Tag Archives: daily devotions

October 2, 2013 · 7:52 AM

Love With All Your Soul

And you must love The Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. – Mark 12:30

If loving God with all your heart was about being passionate again in your relationship with Him, then loving Him with all your soul is about loving Him with who you are. I looked up the Greek word “soul” used in this scripture to help give context and the word was “psyche”. It includes your conscious and subconscious self. I believe Jesus was telling us that our love for Him should permeate our entire being. It should be second nature to us.

I’m reminded of the woman who came and wept at Jesus’ feet and then dried them with her hair. People were watching in shock as she did it. They couldn’t believe Jesus was allowing this sinful woman to touch Him. He turned to them in Luke 7: 44-47 and told them that they had not offered him water for His feet nor greeted Him with a kiss. He then made the point that the person who is forgiven most, loves most and whoever has been forgiven little loves little.

When Jesus comes into our lives and forgives us of sins we have committed, it should change who we are and how we love. II Corinthians 5:17 tells us that anyone who belongs to Christ becomes a new person. Our old life is gone and a new life begins. The extent to which we realize what we’ve been saved from is how much we will love God with who we are. If Christ has forgiven us, then He has saved us from the same fate no matter how big or how small our sins were. We should love Him unconditionally based on that, but Jesus made a point to show that the size of our debt has to do with the size of our love.

Many of us have been forgiven for a great deal of sin. Some of us have been forgiven a small amount if sin. Either way, we have all sinned and were condemned to hell. Now that we have been forgiven, how do we express that love with who we are? Have we let that forgiveness come into our psyche and change us as a person? Have we become a new person that is different from the old one? God doesn’t just want our passion, He wants who we are to love Him. He wants our love for Him to emanate from our very being.

Letting His love change our psyche means we have to let go of the past that is tied to our old psyche. You can’t change what you’ve done in the past, but you can let Him forgive you of it and you can forgive yourself for it. When you’ve learned to do that, you will see that who you are will begin to change. You will become more like He is and grow into the person He wants you to become. Let go of the old life today. Embrace the new life He is giving you and love Him with who you are. That’s loving God with all your soul.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 19, 2013 · 7:00 AM

Test Day

20130919-065847.jpg

I’ve never really liked tests before even though I’m pretty good at them. Any time the word “test” comes up, I think of one of my high school teachers, Mr. Hart. He loved giving tests. He would wear a red contact lens, the ugliest tie he could find and eat a bag of chips while you were taking it. He’d ask, “Is this bothering you,” and then give an evil laugh. He’d ask questions that would earn you a Nobel Prize if you could answer them. His “bonus” questions came from movies like “Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail”. Maybe my memory has added to his legend, but that’s how I remember taking tests in his class.

I remember doing a lot of studying for tests to make sure I passed. I read back through the chapter, looked at my notes, made flash cards and quizzed other classmates to prepare. You knew the subject matter, but not what to expect on the test. As a person who played sports, there was extra pressure to pass since the “No Pass No Play” law had gone into effect. I wouldn’t have let myself down by failing, but my team too. So I put a lot of time and energy into making sure I knew the material.

All those memories came flooding back when I read what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in II Corinthians 13:5-9. He said, “Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. (MSG)”. Paul was saying to do with our faith what I did for tests in school. Read the book (Bible), look at notes (commentaries), make flash cards (memorize scripture) and quiz other classmates (have accountability partners to help you learn and grow).

Just like we had to prepare for what Mr. Hart might throw at us, we need to be prepared for what might challenge our faith. Times of testing shouldn’t come as a surprise to us. They shouldn’t scare us either if we’ve prepared beforehand. If you can read this, you’ve lived enough life to know that you’re going to be tested. If you’re a Christian, you should know your faith will be tested. It’s not so that you will fail, but to make sure you know what you believe. When I give tests at work, I jokingly call them “celebrations of knowledge” to relieve the stress. I’m not trying to get you to fail, I’m trying to showcase how much you’ve learned.

God does that with us too. He’s not up there trying to see if you’ll fail when He tests you. He’s wanting to show you how much you’ve learned and what you need to work on. Paul understood this and encouraged us to test ourselves ahead of time so we could pass with flying colors. When we do that, we won’t take our faith for granted or drift along. We’ll know what we believe, be able to confidently speak God’s Word when the enemy comes against us and live out our faith with a purpose and a passion. What will you do today to prepare for the testing of your faith?

