Category: Daily Devotionals

An Illusion of Power

Published on by Christine Wyrtzen1 Comment

AN ILLUSION OF POWER

The wicked are overthrown and are no more.  Proverbs 12:7

        Those who practice wickedness often look formidable but their feet are unsteady.  The least bit of trouble brings them down.  The power they possess makes us tremble but it’s really an illusion. Though their behavior is intimidating, we don’t realize how easily they could crumble.  Here’s what else I’ve learned. The ones who look the strongest can be the weakest!

            A woman wrote to me this week to tell me this story.  An angry brother had controlled her for many years.  Though he lived several hundred miles away, he had a way of controlling the entire family network.  For the past year, she has been bringing her fear of her brother to God and He has been healing her.  So much so, that at a recent family reunion, she laughed out loud when she saw him for the first time.  He seemed several inches shorter to her.  That is not uncommon.  I have heard others say that once God showed them the true stature of the person they feared, they appeared smaller. The big bully became a stubborn two year old. Continue reading “An Illusion of Power” →

What Have I Done With My Past?

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                                        WHAT HAVE I DONE WITH MY PAST?
 
               Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay straight.  Proverbs 4:25

This is the question each of us has answered by our choice of actions.  We’ve run from our past.  We’ve hidden shameful memories.  We’ve chosen to embrace only the good parts.  Or perhaps we’ve come to idolize and rely upon our pedigree.  These are but a few of the options made available to us and whatever evaluations we made, our past has been, and is, an issue.  This verse from Proverbs is not an excuse to ignore what’s behind us and to give no thought to what’s shaped the person we’ve become.

    Everything I am today is due to the choices and influences of long ago.  It took the breadth of my past to craft my beliefs about myself, about marriage and family, about God, about matters of faith, and about how life works.  My biases were born in the past.  My deepest wounds were probably born there, too.  To ignore my history turns me into a shallow person who functions on denial.

    I’ve often thought, “What happened to me is over.  I can’t change it.  Why dwell on it?  It’s painful.”   That may be true but the future I create will only be as good as my ability to see my past through the redemptive threads of God’s grace.  He wants to reveal my personal history from His vantage point so that I can see any assumptions I’ve made about life that are distorted.  He also wants to heal what has emotionally disfigured my soul.  I do not need to live plagued by the shadows of yesterday.  I am being re-parented by God and I can anticipate a future worth living.

     If I turn a blind eye to former things, the past will repeat itself. I know people who have encountered trouble, moved out of town to start fresh, only to experience the same thing happening again.  They didn’t leave their history, they took it with them.  I like this Katherine Porter quote.  “The past is never where you think you left it.”

I want Your straight paths.  Reveal anything crooked in my old paradigm. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Pet Treatment and What It Reveals About Us

Published on by Christine Wyrtzen1 Comment

 PET TREATMENT AND WHAT THAT REVEALS ABOUT US

A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast, but the compassion of the wicked is cruelty.  Proverbs 12:12
     With the seriousness of our times, everything I’ve been writing has been sober.  Today, let me speak of something lighter.  I know that my soul needs a break.
     Ok, I admit it.  Our pets are pretty spoiled.  We used to have a dingo dog named Freska.  She was temperamental and territorial.   I’m embarrassed to say that the only way I could get her to ‘come’ was to promise her cheese.  Well, let me clarify.  That only worked for a while.  One day, she decided it was better to run free in the yard than to come and get the cheese.  I had to appeal to her more carnal side.  I called out, “I’m going to go give the kitty cheese.”  With that, she came like a shot.  Jealousy worked every time.
    Now, we have a Golden Retriever rescue dog named Mollie.  While she’ll come when called, she gives retrievers a bad name.  She has a bucket of balls and when we throw them, she’ll catch one and drop it.  She’s waiting for the next one!  Dog training and a mountain of treats have not changed this behavior. Guess who is retrieving all the balls to replenish the bucket?!
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   Our two grey tabbies, Portabella and Steve, are also our treasures.  I put words in their mouth daily.  “What’s that you say?  You don’t want Meow Mix anymore?”  My kids have laughed at me over the years but I swear that the cats have acquired a more superior attitude since I insisted they have so many opinions.  (By the way, you could also rightly assume that I’ve written songs for every pet we’ve ever owned.)
    Want to know what the heart of a person is like?  See how he treats his animals.  My great, great grandfather was notorious for his cruelty to animals.  Though he died long before I was born, I have repented for his behavior before God. Respect for God’s creation, whether a flower, a cow in the field, or your pet, is among our highest duties.  In the Old Testament, God mourned the animals that were among the fallen in battle and judgment.  You may think I take the following to an extreme but here goes. I really hesitate to trust anyone who doesn’t like animals.
    Today, you may look at your pet with wonder.  You may consider the work of God’s hands.  And, here’s food for thought.  In Randy Alcorn’s book, HEAVEN, he addresses the fact that in the Garden of Eden, the serpent could talk.  He is prone to think that all animals talked before the Fall, and might talk again in heaven.  If they are able to tell us a story or two, won’t their tales be interesting, even indicting?
 Thank you for the gift of our four legged friends.  You do all things well and they are fearfully and wonderfully made.  They are just another reason to worship You.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

