Category: Daily Devotionals

WHO’S TALKING?

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs.  Eph. 4:29

         Don’t you wish people were consistently encouraging with their words?  I can carry one nasty comment with me for years, but my future can also be shaped for the good by a few words of praise.

         Oftentimes the negative things I hear from others confuse me.  When do I know if I’m hearing the truth about myself?  I need a grid for sifting what goes into my ears before it enters my heart.

         How about some initial questions I can consider before just owning another’s words and setting myself up for a painful detour:

• Who’s doing the talking?
• Does this person really care about me?
• Would this person be happy if I succeeded in life?
• Does this person have the reputation for being a cheerleader or someone who discourages?
• Is there anything this person can gain by putting me down, such as power or control?
• When I see this person coming, do I think, “Oh no, now what will I hear from her, or him?”

        

Continue reading “Who’s Talking?” →

EXPECT SPIRITUAL SPARKS!

At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.”  Genesis 21:22-23

         Why would a king with an army be intimidated by a traveling herdsman and his family?  Because he saw evidence of the presence of God.  God calls the poor and inadequate, shows them His favor, surrounds them with His presence and power, and even kings will tremble.

       God’s people have always been outnumbered.  Kingdom mathematics never make sense on paper.  Gideon drove off 135,000 with only 300 soldiers.  Samson killed 1000 men with a donkey’s jawbone.  God predicted these incredible odds.  He said, “Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand – your enemies will fall before your sword.”  If I put the two fractions side by side – then one hundred should only defeat two thousand.  But God promises ten thousand.  I ask my king, “Such blessing is really mine?”  Yes.  I can rely, as God’s child, on kingdom mathematics.  The effect of the presence of God on my life is intimidating to my spiritual enemies.

Paul wanted each of us to know that when we put on the spiritual armor our Father has provided to us for our protection, we are really putting on the Lord Jesus Christ.  The effect of ‘wearing’ Christ like a cloak around our shoulders has cataclysmic kingdom effects.  There will be sparks and I should not be surprised by them.  The greater the oppression in the person I’m facing, the greater the friction.  I will see this person act out aggressively out of fear.

      Clothed in spiritual power, I am to be bold when Jesus would be bold and humble when He would be humble.  I must wear my power lightly and never as a ‘Barnie Fife’ kind of authority.  Prayerful, faith-filled leadership is my template.

Clothed in Your power, I ask that You make me gentle as a dove but also wise as a serpent.  Jesus, You are my example.  Amen

Journal Question: From whom have you run, and then said, “That person doesn’t like me, Jesus.  Poor me.”  Could it be that they were reacting to Jesus, the Living Cloak around your shoulders, and not really to you?  How would Jesus respond to them instead of retreating?

REMEMBER AND REVIEW

I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man.  I Timothy 1:13

         One of the prevailing themes of Scripture is ‘remember and review.’  Remember where you came from.  Remember what you were like before you knew God loved you.  Remember and tell your children.

         Are any of you ashamed of what you used to be?  If so, do you hide your dirty laundry in the closet, wanting to never reveal the extent of your brokenness?  It’s a desire we all fight.  If anyone had reason to be ashamed of his past, it was Paul.  Yet he did not give in to the urge to make himself appear better than he was, which is a temptation for all of us.

Continue reading “Remember and Review” →

GOD IS NEARER STILL

But you are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are true.  Psalm 119:151

    When someone is outside the house, on your property, meaning to do you harm, you want the policeman on the inside of the house with you.  Safety would be closer in proximity than harm.  No matter where the threats are today, trouble can not separate me from God’s presence.  He is around me.  He is inside of me.  And with Him comes not only comfort, but aid.

Continue reading “God Is Nearer Still” →

INTO THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love; that you always think kindly of us.  I Thessalonians 3:6

The one who preaches the full counsel of the Word to us, the one who is not afraid to address issues like our sin, submission to authority, and absolute obedience to God, can often be despised for daring to rock our boat of self-obsession.  If we are out to indulge in the pleasures of life and suffer minimal risk for the kingdom, we will resent not only the message, but the message bearer.  What makes or breaks such a pastor is whether the truth is brought in humility, in the context of a loving relationship with his people.

My ministry for several decades has been to encourage women to build a sure foundation for their faith by exploring the unwavering love of a Heavenly Father who calls them His beloved.  I have been passionate about defending, and then highlighting, God’s character.  Daughters of promise have been encouraged to live in the kingdom and learn how to sit, daily, at the feet of the Rabbi .

Over the past five years, my calling has changed to include expansive teaching. I bring a deeper message that says, “Now that we know we’re loved, here’s what God is asking of us.”

Continue reading “Going Deep Into The Gospel Message” →

HOW CAN I BE WHOLE?

The Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land because there is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land.  Hosea 4:1

Truth, mercy and knowledge are all three connected.  When there is no knowledge of God, truth and mercy are non-existent. Truth has to be rooted in something more than personal opinion and mercy goes beyond self-interest.  In this post-modern society, and a biblical illiterate society for the most part, each person is left to define truth as he perceives it to be.  Whatever he thinks is right, is supposedly considered right for himself.  Feelings and logic determine his own brand of truth.

Without a plumb line for morality, immorality abounds.  Lawlessness begins to permeate a society and God takes issue with a nation that defies His law.  People to whom truth and mercy are foreign are also personally lost.  On difficult days, they’re angry and disillusioned.  On good days, they party hard and are dissociated from their soul’s cry for meaning.

