Tag Archives: Devotional

January 10, 2017 · 5:18 AM

Stretching


I saw a funny exchange that a friend of mine put on Facebook. A person told her, “I didn’t think a Christian would be so into yoga.” She replied, “You’re right. Christians don’t normally stretch.” It hit me that she’s right more than she knows. While she was talking about physically stretching, I was thinking of spiritually stretching. It’s not something that most of us do. We prefer to leave things the way they are and to not be challenged.

Brian Tracy speaks to the Law of Inertia. It says that people continue doing what they’re doing until they’re acted upon by an outside force. It’s not until we face a trial or gave a bad day that we wake from our zombie-like spiritual existence and begin to stretch spiritually. If we don’t voluntarily stretch, God is happy to be that outside force that moves us off the path we are on. He’s not content with our spiritual contentment.

We shouldn’t be either. We should each desire to be the best Christian we can be, to have a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Christ. The problem is that desire is only part of the equation. The other part is that we test our faith, push our spiritual limits and strive for the high calling in Christ Jesus. Stretching prepares us for growth. If we don’t stretch, the growth will be painful.

I’ve been in sports my whole life. Stretching has always been a part of every workout, every practice and every game. It warms up the muscles that we are about to use. I Timothy 4:8 says, “Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way.” Paul understood that our spirit needs exercise. If it needs exercise, it needs stretching. The way we do that is to put our faith to the test. We believe God for more than we think possible. I heard He’s able to do abundantly more than I could even ask or think, So why not think big?

If you don’t like to stretch, you’re not alone. Don’t wait for an outside force from God to get you to stretch your faith. Find ways today to stretch it out. Give more than you thought you could give (I’m not just talking about money here). Go farther than you thought you could go. Step into waters that are deeper than you’ve been in. Believe for more than you think is possible and watch what a God does. Don’t be a Christian who doesn’t like to stretch.
  

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

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

January 9, 2017 · 5:39 AM

Losing To Win


Several years ago, when things were going downhill in my life, I started to get upset at God. I was losing everything. Several friends had abandoned me during the process. I lost my business, had a vehicle repossessed, lost my business, and had to file for bankruptcy. I cried out, “God, where are you?!? Why are you letting this happen to me? Have you abandoned me? Don’t you care that I’m losing everything?” I didn’t get an answer and I continued to lose more until I had nothing left to lose.

I didn’t think God was there in those moments. Every once in a while though, my friend and Sunday School teacher, would say, “Chris, I believe God wants me to say this to you…” While those messages were encouraging, and I believed they were from God, I wasn’t personally hearing from Him. I was doing my best to keep from getting bitter towards Him because I felt abandoned and was upset over everything I had lost. What I couldn’t see, was what I was really losing though. 

I realized later that I didn’t just lose a bunch of material things and relationships, I lost my pride. God used that time to strip me of pride that was keeping me from a deep relationship with Him. I also lost my dependence on my self. Somehow I thought that everything I had in life, I had earned on my own. I forgot that God was my source and Jehovah Jireh. Through all of that, I gained a deeper faith and a dependence on God to be who He wanted to be in my life. I just couldn’t see it when I was losing the things that I thought mattered.

I Peter 4:12-13 says, “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner” (MSG). God uses difficult times to refine us. When they come, the dross in our life floats to the top and is skimmed off by God. What’s left over is pure gold. If you’re in the thick of it now, don’t quit or think God doesn’t care. He’s refining you and cleaning out the things in your life that are keeping you from Him.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

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

January 6, 2017 · 5:33 AM

You’re Growing


There was a commercial years ago where there was a parent and a kid. The kid had messed up, and told the parent about it. The parent looked st the kid and said, “You know what? You’re growing.” They were reassuring the kid that we all fail at times, but failure doesn’t have to be the end. It can be part of our growth. We can learn from it and then move forward. Growth is essential to life. It’s also essential to being a Christian.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve failed only to have God look at me and say, “You’re growing.” As a perfectionist, I always want things to be right and perfect, but growth isn’t that way. It’s often messy, and it accompanies failure. I’ve learned to prefer growth over perfection. They’re both difficult, but growth is natural. God’s desire for each of us is not to be perfect, but to grow. He’s there to help us along the way with all the things that accompany growth.

