Category: Devotionals

On the Mount of Olives, Jesus spoke of the signs of the end times. He said that before the end times begin, we will hear of wars and rumors of wars. There will be famines and earthquakes. Believers will be persecuted for their faith, many people will turn from their faith, and wickedness will increase (Matthew 24:6-12).

When we look at the world today, all of these things that Jesus spoke of seem to be in the news on a regular basis. Terrorism is happening almost daily. The news is full of many kinds of evil. Earthquakes seem to be happening with greater frequency. Although only God knows when the end will actually take place (Matthew 24:36), it certainly feels very much like it is getting closer.

One positive sign of the coming of the end times is that the Gospel will be preached throughout the world. The rapid advances in technology over the past few decades have made the spread of the good news of Jesus Christ easier, faster, and more globally. The Gospel can reach more people now than at any point in history.

As believers, we must be watchful and ready for the end times and the return of Jesus Christ. But, we also need to do what we can to ensure that others are ready. We need to be carriers of the good news, just as Jesus instructed (Matthew 28:19-20). We need to be praying that God will open doors of opportunity to share the Gospel. We need to pray that we are able to share the message of Christ clearly. We must be sure that our behavior toward non-believers is in line with the that message. Our behavior and our speech must be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that it is palatable to those with whom we share our faith. (Colossians 4:36)

God is patient. While the end times are inevitable and may come at any time, He does not want anyone to perish. His desire is that everyone should come to repentance and receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:9). As His children and recipients of His love, His mercy, and His grace, we are all called to do our part.

Before freeing His people out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt, God poured out His wrath on the Egyptians as Pharaoh continued to refuse to let the Israelites go free. He sent plagues of locusts, flies, gnats, frogs, blood, and a number of other plagues. When Pharaoh continued to harden his heart and still refused to let God’s people go, God then passed through the land of Egypt and struck down the first-born of people and animals in every household. Before He did this, God provided a way to ensure that His people would be spared. Through Moses, God instructed the Israelites to slaughter an unblemished lamb for each household and then spread the blood across the lintel and doorposts of their homes. Because their homes were covered by the blood of the lamb, God passed over them and death did not enter their homes (Exodus 12:23).

The Passover sacrifice provides a very clear picture of the sacrifice that would later be made by Jesus for all of us to free us from the bondage of our sin and give us eternal life. The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). We are all sinners and deserving of the penalty of our sins, but God’s desire was that we should be spared that punishment. He sent His only Son, Jesus, to take our place. Jesus was our Passover Lamb. He was unblemished, without sin, and He became the sacrifice for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). He made the way for spiritual death to pass over us and enabled us to have eternal life with God, but there is action required on our part.

Just as the Israelites were required to cover themselves with the blood of the lamb by spreading it on their lintels and doorposts, so we must cover ourselves with the blood of Jesus, our Passover Lamb. In order to be covered by His blood, we must believe that He is the Son of God. We must believe that He died for us and that God raised Him from the dead. We must accept Him as our Lord and Savior and follow Him. And, we must turn away from the sin that bound us. When we do this, God’s gift of eternal life is given to us (Romans 6:23).

The gift of eternal life is ours to accept or reject. We can choose to believe in Jesus and receive eternal life, or we can reject Him. But, when we reject Him, we will not see eternal life because God’s wrath is still on us (John 3:36). We can’t earn eternal life through good deeds or by living a good life. It is a gift that is offered to us by God because He loves us and wants us to have it. But, the choice is ours. Choose life through belief in Jesus, or death by rejecting Him. From where I stand, the choice seems easy.

Have you ever prayed for a need in your life or in the life of a loved one and presented your request to the Lord like this?

