Tag Archives: Devotional

May 20, 2013 · 7:05 AM

The Gift of Blessing

Since I was a child I have read in the Old Testament how fathers prayed blessings on their children. I always loved that concept. Somewhere along in history, people failed to pass that along and children have been living without being given a generational blessing. I decided when I had a child, I would bless them in the way that Abraham blessed Isaac.

After my mom died, I was distraught. I was young and still had a need for a godly mother in my life. My best friend’s mom fit that bill. Rocio was an incredible woman of God. She took me in and called me her son. She always knew when something wasn’t right with me. She would pull me aside and ask what was wrong. She would point to scriptures to help me and then she would pray over me.

It wasn’t many years later that Rocio got cancer too. One night, as she knew her time was short, she brought her children and I into her bedroom. She wanted us to sing hymns that were meaningful to her. After we sang, she wanted us to go in a circle and share one of our favorite scriptures. After the circle was completed, she wanted to do it again. We continued to go around that circle for more than an hour until none of us could quote scriptures that hadn’t been quoted yet.

After that she made the biggest impact she ever made in my life. She had us all leave her bedside and brought us in one at a time. She then asked each of us individually, “Have I done anything to offend you?” After that, she asked, “Are there any grudges you are holding against me?” Then she got more serious, “Is there anything you want to tell me that you’ve never told me, but always wanted to?” After we talked some more, she laid her hand on us and gave a blessing to us individually of who she wanted us to become in her absence. After that she prayed over us.

She will never know what a profound impact that had on my life. She gave each one of us gifts that we are unworthy to bear. She gave us the gift of freedom by allowing us to forgive her or to be forgiven by her. She gave us the gift of no regrets by giving us a platform to tell her something we had held back. Then she gave the most important gift of all, the gift of blessing.

I want to give that gift to my son every day. I believe in the power of words, especially God’s words. It is very humbling to be given such a gift. As a parent there is no greater honor than to bless your children and to pray over them. I have chosen different passages of scripture to bless my son with in order to help him become who God wants him to be.

Here is the blessing I pray over him:

May The Lord bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you.

May He sing and dance over you because you are His child.

May He bring peace to your life and to your mind.

May He heal you of any disease and keep you from any sickness that would harm you.

May He give you good dreams and help you to live them out.

May you come to know Him at an early age and serve Him all the days of your life.

May you be a lover of His Word and find understanding in it.

May you find favor with God and man.

May you grow to be a man of integrity and a leader among men.

May you be the head and not the tail, above and not beneath.

Amen.

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May 17, 2013 · 7:44 AM

What Determines Your Worth?

I read an article yesterday about a server at a Steak ‘n Shake who got a $446 tip. The lady was clearly excited to receive it. She said some of her other tables had been giving her a hard time and she thought that was the reason behind the tip. In the article, she said something that stuck out to me. She said, “I didn’t think I was worth $400, but that customer does.” She valued herself at less than $400. I started thinking, “How many people value themselves so little?”

If you don’t know, let me be the one to tell you that you are worth well more than $400. How you see yourself or how others see you does not change your worth. It may affect your self confidence, but not your worth. You are a priceless work of art created by God to fulfill a purpose that only you can fulfill. You are valued by God above all other created things. Don’t let your mind or anyone else keep you from seeing that.

I can say that because God didn’t sacrifice His son for any other created being. Think of the angels and how highly we regard them. When Satan got a third of them to rebel against God and God cast them out of Heaven, did He pay a price to redeem them? No. Yet for you, He paid the ultimate price of sending His son to this earth to pay for what you and I do against Him.

Why would He do that for you and not for an angel? It’s because you are worth it to Him. Your life matters. What you do matters. Even if no one else around you values you or who you are, God does. Ultimately it’s His opinion that matters. I know it’s difficult to see when everyone around you values you less than $400. It’s easy to get that mindset when you’re verbally and physically abused. It’s not hard to believe that when those you love don’t appreciate you.

It’s hard to fight those thoughts and believe your worth doesn’t depend on others when everything around you is making you feel lower than dirt. I know. I’ve been there. I used to allow others to determine my worth. Not anymore. I find my worth and my value in who God says I am. I’ve learned to combat those thoughts with the Word of God. I’ve had to recognize when those thoughts come in so I can stop them and replace them with who God says I am. It’s a battle, but one that is worth fighting.

Your worth doesn’t depend on a tip, what someone else says or how they treat you. It depends on the price that God put on you and that’s a high price. You can not be replaced. There never has been or never will be another you. This is your time on earth to do what you were made to do. You have a purpose even if you haven’t found it yet. Keep looking. Keep believing. Keep trusting in Him. You are loved beyond measure and worth more than all the gold in the world.

