RSS

Tag Archives: spirituality

Do your knees hurt?

22 Oct

Do your knees hurt?

Luke 6:12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

I have been having some trouble sleeping recently. I think we all go through these seasons, and I seem to be in the middle of one. Many times the anxieties and pressures on our lives will not let our minds rest and get good sleep. That may be my reason for restlessness; for I have a lot on my mind personally and deep concern for those close to me. In the times I awake I try to pay close attention to my thoughts when I awake, for it could be God knocking on the door of my mind. God will speak to you in the silence of the night; throughout the Bible visions and dreams are spoken of.

Christ had gotten alone at an important time in His life before choosing the Apostles in the scripture above. He had went before God all night in prayer before making this decision. He went before God for guidance of that decision; not to take it lightly, or by impulse in fact. How many times do we make major decisions in seconds, without prayer? I could stand at the top of the list, and the list of failure would almost duplicate. Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. How are we to go through life without God; without seeking God through more than flippant pleas for things we don’t truly need? Have you truly gotten alone and poured your heart out to God? Better yet, have you gotten with another believer and poured your hearts out to Him? We are assured in Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

We are living in perilous times in a nation that is headed down the road to hell. We are seeing the collapse of our economy, a president that has become a celebrity instead of a respected leader; we have become a nation of tolerance in all arenas with no backbone; we are seeing the separation of social classes, the dying of the middle class; we are seeing the false religions take hold in feel good TV preachers; we are seeing the result of a nation that has severed it’s root of faith in God. God is pressing on my heart the pain of those close to me. Do any of these warrant prayer? Do you feel you can handle the pressures of life on your own wisdom?

Paul was writing to the Colossians and pointing them to Christ and away from the false teachers of the day. He diligently prayed for them. Colossians 1:9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. He wanted them to understand that everything they needed was central in Christ alone. “God is enough” as Dr. Gravely taught us recently. This is only attained by a humble heart that is truly seeking God in prayer and His Word. We must draw to our knees and earnestly pray for God to guide our lives in today’s world that is headed the opposite direction.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 22, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Fight for what you believe

15 Oct

Fight for what you believe

2 Corinthians 2:11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Yesterday was a roller-coaster of emotions at church. God has been placing before me people getting lots of new stuff, and at the same time placing a growing burden on my soul for those lost in their sin, and those lost in their idolatry. Dr. Gravely closed out a series on the Ten Commandments in a powerful way with a sermon on “God is Enough”. A short meeting followed the service disclosing the poor financial state of the church due to the extended downturn of tithing in this awful economy. People simply are not giving to church with the honoring of what God has entrusted them to financially. This discussion poured into our smallgroup meeting afterwards. The spiritual warfare was recognized in all of this, and heartfelt pleas for prayer for our church were spoken of.

What do you have, that you do not need? What do you have that God gave you the money to purchase, and yet you did not give any back to God to honor that provision? James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. You have nothing in your possession that you have not been entrusted to. Satan has steered your eyes towards the material possessions and joys of this time here; yet taken your eyes off the prize of eternal glory. Satan is the ultimate deceiver and has only placed these desires in your head to rob you. 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. It pains me to see the wealth of the community I live in, and a church struggling financially. Pastor Jack shared the testimony of a lady in India who gave half of her TWO ROOM house to become a community church. In the only other room lay her son bedridden in disease. She will have a mansion on a hill in heaven.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. What have you done to prepare and provide for the spiritual world that surrounds you every day? Have you invested in your pastors; the generals in your army? Have you prayed for their welfare as the leaders of your battalion? Have you prepared yourself as a good soldier in understanding how to use the weapons you have been provided with? (the Bible). 2 Timothy 2:4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. Wherever you may find yourself, you must prepare yourself by spending time in prayer and God’s Word daily. This ain’t no joke, eternal souls are at stake. Put on your armor, drop down on your knees, and pray for your leaders, yourself, and those whom you influence to see your heart for God.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 15, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Give your cares away

11 Oct

Give your cares away

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Are you stressed out? Are the pressures of life and the decisions of life bearing down on your mind to the point of effecting you physically? It can be the demands of the world for our time;(of which there never seems to be enough of). It can be the questions and decisions in life that there never seem to be the answers to. It can become a pressure on our minds that begins to reflect in our outward selves. We may snap easily; we may not feel well; we may loose sleep; we may not remember……where was I going with this? I can give you multiple examples for each and many more of these. The difference in the pressures of life is how you cope. Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.

