Tag Archives: what does the bible say about

November 6, 2019 · 5:54 AM

Weird Requests

A couple of years ago, my wife and I left visiting with my family a couple of nights before Christmas to go pray for a friend. On our way back to my family’s house, we were approaching the light to turn onto their road when I felt the Holy Spirit say, “Stop right here.” I was about 15 yards back from the light in the middle turn lane. My wife looked at me with a puzzled look and asked, “What are you doing?” I said, “I don’t know. I was told to stop right here.” So we sat there for almost a minute. I rolled my window down to listen. We saw police lights about a mile ahead coming towards us. Just then, a car appeared out of no where traveling at a high speed with no lights on coming up the wrong way to avoid people in their lane at the light. It swerved right in front of us and missed us by inches. It was so fast and close that our SUV shook from the wind of it passing. As we realized if I had been where I was supposed to be, they would have hit us head on.

The Gospel of Luke tells us a story of some fishermen who had been cleaning their nets after unsuccessfully fishing all night. Up walks Jesus preaching to a large crowd. He notices their empty boats and asks if they can take Him out into the water just a bit so He can teach the crowd from there. After He taught the crowd, Luke 5:4 says He told them, “Now row out to deep water to cast your nets and you will have a great catch” (TPT). Peter, the seasoned fisherman, explained that it didn’t make sense and that you fish at night. But then he added, “But if you insist, we’ll go out again and let down our nets because of your word.” When they did, their nets became so full of fish that their nets began to tear. He had to yell for help to the other boat on shore. They had so many fish in their boats that they were on the verge of sinking.

Both of these stories are related. God doesn’t always ask us to do things that make sense. They often go against the way things are normally done. We can argue with God about how it makes us look or we can trust what He’s telling us to do and obey Him at His Word. God asks for obedience from us even when we don’t understand. Sometimes it’s to save our life and other times it’s to bless us or others. As you go about your day, listen to what God is speaking to you. Ask Him for the courage to obey His requests no matter what they are. You and I can only see what’s right in front of us. God sees how everything is connected and into the future. He knows what’s best so we need to obey Him no matter what. You never know what’s riding on your obedience.

Photo by Fredrik Öhlander on Unsplash

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November 5, 2019 · 5:58 AM

Spreading Salt

One of the things I enjoy doing is cooking. Whether it’s on the stove, in the oven, on a grill or over a campfire, I love making food that tastes good. Life is too short to eat bland food. No matter what I’m cooking though, one seasoning is almost always present. I store it in the cabinet, but when I’m preparing a meal, I have to take the salt out and put it on the meat. I can’t just set it on the counter and expect the food to absorb it. For it to season the food, i must apply it to the unseasoned meat. That is the only way it will work. Coincidentally, that’s the only way our witness works as well. If we don’t come into contact with people who aren’t seasoned with Jesus, how else are they supposed to know Him?

In Matthew 9, Jesus was walking through Capernaum when He came upon a tax collector named Matthew. The Jews thought he was a traitor because he was taking taxes from the Jews and giving them to the Romans. Jesus walked up to him and said, “Come, follow me.” Later, Jesus went to have dinner at Matthew’s house and Matthew invited all of his tax collecting friends who were society’s outcasts. The religious people lost their minds and questioned how Jesus could dine with such people if He was holy. Jesus responded in verse 13, “Now you should go and study the meaning of the verse: I want you to show mercy, not just offer me a sacrifice. For I have come to invite the outcasts of society and sinners, not those who think they are already on the right path” (TPT).

Jesus didn’t come so Christians could insulate ourselves from the world. He came so that the whole world would be reconciled to Him. If you’re not engaging with people who don’t know Jesus, you’re doing it wrong. Jesus didn’t preach at this dinner either. He simply hung out with them and His flavors rubbed off on them so much so that at least Matthew gave up his way of living to follow Jesus. Jesus looked at people as people first and not by the label of their sin. It’s easy to be religious and look at how someone sins differently than we do. It’s Christ like to look beyond their sin and to see the person He died for. If we’re going to spread His salt throughout the earth to all nations, we’ve got to look at people through His eyes rather than our religious ones. Jesus made it a habit to hang out with society’s outcasts and sinners. When is the last time you or I did that?

