Tag Archives: daily devotional

August 12, 2013 · 7:42 AM

Move That Bus

I used to love to watch “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”. They always chose a family who were struggling and had been going through difficult times. They let the family tell their story in their own words. ABC would then send them to Disney for a well deserved vacation. While they were out, their house was demolished and a new one was built in its place. Once they returned from vacation, there was a bus parked in front of their house preventing them from seeing it. Ty Pennington would talk to them for a bit and then the family and the crowd would start to chant, “Move that bus!”

Once the bus rolled out of the way, the family was able to see their dream home. With grateful hearts and tears in their eyes, they often dropped to their knees in amazement. A house had been built just for them, with their needs in mind and the mortgage was taken care of. The struggles that they had been faced with were now smaller than before. The difficult situation they were in just got a shot of hope. Their future was bright once again.

After having several conversations this weekend regarding my post on Friday, this show came to my mind. There are so many of you who are struggling with faith, trusting God and wanting to know the purpose in the pain. There’s something like that bus that is preventing you from seeing the master plan that God has for you. It’s impossible to see around the circumstances that are filling your life. You know that God works all things together for your good, but you just want a glimpse of that good so you can have some hope in your current situation.

As a friend and I were discussing difficult times this weekend, the story of Joseph came up. God showed him the dream and then sent him down a path where he couldn’t see it anymore. You don’t read about him complaining though. What you do read is that God was with him. Finally, years after that dream, his brothers bowed before him in Egypt. I think it was one of those “move that bus” moments where everything became clear and he saw God had a plan the whole time.

Until that bus moves, there’s just anticipation of what’s on the other side. There’s doubt that the bus will ever move. There’s fear that it won’t. There’s concern that this may be the new normal for your life and that God will never reveal his master plan for your life. I understand those doubts and fears. I also know that the time comes when God moves that bus and He shows you fulfilled dreams that couldn’t have been fulfilled any other way than through pain, suffering and loss.

If you’re standing in that spot today where you can’t see the purpose in your situation, I’m standing with you. If you’re vision is blocked by the bus of circumstances, I’m praying God will give you hope that what He’s doing is for your good. If you’re chanting, “Move that bus”, I want to chant with you and to share in your joy as God reveals to you what He’s been doing. Your old life may have been demolished, but there is a better life just behind that bus waiting for you. It will be revealed at just the right time. Hang in there.

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August 7, 2013 · 7:57 AM

Who’s Report Are You Believing?

I’ve got the story of Jarious on my mind this morning. In Mark 5, his daughter was sick so he went to get Jesus. After telling Jesus about his daughter, a woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment for her healing. Jesus stopped and asked who had touched Him. While Jesus was speaking to the lady, a servant came up and said, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” I’m sure Jarius felt like he was too late. All the what if’s started to pop into his mind.

It can happen to any of us. We have a urgent need that requires Jesus’ attention, but we delay in bringing it to Him. Or we take it to Him and He is delayed in responding to our request. Either way, when we take our needs to Jesus, He is able to help and to heal. In this case, the worst possible thing happened. I wonder if Jarius started to blame the woman with the issue of blood. Did he blame Jesus for not moving quickly enough to heal his daughter?

How do we respond when the worst possible thing happens? Do we turn and walk away? Do we stay with Jesus and ask for Him to intervene anyway? Do we listen to the reports of others? In sales, I’ve heard it said, “Never take a no from someone who can’t give you a yes.” In faith I say, “Never believe the report of someone who doesn’t have the power to change it.” Jarius didn’t. He stayed with the One who had the power to change the report.

In verse 36 of the New Century Version it says, “Jesus paid no attention to what they said. He told the synagogue leader, ‘Don’t be afraid. Just believe.'” Jesus had the power to change the report so He paid no attention to it. I’m sure Jarius was starting to believe it so Jesus spoke to him about his faith. He then took 3 disciples with Him to the house. When he arrived, there were people crying and wailing over the child. Jesus spoke to them with confidence that the girl wasn’t dead. They didn’t believe His report so He threw them out of the house.

Jesus then took those who believed His report over the report of others into the girl’s room. Jesus took the girl by the hand and told her to get up. She opened her eyes and stood up. Those that believed His report got to witness the miracle. Those who didn’t were not given the opportunity to see. Jesus is the one who has the power to change the report that has been given to you today. He’s the one who speaks peace after a bad report is given. He says, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.”

What report have you been given? Are you believing in the one who doesn’t have the power to change it? Or are you believing in the One who does? It’s our faith that causes us to stay with Jesus after a bad report is given to us. It’s the enemy who says, “Don’t bother Him anymore. There’s nothing He can do.” As Joshua said, “Choose you this day whom you will serve (believe). As for me and my house, we will serve (believe) The Lord.”

