Tag Archives: Devotion

December 2, 2016 · 5:00 AM

Encouraging Words 


If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s that we all need some encouragement in one way or another. Some of us need encouragement to get up and face the day. Others need encouragement to try one more time. Some receive love through words of encouragement. I also think we all need our faith encouraged at times because we all face difficult times that challenge what we believe. The great news is that all of us are capable of encouraging someone else.

Each of us can send a text, a meme, make a phone call, or talk to someone today to encourage them. It can be as simple as, “I’m praying for you.” It could be, “Smile. God loves you.” It doesn’t have to be complicated. There are a lot of people who struggle this time of year and they need your words of encouragement. Today, ask God to put people in your path and on your heart who needs words of encouragement, then speak to them what He puts on your heart. B an encourager today even if you need encouragement yourself. You’ll be surprised how it encourages you too. 

Here are some Bible verses on encouragement. 

1. But those who proclaim God’s message speak to people and give them help, encouragement, and comfort.
1 Corinthians 14:3 GNT

2. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Ephesians 4:29 NLT

3. Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 AMPC

4. The words of the godly encourage many, but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense.
Proverbs 10:21 NLT

5. Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement which the Scriptures give us.
Romans 15:4 GNT

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December 1, 2016 · 5:45 AM

A Life Of Grace 


I think grace is one of those things that’s hard for us to understand because it goes against human nature. It’s forgiveness. It’s free. It’s unearned. Not only are we supposed to receive it, we are supposed to give it. Doing those two things seems like a constant battle for most of us. How can God or anyone else forgive the things I’ve done? How can I forgive something someone else has done to me? Those are tough questions that we all wrestle with, but in my life, I’ve found God’s grace to be sufficient. 

In the New Testament , Paul used the word grace over and over. If anyone needed it, it was him. He had hunted down and murdered Christians. He even referred to himself as the chief of sinners. If anyone had a past that was seemingly unforgivable, it was him. He had to learn to accept God’s grace and forgive his own past. If he struggled with it, he knew others would too. That’s why in Acts 13:43, referring to Him, it says, “The apostles spoke to them and encouraged them to keep on living in the grace of God” (GNT).

He had to remind himself, others, and us to keep living in God’s grace. Our past sin is not greater than God’s grace. You might be thinking, “But you don’t know what I’ve done!” I don’t have to know. As I said, Paul was a murderer. Specifically he murdered Christians. God’s grace is more powerful than anything you’ve ever done. Learn to accept His grace, forgive yourself, and then live in that grace. Remind yourself over and over that God has cast it as far as the east is from the west. If He’s not going to hold it over you, then don’t hold yourself down with it either. 

Part of loving life in the grace of God is also giving out grace. For me personally, this is harder than receiving God’s grace. I have to remind myself that they’re intertwined. To continue to receive God’s grace, I need to give grace. Jesus said that if we didn’t forgive others, God couldn’t forgive us. The first person we need to learn to forgive is ourselves. After doing that, learn to forgive others for what they’ve done. Living a life of grace is hard to do, but not impossible. You can do it with God’s help. 

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November 30, 2016 · 5:42 AM

Working Together


One of the most powerful things I got to witness this year was at the United Cry event in Washington, DC. The leaders of predominately white denominations asked the leaders of predominantly black denominations for forgiveness of the racial injustices that blacks have suffered in this country. After seeking forgiveness for being quiet during those times, they then washed the feet of those ministers and joined in prayer together. They then agreed to work together in unity to bring about revival.

Separating ourselves based on race, skin color, and language has gone on since the Tower of Babel. Somewhere along the line, people stopped treating other people as equals because they weren’t the same. This line of thinking became part of cultures and even grew into the Church. The Early Church, including its leader Peter, struggled with it. His whole life he had been taught that non Jews were unclean and he couldn’t even go into their house. But all that changed one afternoon while he was praying on a rooftop.

In Acts 10, God gave him a vision of a picnic type blanket lowered from the heavens, and it was filled with unclean animals. God told Peter to kill and eat the animals. As Peter was struggling to understand, some servants of a Roman centurion knocked on the door. God told Peter to go with them. When Peter arrived at Cornelius’ house and he heard how God had spoken to him too, he said, “I now realize that it is true that God treats everyone on the same basis. Those who fear him and do what is right are acceptable to him, no matter what race they belong to” (GNT).

