Devotionals

Psalm 37:3

If you wish to be a man or woman of God who desires to live a godly life that will leave its mark upon this world, you must stand in the shadow of your Saviour. 

Trust Him to work through the trials you encounter, through the extreme circumstances you cannot handle on your own. He is still the God of impossible situations. He does what no earthly individual can do.

You must approach the impossible with calmness and contentment, with gentleness and self-control, with faith and humility.

2 Timothy 1:5

Paul knew Timothy’s heritage. He knew that the things that characterized the grandmother and the mother characterized Timothy. That’s the way sincere faith works.

Listen to this, moms! Please read my words carefully.

A church, a Christian school, a circle of Christian friends can deposit facts into heads. But they cannot translate truth into authentic living. Those avenues can’t make it “real.”

Truth doesn’t weave itself into real fleshed-out life until it flows through you.

2 Corinthians 4:7

Do you know what an earthen vessel is? It's nothing more than a clay pot.

That's a reference to our bodies and our abilities in the strength of our flesh. That is all you and I have to offer God...a pot. A perishable container.

You may be like brittle, delicate china. You break and chip easily, and you could show the glue marks because of those broken times. 

Then again, you may be a rugged, scarred hunk of heavy pottery—not very attractive, but boy, are you useful. 

Ecclesiastes 9:11

Proverbs 13:18 

Discipline is one of the most hated terms of our times...right alongside patience and self-control. But have you noticed how often it comes up in the testimonies of those who win?

Here are some key uses of discipline:

No runner completes the training or a race without it.

No weight-loss program is maintained without it.

No human body is kept fit without it.

No mind is sharpened without it.

No temptation is overcome without it.

Psalm 140:7

If you determine to live according to biblical standards, be sure that your enemy is seeking to devour you. You will encounter the darts of the Devil. 

Someone put it this way: "Whoever desires to walk with God walks right into the crucible." All who choose godliness live in a crucible. The tests will come. But all is not lost. Far from it! 

Our great hope and assurance is that the One in us is greater than the one in the world.

Romans 11:33-34

The New American Standard declares that last phrase: "How unfathomable His ways!" 

Maybe you've come to discover this in your own experience. You've tried to "trace out His path" and you can't pull it off. You've tried to fathom His "unfathomable" ways and you can't. It just doesn't compute. It blows your microprocessor. 

Ecclesiastes 3:22

We usually can do very little to change our lot. We can only change our reaction to our lot. 

We cannot change our past, for example. I don't care how brilliant we are, our past stands in concrete. We cannot erase it. 

But we can learn today to see our past from God's perspective, and use the disadvantages of yesterday in our life—today and forever.

Romans 14:13 

Each one of us belongs to the same Lord. When we stop dictating, it is easier for others to mature as they follow the Lord's directing.

Freeing others means we never assume a position we're not qualified to fill. This, in one sentence, is enough to stop any person from judging another. We're not qualified. We lack full knowledge. 

How often we have jumped to wrong conclusions, made judgmental statements, only to find out later how off base we were...then wished we could cut off our tongue.

What keeps us from being qualified to judge?

Prayer is never something we do to be seen. It loses its whole purpose if it becomes a platform to impress others. 

It is a private act of devotion, not a public demonstration of piety. According to Jesus, it belongs in the closet of our lives, an act done in secret.

Christ never saw prayer as pleading or begging or hammering away at the throne of God. 

No, the Father knows His children, He knows what we need. Therefore, there is no reason to think that connecting with Him requires special words excessively repeated.