Archive of previous devotions

Now and later (Saturday, July 12)

The world’s yardstick is contrary to the one God uses to measure the importance of a person. Stature, standing, prominence and reputation – all of these matter to people. God, however, does not care in the least for any of them. Such standards are worthless in his kingdom.

God values the level of love in the heart, the willingness to follow him and the commitment to his word. He also treasures the joy of serving, the happiness of being used and the delight in doing his will. These are how he weighs worth and significance in his world.

Jesus taught us clearly. There is no mistaking his words or his meaning. To be first, we must be last. Either we can be first here on earth and last in the kingdom of heaven. Or we can be last on earth and first in paradise. We cannot be first in both places; we must give up one now for the other later.

Each day we have an enormous decision to make. We have to choose A or B: A) We can let the world measure our value; B) We can let God tell us what we are worth. Which one we select will determine how far we want to go in the future.

A way out (Friday, July 11)

God will never give us more than we can handle. This common phrase gives rise to all sorts of things. Now God does not ‘give’ us pain, suffering, difficulty or even tragedy. He does, I believe, allow certain experiences to happen to us. When tough situations come, he is there to show us what to do; he does not abandon us like orphans.

The Lord is faithful, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, the apostle adds, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. God’s ‘way out’ is usually the only way for us to find comfort and relief. Frequently, it takes us days, months or years to completely accept his direction.

Most often, what prevents us from taking God’s way right away is our own persistence. We constantly question why God is allowing ‘this problem’ to come upon us. We know how we want a circumstance to work out. Why doesn’t he lift this burden and set us free, we ask. All the while, just on the other side of our wall of doubt and worry, the answer is there. We cannot see it, however, because we are entirely focused on what we desire. It is almost like we are wearing blinders.

We can save ourselves a great deal of anxiety and frustration by simply following the path God has put in front of us. We need to stand up and begin walking forward. Sometimes God will take around the mountain, sometimes over it and sometimes right through the center.  Whatever he does, he will give us a way out as long as we do it his way.

Three in one (Thursday, July 10)

Watching an old Billy Graham Crusade on television the other night, I began to consider his words carefully. Do I have a personal relationship with Jesus, I wondered. Or have I accepted Jesus as my Savior only? Unless I can say he is my Savior, my Lord and my friend, I am missing everything that he has to offer.

First and foremost, Jesus died on the cross for my sins. His act of love and sacrifice for the whole world makes my salvation possible. Second, Jesus must be Lord of my life; he is master of all I am, all I have and all I do. Third, Jesus needs to be one whom I can count on as a friend; he is a constant companion each moment of the day.

Savior, Lord and Friend. He is all three. Yet, I have to admit there are times when I think of him as one or the other. I forget about his friendship, I lose sight of the salvation he offers or I overlook the fact that he is Lord. I take him for what I want him to be at the moment, not for who he is for eternity.

The only possible way I can share my life with Jesus is to accept him for everything he is, in the same way that he accepts me for all that I am. He does not take only one part of me and ignore the rest. He cares about my whole life and being. I must learn to do the same with him. Once I do, then I can say with assurance that I have a personal relationship with him.

Enough trust (Wednesday, July 9)

Saying that God is in control and accepting that he is are not the same. When something does not go as planned, the temptation is to get upset or angry. We try to fight for what we believe is right, at least according to our feelings and thinking, rather than letting God take care of the matter. Or we run away.

The term for our reaction to difficult circumstances is known as the ‘fight or flight’ instinct. Either we engage in all out war to get our way, or we run away and try to forget the situation all together. God does not want us to choose one path or the other. He wants us to put it in his hands – to remain where we are and allow him to make the decision.

I have to confess that I am my own worst enemy at times. I have never been one to simply walk away from a problem. Instead, my stubbornness takes hold of me and I battle to get my way, no matter what I have to say or do. Perhaps you are the opposite: you might flee an encounter, hoping it will somehow disappear and go away.

God wants both of us to stop and let him handle things his way. As lord of our life, he is ruler. What he says goes, whether we agree or not. We do not need to get mad or run off. We must learn to give God the time and authority to work. His way is the so-called Law of 828: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

If we love him, we should be able to trust him.

Lord of all (Tuesday, July 8)

Whatever we have belongs to God: our life, our possessions, our daily schedule and our plans for the future. The truth is that we can never take pleasure in any of these without first giving them away to God. He must be Lord of all, not just Lord of some.

