Category: Daily Devotionals

Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn.  Isaiah 51:1

When Jesus talked with the woman at the well in Samaria, He took intentional steps to prepare her to receive Truth.  They began by talking of the mundane; water, thirst, and drinking.  He made a segueway to its spiritual counterpart; spiritual water, spiritual thirst, and the possibility of a drink that would forever quench thirst.  Jesus conversed about all of this because it needed to precede the revelation of Himself.  Thirst needed to overtake her and wake up her heart ~ for she had stopped dreaming of a Savior long ago.

She came alive as Jesus talked. She rose to engage Him in animated conversation.  Thirsty, she finally voiced a desire to what He was offering.  “Give me this drink,” she said.  But Jesus didn’t answer this way…. “I’m speaking of myself and this is how you drink of me.”  Instead, He immediately brought up the subject of her husband which unearthed the most painful of any possible admissions she might have to make.  She had been married five times and lived with a sixth man.  I often wondered why Jesus’ strategy was to change the subject. Perhaps it was to put His finger on the most painful place in her life.  By doing so, the message was this ~ If you want the most profound encounter possible with Me, you must drink of Me where you need Me the most.  Because she didn’t shy away, she received new life.

What is the worst part of your story? Have you dared unearth the need associated with the memory?  Where does it feel risky to trust God?  What would Jesus say if He sat on the edge of the well with you.  “I saw you at twenty four when you wanted to give up.”  Or, “When you were little, scared and hiding, thinking no one cared, did you know that I was there?”  In these crises of faith, in the darkest places of unbelief, Jesus calls us to a new awareness that there is such a thing as Living Water.  If we drink of Him, we will never need look again to fickle sources to give us what we think we need to feel whole.  We will find Him to be enough.

The Christian life begins when I learn the truth about God, when I learn the truth about myself, and apply the truth about God to the truth about me.  The Gospel is life changing only when it starts with great spiritual need.

Lord, I want to know the hope to which You have called me and Your incomparably great power for me if I believe in You.  Amen

But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life.  Hebrews 10:39

There are some beautiful stories in this world.  One plotline goes like this ~ 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.

Think of the strongest child of God you know.  Where was their strength born?  In the trenches where their faith was tested.  Faith begins as a weak muscle.  The more it is exercised, the stronger it becomes.

The writer of Hebrews says that those who have faith obtain life.  Immediately, I picture heaven.  Faith in Christ guarantees me eternal life but this phrase can also be translated ~ Faith preserves my soul.  That’s not life-deferred.  That’s life-now.

Preservation is promised to my soul ~ the homeplace of my feelings, thoughts, and desires.

• Faith in Jesus thrives in my heart.  Fear and doubt don’t infect my mood.
• Faith in Jesus dominates my mind.  Lies will not overtake my thoughts.
• Faith in Jesus shapes what I want. I desire Him above my own comfort, above anything and anyone that promises a counterfeit relief from the pain.

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

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

The point of a sword is sharp and it’s meant to penetrate a target.  It is not a club.  It is not a gun you fire from a distance.  It’s a weapon meant to get up close and strike a blow with precision.

This fine instrument, the sword of the Word of God, has limitless power.  It is something that can both build and tear down, heal and wound, create and destroy.  When I use it correctly under the direction of God’s Spirit, I will see all of the above and more.  It also is precise as it penetrates the heart of my sin, or my unbelief, or my challenge for which I have no direction.  Wherever it’s applied, the results of kingdom-sized.

It’s not that words are powerful in and of themselves.  The WORD has power because the Word is a person.  When I speak the Words of God, He is using my mouth to declare what He wants to speak into my world.  For every problem, there is a kingdom narrative to counteract it.  For every pain, there is a word to comfort.  For every temptation, there is an encouragement to overcome.  How will I know the right scripture to speak?  In some instances, it may be pretty obvious. But in others, where situations are complicated, problem solving and strategizing that is led by the Spirit of God is required.   Most of life is messy and I can’t possibly diagnose what’s wrong without the wisdom of the Spirit.  I also can’t put my finger on the scriptures I need to speak out loud, and in prayer, without His leading.

Some years back while teaching, a woman came up to me afterward to thank me for encouraging our group to pray with more precision and strategy.  She said that she was going to assemble some scriptures to pray about her marriage.  This sounded noble enough but when I asked her to tell me more, she explained that her husband had left her for a much younger woman but that God had promised her she’d get her husband back.  She was going to try to find scriptures that would support what she wanted – the breakup of her husband’s second marriage.  We had a long talk after that and I explained that scripture was not meant to be self-serving.  The Word is to be used to accomplish God’s will in this world.  God’s will and her heart’s desires were not aligned. I encouraged her to pray that her husband would surrender to Christ and be a godly husband in his new marriage.