“Lord, if you can…”

Or maybe you said something like, “Lord, I would be grateful, if you could just…”

I know that I have. Perhaps you haven’t actually presented your request with these words, but later found yourself thinking, “I hope God can do this,” or something to that effect. When we present our requests to God in that way, we are like the man who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus in Mark, chapter 9. When the man came to Jesus, he presented his need to Him saying, “But if you can do anything…” The One who healed the sick, raised the dead, walked on water, and restored sight to the blind was being asked if He could help!

I love Jesus’ response to the man. He begins by repeating the man’s words, “If you can?” Jesus then says, “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Belief, or faith, is a key to seeing God work in our lives. When we have faith, when we truly believe beyond a doubt, nothing is impossible. Jesus told His disciples that, if they had faith and did not doubt, they could tell a mountain to move and it would. He said that, if we believe, we will receive whatever we ask for in prayer. (Matthew 21:21-22)

When we bring our prayer requests before the Lord, we need to do so with the faith that He hears and He will answer. We need to believe beyond the shadow of a doubt that He can and will answer our prayers and, if the answer is not what we hoped for, He will give us the ability to accept that answer as His perfect will. So, when we find ourselves saying to the Lord, “If you can,” we need to stop and like the man with the demon-possessed son in Mark 9, say, “Lord, I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.” (Matthew 9:24).

Jeremiah 17:5-8 paints a picture of two different types of people, those who trust in man and those who trust in the Lord. The picture that it paints reveals the stark contrast between the two.

Verses 5 and 6 tell us that the person who trusts in man is cursed. That person is compared to a bush in the wastelands. A wasteland is barren. It cannot sustain life. So, a bush in a wasteland cannot survive. It cannot prosper. A person who trusts in man will not see prosperity. These verses also say that the person who trusts in mere flesh will dwell in the parched places of the desert. The desert is dry. There is no water to sustain life. A person who trusts in man will not find what is needed to sustain the inner life of the soul: living water. As a result, the heat of life’s struggles and life’s troubles will leave him parched and dry. His thirst will never be quenched.

Verses 7 and 8 tell us that the person who trusts in the Lord, who makes the Lord his hope and his confidence, is blessed. This person is compared to a tree planted along the banks of a river. A tree planted on the banks of a river has roots that reach down into the water. Because it has the river’s never-ending supply of water to nourish it, the tree can withstand heat and drought. The person who trusts in the Lord is rooted in Christ, the living water. Because he is rooted in Christ, he has a never-ending supply of the living water needed to sustain the inner life of his soul. He is able to withstand the heat and drought of life’s struggles and troubles. This person will never be thirsty.

In this life, we have a choice. We can be the person who trusts in man or we can be the person who trusts in the Lord. It is a choice between life and death (Deuteronomy 30:19). When you look at the picture painted in Jeremiah 17:5-8, the choice should be easy.

Colossians 4:2 tells us that we need to devote ourselves to prayer. Prayer should be a part of every day of our lives. In the Living Bible translation, we are told that we should not weary ourselves in our prayers, but rather keep at it. We need to be constant and persistent as we pray. Jesus used the parable of the persistent widow to show us that we must keep on praying and praying until we get an answer (Luke 18:1-8). So, Scripture makes it very clear that we need to pray day and night. But why?

I believe the answer to that question can be found in Luke 18:8. When Jesus finished the parable, He asked if the Son of Man would find faith on earth when He returns. When we pray and don’t give up praying until we receive an answer, we are exercising our faith. When we persist in our prayers and do not lose heart no matter how long it takes for those prayers to be answered, we are exercising our faith. We are showing that our faith in God is so strong that we have confidence that, in His time, our prayers will be answered. I believe that consistent prayer equals faith.

When it comes to answers to our prayers, Colossians 4:2 gives us some important instructions. We are told that we need to be watchful. Being watchful means that we are keeping our eyes and our hearts open to see that answers to our prayers. This verse also says that we need to be thankful when those answers to our prayers come. We are to be thankful when we receive the answer that we were seeking, but we also need to be thankful when the answer is not what we had hoped for or expected. We need to have a heart of gratitude for God’s faithfulness in answering our prayers, even if we don’t really like the answer. God knows what is best for us and we should be thankful that He loves us so much that he answers our prayers with our best interests in mind.

