Category: Daily Devotionals

His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:4

Two people are traveling together.  One is severely wounded and can no longer move.  He must stay behind while the other goes for help.  The one who leaves promises to return but you know that this promise will be tested with time.  As the situation deteriorates and there is no sign of his coming, the one in peril thinks to himself, “It doesn’t look to me like I’ll be saved!”  There is mounting evidence of a broken promise but ultimately, love and trust wins.  The one who waits perseveres because, in spite of the odds, he knows that the love and loyalty of his partner will not fail.  Sure enough, when things are most desperate, help arrives.  The one who has hung on whispers, “I just knew you’d come!”

Jesus is good for every promise He has made, including the one where He promises to come back for me.  The better I know Him, the more confident I am of that He is trustworthy.  I will not withdraw and distrust him when things gets hard.  As this world deteriorates, trust in His heart and His promises sustain me.  The harder the times, the more my faith is tested and the more my faith thrives.

What is causing you to draw back today?  Where are you scared to trust?  Where do you taste death instead of life?  You need not succumb to defeat.  Faith can win.  It begins and ends with a review of God’s promises and God’s character.  Shun the love-killer and all of his lies.  Life can be yours right now – at this very moment.  He will not only come for you, He’s here now.

Let Your daughter perceive You. Open her eyes to see You.  Open her ears to hear Your whispers.  Speak to her in the deep places of her soul and bring life to the places where life is tenuous.  Amen

Give thanks to the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men. Psalm 107:1

Nothing stirs up our flesh like family rivalry.  The personality and gifts of one child can be celebrated more than the uniqueness of another child.  Or, a mother favors one while the father favors another.  From birth, affections and privileges can be divided.  It would appear that harmony among children is often doomed from the start.  Even in old age, the stuff of youth is rehearsed.  Childhood offenses seem like yesterday.   A brother or sister can be despised all the way to their deathbed because of something that was done or said during their teen years.  Because our past replays vividly on the jumbo screen of our heart, the wounds stay fresh.

Love, respect, favor, and wealth?  How can life-long prejudices dissolve?  Someone new must arrive on the scene to offer something that is greater in value than what we lost.  Someone has ~ and His name is Jesus.  Healing for severely fractured families is possible but only as they come together to love and worship Jesus.  As each one’s appetite is transformed by beholding the beauty and glory of Christ, the stuff that comprised their arguments seems miniscule.  Every family member comes to realize that what they had been fighting over is a trinket compared to the gifts Jesus freely offers.  And, He is no respecter of persons.

Perhaps I have a life-long angst regarding other members of my family.  All I have to do is think about that person and my insides are churning.  Being loved by Jesus and becoming emotionally engaged with my spiritual birthright melts away resentment.  What I seek, I already have in Christ.  It may be hope deferred but it is real and it is mine.  If it doesn’t seem like enough to my heart, I must ask God to open my heart to incomparable gift of Him!  Is He not powerful enough to transform my affections?

Open my spiritual eyes to see the value of You and everything You long to give.  Help me re-orient my soul so that my hands are clutching You instead of things that perish. In Jesus name, Amen

Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled. Psalm 6:2

Everyone lives with the effects of the fall. We suffer unjustly at the hands of ungodly men and women. We are all vulnerable to disease. The many hurricanes that have plagued our southern states have devastated Christians and non-Christians alike. Yet, God says that we can tell the difference in how we handle adversity.

• A child of God experiences peace in dark times. The unbeliever flounders without a compass.
• A child of God exerts his authority over the dark forces at work. The unbeliever is captive to them.
• A child of God is able to hear the voice of His Father, the voice that comforts him. The unbeliever is desperate for consolation.
• A child of God has his eyes set on home. The unbeliever lives with a nagging fear of death.
• A child of God knows the power of prayer to affect his life. The unbeliever is limited by his own problem solving skills.
• A child of God looks for the supernatural redemption of his pain. The unbeliever finds pain senseless.

Which one are you? Oh, if you don’t yet know the a luxury of being a child of God, I pray that, even now, God is setting your heart, mind, and will free to hear the Spirit of God calling you to faith so that you, too, may find your home in Christ. Because You will have a Father to call upon, who will be gracious to you, peace and comfort are within reach of His arms.

Thank You for taking up residence in me. There begins the distinction. Oh, how great is Your love. Amen

I have seen a limit to all perfection, but Your commandment is without limit. Psalm 119:96

Children grow up in the same home, with the same parents, in the same spiritual environment, and some choose to believe, yet others don’t.  Is a child’s departure from the faith the parent’s fault?  Not always. Not any more than it was Abraham’s fault when some of his offspring descended into wickedness.  It is a mystery why righteous kings in the Old Testament had wicked offspring. Just as puzzling is why wicked kings were often followed by a righteous heir.

While not perfect, we are to keep God’s covenant, train our children in the Word, and teach, by example, what it means to live by faith. Some of our children will choose God’s path, but to our great disappointment, we may watch another reject everything. 

