Category Archives: Daily Devotions

What is your heart’s desire?

Luke 11:28 But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

I have been primarily in two places in God’s Word this week; Luke 11 and John 11. Luke where Christ was being accused of having demonic powers, and John where Lazarus dies and Christ speaks of being the resurrection and the life. Jesus was addressing the greatest blasphemy in Luke, and Jesus was conquering death in John’s gospel. In the midst of all of it was his reply to the women who spoke blessings over Mary for boring Jesus in Luke 11:27; the passage above was His reply to her. Even his miracles are outweighed by the heart that lives their lives in humble obedience to God’s Word.

A heart after God’s heart makes him smile; it is what He designed us for, the relationship we can have with him. David failed over and over, yet even in his failures God saw his heart; He saw that he truly had a heart for God. Psalm 62 is a heartfelt plea from David, a man that has a heart for God. 8 Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah. Jesus told us in Luke 11 of how important our hearts for God are. A measure of our heart for God is directly related to how we live our daily lives. Jesus spoke directly to this evidence found in Luke 11:23 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

This is what bothers me; how little evidence of our faith is shown in our daily lives. This evil in this world is snowballing on a steep downhill run, and I am worried that many Christians are being caught up in the tumble. I see us wrapped up in all this world has to offer, and giving God our obligatory hour on Sunday mornings. We feel good about ourselves for upholding our “religious” duty, but there is no evidence of our faith the other 167 hours per week. How could we claim a relationship with only a one hour investment? Look at your calendar, at your checkbook, at your to-do list, at your alarm clock, at your Bible……. Religion does not save; Jesus condemned the religious all throughout the New Testament. Do you consider yourself religious, or do you have a relationship with your Savior? The more time you invest in God’s Word, the more the Holy Spirit will work in your daily life to help you keep God’s Word. Then you begin to live the blessing that Jesus spoke of in Luke 11:28.

What If?

Matthew 6:33-34 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

What if
Tomorrow didn’t come
Your worries for that day
Would be done.

What if
All the time you spent
You threw in the trash
And out the door it went.

What if
All the worrying was wasted
Your blessings of today
You never tasted.

What if
Today was the only one
Tomorrow never came
You only had today and your done.

You will
Come to find
A lot less stress
Occupies your mind.

You will
Find the big problems smaller
With the stress of today
You will fell taller.

You will
Find you can rise above
When you understand
The level of His love.

You will
Begin to seek Him each day
To read His Word
And to pray.

You will
Find out how He will give
You will be blessed
With all you need to live.

This daily devotional book changed my life; God used it to draw me into his Word, and continues to this day using it in many ways in my life. I have given out at least 50 copies over the years. Today was no exception, it hit home with my current struggles in ministry. I am deeply discouraged and tired; the past six months have been one battle after another. I know God is allowing me to go down every path I have been, it is all part of his sovereign plan for my life. My flesh just as Elijah, and every other pastor and missionary I know, struggles on a level that only the same understand. The elevated level of spiritual warfare is very real and without daily time in prayer and His Word, the collapse of the person and or ministry is inevitable. I am also learning the importance of rest and I am trying to change my life to put that in my schedule as crazy as that sounds. “I press on” as Paul says…….

Discouragement

Daily Devotional for Wednesday, October 15th, 2014

And he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 1 Kings 19:14

Kingdom work can be challenging! You can give everything you have to God’s service and come away exhausted. This is what happened to Elijah. God had just used Elijah to call down fire from heaven in a spectacular display of divine power. But Elijah’s exhilaration was soon replaced by strenuous work followed by death threats, causing him to flee for his life. Now he was alone, exhausted, and discouraged.

Again, God came to Elijah. This time, He came not in fire or in a loud, spectacular way, but in a still, small voice. God’s servant was tired, and God brought him comfort. Elijah’s focus had shifted from God to God’s enemies. He had allowed his circumstances to overwhelm him, leaving him disoriented to God and feeling alone. So God encouraged him. God provided Elisha for him as a helper, friend, and companion.

God removed Elijah from the activity for a time, so that he could rest and spend time with God. When the nation next saw Elijah, he was rejuvenated and refocused on God and His assignment.

If you are overwhelmed by kingdom work so that your focus is no longer on God but on all that there is to do, let Him comfort you. Listen to His gentle voice. He will encourage you and provide exactly what you need to prepare you for what comes next. If He needs to remove you from your work for a time, He will. He may place a friend or co-laborer beside you to help carry the load. God knows exactly how to encourage you. Let Him do so.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cc65u78ba39q99b/I%20am%20the%20Good%20Shepherd.docx?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rj2o2udepssrcmm/I%20am%20the%20Door.docx?dl=0

Which way did he go?

John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

Who are you listening to? What are you listening to? What you are pouring into your mind is shaping you and directing your life’s path. I mean this is really simple; what you are putting in is likely producing a result. Are you investing energy listening to any type of motivational material to better yourself at work, or home, or personally? Are you wrapped up in following sports to the highest degree and all you are is a walking statistician? Are you wrapped up in religion that teaches the works you must do to earn God’s favor, or one that tells you great faith brings earthly treasures such as wealth and prosperity? What you read, watch, and who you listen to shapes your every day life; you are a product of what goes in your mind. You are what you believe.

