Tag Archives: spiritual

October 13, 2017 · 5:40 AM

Thank You Pastors


To me, pastors are special people. They carry the burden of the local church, and they often wear many different hats. They not only preach, but they make sure the church is open. They’re usually the first to arrive and the last to leave. They are counselors when we need Godly advice. They are prayer partners when we need God to intervene. These men and women stand in the gap between God and the world, and are the watchmen for their flock.

Knowing how much they do, it’s easy to forget they’re human and to think of them as super Christians. The truth is that they struggle with sin just like us. They need friends who will lift them up in prayer, and give them an encouraging word from time to time. They deserve our honor, our support, and our prayers. We should honor them all year long because their job never stops. So, to all the pastors out there, I want to say, “Thank you!”

Here are some Bible verses on appreciating pastors. 

1, Appreciate your pastoral leaders who gave you the Word of God. Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you, as well as their truthfulness.
Hebrews 13:7 MSG

2. Then [in the final time] I will give you [spiritual] shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and [true] understanding.
JEREMIAH 3:15 AMP

3. Give a bonus to leaders who do a good job, especially the ones who work hard at preaching and teaching. Scripture tells us, “Don’t muzzle a working ox” and “A worker deserves his pay.”
1 Timothy 5:17-18 MSG

4. In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it.
1 Corinthians 9:14 NLT

5. The one who is taught the word [of God] is to share all good things with his teacher [contributing to his spiritual and material support].
GALATIANS 6:6 AMP

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October 5, 2017 · 5:00 AM

Be An Uplifter

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


In my job, I work with both management and their employees. Something I see more and more often is employees who take very little responsibility in situations and shift the blame to leadership. If something goes wrong, it’s management’s fault. They don’t take the initiative to repair the situation themselves. They offer malicious obedience so that when they fail, they have a scapegoat. Maybe you’ve seen this too. This is a problem in our churches too, and all of us are guilty of doing it. When things aren’t being done the way we think they should be done, we blame the pastor or leadership instead of doing things ourselves.

One of the most memorable stories in the Bible that captures this attitude comes from Exodus 17. The children of Israel had left Egypt and were wandering in the desert. They were hot and thirsty. Instead of looking to resolve the problem, they complained and blamed Moses. They said, “Why did YOU bring us out of Egypt? To kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (GNB) They took no responsibility themselves. Ultimately, God spoke to Moses to strike a rock with his staff and water would come out of it. God did it as a favor to Moses rather than as a reward to the people.

In the following verses of that chapter, we see the characteristics we should display instead. While there in the desert, they were attacked by the Amalekites. Moses commanded Joshua to get some men to go fight. He then went with Aaron and Hur to the top of a hill to watch the battle while holding his staff in the air. While his arms were up, the Israelites prevailed; when his arms were down, they began to lose. The problem was that holding up the staff for a long period became tiring, and soon he could no longer hold up his arms.

Instead of complaining about leadership’s responsibility in the battle, Aaron and Hur found a rock for Moses to sit on. They then held his arms up for him as long as was needed until the Israelites had won. They recognized it wasn’t Moses’ job alone to lead the battle. They saw what needed to be done, without being asked, and they did it for their nation. In doing so, they provide for us a great example of how our lives should be. We can choose to be complainers, or we can choose to be uplifters. We can either blame, or we can be the solution. It’s up to each one of us to do our part in the church so that the body as a whole is successful. Will you be a complainer or will you be an uplifter?

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September 29, 2017 · 5:46 AM

The Power To Bless


There have bee several times in my life where others have blessed me. When I was in my late teens, my car died and I didn’t have the money to get another one. The next day, a couple at church came up to me and said while they were praying, God spoke to them and told them to bless me with a car. Another time, my second mom was on her death bed. She pulled each of her kids into the room one by one and gave us a verbal blessing just before she passed away.

It’s good to be blessed, but there is power in being able to bless. Ever since I got that car, I have always wanted to be the person who blesses rather than the one who receives the blessing. Whether it is the ability to give a gift as a blessing, or it’s the ability to speak a blessing to someone, it is a great thing to be able to bless others. In today’s world, where people are quick to destroy each other, we need the power to bless more than ever. 

