Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16:3 (NLT)
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Tag Archives: Christianity
Pig-like Commitment (Video)
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Be Prepared
The Boy Scout’s motto is “Be prepared.” It means that you should always be prepared to do what’s necessary to help others. I think it’s a great motto that we as believers should adopt as well. We should always be willing to help others and to do what is necessary, not just what is expedient. You will never become great by doing what’s easy. You have to be willing to pay a price that others won’t. As a Christian, that often comes in loving others as you love yourself.
Timothy was the Apostle Paul’s apprentice in the faith and in ministry. In his second letter to him, Paul gives him advice similar to the Boy Scout’s motto. II Timothy 4:2 says, “Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching” (NLT). His message then and now is to quit waiting for an opportune time to share your faith or help someone out. Do it now!
The time for preparation is before the times are hard. When a disaster is imminent, people rush to the stores and buy what they can in a panic. They may have what you need or they may be sold out. That is not preparation, that’s desperation. Where I live, we know hurricane season is June 1 – November 30. We know that sooner or later one will come. It’s better to be prepared before one enters the Gulf of Mexico. If you wait until it’s too late, you’re going to suffer.
That was Paul’s message to Timothy. He tołd him there was a storm coming. “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.” Since that time was coming, Timothy needed to be prepared to use the Word of God to correct, rebuke, and encourage. With a storm time coming, the time to prepare was now.
For us, there is a time quickly approaching like there was for Timothy. When that time gets here, it says that people will not listen to sound doctrine. We can no longer afford to wait for an opportune time to correct, rebuke, and encourage our family members, co-workers, or friends. We must get an urgency about us like Noah had to get people into the Ark. The night is coming and we need to be prepared. We need to be prepared to preach the Word of God now with our mouths and our lives. Eternity depends on it.
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The Joy Of Contentment
When I travel to New Orleans, there’s a certain homeless person I like to say hello to. He always makes me smile and he never asks me for anything. He’ll say, “It ain’t gonna cost you nothing to come say hello. I ain’t gonna rob you!” I then walk over and say hello and he puts a smile on my face. Except on a recent trip he called me over and said, “You know I never ask for nothing, but could you go in there and buy me an orange juice and sandwich? I’m about to curl up on my cardboard and I’m hungry.”
When I handed him his dinner, he hugged me and thanked me. He then asked, “You know what I’d change about the world?” My mind began to think of any number of answers. No more homelessness. No more hunger. No more devaluing people. No more selfishness. But before I could decide on an answer, he grabbed my shoulder, looked up at the sky, smiled a big toothless grin, and said, “Absolutely nothing!” He laughed, thanked me again and walked away.
I thought about his answer as I walked back to my hotel. Here’s a man, for whatever reason, is sleeping on a cardboard mat on the streets on downtown New Orleans and is exposed to the elements constantly, and he wouldn’t change a thing. Even though he has absolutely nothing to his name, he has found a way to be content. He’s learned to choose joy instead of bitterness over his situation. It’s a lesson we all could learn.
Paul learned that secret and told us about it in Philippians 4:12. He said, “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). That secret is choosing the joy of contentment with where God has you. That joy gives us the strength to endure whatever comes our way. It takes us from being a victim of life to a victor over our situation. Don’t try to change your world. Change your attitude. The next verse tells us we can. “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
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Stronger Faith
In Luke 17, the disciples asked Jesus for more faith. I’ve fallen into that trap myself: believing I could have more or less faith and that my amount of faith determines God’s response. They felt like it was the amount of faith Jesus had that gave Him the ability to do the things He was doing. The response Jesus gave them in verse 6, proves it isn’t the amount of faith you have that motivates God.
Jesus said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it” (MSG). There isn’t a size of faith. Either you have faith or you don’t. If you have faith that God will do something, you will act on that faith. If you have faith, you can speak to things and they will move.
