Tag: Devotion

From Bob Goff’s “Live In Grace, Walk In Love: A 365-Day Journey”

“Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples,” (Luke 14:33).

The Bible tells us about an extraordinary practice in ancient Israel called the Year of Jubilee. This came around once every fifty years, and it was a time when all slaves and prisoners were set free and every debt was forgiven. God set it up for the people of Israel because He wanted to communicate in a human way what His mercy was like, and it looked like freedom for everyone no matter their burden or debt.

Everyone’s debts were different. I bet some were only short fifty dollars and some owed what would be millions. The point of the celebration was to say God’s mercy wipes all our debts clean, whether we’ve blown it in big ways or just failed to show up when it mattered. It’s all the same in God’s economy.

Each of us starts in a different place when we choose to follow Jesus. The debts we owe reflect the different lives we’ve lived. The cost of discipleship looks different from person to person. Some of us have to give up our need to be the center of attention, and some of us need the courage to find our voices. What feels like a sacrifice to you might come naturally to your neighbor. They’re just facing a different kind of battle.

Following Jesus costs each of us something different, but mercy looks the same for all of us. It looks like God letting us off the hook for the ways we’ve fallen short and celebration for all of us because Jesus covered the cost.—

Taken from Jamie Snyder’s YouVersion Devotional “Like Jesus”

“The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” John 2:13-16

The truth is, in the hectic pace of life in twenty-first-century America, many of us are simply in survival mode, trying to make it from one day to the next. Under these circumstances, it’s all too easy to get mad about the wrong things. If we did an honest evaluation about our lives, we might just find the things that make us mad are self-centered issues instead of others-centered issues. We get mad when we are cut off in traffic, don’t get a raise, or receive an unexpected bill. I get mad at things like this just as most people do. But as imitators of Jesus, we should find ourselves getting angry at much larger, much more significant issues.

So what really makes you mad? I encourage you to take an honest inventory of the things you notice making you mad, because what causes our heart to pound, our fists to clinch, and our voice to raise is an indication of our spiritual condition. Jesus was mad at the oppression that took place in the temple, so can you imagine how He must feel when He observes our world today? Men, women, and children are exploited and abused every day—not just in some faraway country, but also in your community. As followers of Jesus, we have the responsibility to do what we can to release the oppressed people of this world. Maybe that means adopting an orphaned child, mentoring underprivileged teens, assisting a widow in practical ways, or volunteering with a relief organization.

As imitators of Jesus, our emotions should mirror His. This emotional mirroring is not mechanical, but a natural result of relationship with Him. We should laugh when He would laugh, cry when He would cry, celebrate when He would celebrate, and express joy when He would express joy. All of these emotions are appropriate, but I cannot help but wonder if we are lacking a strong dose of holy anger. I believe more Christians need get fired up and let that passion prompt action in our churches, small groups, and families. I am not suggesting we stand on city street corners with signs declaring whom God hates. Nor I am suggesting we shout, stomp our feet, and make a spectacle of ourselves. And I’m certainly not suggesting we carry out violence under the guise of following Jesus.

Holy anger is driven not by a desire to judge or get revenge, but to love people and to set them free. Holy anger does not involve screaming about your rights, but advocating for the rights of others. Holy anger is not about proving a point, but proving that everyone has value. Holy anger is not about personal gain, but about restoring personal dignity to others.—

Taken from Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby’s “Experiencing God Day By Day”

“And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in Him,” (1 John 4:16)

The greatest truth in all Scripture is this: God is love. Understanding this in its full dimensions will set you free to enjoy all that is yours as a Christian. But you must accept that God loves you. If you grew up experiencing unconditional love in your family, this may not be difficult for you. However, if your early years were void of love, this truth may be hard to accept. God loves you, not because you deserve His love, but because His nature is love. The only way He will ever relate to you is in love. His love for you gives you an inherent worth that nothing can diminish.