Here are some blessings from the Bible.

1. May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.
Numbers 6:24-26 NLT

2. For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy.
Colossians 1:9-11 HCSB

3. I ask God from the wealth of his glory to give you power through his Spirit to be strong in your inner selves, and I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, so that you, together with all God’s people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ’s love. Yes, may you come to know his love—although it can never be fully known—and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.
Ephesians 3:16-19 GNT

4. From the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth, may God always give you abundant harvests of grain and bountiful new wine. May many nations become your servants, and may they bow down to you. May you be the master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. All who curse you will be cursed, and all who bless you will be blessed.
Genesis 27:28-29 NLT

5. Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would indeed bless me and enlarge my border [property], and that Your hand would be with me, and You would keep me from evil so that it does not hurt me!” And God granted his request.

1 CHRONICLES 4:10 AMP

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September 18, 2017 · 5:46 AM

Be An Example


One of the things my dad has said my whole life is, “Do as I say. Don’t do as I do!” He’s always said it jokingly, but now that I’m a parent, I get it. My son mimics everything my wife and I say or do, especially the things I wish he wouldn’t. It’s hard to discipline him when he says, “But you just said that.” As a parent, I wish he’d follow my instructions instead of my example a lot of times. Parenting would be a lot easier!

We’ve heard it said our whole lives, “Actions speak louder than words.” We can say things all we want, but if our actions don’t back it up, people won’t believe what we say. I’m sure right now you are thinking of people in your own life who are guilty of this. When our actions don’t back up what we say, we lose credibility. When we lose credibility, we don’t have a leg to stand on. That’s why Paul was adamant in his letters to Timothy and Titus to be good examples.

In Titus 2:7, Paul wrote, “In all things you yourself must be an example of good behavior” (GNT). He wasn’t talking about being a parent though. He was talking about our Christian life. The world has too many “Christians” who profess Jesus with their mouth, but deny Him by their life. How can we win the lost if our lifestyle is no different than the world’s? When we accept Chris, we become a new creation. Our old way of living is gone.

Paul writes over and over about how we should live as believers. What He’s telling us is that our life should be an example of what Jesus can do. He can take all of our brokenness and mess ups and make us new. It’s not saying we won’t fail or sin again. That’s going to happen because we’re all human. When we are being led by His Spirit rather than our flesh, we become the examples that the world needs to see. We won’t have to tell them, “Do as I say, not as I do.” 

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September 12, 2017 · 5:26 AM

Homesick


Have you ever been homesick? Or maybe you’ve been traveling or have been out and about, and just wanted to get home. Home is where we relax, unwind, and rid ourselves of our cares. It’s where we dress down and are our most true selves. It’s the place that smells the most familiar to us, and it’s where we truly rest. They even say that home is where the heart is. I think Dorthy had it right, there’s no place like home!

I recently went through “How’s Your Soul?” by Judah Smith. One of his first points is that while we are good at having that place called home for ourselves, our soul is looking for home as well. When God created man, he was loveless until God breathed into his nostrils. Judah says that our soul is really borrowed breath from God, and that it finds its home when we use that breath to praise God. That’s why worshiping God makes our soul feel the way it does. It’s when our soul gets to be home.

Think about David for a minute. He was chased by Saul for years. He lived in caves in one of the most inhospitable places on earth. If you’ve read the Psalms, you know that man was homesick both physically and spiritually. He longed for the courts of the Lord as much as he longed for being home. He even said that it was better to spend one day in God’s house than thousands elsewhere (Psalm 84:10). Why? Because that’s where his soul was at home. Even if he couldn’t physically be home, he wanted to have his soul at home.

I believe all of us are the same way. Our soul longs to be home. I think we misinterpret the signals inside a lot of times, especially if our soul has never been home. In Psalm 90:1, David wrote, “Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!” (NLT) If your soul is homesick, God is where you’ll find the peace you’re looking for. In Him is where you will find your truest self, and that place where you can rest. You don’t have to be homesick anymore. Spend time with God worshipping Him and loving Him today and let your soul be at home.

