Tag Archives: Devotion

September 12, 2016 · 5:32 AM

The First Step To Success


When you think of anything you’ve accomplished in life that your proud of, you like to tell people about it. When you tell those stories, you start off with the humble beginnings, the adversity you went through, and the determination to make it happen. It not only makes for a great story, but just about anything we accomplish in life follows that pattern. People relate to it because either they’re in the beginning stages of something they hope will be successful or they’re facing adversity too. Telling the story gives hope to their dream.

You’ve probably heard the Lao Tzu quote, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Sometimes we look at the thousand miles and never take that first step. For those who take that step, it usually seems insignificant to them, but that journey would never happen unless they took it. So many things in life that we do seem insignificant at the time, but when we look back, we realize how critical they were.

In Zechariah 4, the Lord was giving a vision to Zechariah of the rebuilding of the temple. In verse 10, an angel said, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” (NLT). If you’ve ever been to Jerusalem or studied the temple, you know just how big the temple was. To rebuild it was a huge undertaking. Just laying the foundation was a big deal. It was a small beginning, but God rejoiced when we they started the work.

God gets excited when you and I begin doing something with what He’s placed in our hearts to do. It can seem like a thousand mile journey, and it probably is, but that first seemingly insignificant step is a milestone that excites God. So many of us never start the work that God plants in our hearts because it seems too daunting or the beginnings seem to small. Don’t let fear or the thought that small things are insignificant keep you from starting. God rejoices in the little things because He can multiply something small. It’s when we do nothing that His hands are tied. 

What’s the small step you need to take today to begin your journey of a thousand miles that God placed in your heart?

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September 9, 2016 · 5:00 AM

Turning Mountains Into Molehills


In my life, I’ve been successful at turning molehills into mountains. There have been things that were no big deal in the grand scheme of things that I have lost sleep over. I’ve also allowed true mountains to make my faith waiver. There are times in life when we are faced with insurmountable odds and impossibilities. Those mountains look over us and block our view of God. Our mind reasons that we have no chance of success so we shouldn’t even bother trying. Those always make our faith seem so small.

God knew that we would feel that way at times and is able to make molehills out of our mountains. Mark Batterson,one of my favorite authors, says we shouldn’t tell God how big our mountain is. We should tell our mountain how big our God is. It’s all about perspective. Jesus even told us that we didn’t need a lot of faith to be able to cast mountains out of our path. We don’t have to have the ability, we just need the faith to believe God is able.

Here are some Bible verses about mountains turning into molehills.

1. For who are you, O great mountain [of human obstacles]? Before Zerubbabel [who with Joshua had led the return of the exiles from Babylon and was undertaking the rebuilding of the temple, before him] you shall become a plain [a mere molehill]! And he shall bring forth the finishing gable stone [of the new temple] with loud shoutings of the people, crying, Grace, grace to it! 
Zechariah 4:7 AMPC

2. A voice cries out, “Prepare in the wilderness a road for the Lord! Clear the way in the desert for our God! Fill every valley; level every mountain. The hills will become a plain, and the rough country will be made smooth. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it. The Lord himself has promised this.”
Isaiah 40:3-5 GNT

3. I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.
Matthew 17:20 NLT

4. The mountains take one look at GOD And melt, melt like wax before earth’s Lord.
Psalm 97:5 MSG

5. “Look, O mighty mountain, destroyer of the earth! I am your enemy,” says the LORD. “I will raise my fist against you, to knock you down from the heights. When I am finished, you will be nothing but a heap of burnt rubble.”
Jeremiah 51:25 NLT

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September 8, 2016 · 5:00 AM

A Change Of Clothes


I can easily recall several times in my life when my clothes were so filthy I couldn’t wear them inside. I was playing in the woods as a kid once, and i found a bucket of tar. I popped the lid off and had a lot of fun…until I got home! When I was 16, I got a job washing garbage trucks. Yes, they wash them each night like you wash your car. My clothes were so nasty, I had to ride on the back of the truck and change out of them in the garage. Also, when I was 20 years old, I visited a church in Garbage City, Cairo, Egypt. My clothes smelled so putrid that it made people sick to smell them.

Why am I telling you this? It’s because spiritually we wear clothes very similar to each of those situations. Isaiah 64:6 says, “We’re all sin-infected, sin contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags” (MSG). The Amplified Version calls them “polluted garments”. Our efforts to be good in order to get to Heaven look and smell like the clothes I was wearing on those days. Our efforts will never change our spiritual clothes. That’s something only God can do.

