Category: Daily Devotionals

You Are Now Who You Are In Heaven

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So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. Genesis 37:23

Joseph was stripped of his robe of honor. Jesus was stripped of his robe, too. The momentary humiliation didn’t change the destiny or the spiritual identity of either. Jesus stayed in touch with His divine favor but I suspect that Joseph did not. History would prove that the brother’s destruction of the robe of many colors impacted him greatly but, ultimately, it did nothing to stop Joseph’s ascension to a royal position in Egypt.  Their sin against him only propelled him to an exile that led to glory.

Jesus was God’s Son whether anyone acknowledged it or not. If the accusation flew that he was only the illegitimate son of Mary, Jesus was still God. When the crowd publicly humiliated him by accusing him of demonic possession, Jesus was still God. When His family eventually turned on Him and believed Him to be mentally unstable, Jesus was still God. When He hung on a Roman cross and died the most degrading death in the Roman culture, His spiritual status did not change. Jesus was still God.

If ever there were a time I needed to settle my spiritual identity, it’s now. This world is  growing more and more unfriendly to the name of Jesus Christ and anyone who is associated with Him will experience discrimination. If a barb from a parent can lay me low for four decades, how will I survive if a community ostracizes me? I will remember that I’m a much loved, cherished child of God.  If unfair criticism from a local spiritual leader sends me into hiding, how will I sustain the intentional diatribe of non-Christians who are salivating to misjudge?  I will remember that I’m a much loved, cherished child of God.

No ill treatment in this world can change my status in heaven nor will it change my status on earth as far as how God sees me.  His opinion and conferred status is eternal and the only honor that matters.  It trumps all dis-honor.  The degradation of others should be discounted; it will pass away.  While earth bestows the basest kind of shame, God bestows the heavenliest kind of honor.

The only way to stay in touch with these beautiful realities is to read a Word that is eternal, not temporary. Whatever it says, I can stake on it being true forever and ever. Today, I may be Joseph in a pit. Tomorrow, I will be reigning with Christ.

Every time Jesus was crushed, He looked up until He felt Your favor. I lock my eyes on You today. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Knowing My Perfect Storm

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And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused. Genesis 39:7-8

God has Satan on a leash. He can’t do more than God allows. Temptations test my faith. I’m required to dig deeply and use spiritual faith muscles that need strength training. Satan never tempts me just once, either. When I take hold of God’s grace and flee one kind of temptation, Satan will come back with yet another variety. He is relentless and doesn’t play fair. He is intent on concocting the perfect storm so that I will have no willpower. He’s after my kryptonite.

Satan tried to use pain to drive a wedge between Joseph and his God. It didn’t work. (But it does with most people and it certainly did with me. A low threshold of pain causes strong Christians to fall into disbelief.) Yet, Joseph stood strong. He stayed tender, teachable, and resolute in his faith.

When the catalyst of pain failed, he turned to pleasure. Day after day, Potiphar’s wife wooed Joseph. She was probably beautiful and Joseph was, most likely, lonely. That he didn’t give in to her was nothing short of miraculous.

Satan is intuitive. He is also strategic, cunning and patient. He spies, watching my life to assess where I am vulnerable. He knows my story and knows my wounding patterns. I can’t afford for him to know more about my weaknesses than I do. Perhaps this is why David was so intent on asking God to search his heart. Knowing himself as God did was critical to his spiritual victory.

Under what circumstances would you fall? Do you know? What are your unique longings, and if someone or something could fulfill them right now, would you be tempted? It’s not a mistake that Paul defines sin as trading the glory of Christ for something else. For Joseph, it could have been a forbidden affair with Potiphar’s wife. What trinket holds allure for you over the value of treasuring Christ?

Don’t let me run from the truth about myself. Show me who I am through Your eyes. Deliver me from any evil that is being customized for my defeat. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Would I Dare Say This?

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When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree.” Genesis 40:16-19

I am one from whom others often seek advice. Questions like, “Why am I like this?” “What do you think the problem is?” “Why am I stuck and not progressing?” “Have I done something wrong?” “Is God punishing me?” I love to take someone’s life puzzle and make divine sense of the pieces.