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May 16, 2013 · 8:11 AM

A Deeper Answer

Yesterday at work I asked a question to a group of people. A lady answered, but it was only a surface level answer. I prodded her for more to think about what I was asking. I asked her to give me a deeper answer. She sat there with a blank stare for a minute. I offered the question in a different way, but still letting her know I was expecting her to answer. She gave me a “What are you doing” look. I explained, “I’m asking for more from you because what we’re currently doing is not working. If we are to change our results, we have to change how we think and approach the problem.”

I’m kind of in that place right now where God is asking for more from me. I’m the one sitting on the other side of the table with that blank stare saying, “What do you mean ‘more’?” It’s uncomfortable to sit here and not have the answer. To know that somewhere inside me lies the answer and not know how to get it can be disturbing. Knowing that God is waiting makes the situation even more intense.

I wonder if that’s how Peter felt when they were sitting on the shore of Galilee and Jesus asked him, “Do you love me?” Peter answered, “Yes. You know that I love you.” Jesus responded, “Feed my sheep.” He turned around and asked Peter the same question. I imagine Peter sitting there thinking, “Is He joking? Is this déjà vu?” He amused Jesus by answering a second time exactly as he had the first. Jesus wasn’t content with that. He wanted more. “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that He asked him a third time, and again said yes.

There have been many sermons regarding this and I’m not about to preach another one to you. I just want to stop and look at the emotions of what was happening. Jesus was pushing Peter beyond a surface level love. He was ensuring Peter knew in His heart that he loved Jesus because He was about to ask for more. What Peter had done in the past was not going to be good enough for what he was going to do in the future.

If you skip down a couple of verses to John 21:19, Jesus did something I hadn’t noticed. He again called Peter to follow Him. Peter had been called three years earlier to follow Jesus, but this call was different. This “follow me” was into a deeper relationship. One where Peter would be given the responsibility of raising up the early church and leading thousands to Christ. The dynamic of their relationship just changed in that exchange.

That’s where I am right now. Where are you? What is God asking of you? Are you giving Him a surface level answer when He is calling for a deeper more meaningful answer? Are you scared of what “more” means? Me too, but I won’t let that fear keep me from answering His call. I won’t continue to give the answer I’ve always given. I don’t know the answer yet, but I’m willing to follow Him into that deeper commitment until I do.

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May 14, 2013 · 7:55 AM

Fire Drills and Escape Routes

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Have you ever been in a fire drill? I’ve been through plenty in my day. The worst one was when I was 32 floors up in a skyscraper. Walking down 32 flights was not easy for me. Why do offices, schools and other building conduct those? As much of an annoyance as they are, they’re to teach us what to do in case of an emergency. The Fire Marshall knows that in a panic situation, you may not make the right decision unless you’ve rehearsed in your mind and with your body what you are going to do.

It’s really a great concept when you look at the reason for it. It’s got me thinking, “Why don’t we have spiritual fire drills? Why don’t we rehearse what we’re going to do when we are tempted?” We need to think through our evacuation route from temptation. We need to have them posted on the walls of our heart, look at them often and rehearse in our mind and with our body what we will do when temptation comes.

Temptation shows up anywhere and it’s typically unexpected. We are rarely prepared for it which is why we give in to it so easily and so often. Each of us are tempted. Each of us sin. Some temptations we are good at resisting and others catch us every time. If you think about the ones you are good at overcoming, they’re the ones that you’ve prepared an escape route from. It’s the ones that catch us every time that we haven’t prepared for.

I Corinthians 10:13 says, “But with the temptation He (God) will always also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.” God has provided an escape route from every temptation there is. How does He know the route? Hebrews 4:15 says we have a God who was tempted in every respect we are, yet without sinning. He’s been in our place and rehearsed the escape route for the sin that easily ensnares you. He’s calling out, “This is the way out.” Because we haven’t prepared, our focus is moved from the escape route into the sin.

How do we prepare then? Jesus demonstrated one way out of temptation and that was to quote God’s Word when we are tempted. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Knowing God’s Word is the primary escape route. Placing it deep in our heart and not just in our mind is the important part here. When we fill our hearts with His Word, we are able to win the battle of the mind.

The alternate escape route is to run. Yes, physically run. If you find yourself in an area that breeds temptation, run. Get out of there! Don’t stick around and see how close you can get to the fire without getting burned. That’s just stupid. In Proverbs 7, Solomon is looking out his window and sees a naive (void of good sense) man walking down the street where he knew a prostitute was. He crossed over to walk on her side. He didn’t turn around and run. In verse 22 it says, “He followed her like an ox to the slaughter.”