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August 6, 2013 · 7:22 AM

Helping The Hurting

One of my prayers each day is that God would allow me to be His hands and feet to someone else. I had the opportunity to do that last week on the flight home. There was a man beside me on the plane that was clearly anxious. When the crew began their pre-launch emergency speech, he looked at them intently. A few minutes into it, he looked at me and said, “I don’t understand. I don’t speak English.” He indicated he spoke Spanish, so I translated for him.

In flight, I asked where he was headed. He said he was going home to Mexico. I then asked if he knew how to navigate the Houston airport to get to his next flight. His anxiousness turned quickly into worry. I offered to walk him to his connecting flight. As we walked through the maze of corridors, took the tram to the other terminal and navigated our way to his gate, he stopped and said, “I would have never found this without you. There were too many barriers in my way.”

I wonder how many people are on the pew beside us each Sunday who need help navigating this life. I wonder how many times they walk through the corridors of our church, through the maze of our services and classes and then walk out confused and lost. How many times have I gone to service just to sit in my seat, hear the message and then head out the door without helping someone? Too many I’m sure.

There are people placed in our path each day who don’t speak the language of the kingdom. They’re lost and anxious not knowing where to go for help. They don’t know how to navigate the troubles this life brings or who to turn to for help. We see them, but don’t take the time out of our day to help them because we’ve got other things to do. We pass on the other side like the priest in the parable of the good Samaritan. We look the other way and pretend not to see so it doesn’t cost us anything.

I love that my pastor says, “Our church isn’t a museum for the saints, but a hospital for the hurting.” If it is a hospital, we are the nurses and doctors who have the remedy. We are the ones with the prescription for pain. We shouldn’t pretend we have it all together. We need to be honest and let them know we’ve been where they are. We were once confused in this world, lost without hope, disease ridden with sin and were brought to life. There isn’t one of us who are perfect so we shouldn’t pretend to be. It’s in our imperfections that we’re able to empathize and help them.

Who has God placed in your path lately? Who sits on your pew each week that you ignore? Don’t worry about trying to be perfect or to say the right thing. Do the right thing and say hello. Ask how they are really doing. If it’s beyond your ability to help, get someone else involved who can help. Introduce them to others. Help them navigate the twists and turns of this life. You never know what an impact you can have on someone else just by being you. When the man and I parted ways, he said, “I believe God put you in my path today.” Whose path has God put you in today?

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August 5, 2013 · 8:01 AM

Training Wheels

Did you ever have a bike with training wheels on it? I did. I remember the day they came off too. I was so excited. I remember my dad held the bike up as I got on it. It was wobbly and my excitement quickly turned to fear. My dad didn’t give me a choice to get off the bike. He told me to pedal as he held onto my seat. As I pedaled, he ran along behind me. He cheered me on with words of encouragement. As the wind blew in my hair, a smile crept over my face. I looked to see if my dad was just excited and he wasn’t there. He was further back. I was doing it on my own.

Maybe you can relate. Your story is probably similar. It’s comforting to know there’s someone holding onto the seat, but there’s also a great excitement in the freedom of being released. There’s a sense of accomplishment when your training wheels are off and your pedaling is keeping you upright. I think acting in faith is very similar to the experience of riding a bike. We all like having the training wheels on, but sooner or later they’ve gotta come off.

God doesn’t want us to have training wheels on our faith for our entire lives. He expects us to grow and to mature. He wants to take them off and set us free to do His will and His work. Just because they’re off, it doesn’t mean He isn’t there with you or watching you. It means He trusts you enough to accomplish what He made you to do. I imagine the disciples were scared when Jesus ascended into Heaven. All of a sudden their training wheels were off and they were expected to ride.

Jesus entrusted the future of Christianity with those eleven men and set them free. For three years they were being trained on how to share God’s message of love for us. Jesus knew that they would be more effective if He took the training wheels off and freed them to go out into the world. He knew they were ready, but they didn’t. He had to let go of the seat, return to Heaven and watch as they pedaled. When they fell, He picked them up, dusted them off and put them back on the bike because a good father doesn’t let his children stay down when they fall.

You and I aren’t much different. We have training wheels in our lives that God wants to remove. There’s excitement thinking about it, but also fear. The questions of doubt arise and get us to beg God to keep those training wheels on longer. It’s as if we don’t trust Him when He says we’re ready. We want the freedom, but are also afraid of it. God wants to release us to do His work in the world, but we’re too scared to have Him let us go and to set us free to do it. Sooner or later, the wheels have to come off or we’ll never be as effective as He needs us to be.