But having said that, the hardest thing for anyone with a gift of mercy is to give bad news. If a mercy gift is accompanied by a prophetic gift, obedience becomes difficult. God gives insight that can be difficult to speak. Mercy wants to minimize the damage and cushion the blow.

Joseph’s obedience was put to the test so many times on his rise to blessing. Two cellmates, both former servants to the royal court, share two different dreams. Joseph happily told the first that he would be blessed and reinstated to his former position. Upon that good news, the other man shared his dream. Joseph was instantly in a dilemma. There was no good news about the 2nd dream. He would not be restored to honor; he would be hung. At that point, Joseph could have claimed ignorance but he didn’t fail to give the fateful interpretation.

Can God count on me to speak the truth when truth is unwelcome? Can He depend on me to paint an accurate picture of what’s ahead for a person, or an organization, if being honest threatens relationships? I will admit that this is a struggle for me. I’d rather stay silent and pray than speak up to inflict life-saving wounds. I’m faced with a number of these dilemmas right now. It seems that no matter where I turn in ministry at the moment, I need an infusion of holy boldness.

For any like me, know that I am praying for you.

Make me Your prophet. Trembling but obedient. In Jesus’ name, Amen

She Wasn’t Even Afraid

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By faith, after Moses was born, he was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict. Hebrews 11:23

Fear is Satan’s biggest tactic to destroy the children of God.  Since we were never created to encounter evil nor to be able to fully understand the depths of depravity, evil scares us.  We can’t figure out the maze and the minefields of it.  “Don’t be afraid” is a frequent message from God throughout the old testament. In the Gospels, Jesus continued to encourage faith and told many people, on many occasions, not to fear.  I think I’m finally getting the message that I should be able to encounter evil and not be moved with terror.

This short verse about baby Moses and his parents is one that has escaped me all the times I’ve read this chapter.  How did I miss something so shocking!  Pharaoh decreed that all baby boys should be drowned.  Yocheved, Moses mother, hid him for a while after he was born.  When he was too big to conceal any longer, she conceived a plan that would culminate in him being raised in the palace.  The astounding thing is that his mother, though pregnant with a son, did not fear the king’s edict.  I can understand now why she would be mentioned for her faith.

Threats by someone powerful can be crippling.  Those with the muscles to exert force over others, including politicians and governments, can send the powerless into a perpetual state of fear and dread.  Yocheved, a Hebrew, a woman, in an Egyptian culture could teach us a lot about an unshakeable trust in God.  Was her lack of fear a form of denial?  No. She made plans to hide her baby. Was her lack of fear due to the fact that  Pharaoh’s power had been over-exaggerated?  No. He had the midwives murder thousands upon thousands of infants.  Her lack of fear was due to the fact that she saw this pivotal moment in history, saw the beauty of her son, and perceived the possibility of him winning the heart of some Egyptian mother.  I also believe she knew the risks and trusted God with the outcome.

The powerful still make threats ~ inspired by their father, their devil.  We never know which ones are empty threats either.  But trust in God’s sovereignty, a firm knowing that no one can erase my destiny and cut my life short because my Father oversees my comings and goings, means that I can rest.  Some people are bolder than others.  I’ve always been prone to fear and worry but there will always be something that makes even the robust shake and tremble.  At that point, whether we have faith in God will be our lifeline!  Our ability to trust Him will have been determined by how much I fed my faith; how much, or how little, I invested in our relationship.  The time to prepare for the dark is when I’m in the light.  You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  I Corinthians 5:5

I refuse to finish my life with fear winning.  Keep training me.  Amen

When Jesus Doesn’t Feel Like Enough

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You let your mouth loose in evil And your tongue frames deceit. “You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. “These things you have done and I kept silence.  Psalm 50:19-21

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.

Siblings can spend their lives at odds.  The tension is never resolved.  Family inheritances only add to further alienate relationships.  Even in old age, the stuff of youth is rehearsed.  A bystander in their thirties marvels that brothers and sisters in their seventies are still arguing.  Not until they get much older will they understand that 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

Journal Question:  What memory from childhood still haunts you?  What is so unfair that the hurt it generates eats away at your flesh like a cancer?  What are you trying to extract from another family member that you could abandon today for what Jesus offers?  Today can be the day you turn a page in your history.  How badly do you want freedom?