Continue reading “Pet Treatment and What It Reveals About Us” →

How Do I Make Others Feel?

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HOW I MAKE OTHERS FEEL

The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.  Proverbs 10:7

Positive emotions and rich images abound when the righteous are mentioned.  Joseph. Abraham. King David. John the Apostle. Martin Luther. D.L.Moody. Franklin Graham.  Negative images and conflicting emotions rise up when the names of wicked men are spoken.  Jezebel. Ahab. Herod. Judas. Hitler. Bin Laden.

    To make this truth even more personal, what happens when I speak the names of family members I know well?  The names of good people make me smile.  The names of those who mis-use others, or at the very least, are just self-centered, make me wince.  I count the days until I can see the righteous.  I number the days, in dread, when I know I have to see their counterpart.

The whole law rests on two simple, scriptural principles.  “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind.  And, love your neighbor as you love yourself.”  As I think about legacies, it really does boil down to these.  The people I desire to be around are the ones who walk humbly with God and love others.  Pretty simple.  I have no desire to spend time with those who know a lot and never let me forget it.  I do not wish to fellowship with someone who dresses well and drives the nicest car, especially if that person has a need to make me feel sub-standard.  Yet, how often do people begin their day by asking, “Who can I love today?”  Perhaps that is the greatest sign of spiritual maturity.

I recall the years I felt it was most important to impress others.  Wanting their respect, I calculated my behavior ahead of time.  I obsessed about what I would wear.  I spent extra time styling my hair. I worried about how much I would contribute to conversations, all the while failing to realize that these very preoccupations would distance me from others. No one would feel a desire to draw close to me when all I appeared to think about was my own image.

When my name is spoken today, how do others feel?  A frightening question to ask but necessary if I wish to leave a righteous legacy to the glory of God.

Jesus, even You were preoccupied with Your Father’s glory.  You drew others to Yourself because of His love for them.  Give me your heart for people today so that love is first on my mind.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

Preaching The Gospel With Spiritual Power

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PREACHING THE GOSPEL WITH SPIRITUAL POWER

Because our Gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.  I Thess. 1:5

What does it mean when the Word is spoken with power, in the Holy Spirit, with full conviction?  What does it feel like to a group of people as they listen and how does it differ from the Gospel being preached without power, without the Spirit’s anointing?  Tragically, many know the latter and have never experienced the first.  We know what it is to sit in church and hear a powerless delivery, even if entertaining.  Continue reading “Preaching The Gospel With Spiritual Power” →

Leaving The Valley Of Regret

Published on by Christine Wyrtzen3 Comments

LEAVING THE VALLEY OF REGRET

Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that You have broken rejoice.  Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Psalm 51:8-9

Regret is a powerful force.  If my heart is big and I love others, the potential for being plagued by sorrow is certain.  The consequences of my past choices are ever in front of me, seen in the broken lives of family and friends who are paying for my bad decisions.  I can spend much of my adult life discovering the things I could, and should, have done differently. The question is this: How can I walk in joy when the pain of my choices is still crippling others?  Continue reading “Leaving The Valley Of Regret” →

When The Powerless Lose Their Voice

Published on by Christine Wyrtzen1 Comment

WHEN THE POWERLESS LOSE THEIR VOICE

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. I Thess. 5:14

Feeble (kaw-shal) ~ Those who are brought down, cast down, failing, overthrown, stumble badly.