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November 4, 2019 · 5:55 AM

Resisting Temptation

Every one of us are tempted to sin. Because we are unique, we are tempted with different things, but often it’s in the same way. Temptation starts by causing us to doubt what God said and tries to make us think that there is something better than what God has already blessed us with. If we don’t stop those thoughts immediately, we start moving towards sinning. We try to justify why we deserve whatever it is. We then convince ourselves that what we have is not enough. We continue down this road until we give into the temptation and sin. Deep down we know it’s wrong, and so many times the actual sin is anticlimactic because we’ve built it up in our mind so much. The problem then is that we have to deal with the consequences of that sin. Temptation is not a sin. What we do with it could be.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had all they could ever hope for. They were surrounded by God’s beautiful creation and provision, yet they were convinced that what God had given them was not enough. They wanted more. Genesis 3:6 says, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate” (AMP). They entertained the thoughts of temptation that led them to sin. They bought into the lies that God was withholding something good from them and that they deserved to have more than what God gave them.

Fast forward a couple thousand years to Matthew 4, and as Jesus comes up out of the waters of baptism, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness. He was in a barren place deprived of God’s provision, food and beauty. The same enemy came to Him to create doubt about who He was and what God had promised Him. The difference was that Jesus didn’t entertain those thoughts. He immediately went to what God said as truth, and He trusted the character of a God to not withhold any good thing from Him. He saw temptation for what it is, an attempt to break our relationship with God. He fought back with God’s Word and didn’t try to justify the sin based on where He was in life, what He was going through or what He felt like He deserved.

You and I have a promise we can hold onto during times of temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].” You don’t have to give into temptation. You have the ability to resist. You are able to endure it and can overcome it. Trust that what God has given to you is enough. If you don’t feel like it is, then be like the two people in the Parable of the Talents who took what the Master gave them and multiplied it. Your future is based on your choices and thought life. Don’t give in to the lies the enemy brings. Trust God and speak His promises, resist the devil and he will flee.

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November 1, 2019 · 5:53 AM

Trusting God’s Promises

From the time we’re little, we learned to ask the question, “Do you promise?” Why do we do that when someone tells us something? Because we want to make sure they follow through on their word. When I was a kid, you had to cross your heart and hope to die or stick a needle in your eye if you didn’t keep it. These guarantees gave validity to the other person that you were going to keep your word no matter what. You learned at an early age that if you go back on a promise, then others won’t trust anything you say. When you broke a promise, you had to either find new friends or find a way to rebuild the trust you had lost. Making and trusting promises are a character building part of growing up.

Merriam Webster defines promise as, “A legally binding declaration that gives the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance of a specified act.” When I think of that combined with the promises of God, it builds my faith. I have a right to expect God to do what He promised in the Bible. In fact, I’ve read that there are over 3,000 promises from God in the Bible, and many are made to me and you. If God promised something to you and I, we can know and trust that He will do it no matter what. He has never broken a promise and He’s not going to start breaking them now. Hold onto them, trust them and build your life on them because you can count on them.

Here are some Bible verses on trusting God’s promises.

1. But the humble of heart will inherit every promise and enjoy abundant peace.

Psalms 37:11 TPT

2. The believer replied, “Every promise of God proves true; he protects everyone who runs to him for help. So don’t second-guess him; he might take you to task and show up your lies.”

Proverbs 30:5-6 MSG

3. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous.

Romans 4:20-22 NLT

4. The words and promises of the LORD are pure words, Like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times.

PSALMS 12:6 AMP

5. Let your broken heart show your sorrow; tearing your clothes is not enough. Come back to the Lord your God. He is kind and full of mercy; he is patient and keeps his promise; he is always ready to forgive and not punish.

Joel 2:13 GNT

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October 31, 2019 · 5:00 AM

The Value Of Grace

I work in an industry where for years we gave our customers free equipment in exchange for a contract. The problem that arose was that our customers didn’t treat the equipment very well. After losing it or breaking it, they would come back and say, “Can you give me another one?” When I would tell them this time they had to purchase it, they would get upset and say, “Just give me another free one.”

I learned during that period that people rarely value what they get for free. I remember valuing my first pair of shoes I paid for. I worked for weeks to earn enough to buy them. I was at an out of town tournament playing basketball with them. One night, someone decided to pull the fire alarm at the hotel. The first thing I grabbed to take with me outside was my shoes. I didn’t care if I lost everything else, I didn’t want to lose those.

Because of this tendency of our human nature, it’s difficult for us to value God’s grace. It is a free gift that affords us salvation. Our minds can’t comprehend how something so valuable could be free, so we often try to earn our salvation by doing things instead of trusting God’s grace. In several of his letters, Paul warns against this kind of thinking. He also warns of the mentality that says, “Since its free, I’ll just do what I want and ask for more.”

I love how in Galatians 2:21, Paul strongly says, “I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless” (NLT). I believe you and I have to fight every day against our minds to not treat God’s grace as meaningless. It’s something we should value highly. The cost was high even though you and I didn’t have to pay it. To treat it as meaningless or to try to earn our salvation is to devalue what Jesus did on the cross. May we ever be grateful for God’s amazing grace and treat it with the value it is worth.