Peter learned that day that God is against racism. He learned to love other races. That one encounter changed Peter’s entire life and ministry. So many of us are like Peter before that encounter. We are content to keep God’s love within our own race, language, and culture. We disassociate with people who don’t look like us, act like us, or think like us, but that is wrong. Racial reconciliation should begin in the Church. It should flow from God’s love for all His children. What happened in Washington, DC was a great start and should be happening all over this country. It’s time we put down our walls, sought forgiveness, and worked together for one cause.

If you’d like to watch the video of what happened at United Cry, click here. It’s about 30 minutes long.

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November 29, 2016 · 5:24 AM

Strange Obedience 


My uncle told me the story of how my grandfather once pastored a small town church. They were dependent week to week on the offerings to make a living. For whatever reason, there wasn’t enough in the offering one week for them to get groceries. As my grandfather prayed about it that Sunday afternoon, he felt God telling him to go to the post office. He argued that it was closed, but he went anyway. When he arrived, sure enough, there wasn’t anyone there. After sitting there a while, he decided to get out of his car and check the door. When he did, a man walked up, handed him money, and walked away without saying anything. 

I don’t know if the other guy argued with God or not, but I do know that he showed up to a place that was closed. It took faith on both sides. It’s hard to obey God when it doesn’t make sense, but that’s what God asks of us sometimes. Part of it could be that He’s testing us. Part of it could be that we ask God for ridiculous signs so we can make sure it’s Him. Whatever it is, obedience is key. A Biblical example of this is a Phillip in Acts 8. He was preaching in a town, people were getting healed and saved to the point he needed help from the other disciples. That’s when God asked him to do something that didn’t make sense. 

Acts 8:26 says, “Later God’s angel spoke to Philip: “At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza” (MSG). The instructions were very specific, but they didn’t make sense. Leave a place full of people accepting Jesus to go down a deserted road? Why would God ask him to do that. He could have questioned whether he heard God or not, but he didn’t. He obeyed. What he found was one man on a chariot on his way back to Ethiopia reading the book of Isaiah. 

He went up to him, explained what he was reading, and the man got saved. I’m sure it still didn’t make sense to leave many accepting Christ for one, but what we now know explains it. That eunuch went back to Ethiopia and started the Coptic church with has led many to Christ in Northern Africa through the centuries. Because of Philip’s obedience, generations have been affected, changed, and saved. God doesn’t just look at the immediate situation, He looks at the future situation. What doesn’t make sense now, may only make sense to future generations. 

Are you ready at a moment’s notice to obey when it doesn’t make sense?

Obedience is decided well before God asks. What can you do now to be prepared to obey later?

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November 28, 2016 · 5:38 AM

Spiritual Refreshing 


When I was in high school, we would have 2 hour practices after school. Coach always started and ended practices with running. He would say, “Since we aren’t the tallest team, we are going to be the best conditioned team.” There were some brothers on the team who lived in some apartments across from the school. While running, we would say to each other, “Hey, once this is over, let’s go jump in the apartment pool.” The thought of jumping into that cool water was often enough to keep us going.

There was something about diving head first into that water after practice that was so refreshing. We would swim from one end to the other under water to make sure our whole body got cooled down. It was so refreshing, and we needed that because a couple of us worked jobs in the evenings. After all day of school and a two hour practice, we still had a four hour shift to complete before coming home and doing homework. Refreshment was needed.

There are times when we need spiritual refreshing as well. Sometimes things seem to hit us one after the other. It feels like we never get a break from it all. Those times of spiritual refreshing come and keep us going. Other times, we face the consequences of our actions, and those can lead us to spiritual exhaustion. The Bible says we can have spiritual refreshing in those times too. Acts 3:19 – 20 says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that he will forgive your sins. If you do, times of spiritual strength (refreshing in AMPC) will come from the Lord” (GNT).

