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July 10, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Just Do It…Again

Have you ever had to start over at square one? It’s one of the most frustrating things there are. After you’ve done the work and made progress, something happens and you have to start over. I’ve had to do that in life, with dreams God has given me, with work and in relationships. I don’t have many pet peeves, but doing work I’ve already done is one of mine. It’s redundant, but I’ve learned to not look at what I’m having to do over. Instead I focus on the outcome. The work is worth the payoff in the end.

After Isaac inherited all of Abraham’s wealth and land, people became jealous and didn’t like him. They poured dirt into the wells that Abraham had dug and forced him to leave that area. Genesis 26:17-18 says, “So Isaac left. He camped in the valley of Gerar and settled down there. Isaac dug again the wells which were dug in the days of his father Abraham but had been clogged up by the Philistines after Abraham’s death. And he renamed them, using the original names his father had given them” (MSG).

I’m sure Isaac was frustrated, but he did the work anyway. I believe that’s what you and I need to think about today. You may be frustrated at how clogged up life is at the moment. You may feel like you’re at square one with the dreams God planted in you. Don’t quit or give up. Do the work with gladness and push forward. There is a reward and times of refreshing coming, but you’re going to have to do the work. It may require sacrificing other things, spending more time in prayer, reading the Bible or fasting, but God’s rewards for you are on the other side of your obedience. Pick up a shovel and start digging.

Photo by Lucas van Oort on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word. 

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July 9, 2025 · 5:34 AM

Sitting And Seeking

Not long after I started writing devotions I signed up for a writers conference where several published authors would be. One day during the conference I was able to share a meal with William Paul Young, author of “The Shack.” He gave me a piece of wisdom that still drives me to this day. He told me to quit looking at God as a well, and instead see Him as a river of life. Then he said, “Every day you need to sit at that river with God with an empty bucket. Sit in His presence and ask Him to fill your bucket with fresh water from His Word every day. If you will seek Him out and listen, I promise you He will fill your bucket with fresh water every day.” With that, I began seeking God more diligently and He has continued to fill my bucket.

In Luke 10, Jesus went to the house of Martha, the sister of Lazarus and Mary. As Jesus began to teach, Martha went into the kitchen to begin preparing food for everyone. However, Mary stayed behind and sat at the feet of Jesus listening to every word. As her bucket was being filled up, Martha disrupted what was going on to ask Jesus to make Mary help her. Jesus told Martha she was distracted and concerned about all these other things. Then He said in verse 42, “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her” (NLT). She had learned to seek Jesus and to allow Him to fill her bucket with living water.

The psalmist understood the power of seeking God’s presence too. In Psalm 105:4 he wrote, “Seek and deeply long for the Lord and His strength [His power, His might]; Seek and deeply long for His face and His presence continually” (AMP). It’s not just a command for us to take time to seek out God’s presence continually, it’s also a necessity. Too many time though, we are like Martha. We’re busy with life, work, serving the Lord and all the other things we have to do. Yet Jesus said Mary had discovered the one thing we should be concerned about. We must all make time to seek Him and sit at His feet. We must deeply long for His presence to the point our day is incomplete without it. When we do, He will meet us and renew us with His fresh water.

Photo by Elise Zimmerman on Unsplash

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July 8, 2025 · 5:33 AM

Hope Beyond The Moment

Hope is fuel for an aching soul. I’ve been in some hopeless situations where daily I was looking for the smallest glimmer of hope. Just a little bit would give me energy and increase my faith. It’s in times like those that I also learned my hope lies beyond my current circumstances look like. My true hope comes from the Lord. His report is greater than anything I can see with my physical eyes. It’s in those hopeless situations that I have to activate my faith in God and lean into Him because He is the ultimate authority.

In Romans 4, Paul is using Abraham as an example of someone who had hope in a hopeless situation. Verse 18 says, “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, ‘That’s how many descendants you will have!’” (NLT) He trusted God over his circumstances and held onto hope when everything else told him that God’s promise was an impossibility. The next verse said his faith didn’t weaken as he waited for God to fulfill what He said. His example to us is something we can emulate and strive for as we face situations where there is no reason to hope.

Paul goes in In Romans 5:5 to say, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Just like Abraham’s faith grew stronger, ours can to in whatever we face. In Christ, there is always hope. When we face the toughest of circumstances, our faith has the greatest opportunity to grow. God uses situations to produce in us character traits, faith and hope. The hope we have in Him is the hope that will not disappoint even when whatever we’re facing doesn’t go according to our plan or desires. Our hope in Him can still remain strong because it goes beyond the moment. Our hope and faith are eternal.