We say we want peace in our lives. We want to be able to relax and appreciate the time we have been given. But how can we enjoy ourselves when we are obsessed with guarding all we own? We try to take care of our family, our houses, our cars, our lawns and gardens. We spend countless hours each week standing watch over what we believe belongs to us. Even when we are not protecting what we have, we worry that something will happen when we are not there.

All of this is costing us our lives – the very thing we are trying to enjoy. The more we attempt to do on our own, the less effective we become. The constant stress and anxiety that overwhelm our minds will, eventually, affect our health and attitude.

God stands ready to help us. He can take care of what we cannot. Today is a perfect time to let God take control before we lose control.

Advising God (Monday, July 7)

Have you ever tried to help God? Not the sort of assistance that means looking in on a neighbor, performing mission work or even donating food to the needy. These works of kindness are always good. The sort of help that gets us in trouble is telling or showing God what he already knows. We frequently think that God has lost his omniscience, and we have to make him aware of circumstances that need to be corrected.

You and I say to him ‘look over here, Lord. This needs to be changed.’ Or we ask him, not without irony, ‘don’t you see what these people are doing? Are you going to let them get away with that?’ If only our complaints and concerns stopped there. We go one step further. We tell God what should be done, as if we are the final authority – that we know more than him on worldly affairs.

We get in even deeper when the Lord corrects us about being more concerned over other people than in our personal relationship with him. Suddenly, we back away while at the same time reminding him, ‘I am on your side here, God. I am just trying to help you.’

It is then that he has to help us. He has to bring us back to reality – back to his truth and authority. God is Lord. If we truly want to be of service to him, we can start by doing what he asks without doubting, questioning or complaining. He has a job for us and we need to do our part. When we do, we can be sure that he will do his part.

As creator and ruler of all, God is in control of everything. Certainly, he can take care of the little things that cause us so much concern and worry. Our energy would be better spent in being his servant, not his advisor. What advice, after all, can we really offer the Father of the universe?

Testing what is right (Sunday, July 6)

One of the most important responsibilities we have as Christians is to test all we confront, to see whether something is good and acceptable to God or not. We take much for granted, though, from how to respond to angry words to how we use the talents God has given us. What we do and say – even what we think – must stand his test of righteousness, not ours.

Test everything, Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, and hold on to the good; avoid every kind of evil. Often, we do the opposite. We test something by our standards. We hold on to the evil and reject the good. Instead of loving those who have hurt us, we try to hurt them. Rather than working harder to please a difficult boss, we work less. As a substitute for apologizing to someone, we avoid the person. In place of being courteous and gracious, we become cold and inconsiderate.

Actions and feelings of prejudice, contempt, pride, hatred, vengeance, conceit, arrogance and superiority are unacceptable to God. These will never pass his divine test for what is right, even thought they pass ours all of the time.

Discerning what is good or evil is never easy. It requires time, patience, perseverance and tolerance. We need time to see what God has already said through scripture; patience to keep ourselves from overreacting; perseverance to seek his direction; and tolerance to accept his will over ours. God’s test will always reveal the right and proper thing to do. Our test will always fall short because both our methodology and sampling are faulty from the very beginning.

A little light (Saturday, July 5)

Even in the blackest night, a small light can dispel much darkness. A tiny candle, lamp or flashlight can act as a sharp beacon of hope and direction.

Our lives are much like a small lantern. Despite the darkness that we experience all around us, one single bright act of kindness has a tremendous effect. What we do for Christ, as we help others, can be seen from a great distance by a great many people.

We are meant to be salt and light – to stand out from the shadows and gloom created by man. Each of our little actions should point the way to the one true, divine light of Jesus Christ. You and I need to reflect his light in everything we do or say.

God of today and tomorrow (Friday, July 4)

He makes our paths straight. He promises to comfort and guide us. He says he will never, ever forsake us. How different our lives could be if we accepted these assurances as truth. Ironically, we believe in eternal life, that God will take care of us later on. Yet, we occasionally doubt his love and protection right now.

At this moment, no matter where we are or what we are doing, God is with you and me. He surrounds us and envelops us with his love. He is caring for us in a way that no human can. If we do not feel his presence, perhaps we have not taken time to be quiet. We will not find him in the confusion of a busy day. Nor will we realize him in our anger or frustration. And we most certainly will not sense him if we are completely centered on ourselves and our problems.