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         In the early 1990’s, life caught up with me. I succumbed to a severe depression. I became, what scripture calls, the feebleminded. I lost all ability to speak up for myself. I went to a well of wordlessness. Language disappeared and it was several years before I was able to take God’s hand to leave the shadows. This ministry, Daughters of Promise, was built, in part, upon the redemption of those ashes. I am passionate to speak to those who cannot find their own voice. Their eyes often tell their story in stony silence.

I learned firsthand that the feebleminded are of paramount importance to God. His heart breaks when the weak look to the strong to protect them but few actually stand in the gap.

I remember what it was like to bring both of my children home. I wasn’t all that familiar with the care of infants so my fear of just being able to keep them alive was real. Would I hold them wrong and would they break? Would I know how to care for them when they were sick? Would the temperature of their bathwater be right? Too cold and they would be hypothermic. Too hot and they’d burn. Everything about a baby is fragile. New mothers who value life give 100% of their focus to provide for, and protect, their child.

Let’s take a detour. I watched the recently released videos on the practices of Planned Parenthood. Continue reading “When The Powerless Lose Their Voice” →

What Is Jesus Doing?

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WHAT IS JESUS DOING?

Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.  Hebrews 7:24-25

         Ever wonder what Jesus has doing since He ascended from earth?  I do.  “Running the world,” is assumed.  But it is surprising to discover that Jesus spends his time praying for me.  What’s He praying for?  The same things I pray for when I talk to God about my own children.  When they’re hurting, I’m consumed.  When they’re angry, I can often take up their cause.  When they’re soaring, I dance!  When their faith is fragile, I hit my knees, defend God, and share scriptures.  Jesus does all of this and more for me and for you.

         Jesus revealed to Peter that Satan had demanded permission to sift him like wheat.  Jesus, because of Peter’s devotion to Him, did not leave him alone to face the attack unsupported.  He helped him by earnestly praying for him. Continue reading “What Is Jesus Doing?” →

What I Must Do To Make It

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WHAT I MUST DO TO MAKE IT

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.  Romans 15:4

           Are you in a place of hopelessness?  Life has temporarily come apart.  You are exhausted and have no more fight to survive.  You are waiting for someone to come along and impart supernatural strength but so far, no one offers enough of what you need.  What must you do to make it? Continue reading “What I Must Do To Make It” →

The Rub of Cohabitation

Published on by Christine Wyrtzen1 Comment

THE RUB OF COHABITATION

All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross, therefore I love your testimonies.  Psalm 119:118

     In the process of refining silver, the dross and the pure silver must co-habitate.  It is at the end that the dross is isolated and removed.  Though I am called to mingle with others for a time, and though we appear to be made of the same substance, eventually the two of us will be separated.

    As God’s child, I feel the pain of this kind of cohabitation.  It happens in a subtle and not-so-subtle form.

    1.) Everyone in church looks the same.  They carry similar bibles; even tote the latest bible study workbook.  It is hard to tell silver from dross.  Only Jesus really knows who is His and who is not.  Yet, I can feel the spiritual rub when I pray or attempt to fellowship with someone.  The values of the kingdom are bent to their advantage and the smell of idolatry is faintly evident if I am prayerfully discerning.  To have to co-exist is uncomfortable and often confusing as I try to fellowship with those who privately reject Christ and use the church as an institution to fool themselves and gain a platform.  The kingdom clash is not perfectly clear as pretenses veil the state of their heart.  What I have often chalked up to a personality clash can be far more serious.  Dross and silver are in the same pot but not yet separated.  Continue reading “The Rub of Cohabitation” →