Daily Devotionals

Isaiah 6:8 

We all have excuses to disqualify ourselves from God's service.

• "I'm not physically well"
• "I've got this temper problem"
• "I can't speak very well in public"
• "I don't have a lot of education"
• "My past is too raunchy!"
• "You see, I'm a divorcee"
• "I was once in a mental hospital"

And on and on and on.

Psalm 19:13

Life on earth is really nothing more than a string of moments, one after another. And I do not want my testimony for Jesus Christ to be shattered by a single moment of indulging my flesh.

I don't want one moment of rage or pride or arrogance to cast a shadow over a lifetime of walking with my Lord. 

Frankly, I fear that possibility. And do you know what? I want to fear that possibility. When I stop fearing it, I am in grave danger.

Proverbs 15:32

People who are accountable usually have four qualities:

Vulnerability—capable of being wounded, shown to be wrong, even admitting it before being confronted.

Teachability—a willingness to learn, being quick to hear and respond to reproof, being open to counsel.

Availability—accessible, touchable, able to be interrupted.

Honesty—committed to the truth regardless how much it hurts, a willingness to admit the truth no matter how difficult or humiliating the admission may be. Hating all that is phoney or false.

Proverbs 3:12

Proverbs 21:21

We've been programmed to think that fatigue is next to godliness. That the more exhausted we are (and look!), the more committed we are to spiritual things and the more we earn God's smile of approval.... As a result, we have become a generation of people who worship our work...who work at our play...and who play at our worship.

Hold it! Who wrote that rule? Why have we bought that philosophy? Whatever possessed someone to make such a statement? How did we ever get caught in that maddening undertow?

2 Corinthians 6:14-18

As a pastor, I often get asked questions regarding God’s will. Let’s consider four of the more common ones. 

Philippians 2:12-13

Want to know God’s will for your life? Let me ask you to stop, look, and listen. God makes His desires known to those who stop at His Word, look in with a sensitive spirit, and listen to others. When we go to His Word, we stop long enough to hear from above. When we look, we examine our surrounding circumstances in light of what He is saying to our inner spirit (perhaps you prefer to call this your conscience). And when we listen to others, we seek the counsel of wise, qualified people. 

1. Stop at the Scriptures 

Hebrews 6:17-18

I confess to you, at times I’ve doubted God’s purpose and promise. I say that to my own embarrassment. When things hadn’t worked as I thought they would, when I received a no instead of a yes or a yes instead of a no as an answer to prayer, when I couldn’t unravel a situation and fit it with the character of God...those have been times when I’ve said, “I know down inside this isn’t right.” 

Hebrews 6:18

Doubts often steal into our lives like termites into a house. These termite-like thoughts eat away at our faith. Usually, we can hold up pretty well under this attack. But occasionally, when a strong gale comes along—a sudden, intense blast—we discover we cannot cope. Our house begins to lean. For some people it completely collapses. It is during these stormy times, during the dark days and nights of tragedy and calamity, that we begin to feel the destructive effects of our doubts—running like stress fractures through the structure of our lives. 

Hebrews 6:20

Human logic breaks down in crisis. The mystery is enormous, and it is the enormity of it all that calls for faith. I’m sorry if that sounds like an overused bromide. But if we could unravel it, why would we need faith? If that were true, all we’d really need is the answer in the back of the book and someone to point it out to us; we’d read it, and that’s all there would be to it. But God’s plan is that we walk by faith, not by sight. It is faith and patience that stretch us to the breaking point. Such things send doubt running.