Zechariah had a vision of Joshua, the priest and leader of Israel. He was standing in Heaven before God and Satan was there to accuse him. Zechariah describes it this way in chapter 3 verses 3 and 4, “Joshua was standing there, wearing filthy clothes. The angel said to his heavenly attendants, ‘Take away the filthy clothes this man is wearing.’ Then he said to Joshua, ‘I have taken away your sin and will give you new clothes to wear’” (GNT). Where our works create filthy rags, God’s work clothes us in righteousness.

Isaiah 61:10 says, “I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels” (NLT). It is God who dresses us. It is God who does the work of salvation. We simply need to present ourselves to Him, recognizing our clothes are filthy, and ask Him to change our spiritual clothes. God can take our putrid, sin stained clothes and exchange them for righteousness. Then we won’t have to ride in the back of the truck or hide in the garage. We will be able to approach His throne of grace with all boldness.

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September 7, 2016 · 5:00 AM

A Potential Harvest


A year ago, I bought several bags of seeds so I could teach my son the importance of sowing and reaping. Our garden is small and I could only plant a portion of the seeds. From the ones we planted, we got cucumbers, jalapeños, tomatoes, and a watermelon. From the ones we didn’t plant, we didn’t get anything. In fact, they’re still in their bag and haven’t produced anything. The potential is there to grow, but until they’re taken out of the bag, planted, and watered, they will only be seeds with great potential.

You and I are like those bags of seeds. As long as the seeds are in us, they only have the potential to do great things. Jesus called you and I to be sowers. We are to broadcast the seeds that are in us. They will never grow unless we disperse them and water them. We weren’t meant to just have potential. We were created to meet it and even exceed it. God can’t bless a seed that hasn’t been sown, and He can’t force us to plant. If we are willing to, He’s promised to bless it.

In Haggai 2:18-19, God said, “I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you” (NLT). God wants you to know that before you ever sow one seed, He has already blessed it. Before there is a harvest, God guarantees a blessing if we will simply do the work of a sower. He has placed potential in each one of us, but we have to be willing to let go.

People often ask me how much they should give and what they should tithe on. I offer the same response in the form of a question every time: How much do you want God to bless you? If you only want a little blessing, then give only a little. If you want a big blessing, then give a lot. “Little” and “big” are relative to each person. The widow gave two mites, but Jesus said she gave more than anyone else. God blessed the seeds she planted and we recognize her gift over 2,000 years later.

What seeds are laying dormant with potential in you? Where do you need to plant them? How much do you want God to bless you?

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September 6, 2016 · 5:24 AM

Honoring God


In Haggai 1, God was upset with the Children of Israel for something we still do today. In verses 1 and 9, God makes clear what He’s upset about through the prophet Haggai. He said, “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses” (NLT). God was upset because they were putting their own desires and interests above His.

Were they all that different than we are? God wasn’t upset that they lived in luxurious homes. The problem was a matter of the heart. Once God provided for them, they forgot about Him. They didn’t honor Him as the one who provided for them, rescued them, or protected them. The human condition in us all wants to take credit for everything we have accomplished and to remove God from the equation. When that happens, we fail to do the things that honor God. It shows in how we treat Him and in how we live.

For them, the temple still laid in ruins. For us, we don’t give tithes, we don’t give Him thanks, or fail to commune with Him unless it’s a list of needs and wants. God wants more out of a relationship with Him than to be our spiritual 9-1-1 call. He wants to be your friend, He wants to converse with you, and He wants you to recognize that all you have is a gift from Him. Yes, the blessings of God are great, but we can’t dishonor Him by thinking we’ve earned them. We don’t have to build Him a temple to show it, but there are things you can do.

What’s something you can start doing, that you’re not already doing, to honor God for what He’s done in your life?

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September 5, 2016 · 5:00 AM

Take A Break


Do you ever have those days where you are just drained? You know, the days where the alarm clock goes off and you wonder if you even slept. You don’t want five more minutes, you want five more hours! It seems like being tired is more and more the norm for people. As technology improves, we have become more efficient in our work. That efficiency has translated to having to do more work, not less. Our minds consume more information in a shorter amount of time than in any other point in history.

It’s no wonder our bodies and our minds are tired. We are exhausted, but are too afraid to take off work because the amount of work that will pile up while we are out. I know people who take a vacation, but work remotely while on it. The vacation is just really working away from the office. So many of us have put work above our own health and our families. I understand needing to make a living, but don’t forget to make a life while you’re at it. Every once in a while you need a break from all the mental and physical stresses you put on your body.