Here are some Bible Verses on growing.

1. I’m not writing all this as a neighborhood scold just to make you feel rotten. I’m writing as a father to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can’t wait to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up. It was as Jesus helped me proclaim God’s Message to you that I became your father. I’m not, you know, asking you to do anything I’m not already doing myself.
1 Corinthians 4:14-16 MSG

2. But continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, now and forever! Amen.
2 Peter 3:18 GNT

3. Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly]. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
Ephesians 4:15 AMPC

4. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:7 NLT

5. So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on “salvation by self-help” and turning in trust toward God; baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. God helping us, we’ll stay true to all that. But there’s so much more. Let’s get on with it!
Hebrews 6:1-3 MSG

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

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

January 5, 2017 · 5:27 AM

Retraining Your Thoughts


This is the time of year when a lot of people are making changes in their life. It’s a new year, so why not create a new you? We all know that New Year’s resolutions are hard to keep. There are scheduling conflicts, your body is not used to getting up early, gyms are crowded, and a whole other plethora of reasons why it’s difficult to keep your resolution. While most resolutions focus on your outward body, there’s one that focuses internally that I hope you’ll keep.

Proverbs 23:7 tells us that we are what we think. Your mind is very powerful. It tells you what to believe about yourself and others, and we always act according to our beliefs. If you are constantly telling yourself that you’re a nobody, that you’re fat, that you’re ugly, that you’re stupid, that no one cares for you, or any other negative thing, your body will respond accordingly. My hope for you this year, is that you’ll begin to change how you think so you can become who God sees you as.

To change how you think, you need to begin changing what you think about. Watch what you put into your mind, and also be vigilant about what you allow your mind to dwell on. Challenge the thoughts that aren’t true. Stop the thoughts that take you down the rabbit hole. This is tough, but it can be done. You can retrain your mind what to think by challenging what it already thinks. Hold it to the Philippians 4:8 standard.

That verse says, “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse”(MSG). Ask your mind, “Is that true?” If not, tell your mind what is true. You can change your life and it starts with how you think. You can do this! Tell yourself that and begin to believe it because it’s true. 

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

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

January 4, 2017 · 6:07 AM

A Work In Progress


Several years ago, the housing market tanked. Before it did, new neighborhoods were going up everywhere. Commercial real estate was also doing well. Then, suddenly it seemed to stop. There’s evidence of this all over. When you drive through some neighborhoods, you can see just the frame of a house. It had been started, but not finished. There are also slabs of concrete around where buildings were going to be built. Now, they’re just reminders of a poor economy that once was booming.

As I drive through neighborhoods seeing half finished houses, it always makes me sad. I think of the family who had plans to live there. I think of the current residents whose property value is hurt by those ghost houses just sitting there decaying with the weather. It also makes me think of people whose lives are a lot like those houses. They started off strong, but somewhere down the path of life, tragedy hit, and their growth just stopped.

As believers, we aren’t exempt from those tragedies that aim to prevent our growth and completion. There are many Christians who have been hit with something out of the blue, and it simply paralyzed their future plans. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to think, “There’s no future for me so what’s the use in trying.” But those were my words, not God’s. His plan is to complete the work on your life despite what you’ve faced. He still has the blueprints and wants to complete you.

Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished” (NLT). God completes what He started. He will continue to make beauty from ashes. He can take our broken, unfinished lives, and create beautiful masterpieces. There is hope for you. God is not finished working on you. He will be faithful to resume the work and complete what He started in you. Don’t give up yet. You are a work in progress. 

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

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

January 3, 2017 · 5:00 AM

A Love That Values Others


A few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting a man named Peter Strople. He was at the Re:Write conference as a speaker. Honestly, I had never heard of him even though he was known as the most connected man in America. When he got up to speak, you could see and sense his humility. It wasn’t what I was expecting from “the most connected man in America”. I quickly understood his humility and his ability to connect when he said his personal motto is “When in doubt, love.”