Photo by Samuel McGarrigle on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a 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.

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October 30, 2019 · 5:55 AM

Giving God What’s His

One of the things I like to do with my nieces and nephews is when they turn 16, I take them to dinner. We talk about using money versus making money. We then talk about what they love to do and how they can turn that into income. We also discuss college and the importance of education. The conversation then shifts to giving tithes and offerings. I explain how our offerings are holy to God, and that you and I have a greater need to give than God does to receive it. I believe that if God is the source of my income, my job is just a tool that He uses to provide for us. That also means that everything I own and all my income are His. My tithe and offerings are a holy thank you to Him in return for blessing me.

After that, I ask them if they know the Parable of The Talents. Either way, we turn to Matthew 25:14-30 and read it again. I ask them for their interpretation of it. Of course, like all of us, they focus on the servant who buried his talent and then gave back what was given to him. In the story this man gave back everything that was given to him, yet he got in trouble. What God gives us is able to be multiplied by us. That’s when I pull out a crisp $100 bill and set it on the table as we talk. I explain that this money is holy because it’s my offering to God. I then slide it across and tell them that I’m going to trust them with it to multiply it and we can give a joint offering. The catch is they don’t know when I’m going to return and they’re going to have to spend some of that money to make some.

All of us have a need to give our tithe (10% of our increased income) and offerings to. I believe God’s blessings are in direct proportion to our giving. Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple, so that there will be plenty of food there. Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things” (GNT). I used to think I couldn’t afford to tithe, but since then I’ve learned I can’t afford not to. We don’t give in order to get. We are to give as appreciation for God supplying our needs. He loves a cheerful giver who isn’t giving begrudgingly. When people ask how much should they give and off of what amount, I ask back, “How much do you want God to bless you?” Giving isn’t just about the amount, it’s about your heart. When we recognize that everything we have it God’s, it’s easy to give Him back what He asks for.

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October 29, 2019 · 5:49 AM

Renewing Your Focus

One of the traps that I fall into is thinking that if I’m doing what God asked me to, I won’t find resistance from others. I mean if I’m doing God’s will, others, especially Christians should be on board, right? Not necessarily. The things that God calls us to do are often for us alone to do. Other people won’t necessarily see or run with the vision God has given you, and that’s ok. It doesn’t mean you didn’t hear God, or that they’re not. The enemy doesn’t want you to be productive for the Kingdom, nor does he want you to complete the work God has given you to do. He will use whoever and whatever he can to slow you down, discourage you and wear you down so that you lose your zeal, doubt your calling and give up.

Even though God had burdened Nehemiah with rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, and other people had caught on to that vision, it didn’t mean it was going to be easy. The people were joyful and started off strong, but then resistance came. People began to hurl insults at them to keep them from their work. Day in and day out they were verbally attacked. The verbal attacks turned into threats and plots against them to stop the work. They took their eyes off the goal and began to look at the enormity of the project, the size of the mess and lost their joy realizing it wasn’t in their strength to complete it. Nehemiah 4:10 says, “The people of Judah had a song they sang: ‘We grow weak carrying burdens; There’s so much rubble to take away. How can we build the wall today?’” (GNT) They became weary and discouraged like we do.

Galatians 6:9 says, “So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest.” If you’re getting discouraged because of the grind or the attacks from others in doing what God has called you to, pick your head up and look to the One who called you to it. Keep your focus on the end goal and not on the size of today’s problems. God will strengthen you and give you wisdom in how to handle today’s issues of you ask Him to. Pray for people who will run along side of you, who will catch the vision and who will share the load. Remember how big your God is. He is able to make a way where there seems to be no way. Keep pressing forward with the end in mind and you will reap a harvest for the work you’re doing.

Photo by Richard Felix on Unsplash

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October 28, 2019 · 5:55 AM

Finding Your Calling

Earlier this year I was speaking at a chapel service for a Christian school. Afterwards, a girl came up and asked, “How do I know if I’m called to do something for God?” It’s a great question that so many of us want to know, but it’s not the right question. My response was simple, “I believe everyone is called to do something. The question is, ‘What are you called to?’” I then told her that each of us are created on purpose with a purpose from Heaven. I began to ask her what she loves to do and when is her heart broken for things that break God’s heart. God has wired each of us differently and positioned us perfectly to serve purposes that only we can fulfill. He also gives us His burden for brokenness in the world. Our calling lies in it.