I’m reminded that Creation was hard work. God put all He had into and still took a break. He took a day to rejuvenate and to rest. He has encouraged us to do the same since then. One of the Ten Commandments was, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” On my trip to Israel, they told us the word Sabbath means to stop. God wants us to stop, breathe, and relax one day a week. He didn’t design our bodies to run 7 days a week, 365 days a year. 

When our bodies have had enough, it’s ok to take a break. It’s ok to put down the technology that keeps you connected and the information flowing. I’ve found that when I take a break, the world keeps on moving without me, work still gets done and the world doesn’t fall apart. It’s an humbling reminder that it doesn’t need me in order to keep going. Life will continue after you and I are gone. The world will go on. There’s no use in burning ourselves out. We have to think about the long haul.

When I get tired and worn out, I remember Psalms 73:26. It says, “My mind and my body may grow weak, but God is my strength; He is all I ever need.” It requires me ask why I’m weak. Is it because I’m doing eternal things or because I’m doing temporary things? Either way, I need to take sabbatical and rest every now and then. When I’m recharged I’m able to make a bigger difference at work and for the Kingdom. It’s ok to take a break. In fact, God requires it. Schedule it and make it happen.

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September 2, 2016 · 5:34 AM

Lasting Victory


When I was a kid, every Sunday morning on the way to church, we would hear Pastor Earl Banning on the radio. The theme song to his radio program was the hymn “Victory in Jesus”. The chorus went, “O victory in Jesus, my savior forever. He sought me and He bought me with His redeeming blood; He loved me ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him. He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing blood.” I can’t hear that song without it taking me back to those days.

There’s a great truth in that song. Our victory is in Jesus, not just over sin, but our victory in general. I’ve fought many battles in my life. I’ve won a lot of them, but I’ve also lost a lot of them. The ones I lost were the ones where I tried to fight alone. I was either too embarrassed or too prideful to go to God for help. I’ve learned that without God’s help, there’s no lasting victory. He’s the one that gives us strength and victory if we are willing to trust Him with the battle.

Below are several verses in the Bible that remind us that lasting victory comes from God.

1. For the LORD your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!
Deuteronomy 20:4 NLT

2. I praise you, Lord, because you heard me, because you have given me victory.
Psalm 118:21 GNT

3. But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57 AMPC

4. Do your best, prepare for the worst— then trust GOD to bring victory.
Proverbs 21:31 MSG

5. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.
1 John 5:4 NLT

6. No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us!
Romans 8:37 GNT

7. Only in the Lord shall one say, I have righteousness (salvation and victory) and strength [to achieve]. To Him shall all come who were incensed against Him, and they shall be ashamed.
Isaiah 45:24 AMPC

8. I remind you, my dear children: Your sins are forgiven in Jesus’ name. You veterans were in on the ground floor, and know the One who started all this; you newcomers have won a big victory over the Evil One. And a second reminder, dear children: You know the Father from personal experience. You veterans know the One who started it all; and you newcomers—such vitality and strength! God’s word is so steady in you. Your fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One.
1 John 2:13-14 MSG

9. I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.
Psalms 62:1 NLT

10. The Lord takes pleasure in his people; he honors the humble with victory.
Psalm 149:4 GNT

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August 31, 2016 · 5:49 AM

Battling Resistance


When you are called by God to do something, and you begin doing it, you can expect resistance. Sometimes it comes in the form of people, and other times it is in the form of the elements. In April of this year, I went to Washington, D.C..to pray with Church leaders from across the nation. I expected people to try to prevent us, but it was really the weather that did its work. Once we started praying, the temperature dropped. It began to rain first, then came hail. After that, it started snowing, which got very heavy unlike anything I’ve seen. Then the wind started blowing and got up to 50 mph. When the time of prayer and fasting was over, the sun came out immediately. 

Through all of that, most people stayed to pray. When I think of resistance to the work of God, I think of the book of Ezra. While the Jews were in captivity in Babylon, God put it in the king’s heart to send the Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Several years later, and under the rule of another King, people tried to intimidate the Jews and wrote to the new king to stop the work. They were successful. What the Jews did next, we can all learn from when we face resistance.

The first thing they did was surround themselves with people who would pray for them and over them. Ezra 5:1 says. “At that time the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel who was over them” (NLT). When we surround ourselves with God’s people, we receive encouragement to continue the work. God often speaks to us through others when we get distracted. It’s important to have people around you who allow God to speak through them.

