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- Will of God? - Will of God? We read about the will of God and we hear it referred to in many a worship service and sermon. We may struggle to discern the will of God and decisions that we have to make. In our prayers we may close with, your Will be done. What does the will of God mean? We hear a lot about that, we frequently pray that we follow the will of God, what, in your everyday life, does that mean. Can you define it in practical terms? We can say that the will of God is following the lessons that Jesus taught. God has a plan for you and me. Isn’t that comforting? Continue reading
- The Light Within - The Light Within: Thomas Kelly, in his book A Testament of Devotion, has a chapter entitled "The Light Within." Kelly writes that deep within us all there is an amazing ‘inner sanctuary of the soul’, a Holy Place, what he calls a Divine Center. In that Divine Center, there resides a voice. It is that voice, that we sometimes call conscience, which we turn to, continuously, whether we are aware of it or not. Kelly goes on to say that the Light Within is what "illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the face of man". Continue reading
- Thanksgiving Day - The Love of God: Have you thought about this – Thanksgiving is an action, it is giving thanks for all that we received. It is also a testimony to generosity, sharing what we have been graced with to those who have less than we. Today's devotional is a short collection of writings on God's work within us on this a day of gratitude. Continue reading
- Tuesday, November 22 - Who Do You Say I Am?: Ask the right question. Paul was confronted with many questions in his ministry to the Galatians. Some were contained within challenges from the Judaizers who were trying to incorporate Jewish law into Christianity. Who do you say that I am?’ We are told to make it personal, don’t just repeat Peter’s word. Confront your relationship with Jesus and find the truth. Let the Holy Spirit lead you into that truth. Are we modern-day "Judaizers", trying to blend our will with God's to make things just a little more comfortable? Continue reading
- Wisdom and Choice - Wisdom and Choice: The Daily Stoic reminded us of George Washington’s favorite saying: “Many mickles make a muckle.” The author goes on to explain that it was a Scottish proverb that illustrates a truth that we know – things add up. Even little ones. Even one day at a time, builds. If we looked with uncompromising eyes at what we do day in and day out, over time, we see things that will shape us into the future, for better or for worse. Think about it. What you read. Your daily routine. The training you have had. The rules you follow. The habits you cultivate day to day and practiced over a lifetime. All those, taken together, with love and compassion, can create greatness and a good life. Conversely, anger, isolation and an unforgiving nature can create a ‘nothingness’ and a life of sadness. Wisdom. Continue reading
- Faith Part 3: Faith and Works - Faith Part 3: Faith and Works: How would you define faith? When you dig into God’s Word, it seems that the idea or the Word of faith has multiple meanings. In Hebrews 11:1, we see that the central idea of faith—is confidence or trust. In the Bible, the object of faith is God and his promises. That does raise a question: How is our faith visible? James is tough, he is making a strong point when he says faith that doesn’t show itself by good works is no faith at all. Continue reading
- Faith Part 2: Faith vs. Faithful - FAithe Part 2: Faith vs. Faithful: Jesus calls us for our “Little Faith”, then he reassures us that “if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed…nothing will be impossible for you”. If we are such slow learners, why take so much time with us? How about God’s love for us? Oh, wait, that requires faith, doesn’t it? Can we take it on “faith”, a faith that is so little, so skimpy? Yes, we can and must. God’s love is a free gift, why do we even debate? There is difference between faith and faithful. If our trust in Christ is reflected in our everyday lives, then, yes, we are being faithful. Continue reading
- Faith Part 1. Ye of Little Faith - Faith Part 1: Ye of Little Faith: I believe all of us who are reading devotionals profess faith in our Lord. I have a great deal of empathy for the disciples, for they were going through a difficult phase of growing up into their faith, the same tract that we’ve all experienced or we are experiencing now. It was hard for us to trust something we could not see, cannot feel and have not watched as it had an impact on our lives. I doubt whether Jesus had second thoughts about who He selected as disciples, maybe Judas, but I doubt even that. When He said O you of little faith, that wasn’t said as a derogatory, it was a measure of where they were in their faith development. Yes, their faith was new, but Jesus knew, long before Erik Erickson, that it was a stage, a phase, and He would strengthen them. He saw beyond the bend in the road, He knew what was coming. What about you and me? Where are we in our faith development? Continue reading
- Wait on the Lord - Wait on the Lord: I have no idea how many times I have sat in a doctor’s/dentist’s waiting room, waiting and waiting. There is a difference between waiting for an appointment and what the scripture is telling us to be strong and wait for the Lord. What does it mean to “wait on the Lord”? In practical terms, waiting on the Lord means spending time in prayer, seeking Him. It means standing firm on what God has already promised. To wait on the Lord is to wait on God’s answer, His voice, His promise. Wait on the Lord is as simple as - Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Continue reading
- War within Yourself - War within Yourself: Somewhere, deep within, a voice is telling you “You’re not good enough” and that “you will never amount to anything”, and it sounds like your own voice, your 7-year old voice, or 11, or perhaps your 17-year-old voice, and you believed it. You carried that scar with you as you grew into adulthood. Then, more recently, another voice, the Voice of God, saying “Come to me, my dear child, you are weary and burdened, come to me and I will give you rest for your soul”. The voice tells you to take His yoke upon you and learn from Him” and you can tell from the tone of His Words that He is gentle and humble and you know that is the better road to go. And as you come to Him, the other voice is stilled, for a time. You hear, again, God speaking: “My beloved, I have been waiting for you these many years. I AM Your good, good Abba FATHER and you belong in My Family. Continue reading