We have to put everything else aside. We must place our anxieties and worries in his hand. Once we give up our concerns and give in to him, we will begin to experience the calm he offers – his peace of mind.

God speaks to us when we spend time with him alone. Gently, he takes us to his side and tells us that everything will be fine; he will see to it. He knows what lies ahead. He will give us the strength we need each day; we do not have to wait until eternity. We can experience his blessings this minute. Be still, he says, and know that I am God now and forever.

Your day of independence (Thursday, July 3)

Tomorrow, the Fourth of July, people all over the United States will celebrate Independence Day. There will be cookouts, fireworks, parades and even parties in honor of freedom. But what about our real Independence Day, that personal day when we were set free from the bondage of sin? What about the day when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior?

Most of us can probably remember where we were, if not the exact date and time. For me, it was at a Youth for Christ rally in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. I believe it was 1965, when I was 15 years old. The memory remains vivid and clear. I left my seat in the huge auditorium and walked up on stage. There, along with dozens of others, I asked Christ to forgive my sins and I committed the rest of my life to him.

The past 40-plus years of my life have been full of ups and downs; I was ‘up’ when I remembered what Jesus could do and I was ‘down’ when I tried to live on my own. Too often I forgot about my true Independence Day. Many times I became overwhelmed by everything going on around me and stopped thinking about who was living inside of me.

Each one of us has an Independence Day. Every moment of our lives should be a celebration as we rejoice in what God has given us through his son. We have been set free, not only for this one day but forever.

Love (Wednesday, July 2)

The greatest commandment – to love the Lord with all of our heart – must be our goal each day, from the time we wake up in the morning until we go to bed at night. In every circumstance, no matter how difficult, we need to say, 'I love you Lord.'

It does not come easily at first. We are stubborn followers. Somehow we have the notion in our heads that our love for God depends on our present situation. We have no difficulty loving him when things are going well. What happens, though, when we are in pain? How do we feel when we are tired, overwhelmed or just plain worn out? Are we able to say with complete conviction and assurance, 'I love you Lord.'

Until we reach the point where we can love God, despite the struggles of daily life, we will not love him as we should. Our love must be the same as his – we must love without limitation or restraint. We have to love him unconditionally, not on condition of our current happiness. Love is not measured by degrees or levels. Absolute love is all or nothing at all.

The more often we can say ‘I love you Lord,’ the more we will grow to trust him. Gradually, through practice and persistence, we will be able to love him more than anything else in the world. He will be first and above all, just as Jesus said.

Believing without seeing (Tuesday, July 1)

Many people today do not accept Jesus because they doubt the stories in the Bible. A common argument concerns the writers of these accounts. Another line of reasoning is that the events could have been made up. Still others admit Jesus did live, but he was no more divine than you or me.

All of this set me to wondering. Would things be any different if it were possible to see and hear Jesus? What if Jesus had lived during this age of television, computers and cameras? What if someone, for example, had a camcorder and could actually record Jesus walking from town to town, speaking to the multitudes and eating with sinners? Would people be more willing to accept his teaching if they saw him on video healing the sick or washing the feet of his disciples? Would pictures convince the world that Jesus was, indeed, the son of God?

I think not. For one, the discussions would run much the same. People would question the authenticity of the pictures, whether the events were staged and how Jesus actually did all of these things. In fact, seeing Jesus in action most likely would raise more questions and disputes than answers.

Faith in Jesus does not come merely from seeing and hearing. It must proceed from deep inside the heart out of a sincere trust in him, not from what we casually observe. Seeing is not necessarily believing, especially when it comes to God. He does not reveal himself fully except to those who are willing to accept him first. What these skeptics see is only half of the picture. The other half comes in realizing that Jesus can be everywhere, through the Holy Spirit, because his presence does not depend on a human body.

Truly, it is what we do not see that convinces us that Jesus is real.

Less is more (Monday, June 30)

No one can build up the self and the kingdom at the same time. A person will either boast of individual greatness or of the great things of God. But not both together.

In a similar manner, one cannot serve another person by serving himself. A decision is inevitable: which matters more? I must ask myself if I am more important than all those in the body. Of course not, even though I might act like it at times.

My value is not determined simply by what I do on my own. My worth depends on what I do for the Lord – how much I give for his purpose and service.

The more I let him use me, the greater I become. Less of me means more of God.