 God said, My word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  Isaiah 55:11   The exciting thing is that God desires to use me to bring His kingdom to earth.  “Thy kingdom come,” Jesus taught me to pray. But this privilege is conferred, and I become aware that I am commissioned to do God’s work ~ His way ~ with humble submission to His authority.  I am not Barney Fife with a weapon in my hands.

You spent your earthly ministry quoting the Old Testament.  You knew what to recall and how to apply it.  I need Your Spirit to guide me in all things.  Amen

They [strangers and aliens] desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.  Hebrews 11:16

Shame is a powerful catalyst.  Volumes of books have been written about it.  Countless hours of counseling have been dedicated to those who live under the curse of it.  I’ve had a decade or two when it plagued me badly.  Shame tempts us to hide our true selves from others and from God. While the thought of this is tragic, there’s an even more disturbing thing to consider. Can God be ashamed of me?

I won’t wait any further to answer it.  He is not ashamed.  Let that sink in if you’ve always feared He is embarrassed by you or something you’ve done.  On the days I sin, He does not change His mind about me. I have been declared forgiven and before Him, I am righteous.  Though I will stumble and fall, though I will grieve His heart many times before I die, I still walk in the perfection imputed to me after the death of Jesus.  God continues to build a city for those He has redeemed through the blood of the Lamb.  The hammer never falters when He sees me make bad choices.  The Father never winces and wonders if He should change His mind about the promises He’s made to forgive me and call me His own.  Construction continues without interruptions and without a trace of regret.  Covenant love rules the present, and the future, no matter what failures unfold.

One of my very favorite scriptures is Psalm 34:5. Those who look to Him are radiant, their faces are never covered with shame.  Not all faces without shame are radiant.  They may be stoic and just plain unreadable.  But God’s radical love gives more than enough reasons for eyes to shine and for faces to reveal the overwhelming joy of sins forgiven and the anticipation of eternity in God’s presence.

All of this makes me examine the times I was reticent to openly declare that You are my Lord and Savior.  Forgive me.  Amen

Come, my people, enter your inner rooms, and lock your doors behind you.  Hide for just a brief moment until the indignation passes over.  Isaiah 26:20

When I am outside the safety of my home, there will be exposure and, oftentimes, danger.  I’ve been out walking when a thunderstorm comes out of nowhere.  There was a rush to get home.  I’ve been out in the middle of the lake when unexpected bad weather descended.  There was a rush to get to port.  I’ve been in an airport when there was a lockdown.  There was an urgency to find inconspicuous places of safety.

God tells His people that, in this world, there will be times of trouble.  There will also be times of judgement.  What should God’s children do in the middle of it?  Retreat into physical and spiritual safety until they pass.

• The Israelites stayed inside their homes while the death angel ravaged the land of Egypt.
• Rahab, having declared her spiritual allegiance to the God of Israel, nestled in place while Jericho was being destroyed all around her.
• Noah took shelter in the ark when the floodwaters rose.

These safe harbors can be physical places like the security of a sanctified home but they are also spiritual places of refuge.  Throughout COVID, we are sheltering in place but God’s people are also sheltering their souls in God.  Jesus’ name is a strong tower and those who run to Him are safe.  My spirit, the place where the Spirit of God resides, has many rooms. I find that it is expansive the more time I spend there in prayer.  How could I begin to explore the depths of His dwelling place!

Every promise is a place of shelter.  Every righteous character trait of Jesus is a place to hide.  Every whispered assurance of love is a sanctuary and like the cavernous cathedrals across this world, His voice echoes through the chambers of my soul.

The stuff of this world drives me to safety and I am to live there until the trouble is over.  While there may be a respite coming from COVID, there will only be something else to take its place.  Until Jesus comes, sin will reign upon the earth and its bedfellows will besiege earth’s inhabitants.  Disease, broken promises, skewed power plays, loss, death.  As a child of God, I must learn to hide in the Rock of Ages.  “Show me your glory” must be my theme song and heart’s desire.

Seeing the glory of God in prayer puts iron in my soul.  Basking in His perfection defers my hope until a future day when God will make all things new.

Lord, until then, hide me.  My song of joy is sung to You only.  Amen