Him.

Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’” I don’t know what you’re going through today. Maybe you feel like Job where everything is being taken away from you unjustly. Maybe you’re blaming God or pleading your case to Him about how you’re being targeted. I want to remind you that in Job 1, it was the devil who requested permission to attack Job. God trusted Job to stay faithful no matter how bad things got. Because he did stay true, God rewarded him. We don’t know why things happen, but we do know God is in control and He has a plan. He sees the whole picture of your life and is working everything out for your good, even when it doesn’t seem good or feel good. Trust His long term plan rather than your current situation. He’s not missing information. We are.

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May 11, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Integrated Into Christ

One of the things that I’ve taught for years is that habits, behaviors and attitude are all learned behaviors. You have the ability to change them with enough dedication and thought process changes. In the late 1980’s, Stephen Covey wrote a book called, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. It sold so many copies in the first 11 years that it was named the most influential book of the 20th century. It taught people principles they could change personally to move from dependence to independence, and it also taught how to become a better team player as well. Many people attribute their success in business and in life to this self help book.

Unfortunately, many people approach the Bible as a self help book. They look at it as a book of do’s and don’t’s that will make you a better Christian in order to get into Heaven. We’ve been conditioned to think that if we will just act right, say the right things and spread love then we will be good Christians. The problem with that thinking is that it’s all behavior based Christianity. Romans 7 address that. If we try to live our Christian lives based on behaviors, then we’re going to be miserable. Jesus didn’t die to make you a better person. He died to give you new life. The changes in our life are a result of our love for Him, not our will power. The root of behavior based Christianity is that we are trying to integrate Christ into our lives instead of integrating our lives into Him.

In John 15:4, Jesus said, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me” (NLT). Fruit isn’t produced on your own trying to be a good Christian. Fruit is produced through the new life Jesus gives us when we are fully grafted into Him. When we surrender our lives to Him, we are letting Him integrate us as branches into Himself as the Vine. Life changing power comes from that surrender and integration. It doesn’t come through will power. You are saved by grace, through faith, not by your good behavior or works (Ephesians 2:8). It’s not your habits that make you a Christian, it’s your heart. Man looks on the outward things, but God looks at your heart. Romans 8 addresses living surrendered to Christ in contrast to trying to do things on your own in Romans 7. We each need to make sure our lives are grafted into Christ where true life and fruitful living are.

Photo by Henri Guérin:

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 10, 2023 · 5:43 AM

Take Time To Prepare

Years ago I had a corporate job where I stood in front of groups to train soft skills and also processes. Every once in a while, someone would come up and tell me that they wanted to be in a position like mine. They would ask if they could shadow me for a day. I would usually agree to it, and then they would ask what training they could shadow. I’d laugh and say, “I’m not going to have you shadow me on a teaching day. I want you to come up here during my preparation time.” They would look puzzled and ask why. I always responded, “Because what you see in the classroom is the result of my work. I’ve spent hours preparing to stand here and deliver this content. If you want to do this job, you need to see the amount of preparation it takes to stand here for 8 hours.” Not many people wanted the job after that.

When we read the Gospels, we’re looking at 3 years of Jesus’ ministry. It was the result of 30 years of preparation. We don’t really get a glimpse of the years He prepared. We know as a twelve year old, He was in the Temple preparing. He knew He needed to be about His father’s business even then. We know that His earthly father was a carpenter. He would have learned His father’s trade of looking at the details, measuring twice, cutting once and using tools to create masterpieces from wood that had been cut. All of His life was preparation for ministry. We even read how He took time away from the disciples and people to get alone with God as preparation for the ministry He would do the next day.

2 Timothy 2:21 says, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things [which are dishonorable—disobedient, sinful], he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified [set apart for a special purpose and], useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” (AMP). God wants to use each of us somewhere in His Kingdom, but we each must take the time to prepare for it. We must be willing to be alone with God in prayer. We have to be willing to be taught skills that God can use. We must be open to learning more about who He is. We also have to make choices to be set apart, live pure lives and to be ready when God wants to use us. Most of us will touch one or two lives at a time rather than the masses. That will still require you to spend time in prayer and preparation. Every person who wants to be used by God must take the time to be prepared for every good work God wants to do through them. Ask God today what He wants you to do to prepare for what He’s calling you to do.

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