If you cannot accept the truth that God loves you, you will be limited in how you can relate to Him. When He disciplines you, you will not take it as an expression of His love. Rather, you may resent Him. When God says no to a request that is less than His best for you, you will conclude that He doesn’t care about you. Without a clear understanding and acceptance of God’s love for you, you will be disoriented to him and to what He wants to do in your life. If you will accept God’s love, however, you will be able to return love to God as well as to others (1 John 4:19).

Taken from L.B. Cowman’s “Streams in the Desert,” Zondervan Updated Edition

“Before this faith came, we were held prisoners…, locked up until faith should be revealed,” (Galatians 3:23).

God, in times past, caused people to be kept subject to His law so they would learn the more excellent way of faith. For it was through the law that they would see God’s holy standard and thereby realize their own utter helplessness. Then they would gladly learn His way of faith.

God still causes us to be “locked up until faith” is learned. Our own nature, circumstances, trials, and disappointments all serve to keep us submissive and “locked up” until we see that the only way out is His way of faith. Moses attempted the deliverance of his people by using self-effort, his personal influence, and even violence. So God “locked [him] up” for forty years in the wilderness before he was prepared for His work.

Paul and Silas were called of God to preach the gospel in Europe. In Philippi they were “severely flogged, they were thrown in to prison, and the jailer…fastened their feet in the stocks” (Acts 16:23-24). They were “locked up” to faith. They trusted God and sang praises to Him in their darkest hour, and God brought deliverance and salvation.

Dear reader, are you in some terrible trouble? Have you experienced distressing disappointment, sorrow, or inexpressible loss? Are you in a difficult situation? You have been “locked up” to faith. Praise Him “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Rom. 8:28) and that He “acts on the behalf of those who wait for him” (Isa. 64:4). God will send you blessings and help, and will reveal truths to you that otherwise would never have come your way. And many others will also receive great insights and blessings because you were “locked up” to learn the way of faith. —C.H.P.

Taken from L.B. Cowman’s “Streams in the Desert,” Zondervan Updated Edition

“He has given us his very great and precious promises,” (2 Peter 1:4).

When a shipbuilder erects a boat, does he do so only to keep it on the scaffolding? No, he builds it to sail the seas and to weather the storms. In fact, if he does not think of strong winds and hurricanes as he builds it, he is a poor shipbuilder.

In the same way, when God made you a believer, He meant to test you. And when He gave you promises and asked you to trust them, He made his promises suitable for times of storms and high seas. Do you believe that some of His promises are counterfeit, similar to a life vest that looks good in the store but is of no use in the sea?

We have all seen swords that are beautiful but are useless in war, or shoes made for decoration but not for walking. Yet God’s shoes are made of iron and brass, and we can walk all the way to heaven in them, without ever wearing them out. And we could swim the Atlantic a thousand times in His life vest, with no fear of every sinking. His Word of promise is meant to be tried and tested.

There is nothing Christ dislikes more than for His people to publicly profess Him and then not use Him. He loves for us to make use of Him, for His covenant blessings are not simply meant to be looked at but should be appropriated. Our Lord Jesus has been given to us for our present use. Are you making use of Him as you should?

O beloved, I plead with you not to treat God’s promises as something to be displayed in a museum but to use them as everyday sources of comfort. And whenever you have a time of need, trust the Lord.

— Charles H. Spurgeon

Taken from L.B. Cowman’s “Streams in the Desert,” Zondervan Updated Edition

“They will soar on wings like eagles,” (Isaiah 40:31).

There is a fable about the way birds first got their wings. The story goes that initially they were made without them. Then God made the wings, set them down before the wingless birds, and said to them, “Take up these burdens and carry them.”

The birds had sweet voices for singing, and lovely feathers that glistened in the sunshine, but they could not soar in the air. When asked to pick up the burdens that lay at their feet, they hesitated at first. Yet soon they obeyed, picked up the wings with their beaks, and set them on their shoulders to carry them.