Jesus was using this understanding in the simplicity of a sheep. Sheep are not the smartest animal, let’s just leave it at that. But, they know the voice of their master; the one who cares for them, guides them, and protects them; they will follow him. They are also smart enough to NOT follow one who is not their shepherd. Sadly, we as the pinnacle of God’s creation do not have the brains of a sheep sometime and follow those who seek to destroy us. John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. The only way that you are going to know who to follow is for God to open your eyes and mind through your heart. You must invest yourself is the pursuit of Him in prayer and his Word (the Bible) daily. Every, single, day that you do not, you are cracking the door of your heart for a thief that is in this world to come in. All it takes is some smooth sounding message of false hope that tickles your ears into believing you can have all this world can give you. You begin to measure your life by worldly standards. You are to live your life with eternity in mind; you are to live this life for the afterlife.

My heart has always been in this ministry to urge you to spend daily time with God. There are no words of mine that will change your life. Next to the message of Jesus Christ of salvation, there is nothing else I wish to share with you other that you pursing God daily in prayer and his Word. If you will do that one thing, every day, you will hear His voice clearly and follow him wherever he leads you. You will become a living example of forgiveness and faith, and He will lead others to himself through your life. You don’t want to unknowingly be a thief or a robber leading others astray to you? Then get into God’s presence today in prayer and the Bible and follow him wherever he leads yo

Now I see!

John 9:1-3 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

I have been keeping a low profile this week. I am enjoying a lighter workload on many fronts, and trying to get some of my own projects done; all the while trying to spend some quality time with God. I have been listening to a lot of good quality preaching and doing some reading while checking things off my “to-do list.” Part of me is truly trying to hide from the strains that I am under and seek God as my focus. The details are not necessary, but I, just like you, am under a great load in my life right now. I am questioning many things; what does the future hold for many things, and how do I know I am doing the right thing in God’s eyes? Yesterday a pastor said in his sermon how he had come to understand he could never preach with the power he desired, without the great trials of life he didn’t desire. Otherwise, it came from the head in study, and not from the heart through the pain. <paraphrased>. God has me right where he wants me for today.

The disciples were asking Jesus what the blind man, or the blind man’s parents, had done to deserve the punishment of sin from God. It was a common throught then, and even today for God’s punishment to be evident for all to see; sometimes it truly is. But, we also must understand that is not always the case, just as Jesus said above. We are not to judge the blind man. We might judge ourselves if we know God is punishing us for a hidden or visible sin; in our hearts we may know the answer to that question. Jesus was showing the disciples that God’s sovereign hand was at work in this man’s life from blind birth. He was healed and lived likely the remainder of his life proclaiming faith in Jesus! Sadly his parents seemingly denied what they knew to be true before the Pharisees; they feared them. 22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.

Thank God every day for where he has your feet for the day. Yes, he plans your steps every day. Draw closer to him and pray that he will guide you for each day. Psalm 119:133 Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me. You are a child of God, and as a child of God you are to live for what the next life brings. Seek to draw closer to God in the midst of whatever you are facing today, and know that He is preparing you for tomorrow. The more time you spend each day with him, the more you are prepared for the trials of life that come.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hpz740flh8dzr4z/I%20am%20the%20light.docx?dl=0

The Light is the door handle

2 Timothy 1:8-10 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

“Well, I really don’t know how he did that horrible crime; he really is a good guy at heart;” said no one ever that truly understands sin. We are witnessing today evils that were seemingly not present in recent generations. We are witnessing on global scales beheadings, genocide, rape, torture, murder, child molestations on incredible scales…..just in recent weeks in our country we read of fathers killing their children and boyfriends eating their dead girlfriends. I hate even typing those words, but you must realize how far our world is falling away from God. God is not going to let Satan go much farther in his limited control of this world; I believe this with all my heart; that He is coming back soon to rescue those whom have called Him Savior and Lord of their lives.

Look at those last words that Paul wrote, “brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” Jesus brings to light all the sin and evil in the world; light exposes the sin that you were once blind to, or even as simply as chose to deny or ignore; He brings it and your sin to light. Light and darkness cannot coexist; darkness cannot overcome the Light. You are dead in your sin until you humble yourself before Jesus Christ. You will die without the Light that gives life and immortality to light through the gospel. David Platt put it this way, “When you and I realize that we are morally evil, dead in sin, and deserving of God’s wrath with no way out on our own, we begin to discover our desperate need for Christ.” Your understanding of sin is relative to your understanding of your need for Christ, and your understanding of how lost our world is without him helps to shed light on current events.

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” My heart burns for you to respond to Jesus knocking at the door of your heart and help to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a dying world. Repent of your sin, ask Him to forgive you, and let him become the Lord of your life. Your life is not about all the fluff and stuff that so many proclaim from the pulpits today; your life is about serving the One who gives you eternal life. Your life of servanthood for your time here is proportional to your eternal reward, or damnation if you choose to just live for all this world can give you. Only God knows when he will return. Will you be ready to go into his presence, or will you have your excuse of why, or what, you placed before Him for your short time here. Let the light of the Gospel open the doors of immortality for you.