If you cope by running away you will eventually run head on into what you are running from. If you cope with some sort of substance to numb the pain, you are creating a new problem that will ultimately destroy you. If you are releasing, (maybe venting would be a better word), your pains on those around you, then you are destroying those around you. You can release your pain to God and the opposite happens; you strengthen your relationship. Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. You find this rest in the time you spend in prayer and God’s Word. These are the two things in life that God has given you to provide you a means of peace when you are with Him. The more time you spend doing both, the better you are able to handle the stresses of life.

God gave me a HUGE encouraging word this morning while researching this passage. Isaiah 50:4 “The Lord God has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned. It is so hard to articulate my mornings with God. This ministry that He has put on my heart is so very humbling, yet gives me strength to face each day. Satan comes at me with both fists, but yet I know how to hand those strains over to God; and Satan’s ploys backfire because I draw nearer instead of coping as in the past. I am nothing special, I just have a heart for God and I live as in Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Wouldn’t you love for today to be the day that you gave your cares away?

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 11, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Everything

07 Oct

Everything

John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

This morning as I sat down my mind was blank. I don’t mean I did not have a topic I felt led to write about, I mean my mind was BLANK. Not overloaded with the pressures of the day; it just felt like it had not awoken yet. As I stumbled through a prayer, I closed with AM….not Amen…I laughed. I many times do word searches on the computer so I researched nothing; which came up 280 times in the Bible, 119 in the New Testament. Narrowing it down by adding the word without brought up John 15:5; a verse I know well; my mind awakened.

I shared my part of my testimony yesterday and how the backbone of it is rooted in pride. A typical male, independent, strong physically and mentally; I had the mindset of I can do anything I put my mind to. God decided to take out His hammer and take a few blows at my pride. He took a swing at my business, and then at my physical strength. Both were hard hits and both took me to my knees. On my knees I began to look up, and to draw in to Him. There is nothing in your life that has not either been given to, or allowed by God. Romans 11:36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. Your life is filtered through God’s Sovereignty.

A quote we have all heard this presidential race is the one of “you did not build that”. When we begin to understand our lives are filtered through God’s hands, there comes a peace to life. If He is truly in control, why are we to worry? Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? All the daily struggles in life, all the big struggles in life, can be God trying to get your attention. It can be Satan trying to draw your attention away from God. Read the book of Job. It will shed a new light on the struggles you face. Every day is an opportunity in whatever you face to draw closer to God. Your nothing, can become your everything, when you seek Him in all.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 7, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Jehovah – Jireh – The Lord will provide

05 Oct

Jehovah – Jireh – The Lord will provide

Genesis 22:11-14   11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of The Lord it shall be provided.”

Yesterday was an absolutely incredible day as a child of God. I saw God directly bless me and a friend of mine with God’s perfect timing. It was a day of humbling spiritual highs and confirmations on a day when we both needed it dearly. I am really struggling with school, and the day before I had poured my heart out to God in a plea: “In my study this week it has been so hard trying to focus on God’s Will for my life. I had a heartfelt plea this morning with God for clarity. I so desire to be in the center of God’s path, that it pains me.” Yesterday that prayer was answered by a customer who had been blessed and wanted to bless me. His gift was almost the exact amount needed for next semesters classes. Only a few hours later did I answer a phone call from Liberty Univ. wanting to discuss my upcoming semester and registration. I was at a loss for words. I shared my story with them of these God orchestrated coincidences; and as the young man said, he had received a huge blessing from hearing of God’s work in my life yesterday.

