Tag Archives: Devotion

September 27, 2016 · 8:05 AM

Prove it


I think we can all agree that there is a difference between saying something and proving something. When we were kids, we all had that friend that told tall tales. He was related to famous people. He was going to be on TV. He had a hundred dollars. You name it, he either did it or had it. After a while, we found the phrase, “Prove it!” It turns out, he could tell you just about anything, but he couldn’t prove any of it. Without proof, we had no reason to believe the things he said.

When I was younger, I heard someone ask, “If you were to be accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to prove it?” That’s a tough question we should all think about. A court can’t convict anyone unless there is some form of evidence against them. In some cases, that evidence comes from first hand witnesses. Other times it comes from physical evidence left behind. What evidence are you leaving behind for others to know you are a Christian? Can others eye witnesses tell by how you live that you’re a Christian?

In Matthew 3:8, John the Baptist was out at the river baptizing people when the religious leaders came to take a look. One of the things he said to them was, “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God” (NLT). He knew they were manufacturing false evidence to try to prove they were righteous, but their lives contradicted that evidence. Jesus later said they were whitewashed tombs. They looked good on the outside, but were full of death on the inside.

Today’s devotion is not to say that you earn salvation by your works – that’s what the religious leaders were trying to do. It’s saying when you truly experience the power of God in your life, it changes you. Your life changes inside and out. You find that going to church isn’t evidence that you’re a Christian – living for God is. When you experience the power of salvation, you begin to leave evidence everywhere that you have repented and followed Christ. My challenge to you today is to take an honest look at the evidence in your life. What does it point to? Is it manufactured or is it natural from a changed heart and life?

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September 26, 2016 · 5:51 AM

First Responses Matter


In Luke 1, two different people are told by the angel Gabriel that something amazing will happen to them. They responded almost identically, yet one was punished and one was praised. One spent the next several months unable to speak, while the other used their voice to praise God. How we respond to the plans God has for us matters. When God first puts them in our heart, they scare us because they seem impossible to accomplish on our own. Through the years, I’ve discovered if God put it in you, it’s impossible to do on your own.

Zechariah was a man who was up in age. He was a faithful servant of God and even served as a priest in the Temple. One day, while performing his duties, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary to burn incense before God. After he entered, Gabriel appeared to him to bring him the message that his wife would become pregnant and have a son. In verse 18, Zechariah responded, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years” (NLT). It seems like a logical question, but it upset Gabriel to the point that he made Zechariah mute until the baby was born.

Mary was a young lady who was engaged to be married. She believed in God, but wasn’t involved in ministry. She was going about her normal business when Gabriel paid a visit to her. He gave her the incredible news that she would become pregnant while still a virgin. In verse 34, she responded, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” Again, this is a logical response to the angel, but this time he wasn’t angry. Instead he gave an explanation. So what was the difference? Their responses are very similar.

One was born out of doubt and one out of faith. One saw the impossibility and questioned God’s ability, while the other’s faith made them curious. Look at their responses again. One wanted proof it would happen and the other wondered how God would accomplish His will. There’s a significant difference, and I think it’s important how we respond to the things God reveals to us. So many times we want proof from Him instead of trusting that He’ll do what He says. I don’t know what God placed in your heart, but I can imagine it’s pretty big. Instead of asking Him for proof, trust Him to do it, and be available as Mary was.

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September 22, 2016 · 5:00 AM

This Little Light Of Mine


© International Space Station / Facebook

When you were little, I bet you sang this, “This little light of mine. I’m going to let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Don’t let Satan blow it out. I’m going to let it shine. Don’t let Satan blow it out. Im going to let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let us shine.” Good times right? I hope this song gets stuck in your head today because it carries a simple, but powerful truth: You have God’s light in you! Think about that. In the midst of any dark situation, you are filled with God’s light. Don’t hide it under a bushel.

Speaking of the light God placed in us, John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (NLT). As a kid, I was worried that Satan could blow it out, but now I know that darkness can’t extinguish it. That means that there’s nothing the enemy can bring against you that will put out the light God put in you. You can walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and not gave your light put out. You can be in a hole that either you dug or that life has thrown you in, and your light will still shine.

Today, I was looking at some pictures from the International Space Station (shown above). It had pictures of Italy, Spain, and several other countries at night. All throughout those photos, there were spots of light. It’s a great visual example of what God is doing. He knows that where there is light, darkness has to flee. Darkness is simply the absence of light. It can’t put out light. It can only exist where there is no light. Just like those photos showed lit up areas in the middle of the night, so should our lives light up the darkness around us.

