Devotions
What’s causing you to be afraid today? With everything currently going on in our world, there is no shortage of reasons to be afraid. The devil is working overtime to make sure that there is a fear menu for each category of people under the sun. Fear can be both good and bad. Good fear keeps us from running headlong into danger, while bad fear paralyzes our faith and keeps us from obeying God. What kind of fear are you facing?
Welcome to 2020 with its promise of new beginnings. You have to admit that there is something almost magical about the beginning of a New Year. It’s a time to cast off the old and embrace the new. It’s a chance to wipe off our imaginary slates and start over. It’s an opportunity to reset one’s vision, goals and aspirations and so much more, but if we’re being totally honest, many of us have tried this and failed miserably. Yes, those New Year resolutions often last as long as an ice-cream cone on a hot summer day.
It’s that time of the year again, and the air is filled with excitement; Christmas is around the corner. Many of us are already dreaming of a white Christmas, extended time with family and friends, turkey and ham dinners, eggnog, cookies, Christmas stockings hanging above the fireplace, yule logs burning brightly and Christmas gifts are beginning to collect under the beautiful Christmas tree we put up this year. Aaaaah, such anticipation!
It’s Christmas time, and the air is filled with excitement; the promise of the holidays, snow covered trees, time with family and friends, turkey dinners, eggnog, cookies, Christmas stockings hanging above the fireplace, yule logs burning brightly and Christmas gifts beginning to collect under the beautiful Christmas tree. Aaaaah, such anticipation!
Thanksgiving is a special time of the year. It is a time to get together with family and friends and give thanks for the bounty that God has provided. Many homes will have an enviable all you can eat buffet of turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing smothered in gravy, cranberry sauce, carrots and all the sides you can imagine.
Have you ever entertained the thought, “But why doesn’t it happen to me?” It seems that all around us, God Almighty is still doing amazing things among his people. Listen to the radio or watch Christian radio stations and you will hear of all the miracles that other believers are experiencing as they wait on the LORD.
A man received a promotion to the position of Vice President of the company he worked for. The promotion went to his head and for weeks he bragged to anyone and everyone that he was now VP. His bragging came to an abrupt halt when his wife, so embarrassed by his behavior, said, “Listen Bob, it’s not that big a deal. These days everyone’s a Vice President. Why, they even have a Vice President of Peas down at the supermarket!”
The children of Israel had been in Egypt for 430 years and they had lived 400 of those years as slaves under their cruel Egyptian masters. During these 400 years, the Egyptians imposed their cultures and their religions upon the children of Israel. One can assume that despite their best efforts to preserve their culture and faith, these foreign influences had polluted and diluted their worship of YAHWEH, the One and Only true God; the God of Isaac, Abraham and Jacob.
It is easy to talk about faith. It is much harder to walk by faith. Walking by faith means living in a counter cultural manner. It means saying, “No” to the flesh and trusting God completely, in everything. It means believing that everything God says is true, no matter how outrageous and unscientific it may sound.
Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that once we are saved, we are beyond the devil’s grasp. Truth is, the closer you are to God, the greater the temptation will be. Temptation takes many shapes and forms and the devil knows exactly which one of your buttons to push. Jesus was the Son of God, and he too was tempted but sinned not. Others weren’t so fortunate:
Two brothers were talking one day, when one said to the other, "When I'm older, "I'll find me a hideout in the mountains and rob the rich guys." Before his shocked mother could respond, the other brother said, "Not me, I'm going to be a medical missionary somewhere in a needy continent like Africa." The next day the mother narrated the incident to her neighbor, finally exclaiming, "Can you imagine that? In the same home and with the same training!"
One day, a pastor was preaching a fiery sermon, and the congregation was carried away by the atmosphere generated in the church. The pastor strode boldly from one end of the altar to the other, carefully crafting his illustrations and skillfully weaving God’s word into the mix. Occasionally he pumped the air with his fists, bobbing one way and then the other, his voice rose and fell, captivating his audience with the power of God’s word, with his charisma and with his gift of oratory.
In the middle of the 19th Century, a man in India named, Nokseng came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ through the efforts of an American Baptist missionary. The village chief instructed him to renounce his faith, but the convert declared, "I have decided to follow Jesus." His refusal led to the killing of his two children. When his wife was threatened, he continued to declare, "Though no one will join me, still I will follow." The chief responded by killing his wife. Undeterred, the man continued to sing, "The world behind me, The cross before me." He was executed while singing these last few lines. This display of unfaltering faith is reported to have led to the conversion of the chief and many others in that village.
Have you ever looked at the world with all its mind-spinning headlines and wondered where it’s all going to end? Do you look at the church and wonder if Christians are going to make it? Today, look no further than Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He alone is your peace in the good times and the bad times.
In the hymn titled “There is a place of quiet rest,” Cleland Boyd McAfee writes:
Recently, I heard someone tell a story which is said to have originated in Japan; it is the story of the hummingbird:
One day, there was a huge forest fire, and all the creatures of the forest: ants, bears, birds, caterpillars, deer, elephants, insects, lions, raccoons, snakes, spiders, squirrels, turtles…and all kinds of creatures of the air and of the ground ran out to the edge of the forest and stared back in horror at the raging flames.
“What are we going to do?” the bear asked, but there was no response. All the animals just stood staring at the red, hot, menacing tongues of fire, mute with shock!
Have you noticed lately, that everyone seems to be telling (selling?) their story? From sunrise to sunset, someone is trying to get our attention through one of the many forms of media that we all choose to interact with. The airwaves are packed 24-7-365. Every storyteller insists that their story is the most captivating with an important lesson for the listeners.
Have you ever wanted to know God’s will? Well here is one instance (and there are many), where the Bible makes God’s will crystal clear. It is God’s will that the believer should give thanks in all circumstances, for this is his God’s will in Christ Jesus. The believer gives thanks, not because the situation is good, but because it is God’s will. It means giving thanks in the hard times, as well as in the good times.
Has God been speaking to you? That’s a question that many believers wrestle with from time to time. How can one know when it is God and when it is just a personal desire or dissatisfaction or something else? How can mortal, flawed and sinful human beings identify the voice of a divine and infallible creator whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9)? I don’t know how, but I know it is possible and I know that it does happen, because of God’s love for humanity, and his love covers a multitude of sins (John 3:16).
