Devotionals

Galatians 3

It's easy to get confused these days. "Out of control" isn't what we want to be. People who drink too much are said to be "out of control." Those who worry too much become emotionally "out of control." The same goes for those who go too far with anything: prescription drugs, food, fitness, sex, work—you name it.

Isaiah 51

My younger daughter and I sat and stared in silence. It had been well over 40 years since I'd seen the sight. For her, it was a first. It was a tiny, plain, unimpressive garage apartment, leaning and peeling with age. It was the place of my birth.

As the little South Texas town of El Campo faded in the rear-view mirror, the contrast between my life in the mid 1930s and my life today stood out in bold relief. I blurted out, "I feel like a turtle on a fence post." Startled, my daughter asked for an explanation.

Proverbs 13:4, 9; 20:4

I just looked up the definition of "thorough" in my dictionary. Mr. Webster says it means "carried through to completion, careful about detail, complete in all respects." Somehow, I find that a convicting definition. Few indeed are those who finish what they start—and even fewer do a complete job of it when they do finish a task.

Philippians 4:13-14

I honestly believe that "forgetting" is the hardest part of "forgiving." Forgetting is something shared with no other person. It's a solo flight. And all the rewards are postponed until eternity...but how great they will be on that day! Forgetting requires the servant to think correctly which means our full focus must be on the Lord and not on humanity. By God's grace, it can happen.

Ask yourself these two questions:

Is there someone or something I have refused to forget, which keeps me from being happy and productive?

Proverbs 22:6

Maybe it's because I just had another birthday. Maybe it's because I'm a granddad several times over. Or maybe it's because of a struggling young seminarian I met recently who wishes he had been higher on his parents' priority list than, say, fifth or sixth. He was hurried and ignored through childhood, then tolerated and misunderstood through adolescence, and finally expected to "be a man" without having been taught how.

Matthew 13

Stories transport us into another world. They hold our attention. They become remarkable vehicles for the communication of truth and meaningful lessons that cannot be easily forgotten. If a picture is better than a thousand words, a story is better than a million!

Some of the best stories are those spun from everyday life or from our past. Family histories are held together and handed down from generation to generation in stories. And these strong cords of memory actually become the ties that bind.

John 17

High-tech times lead to high-stress tension. The never-ending drive for more, mixed with the popular tendency to increase production and intensify involvement, leaves most folks in the workplace not only exhausted but dissatisfied.

Instead of Saturday being a change-of-pace day, it has become an opportunity to squeeze in a second job. And Sundays? A time for renewal and refreshment? You're smiling. No, it's the day most type-A high achievers start another to-do list in preparation for the new week.

Matthew 6

Jesus opened a five-gallon can of worms the day He preached His Sermon on the Mount. There wasn't a Pharisee within gunshot range who wouldn't have given his last denarius to have seen Him strung up by sundown. They hated Him because He refused to let them get away with their phoney religious drool!

Galatians 2:4-5

Few things turn our crank faster than being around big-minded, enthusiastic, broad-shouldered visionaries. They are positive, on the move, excited about exploring new vistas, inspired, and inspiring. While others are preoccupied with tiny tasks and nitpicking squabbles, these people see opportunity in every difficulty and helpful lessons in every setback.

Isaiah 54:4-5

Those servants who refuse to get bogged down in and anchored to the past are those who pursue the objectives of the future. People who do this are seldom petty. They are too involved in getting a job done to be occupied with yesterday's hurts and concerns. Very near the end of his full and productive life, Paul wrote: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). What a grand epitaph! He seized every day by the throat. He relentlessly pursued life.