When we accept Christ, we have the true light living in us. Therefore, wherever we go, darkness has to flee. Whether your light is small and dim or big and bright, it chases darkness away. I know there are days when my light doesn’t feel very powerful, but even on my weakest days, the light in me is stronger than any darkness. In Matthew 5, Jesus said we are like a city set on a hill that can’t be hidden. If you’ve ever seen a city on a hill at night, you know what He’s talking about. Go be that light to someone today – God knows someone needs your light in their life.

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September 21, 2016 · 5:00 AM

Praise Break


I don’t know about you, but there are times I just want to spend hours praising God while listening to praise and worship music. I set my Pandora to Bethel, and then let it play. I love how so many songs put words to how I feel and what I want to say to God. Right now, one of my favorites is “Great Are You Lord” by All Sons and Daughters. The part that resonates with me says, “It’s your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to you only.” I find myself repeating just that phrase over and over.

I learned a long time ago how important it is to be in God’s presence, especially when I’m under attack. I can find peace and clarity in times of chaos by praising God. Psalm 22 tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people. I’ve found that God shows up when I praise Him. I find that if I sing to Him, He gives me strength when I’m mentally and physically exhausted. I know I don’t sing in tune, but thankfully, He hears my heart over my pitch. He just enjoys it when we take the time to invite Him into our busy day and to praise Him.

Sometimes I feel like the psalmist in Psalm 106:2. He wrote, “Who can tell all the great things he has done? Who can praise him enough?” (GNT) Several years ago, Sonicflood sang a song called, “I Could Sing of your Love Forever”. I believe we could do that and still not be able to praise Him for all He’s done. I don’t know that we can praise Him enough. I do know that He is worthy of whatever praise we give Him because if He never did another thing for any one of us, He’s already done more for us than we deserve.

Today, I challenge you to think of things God has done for you and to praise Him for them. Make a list and watch it grow. We get so good at asking Him for things, but we rarely stop to thank Him when He does. Take time to praise God from your heart. If you don’t know what to say, search for your favorite worship song, play it, and sing along. Don’t worry if you don’t sound good to human ears. You aren’t signing for their approval. You are worshiping the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When you do this, watch how your day changes. It’s amazing how praising God shifts our perspective and how His presence gives us peace.

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September 20, 2016 · 5:58 AM

Reset And Restore


I remember as a kid trying to sell my parents on letting me get a puppy. I told them, “I will feed him, play with him, and care for him. You won’t have to do anything.” I brought Spike home and put him in our back yard. I did everything I told my parents I would do… for a while. As Spike got bigger, he got harder to care for. My parents had to pick up the slack. Before too long, I didn’t even look out the back window. Then one day when I did, he was gone. I neglected my responsibilities and as a result, my parents gave away my dog.

That was a hard lesson to learn as a kid. I did love that dog, but I didn’t comprehend the long term commitment to him I’d made. It’s like in the Old Testament when Nehemiah rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem. Soon afterwards, people moved back into the city for protection. Nehemiah called for a meeting at the Temple to read the law written by Moses. In Nehemiah 10, they promised to obey the law. When it came to the portion of the law regarding the temple in verse 39, they said, “We promise together not to neglect the Temple of our God” (NLT)

In Nehemiah 13, It was about 20 years later, and they fell into the same trap I did. They began to neglect the Temple. Nehemiah had gone back to his job in Babylon, but had now returned to Jerusalem. In verse 11 it says, “I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, ‘Why has the Temple of God been neglected?’ Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties.” Instead of getting rid of it (like my parents did to Spike), he restored order and reset expectations.

I’ve found that his method is useful to all of us in the parts of our lives that we are neglecting. When we neglect our prayer time, our Bible reading, our service to others, our going to church, or any other area of our life, we need to confront the situation, reset expectations, and restore the things in our lives that helped us to do those things before. Over time we can slip away from the positive things we were once doing, but we will have consequences just like the Israelites did. Having a Nehemiah in your life who can point out the areas you’re neglecting and help you to reset and to restore things is a must.

Today’s a good day to look in the mirror of your life and ask, “What have I been neglecting? What do I need to do to reset and restore?”

