Daily Devotional June 1 - Where Is Your Hope?

 "But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more." Psalm 71:14

The writer of this Psalm has been through a great deal in His life. That's where I'm at too. I have seen a great deal; injustice, unfaithfulness, terrorism, depression, fear and anxiety; people working jobs they hate, living with people they don't love, raising children without proper preparation, trying to be something they are not to impress people. This world is a mixed up place, yet I have hope.

My hope is in what God will do with all this mixed up mess. My hope is in what God is going to do with me while I'm here. My hope is in how God transforms lives by His grace. My hope is in the work that the Holy Spirit does in people's hearts. My hope is in God.

I praise God for the hope I have. I praise Him more and more. Even though from one point of view it seems that mankind has continually gotten worse and worse and it is apparent that the end times are getting closer and closer, I still praise God for what He is doing, even in this difficult time. Can you praise God in your situation? Can you see that God has already gone ahead and worked it out so that you can have hope in your future? Do you give God praise through your trials and tribulations?

Just like bigger gardens require harder work than little gardens, so do bigger problems require more praise than little problems. God doesn't want you begging Him to get you out of it, God wants you praising Him through it.

Daily Devotional May 31 - You Are Able

 "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever." Jude 24-25

This is why it is so important to keep your eyes on the ball. Only with God is there any hope that your future will be bright and full of good things. Even some of the things that seem unmanageable to the world can be understood and appreciated as a follower of Jesus Christ.

The reason: God is able. I remember the first time I realized how important this is. I was putting together the names of God/Jesus and one of the first on the list was able. "God is Love." "God is a consuming fire." God is omnipotent. God is omniscient. God is immutable. God is able. Because God is able you don't have to fear life like the world does, nor do you have to fear your enemy like the world does. Because God is able, you are able.

• You are able to do much more than you have in mind.
• You are able to transcend the indiscretions of the past.
• You are able to take back territory from those who stole from you.
• You are able to finish your education and move forward with your plan to teach.
• You are able to, at your age, to write a story or a poem that moves the hearts of many.
• You are able to buy that business. Talk to God and go make a deal.
• You are able to get up and go to church each week. Your pastor deserves to see you there.
• You are able to win that tennis match against a higher ranked player. Get up earlier and practice with intent.
• You are able to get through technical school and get a better job. Hang in there when your body wants to quit. You can and will do it.
• You are able as a doctor to apply your faith while serving the public. Quit hiding the importance of performing your God given, life saving skills, with applied faith.
• You are able to win that next case on behalf of the underdog. Dig deeper and find the gems that will make the difference for your client. Even if you have to do it on your own time.

You are able because God is able. Think about living like you are the express image of the living God. You will find power and confidence and strength and wisdom, because it is given freely to those who ask. Quit thinking that God wants you to stay down. It is not God purporting that kind of nonsense. God has already gone before you and made a way. You are able. Do you believe it?

Daily Devotional May 30 - Let God Work it Out

  "And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;" 1 Samuel 12:20

Today I want to speak to everyone who is still involved in some way with things that are blatantly ungodly or irresponsible. Your trapped by your circumstances and you've made some verifiable bad choices. You might even be getting deeper in the pit of despair or trouble than you ever imagined. Maybe other than this nemesis in your life everything is going relatively smooth, (you think). But the truth is that if you are involved in something inappropriate or blatantly ungodly, you are negatively affecting your future and those around you. There will not be a good outcome unless you quickly disengage. 

But in this time (that you either brought on yourself or others pushed on to you) you need your heavenly Father. You need what God has to offer. Now is not the time to say, (God wouldn't approve of me or what I am doing so there is no use to go to Him.) It's just not true. In this predicament you need God just as much as when all is well. And you can turn to Him. You can call out to Jesus. You can expect God to move on your behalf straightway. You can talk to God and tell Him your troubles and the difficulty associated with removing yourself from the situation. If you continue to try to fix this on your own (the way you got into it in the first place) you will fail.

I'm with Samuel. Right now, today, in your current condition, don't turn your back on God. God didn't do this to you, but God can and will move on your behalf to work out the details so that you can move forward. "Turn not aside." You cannot hide from God, but you can (because of free will) deny God access to help you through it. Change your mind and let God work it out with you.

Daily Devotional May 29 - Whom do You Follow, The Flesh Or The Spirit?

  "He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction." Proverbs 13:3

Look, you think you are a good person and overall you are, but don't disregard the words of wisdom from Solomon. If you are mouthy and have a difficult time expressing your wishes unless you yell or say some demeaning thing, think about the consequences of your actions. The words you speak and the intonation of those words has a lot to say about you as a person.

This is something you can rectify. You have within you power over your own mouth. Do you want to yield to your baser instincts or rise to newer and higher thinking? What you think and what you speak have a great deal to do with who you are and where you are today. But even if you like the way things are and even if it doesn't bother you if you speak abruptly or disrespectfully to your children or your spouse, you might not like the long-term results of such actions.

Your spouse, children and friends were made by God to hear in their hearing every good and worthy word you can muster up. They were designed to respond to the sounds of the indwelling Holy Spirits voice being uttered through a willing vessel. They were designed to be built up and encouraged by the words you speak and the thoughts you think. I know I don't want to be responsible speaking trash into the hearts and minds of those I love.

This is a war between the spirit and the flesh. Your spirit is willing, but your flesh is weak. Your spirit seeks and desires the higher things of God, while you flesh seeks the baser things, the lesser things and ultimately death. Your spirit has within it the vocabulary of God, while your flesh has within it a very limited and sometimes degrading lexicon. Yes this will require some energy and some hard work and some sacrifice, but doesn't everything of value cost something?