Keep on praying. Pray continually and do not get weary or lose heart, especially when the answer is not what we wanted it to be or if it is delayed. Be persistent. God will answer at the right time. And, when you receive the answer to your prayers, be sure to offer God the thanks and praise that He deserves.

“Give me a T!”
“T!”
“Give me an E!”
“E!”
“Give me an A!”
“A!”
“Give me an M!”
“M!”
“What’s that spell?”
“TEAM!”

When it comes to serving God, we need to work with other believers. We need to be a team. We need teamwork. In the dictionary, teamwork is defined as a cooperative effort put forth by a group of people who band together to work for a common cause. For believers, our common cause is to glorify God through our service to Him. Our service to God is done by serving others, both believers and non-believers, and we can do that best when we work together as a team.

God’s Word supplies plenty of reasons for us to work as a team. In Ecclesiastes, we read that two (or more!) are better than one. Why? Because they can get far more done than one person alone (Ecclesiastes 4:9). When we do God’s work as a team we can accomplish far more for His kingdom than we can as individuals. In 1 Corinthians, we learn that we are all individual parts of the same body (1 Corinthians 12:12). We all have different gifts and talents that we bring to that body–that team. Through the Holy Spirit, God has supplied us with those gifts and abilities as He sees fit. No one possesses all of the gifts and talents needed to serve others as we serve God. The gifts and abilities we have been given were intended to be used together as a team.

We are all co-workers in the service of God (1 Corinthians 3:9). On the night before He died for us, Jesus prayed for all believers. He prayed that we would be brought together in unity. He wanted us to work together as a team, united in doing God’s work, so that those around us would see through our unity that Jesus was sent by God and that God loves us all just as God loves Jesus (John 17:23). Let’s always remember that, when we work as a team in the unity that God desires, His joy will be made complete (Philippians 2:2).

Go, Team!  

Those of us who have been redeemed have reason to give God thanks. He is a good God and His love for us is everlasting (Psalm 107:1). Since we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, we should not only be thankful but we should also tell our story. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! (Psalm 107:2)

Maybe we were among those who were wandering in desert wastelands, hungry and thirsty. There was a God-sized hole in our lives that we knew needed to be filled. The problem is we didn’t know how to fill it. Things, money, success, and people could not fill it. But when we cried out to God, He delivered us from our distress. He took us from the desert wastelands in which we were wandering and showed us the way in which we could find peace. He filled the hole in our lives. He satisfied our hunger and thirst. For that, we should be truly thankful and we should say so. (Psalm 107:4-9)

Maybe we were among those who were living in darkness, separated from God because we wanted to do things our own way. We may have chosen the ways of the world over the ways of God. We may have found ourselves enslaved by the darkness of the world through addiction to drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, or money. We fell hard and fast and there seemed to be no one there to help. But then we cried out to God and He set us free. He broke the chains that bound us and led us out of the darkness of the world and into His glorious light. For that, we should be grateful and tell what He has done. (Psalm 107:10-16)

Maybe we were among those who knew about God, knew His ways and His commands, but we rebelled. We let sin take over our lives and suffered because of it. Because our sin took us so far from God, our suffering may have been so great that we felt that there was nothing to live for. But then we remembered God and cried out to Him for help. He redeemed us, healed our broken lives and rescued us from the death grasp of sin. For that, we should lift our voices in thanks, praise, and songs of joy. (Psalm 107:17-22)

Whatever our story may be, when we have been redeemed by our good and loving Father through the blood of His Son, Jesus, we should be ready to tell our story to anyone who is willing to listen. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

“In God We Trust.” These words appear on all of our currency in the United States of America and have done so since the Civil War. In 1956, a joint resolution of Congress, approved by President Eisenhower, made these words the official motto of our country. But, who do we trust or, more importantly, who do you trust? And does it really matter who or what we put our trust in?