For a short time the load seemed heavy and difficult to bear, but soon, as they continued to carry the burden and to fold the wings over their hearts, the wings grew attached to their little bodies. They quickly discovered how to use them and were lifted by the wings high into the air. The weights had become wings.

This is a parable for us. We are the wingless birds, and our duties and tasks are the wings God uses to lift us up and carry us heavenward. We look at our burdens and heavy loads, and try to run from them, but if we will carry them and tie them to our hearts, they will become wings. And on them we can then rise and soar toward God.

There is no burden so heavy that when lifted cheerfully with love in our hearts will not become a blessing to us. God intends for our tasks to be our helpers; to refuse to bend our shoulders to carry a load is to miss a new opportunity for growth. —J.R. Miller.

Taken from L.B. Cowman’s “Streams in the Desert,” Zondervan Updated Edition

“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose,” (Romans 8:28).

What a tremendous claim Paul makes in this verse! He does not say, “We know that in some things,” “most things,” or even “joyful things” but “ALL things.” This promise spans from the very smallest detail of life to the most important, and from the most humbling of daily tasks to God’s greatest works of grace performed during a crises.

Paul states this in the present tense: “God works.” He does not say, “worked” or “will work.”  It is a continuing operation.

We also know from Scripture that God’s “justice  [is] like the great deep” (Ps. 36:6); at this very moment the angels in heaven , as they watch with folded wings the development of God’s great plan, are undoubtedly proclaiming, “The LORD is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made” (Ps. 145:17).

Then when God orchestrates “all things…for the good,” it is a beautiful blending. He requires many different colors, which individually may be quite drab, to weave into the harmonious pattern.

Separate tones, notes, and even discords are required to compose melodious musical anthems; a piece of machinery requires many separate wheels, parts, and connections. Once part from a machine may be useless, or one note from an anthem may never be considered beautiful, but taken together, combined, and completed, they lead to perfect balance and harmony.

We can learn a lesson of faith from this: “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand,” (John 13:7).—J.R. Macduff

In a thousand trials, it is not just five hundred of them that work “for the good” of the believer, but nine hundred ninety-nine, plus one.

—George Mueller

Taken from L.B. Cowman’s “Streams in the Desert,” Zondervan Updated Edition

“All that night the LORD drove the sea back,” (Exodus 14:21).

There is a comforting message showing how God works during darkness. The real work of God for the children of Israel did not happen when they awoke that morning to find they could cross the Red Sea, but it occurred “all that night.”

There may be a great work occurring in your life when things seems their darkest. You may see no evidence yet, but God is at work. God was just as much at work “all that night” as He was the next day when the Israelites finally saw the evidence. The next day simply revealed what God had done during the night.

Are you reading this from a place in your life where everything seems dark? Do you have faith to see but are still not seeing?

“All that night the LORD drove the sea back.” Don’t forget—it was “all that night.” God works through the night until the morning light dawns. You may not see it yet, but through the night of your life, as you trust Him, He works.  —C.H.P.

Taken from L.B. Cowman’s “Streams in the Desert,” Zondervan Updated Edition

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” (Joel 2:32).

So why don’t I call on His name? Why do I run to this person or that person, when God is so near and will hear my faintest call? Why do I sit down to plot my own course and make my own plans? Why don’t I immediately place myself and my burden on the Lord?

Straight ahead is the best way to run, so why don’t I run directly to the living God? Instead, I look in vain for deliverance everywhere else, but with God I will find it. With Him I have His royal promise: “[I] will be saved.” And with Him I never need to ask if I may call on Him or not, for the word “everyone” is all encompassing. It includes me and means anybody and everybody who calls upon His name. Therefore I will trust in this verse and will immediately call on the glorious Lord who has made such a great promise.

My situation is urgent, and I cannot see how I will ever be delivered. Yet this is not my concern, for He who made the promise will find a way to keep it. My part is simply to obey His commands, not to direct His ways. I am His servant, not His advisor. I call upon Him and He will deliver me. —Charles H. Spurgeon