Save

My Worst Of The Worst

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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

No! I’m Not Giving Up On Him!

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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

“He’ll Love Me This Time!”

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And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Genesis 29:32-34

Leah is in an arranged marriage and is desperate for love. She believes that if she does just the right thing, her husband will love her. Every son that she bears him, she believes, will earn her the affection she craves.

In this case, Jacob never dangled the carrot of approval. He never said to her, “If you give me three sons, my heart is yours.” But many do make false promises and have no intention of keeping them. There is no hurt like the hurt that comes after broken promises. Yet, in spite of that, there’s something in me that keeps trying – even in disillusionment.

I want unconditional love. I’m born that way. The only person who offers it, without me having to do anything to earn it, is God. But because I can’t see Him and feel the divine hugs He offers, I’ll trade Him in for the counterfeits. I’ll transfer all my needs to a human being, and some of the time, to a deeply fallen one who has a history of promising love that never materializes.  At least with me, it doesn’t. The illusion is born when I see this person loving someone else quite well. I then believe that this love can also be mine.

Leah saw the light in Jacob’s eyes for Rachel. She saw the joy with which he labored for seven years without a thought for the sacrifice. She saw that he was a good man, an unselfish man, with a huge heart. It would be natural for her to believe that she could earn the favor of a man like this.

Whose love are you trying to win today? How many years have you tirelessly performed, believing that there will be payoff? Whether the love you seek comes from a pretty good man like Jacob or a godless trickster the likes of whom will break someone’s heart easily, the lesson is the same. Turning inside to earn another’s unconditional love is an empty pursuit. The only one who can affect the deep hole in your soul is God. That won’t mean that you’ll cease to love the one you’ve been enslaved to.  It will mean that your love will be expressed as an outpouring of the love you enjoy in God. The payoffs are these: 1.) You will know unconditional love and be at peace because of what God offers. And, 2.) You will no longer live handicapped because someone withholds what you believe you need to survive.

Wean me off any idolatrous relationship. Amen

When God Makes Our Enemies Fear Us

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For by You I can run upon a troop; And by my God I can leap over a wall.  Psalm 18:29

How does God protect us if we are His child? He nudges us to take a different route, buy a different house, even make a different friend. He’ll send angels to stand guard to keep us from harm. What’s little known is how God directly warns our enemies to stay away from us. He shuts the ‘mouth of the lions’ and puts a watch on their tongue. Certainly not all the time though. He didn’t even do this every single time for Jesus. Like Him, we will be hated and are called to carry a cross. But God has a destiny for each of us, a purpose for which we were born. He will take us safely through all He has ordained for us to do and protect us when His purposes are threatened.

Some examples ~ God came to Laban in his own Aramean tongue and told him what to say to Jacob. He came to the heathen King Abimelech to keep him from touching Sarah, Abraham’s wife. He also spoke to Balaam to prevent him from cursing the children of Israel.  God shut the mouths of Jesus enemies after one of his public sermons. Though they wanted to kill him, he walked right through the group and disappeared.

I can know that spiritual enemies are on God’s leash. No one will prevail over God’s child if it is outside of His will. He will intervene somehow even if it means speaking directly to our enemy. Have you ever encountered a dark person who seemed afraid of you? Perhaps you were confused about it. In these post-Christian days where society is rapidly deteriorating, we should be savvy enough to realize that this will become commonplace. The more oppressed the person, the more sparks will be generated when a child of God is in the same room.

A closing thought however. The safest child of God is an obedient one. I shouldn’t expect God’s protection if I’ve taken a self-willed detour. God made it clear from the beginning. ‘Obey me and you’ll be blessed. Disobey me and you’ll be led into captivity.’ God does protect but I can only count on God having my back if I am walking in Jesus’ footsteps.

It’s humbling to think about all the times you restrained my enemies yet I accused you of being absent from my life. Again, I’m sorry. How I praise You for being a present and active Father. Amen

The Tip Of The Sword

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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