James tells us that faith without works is dead. He’s saying, if you really have faith, you will act on it. If you aren’t doing anything by faith, you have none. Either you have faith and prove it daily, or you have none and prove it too. Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.” He understood that you will always act according to what you believe. If you don’t believe God will answer, you won’t really pray. If you do, you will pray and show you believe it.
Faith isn’t about size, it’s about action. When the disciples asked for more faith, they got schooled by Jesus. When a man in Mark 9 asked Jesus if He could heal his boy, Jesus responded in verse 23 with, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.” Our response should be like this man’s. He replied, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!” You only need a greater faith than your doubts if you want to act on it. If your faith isn’t strong enough to act on, then ask God to help you with your doubts.
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Pray For Boldness
One of the things I believe that Christians are missing today is boldness. We keep praying for gifts and an anointing that we were already given. We don’t need more gifts, we need more boldness to use the ones we have already been given. Boldness isn’t about making a show of the authority we have. It’s about using it despite the pressures of a culture that is opposed to our way of life.
Before Jesus ascended into Heaven He told us that He had been given all authority in heaven and earth, and that He was giving it to us. You and I have been given everything we need to proclaim His message and to live our lives in His service. What we seem to be lacking these days is a godly boldness. To help us know more about boldness, I’m including some scriptures on boldness.
1. And, beloved, if our consciences (our hearts) do not accuse us [if they do not make us feel guilty and condemn us], we have confidence (complete assurance and boldness) before God.
1 John 3:21 AMP
2. And then I’ll stir up fresh hope in Israel—the dawn of deliverance!—and I’ll give you, Ezekiel, bold and confident words to speak. And they’ll realize that I am GOD.
Ezekiel 29:21 MSG
3. The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions.
Proverbs 28:1 NLT
4. Let us be bold, then, and say: “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”
Hebrews 13:6 GNB
5. And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
Acts of the Apostles 4:29-30 NLT
6. And [also] most of the brethren have derived fresh confidence in the Lord because of my chains and are much more bold to speak and publish fearlessly the Word of God [acting with more freedom and indifference to the consequences].
Philippians 1:14 AMP
7. That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you! And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.
2 Timothy 1:5-7 MSG
8. And pray also for me, that God will give me a message when I am ready to speak, so that I may speak boldly and make known the gospel’s secret.
Ephesians 6:19 GNB
9. Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6 NRS
10. After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.
Acts of the Apostles 4:31 NLT
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Good Deeds
I love the idea of paying it forward. I always smile when I read a post on Facebook that is thanking an unknown person for buying their coffee or lunch. I think those actions and posts inspire others to do similar things for other people. At work, I challenge new employees to do one thing for someone else each day. It can be as little a gesture as opening a door from them to letting them go first in the check out line to buying their lunch to wherever their mind leads them. The point is to train them to open their eyes to the needs of others.
Human nature has always look inward rather than outward. To break that habit and to begin looking to the needs of others, you have to challenge yourself to look up from your own life. Each of us have enough things going on in our lives that make us too busy, too poor, and too blinded to help others. We have excuses lined up as to why we don’t have the time or resources to help someone out.
The truth is, that simple gestures, like opening the door for someone, cost you no money or time. They are things you can easily do, but make a difference in others. Do you remember the Golden Rule? “Do for others what you want them to do for you” (Matt 7:12 GNB). If it’s a gesture you would appreciate, then do it for someone else first. Pay it forward so that you begin the chain reaction of people doing something good for someone else. The Golden Rule is a simple concept really, but it requires us to think beyond ourselves and to be the initiator in positive actions.
Decades after Jesus taught the Golden Rule, Paul was writing to Titus, a leader in the church, about the behaviors Christians should exhibit. In chapter 3 verse 8 he says, “I want you to give special emphasis to these matters, so that those who believe in God may be concerned with giving their time to doing good deeds, which are good and useful for everyone.” Doing good for others should be part of the DNA of all believers. It should be our concern to find things to do for others that are both good and useful.