Take Nehemiah for example. He was the king’s cup bearer. God had uniquely positioned him with someone who could fund his calling when it came. The story tells us that some Jews had returned from Jerusalem and he asked how the Jews who remained were doing. When they told him that things were in bad condition, his heart broke and he wept for days. God birthed a burden in him. The king sent him to Jerusalem to rebuild it. When he got there, he went to inspect things. Nehemiah 2:12-13 says, “I did not tell anyone what God had inspired me to do for Jerusalem. Then in the middle of the night I got up and went out, taking a few of my companions with me… As I went, I inspected the broken walls of the city and the gates that had been destroyed by fire” (GNT). He then communicated the burden to others and got them on board to rebuild the city.

If you’re not sure what God has called you to, you may have to walk in the broken places of this world to see what God gives you a burden for. Begin to look at the scars of your past and ask Him how He can use those to help others find healing. Look at your life for themes throughout it for clues. God prepares us and positions us to heal the broken in this world. We carry His healing, His hope and His love inside of us and we need to give it away like we’re made of it. Even if you don’t know the specifics of your calling yet, you can start by doing that. Don’t let your lack of knowing what your specific calling is to prevent you from our overarching calling to show God’s love to this world. Look at where God has positioned you today and start there. You’ll find that everywhere you go is someone who needs hope, healing and love.

Photo by Andrew Teoh on Unsplash

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October 25, 2019 · 5:51 AM

Be Ye Kind

One of the Fruits of the Spirit that seems to be ever diminishing in our world today is kindness. With having placed an importance on other fruits, the ability to be friendly, generous and considerate to others, especially those we disagree with, has escaped us. Instead, many of us have adopted the “kill or be killed” attitude as a defense mechanism. That’s the opposite of what Jesus taught. He told us to love our enemies, and to do good to them expecting nothing in return. We are not to repay evil for evil, but are to be kind to even those who are against us. Why? Because we are a reflection of the Father, and the Bible says that it’s God’s kindness that leads us (and our enemies) to repentance.

Jesus even told the Parable of the Good Samaritan. It was the Samaritan who was honored in the story because he showed kindness to his neighbor. If we are on,y being kind to those who like us, how are we any different than the world? The great news is that Holy Spirit is at work in your life. Ask Him to plant seeds of kindness in your heart so He can produce that fruit. Each of us can stand to be more kind to others. In today’s world, that would really cause us to stand out, but it would also help us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Kindness matters, and so do the eternal destiny of every person around you. God’s desire is that none would perish, so let’s show His kindness to everyone we meet.

Here are some Bible verses on kindness.

1. But instead be kind and affectionate toward one another. Has God graciously forgiven you? Then graciously forgive one another in the depths of Christ’s love.

Ephesians 4:32 TPT

2. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another.

Zechariah 7:9 NLT

3. But I say to you who hear [Me and pay attention to My words]: Love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, [make it a practice to] do good to those who hate you, bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

LUKE 6:27-28 AMP

4. By our purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness we have shown ourselves to be God’s servants—by the Holy Spirit, by our true love, by our message of truth, and by the power of God. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves.

2 Corinthians 6:6-7 GNT

5. Let love and kindness be the motivation behind all that you do.

1 Corinthians 16:14 TPT

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October 24, 2019 · 5:45 AM

God’s Deadline

Several years ago, I attended a conference of authors for authors. One of them spoke on the importance of turning in your work by the deadline. In fact, he spoke of how he tries to beat the deadline by as much as he can. His reasoning was that the longer the editors have his work, the better it will be. Plus, he thought of it as the gift of time to them. He wanted to give them time to do their work instead of making them rush when he turns everything in at the last minute.

Sometimes I wish God had that philosophy! In all my years of praying and needing something from God, it’s never been early. I’ve been sweating it out, praying so hard that I can’t sleep and God showed up just in the nick of time with the answer. I’ve figured out He doesn’t work on my timetable. Many times I felt like He was late in answering my prayers, but it turned out that it was right on time.

There have been times where I’ve prayed for Him to respond because I thought it was critical, but He didn’t. In those moments, I felt crushed, defeated and disappointed. Looking back on those moments, I can see why God didn’t answer. There was something better waiting that I couldn’t see. Though I felt crushed in the moment, overall, God has proved that He will do what is right for my life and just barely beat the deadline.

Micah 7:7 shares my sentiments and confidence in God to do the right thing in my life. It says, “As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me” (NLT). Even though I have many seemingly critical prayers that have gone unanswered, I still look to God for help when I need it. I’ve learned to confidently wait for Him to meet a His deadline, not mine, and I know He hears me when I pray.

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Throwback Thursday is a 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.

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