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September 19, 2016 · 6:08 AM

The Key To More Power


If spending quality time with God is the way to having a quality spiritual life, then fasting is the key to having a more powerful spiritual life. Giving up our time shows God we are making Him a priority. Giving up food shows Him that we are willing to sacrifice our physical comfort for spiritual gain. Fasting is a spiritual discipline that I’m afraid too few Christians engage in. Either we don’t see the purpose or we don’t see the value, so we don’t do it. When we skip fasting as a spiritual discipline, we miss out on a strength that’s needed to overcome certain things in our live.

In Mark 9, there is a story of a man who asked Jesus to heal his son who was possessed by an evil spirit. In verse 18 he said, “I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.” They had spent quality time with Jesus, but hadn’t been fasting and praying so they lacked the power to heal him. Jesus told them in verse 29, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer and fasting.” He inferred that there is more power in fasting.

When you are in need of more power to overcome a temptation, to find the right direction, or to get through a situation, I encourage you to fast and to pray. Your fast should be between you and God. Don’t make an outward show of it or tell people you are doing it so they will feel sorry for you. Jesus said that if you did that, you have your reward. I’d rather have the power of God than the approval of man. It’s our choice when we fast.

In Matthew 6:16, Jesus said, “When (not if) you fast, don’t make it obvious.” He knew that our human nature likes to receive sympathy from others. We like to play to the crowd and to get others to feel sorry for us. Fasting is not about that at all. It’s about showing God you have brought your body under discipline and are denying it what it needs in order to gain what your spirit needs. It shows Him we are willing to feed our spirit instead of our stomach.  

The Bible talks of many different types of fasts and lengths of fasts. How long, what you fast, and why you fast are between you and God. I always feel like the more challenging the fast, the greater reward. If my fast costs me nothing, that’s about what I’ll get in return. The greater the need in my life, the greater the fast I do. Some are mentally challenging, but all are physically challenging. Before I fast, I usually seek God on what He wants me to fast and for how long. Once decided, I pray for the need every time I have a desire for what I’m fasting. I’ve learned that giving up what I want for what He wants changes me for the better every time.

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September 16, 2016 · 6:00 AM

Fight Intimidation 


Have you ever been intimidated by someone who was purposefully trying to prevent you from doing something? Intimidation works because it creates fear and fear paralyzed. It’s one of the main tactics the enemy uses against us. Peter told us that our enemy roams around like a roaring lion. What’s more intimidating than a lion? But we often overlook the keyword “like”. He isn’t a lion, but he wants you to believe he is because he wants to intimidate you.

All of us deal with fear and intimidation from the enemy. Paul reminded Timothy that God doesn’t give us a spirit of fear. God gives us a spirit of power. He knew that they enemy would try to intimidate us so He gave us the power to overcome. Remember, greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. We don’t have to be intimidated by our enemy. We can stand up to him because we have a greater power at work in us.

Here are some verses to help us to not be intimidated. 

1. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
JOSHUA 1:9 AMP

2. What’s the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk. You’re worth more than a million canaries.
Luke 12:6-7 MSG

3. They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination.
Nehemiah 6:9 NLT

4. I will not be intimidated or afraid of the ten thousands Who have set themselves against me all around.
PSALM 3:6 AMP

5. Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because GOD, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.
Deuteronomy 31:6 MSG

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September 15, 2016 · 6:18 AM

How To Fulfill Your Purpose

Over and over again as I talk to people, I hear the same thing. They say, “I want to do something that matters. I want to be fulfilled.” I think God put in each one of us the desire to live a life of significance. He designed each one of us for a purpose. You can always tell when people have found theirs. They have passion and vision. People want to help them accomplish it too. I’ve met people whose passion is waiting tables and others whose passion is rescuing orphans in third world countries. God gives different passions to different people. 

In reading the book of Nehemiah, I found three questions we can all ask ourselves to find our purpose and to start fulfilling it.

1.   What breaks your heart?

God often uses brokenness to deliver His purpose. For Nehemiah, it came when he heard that the walls around Jerusalem were torn down. Nehemiah 1:4 says, “When I heard all this, I sat down and wept. For several days I mourned and did not eat. I prayed to God” (GNT). When God breaks our heart, He’s preparing us for our purpose. I’m not sure Nehemiah understood why He was weeping at the time, but He knew God was doing something in Him. God was planting a dream in the broken soil of his heart.

2.   What inspires you?

After his brokenness, he prayed for several weeks about it. In our brokenness, we need to ask God, “What do you want me to do?” God put it in Nehemiah’s heart to rebuild the walls. I’m sure he struggled with thoughts like, “I’m the king’s cup bearer, not a construction worker.” While the inspirations God gives us are usually different from our current occupation, God uses where we are to give us what we need to accomplish our purpose. For Nehemiah, God used the king to fund his inspiration. 

