Daily Devotionals

1 Kings 19

A severe case of ingrown eyeballs strikes all of us every once in a while. In both dramatic and subtle ways, the stubborn enemy of our souls whispers sweet little nothings in our ears. He reminds us of how unappreciated and ill-treated we are...how important yet overlooked...how gifted yet ignored...how capable yet unrecognized . . . how bright yet eclipsed . . . how valuable yet unrewarded.

John 8:12; Matthew 5:13

God calls us to be salt-and-light Christians in a bland, dark society. We need to remember salt must not lose its taste and light must not be hidden. Let me suggest three statements that declare and describe how to fulfil this role.

"I am different." We should not become like the world. We must guard against being sucked into the prevailing culture and conforming to society's expectations.

Psalm 90

Last fall one day at the church, I spotted a visiting gentleman who was shaking hands with a half-dozen folks he’d never met before. Then he looked at me, and with a grin and a twinkle, he whipped out his hand. It was a hand you could strike a match on, toughened by decades of rugged toil.

"You look like a man who enjoys life. What do you do for a living?" I asked.

"Me? Well, I'm a farmer from back in the Midwest."

"Really? I guess I'm not surprised, since you've got hands like a tractor tire."

Lamentations 3:25

"Lord, I'm back and I diligently seek you." How many times have we said this? This time stop talking and sit silently. Wait patiently, seek diligently, sit silently. That means you need to pour out your heart and then deliberately be quiet. Spend a full day in quietness.

Ecclesiastes 3:4; Proverbs 17:22

The Monday Night Football broadcasting team turns the Swindoll family room into a stadium on Monday nights. That's one part of my week when all pressures shift into neutral. Even though I may shout and scream and jump and jeer, it's a relaxing and rewarding experience I thoroughly enjoy. What's more, it's the same for the broadcasters and those players and the refs and those nutty fans surrounding the gridiron. They're all having a ball! 

Deuteronomy 18

"Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph" (Exodus 1:8). Too bad. Tragic, in fact. Seems a shame Joseph had to die at the young age of 110(!), before he had a chance to impact the new king. What a difference that encounter might have made in the lives of the Hebrews, who were now reduced to the monotony of mixing mortar and making bricks.

Seems like some people die too soon. About the time you realize just how valuable their contribution is, it's too late. They're gone.

Hebrews 4:14-15

The Apostle John asks: "If someone who is supposed to be a Christian...sees a brother in need, and won't help him—how can God's love be within him?" (1 John 3:17 TLB).

True servants are merciful. They care. They get involved. They get dirty, if necessary. They offer more than pious words.

Matthew 20

The children worked long and hard on their little cardboard shack. It was to be a special spot—a clubhouse, where they could meet together, play, and have fun. Since a clubhouse has to have rules, they came up with three:

Nobody act big.

Nobody act small.

Everybody act medium.

Not bad theology! In different words, God says the very same thing: "Let each of you regard one another as more important than himself" (Philippians 2:3). "Through love serve one another" (Galatians 5:13).

Ruth 1

We must have resembled a family of Gypsies or a scene from Grapes of Wrath as we rambled along the highway. Several layers of redwood forest dust mixed with pine tree sap covered our car. The car-top carrier was loaded with miscellaneous stuff, including a bike wrapped in a blanket flapping in the air, piled on top of several boxes of "family fun stuff." We were homeward bound and glad of it.

Proverbs 15

The heart of the term "cordial" is the word "heart." And the heart of "heart" is kardia, a Greek term that most often refers to the centre of our inner life—the source or seat of all the forces and functions of our inner being. So when we are cordial, we are acting on something that comes from and affects the very centre of life itself. Maybe that's why Webster defines "cordial" as "of or relating to the heart; vital, tending to revive, cheer or invigorate, heartfelt, gracious."