What are the training wheels in your life that God wants to take off? Why are you afraid to let Him remove them? God can do so much more through you if you’ll just trust Him. He knows that you were created for His purpose and to do His will. He’s spent the necessary time training you and developing you to do what He has called you to do. Let Him set you free to that work. Let Him remove the training wheels that are keeping you from the freedom He has for you. Start to pedal, let the wind blow through your hair, smile and learn to trust yourself and God.

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August 2, 2013 · 7:58 AM

Left With Nothing

Genesis 42 tells the story of Jacob sending all of his sons except Benjamin to Egypt to buy food. The seven year famine was in full effect and Jacob had no other choice but to send his sons to buy food. When they came before their brother Joseph, they didn’t recognize him. They bowed before him and immediately Joseph remembered his dreams. He accused them of being spies and put them in jail. They explained who they were and that they had another brother.

Joseph released all but one, Simeon, so that the others could return home with food and then bring back Benjamin. When they told their father Jacob what had happened, he was upset. In verse 36 he said, “You’re taking everything I’ve got! Joseph’s gone, Simeon’s gone, and now you want to take Benjamin. If you have your way, I’ll be left with nothing.” I wonder if that last line was directed more at God than his sons.

For Jacob’s survival, he had to give up everything including the one thing he was holding back. He’d suffered loss before and didn’t want to release Benjamin. Through his losses, he had forgotten God’s promise to him back when he wrestled with God. In Genesis 35:11, God told him, “You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants.” Now, God was asking him to release all of his sons into the unknown. He thought that if he held onto one, the promise could still come true.

When he agreed to release what he had held back and sent all of his sons to Egypt, then he not only was given food, housing, protection from the famine and Simeon back, he got what was lost and taken from him back. He was reunited with Joseph. He was also able to see the greater picture. Joseph had to be taken from him years earlier in order to ensure the survival of his family so the promise could come true. Joseph endured hardships all those years just so his family could endure the coming famine.

It’s got me thinking this morning, “What is the one thing I’m holding back from God? Have I trusted Him with my whole life, yet held something back as a security blanket? Am I bitter over a loss or a time of hardship?” God’s not satisfied with us giving Him 99%. He wants us to release 100% of what we have to Him. It will only appear that we will be left with nothing. What we will gain is so much more. It just takes faith and trust in God’s promises to you.

What prior loss has still left you scared to trust God with everything? What’s the one thing in your life that you’re withholding from God? Do you feel like you’ll be left with nothing if you give everything to God? You aren’t alone in those feelings. You aren’t wrong to have them. It becomes wrong when God asks for you to let go and you still hang on. Release it all to God today. His hands are far more capable of protecting it than yours. He’s able to return it and all that you’ve lost exceedingly and abundantly more than you can imagine.

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July 30, 2013 · 8:04 AM

Fishing In The Wrong Boat

In one of the classes I teach, I have people introduce themselves and tell me a hobby they have outside of work. It provides opportunities for connection early in the class as well as information I can tie back to throughout the day. Yesterday, while training this class, a guy answered that he liked to play music. I followed up with, “What kind?” He responded with, “Worship. I’ve felt called to lead worship since I was young, but I’ve been too scared to step out and do it.” He admitted in front of our group what so many of us Christians are afraid to say.

God’s call on our life can be scary. I think it’s supposed to be. If it were anything less than scary, we’d do it without hesitation. The problem with that is we would think it was done in our own ability. We need to understand that we are simply vessels to be used by Him. It is He who performs the work, we simply provide the channel. Our inability to do whatever He called us to is His greatest opportunity to do something amazing.

God sees in us what we cannot see. Peter was just another uneducated fisherman when Jesus called Him. He didn’t posses the ability to start the Church. He didn’t have the business acumen to take twelve men, start a worldwide movement and grow it. He didn’t have the boldness to stand in front of thousands to preach. He knew what fear was and it got the better of him from time to time. He denied Jesus and his calling in the same night.

The fear of his calling to be the rock that the church would be built on caused him to go back to fishing when he should have been preaching after the resurrection. He went back to what he knew instead of stepping out in faith to be the rock he was called to be. Jesus didn’t leave him in that boat though. He went to the waters edge in John 21, but they didn’t recognize Him. He called out to them, “Have you caught any fish?” They replied, “No.” Jesus called out, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you’ll catch some.” As soon as they did, the net teemed with fish. Peter recognized the man as Jesus and swam to shore.