So today, be on the lookout for people who you can do a good deed for. You’ll be surprised at how big a small gesture can be to some people. You’ll feel good in the process and who knows, it may even open up a door to share your faith or to pray for someone. Start today. Begin making an effort to look up from your life and you’ll find that opportunities abound for you to do good deeds for others. It’s an easy and effective way to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a world that desperately needs His presence.
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The Apron Of Humility
Several years ago, our area was hit by Hurricane Ike. Our electricity was out for over two weeks. Because of the work I do, I had to go to work anyway to help customers. A couple of days after the storm hit, the CEO of this Fortune 15 company flew down here. Each day, he put aside his tie, put on our uniform, and got behind a computer to help customers at one of our stores. When regular customers didn’t recognize him, they’d ask who he was. When he told them, no one believed him. He had to pull out his business card to prove it. Even then, there were skeptics.
To me, that’s a lot like what Jesus did. When the world was dark and powerless, Jesus left Heaven to come to earth to help us. He put aside His Heavenly body to take on the form of a man. He walked among us to help us. Many did not recognize Him nor believe He was who He said He was. When He proved it by doing things only God could do, they were still skeptical. Even though there were doubters, He continued to do the work that He was sent to do
Philippians 2:5-8 tells us exactly that, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (NLT). What it says first is very important. We should have that same attitude.
We should never be above doing any work in the Kingdom. There is no position high enough or level of spiritualness that you can attain where you don’t have to get down in the trenches and serve like everyone else. Jesus was still exhibiting the qualities of a servant the night He was betrayed to do what He came to do. He made it clear He was the Messiah, the Son of God, and yet He served others. John 13:4 says, “So He got up from the supper table, set aside His robe, and put on an apron” (MSG). He took off the robe that signified His greatness and position, to put on what the lowest ranking person wears in order to serve.
Christianity is not about becoming a great and powerful leader. It’s about becoming an humble servant. It’s following the example of the One who gave up all authority in Heaven and earth to wash the feet of others. It’s about meeting people where they are so they can see what God’s love is like. If the CEO of Heaven took off His robe to put on an apron and serve, we should put aside our pride and follow His example of serving others. Wearing the apron was an outward example of the position of His heart. If you feel you’re above putting on the apron of humility, pray that God would give you the same attitude Christ Jesus had.
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The Cycle Of Change
One of the things I firmly believe is that changed lives change lives. The greater work that God does in someone’s life, the greater the desire is to tell others. In Luke 7, Jesus was eating at the house of a religious leader. A woman in town, who had lived a sinful life, heard that Jesus was there. She grabbed an alabaster jar of oil and went to see Him. When she came into the house, she began to weep. She then bowed at His feet and wiped the tears off of them with her hair. She then poured the perfume on them as everyone in the house just watched.
The religious leader began to doubt who Jesus was. Luke 7:39 says, “When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man really were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives!’” (GNB). Jesus spoke up and offered a situation to him. He told of two men who owed the same person money. One person owed 500 and the other 50. Neither had the ability to pay off their debt. The debtor forgave both debts. Then Jesus asked, “Which one, then, will love him more?”
Jesus’ point was that those who are forgiven of more sins, love Him more. Those who experience a greater change in their lives show more gratitude. They had a bigger debt that was canceled than those who were raised in church and never lived a life full of sin. Both types of lives are changed when they receive Jesus as their savior and both have an obligation from that point on to help lead others to the One who can change lives. He more change we experience at salvation, the more we are compelled by love to help others.
To demonstrate this, Jesus then showed a comparison between this woman’s actions and the religious leader’s actions. He told how the religious leader hasn’t provided water to wash Jesus’ feet, but this woman hasn’t stopped washing them with her tears. He also didn’t greet Jesus with a kiss, and this woman hasn’t stopped kissing Him. Then in Luke 7:47, Jesus said, “I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love.”