Photo by Constant Loubier on Unsplash

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July 7, 2025 · 5:29 AM

The Wilderness Of Preparation

There have been times in my life when things were clicking and moving quickly. God’s plan for me was gaining ground so fast as if it were making up for lost time. Then without warning, things would come to a screeching halt. In those seasons I would wonder if I did something wrong or if I made God mad. He would seem to be silent during those times too. These periods would last days, weeks , months and even years. It made me think that the wilderness I was in was a place of punishment. However, I’ve learned that those seasons in the wilderness are periods of preparation for what’s coming.

In Exodus, we read the story of Israel being delivered from Egypt. We don’t know how long the period of the plagues were, but there were instructions for the tenth plague. In chapter 12 verse 11 God told them, “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover” (NLT). Freedom came quickly and they took off in the middle of the night. They hurried toward the Promised Land. God parted the Red Sea and met them at Sinai. Then the entered the wilderness of preparation for 40 years. God had moved them out of Egypt, but He had to get the Egypt out of them before they were ready to possess the land.

In 2 Corinthians 4:17 Paul reminds us, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” God uses periods of troubles, set backs and aimless wandering to produce in us the things we need. The longer we sit and complain in these seasons, the longer it will take to get out of. They are to remove things from our lives that we can’t carry with us into the next season and to produce character traits we will need. The wilderness isn’t to necessarily punish you for mistakes as much as it is intended to prepare you and produce things in you that can’t be brought about any other way.

Photo by Nathan McBride on Unsplash

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July 4, 2025 · 6:02 AM

Serving God

Jesus said that one of the greatest commandments was to love the Lord with Al, your heart, soul, mind and strength. When we love Him in each of those areas we will serve Him with all of them. Who or what we love, we serve. The attitude and posture of our heart results in action in our lives. Serving God is about submitting every area to Him out of our love for Him. Are you doing what He wants or what you want in your life? Remember, you can’t serve two masters. The fruit of your life shows who you are serving. Take a moment to reflect on which areas you need to submit to the Lord and serve Him with.

Here are some Bible verses on serving God:

1. Does this sound as if I am trying to win human approval? No indeed! What I want is God’s approval! Am I trying to be popular with people? If I were still trying to do so, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Galatians 1:10 GNT

2. Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’”

Luke 4:8 GNT

3. If it is unacceptable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua 24:15 AMP

4. We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors.

2 Corinthians 6:7-8 NLT

5. We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live.

Luke 1:74-75 NLT

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July 3, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Calling All Workers

I don’t know what it’s like where you live, but around here construction has been booming since Covid started. New homes are being built as fast as they can, existing homes sell the day they go on the market and remodels are happening everywhere. That’s created a couple of problems. The first is that supply and demand has driven the cost of materials sky high. The second is that there is a shortage of workers to do the work. Construction companies are begging for workers. With the lack of workers, jobs aren’t getting done as quickly as they should and people have to wait for months to get their projects done. Every day people are praying for workers so they can complete their jobs.

Not long after Jesus started His ministry, crowds started showing up. They would search for Him early in the morning and stay until late in the evening. He could barely get any rest or time alone. Some days He was so busy He didn’t get to eat. Instead of being overwhelmed at the crowds, He had pity on them. His heart was filled with compassion because of their great need for salvation as well as physical healing. In Matthew 9:38, as He looked at the crowd, He turned to His disciples and said, “Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest” (GNT). He and His 12 disciples were busy every day with the work of God’s Kingdom so much so that John said if all the miracles Jesus did had been recorded, all the books in the world couldn’t contain their stories.

This is where you and I come in. We have two parts in this. One, we are to pray for workers to gather in the harvest as Jesus commanded us to. The other is to recognize we are the workers. Ephesians 2:10 says, “He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing” (MSG). Each of us were created to work in His Kingdom, but few of us are doing the work. He didn’t mean that we should all work at the church. He meant that everywhere you go, and especially at your job, there is a harvest that needs to be brought in. Instead of just praying for workers, we should be like Isaiah and say, “Here am I send me.” There is a harvest ready to be brought in right now, and God is looking for us to step up and do the work He’s called us to.

Photo by Warren on Unsplash.

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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July 2, 2025 · 5:08 AM

Productive In Every Season

In every season, farmers are doing something to get the most production out of their plants and trees. In one season they prune in order to create new growth opportunities. In another season they work the soil giving it what it needs so that the plant can grow and produce healthy fruit. In one season they wait and let God do the unseen work. Finally there’s harvest season where they reap the rewards of all they’ve been doing. Harvest time is the result of their productivity in the other seasons.

In the late chapters of Genesis, we read the story of Joseph. He went through several seasons himself. He was planted in his father’s house and tended to by him. There was a season of pruning by his brothers and the Egyptians where he lost things and people in his life. There was a season of waiting where he felt forgotten in prison. There was also a harvest time where Pharaoh called for him and he interpreted dreams no one else could. He was given the position of being second in command of Egypt. It didn’t happen overnight. Instead it was the culmination of trusting God in the other seasons. The productivity in the other seasons produced a great harvest.