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September 8, 2017 · 5:23 AM

God Is A Teacher


The difference between hearing and learning is often the difference between telling and teaching. Imagine if our schools had tellers instead of teachers. Not much good would come from going to school. Instead, teachers focus on helping the students learn and understand how the learning applies to their life. Tellers just give you information and it’s up to you to figure out what to do with it.

I think it’s important to understand the difference because God is a teacher. He doesn’t want us to just hear His Word, He wants us to apply it. Since the begging of time, He has been trying to teach us the right way to live do well prosper spiritually and physically. Learning is not just up to the teacher though. The student has to be prepared to learn and willing to. We need to prepare our hearts and minds daily to hear from God so we are ready to apply what He’s teaching to our lives. 

Here are some Bible verses on God teaching us.

1. Teach me, Lord, what you want me to do, and I will obey you faithfully; teach me to serve you with complete devotion.
Psalm 86:11 GNT

2. Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.
Luke 12:11-12 HCSB

3. Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.
Psalms 90:12 NLT

4. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You [and only You] I wait [expectantly] all the day long.
PSALM 25:5 AMP

5. Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged.
Luke 18:1 GNT

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September 7, 2017 · 5:21 AM

Renovations And Transformations 

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


Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:17‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

I watch a lot of home improvement shows on the weekends. It seems my tuner is locked on HGTV when Saturday rolls around. I like watching how they transform spaces. Some require major work where they tear everything out and others are mainly painting and getting the right furniture in the right place. Before moving walls though, they always check to see if it is a load bearing wall. Some walls run perpendicular to the boards that hold up your roof and some run in the same line. If you take out the perpendicular ones (load bearing) that section of the roof can cave in. 

When I think about my life, I’ve got a lot of walls up. I’ve got some in place to separate portions of my life from the other portions. I’ve got some up because I’ve been hurt and I don’t want that pain again. I’ve got some up where I hide all the junk I have in my life as well. Each of us have walls up in our lives whether we like to admit it or not. We build them to keep people and even God out of portions of our lives. We don mind letting them in certain rooms, but we don’t like to let them into our junk closet. 

Just like in a real house, some of those walls are load bearing and some are not. I’ve been thinking about what walls I’ve let God take down when He’s tried to do a remodel. I’ve given Him access to certain things and haven’t given Him permission to do others. I’ve let Him take out some of the non load bearing walls in my life. But like in a renovation, sometimes those walls have to come down in order to do what the master designer wants to do. One thing I’ve noticed is the more permissions or access they grant the hosts on those TV shows, the greater the outcome of the renovation.

In my own life, I want the amazing transformation that renovation can bring. I want to be stunned when I open my eyes and see what God has done with my life. In order for that to happen, I’ve got to give Him permission to tear down my load bearing walls. I’ve got to give Him access to every part of my house. I can’t keep anything hidden from Him. Our walls really don’t keep God out of those areas of our life and He really doesn’t need our permission to do things in our lives. I’ve learned that it helps my attitude in the renovation when I give those things to Him. It prepares me for the changes that are coming.

What walls have you put up to keep others or God out? Have you only given Him permission to knock down the non load bearing walls? What kind of transformation or renovation would you like? The greater one you want, the greater permission you need to give to Him. Just like at the end of those shows where people drop to their knees in awe of what has been done to their house, God can make that kind of renovation with your life. He can move walls, take out the mold of sin, repurpose your past, and create something beautiful out of your life if you let Him.

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September 1, 2017 · 5:39 AM

Helping One Another


Yesterday, I went to a friend’s house who had been flooded by Hurricane Harvey. As I walked down their road, my heart sank. There were piles of people’s lives in their yards. Some were about 8 feet high and about 20 feet long. These piles contained years of things they had purchased and collected over time. There were things that can’t be replaced that are lost forever. As my eyes began to fill with tears, i noticed something else. Both sides of the street had cars and trucks parked on it all the way down.

