Devotionals

Habakkuk 2:19–20

Most noises in church don’t bug me. I’ve heard ‘em all.

People snoring. Babies crying. Rain falling. Crickets chirping. Sound systems popping. Toilets flushing. Offering and communion plates dropping. Sirens screaming, and cars speeding by outside. Kids yelling, and cell phones ringing inside. Hymnals hitting a bunch of piano keys. Organists standing up on a foot full of bass notes. Coughing. Sneezing. Blowing. Laughing. Crying. Shouting. Whispering. Gasping. Yawning. Clapping.

James 3:1–2

Words. Words. Words. We have become “too wordy” (as my mother used to put it), much too verbal in our faith, which explains our excessive interest in meetings. Whatever happened to solitude...to silence? And when did we get the idea that more information leads to deeper consecration? On the contrary, many words tend to dilute a godly walk.

Galatians 1:6–7

1 Peter 5:5–7

For insight on worldly success, you could comb through hundreds of books on the subject. Let me save you some time by offering you advice on finding God’s perspective. This passage was written by Peter, who learned first-hand from the Master Life Planner how to find true success:

Psalm 51:12–15

Joseph suffered cruel treatment from his vengeful brothers and devastating consequences from a false accusation. He could have languished in the dungeon, eaten up with bitterness. Joseph saw a better way—he saw God’s sovereign hand through the pain. Because he did, he later stood before his betrayers filled with nothing but forgiveness. That sincere ingredient freed him from any thought of retaliation or revenge.

Forgiveness is the song of the soul set free!

1 John 5:11–13

Being lost is a terrifying experience. A person’s head spins as panic creeps up, shouting threats like, “You’ll never find your way!” or “It’s impossible!” Fear clutches at you.

Ephesians 5:1–2

Following the sixth day of creation, the Lord God deliberately stopped working. He rested. It wasn’t that there was nothing else He could have done. It certainly wasn’t because He was exhausted. Omnipotence never gets tired! He hadn’t run out of ideas, for omniscience knows no mental limitations. He could easily have made more worlds, created an infinite number of other forms of life, and created multiple millions of galaxies beyond what He did.

But He didn’t. He stopped. He deliberately stopped working and started resting.

Matthew 6:25–27

Now here’s a rhyme I’ll never understand:

Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?
I’ve been to London to visit the Queen.
Pussycat, pussycat, what did you there?
I frightened a little mouse under her chair.

Luke 5:13–16

In our work-worshipping society, being still is no small task. Many have cultivated such an unrealistic standard of high-level achievement that a neurotic compulsion to perform, to produce, to accomplish the maximum is now the rule rather than the exception. We’ve lost the value of solitude.

Acts 19:17–21

Transitions in life have a way of either stalling our progress or keeping us alert to God’s purposes. Transitions are usually unexpected, sometimes shocking us to the core. We ask questions like, “Where did that come from?” or “How in the world did I not see that coming?” Other transitions we foresee, and that allows the opportunity to prepare...as when your last child heads off to college or when you’re in the last stretch of your career, nearing retirement.