1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “We know that we prosper and excel in every season by serving the Lord, because we are assured that our union with the Lord makes our labor productive with fruit that endures” (TPT). I don’t if you’re in the waiting season, the pruning season, the soil working season or harvest season. Whatever one you’re in, keep serving and trusting in the Lord. The harvest will come at the appointed time. Don’t grow weary in your work. You will reap the harvest at just the right time that God has appointed (Galatians 6:9). Keep tilling. Keep planting. Keep fertilizing and watering. Keep being still before the Lord. Be faithful in this season and God will do His part to bring about the harvest.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.

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June 30, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Remain In Christ

One of the Scriptures that has always stood out to me is Romans 11:17. It says, “But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree” (NLT). I’m no gardener, but the idea of being grafted in has always intrigued me. To be grafted in means we had a clean cut from our old life, we’ve been tightly bound to a new source and we receive nourishment from the new root. The continuous flow of sap from the new source is what helps us bear fruit. 

In John 15:5 Jesus said plainly, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” The Greek word for “remain” is meno which means to live in a constant, uninterrupted state. Jesus was telling us that a life with Him is not a place we visit one or twice a week, but a place where we live constantly if we want to bear fruit. He went on in this chapter to tell us to remain rooted in His Word (7), to remain in His love (9) and to obey His commands (10j so we can bear much fruit. We can’t bear fruit unless we live in a constant, uninterrupted state connected to Him.

What kind of fruit should you bear in your life as a result of this grafting? Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law” (AMP). Notice that fruit isn’t a reflection of our efforts, but of His presence within us that comes from remaining in Him. Your life will bear the fruit of the root and tree that you’re connected to because they are your source. Where are you drawing your daily life from? Are you remaining in His presence daily? When we remain in Him, we will bear fruit in every season of life. 

Photo by Josie Weiss on Unsplash.

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June 27, 2025 · 5:49 AM

Being Redeemed

I remember being in children’s church singing, “I’ve been redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Oh I’ve been redeemed.” I didn’t really understand the word redeemed though. I’ve found out that Biblical redemption is to be set free from the power and penalty of sin through the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. It’s about being set free the way the Israelites were liberated from Egypt. We are no longer slaves to sin because we belong to God now. Since you’ve been redeemed, live your life in the freedom God gives. Don’t let the enemy chase you down and hold your past against you. Jesus set you free. It’s time to live as one who has been redeemed. You are no longer condemned.

Here are some Bible verses on being redeemed:

1. We can never redeem ourselves; we cannot pay God the price for our lives, because the payment for a human life is too great. What we could pay would never be enough to keep us from the grave, to let us live forever.

Psalm 49:7-9 GNT

2. But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me.

Psalms 26:11 NKJV

3. Yet all of this was so that he would redeem and set free those held hostage to the law so that we would receive our freedom and a full legal adoption as his children.

Galatians 4:5 TPT

4. Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word.

Psalms 119:154 NKJV

5. But the Lord will redeem those who serve him. No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Psalms 34:22 NLT

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June 26, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Watering Seeds

For the past few months we’ve been driving to Dallas. Along the way, there is a stretch of farmland where people are growing fields of corn. As the summer has progressed, some of these fields went from green to having some brown spots to turning yellow. The drought did a number on some fields. In a few instances, we’d see a dry field next to a green one. We would be sad about them losing an entire crop, but also see that the neighboring crop was full. They both went through the same drought, but one farmer watered their crops and the other didn’t.

Through the New Testament, Jesus often referred to us as farmers and seed spreaders. He talked about our return on those seeds as well when it came to harvest time. However, there may be some fields you’ve tilled and planted without seeing a harvest yet. I’d like to encourage you to take the step of watering them. 1 Corinthians 3:7 says, “It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow” (NLT). Watering is part of the process many of us forget about. Seeds don’t grow to maturity and crops don’t produce unless they’re watered regularly.

Years ago, I heard Doug Stringer with SomebodyCares.org say, “Prayer is water for the seeds you plant.” In Jewish tradition, after Passover, they pray for dew to cover the ground where their crops are planted. Then as Sukkot passes, they pray for rain at harvest time. These festivals were created by God and remind us that we need to pray for God to water your seeds and to cause them to grow. He’s reminding us that our work isn’t done once we’ve planted seeds. If you’re waiting on a harvest from seeds you’ve planted and are wondering what’s taking so long, start watering them through prayer. Your seeds are not dead. They could be just waiting on some water.

Photo by Elibet Valencia Muñoz on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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