Category Archives: Daily devotions

They tried

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Jonah 1-4

There are so many lessons to be learned from Jonah. Today the sailors spoke to me, maybe for the first time. They were pagan. they didn’t know God and most likely thought He was just another god like the ones they worshiped.

When the storm came they cried out to their gods, they tried to lighten the ship by throwing their valuable cargo overboard. They did everything they knew to do to save themselves.

These seem like really good men. Even when Jonah said God was punishing him and that if they wanted to be saved they needed to throw him overboard, they couldn’t do it. They continued to struggle against the storm, throwing more things overboard while sparing the life of Jonah.

But no matter how moral they were, or how hard they worked, or how many times they cried out to their gods, the storm kept getting worse. It wasn’t until they obeyed God that the storm calmed, and they were saved.

Does that remind you of so many in our world these days? Sometimes we think the enemies of God are bad people. But many, if not most are nice, moral, hard working, well meaning people doing everything they can to calm the storm, to be ok, to save themselves. What they find it hard to do is to surrender to the will of God. Thing is, there is no salvation apart from God.

I’m so glad the sailors we read about in the book of Jonah recognized the truth about God and believed. I pray the same will be true for the modern-day sailors who are trying so hard to save themselves. May they give it up, surrender to God, obey Him, accept the gift of grace through the blood of Jesus… and be saved.

Someone to Confide In

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Psalm 25

Do you have someone you can confide in? Some you can tell your most intimate thoughts and feelings to, and have the confidence to know they will not betray you with that information? I hope you do. And I hope you are that to them as well.

Now here’s what blew me away today. Are you ready for this?

The Lord confides in those who fear him, he makes his covenant known to them. (verse 14)

Wow. God confides in us?

To me, that speaks of the precious, intimate relationship I can enjoy with God. But I never thought about it as a two-way street. Sure, I know I can go to Him and pour my heart out and be confident that He hears. I know I can trust Him with my most intimate thoughts.

I guess the question is: can He trust me with the same?

When I read His Word, do I listen to His heart? I can’t have a real friendship if I don’t. Intimacy isn’t the responsibility of just one party. It takes two to be intimate. It takes two to make a friendship.

If God confides in those who fear Him, can He confide in me? Do I fear, respect, honor, and obey Him so that He knows He can trust me with His heart? You don’t confide in, share your heart with someone who disrespects you or who doesn’t value you.

And, evidently neither does God.

When Hope Dies

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1 Samuel 15-17

Samuel must have had so much hope that Saul would be a great leader, blessed by God. The young king started out so well. But it wasn’t too long before Samuel began seeing the signs that surely disappointed him:

Saul’s impatience. Saul’s audacity to offer sacrifices. Saul’s lies. Saul’s excuses for disobedience.

Oh, Saul often said the right things, and I believe Saul probably meant what he was saying at the time. But Saul’s commitment to God didn’t go very deep. In the end, Saul became his own god, and Samuel had to wash his hands of Saul. God was moving on, and Samuel had to choose whether to follow God or stay with Saul. Samuel chose God.

But Scripture tells us Samuel mourned his loss. Saul had become a friend, perhaps like a son to Samuel. Samuel was a fan, rooting for the success of the king. But whatever hope Samuel had placed in Saul died.

And it hurt.

What do you do when hope dies? How do you handle the hurt and disappointment, perhaps betrayal? Even though Samuel had placed his hope in Saul, the ultimate hope Samuel had was in God.

People fail us. Circumstances change. We aren’t even beyond disappointing ourselves. But God never fails. His plans are always best.

And if we have our hope in Him, we have our hope in the One who will never let us down. When hope dies, we grab tighter to His hand and realize hope hasn’t really died at all.

God Is Good

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Job 5-10

I think if my picture of God was the same as Job’s, I might pray to die, too. He views God as a prowling lion ready to pounce; Big Brother always watching, hoping to catch us doing something wrong. He sees God as the ultimate bully, and says no one is safe from Him.

That’s such a sad way to look at our loving Heavenly Father.

Now, Job’s attitude might be understandable considering everything he went through. But it is not an excuse.

