Daily Devotionals

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."

Isaiah 41:10

Back in World War II a scribble of comic graffiti began appearing on walls everywhere, proclaiming, "Kilroy was here!

"This declaration was found on walls in Germany. It was found on buildings in Tokyo. It was found on big boulders in America. Kilroy was everywhere, it seemed.

God is not like Kilroy. He does not write His name on the walls and rocks of life, but He is there—every day, every hour, every tick of the clock!

When the Philistines seized David in Gath he said, "When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You"(Psalm 56:3).

When he fled from Saul into a cave, he cried out to God. "My soul takes refuge in you; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by"(Psalm 57:1).

Many, many years ago, Felix of Nola was escaping his enemies, and he, too, took temporary refuge in a cave. He had scarcely entered the opening of the cave before a spider began to weave its web across the small opening.

Proverbs 28:20

We are living in an era that attempts to stretch grace to heretical extremes. I see it and hear it virtually every week of my life. So allow me to say this very straight: The greatest gift you can give to your marriage partner is your purity, your fidelity. The greatest character trait you can provide your spouse and your family is moral and ethical self-control. Stand firm, my friend. Refuse to yield.

Proverbs 10:29-30

We toss around words like faith and love all the time. And most of us can describe both with minimal difficulty.

But hope? What in the world is it? And is it really that essential?

Webster defines hope, "to desire with expectation of fulfilment." To hope is to anticipate. It is more than dreaming, however.

It is possessing within ourselves an expectation that someday there will be the fulfillment of that desire. It will become a reality.

Hope always looks to the future, it's always on tiptoes. It keeps us going.

Proverbs 11:2

People who refuse to get bogged down in and anchored to the past are those who pursue the objectives of the future.

People who do this are seldom petty. They are too involved in getting a job done to be occupied with yesterday's hurts and concerns....

I know human nature well enough to realize that some people excuse their bitterness over past hurts by thinking, "It's too late to change. I've been injured and the wrong done against me is too great for me ever to forget it.

Proverbs 15:15

Many folks eat their hearts out, suffering from the contagious "If Only" disease. Its germs infect every slice of life.

If only I had more money.

If only we owned a nicer home.

If only we could have children.

If only he would ask me out.

If only I had more friends.

The list is endless. Woven through the fabric of all those words is a sigh that comes from the daily grind of discontentment.

1 Peter 1:13

Imagine coming to the house of a friend who has invited you over to enjoy a meal. You finish the delicious meal and then listen to some fine music and visit for a while. Finally, you stand up and get your coat as you prepare to leave.

But before you leave you reach into your pocket and say, "Now, how much do I owe you?" What an insult! You don't do that with someone who has graciously given you a meal.

Isn't it strange, though, how this world is running over with people who think there's something they must do to pay God back?

1 Timothy 6:6

Contentment is something we must learn. It isn't a trait we're born with.

But the question is how?

In 1 Timothy 6 we find a couple of very practical answers to that question:

A current perspective on eternity: "For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either" (v. 7).

A simple acceptance of essentials: "If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content" (v. 8).