Category: Devotionals

Now, while this story may seem totally far-fetched and hard to believe, it illustrates exactly what God did for us. Every one of us is a sinner and we fall far short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We deserve the punishment for our sins and the Bible tells us that the punishment for sin is death. But, because God is a merciful God, He has instead given us eternal life (Romans 6:23). Despite the fact that we were guilty of sin, God allowed His own Son, Jesus, to take our place and pay the penalty for our sin by dying for us (Romans 5:8). And not only are we pardoned of our sin and freed from its shackles, but we also are restored to our relationship with God. And that is all because of God’s amazing grace (Romans 5:1-2).

In Matthew 21:21, Jesus spoke of the kind of faith we all should have, a faith that can move mountains. He said that, if we have faith and do not doubt, we can speak to a mountain and tell it to get up and throw itself into the sea and it will be done. There are three events in the gospels that perfectly illustrate what this kind of faith looks like in action and what that faith can accomplish.

The first event occurred as Jesus was preaching to a crowd that had gathered in a home that probably belonged to Peter. Four men who had heard that Jesus was there brought a friend who was paralyzed to Peter’s house. They knew that Jesus was there and they believed that He could heal their friend. Not being able to get into the house, they went up on the roof, removed part of that roof, and lowered their friend down into the room. When Jesus saw the faith of these men, He told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven and then healed him (Mark 2:1-12).

The second event occurred as Jesus made His way into Capernaum. A Roman centurion in that town had a servant at home who was paralyzed and suffering greatly. The centurion appealed to Jesus for help but, when Jesus said He would go to the centurion’s home to heal the servant, the centurion said that he was not worthy to have Jesus enter his home. He believed that all Jesus needed to do was give the word and the servant would be healed. Jesus marveled at the faith of the centurion, which was greater than that of Jesus’ own people. Jesus then spoke the word and the servant was healed (Matthew 8:5-13).

The third event occurred as Jesus made His way to the home of a ruler whose daughter had died. As Jesus walked with His disciples and the ruler, a woman who had been suffering from a discharge of blood for twelve years made her way through the crowds of people and touched the hem of His robe. Her faith was so strong that she had complete confidence that all she needed to do was touch Jesus’ robe to be healed from her affliction. And, when she put that faith into action and touched His robe, she was healed immediately. Jesus then told the woman that her faith had made her well (Matthew 9:18-22).

The faith demonstrated by these people is the kind of faith we should all strive for. When we have this kind of faith and we put our faith into action, God will move in our lives. This is the kind of faith we need when we are seeking healing, freedom from addictions, or deliverance from trials and tribulation. It is the kind of faith that pushes aside all doubt. It is a faith than can move mountains.

Several years ago, my wife, Linda, and I vacationed at a resort in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania that had three hiking trails. On one of our days there, we decided to walk one of the trails. We had been told that the trail went through a stream, so we brought our flip-flops so that we wouldn’t end up with soggy shoes. As we made our way along the trail, we arrived at the stream, put our flip-flops on, and proceeded to walk through the coldest water I have ever felt in my life. This water was so cold that it hurt! I made my way across and looked at my feet, which were cold and red. Then I saw that Linda was still in the stream, struggling to keep her footing in that icy water. Without giving it a second thought, I stepped right back into that stream, made my way to my wife, and helped her across.

Just as I was there to help Linda get her footing and walk across that icy stream, God is there for us whenever we stumble or slip in life and need His supporting hand to hold us up. It may be through temptations, through trials and tribulations, or even through sin, but we all have times in our lives when we stumble, slip, or lose our footing. But, when we call on the Lord, He reaches out His hand to us so that we don’t fall flat on our faces (Psalm 37:4). When we cry out to Him, letting Him know that we are slipping, His unfailing love for us holds us up (Psalm 94:18).

When we walk with God, when we lean on Him for support, then our steps will be secure and we will not stumble (Proverbs 3:23). When we follow the Lord, when we trust in His ways and not our own, He sets us on the right path, a path that is straight so that we will not fall (Proverbs 3:5-6). And when we keep His Word in our hearts, we will not slip and fall (Psalm 37:31). His Word is a lamp that will light up our path, that will help us to see clearly where our feet step (Psalm 119:105).

That encounter with the stream was a moment in our relationship that Linda and I will ever forget. Let none of us ever forget the times when God, in His love, has stepped into our icy streams and held us up as we walked through it to the other side.

Salvation is a gift to all who call upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13), but there is a cost to becoming a disciple (or follower) of Christ. In all three of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke), we read the words that Jesus spoke regarding the cost of being His disciple. This cost involves three things. You must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23).

Denying oneself means to set aside your own selfish interests. It means living your life for Christ, putting Him and His kingdom first. When you deny yourself, you are no longer making yourself the object of your life and the things that you do, but rather making Jesus the object. All that you do is done for Him. It means a total commitment to Christ.

