Daily Devotionals

James 1:4

We're very fickle in our faith, aren't we? We are inconsistent, ambivalent.

We sing"My faith looks up to Thee"...until the medicine stops working, until the lights go out, until the bill comes due and we don't have what it takes to pay it. Until our grades slip or our career takes a turn or we lost a mate...

How do we learn consistent faith?

We learn it one day at a time. We learn it through endurance.

Philippians 4:8

Let me urge you to take charge of your mind and emotions today.

Let your mind feast on nutritious food for a change. Refuse to grumble and criticize! Let your life yield a sweet, winsome melody that this old world needs so desperately.

Fix your attention on these six specifics in life:

Not unreal far-fetched dreams, but things that are true...

Not cheap, flippant, superficial stuff, but things that are honourable...

Not things that are wrong and unjust...but that which is right.

Psalm 119:127-128

The thing I have always appreciated about the bible is that when great truth is given, God frequently incarnates that truth in lives with whom we can identify.

He doesn't stop at theory as He teaches us about the abstract importance of faith. He mentions Abraham as a model "who staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief."

Isaiah 50:5

Our greatest struggle is not in the realm of understanding the will of God; it's in the realm of obeying the God whose will it is.

To be painfully honest, when you and I look back at our lives, we do not find ourselves puzzled and mystified about God's will nearly as much as we find ourselves stubborn and resistant to the One directing our steps.

Our problem isn't that we don't know; our problem is that we do know but aren't willing to follow through.

That's the basic struggle of the Christian life.

Proverbs 20:24

Tests are never wasted.

God never says, "Oops, made a mistake on that one. I shouldn't have given you that. I meant that for Frank. Sorry, Bob."

It's as if the Lord has our name on specific trials. They are specifically designed for us, arranged with our weaknesses and our immaturity in mind. He bears down and doesn't let up.

And we groan and we hurt and we weep and we pray and we grow and we learn. Through it all we learn to depend upon His Word...

The common response to trials is resistance, if not outright resentment.

Psalm 108:3

By making us in His image, God gave us capacities not given to other forms of life.

Ideally, He made us to know Him, to love Him, and to obey Him. He did not put rings in our noses that He might pull us around like oxen...

No, He gave us freedom to make choices. By His grace we are equipped to understand His plan because we have a mind with which we can know Him.

We are also free to love and adore Him because we have emotions. He takes pleasure in our affection and devotion.

Psalm 119:114

One of the greatest benefits to be gleaned from the Bible is perspective. When we get discouraged, we temporarily lose our perspective.

Little things become mammoth. A slight irritation, such as a pebble in a shoe, seems huge. Motivation is drained away and, worst of all, hope departs.

God's Word is tailor-made for grey-slush days.

Proverbs 4:5

All of us are surrounded by and benefit from the results of someone's quest.

Let me name a few:

Above my head is a bright electric light. Thanks, Tom.

On my nose are eyeglasses that enable me to focus. Thanks, Ben.

In my driveway is a car ready to take me wherever I choose to steer it. Thanks, Henry.

Across my shelves are books full of interesting and carefully researched pages. Thanks, authors.

My list could go on and on. So could yours.

Psalm 131:2

When it comes to irritations, I've found that it helps if I remember that I am not in charge of my day...God is.

And while I'm sure He wants me to use my time wisely, He is more concerned with the development of my character and the cultivation of the qualities that make me Christ-like within.

One of His preferred methods of training is through adjustments to irritations.

A perfect illustration? The oyster and its pearl.

Psalm 46:7

We deny it. We fake it. We mask it. We try to ignore it. But the truth stubbornly persists—we are weak creatures!

Being sinful, we fail. Being prone to sickness, we hurt. Being mortal, we ultimately die. Pressure wears on us. Anxiety gives us ulcers. People intimidate us. Criticismoffends us. Disease scares us. Death haunts us....

How can we continue to grow in this bag of bones, covered with weaknesses too numerous to mention?

We need a big dose of Psalm 46: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."