Job, as well as we, seem to judge God by how well we are doing. If I’m healthy, wealthy, and happy then God is a good God. But if bad things happen I question if God is truly good, and maybe wonder if He exists at all. Are we saying God is only worth worshiping in the sunshine?

No matter what our circumstances, God is good. No matter our health, our finances, our relationships, God is good.

As I was reading Job’s speech today I was reminded that it’s not my place to judge God. I can question Him. But in the end I can only surrender to Him, knowing no matter what…

God is good.

A Better Way

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Genesis 4

Some people might think God was unfair to reject Cain’s offering and accept Able’s when the sacrificial system wasn’t even a thing yet. But was it unfair? Or loving?

First, there was no punishment connected to Cain’s inferior sacrifice. It doesn’t say God was even mad at him. By rejecting the sacrifice, God was simply pointing out that there was a right way to approach God, and a wrong way.

Then, and here’s the precious part of the story we sometimes miss, God tries to teach Cain how to do it right. Like a dad putting his hand over his son’s hand holding a pencil, and making the letters that spell out his name, God is guiding Cain to do better. That’s love.

So many people today think the loving thing is to just let the child be. Let him figure things out for himself, come up with his own truth. And never, NEVER, hurt his feelings. That’s the direct opposite of God’s demonstration of love.

The important thing is NOT a child’s self-esteem or happiness. The most important thing is the difference between right and wrong. And there is a difference! It’s not loving to allow a child – or anyone – to choose that which is wrong.

Now, we see Cain is about as woke as the left is today. Instead of learning the right thing to do, instead of accepting correction and doing better, he got angry and cancelled his brother with a blow to the head. (and woke-folk think they are so enlightened. They are no more enlightened than the second generation of humanity. So much for evolving.)

Oh, Christian, let’s let God be our example. Discipline your children. Don’t giggle at disobedience, don’t shrug your shoulders and let them figure out right from wrong for themselves. Hurt their feelings when they are wrong. They’ll get over it- and be better for it. Don’t go along with your children who want to change their sex. Don’t participate in their sin. Guide them. Love them enough to tell them the truth. And keep telling them.

Teach your children to honor God, to live according to His Word, to be holy. Show them what that looks like in your own life. Because there is a right way to approach God. And a wrong way.

Which way do you want your kids to choose? Which way are you choosing for yourself?

Living Our Faith

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Acts 14, James 1-2

James tells us trials and hardships are blessings. They grow us into people who demonstrate their faith in God by what we do. I love how the Bible teaches us through words, and also demonstrates the Truth through the actions of real people.

Like Paul in Acts 14. He was stoned and left for dead because he preached Jesus. He didn’t die. Instead, he got up and walked back into the city where the people who tried to kill him were. He then left that city and continued preaching Jesus in surrounding cities. Then, and this is where I see the truth of James’ words, Paul went back to Antioch so he could preach there again.

His example speaks to what James says. Opposition to the Gospel should not silence us. It should embolden us, make us stronger, more determined to share the Good News to the people who obviously need Him.

If we claim to have faith in God, our actions ought to demonstrate that. Paul didn’t run from opposition. He ran right into its midst – twice! That is faith demonstrated. That is living faith.

Let us live our faith today!

Tender Urgency

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Luke 22; John 13-14

Jesus’ last moments with His disciples before He went to the cross is filled with tender urgency. Like a dad who taught his son how to drive a car gives last minute instructions as the boy leaves to take the test, or a mom who raised her daughter to be a loving, supportive, and godly wife speaks words of encouragement on her wedding day, Jesus wants to be sure his disciples have learned everything He’s taught them. He wants to send them off with one more lesson, one more word of encouragement before they take the next step in their relationship with Him.

What does He tell them? Be a servant. Believe in Me no matter what happens. Love me. Obey what I have taught you. I’m not abandoning you. One day I’ll come back for you.

There are so many intimate words from Jesus to His disciples as they sat around the dinner table in the upper room. This would be their last meal as a family before everything changed. And what Jesus told them was important.

These chapters are pure gold. I hope you read them and hear God’s tender urgency as He speaks to your own heart through the Words of Jesus at the Last Supper.