- Long-life Lament? - Long-life Lament? So much of Psalm 90, “A Prayer of Moses”, reads like it should be part of Lamentations. It speaks about God’s anger consuming us all of our days. Regardless of how many years we live, they pass under the wrath of God. There are phrases like “we finish our years with a moan”, and “the best of our years, are but trouble and sorrow”. This Psalm is attributed to Moses as author. I like the idea that a saint is just a sinner who fell down, but who got up with the help of the Lord. Continue reading
- Second-hand God? - Second-hand God? Even with two books published and two more likely to come out in the next two years, it is still hard for me to accept the title ‘author’. One of my favorite Christian writers was/is JB Phillips (may he rest in peace). He writes about a “second-hand god” and argues that most people have a somewhat restricted view of life, and they rely, to a large extent, on the vicarious experience of life that they find in reading books, or going to movies, or plays. That way they come to know detectives, serial killers, children’s thoughts, lovers, abusers of animals, etc., but not really. I could tell you a lot about Barabbas, or Jericho Road, or even Jesus at Jacob’s Well in Samaria, and none of it is first-hand, of course. Biblical research is not the same as physical encounters. Continue reading
- The “What Ifs…” of Life - The “What Ifs…” of Life: What is your response as life leads you along a sometimes bumpy road? We know how our lives can change and we are confronted with challenges that test our faith. We may wonder how He is going to save us from one difficulty after another, temptations, a health challenge, a loss of our loved one, or whatever. Yet, He does save us, if we would but pay attention. There are times when our common sense must give way to the gratitude and praise of our faith, when our “What ifs” become thank you, Jesus! Continue reading
- Give Unto Yourself - Give Unto Yourself: “Meet Me in morning stillness, while the earth is fresh with the dew of My Presence. Worship Me in the beauty of holiness. Sing love songs to My Holy Name. As you give yourself to Me, My Spirit swells within you till you are flooded with divine Presence. The world's way of pursuing riches is grasping and hoarding. You attain My riches by letting go and giving. The more you give yourself to Me and My ways, the more I fill you with inexpressible, heavenly Joy.” Sarah Young Continue reading
- Faith Questions - Faith Questions: Have you ever kept a journal? Or maybe just a notebook of your thoughts, inspirational ideas that come to you, to-do-lists to remind you of things that you must do? Or maybe you keep one close by when you are doing your meditation readings or Bible study? At present, I’m completing still another notebook and as I page through it I came across an interesting phenomena -- lots of questions about my faith walk. Let me share just a few to stimulate some thinking. Do you have enough drama in your life or do you think Christians need to have an opinion on about everything? How can I expect God’s strength if I don’t live by his Commandments? So many other questions, some have answers, some are designed to get us thinking. Continue reading
- No Grounds for Fear? - No Grounds for Fear? We worry, we fret, our minds are so filled with fearful things that we can’t sleep. We avoid conflict, so conflict never gets resolved, and that stays on our minds and becomes something else to worry about. Overcoming our fears is something that we have learned in fits and starts along the way. As we mature, we begin to realize that some of our fears have absolutely no substance. At some point in our Christian walk we began to realize that there is real strength in knowing that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and indeed is that ever-present help in times of trouble. Continue reading
- A Christian Halloween - A Christian Halloween –By Matney Woodard: Unless you live a very sheltered life, it is almost impossible to avoid being influenced by the Halloween season. It is now one of the biggest holidays for retailers, and a huge money maker for Hollywood. Scary movies, witchcraft, demonic activity, the occult, are all being promoted by the media, entertainment, and pop culture. All of these in some way introduce fear into people’s lives. Fear is the opposite of faith. The root of ALL fear is doubt, or unbelief in God. It is your faith that pleases God. Continue reading
- Yikes! - Yikes! Have you ever taken an honest and deep look into the dark reaches of your soul? All those hidden things that your sense of honor or pride or shame, you just couldn’t, wouldn’t reveal? Yes, yikes, is a good way to put it. We want to keep those things all tucked inside, so there’s no possibility that someone may see, may know that about us. Or the goblins will get ya if ya don’t watch out!!! Continue reading
- Old Testament Jesus? - Old Testament Jesus? You say that Jesus is not mentioned in the Old Testament? Are you looking with honest and spiritual eyes? One of the beautiful things about Jesus being the fulfillment of the law is that the Old Testament points directly to him as the Messiah. Please note, it is not like we threw out the Old Testament or rewrote it once Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Granted, the New Testament is added to God’s story, but remember that both are testaments to the truth of who God is. Continue reading
- Safety - Safety: Feeling safe is the doorway to happiness. How can one be happy if you are experiencing anxiety, fear? We long for safe places. Remember yesterday when you were in peaceful safety and did not worry about an unseen evil? Maybe a virus? Remember? Well, that peace that you felt, that safety you told yourself you rested upon? Those all came from our Lord and Savior. Remember, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty”. Get that? Those who live in the shelter (within the Word). How about “Those who trust in the Lord shall renew…” Continue reading