Temptations are around us every day. It’s part of life. How you prepare beforehand determines how you will react when they come. If you wait until the time of temptation to react, you will more than likely fail. If you prepare by putting God’s Word in your heart and knowing how to react when temptation shows up, you will escape. What escapee routes do you need to plan for in your life? What are you doing now to prepare for the ones that get you every time?

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May 13, 2013 · 8:12 AM

Death of a Dream

Yesterday at church, we did something that we haven’t done since I was a kid. We had people share their testimonies. It wasn’t like it was back then either. I remember as a child sitting on the pew as people would get up and share what The Lord had done in their lives. This wasn’t quite like that. This was a pre planned time of testimonies built into the sermon that went along with it. I thought it was very good.

The sermon was about people in the Bible who’s dreams were crushed, changed or died. We can relate because we’ve all had dreams in our lives that have met similar fates. It’s hard not to get discouraged when that happens. We often think we’re the only one who has dealt with the death of a dream. We feel alone and isolated. Defeated.

That’s where I think testimonies are the biggest help. It shows people in the church that there are others like them who have gone through something similar. It builds a point of connection. It shows that the church isn’t full of people who have it all together. It shows we’re human. It also helps us to overcome. Yes, overcome. Scripture says that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. It’s when others hear what God has done for us that they can become encouraged to keep fighting.

Yesterday, I heard stories of parents who raised their kids in church and how they have quit going. In tears, these parents poured their hearts out to the congregation telling them the struggles they faced during those times. Some had returned while others had not. After reaching the point in believing the dream was dead, God revived the dream and there is hope again.

Another shared of the struggles of expecting to be married by a certain age. They shared about their feelings of worthlessness and that no one wanted them. They shared that they had to let their dream of what they wanted for their life to die, so that God could show them His dream. When we release our dreams and embrace His dreams, we don’t have those feelings of worthlessness and failure anymore. We learn to depend on Him for our sense of worth and not what someone else says or does.

I got to share my own dreams that died. Dreams of a picture perfect life where I had it all. I was poised for a comfortable life and had laid the foundation for a bright future for myself and my family when suddenly it was all taken from me. I shared how there was no hope, no joy and no future. But God, in His mercy, came and met me in that dark place and replanted a dream in me of who He wanted me to become. He gave me hope and restored my joy. I came back from the brink of suicide and murder to a place where He can use me.

Where are you? What dreams have died in your life that you are holding against God? It’s time to let go of them so you can embrace His dream for your life. We can become bitter when we look at Jesus like Mary, the sister of Lazarus, and say, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother (my dream) would not have died.” It’s when we release those broken, crushed and dead dreams that God can plant a new one in you. It will be greater than the dream you had before. When you look back, you will be thankful he let that dream die because the new one is so much better. I can say that with confidence because I’m there right now.

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May 10, 2013 · 7:37 AM

Handling Disappointment

How do you handle disappointment? Think of a time recently when you were really wanting something and then it didn’t happen. Did you cross your arms, stick your bottom lip out and stomp around? I know that’s how kids handle disappointment, but are we really that different when we grow up? We still like to have our pity parties when things don’t happen the way we think they should. We may not be stomping around on the outside, but we are on the inside!

Jonah is a prime example of how a lot of us handle things. When God was able to get him to obey and to go to Nineveh, he was hoping they wouldn’t repent. When they did and God showed mercy on them, he was furious and threw a temper tantrum. In Jonah 4:5 it says, “He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk.” While he was sulking, God arranged for a leafed tree to grow up to provide him with shade from the blistering sun.

That night, God sent a worm to eat the leaves. The next day was hot. With the shade gone, Jonah sulked even more and said he was better off dead. I love verses 10-11. God said, “How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted it or watered it.” When I read that, it made think, “Do I really have a reason to let my disappointment turn to anger?”

Disappointment is a part of life. What you do with it is your choice. You can choose to sulk, stomp around, be depressed about it or you can learn from the situation, see it from a different perspective and move forward. Some of the greatest people in history faced huge disappointments. It was how they handled it that made the difference. They took the opportunity to learn from the situation rather than to be upset.

While we cannot control the circumstances around us, our attitude is our choice. We choose whether to stomp off like Jonah or to say, “God, that isn’t how I saw that happening. I’m not happy how it happened. What can you show me in this situation to help me in the future?” It’s ok to not be happy that things didn’t go according to plan. It’s not ok to throw a pity party and think that life is over because it didn’t.