When you take up your cross, you are saying that you are willing to suffer and even give your life for Jesus’ sake. The cross is a symbol of suffering and shame. As a follower of Christ, you may be subjected to suffering, you may be ridiculed, persecuted and rejected by the world. Taking up your cross is something you must do on a daily basis as you follow in the footsteps of Christ (Luke 9:23). You must be willing to endure whatever comes on any given day for the sake of Christ.

To follow Jesus means to believe in Him, to allow your life to be conformed to His, living your life by His example, and to be willing to suffer or even lose your life because of your faith in Him. One day, Jesus will return in glory. When He does, His promise is that He will repay each of us according to what we have done here. Those who have truly followed Him, denying themselves and taking up their cross daily, will be rewarded for their faithfulness to Christ and His kingdom (Matthew 25:23).

There are three virtues that should be present in the life of all believers – faith, hope, and love. This triad of virtues is so important that it appears many times in the New Testament.

The walk of a believer is a walk of faith and not of sight (1 Corinthians 5:7). It is through faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning work on the cross that we are justified and able to have peace with God (Romans 5:1). Through our faith in Christ, we receive salvation and are able to stand in God’s grace and rejoice in the the glory of God (Romans 5:2). It is our faith in Christ that allows us to be born again as children of God and to have the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). Faith is the shield with which we are able to defend ourselves against the attacks of the enemy (Ephesians 6:16). This faith is knowing that we will have the things that we hope for but have not seen (Hebrews 11:1). It is a faith that comes not by sight but by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17).

Hope accompanies faith. It is by faith that we are saved and have the hope of a future where God’s purpose for us is fully realized. This hope is not a hope that is unfounded. It has its foundation in the promises of God and in our faith in Jesus Christ. We hope for the things we cannot see as we wait for them with patience (Romans 8:24-25). And that hope will never put us to shame (Romans 5:5). Our hope is in the Lord and in His coming to reign on earth. We hope for the day when God will make His dwelling with us, the day when there will be no more tears, death, mourning, and pain (Revelation 21:3-4).

Love is the greatest of this triad of virtues (1 Corinthians 13:13). As believers, we are called to love God, but also to love like God. We are to love each other, our neighbors, and also our enemies. We cannot claim to love God without displaying the love of God in our lives. It is that love that will make us stand apart from the world and to shine the light of Christ into it. Of all of these three virtues, love is the only one that is eternal. All three of these virtues are needed in this age, but one day faith will become sight, as we see Him in whom we have believed. Hope will become experience, as we live in His presence and experience the promises of Revelation 21:4. But love will remain. God is love, God is eternal, and so is love.

We all experiencing times when things going on in our lives cause great sadness, grief, and despair. It could be the loss of a loved one, a child who is choosing a wrong path, or a serious illness affecting us or someone close to us. It’s at these times that we need to turn to the one person who not only knows exactly how we are feeling, but also cares more than anyone else possibly could. We need to turn to the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Psalm 34:18 tells us that the Lord is near to those who are brokenhearted. The Lord knows that it is at these times in life we need Him most. And it is at these times that He is telling us that He is near. He is right there, just waiting for us to turn to Him, to reach out for His help, for His comfort, and for His tender love and mercy. He is waiting to heal our broken hearts and bind our wounds (Psalm 147:3).

Jesus has compassion for those who need Him most and for those who cry out to Him for help. This compassion is shown time and time again in the gospels. As He walked on this earth, teaching and proclaiming the gospel, healing diseases and afflictions, Jesus saw that the people were like sheep without a shepherd, and he had compassion for them (Matthew 9:36). The Greek word for “compassion” here is splanchnizomai, which means being “moved with compassion.” It signifies being moved in the inner parts of the body, a deep emotion.

Jesus was moved to compassion for those He encountered who were sick, afflicted, or in need (Mark 8:2; Matthew 20:34). He was also filled with compassion for the grieving, those who mourned (Luke 7:13). In John 11:33, when Jesus arrived at the home of Mary and Martha following the death of their brother, Lazarus, the grief of this family and those who mourned with them filled Jesus with such compassion that He “groaned in the spirit.” The Greek word for “groaned” is embrimaonai, which depicts deep emotion involving anger. Jesus was both grieved and angered over the misery that His people suffered from due to sin, Satan, and death.

The verse that may best reveal the deep compassion that Jesus has for His people is also the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” The Greek word for “wept” is dakruō. This verb indicates that Jesus first burst into tears, then wept silently. How comforting and reassuring it is to know that we serve a God whose compassion and love for us is so strong that it caused Him to weep. When you are experiencing a time of great sorrow, grief, or pain, turn to the One who not only understands how you feel, but is moved to compassion for you.

