Daily Devotionals

Proverbs 16:7

Think of David, the young musician, tending his father's sheep back on the hills of Judea many centuries ago.

He was a self-taught, gifted musician. He didn't go on tour, trying to make a name for himself.

Instead, he sang to the sheep.

He had no idea that someday his lyrics would find their way into the psalter or would be the very songs that have inspired and comforted millions of people through long and dark nights.

1 Timothy 1:17

Whoever is sovereign must have total, clear perspective.

He must see the end from the beginning.

He must have no match on earth or in heaven.

He must entertain no fears, no ignorance, and have no needs.

He must have no limitations and always know what is best.

He must never make a mistake.

He must possess the ability to bring everything to a purposeful conclusion and an ultimate goal.

He must be invincible, immutable, infinite, and self-sufficient.

Matthew 11:28, 30

Every achievement worth remembering is stained with the blood of diligence and scarred by the wounds of disappointment.

To quit, to run, to escape, to hide—none of these options solve anything. They only postpone the acceptance of, and reckoning with, reality.

Churchill put it well: "Wars are not won by evacuations."...

Giving thought to giving up?

Considering the possibility of quitting?...

Don't!... The only time the Lord ever used the word "easy" was when He referred to a yoke.

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Deuteronomy 6:7

We are to walk of spiritual things in our homes just as we would talk about anything else.

You talk together about how the Dodgers played last night. No big deal, you just talk about that. You talk about what you're going to do next week. You don't lecture on it. You don't make a big announcement, you simply talk about it...You may talk about what you plan to watch on television that evening.

You don't hold classes on it, you merely talk about it. There is an easygoing, natural flow of conversation...

Psalm 100:3

We live today in a microwave culture. If it takes longer than five minutes to fix lunch, that's long!

In earlier days, you even had to wait for a TV set to warm up. Can you imagine? And you couldn't push a single button on your phone to call home on a preset number, you had to dial it...with your finger, for pity's sake. Talk about the Stone Age!

Philippians 4:6

Anxious.

Intriguing word. It literally means "to be divided" or "distracted."...

We find a perfect illustration of this in the story of Mary and Martha recorded in Luke 10:38-42.

Taking a minute to look into their little abode, we find that Martha is distracted, anxious. Jesus is sitting down talking, and Mary is sitting at His feet, enjoying his presence...and His teachings.

Galatians 5:13

Our world has become a large, impersonal, busy institution.

We are alienated from each other. Although crowded, we are lonely. Distant. Pushed together but uninvolved.

No longer do most neighbours visit across the backyard fence. The well-manicured front lawn is the modern moat that keeps barbarians at bay.

Job 26: 13-14

There are numerous riddles in life that remain wrapped in mystery and shrouded inside an enigma.

The sea, for example, is an unexplainable phenomenon. Who can fathom its tide affected strangely by the moon...? We manage to continue on, though brilliant scientists have been trying to solve and/or explain life's mysteries for years...

but when God leaves us with a mystery that isn't solved in a week or two, most of us go through desperate struggles believing that He is good or fair.

Ephesians 2:8

While most people in the world are busy building towers with the highest hopes of making a name and gaining fame, God's truth sets the record straight.

On the basis of God's Book, His Holy Word, it is my plea that we simply admit our need and claim God's grace.

Instead of striving for a man-made ticket to heaven based on high achievement and hard work (for which we get all the credit), I suggest we openly declare our own spiritual bankruptcy and accept God's free gift of grace.

Luke 14:33

Jesus' words are neither complicated nor vague. He simply says, "If you are going to call yourself one of My Disciples, you must release your grip on materialism."

To keep all this in proper perspective, think of it this way. He is not saying that we cannot possess anything, but things must not be allowed to possess us. To use His words, we must "give up" our possessions.

Corrie ten Boom, that saintly lady who endured such brutality from the Nazis in Ravensbruck during World War II, once said that she had learned to hold everything loosely in her hand.