God sees your life beyond today. He sees the path ahead of you and often allows things to happen in our lives to help us get to the destination of His choice, not ours. When our plan doesn’t match His, disappointment is the result. The good news is that God still loves us when we are disappointed or even disappoint Him. He still has a plan for us and uses those times to shape us into who He wants us to become. So, again, how do you handle disappointment?

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April 17, 2013 · 8:35 AM

Spiritual Apnea

One of the things you may not know about me is that I have sleep apnea. What happens is that when my body is at rest, the air pressure outside my body is greater than on the inside causing me to not only snore, but also can deprive my brain of oxygen. To fix the problem, I sleep with a CPAP machine and mask that pushes air into me. The machine creates a positive air pressure in me so that the pressure inside is greater than the pressure outside.

You and I walk in a world that is constantly trying to force us and to shape us into its mold. We are pressured from every side to compromise, to give in or up and to conform to its ways. Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” It’s a clear command that we are to resist the pressures that are on the outside.

Sometimes the outside pressure is stronger than our inside pressure to resist. When we give in to those pressures, our spirit is deprived of the things it needs to stay strong and healthy. We start to exhibit the side effects of spiritual apnea. We fall asleep spiritually, our prayers cease to have the power they once had, our faith begins to wane. We eventually allow this to be the norm for our spiritual life. There is no growth only maintenance.

The good news is that God has given each of us His Holy Spirit to create a positive pressure in us to combat the external pressures of this world. Acts 1:8 says, “But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” God has given us the power, ability, efficiency and might to combat the pressures that come against us. Just like I have that CPAP machine, if I don’t use it, it’s wont help me create a positive pressure inside. We can be guilty of having the Holy Spirit and not using the power He has given us to have a positive pressure.

II Corinthians 4:7-8 tells us, “This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side, but we are not crushed.” The power and pressure God has given us will not allow us to be crushed by this world. His desire is not to just equalize the pressure between our inside and the world, but to create a greater power and pressure in us that extends into the world. We are not to maintain, but to advance. We are to conquer.

Romans 8 says that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. God wants you to walk in victory today. We were not made to be defeated. Quit living like you’ve been defeated today because that’s not who you are in Christ. Change your mindset, access the power of the Holy Spirit that is dwelling in you and go create positive change today in your world. You have the power and ability according to what we read. Now walk in faith believing in the victory God has given you.

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April 16, 2013 · 8:15 AM

Taste and See

A few weeks ago some friends and I went to dinner. One of the people with us was younger. At the restaurant he was asking what we thought about the choices on the menu and what he should get. He decided on the surf and turf. I complimented him on his choice. When they brought us our meals, he immediately went for the lobster. He asked, “How do I get it off the tail?” As I was beginning to tell him, he stabbed the tail with the fork, grabbed the shell and pulled.

He successfully had removed the whole tail. Before I could congratulate him on his feat, he shoved the entire lobster tail in his mouth, chewed a couple of times and swallowed. I sat there in shock. I said, “You aren’t supposed to eat it like that. This is something you take your time with. You savor it. You dip it in the butter and enjoy it. If you’re going to eat for the sake of getting full, go to McDonald’s. If you want to experience a meal, you eat this. It’s more than eating. It’s enjoying your food.”

Many of us approach reading God’s word the same way he ate his lobster. We stick a fork in it, read a bunch, comprehend little, chew enough to swallow and move on. We don’t enjoy the Bible. We read it out of spiritual duty. We say, “A chapter a day keeps the devil away.” Is that really the case though? Are we really getting anything out of it when we do it as a chore?

David said, “Oh taste and see that The Lord is good.” He understood what it meant to take your time in God’s word and to enjoy Him. He let God’s word sink down into his spirit. He often talked about meditating on God’s word. That’s how he got it into his spirit. He knew there was more than just reading. There was tasting, savoring and enjoying to what God says. He took his time, thought about what God was saying, how it applied to him and how he could use it in his life.

Each day when I read the Bible, I try to do the same thing. For years I was guilty of the chapter a day mentality. It was a box I had to check off in order to be a Christian. Now I know better. I don’t put a time limit on God nor a chapter or verse limit on Him either. I get to a quiet place, calm my my mind and emotions. I pray, “God, speak to me today through your word. Direct me to what you want me to see. Help me to read it like never before and to see things I’ve never seen before. Help me to make connections in your word that I’ve not seen in years past.”

I encourage you to do the same thing. If you find yourself doing a chapter a day or trying to read through the Bible in a year, ask yourself why. Are you trying to say you’ve read the whole Bible? Are you plowing through the goodness like my friend with the lobster tail or are you enjoying it? Take time today to look at God’s word with different eyes. Meditate on a verse all day. Chew on it. Think about what God meant, how it was directed at you and how you can apply it to your life. His word will become alive in you. Who knows, you might even end up with a heart after God like David.