The word “repent” there means to change your mind and purpose and then return to God. When you’re mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausted, you can change your mind and purpose behind doing things so that you bring honor to God. When you do, it’s like jumping into that pool after a two hour practice. God brings a refreshing into your life that brings spiritual strength with it. Just like everything else in Scripture, the first step in activating God’s promises starts with you.

What in your mind do you need to change today in order to return to God’s way of thinking?

If you haven’t been living for His purpose and you’re worn out, pray that God would help you to return to living for His purpose.

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November 18, 2016 · 5:00 AM

The Holy Spirit


If you’re a Christian, the Holy Spirit plays an important role in your life. He was a gift provided to us from Jesus to help us live the life we are called to live. Because the Holy Spirit is the least understood part of the God-head, many Christians tend to be afraid of it. My pastor says, “The Holy Spirit isn’t weird. People are weird.” Because of how the Holy Spirit has been represented by so many through the years, we tend to shy away from talking about it or incorporating His gifts into our lives.

Because of that, I believe so many of us are missing out on the fullness of the life that God has for us. Today, I want to bring scriptures in the Bible that describe the Holy Spirit and His role in our lives. The New Testament is full of verses to help us understand and incorporate this integral part of our Christian walk. My hope is that each of us will live our lives to the fullest through the Holy Spirit as we know Him and His role in our lives.

1. But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.
Acts 1:8 AMPC

2. The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.
John 14:26 GNT

3. But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!
Jude 1:20-21 MSG

4. And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
Romans 8:26 NLT

5. We have not received this world’s spirit; instead, we have received the Spirit sent by God, so that we may know all that God has given us. So then, we do not speak in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, as we explain spiritual truths to those who have the Spirit. Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God’s Spirit. Such a person really does not understand them, and they seem to be nonsense, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual basis.
1 Corinthians 2:12-14 GNT

6. “For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice]. So that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit [our lives governed not by the standards and according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the Holy Spirit].
Romans 8:3-4 AMPC

7. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
Galatians 5:16 NLT

8. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
1 John 2:27 NLT

9. But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].
Galatians 5:22-23 AMPC

10. The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what God has promised his people, and this assures us that God will give complete freedom to those who are his. Let us praise his glory!
Ephesians 1:14 GNT

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November 16, 2016 · 5:00 AM

Going Fishing


For three years the dis piles followed Jesus. They witnessed people receive their sight having been born blind. They watched leprous skin clear up right before them. They were standing there when Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb four days after he died. They handed out the five loaves and two fish to the 5,000. They not only saw Jesus walk on water, they saw Him calm the wind and waves. They had countless fireside discussions that you and I will never know about. That’s why I’ve always been baffled by this one thing that happened after the resurrection.

John 21:3 says, “Simon Peter said to the others, ‘I am going fishing.’ ‘We will come with you,’ they told him” (GNT). After all they had seen and done, they went back to their old life. It’s hard for me to comprehend how they could experience everything they did, and then just simply go back to their old life. Had they forgotten that Jesus had told them that from now on they would be fishers of men? How could they go back to being regular fishermen? No matter how perplexing it is, I have to wonder if we are any different.

We may not have seen those miracles as they did, but if we accepted Jesus as our savior, we experienced the power of God in our own life. We felt that initially cleansing feeling and the peace that passes understanding. Yet somehow, many times we go right back to our old way of living. We know we are supposed to be a new creation, but that old life that’s supposed to be dead and buried, calls out to us and tempts us to go back. Even though we experienced the power of the resurrection, we sometimes live as though it had no affect on our life.

That life is as fruitless as that night of fishing for the disciples. The great news for us is that Jesus is on the shore calling out to us, “Have you caught anything?” Then He reminds us to cast our nets on the other side. He reminds us to return to Him and to live our life in the power of the resurrection. When we live that way, our nets will be full. Jesus’ words to them that morning were simple: Follow me. That call goes out to us too. You can’t follow Him and go back to your old life at the same time. Each of us have to make that choice. 

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November 15, 2016 · 5:00 AM

The Bus Station


What I love about having been to Israel is that when I read the Bible, I can picture each place in my mind. There are two sites celebrated as the place where Jesus was crucified. One of them is in a magnificent church and the other out in the open. I got to visit both places on this last trip, and both were incredible in their own way. Personally, I enjoyed the one outside better for a number of reasons, but I was a little offended at first by what I saw.