Entitled?

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Luke 17

We live in an age of entitlement. Employers are finding it hard to find people actually willing to work. If they do work, they believe they are owed a paycheck that equals that of those who have seniority. There are people who refuse to work who want those who have worked hard, saved, invested, and enjoy the fruit of their labor to hand over their earnings to make things “equal.”

Kids who put on a uniform once a week demand equal playing time with the kids who practice all week, train, sweat, and study to improve. And everybody gets a trophy!

Most of us can look at these examples and see the problem. The truth is, entitlement is a big problem in our world. And we know it. At least we recognize it in our world, but do we recognize it in ourselves?

Jesus talked about having the attitude of a servant. A servant knows he is not “entitled” to anything. His lot in life is to do what is required. Period.

Entitlement is a problem in the world, but it is also a problem in the Church. Some people think God owes them. They question God when they don’t get the answer to prayer they expect. They get angry with God when trouble comes, illness or death touches them.

I’ve heard people say So and So “doesn’t deserve that.” I don’t think that’s a judgment God wants us to make. Not if we are His servants.

The truth is a true servant of God will take whatever happens, do whatever is required of them, and thank God for the privilege of serving Him so that He – not the servant – is glorified.

Easy? No! Will we never question, never be disappointed or discouraged? No! But if we remind ourselves that all things work together for good for those of us who love God, and that He is able to do above and beyond what we ask or think, we will realize what a privilege it is to be His servants.

No such thing as an entitled servant! “We are unworthy servants, we have only done what was our duty.” (Vs 10b)

You Are Not The Exception

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Luke 12-14

Is Jesus the only way? Really? People want to believe that, if there aren’t multiple ways to God, a least they themselves will be the exception. In theory, Jesus is the Way, but God is too loving to send a good person like me to hell. Right?

That’s not what Jesus says. Jesus says the way is narrow, the invitation to the banquet comes with restrictions, the landowner demands obedience, even those rich according to their own standards will be held accountable to God’s standards.

The truth is, it doesn’t matter what you think. You aren’t God. It only matters what God says about His design.

Like it or not. Believe it or not. Jesus is the only way…

And you are not the exception.

Squandering A Blessing

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John 6

Jesus was focused on His mission. But the Jewish people didn’t want a spiritual Savior, they wanted a human king, someone like them who would overthrow Roman rule. Jesus knew they were eager to make Him into that king. But becoming that king would have been disobedience, and Jesus wasn’t having anything to do with that. He was not about to compromise the mission.

So Jesus did something that spoke to me today. He removed Himself from their presence, and went instead into the Presence of the Father. Jesus went up the mountain alone to find a secluded spot where He could pray in private.

We Christians are being coerced into compromise these days. Giving in is the easy thing to do. But it’s sin. We go ahead and call people by their preferred pronouns, pretending along with sinners that a person can change his or her God-given gender. We embrace sin, tolerate false teaching, blend in so as not to offend way too often. We’ve even changed the way we worship so it’s appealing to non-believers, instead of what is required of the One we are supposed to be worshiping. Compromise has become the norm, and it’s becoming a requirement for Christians.

I’m wondering if we shouldn’t learn from Jesus’ example. Have we neglected the blessing of prayer, the incredible privilege of shutting ourselves off from the world for a moment to spend some intimate time with the Creator God who loves us? Even Jesus knew the importance of intentional communion with the Father. Shouldn’t it be obvious that we need it even more?

I think the evidence that we are squandering this blessing of prayer is plainly seen. If we were praying for God to reveal sin in us, He would. If we asked Him to cleanse our hearts, He would. If we asked Him for strength to stand up to the temptation to compromise, He’d gladly give us the strength. We have not because we ask not.

And we compromise because we don’t have the strength to stand. Look around. Are we happy with where our compromises have taken us?

We have the privilege of prayer. It might take some effort to climb a mountain to get alone with God. We might have to step away from technology for a few minutes, remove ourselves from the hustle and bustle of life, from our families and friends. It might be a bit inconvenient. But anything worth having is worth working for.

And I think tapping into the gift of prayer is worth it. How sad when we squander this precious privilege of prayer.