Fee Fee Baptist Church

Tag: Devotions

  • Devotional Corner – Vol. 62, No. 18

    “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father,” (John 14:12).

    All the great heroes I know have been ordinary people. They didn’t run countries, and they don’t have museums named after them. They’re moms, dads, and teenagers who saw a need in the people around them and did what they could to meet those needs.

    When I think of heroes, I think of people like Dorothy Day, who lived among the poor so she could better serve them, and my friend John, who started an organization to train governments in other countries on how to end human trafficking.

    I think of Mother Teresa, who held people as they breathed their last in Calcutta, allowing them to die with dignity, and I think of my friend Jeff, who uses his gift with words to make people fee less alone. Even the famous ones tried to stay under the radar.

    Heroes come in every age and size. Sometimes they’re household name, and sometimes they’re unknown. But what binds them together is this: they heard about a need in the world, and they figured out how to use whatever they could to alleviate the suffering in other people.

    We don’t need more degrees or status to change the world. We only need eyes to see a need and a faith that believes in redemption. Jesus wouldn’t have said we’d do greater things than Him if He didn’t think we could do it. Stop listening to the voices saying you can’t make a difference, and start listening to the One telling you He wants you to take your next step. What’s your next step?—

  • Devotional Corner – Vol. 62, No. 17

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

     “What do you think?” (Matthew 21:28).

    There are plenty of voices in the world who present their opinions like they’re solid fact. People tell us which food are healthiest, which companies are ethical, and the best way to raise our kids. These same people are also prone to tell us what to believe in our faith. I think that’s why so many people hesitate to go to church or start exploring what it means to follow Jesus. The faithful seem to have developed a fear of admitting to having any questions marks in their faith. This always seemed strange to me for a religion that says faith is all about finding answers. We should all have a long list of questions. Jesus passed right by the people who acted like they had all the answers and found some fishermen who didn’t have any. These are the people He uses to change the world.

    Jesus showed us how comfortable He was with questions. He asked more than three hundred of them. He used them when people asked Him things, and it made the religious types squirm.

    He demonstrated how faith isn’t just about subscribing to a doctrine or a lifestyle. What was going on in the heart was just as important as all the information in the head.

    When people questioned why Jesus and His friends weren’t sticking to a tradition, He shot back one of His own questions: “Why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3). Don’t hold your faith like an answer sheet; embrace what you don’t quite get, let people know what you’re wondering about, and you’ll find more of God there than in any catchphrase. You’ll connect with a lot more people that way too.

    No one’s going to believe any of our answers if we don’t let them know we have a couple of questions too.

    What questions are forming in your heart today? —

  • Devotional Corner – Vol. 62, No. 16

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

    “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid,” (John 14:27).

    When I was a boy, comic books came onto the scene and started to get big. Characters like Spiderman, Batman, and Wonder Woman lived in a world where evil popped up just in time for another episode. No matter which sinister villain seemed to be giving evil an edge, the hero was always more powerful than the obstacles in front of them. Evil has a way of looking like it’s going to win—right up until it doesn’t.

    While these comics were fantastical, every enduring story reminds us of a truth: even when it seems like hope has lost the lead, redemption is where the story is headed. Just before Jesus went away for a while, He told us we would face trouble in this world. He said there would be times we’d want to give up and seek comfort somewhere else.

    But Jesus also told us He would be with us and not even death could separate us from Him. He’s living proof that the God of the universe is more powerful than any of the obstacles we face. The obstacles look different for each of us, but we live in a world where fear shows up unannounced and tries to steal our hope. Those are the times we have to remember the power accessible to us.

    Are you in a difficult time? Love will show you the way through it. Do you feel like you’re up against seemingly unbeatable forces? Remember love will win in the end. Our hope isn’t in our ability to overcome but in God’s ability to redeem it.

    Don’t’ let the circumstances you’re facing do all the talking. Listen to the God who already won it all with His love. As you listen to God speak into your difficult time, what do you hear Him saying?

  • Devotional Corner – Vol. 62, No. 15

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

    He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 18:2-3).