Knowledge of God is always more than just information.  It is a ‘knowing’ as in the context of intimacy.  Technically, I can become intellectually informed about the person of God and say I have rubbed shoulders with truth. Continue reading “How Can I Be Whole?” →

SEEING JESUS UNDER PRESSURE

Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.  Romans 16:13

         Rufus was the son of Simon of Cyrene.  This is the same Simon who carried Jesus’ cross through the streets – to the hill of Golgatha – when Jesus was too weak to do it himself.  Simon was a Jew and would have grown up despising the Romans who oppressed them.  To be commanded by Roman soldiers to carry the cross of a condemned man must have been bitter.  He had to comply without a fight.

         But on that journey, Simon saw Jesus under the greatest pressure of his life.  There was no swearing.  No vows to get even.  Even in agony, Jesus was full of grace.  There is no way to view a man’s darkest moments and not get a sense of ‘who and what’ he is really made of.  There is a saying, “Who a man is under pressure is who a man is.”  Continue reading “Seeing Jesus Under Pressure” →

GOD MUST OPEN MY EYES

Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up.  Genesis 21:18  ESV

         I’ve had the experience where I’ve accused someone of not being there when I needed them.  Later, I found out that they had not been absent at all.  They reached out, they did something anonymously, and I just didn’t know.  I have learned, quite humbly, to be slow to point the finger.

         Hagar, while praying for water, couldn’t see the provision of God though it was right in front of her.  God had to open her eyes to it.  She was too overcome with grief to see the well of water that would save their lives.

         While physical provisions are often necessary, what I need most are the provisions God offers in Himself.  Wherever I feel deprived, I grieve, but there stands my Father with His arms out.  He is everything I’m longing for but my eyes can’t see Him.  His Words are empty because spiritual blindness keeps His intimate disclosures from penetrating my soul.

         My greatest need is to see God and experience the power of the Word.  Both are right in front of my eyes but I can’t see them without God helping me.  He must open my eyes to the spiritual treasures found in Himself.  I am a victim of the Fall and my flesh continually limits me without the salvation of the Lord.

Perhaps the very thing I need today is right in front of me, Lord.  I stop now and ask You for spiritual sight.  Amen

Journal Question: How would you answer the question, “I know God says that He is _____________, but I never feel it.”  Ask God to touch your heart, open your eyes, and cause You to feel the warmth of His presence and His power.

I’M NUMB.  I CAN’T EVEN CRY!

So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.  Genesis 21:14

         What was it like when you got the worst news of your life?  Someone did or said something and you felt your stomach fall to the floor.  “This can’t be happening to me,” you said to yourself.  “I have to be dreaming and any minute, I’ll wake up.” 

         Hagar, homeless?  Her life with Abraham gave her security.  Surely someone who loves and serves God wouldn’t be sending she and her son out to the wilderness to die!  Family doesn’t act like that!

         What feeds unbelief is that what has always seemed impossible has just fallen upon me.

• I’ve got a thriving ministry or business but now a family member is chronically ill.  My life, as I knew it, has ceased.
• I’m comfortable and happy in a marriage that has spanned decades.  One day, my husband leaves and I find a note on the counter.
• My child is late getting up one morning and I find him dead in his room.  He committed suicide.

         I’ve been the recipient of earth shattering news, several times.  I was numb for weeks before the tears set in. Did Hagar weep as she left Abraham’s camp or was she also numb, walking but not feeling her feet?

         The very time I need God is the time I can turn away from Him.  My theology takes a bad turn.  I conclude He’s on vacation; doesn’t see, doesn’t care, and has turned into someone who breaks His promises.  If I could gently take you by the shoulders today and look into your eyes, I would tell you this.  “This is a grand opportunity for faith, a time pregnant for the power of God to be on display.  Put up your shield of faith despite how things appear.”

There is no end to my life’s story unless You declare it over.  As long as I breathe, You have a plan for me; one that offers a future and a hope. I’m looking up instead of down.  Amen

CAN SOMEONE ELSE RUIN MY LIFE?

So she [Sarah] said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.  And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.”  Genesis 21:10-13

         There are so many things that happen to me that tempt me to believe that my future is ruined.  Betrayal, whether it be family or friend, can render me penniless and it would appear that I’ll never gain my financial footing again. Can a disowned son or daughter have a golden future?  Does financial ruin write the end of my story?

         And how about this?  Does the demonic and emotional residue of abuse break me half?  Do I believe I’ll never stand up straight again?  The over-arching question is this, “Can God triumph over the cruelty of others?”

         If there were victims in the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, it would be Hagar and her beautiful son.  As a slave, she took orders from her master’s wife to sleep with Abraham.  Getting pregnant wasn’t her fault.  It wasn’t her ambition for Abraham to father her child.  She was wronged; no doubt about it, and her child bore the stigma of all children born outside of wedlock.

         Ishmael watched the celebration of Isaac’s birth.  He felt the favor of God on his half brother and felt his father’s joy over the promised child.  Bitterness set in. When Isaac was weaned and a party was thrown in his honor, Ishmael mocked and laughed.  In a swift overreaction, Sarah commanded Abraham to throw Hagar and Ishmael out of the house.  Oh, the cruelty!  If Sarah hadn’t instigated the plan of infidelity in the first place, she would have no ill feelings on this day toward Hagar.  There would be no Ishmael to remind her of her fatal mistake.  Instead of bearing up well under the consequences, she threw family out of her camp.

         Does God triumph over cruelty, over rejection, over injustice?  Oh yes.  Though it appeared to be the end for Hagar and her son, God saw her plight and pledged His blessing.  They would not starve and die in obscurity.  God would bless them in spite of the wrong done against them.

How many times have I thought, ‘This is the end!’  But You’ve turned all ends into beginnings.  Oh, how mighty You are.  Amen