In a room full of writers who wanted to bless God with our talents, there was one person in the room who didn’t appear to belong. He had jet black hair done up like an 80’s band member. I think he even wore a leather vest that showed how his arms were covered in tattoos. Peter called him up to the stage to demonstrate what he meant. As he asked questions, diving into this man’s story, it was like watching a flower bloom. The one who was different, and an outcast, became the most beautiful thing in the room and everyone wanted to get to know him more.

Peter demonstrated what it mean to show love to someone. He didn’t just talk about it, he showed us how to do it. My whole life, I’ve read that we are to love one another, and have been taught about it as well from the pulpit. This was the first time I remember watching it in action and saw the result. Peter showed this man love by genuinely getting to know him and listened intently. It wasn’t about making himself look good. It was about valuing this person and showing them that they mattered.

Romans 13:10 says, “Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love” (MSG). Wherever you are today, there are people around you who need value added to them. Make a choice now to look for them and to show them love. Let’s not just talk about loving them, let’s do it. Don’t ignore someone because they’re different from you. Get to know they’re story and show them that they matter. 

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

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

January 2, 2017 · 5:16 AM

2017 New Year’s Prayer


As is my custom for this site, here is a prayer for the new year that you can pray and make your own. I pray God’s blessings on your life this year.

Dear Heavenly Father,

We worship you and thank you for a new year. We thank you for the new mercies, greater grace, and fuller life that it will bring. May it be a year full of your favor in our lives. Keep your hand of blessing on us so that we can bless others. Open up doors that have been closed in the past. Lead us beside still water so that our souls are refreshed this year. Bring restoration to the parts of our lives that have been shattered and broken.

You alone are our strong foundation. You are the One we build our lives on. May we see growth and progress spiritually, financially, and emotionally in 2017. We know that you are good, and that you have good things for us. We give you the freedom to move and work in our lives this year as you see fit. Your plan for our lives is better than any plan we could ever come up with. We submit to you, your plans, and your goals for our lives.

Help us to have enough oil in our lamps to do the work you’ve called us to. Put the right people in our lives to stir up your gifts inside us, to move us in the direction you would have us go, and to maximize our potential. Help us to add value to our friends, family, and those who cross our path this year. Give us God ideas on how to build others up so they are rightfully restored to the people you created them to be.

Give us greater wisdom in all areas of our life so we make better choices this year. Give us discernment so we can know your voice, your path, and your direction in our lives. May this be a year of tremendous growth, productivity, and expansion for us and your Kingdom. Use us to spread your light, your life, and your compassion so that you will be lifted up and people will be drawn to you. Thank you in advance for all you’re going to do, and we give you all the honor and glory as we dedicate this year to you. 

In Jesus name we pray,

Amen!

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

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

December 30, 2016 · 5:38 AM

Renewal And Restoration 


As each year ends, we are usually glad it’s over hoping the new year brings change, or we had a great year and hope the next one brings more of the same. Whatever next year holds, it’s not going to be a surprise to God. We don’t have to be afraid or overwhelmed by what’s coming. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). He has also given us enough grace that is sufficient for whatever we will face.

I believe 2017 will be a year of renewal. God wants to take those things in our lives that we’ve given up on, broken, or forgotten and bring them back to life. He wants to renew a right spirit within us that is ready to receive all He has for us. No matter what world events take place, our God is still in control. We can trust Him with our hopes, our dreams, our future, and with our brokenness. Give God the freedom to do on your life what He wants to do next year and you won’t be disappointed.  

Here are some Bible verses on renewal and restoration.

1. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Psalms 51:10 NLT

2. Restore us, O LORD, and bring us back to you again! Give us back the joys we once had!
Lamentations 5:21 NLT

3. I’ll refresh tired bodies; I’ll restore tired souls.
Jeremiah 31:25 MSG

4. The LORD will sustain him upon his sickbed; In his illness, You restore him to health.
Psalms 41:3 NASB

5. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
Ephesians 4:23 NLT

6. But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.
Isaiah 40:31 GNT

7. Restore us again, O God; and cause Your face to shine [in pleasure and approval on us], and we shall be saved!
Psalm 80:3 AMPC

8. But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty, and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home. And though you started with little, you will end with much.
Job 8:5-7 NLT

9. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
Acts 3:19 NASB

10. He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters. [Rev. 7:17.] He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him–not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake.
Psalm 23:2-3 AMPC

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

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

December 29, 2016 · 5:35 AM

The GPS Of The Flesh


In one of the episodes of “The Office”, Michael Scott and Dwight were out on sales calls together. Michael was using a GPS navigation system to get where they were going. The device said, “Turn right.” As Michael began to turn right, Dwight asked what he was doing. He said, “I’m turning right.” Dwight frantically said, “You can’t turn right! There’s a pond right there.” Michael said, “But it told me to turn right so I have to.” He then drove the car into the water.

I’m pretty sure almost all of us have used some sort of GPS navigation system by now, whether it’s in our phone or not. When you don’t obey it, the voice comes on, “Rerouting. Make the next legal U-Turn.” If you keep going, it keeps trying to get you to go back. I usually turn it off at that point because it starts to annoy me. I know a better way, but it doesn’t want to see it or give me directions to take it. That GPS system is a lot like our flesh. It wants to direct us and tell us where to go.

If we follow our flesh, we’ll end up in a lake like Michael Scott. Sadly, many of us think we have to do what it says. It leads us down the road of temptation away from God. We know there’s a pond there and we’re going to wreck, but we follow it because we feel we have to. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit is frantically saying, “You can’t turn right! There’s a pond there.” Too many times we end up in the water of sin and have to pay the price, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Just like you don’t have to obey your GPS navigation, you don’t have to obey your flesh.

Romans 8:12 says, “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do” (NLT). You are free to make your own decisions. The flesh will constantly try to re-rout you and get you to U-Turn, but you have the power to ignore it because you have God’s Holy Spirit in you. When we are Spirit minded, we no longer have to follow the GPS of the flesh, and that leads to an abundant life.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

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

December 28, 2016 · 5:53 AM

Testing Your Faith


I used to love the movie “Young Guns”. In high school, my friends and I would quote the TV version often. There’s a scene where Billy the Kid (Emilio Esteves) is leading his band of men back to .Lincoln, Nebraska to finish off their enemy, but the odds are against them 100 to 5. Doc Scurlock (Kiefer Sutherland) figures it out and turns the team away from Billy with the idea of going to Mexico. Billy said, “You’re all scared, and you’re going to fail the test. You have to test yourself everyday, gentlemen. Once you stop testing yourself, you get slow.”

That scene has stuck with me through the years. What was said in those lines is relevant to us spiritually. You have to test your faith every day. Once you stop testing it, you start coasting. Coasting leads to doing nothing. Doing nothing leads to stagnation. Paul was afraid that we would become stagnant in our faith because it’s human nature to sit back, relax, and take it easy. He warned us against it and told us to test our faith.

Paul wrote II Corinthians 13:5, “Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it” (AMPC). How do you do that? Well look at the people of faith in the Bible who tested their faith. David walked onto a battlefield with a giant carrying nothing more than a sling. Peter got out of a boat in a storm to walk on water. Abraham tied his only son to an altar and raised a knife. Each of them were willing to put their faith to the test in impossible situations.

Whatever your battlefield looks like today, don’t be afraid to step out onto it. No matter how loud your storm is, be willing to get out of the boat. Whatever sacrifice God is asking you to make, be willing to climb the mountain without seeing the ram in the thicket. You can’t show the proper fruits of your faith until you do something with your faith. It’s ok to be scared. I’m sure each of those men had some fear, but they pushed passed it and passed the test. What will your story tell about your faith?

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

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