    If you had asked me what I was aiming for when I was in high school, I would have said I wanted to get out of high school. If you asked me the same question after law school, I probably would’ve said something vague like, “to make a difference in the world.” I wanted to get a job at a good law firm and gain the experience I needed to help people. It hadn’t occurred to me to aim for a life where I could have an office on Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland and be a part of a movement that builds schools for students in Uganda, helps refugees in Iraq, and teaches little girls in Afghanistan how to read when the religious leaders say they can’t go to school. I wasn’t aiming for these things when I was younger because I hadn’t imagined them yet, and we can’t long for something we can’t already see in our minds.

    I think this is one of the reasons Jesus tells us to have faith like children. Kids have wildly creative imaginations. If you ask them what they want to be when they grow up, they’ll say they want to be Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia or Spiderman so they can rescue people in danger. They plan to live in castles and have superpowers. They aim to be helpers and healers and kind. Kids dream big because the world hasn’t put their imaginations in check yet.

    So why did we let the world stifle ours? Sure, we run into the reality of having to pay bills and make it to work on time, but there are endless invitations to join in a life of whimsy if we’ll open our eyeds.

    God is not limited by the rules we make up, and He doesn’t want us to be either. Whatever you’re aiming for, God’s better.

    What are you aiming for?

  • Devotional Corner – Vol. 62, No. 14

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

    “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,” (Colossians 3:12).

    Most people don’t know this about me, but I carry a slingshot and a compass with me everywhere I go. They remind me of fun and adventure and also teach a couple of lessons.

    When I travel to conferences to speak to a new group of friends, I’ve got my slingshot. We shoot salt water taffy at each other there. When I go to Iraq to check up on our school and find ways to support refugees in the region, I take the compass with me and we guess where north is. I get a couple of leaders together and instead of talking policy, we knock over a few cans together. I’ve learned it’s heard not to become friends with someone you have some fun with. Try it sometime.

    When I first set out to learn how to love people more, I wouldn’t have thought just to play with them more. But that’s how love works. We set our hearts on building relationships with people, and then we find a way to live into it. We won’t figure it out through reading a book. There’s no way to chart it out. With a compass in hand, we figure out where true north is and keep heading for that. God doesn’t give us a blueprint. He just tells us to be humble and connect with people who might not have been our first choice.

    No map will take us where God wants to lead us, because He created each of us for a different purpose. He made you the way you are so you could bring your flavor of love and creativity to the world, and your expression of love will look a little different than mine. That’s not a bad thing. It’s a great thing.

    Put on kindness and humility and let love lead the way. You won’t be disappointed with where it takes you. And wherever you go, bring a slingshot and a compass.

  • Devotional Corner – Vol. 62, No. 13

    From Billy Graham’s Daily Devotion Archive

    “Lord, grant us peace; for all we have and are has come from you,” (Isaiah 26:12 TLB).

    We who once marveled at the telegraph now take for granted the far greater miracle of television. Not so long ago many of the physical diseases were termed hopeless and incurable. Today we have drugs so effective that age-old diseases are becoming rare. We have accomplished much, of that there is no doubt. But with all this progress, we have not solved the basic problem of the human race. We can build the highest buildings, the fastest ships, the longest bridges—but we still can’t govern ourselves, or live together peacefully and with equality.

    Prayer for the day: In loving and being loved by You, there is all I have longed for, my Savior, Jesus Christ.

  • Devotional Corner – Vol. 62, No. 12

    From Billy Graham’s Daily Devotion Archive

    “Love one another, as I have loved you,” (John 15:12).

    As I study the subject of “separation” in the Old and New Testaments, I discover that the weight of Scripture lies in the direction of fellowship rather than separation. What is the great overwhelming evidence that we have passed from death unto life? It is love! Jesus Christ clearly was speaking of visible unity, such as can be seen by the world. His motive for praying was that the world might believe and the world might know. He prayed for unity among believers. God, who wills man’s unity in Christ, is a God of variety. So often we want everyone to be the same—to think and speak and believe as we do. Many Scripture passages could be called to witness that love is the real key to Christian unity. In the spirit of true humility, compassion, consideration, and unselfishness, we are to approach our problems, our work, and even our differences.

    Prayer for the day: In a world needing Your love, let me not judge those who love You too. You have made us all so different, Father. Teach me, by Your loving Holy Spirit, compassion and true unity.

