Devotionals

Psalm 38:15

Take from us our wealth and we are hindered. Take our health and we are handicapped. Take our purpose and we are slowed, temporarily confused.

But take away our hope, and we are plunged into deepest darkness...stopped dead in our tracks, paralyzed. Wondering, "Why?" Asking, "How much longer? Will this darkness ever end? Does He know where I am?"

Proverbs 23:4

To the surprise of many people, the Bible says a great deal about money.It talks about earning and spending, saving and giving, investing and even wasting our money. But in none of this does it ever come near to suggesting that money brings ultimate security.

Ephesians 2:14

All walls fall...eventually.

No matter how well-constructedor long-standing it is, the wall will fall. It may be as intimidating as an angry giant or as silent as thin air and just as invisible, like the stubborn will of a person or the bitter spirit of an individual.

But all walls finally fall.

Proverbs 16:7

Psalm 27:3

Colossians 1:22

Living as we do in a product-oriented culture, we like to package our faith, too. We prefer to sell a slick, shrink-wrapped version of salvation that includes happiness and peace, and happiness here and now, and heaven by and by.While there is nothing wrong with good marketing techniques or teaching principles of authentic success, there is something wrong if we neglect to mention the process, which must inevitably include times of defeat and failure...What I'd like to know is who erected such a happily-ever-after standard of perfection in the first place?

Ecclesiastes 7:29

Everything around us works against reordering and simplifying our lives. Everything!

Ours is a cluttered, complicated world. God did not create it that way. Depraved, restless humanity has made it that way!

Advertisements have one major goal: to make us discontented, woefully dissatisfied with who we are and what we have. Why? So we will acquire what they offer. And acquire we do! The watchword of our consumptive society is very loud and assertive—more!

Matthew 5:9

Peacemakers release tension, they don't intensify it. Peacemakers seek solutions and find no delight in arguments. Peacemakers calm the waters, they don't trouble them. Peacemakers work hard to keep an offense from occurring. And if it has occurred, they strive for resolution. Peacemakers lower their voices rather than raise them. Peacemakers generate more light than heat.Blessed are such great-hearted souls!

Proverbs 16:18

What is it that drives us on so relentlessly? Are you ready? Take a deep breath and allow yourself to tolerate the one-word answer: PRIDE.

We work and push and strive so we can prove we are worthy...we are the best...we deserve top honours. And the hidden message: I can gain righteousness all on my own, by my own effort, ingenuity, and energy. And because I can, I must!

And why is this heretical? Because ultimately this philosophy says:

1.I really don't need divine righteousness. (After all, God helps those who help themselves, right?)

Isaiah 55:9

Despite all of our searching and all of our study of the Scriptures, we'll never be able to see everything clearly, to fully grasp and understand and answer all the questions. They are beyond our comprehension—a puzzle, a mystery.

InKeep a Quiet Heart, Elisabeth Elliott says, "Today is mine. Tomorrow is none of my business. If I peer anxiously into the fog of the future, I will strain my spiritual eyes so that I will not see clearly what is required of me now."