Jesus reaffirmed to Peter that day what his role was. He didn’t worry about his failures or inabilities. He worried about his love for Him. Jesus knew that if he truly loved Him, he would obey his calling. He didn’t leave Peter in the boat catching the wrong kind of fish. He reiterated that he was to be a fisher of men from now on. I think that call goes out to you in whatever boat you’re sitting in today. Maybe you’re reading this in the place where you can accomplish things in your own strength. It’s the boat of what is familiar and easy to you. But God has more for you. Have you really caught anything where you are?

I encourage you today to recognize the fear that is paralyzing you and keeping you from your calling. If God called you to do something, it’s His strength and ability that will accomplish it, not yours. Release the fear that sent you back into the boat of the familiar and do what God has called you to do. Faith is about trusting God to do what He said He would do. It’s not about you doing things and giving Him credit. Don’t let fear hold you back another minute. If you love Him, feed His sheep.

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July 29, 2013 · 8:19 AM

The Noise of Life

This morning started like most mornings. My alarm went off and I hit the snooze button. I did that three times before getting up. I turned on the light and grabbed my phone to read the Bible. As soon as I did, I heard music. I leaned over and checked the clock radio in my hotel room. It was off, but the music was coming from right where it was. The walls in my hotel must be paper thin. The person on the other side of the wall was waking up too. I couldn’t concentrate so I turned my clock radio on too. I put it on the AM dial and turned to where there wasn’t a station so the white noise would drown out the music.

It was still hard to concentrate as I read. I managed to get through it and find a verse to think about today. Afterwards, I went on my way to getting ready and started praying. It wasn’t long before I heard an alarm going off. It was my clock radio. I went over, hit the off button and looked or a way to keep it off. I went back across the room to pray. It went off again. I turned it off and returned to praying. As I was praying, I kept hearing all the room doors opening and closing up and down the hall. So distracting.

Jesus knew we were going to face distractions when it comes to spending time with Him because He faced distractions. That’s why He went away from the group to pray so often. It wasn’t that He didn’t enjoy their company, it was so He could get some alone time with the Father. He was trying to show the disciples by example how they should be spending time with God corporately and alone. All the Gospels talk about Jesus separating Himself to pray.

Jesus even told them in Matthew 6:6, “When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.” Part of that instruction was so that we won’t be like others who pray so others will hear them and the other part was what I’m facing today. It was to get away from the noise of life that tries to distract us from not only spending time with God, but from hearing from Him too. With all the distractions going on this morning, I had a difficult time hearing His voice. I ended up leaving the hotel to get away from all the distractions so I could have alone time with Him.

Where are you today? What distractions keep you from spending time with God? Kids? Spouse? Neighbors? Friends? Radio? TV? Your phone? Facebook? Whatever it is, find a place and time today where you can just be alone with God. Spend time talking to Him and also spend some time listening to His voice. Read His Word in the quiet so you can really understand what He is trying to say to you through it. Get away from the noise of this life so you can concentrate on God.

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July 25, 2013 · 6:55 AM

Get out of the Gutter

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As I was praying this morning, I began to think back to my teenage years and my early twenties. I saw places where God corrected my path and even prevented me from making decisions that could have affected the rest of my life. At the time, I didn’t see what was happening or know how close I was to making life altering decisions. As I began to thank God for helping me to stay on the right path, I saw this image of a bowling ball bouncing between gutter guards.

I see now that those guards where there keeping me in the lane. My life hasn’t gone down the center of the lane headed for a perfect strike. Instead, it has bounced from one guard to the other. I’ve gotten course corrections all throughout my life. The further down the lane I go, the less I’m hitting the guards. I’m glad they’re still there though. I know I still need them from time to time.

Just like in the game of bowling, the guards don’t always prevent the ball from rolling into the gutter. It happens. It happened. My life did roll down that gutter for a while. I went past the guards that God had in place to keep me in the lane. Thankfully, even in the gutter, God put a course correction for my life. I had the opportunity to bounce out of the gutter and back into where He wanted me.

When life rolls into the gutter, it’s easy to forget that you can get back into the lane God has for you. It’s easy to think that you’ve somehow messed up so bad that God can’t fix it. Your mind tells you that you should just stay there and keep rolling all the way to the end. It’s a hopeless place because so very few exit the gutter. But even in the gutter, God is still ready to put us back in right standing with Him. He knows that even when He rescues us from it, our lives will still bounce back and forth.

What I have found is that God is patient, kind and forgiving. He never stops loving us even if we go past the guards He set up in our lives. He’s constantly waiting for us to call out to Him for help. He’s looking down that lane to see if we’re ready for a course correction. I think He delights in getting us out of the gutter and putting us back into the lane where He wants us. There’s nothing that you or I could ever do to keep Him from loving us and wanting to put us back where we belong. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness.