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 18, 2013 · 8:02 AM

Fixing Your Life

20130918-080021.jpg

As I was pulling out of the parking lot at work yesterday, I felt God tell me to go the opposite direction that I should have. So I turned left instead of right. About a block away I saw a young lady trying to change her tire. I pulled up beside her and asked if she needed help. She was clearly frustrated and said, “At this point, I don’t think I can turn down help.” She had been trying to place the jack under the car in order to raise it up. She had it in position, but was having trouble turning the knob that lifted the jack.

I looked over at the styrofoam block that contained her jack and noticed there was an empty hole where the jack bar was supposed to be. I asked her where that was, but she didn’t know. I tried once or twice turning the knob by hand, but didn’t have the required strength to do it. I went to my car, got the jack out of it, slid it under her car and quickly raised it. In no time her spare was on and we were both able to head out. Having the right tool made all the difference.

I started thinking that’s how life is. When we get stranded on the side of life’s road broken down, we get frustrated trying to fix it without the right tools. We don’t try to flag anyone down to help us until we’re at the end of our rope. This lady had tried to call family members, but no one answered when she called. She didn’t know what else to do, but to keep trying even though it didn’t make sense. In the end, she was tired, worn out, upset and ready to give up.

I’ve been there in life. I lacked the strength and tools to make the changes necessary to get my life back on the road and moving again. I laid down in my living room and cried out to God, “I can’t do it! I don’t know how!” He met me there and said, “Finally.” I thought it was a strange response. He said, “Finally you’ve given up trying to do this in your own strength. Now try doing it in my strength. My strength is made perfect in your weakness.” I had to come to the realization that we weren’t made to handle all the troubles and cares of this life on our own. He told us over and over in His Word to cast our cares and burdens on Him, but we don’t get it.

He has the tools necessary to fix your life when you don’t. He has the strength needed to pick you up when you don’t. He has always given us the choice to continue struggling on our own or to rely on His strength. It’s just a matter of when each one of us makes the realization for ourselves that we need Him to help us. It took a while for me to learn how to walk in His strength. I’m still learning, but I’m getting better at calling out to Him sooner for help. What will it take to get you to the point where you can’t turn down His help?

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 17, 2013 · 7:57 AM

Out Of The Hole

It’s hard for me to believe that next week I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the lowest point of my life. I know it seems odd to celebrate such an event, but for me, it was a turning point in my life. It was the moment when I refused to go any lower than I was and made the decision that I would claw my way out of the hole that I was in no matter how much effort it took and no matter how long it took. I’m still clawing my way out of that hole, but now I’m starting to see daylight.

Ten years ago, there was no light at the end of the tunnel. There was no hope of ever recovering from what I had been through. I was hurt, embarrassed and alone. Sure I had a few friends around me, but no one truly knew the depth of my pain or what I was struggling with. I made a conscious effort to never think about that time in my life. I felt that if I could pretend it was a bad dream, the pain would go away. I thought that if I never spoke of it again, then I could put it behind me.

I moved on with my life pretending that I hadn’t gone through a painful divorce, filed for bankruptcy, lost my business or ran away from those who cared most about me. I figured that the best way out was to start my life over fresh and new as if none of it never happened. The problem was it did happen. Underneath everything I was still a mess inside. I was still hurt to the core. I was mad at God for letting me walk through that. I was mad at others thinking my failures were somehow their fault. It all boiled down to bad decision making by me.

Once I was able to take responsibility for the things that happened, I began to move forward. It’s not easy to look in the mirror when you know the pain inside is caused by the person looking back at you. I know other people played roles in delivering the punches that knocked me down, but I made the decisions that put them there and put myself in that position. I left myself open for the gut shots that took the wind out of my desire to live or move on.

I hid the pain for over seven years as I moved on with life. It was then that God spoke to me through Dave Roever that I needed to expose the wounds and face them head on. Since that time, I have begun to share my story being open and honest about what happened. I have found healing for the wounds that were so deep. I still feel the pain like I did every time I open them up, but I know that through my wounds others can find help, hope and healing for theirs.

I don’t know what you’re facing today, but I know what it’s like to hit rock bottom and feel like there’s no way out. I know what it’s like to think that there’s only one way out of the pain and anger. I can tell you that there is another way out. I found it. It was through forgiving myself and others who hurt me. It was in finding forgiveness through Jesus for the unthinkable wrongs I’d committed. It was over the course of years, hard work, dedication and never giving up. If I can make it out of that hole, you can too.