Unfortunately, it is a human tendency to carry the weight of our children’s and grandchildren’s choices.  We lament that we weren’t perfect parents, but God didn’t demand perfection. That dream died in the garden.  That’s why a Savior and Redeemer was written into the story. One day, we will be perfected but for now, we are imperfect parents. We are loved and forgiven by Jesus. We are providing an environment that offers the greatest possibility of spiritual success for each child but what that child does after that rests entirely on their shoulders. 

The road to destruction is wide and most travel on it, even our children.  The way of the cross is narrow, only a few find it, and we rejoice when it’s our children. It’s a beautiful thing when families worship together but how painful when the clash of spiritual kingdoms is felt at our own dinner tables. Only God’s grace and compassion can keep us tenderhearted, forgiving, doing whatever is necessary to fight on our knees for their souls.

Grace and comfort, Lord, for all the parents who need this message.  Amen

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

Have you ever feared a meeting with a certain person? Tensions between you were high and over the years, you could think of little else when your soul was quiet. The strained relationship weighed heavily upon you. To test the waters, you asked someone who was in good standing with them to speak of you. After their visit, you knew whether it was wise or unwise to restore the relationship.

A mediator is oftentimes needed. When judgments have been made, fairly or unfairly, softening the heart of the estranged is difficult. When God was misunderstood, He sent Jesus to show us His heart, personality, and character. Jesus softened our hearts and paid a great price to restore the breach in our relationship.

Jesus is still a mediator, not only between His Father and us but between us and anyone else with whom we suffer a distance. When a foundation of prayer is laid, He goes ahead of us to work on a hardened heart. Nothing is too hard for our Mediator. He can give them a dream, speak to them in the night, cause them to remember a story about us that they had forgotten, or make sure they cross paths with someone who can speak about us in a way that makes them softer.

Not only are the hearts of kings in God’s hands, but so is the heart of our nemesis.

You, Lord, are the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Amen

You have tried my heart; You have visited me by night. Psalm 17:3

God never gives divine insight for mere intrigue. He discloses His thoughts to someone so they can figure out why they were given such information. Are they to pray? Are they to speak an encouraging word? Are they to expose? Seeing is proactive.

The gift of divine sight, and the spiritual understanding that accompanies it, is built on the culmination of life experiences. God shapes a servant through years of practice runs. The gift is sharpened most through suffering. If you are a prophet who can prayerfully discern the mind and heart of God about a person or situation, you will agree that your gift has been personally expensive. But consider this too ~ the gift of divine eyesight is usually paired with another strong gift. 

• God often reveals a dream for His child to conceive a wise solution.
• God reveals danger so that His child can pray.
• God reveals the root of a problem so that truth can be discovered, embraced, and sin uprooted.
• God reveals the broken heart of another so that compassion and encouragement can arise.
• God reveals where people perish for lack of knowledge so that a teacher may arise.

What has God been showing you about a person or a situation? Perhaps that revelation has been painful, has arrested you in place, and you are confused. Assess your giftings and ask God to show you how you are to use the revelation as a catalyst for His glory and the advancement of the kingdom. God, in your story, has prepared you for such a time as this.

I have been tormented by what I see. Give me Your action plan. Amen

Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins, heals all your diseases, redeems your life from the pit, and crowns you with love and compassion. Psalm 103:2-4

God has always been an identity changer. One cannot be near someone like God without coming away different. The identity-changing nature of God has never been more evident than when He personally changed the names of people. But while God may not give new earthly names to every person, identities still change radically once we are adopted into His family. We are no longer aliens but residents of heaven. No longer enemies but friends. No longer cursed but blessed. No longer lost but saved. No longer rejected but chosen. No longer unclean but righteous.  Hey, the list is much longer than this and every single facet of transformation is stunning!

Have we really embraced our new identities? It’s hard to digest that we are no longer who we were, especially if people around us treat us as if nothing has changed. Satan is also bent on reinforcing, through hurtful circumstances, that we are the same old sinners. But God says differently. And because He’s the only consistent Truth-teller, I am encouraged to confess these truths on a daily basis. On a good day, it’s not hard. Oh, but on a bad day, it must be a moment-by-moment self-reminder.

What do I do if the truth feels fragile? I spend more time with the Name-Changer. If I get in proximity to my Father for any amount of time, the effect is always the same. I will come away differently. Taller. Assured. Resolute in my real identity.

Let me bask in the spiritual assurances of ownership that come from running home to You. Amen

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Our Father wants us to know that we are in a war and we are not home yet.  In the meantime, rest.

Resting is to catch my breath in God’s arms while the storm rages.  Resting is to settle my soul in His embrace while violence swirls. Resting is to collect my thoughts for my next steps in a posture of repose. Resting is to believe that even in the worst of things, He will have the last word.  Resting is to cling to the Victor when it appears Satan is winning, to compose a song of faith even in chaos.  Resting is to trust God when Satan would tell me I’ve been betrayed, to stay faithful when circumstances suggest He’s not been faithful. 

I rest in the character of God and not in the expectation that I will be delivered from pain. God sees what I cannot and His plan is redemptive though the present plotline appears senseless.  My life is hidden in Christ and, like Him, I am destined for glory.

You are my firm foundation in confusion, my rock of refuge in sinking sand.  Amen