There is nothing special about me. All of God’s blessings are available to you too. All you must do is to live your life for Him. Matthew 6:33 Seek Ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. When all else in your life seems to be failing; when all around you is out of control; when all you see is a world that is full of desire for stuff and sin; God is using these things to get your attention. When you begin to see how far this world is from God, you may be getting a glimpse of how He sees it. He may be showing you a glimpse of your life. We all sin, we all fail, and we all can rest in God’s grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

God may take you to a place in your life that you don’t want to be. God may take you down, to lift you up. When your life is full of blessings, many times we don’t recognize where they came from. When we are at the bottom, the only place to look is up. I was really struggling the last couple days wondering if I was really on the right path. Satan had crept into my thoughts and placed doubt. I had a heartfelt plea to God for clarity. God sent me His answer 24hrs later by His messengers. Thank you Jesus.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 5, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

All to Him I owe

03 Oct

All to Him I owe

1 Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, 13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

I wish I knew……..I wish I knew so many things, yet I only know one thing; God has a plan for my life. I wish I knew what that plan was so I could try to the best of my ability to follow it. For most of my life I know I went against it as Paul says; but God extended me grace also. My list of sins past, current, and future will always outweigh my good deeds. The balance on the scales of good and evil will never tip into my favor of earning my way into heaven; neither will yours. The realization of one’s sin brings upon it a broken heart for God; a realization of a life lost eternally without Christ; a humility that breeds thanksgiving. A humility that desires to work out ones salvation in honor for receiving it, not trying to earn it.

James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.  When Christ really starts stirring in your heart, His Spirit starts to reveal your sinful nature to you. It is a painful process, but one necessary in the sanctification process of your life; or the process of making you more like Christ. God’s desire is for you to resemble His Son, and only through His Son can you ever get to God. When He brings these things to light the pain is part of the healing process through the confession of them. This process never ends; but that is a blessing for it keeps the heart humble, realizing our daily need for forgiveness.

In my study this week it has been so hard trying to focus on God’s Will for my life. I had a heartfelt plea this morning with God for clarity. I so desire to be in the center of God’s path, that it pains me. I have that need to “pay back” for all my sins as I believe Paul did. The conviction of a life before Christ drives the life after Christ in service and obedience to Him. 1 Timothy 1:16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (ESV) My prayer is for you to also realize how lost you are without Christ as the focus of your life. For Him to reveal to your sins to you as He has mine, and for the conviction of those sins to weigh on your heart. That heart transformed through that conviction is a heart transformed eternally to pursue God and the things of God.

All to Him I owe, sin had left it’s crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

 

 

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 3, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Dirt or Gold?

29 Sep

Dirt or Gold?

2nd Corinthians 4:8-10   We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed– always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

God knows our struggles even before we go to Him in prayer. He desires for us to come to Him in these struggles and prayers to draw closer to Him; to grow that relationship deeper. The world presses in with its busyness, problems, and demands that every day life bring. These daily trials bring about the mental strains that breed stress and anxieties. These are all tools of Satan to keep us from focused on God. These inner battles can affect outward circumstances, and the daily grind becomes inwardly overbearing. There must be a crutch to keep us from falling. I pray that crutch for you is Christ. 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

It has been a rough week in many ways; I could pour out a lengthy explanation, but it is no worse than what you are facing yourselves; it is called life. But when my mind starts to wonder, when it struggles with the strain, I have to turn my attention back to Christ. There is nothing here that truly matters; for it will all fade away; I live with eternity in mind. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14) All of struggles that life brings, all of the pain that life brings, is temporary. The roads of today’s despair will become streets paved with gold. Revelation 21:21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

Paul has told us of being the light in this dark world in the verses prior. 2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. These strains of daily life can become on of your best witnessing tools for Christ to those lost around you. They see the strains you are under and yet how you can handle them differently. The natural inclination is to ask how or why you handle them differently. There is the open door through the darkness to let His light shine through.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on September 29, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Rudder or Sail?

26 Sep

Rudder or Sail?

John 5:39-40   You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

They were missing it; missing the Messiah they had been looking for that was standing before them. The Jews searched the scriptures, yet didn’t open their eyes to see God witnessing of Himself in their midst. What do you find yourself searching for? When that is asked the most common answer would be happiness. Another might be answers to questions; for those answers might bring happiness. Are eternal questions something that you seek? You are wired with that inquisitiveness by your Creator. You have that need to know to question of life after this one, embedded in your soul. We all have it for God “placed eternity in their hearts” (Ecc. 2:11).