  • Devotional Corner – Vol. 62, No. 11

    From Billy Graham’s Daily Devotion Archive

    “. . . I was hungry, [and] you gave me food…” (Matthew 25:35 NEB).

    During the war a church in Strasburg, Germany, was totally destroyed; but a statue of Christ which stood by the altar was almost unharmed. Only the hands of the statue were missing. When the church was rebuilt, a famous sculptor offered to make new hands; but, after considering the matter, the members decided to let it stand as it was—without hands. “For,” they said, “Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work on earth. If we don’t feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, entertain the stranger, visit the imprisoned, and clothe the naked, who will?” Christ is depending on us to do the very things which He did while upon earth. My friend, if the gospel we preach does not have a social application, if it will not work effectively in the work-a-day world, then it is not the Gospel of Christ.

    Prayer for the day: I look at my hands, Lord Jesus, and ask You to use them this day. Make me conscious of the needs of those who hurt.

  • Devotional Corner – Vol. 62, No. 10

    Keep on loving each other as brothers”. – Hebrews13:1

    Ravensbruck 1944. A young Dutch woman is in the hospital barracks, giving up hope. Where there remains no courage to live, the body gives up. Though it is absolutely forbidden to go into the hospital barracks, Corrie and four other Dutch women try to go as close as possible to the young woman to encourage her, motivated by compassion and love. They know which window she lies behind. When they arrive, the shutters are closed. So, they pray that someone will open the shutters. One of the guards walks by and opens them. But then the window is locked, and they cannot open it from the outside. They pray again and a Polish nurse opens the window from inside. Now Corrie walks to the window and starts to encourage the young woman. Again, the guard walks by and slaps Corrie hard on her back. Corrie goes back to the four other women, and they pray that no one will walk by anymore. Then Corrie continues to comfort and encourage this young sick woman and reminds her of the fact that Christ is Victor and that He is always with her.

    Thirty years before, Corrie’s father had given her the key to love and compassion. At that time, Corrie was crying her eyes out, because the young man, whom she loved dearly, unexpectedly came to her house and introduced his new fiancée to her, which tore down all her dreams and hopes to share her future life with him.

    Her father, after a while, climbed up to her bedroom, sat next to her and waited until she calmed down a bit and said: “Corrie, love is the strongest force in the world. When love is hold back, we can do two things: we can either silence and kill love so that no one can hurt us anymore or we can ask God to open other ways to share our love. If we cannot share love in the normal, human way then God can teach us to love in His perfect way and pour out His love in our hearts”.

    God is Love. Again and again, He can find ways through which we can love our neighbor. “We love because he first loved us,” (1 John 4:19).

  • Devotional Corner – Vol. 62, No. 8

    Taken from Corrie Ten Boom’s “Faith, Hope, and Love” YouVersion Plan

    “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God,” (Hebrews 12:2).

    How we can long for the “good old days”. Everything was so much better and more predictable. What was normal and taken for granted in those days is not that obvious anymore. It could make us sad and homesick, and we could tend to give up and become passive and depressed. In Ezra 3, we can read that the elderly people are crying as the temple is rebuilt, remembering the glory and grandeur of the former temple that has been destroyed so many years ago.

    After World War II Corrie could have been discouraged, giving up, without any hope for the future. Her father, Casper ten Boom, and her sister, Betsie, both had been killed in 1944. And the happy days of before, in their warm and cozy home, had forever been gone. She could have looked back, remembering and longing for the good old, and so much better times before the war. Realizing it would never come back she could have sunk into a great depression and sorrow. But instead, she looked forward with hope, fixing her eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of her faith.

    Hope is not the same as longing and desiring. We can long for things that are impossible to fulfill, such as, a season that will not come back, a journey we cannot afford to make, longing for a loved one who has passed away. Hope, on the contrary is based on reliable facts. There could have been periods and events in our life for which we look back with unfulfilled, craving and longing. But the better thing to do is to look forward, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Then we can go forward, with courage and hope. That is what Corrie, and many with her, did after the war, building on the foundation of Christ and His Kingdom. Romans 5:5 says: “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us”.