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 16, 2013 · 8:11 AM

Religious Roadblocks

Last night a tree fell across the road to our house. It had snapped about 15 feet up and part of it was still attached so it wasn’t an easy removal. We called for the county to send out a crew to remove it. About 30 minutes later, a truck pulled up and a man got out. I thought, “How is one person going to move this?” He walked all the way around the debris looking at it, thought about the best way, grabbed a chain, wrapped it around the fallen trunk, tied the other end to his bumper and tried pulling it off the road and from its connected trunk.

It did not easily separate from the base. It took several attempts of squealing wheels on the pavement to finally break it free. He kept driving once he had momentum and drug it off the road. He took a chainsaw and cut off any branches that were sticking out towards the road. We cleaned up the debris that was on the road and then took a look at the bare trunk that was still standing. It was clear that it was hollowed out. From the outside, it looked healthy and vibrant, but on the inside it was hollow and rotten.

It reminded me of the religious Pharisees in Jesus’ day. They blocked the roads of others with unrealistic rules in the name on religion. They appeared to be the only ones who could uphold these rules so they looked down on others. There was no real way anyone could fully live according to all the rules they had subjected the people too. They took what God intended as a way to communicate with people and put up road blocks separating them further from Him.

Jesus saw them for what they were and it made Him angry. In Matthew 23:27 He said, “Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs – beautiful on the outside, but filled with dead people’s bones.” They appeared to be healthy, but like that tree, they were hollow and dead inside. Nothing made Jesus more angry than people who traded a relationship with God for religion. Relationship with God is empowering because it creates communication with Him. Religion separates you from Him through shame and failure because there are rules you can’t follow.

Jesus came to restore the relationship that the rules of religion had severed. He was the one person God sent with the power and ability to remove the tree that was blocking our ability to get to Him. His desire was not to condemn through rules and regulations, but to save us through relationship. He was about empowering us to live godly lives not to shame us because we couldn’t live up to the standards of religion. The religious leaders hated Him for it. He took their power grabbing scheme and exposed it for what it was. They ended up killing Him because of it not realizing that when they did, they had cleared the path for relationship.

Have you viewed Christianity as a list of rules that you could never follow? Have you seen God as the king of thou shalt not’s? That’s not who He is. Man took what God intended to create relationship and put in rules that separate. If you’ve been separated from a relationship with God because you thought Christianity was about a bunch of rules, I encourage you to leave the religion behind and build a relationship with God through Jesus. It has been His intention to have a relationship with us since He created us. Get rid of the roadblocks of religion and embrace a relationship with Him today.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 7, 2013 · 8:55 AM

The Snooze Button

If you’re like me, you love the snooze button on your alarm. Somehow I feel like I’m pulling a fast one on my body and I am really getting extra sleep. I have mine set to a maximum of five snoozes. On that one, there is no option to hit snooze anymore. It’s just a red “X” on my screen. I have to get up. I have to get out of bed and get ready for work. There other days where it goes off and I don’t remember hitting snooze or hearing the alarm and I wake up late.

Sometimes we treat the Holy Spirit like a snooze alarm. He comes to warn us of approaching sin or danger and we push Him away. He comes right back telling us to run or change our course, but we don’t listen or we tell Him, “I’ll be all right. Just a few more minutes wont hurt.” Eventually, we quit hearing Him because we’ve become immune to the sound of His voice warning us.

There is a war going on inside each of us. The Holy Spirit is wanting us to live one way and our flesh another. We get to choose who we hit the snooze on. Paul put it this way in Galatians 5:16, “But I say, walk and live habitually in the Holy Spirit (responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit); then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh.” He asks us in verse 18, “Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit?”

The Holy Spirit is in our lives to point us to living the way God desires for us to live. His desire is to produce the kind of fruit in our lives that comes from living God’s way. Those fruit are listed in verses 22 and 23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Why would we ever want to push the snooze button when it comes to developing these? These are the qualities God desires to bring out in each one of us.

Paul also makes it clear what fruits come when we snooze the Holy Spirit and choose our flesh. In verses 19-21, some of the fruits he lists are: an accumulation of mental and emotional garbage, paranoid loneliness, all consuming yet never satisfied wants, a brutal temper, divided homes and divided lives and the habit of die personalizing everyone into a rival. These are the things that living according to the flesh produces. There is a clear difference between the two.

Understand that fruit is the end product. When the choices are presented, you don’t see the fruit that will bear from your decision. If you were presented with the end product, it would be easy to choose the Holy Spirit every time. That’s why Paul spelled it out this way. He knew we would see the choices before us and not think of what the end result would be. He knew our internal, fleshly desire is to snooze the Holy Spirit. When we look at the fruit that each choice bears, it should make our choice easier. Who are you going to snooze today?

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,