Next, you need to begin the work again and accept help from godly people. If you’ve been pressured into quitting, and you were called and reminded by God to do it, start doing what He called you to do. Ezra 5:2 says, “Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak responded by starting again to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them and helped them.” No work of God is done alone. He places people in your path to work with you. Don’t push them away and try to carry the burden yourself. Look around, see who God has placed in your life, invite them to help you, and begin working.

Lastly, they were bold. Ezra 5:3-5 says, “But Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues soon arrived in Jerusalem and asked, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and restore this structure?” They also asked for the names of all the men working on the Temple. But because their God was watching over them, the leaders of the Jews were not prevented from building until a report was sent to Darius and he returned his decision.” Remember, there is no higher authority than God. When He calls you to do something, no one else has the authority to stop you. Be bold, keep working, and trust God.

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August 30, 2016 · 6:08 AM

Delayed Answers


One of the most frustrating things for me is to leave on time and to arrive at work late. This recently happened several days in a row. When I turned on my app, it showed I would arrive at work 30 minutes early. As I drove, it kept rerouting me and delaying the time. It would beep and say, “Found new route. No time saved.” Then it would beep and say, “Delayed eight minutes.” I went through side streets, back roads, highways, and freeways to get to my destination. In the end, it was about 30 minutes after I was supposed to start my meeting. I came in, apologized, and delivered the content.

As I read Daniel 10, it made me think of that day in traffic. Each of us has been delayed trying to get where we are going. We’ve all tried to get somewhere important only to have to take alternate routes. It turns out, these things happen to angels as well (on a whole different level of course). They have places to be and messages to give, but are delayed as well. Daniel had been fasting and praying for three weeks, but hadn’t heard from God. It turns out, the angel ran into traffic and was delayed in bringing the answer.

In verse 13, the Angel said to Daniel, “But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia” (NLT). He wasn’t delayed by 30 minutes, he was delayed three weeks! He had to fight rulers and principalities of the air in order to bring Daniel the answer he was seeking. If it happened then, it happens today.

I love what the Angel said just before that in verse 12. He said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.” It’s a great reminder that when we begin to pray, our prayers are heard in heaven immediately. Sometimes there’s traffic in delivering our answer. We can’t give up praying because we haven’t been answered. There is a spiritual war raging that we don’t see, and it can cause delays. Daniel’s answer took 3 weeks of fasting and prayer. Imagine if he hadn’t been fasting or had quit praying.

Don’t quit seeking God for the answers to your prayers. We have no idea why answers don’t come as quickly as we would like. I wonder how many times I’ve blamed God for not answering my prayers, and I quit praying not knowing He had sent the answer and it got delayed. Just as God’s Angel was determined to get to Daniel with the answer, we need to be determined to keep praying and fasting until we get God’s answer. We can’t control how long it takes for the answer to arrive, but we can control how long we seek God for answers. 

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August 29, 2016 · 5:51 AM

Walking Freely In The Fire


To me, one of the coolest stories in the Bible is the one where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace. As you know, they refused to bow to the god King Nebuchadnezzar built and set up. When the king confronted them, they didn’t back down from their beliefs knowing it would mean their death. In Daniel 3:17-18, they said, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (NLT).

Their response visibly angered the king. He ordered that the furnace be heated up seven times hotter than normal. He then had the boys bound up, hand and feet, dragged to the furnace, and thrown in. It was so hot that the men who dragged them there died. The king then noticed something odd. In verse 25, he said, “Look! I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!” He then called them out of the fire and promoted them to higher positions.

When you look back on your life, when was God most evident? Where can you see Him most clearly? For me, it’s in the hardest times. You could say it was when I was walking through the fires of life. When we are cast in the fire, we don’t always know if we will survive. We know God is able, but there is no guarantee He will get us out of the fire. Even still, we are required to endure and to be willing to be subjected to the fires of life.

Remember, it was in the fire that they were freed from the ropes that bound them. But even before that, God was with them. He’s not always visible leading up to the fire, but I know He was standing there with them as they refused to bow. It was only in the fire that He was revealed. God is most evident in the hardest times of our lives because those are the times we trust Him the most. When we all through the fire, our faith is deepened, our character is strengthened, and God’s love for us is proven.

You and I don’t have to fear the flames. We can walk freely in them with the Son of God beside us. I don’t know if the three Hebrew boys saw the Son of God in the fire with them or not, but He was there. We don’t always see God walking in the fire with us until we look back on it. So if you’re in the furnace now, look around. God has not abandoned you. He is there walking with you. He may not be visible now, but He’s there growing you, preparing you, and making you more like Him. Don’t give up in the furnace. Walk freely in the fire. 

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