“You are what you believe” a best friend once told me. That drive is what propels us down the road of life and affects every decision that we make. If we are pursuing happiness in careers it drives the ethics of decisions; if it is through possessions it drives the debt and idolatry; if it is through sexual pleasure it drives the hearts we destroy; if it is through Christ it blesses those He places in your path. Our faith should be the rudder of life, not the wind that drives the sail. Search your heart to find that core and examine it. Pray that God will reveal it to you, and change it through Him.

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Christ was speaking to Martha, and He was about to go raise her brother Lazarus from the dead. But in these scriptures is the Gospel, or the Good News of Christ. When you believe in Him you gain everlasting life. He demands a humble, repentant heart of your life as a sinner. Luke 13:3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. When you gain this Salvation, your heart is transformed, your faith is changed, and your eyes opened. You should see life in a different light, and should be humbly moved to a life of thanksgiving to the One who gave you eternal life. A life lived in that faith is a life headed down the path as a disciple of Christ and those daily decisions are made through the discernment He provides.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on September 26, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Are you in the right gear?

25 Sep

Are you in the right gear?

Ecclesiastes 3:10-12   I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,

Solomon, the wisest man to ever live is believed to have written Ecclesiastes. He is believed to have written it near the end of his life after his return to God through confession and a repentant heart after falling into deep sin. The book points to the very real pursuit of things of this world, things without God, and the futility of a life without God. It is full of wisdom just as many of the Proverbs, and speaks to our world today in the pursuit of all things that do not pertain to God. In the commentary it states this book should be read in the light of it’s conclusion: 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.

I have pursued all the stuff that the American dream dictates we do: careers, money, materials, success, excess, idolatry, and the list goes on. I have tried and poured my heart into these pursuits which may have brought temporal pleasure, but it always faded or failed entirely. I was in the end always disappointed in these pursuits. When God starts stirring in your heart you tend to loose the drive for these pursuits. You discern the eventual disappointment that will come, and your bent to Him that does not disappoint. That joy and understanding of a heart bent towards God and the things of God will drive you to verse 12; I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives.

11 Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. By God’s design you are wired with an internal drive for your destiny of the future and eternity. This is a gear that drives the motion of your life. This is in everyone, and a heart that recognizes God in their plans is a heart that desires to follow God’s Will for their life. This small understanding of His Sovereignty produces hope, and this hope does not disappoint as earthly pursuits will. Romans 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. What are you going to pour your heart and energy into today; temporal or eternal?

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on September 25, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Get up and get God

22 Sep

Get up and get God

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Here where I live it used to be in the country. Our family farm was very large and the area was very rural. The only consistent noise was the low drone of air compressors in the milking barns. At night and early morning it was peaceful and still. Progress caught us the last 15 years and finding a quiet time is next to impossible. As I sit hear early each morn I get only rare moments when cars are not speeding down the road to destinations unknown. I am up early each day for my alone time with God; to seek that peace only early morning time brings; and with it intimacy.

1 Kings 19:11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. The great prophet Elijah was fleeing for his life, running from the pressures of life, desperate to hear God. He got alone and God came to encourage him. God is not in the static of the world, but in the peace of it. He demands a heart that seeks Him wholly, not a heart of flippant prayer and petition. He demands your undivided attention and He is most likely using circumstances in your life to get your attention. They are not by chance, but by His allowance or design.

Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. All that noise and distractions in your life is like the speeding cars down the highway to nowhere. Satan provides all the daily distractions to keep your heart focus away from God. Do you rise late when all the distractions already have begun? Do you seek to find God in five minutes with the TV on; with the kids awake; with the cell phone at your side, etc? How can you hear the still small voice in the midst of all the winds, earthquakes, and fires? Be like Elijah and get alone and seek God. When you find Him, your ability to rise early will never be a problem again; but a expectant passion for your Creator to speak to you.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on September 22, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older posts
Newer posts →