All of these houses had people coming to volunteer to help them begin the process of starting over. As we walked down the driveway, a golf cart pulled up behind us. A lady and her daughters asked, “Are tall hungry? We’ve made food for workers.” Soon after, a man walked up offering bottled water. In the midst of destruction, people were helping just as they have been doing during this entire storm. It was encouraging to me to see so many people doing what they could.

As Christians, we are to encourage and help others whenever possible. Part of being salt and light is proactively helping others in dark situations. If you want to show the world Jesus, show up in the hardest times, not just when it’s convenient. Sacrifice your time and resources for those in need. This world could use a lot of help, hope, and encouragement.

Here are several Bible verses on encouraging others and helping them. 

1. And so encourage one another and help one another, just as you are now doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 GNT

2. And let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds.
HEBREWS 10:24 AMP

3. Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
Romans 12:11-13 MSG

4. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Romans 12:8 NLT

5. If anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need but closes his eyes to his need — how can God’s love reside in him? Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with truth and action.
1 John 3:17-18 HCSB

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August 30, 2017 · 5:49 AM

Rescued


Hurricane Harvey did a number on Houston. It dumped over 40 inches of rain in just a few days, which stranded many people. It’s been incredible to watch all the people with boats locally and from afar coming to rescue people who were trapped in their homes and cars by the rising waters. The news would show people standing on their roofs, or hanging out their windows, waving white flags indicating they wanted to be rescued. Thousands of lives have been saved through the generosity of others. 

As I’ve watched it happen, I can’t help but draw a parallel between it and the spiritual application. Because sin entered the world, every one of us needs to be spiritually rescued. We are all stranded and in need of being taken out of the rising waters. All it takes is for us to raise the white flag of surrender, and Christ will come to our rescue. Some look to be rescued at the first sin of the rising water, and others will stay put and never raise that flag hoping to wait it out.

I saw a man on the local news last night being taken to a shelter. He said, “All these people are crying over their lost possessions, but I look at it as a fresh start. I get a second chance to wipe the slate clean and be who I could have been.” For those of us being rescued, it should be the same way. Our old life has passed away in the flood of sin, and Jesus has given us a new life. He has given us the opportunity to be who we were created to be. We shouldn’t lament the life we once had that was in need of being rescued. 

Jeremiah 17:14 says, “Lord, heal me and I will be completely well; rescue me and I will be perfectly safe. You are the one I praise!” (GNT) If you have been rescued, your spirit is healed and safe. If you’re still in your old house, don’t wait until it’s too late to raise the white flag. Jesus is looking for you, hoping to rescue you so He can give you new life. Call out to Him. Ask Him to rescue you and to give you a new life, and help will be there immediately. We all need to be rescued, but we have to want to be rescued first. 

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August 29, 2017 · 5:47 AM

Praying Persistently 


I’ve been known to be persistent. When I owned my own business, I had a government agency owe me a lot of money. They were taking their time to pay it, and it was making it difficult to pay my staff and bills. I started calling them once a day leaving messages. After a week, I decided to kick things into a different gear. I started calling every hour. I told them that I would keep calling every hour, and would even do it more frequently until they took my call and paid me. After I did that, they called me back and sent the check. 

I had to let them know I wasn’t going away and I was going to drive them nuts until they took care of my need. I took my inspiration from Luke 11 where Jesus told a parable of a person who had an unexpected guest show up in the night. He was out of food, so he went to his neighbor to ask for some. After the neighbor denied, he kept knocking until the neighbor gave in. Jesus then said we should be persistent like that in our prayers.

When it comes to prayer, I don’t ever want to be like a kid in a candy store throwing a tantrum for what he wants. They blindly throw themselves down, spin around, and make a scene until the parent gives in or disciplines them. I do, however, want to become persistent to the point that God knows that I’m not going away until He answers. Colossians 4:2 says, “Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God” (GNT).

I don’t know what you’re praying for today, but I know that you need to bombard Heaven with your request to the point that God knows you aren’t going away. Be thankful for all He has done in the past, and keep your mind focused on the need at hand. I can’t say that God has answered every prayer the way I’ve wanted Him to, but I can say that whatever His answer is, you an trust to be the right one. If you don’t have an answer yet, don’t stop praying; become more persistent in them.

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