Several years ago, I purchased a small cactus plant for my office. When I retired, I brought the small plant home with me and continued to care for it. The plant thrived, but it did not get much bigger until the day came that I decided to move the plant to a larger pot. Before long, the cactus plant that was about six inches tall grew to be three times that size with new branches sprouting all over it.

For believers, those of us who have given their hearts to Christ, life before Christ was like that cactus plant. While we were “in the world,” we may have thrived in a physically or worldly sense, but we did not experience true growth, spiritual growth. But, when we gave our hearts to Christ and decided to follow Him, God moved us out of the “pot” of the world and replanted us in His kingdom, where we can not only grow but also flourish (Psalm 92:13).

When we are in Christ, when we believe in Him and follow Him, God credits us with righteousness (Romans 4:24). Psalm 92:12 tells us that “the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree” and will “grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” Since we are credited with righteousness through Christ, just like my cactus, our spiritual lives will grow exponentially.

Jesus Christ is the vine and, when we are in Christ, we become branches of the vine, able not only to grow but also to flourish and produce fruit that is demonstrated in lives that reflect Christ. But, without Christ, we cannot grow, we cannot produce fruit, for without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). As long as we remain in Him, we will continue to produce fruit that brings glory to God, even into our old age (Psalm 92:14).

Murphy’s Law says that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. There are times in life when it seems like all the things that can go wrong are going wrong, all at the same time. When faced with times like these, we can sit and wallow in self-pity and sorrow. We can grumble and complain and say, “Woe is me!” Or we can do what Habakkuk did.

In chapter 3, verse 17, the prophet Habakkuk presents a list of the things that are going wrong. The fig tree is not blossoming, there is no fruit on the vines, the olive crops are failing, and the fields are not producing any food. And, if that weren’t enough, the flock has been cut off from the fold and the stalls are empty! (Habakkuk 3:17) But Habakkuk isn’t complaining about this. He’s not whining about these things. What he says in the next verse is what we should all say in times when we are suffering or when Murphy’s Law is raging. Habakkuk says that, despite all these things, he will rejoice in the Lord, he will take joy in the God who has provided his salvation (Habakkuk 3:18).

God provides us with all we need to get through difficult times. He gives us the ability to walk through them because He is our strength. When it seems like we can’t possibly walk through the difficulties and suffering that we face, when life is an uphill battle, God gives us exactly what we need to climb the hills that stand before us. I love the imagery that Habakkuk uses to describe this. In Habakkuk 3:19, he say that God makes his feet like those of a deer, so that he can tread on those high places. Habakkuk is likely referring to the ibex, which is a desert-dwelling deer that is able to easily climb and descend steep rocky hills.

When we rejoice in God through our sufferings and difficulties, when we put our trust in Him, like an ibex, we are able to walk through those hills of life easily. Rejoicing through our sufferings and difficulties will build endurance in us, it enables us to persevere. That, in turn, builds character in us, and character builds hope (Romans 5:3-4). That hope is not blind hope, but hope that is based on the grace and faithfulness of God. It is a hope that will never disappoint.

Life can be difficult at times. Financial problems, illness, work-related stress, and family crises can create worry, anxiety, and threaten our inner peace. A look at the headlines on any given day doesn’t help either. The things going on in the world can be troubling and can cause despair. When any or all of these things disturb your inner peace, where can you turn?

Some may turn to meditation or relaxation techniques. Some may turn to the latest TV guru who will show the “best” way to deal with stress, anxiety, and worry. Still others may turn to destructive and addictive means of dealing with the problems and difficulties of life, such as drugs, alcohol, and gambling. When people turn to these worldly ways of trying to restore inner peace, they may find a fleeting, temporary peace. But there is a way to find inner peace that will last.

In 1969, John Lennon released a song titled, “Give Peace a Chance,” which contains the lyric, “All we are saying is give peace a chance.” When it comes to finding true and lasting inner peace, we need to give the Prince of Peace a chance! Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is the source of true and lasting inner peace. Jesus wants us to have peace. He does not want our hearts to be troubled and full of worry and fear. He gives His peace to us freely, but it is not the kind of peace that the world gives (John 14:27). The peace that Jesus gives is a peace that surpasses all understanding, a peace that will guard our hearts and our minds (Philippians 4:7).

Jesus knows that, in this fallen world, we will have trouble. But, He says we should take heart because He has overcome the world and in Him we will find peace (John 16:33). When we focus our hearts and our minds on Jesus, when we place our trust in Him, He will keep us in perfect peace.

All we are saying is give the Prince of Peace a chance!

God has given us His Word to help us to know Him and also to know how to live. It is important for all believers to read the Word and to keep it in their hearts. It is equally important to follow the Word, to live by it and do what it says. We are told in James 1:22-24 that if we only hear what God’s Word says, but do not do what it says, then we are deceiving ourselves. We are like a person who looks intently at himself in a mirror, then walks away and immediately forgets what he looks like.