Daily Devotionals

1 John 5:20–21; Matthew 6:33

It was the Apostle John’s final warning to his readers:

Little children, guard yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:21)

“Watch out,” said John, in effect. “Be on guard against anything that might occupy the place in your heart that should be reserved for God.”

Joshua 1:8

During my days in New England, I heard of a teacher who quizzed a group of college-bound high school juniors and seniors on the Bible. The quiz preceded a Bible-as-literature course he planned to teach at the Newton (Massachusetts) High School, generally considered one of the best public schools in the nation. Among the most astounding findings he got from the students were:

Sodom and Gomorrah were lovers.

Jezebel was Ahab’s donkey.

The four horsemen appeared on the Acropolis.

1 Kings 9:3-5

Both adversity and prosperity confront our equilibrium, but prosperity is perhaps the more challenging test. Today we look at another biblical person who rose to the top and kept his balance. The classic example is David. According to the last three verses of Psalm 78:

Philippians 4:12–13

Two extreme tests exist that disturb our balance in life. Each has its own set of problems. On one side is adversity. Solomon realized this when he wrote:

If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength! (Proverbs 24:10 NIV)

The Message paraphrases that verse:

If you fall to pieces in a crisis,
there wasn’t much to you in the first place.

1 Peter 4:7-11

Instant replays have become old hat. We now expect them in all televised sports. Whether it’s a tennis pro’s impressive backhand or an NBA centre’s slam dunk or a heavyweight boxer’s smashing jab, we never have to worry about missing it the first time around. It’ll be back again and again and, probably, again.

Luke 10:20

OK...there you stand, getting introduced to someone. How are you going to remember the person’s name? Well, you’re already of the mind-set that this meeting and the person are very important. You remember that from yesterday, right? OK, so now zero in first on one major thing—the name, nothing else, for a few seconds. Ignore all distractions and peripheral activity. Listen for one thing, the name. That is your goal, after all.

1 Peter 1:13

Remembering is a skill. Sure, there are those who have been blessed with a good memory. But they are exceptions. For most of us, remembering is a skill, like speaking in public, singing, reading, thinking, or swimming. We improve at a skill by hard work—direct effort applied with a good deal of concentration, mixed with proper know-how.

1 John 3:16–18

Yesterday we began talking about the legal swamp—the tendency of people, and even professing Christians, to march headlong into the mire of courtroom battles, often without any attempt at personal reconciliation.

And the longer we’re in the swamp, the more our attitude starts to stink. This is especially true when we choose to press the issue from a strictly legal standpoint. Even if we win the case, we don’t walk away humble and grateful. We walk away proud—and even bitter. Why? Because we “got what we had corning to us...we got what we deserved.”

1 Corinthians 6:1–8

Law never fails to turn me off.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t think we need it...it’s just that it leaves me cold. It frowns and demands. It requires and warns and threatens. With a grim glare, it dares us to forget its rules or even think about disobeying its regulations.

Colossians 3:17

“Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

Somebody said that to me the other day. It helped...momentarily. I needed reality’s nudge. Being casual on the outside but a fairly thorough and disciplined soul within, I sometimes need to be reminded that few people will even notice the thing I’m camping on. Or care, for that matter. So? So sweating the small stuff can occasionally be a drag.