We were sitting on the property of the Garden Tomb, and they read Matthew 27:33. It says, “And they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means ‘Place of the Skull’)” (NLT). They pointed to a hill just about 50 yards away, and asked if we could see it. They showed us pictures of about 50 years ago and another from over 100 years ago. You can see how it looked like the Place of the Skull. But when I looked at the base of what could be Golgotha, there was a busy bus station. I couldn’t believe such a holy place was being disrespected.

That’s when it hit me that a bus station at the foot of the cross was the most appropriate way to honor it. One of Jesus’ final instructions before His ascension was from Mark 16:15. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” The buses that I saw there were a representation of the Great Commission. Those busses carry people all over the place the same way we are to carry the Gospel. Our message is summed up by what happened at the Place of the Skull.

Where Jesus’ mission was fulfilled, ours began. Where He said, “It is finished,” He was handing the baton to us. That place of death became the birthplace of eternal life. We are the bus drivers of His message. We carry His spirit within us to be witnesses in all the world. Wherever we go, whomever we meet, we are to transport His message of hope and love. We can turn this world upside down at He disciples did, but we have to be willing to get on the bus and go.

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November 14, 2016 · 5:00 AM

Under The Press


As many of you know, I went back to Israel this past summer. One of the most visited places in Jerusalem has to be the Garden of Gethsemane. It’s filled with Olive trees as pictured here. On this trip, I discovered that the name Gethsemane means the olive press. We got to see an olive press to understand how it crushes the olives to make oil. That first pressing of the Olive is holy and belongs to God. I think that’s important to know when considering what happened there the night before Jesus was crucified. 

Matthew 26 tells us that Jesus went there with the disciples and that grief and anguish came over Him. In verse 38, Jesus said, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me” (GNT). He was being pressed like an olive in that moment. His prayer in the next verse is what I want to focus on today. He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want.” 

Each of us have times in our lives when we are being crushed by problems and things going on. Just like Jesus, our first instinct is to pray, “Father, if it’s possible, get me out of this!” We cry and we pray for God to help us. But what if God wants to use that time to create a holy offering in your life? What if He is allowing you to be crushed so what’s inside comes out? I’m sure the olives in the press don’t appreciate the stone mill rolling over them, but what comes out is more useful than just the olive by itself.

Jesus understood this. That’s why His next breath was, “Yet not what I want, but what you want.” Instead of praying for God to get us out of the press, ask God that His will be done instead of ours. James 1:12 says, “Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him.” Remaining under the press, like Jesus did, is the way to receive the life God promises us. 

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November 10, 2016 · 5:00 AM

Effective Replication 


Have you ever wished you could be at two places at one time? It’s a struggle all too real in today’s world. Living in the digital world has made us busier than ever and away from our homes more. It’s become difficult to meet all our obligations that we have for our families who are spread out and have spread us thin. We are coaches, chauffeurs, tutors, chefs, counselors, encouragers, and guardians for our kids. It’s exhausting. If only we could replicate ourselves, we could be more effective. 

We like to think we are the only generation who has wanted or needed to replicate ourselves, but it’s an age old problem. In fact, Jesus experienced it. Think about all the walking around Israel He did. Everywhere He went, there were people who needed His healing touch, His compassion, and His wisdom. Huge crowds followed Him and people were constantly asking Him to go to their town to heal their loved one. 

Sometimes He walked there, and other times He spoke the word and they were Healed from afar. After three years of ministry, Jesus realized what needed to happen. He couldn’t be as effective as He wanted to be in physical form. Since people needed help everywhere, He needed up be everywhere. So in John 14:16 He said, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever” (AMP).

Just like our kids need us to be many things for them, we need Him to be many things for us. He’s not just our savior. He’s our comforter, counselor, helper, intercessor, advocate, and strengthener on standby for us. Jesus went to the Father so He could send the Spirit in order to meet the needs of everyone, not just a few. Whatever you need God to be for you today, He’ll be it. You simply need to ask Him. He’s more than our savior. He’s our everything. 

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