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July 24, 2013 · 7:38 AM

Praise in Prison

Our associate pastor was talking this past Sunday and brought up Paul and Silas. He was referencing the time when they were in prison and were shackled down. At midnight they began to praise God and to sing. During that time of praise that all the other prisoners could hear, an earthquake hit under the prison and freed all the prisoners from their shackles. Instead of leaving, every prisoner stayed put. The pastor then said, “Sometimes God will free you from your chains, but leave you in the prison in order to minister.”

That has stuck with me this week. We’ve all heard sermon after sermon about praising God in your midnight, but I never heard anyone talk about what he mentioned. We’re so eager to get the chains off that when they do fall off, we run out of the place God had us. We never stop to think that just because we’re free of the chains it doesn’t mean we’re necessarily free from the prison. There may still be work to do there.

The prison guard heard the chains fall off. He knew the prisoners were free and that he was no match for them. He assumed they had gotten away or were going to. If that was to occur, he would be killed. As his mind raced through every negative scenario, he decided to take his own life. As he drew his sword and held it up to kill himself, the very men that were set free called out to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We’re all here!”

The guard called for lights and went down into the dungeon where Paul and Silas were, fell on his face before them and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” The quake that night wasn’t about freeing the prisoners, it was about saving a soul. Paul and Silas were in tune with God enough that they knew not to run in their freedom. Instead, they used their freedom in that dungeon to minister to someone who wouldn’t have listened to the Gospel any other way.

The guard got his family so they could hear the message. They too were saved. Then he took Paul and Silas into his home, cleaned their wounds and fed them. The next morning they were freed from the jail by the city. Even though the chains that bound them had been released, they were still prisoners until the night was over. Had they fled when the shackles fell off, they would not have been legally free and would have been considered fugitives. The story would have had a different ending.

How is your story going to end? We’re all prisoners to something. When we’ve learned to praise in our prison and we’ve been set free, we shouldn’t be so quick to run out of the prison. There may be others who need to be set free as well while you’re there. God can set us free from the things that bind us in order to minister in the place He has us. Where does God have you now? Are you so concerned with getting your chains off that you haven’t noticed others who need your help? Ask God to teach you to open your eyes in the prison you’re in and then start to praise.

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July 23, 2013 · 7:28 AM

The Performance Paradox

I work for a company who pays for performance, but serve a God who doesn’t. It’s difficult not to let my work mentality slip into my spiritual life. I try to tie my value to God based on what I do, not on who He created me to be. I think that the more I do for Him, the more He will love me or reward me, but that’s not true. That’s not how God sees me or values me. He loved me sufficiently before I could ever do anything for Him and did what needed to be done for my salvation.

I got a glimpse of that when my son was born. Before he was even born, I loved him. Before he could take me by the hand and say, “Come on, Dada. Let’s go play,” I loved him. My love for him is not based on what he does, but on who he is. It’s the same with God. Before we were born or had any knowledge of Him, He loved us deeper than we could ever know. He paid a price for us higher than anyone should have to pay.

So why do I tie my value to Him based on my performance? Like I mentioned earlier, I think it has to do with letting my worldly mentality interfere with my spiritual mentality. It’s hard to separate the two. For so much of what I do in life, I’m rewarded based on how much I put into it. There is a value placed on what I do and a monetary reward that supplies needs and wants for my family. The more I do, the more I’m valued.

In God’s kingdom, my value is not based on what I do. Ephesians 2:9 says, “Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it (NLT).” No matter how much “good” I do, it’s not good enough to pay the price He had to pay for my salvation. I don’t have to do “good things” to get to Heaven. I simply have to receive what He’s already paid for.

Because I have received that gift, I now show my appreciation by doing “good things.” The difference is that I have to change my mentality from thinking I’m doing them to earn something He gave to me freely into an expression of love. My performance is not to increase my value to God, but to increase His value in someone else’s life who doesn’t know Him. Once I understand that, the “good things” I do are done out of love and not out of obligation. They are done to give and not to receive.

Have you been in that same place where you thought your value to God was based on what you did? Have you let your worldly mentality infect your spiritual mentality? It’s not too late to change course. God values you and loves you more than you can imagine. Even if you feel there is nothing you can do for God, He still places a high value on you. His love for you and your value to Him are not tied to what you have done or will do. He values you simply because you were created by Him. Hold your head high today and don’t let anyone who didn’t create you tell you what you’re worth. God determines your worth based on what He did, not on what you’ve done.

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