In Psalm 20:7-8, David wrote about trust. He said that there are some people who put their trust in the things of the world, such as chariots and horses. While we may not put our trust in chariots and horses (although I guess you could argue that some still put their trust in horses), in our day and age, there are some who put their trust in things like money, jobs, and status. Some place their trust in men, in science, or in politics. David pointed out that those who put their trust in earthly things are brought to their knees and fall. But, he also said that those who put their trust in the Lord God will rise up and stand firm.

The things of this world are, at best, temporary. In God’s Word, they are compared to a spider web. They are fragile and can’t be relied on to hold us up. If you trust in a spider web to hold you up, you are in for an unpleasant surprise. When you lean on it, the web gives way and when you cling to it, it doesn’t hold (Job 8:13-15). The things of the world are like that spider web. If we put all our trust in them, they give way; if we cling to them, they can’t hold us up.

It does matter who we put our trust in. We need to place our trust in God. God is eternal, He is powerful, and He is more than able to hold us up through anything life may bring when we put our trust in Him and cling to Him. When we trust in God and not in our own abilities, possessions, and knowledge, He will guide us through our lives. Our personal motto should always be: “In God I trust!”

Wisdom is important to God. In the NIV translation of the Bible, the word “wisdom” appears 220 times. Wisdom is one of the central themes of the Book of Proverbs. In Proverbs 9:10, we read that wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. How can we demonstrate wisdom?

James 3:13-18 tells us that there are two kinds of wisdom. There is heavenly wisdom that comes from God. This kind of wisdom has its roots in the fear of the Lord. Then there is the wisdom of the world. Worldly wisdom is not from God. The fruits of each kind of wisdom are in stark contrast to each other.

A person who has the heavenly wisdom shows that wisdom in the way in which he lives his life. The person with heavenly wisdom is humble. He is pure in heart, peace-loving, considerate of others, and submissive. He is full of mercy, impartial, and sincere. When we demonstrate these attributes, we demonstrate heavenly wisdom and will reap a harvest of righteousness.

This is the kind of wisdom that we should all desire, but it is not often what we see in our world and our society today. What we do see is earthly wisdom. Earthly wisdom produces envy and selfish ambition. It is these things that lead to disorder and to all types of evil practice. When you look at our world, when you read the newspapers or watch the news, this is the picture that we see. Selfish ambition is not only evident, but it is also promoted as something to aspire to. Disorder and evil practices are rampant.

As believers, we need to strive for the heavenly wisdom that God desires for us to have. We are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). When we demonstrate heavenly wisdom, we can set the example for the rest of the world. When they look at us, they should see our heavenly Father reflected in us. If they do, He will be glorified.

God doesn’t want religion, He wants relationship. When our worship of Him and the time that we spend with Him is born out of tradition or obligation, that worship is lukewarm to God. When we are lukewarm, God will simply spit us out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16). When we just pay Him lip service, offering worship because it’s what we are expected to do, then our worship is based on man-made rules that we have been taught. It doesn’t come from our hearts. (Isaiah 29:13)

This was the problem with the Pharisees and the teachers of the law in Jesus’ day. They did everything out of tradition and man-made rules. Jesus called them out on this in Matthew 23 when He referred to them as hypocrites and white-washed tombs. Everything that they did looked great on the outside, but what was on the inside, in their hearts, was a different story (Matthew 23:27-28).

Worship done out of tradition or obligation is religion and it is not what God wants from us. What He does want is relationship. He wants worship that comes from the heart. Worship that comes from our desire to know Him, to be with Him, to love Him. Worship that is given in times of great joy, but in times of great heartache, as well. God desires for us to seek Him and to love Him with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole mind (Matthew 22:37). That kind of worship comes not out of religion but out of relationship.