The greater the change God makes in your life, the more natural it is for you to want to change other’s lives. The great news is that if you’re a Christian, God has changed your life and you have the ability to now tell others what God has done for you. When you share your story of redemption with others, you open the door for their life to be changed. The more lives that are changed by God’s love, the more people we will have out there changing other people lives. The cycle of change starts with you and me.
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Produce And Reproduce
I’ve been growing a garden since spring. My cucumbers were the first to become ripe. They were small, but delicious. After I picked them, the vines produced more flowers, but no more food. About that time, my tomato plants started blooming. They produced more than my cucumbers plants did. After several weeks of tomatoes, my jalapeño plants began to get buds on them. Each of them produced for a short period and then quit producing. During each plant’s harvest time, I was so excited to go check them. It left me wanting the plants to produce all year round.
I wonder if Paul felt the same way about the churches he planted. He would stay with them and cultivate them to make sure they were firmly planted. When he would leave to travel to other places to spread the Gospel, he would write to those churches to keep the weeds out so they could grow and reproduce. Some of his letters were reprimands (pulling weeds) and others were encouraging growth (cultivating).
As he was writing to the church at Phillipi to cultivate them, he wrote something that caught my attention. In Philippians 1:11, he says, “May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ —for this will bring much glory and praise to God” (NLT). Paul felt the same way about the church there as I did about my garden. He wished they would produce fruit year round instead of just for a short while. He wanted long term production.
It’s the same production God wants from us. We were not meant to be seasonal in our fruit. God expects us to produce the fruit of our salvation at all times. He doesn’t want us to be like my cucumbers where we produce a little bit and then fizzle out. He expects us to keep growing, to keep producing, and even to reproduce. We should be planting seeds in the lives of others, helping them to pull the weeds out, and cultivating their relationship with God so that they can produce and reproduce.
I heard a preacher once say that Christianity is only one generation away from extinction. If all we do is produce fruit in our own lives and never reproduce, Christianity will become extinct. Each of us should have a burning desire to reproduce through others because of what God has done for us. If we keep silent about what God has done and is doing in our lives, then the seeds we have will never be planted or be given the opportunity to reproduce, and Christianity will be no more. It’s up to you and me to produce and reproduce in order to have a continuos harvest.
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Dreams And Visions
I believe God puts dreams, visions, and plans inside each of us. It’s an amazing feeling when they become a reality. There is a sense of accomplishment and gratitude that comes along with it. What I’ve found is that the more we expect our dreams, visions, and plans to happen, the more likely they will. Our expectations and beliefs drive our actions until we see success.
Sometimes, those dreams, visions, and plans don’t happen. In those times, it’s easy to get discouraged and to lower our expectations and believe that they can’t happen. Below are some verses that have helped me in those times. They have reminded me that my dreams come from God, and it is He who will accomplish them. They also remind me that I can’t do it on my own. I have to get other people involved. The dreams, visions, and plans God gives are rarely just for us. He expects us to share them and use them for His glory.
1. At night when people are asleep, God speaks in dreams and visions.
Job 33:15 GNB
2. And afterward I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
Joel 2:28 AMP
3. Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams].
Ephesians 3:20 AMP
4. For a dream comes with much business and painful effort, and a fool’s voice with many words.
Ecclesiastes 5:3 AMP
5. It is pleasant to see dreams come true, but fools refuse to turn from evil to attain them.
Proverbs 13:19 NLT
6. And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by. For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.
Habakkuk 2:2-3 AMP
7. Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Proverbs 29:18 KJV
8. The plans of the godly are just; the advice of the wicked is treacherous.
Proverbs 12:5 NLT
9. Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail; take good counsel and watch them succeed.
Proverbs 15:22 MSG
10. May he give you what you desire and make all your plans succeed.
Psalms 20:4 GNB
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Devotions by Chris Hendrix 