3.   Who do you need to tell?

God often puts great dreams in our hearts that we could never accomplish on our own. God rarely gives us something we can accomplish on our own. Nehemiah had to tell the king. Then he had to tell the leaders of Jerusalem. Before he shared his vision with them, he showed them the problem. Afterwards, in Nehemiah 2:28, they responded, “Let’s start rebuilding!” Because he shared this impossible vision with others, they caught it and rebuilt the walls in less than two months. You can’t find people to help you unless you share your purpose.

I don’t know what God has put in your heart to do, but I believe He has a purpose and a plan for each of us. He makes no accidents. He formed you in your mother’s womb, called you by name, and creates you for a purpose. If you will find what breaks your heart and ask God what He wants you to do about it, I believe He will inspire you to accomplish His will. You’ll need to share that vision with the right people, and God will help you accomplish it. 

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September 14, 2016 · 6:54 AM

Cheating God


I once heard of a man who worked as a construction foreman. He worked for the same man his whole career. When it came time to retire, his boss asked him to build one more house. Reluctantly he agreed. On this particular house, his heart wasn’t in it. He cut corners, allowed shoddy work, and didn’t take his time to do quality work. All he could think of was retirement, so he wanted to build the house quickly. 

When the house was finished, the boss came out to do a final walk through as was their custom. When he pointed out things here and there, the foreman made excuses. At the end, he asked him if he was happy with his work. He said he was. Then the owner said, “Thank you for doing this last house got me. You have done great work in all the years you have worked for me. I want to thank you for your hard work and faithfulness by giving you this house.” The foreman showed appreciation, but in his heart, he remembered how poor of a job he did.

In Malachi, God was upset because they were offering poor sacrifices. They offered blind, diseased, and crippled animals to God. When God called them out on it, they asked how they had defiled his altar. In Malachi 1:12, God said, “You dishonor my name with your actions” (NLT). Then in Malachi 3:8, He said, “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.” Just like the foreman, they offered shoddy offerings to God. Their heart wasn’t in their gifts to God. 

I’ve heard it said that our talents are God’s gift to us. What we do with them are our gifts to Him. Beyond our gifts of money, our actions are a gift to God as well. What kind of offering are you giving God? Are you cutting corners, offering shoddy work, or lowering the quality of your work? Are you being thankful to God for the gifts He’s given to you? Psalm 50:23 says, “But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.” We can’t afford to cheat and dishonor God through our actions any more. 

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September 13, 2016 · 5:32 AM

How To Make Better Decisions 


Through the years, I’ve worked with a lot of people. The ones that have always worried me are the ones who make their decisions based on emotion instead of logic. When a crisis happens, the ones who make emotion decisions react to the situation. They don’t think of the outcome or the consequences of their actions. They simply let fear, or another emotion, make their decision for them. On the other hand, there are those who don’t react to the situation. They think through the ramifications of their choice, look at the end result, then make their decision. 

I find that I try to be the latter, but often end up in the first category. I can let fear make my decisions for me instead of what I want the end result to be. When I feel like I’m making a decision based on emotion, I try to find an objective person in my life who can help me make the non-emotional decision. I think we all need someone like that. Peter had Jesus. Fortunately for Him, Jesus could rebuke him in love or heal a man’s ear.

Today though, I want to look at Esther. As queen, she had a certain level of influence over the king. But when trouble came and the Jews were facing genocide, she started to make her decision based on fear. Her cousin, and foster parent Mordecai, told her she needed to talk to the king on behalf of all Jews. In Esther 4:11 her emotional response was, “All the king’s officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days” (NLT). Fear was dictating her response.

Mordecai offered wisdom though. He helped her see past the fear to make the best decision. In verse 14, he told her, “If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” With his help, she was able to make the hard decision to face the king no matter what. She was able to look at the outcome instead of her fear. In the end, the Jews were saved and Esther has been honored ever since.

We all need to recognize how we make our decisions. Yes, God gave us emotions, but they’re not always the best things to use when making lasting decisions. We each need that person in our life who helps us make the godly decision that’s based on the outcome God wants. Don’t let fear keep you from choosing the path God has for you. Find a godly person who is objective and can ask you the right questions. Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.”

Who is that person in your life? If you don’t know, start with your pastor or a church leader.

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