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April 15, 2013 · 7:53 AM

Moving Day

Today is the first day in a new office. There’s first day jitters like I experienced as a kid on the first day of school. All the familiar faces will be here, but it will be in a new environment. Boxes will need to be unpacked. Desks will need to be arranged. You’ll have to find out where everyone sits so you can find them when you need them. There’s a sense of excitement and nervousness at the same time. I can’t wait to go see the new place.

I wonder if that’s what Heaven will be like. It’s the familiar faces we’ve known just in an unfamiliar setting. We’ll get acquainted with how the streets of gold are layer out. Find our bearings around the sea of glass. Walk in awe through the pearly gates as we wonder in amazement at a place that was designed just for us. There’s a home there built with us in mind. Designed specifically to our standards. I can’t wait to go see it.

Jesus said in John 14 that He is preparing a place for us. In verse three, He says, “When everything’s ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me.” Just like at work where we’ve been anticipating this move, we need to be anticipating His return. We don’t know when He’ll come for us or when our life will be over and we go there. The important thing is to be ready at any given moment.

You don’t realize how much stuff you’re holding on to until it’s time to move. I threw away so much stuff last week because I realized I really didn’t need it. I started thinking about how much stuff in my own life that I’ve been holding onto that I need to release. Things like forgiveness for those who’ve wronged me, grudges against others who’ve made me angry, resentment for not being dealt a hand as good as others in life and so many other things we pack into our lives and hold onto.

When we hold onto those things, our hands aren’t free to receive all that God has for us. God has great things in store for each of us, but so many times we haven’t freed ourselves of the things that so easily weigh us down. We haven’t given them over to God and we end up putting ourselves into a yoke of bondage. God’s desire is that we live free of any yokes, especially those that are self imposed.

If you were moving to Heaven today, what would you need to pack and what would you need to throw away in your own life? What have you been holding onto that you don’t need? Why hold onto it any more? Free yourself today from those things that weigh you down. You will find freedom when you release them. God has already offered us freedom. He’s just waiting for us to take off the unnecessary weights and things that hold us down. Walk in freedom today!

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April 11, 2013 · 8:47 AM

Pray Like Rain

Last night I got to hear Doug Stringer from “Somebody Cares International” preach. One of the things he said really stood out to me. He said, “Prayer is the rain in our lives.” It’s what waters the seeds we’ve planted. It’s what makes things grow. I loved this analogy because so many of us plant seeds in our lives or into the lives of others and wonder why they don’t grow.

To me, he answered the question. We don’t water them enough with prayer. Planting a seed is not enough. If it is not watered by you or someone else, how can it grow? I 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.” It’s our prayers that water it and move God to grow it.

In my personal life, I’m not a big fan of rain. When I wake up in the morning and hear rain, I know immediately that 30 minutes just got added to my commute. Rain creates traffic. It also creates the beautiful flowers we see each Spring. We have a saying, “April showers bring May flowers.” We endure the rainy season to enjoy the beauty of Spring. So it is in the spiritual realm.

The rain from our prayers create traffic. I don’t mind spiritual traffic though. Traffic is a sign that things are moving. Things are happening. That kind of thing gets me excited. Spiritual rain also causes the seeds in our lives to grow and produce fragrant flowers in our lives or in the lives of others. The difference is we create the rainy season. If we aren’t experiencing many flowers or growth, chances are we haven’t been creating rain through prayer.

Things don’t just happen because we were faithful to plant seeds. We must pray through that season to make things grow. We read in Daniel 10 where Daniel needed an answer from God. When things didn’t happen, he didn’t quit praying. Instead, he prayed more. He prayed for 3 weeks for this one answer. Finally an angel showed up in verse 12 and said, “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 to answer your prayer.”

Just like if you were planting a garden, you can’t plant the seeds and water it once. You have to keep watering them daily, even when you see the sprouts come up. You keep watering until you receive the harvest. If you stop any time before then, you run the risk of no harvest or a small harvest. Seeing growth should encourage us to pray even more, but for some reason it has the opposite effect. We see growth and think we can stop praying, but we can’t.

Today, I want to encourage you to keep praying even if you haven’t seen growth yet. Who knows what battles in the spiritual realm that God is fighting just to get that seed to sprout. Just because it hasn’t broken the surface yet doesn’t mean it isn’t growing or God isn’t moving. Keep watering it with prayer. And when you start to see the results of your prayer, keep watering until you get your harvest. Then, start the cycle again. May you never leave a rainy season in your life and always see your seeds grow!

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