Friday, June 29, 2012

When you start to rebuild your life, there will be opposition! Nehemiah 4:1-2

Good morning everyone, 
At some point in your life there will be brokeness and the only way to really repair that is to pick up the pieces and let God restore it His way!  We can choose to use the broken pieces and let God begin to use His creative power of restoration.  Choice is something that God gave each and everyone of us so that hopefully we would learn from our mistakes.  When we make a bad choice, He doesn't say that He is done with us!  Instead, He gives us an opportunity to rebuild from those mistakes.  Just be prepared that when you begin rebuilding your life His way, you will run into opposition.  For many years the walls around Jerusalem lay in ruins and Nehemiah set out to repair it.  As he began to rebuild the wall, the enemy began to taunt him.  When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed.  He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing?  Will they restore their wall?  Will they offer sacrifices?  Will they finish in a day?  Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble---burned as they are?"  We are all just a pile of rubble when we try and live our life on our own!  With God as our chief architect, He can create a magnificent structure that will sustain even the worst setback!  Having Him as our foundation is the key to overcoming any and all obstacles so that we carry on like He intended for us to do:  To be a shining light for the whole world to see!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Thursday, June 28, 2012

How patient is He with you? 2 Peter 3:9

Good morning everyone,
These last few days, I've ask the Lord to show me a better sense of what He is doing?  I'm not really testing Him; I'm simply trying to understand Him better.  This morning you may think God has given up on you, but I want to tell you He is just getting started.  You may think His patience has run out, but 2 Peter 3:9 should give you a new sense of hope!  It says, 'The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.  Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.'  As long as you have breath to breathe, He is willing to forgive all (not some) of your past mistakes and clean your slate.  There is nothing that you have done in your past that He is not willing and able to forgive you so that you can have a fresh start.  There is one requirement and that requirement is for you to approach Him and ask Him to forgive you.  Maybe He should have put the hammer down on you because others think of you as a 'low life', but God created you and He is able to change you in the blink of an eye so that He can still work out a miraculous ending even for the least of these!  Pride is the number one problem with asking God to forgive you and a lot of times that self inflicted injury is the one thing that seperates you from Him forever.  Proverbs 16:17-19 tells us, 'The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their ways preserve their lives.  Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.  Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.'  Don't wait any longer; let history be made with you being a victory in His story.
Your brother in Christ,
p

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

I'm about to lose control and I like it! Matthew 16:25

Good morning everyone,
As I start today's devotional, I'm reminded of the beautiful thought of being drawn closer to Him.  What a precious feeling it is to know that He is in control when I lose it.  A number of years ago the Pointer Sisters sang a song entitled, 'I'm so excited!'
Even though they were not referring to the Savior in their song, I think there are several lines of the song that could relate to a relationship with the Lord.  First of all, God wants you to be excited about the relationship with Him.  In their deperate plea to want to know a certain person in the song, He wants to know you intimately.  As we draw closer and closer to Him, it is certain we will lose control of our life because we are no longer the one calling the shots!  See, you can't serve man and God.  Matthew 16:25 tells us, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it."  Don't  hide the fact that God is doing something big in your life.  Ask Him to let you know Him, know Him, know Him, and keep asking Him.  He gets excited when you place Him as top priority in your life and then you too will lose control and the excitement will be incomprehensible!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

When tugged in a direction, listen for His voice! John 14:16; 26

Good morning everyone,
The world tells us we only need to live by our instinct and we need to pursue our dreams like a whirlwind.  The results are selfishness, greed, and recklessness if we don't have a leader.  As I embark on my trip for the week to Laporte, Indiana, I'm intrigued by learning much about the Holy Spirit.  Do you realize what the Holy Spirit does for you?  John 14:16 tells us what Jesus says:  "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, the Holy Spirit, that He may be with you forever."  John 14:26 says, 'You have access to the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father has sent in His name, and He will teach you all things.'  Ladies and gentlemen, a couple of key words in these verses really stand out.  Forever is a really long time so we don't have to worry about losing that relationship.  Teach means to show us what is really important for us to retain because all things that He has for you are the most important!  The more we tune into the Holy Spirit, the more we will understand how we can be used for His purposes.  If we don't have the Leader, we may be successful in the worlds eyes, but we miss out on the true measure of success!  When it is all said and done, spending a life being directed by the Creator will identify how He can use even our messes and turn them into His masterpieces!
Your brother in Christ,
p  

Monday, June 25, 2012

The God of more than enough! John 16:33

Good morning everyone,
Do you know that you serve a God that is more than enough to take care of anything that you might come up against?  There is nothing that you can face that He has not already faced!  In John 16:33, Jesus tells us, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I will overcome the world."  See, we serve a God that never said it would be a cake walk, but if we stay faithful, we can have all the cake that we want to eat.  So many times people get discouraged and disheartened to the point of giving up because they feel as though they are alone.  They wonder how they could have ever gotten to the point they are at:  Lowest of lows!  They may even blame the God that created them for the mess they are in and they simply turn their back on Him!  By believing in the scriptures, there is promise after promise assuring each of us that He will carry us when we need to be carried and He will deliver us when we need to be delivered.  In the midst of turmoil there is peace, if you allow God to be your peacemaker!  So when you have trouble and you will, remember to take heart and He will help you overcome each and every obstacle.  Ephesians 1:13-14 says it's in  Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this message of your salvation), found yourselves free --signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit.  This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.
Your brother in Christ,
p

Friday, June 22, 2012

What better guarantee can you have? Psalm 121:7-8

Good morning everyone,
When we think about our physical life, we often may wonder just how long the Lord is going to keep us here?  Some peoples lives are snuffed out fairly early and some are here for upwards of a 100 years or so!  Either way, it is a blip on the radar screen in relationship to eternity.  But your spiritual life can be guaranteed right now even though there are no guarantees with your physical life.  Psalm 121:7-8 says, "The Lord will keep you from all harm-he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."  Even though He is concerned  about eternity and where you will spend it, He is also concerned with your physical life.  He wants to know you intimately and He wants that relationship to begin before you leave this place.  If you begin right now to give Him your life, how much better can your life be served?  This, ladies and gentlemen, is why you were created.  We all have a human sense of living this life on our own terms unless we humble ourselves and know that we were created for a much bigger cause!  We all have certain gifts that we can do with exceptional qualities!  Those qualities were provided by the One who created you.  Isn't it time to give Him the attention that He needs so that He can show you how to use those qualities like He intended.  He thought enough about you to create you and He has the 'master' plan that He wants to show you if you will let Him!  When you see people do things exceptionally well, does their life reflect Who made it possible or do they miss the point and selfishly take the credit?  Remember that He wants to shine through you!  The least we can do is give credit where much credit is due!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Admitting that you can't do it alone is the first step! 1 Corinthians 11

Good morning everyone,
Everyone likes independence but that idea causes havoc with what God asks of you.  See, everyone likes to make decisions for themselves because then they feel less of a need to depend on someone else.  Making decisions should always be a consultation process with the Lord.  Good decisions produce Godly wisdom because you've already consulted the 'Top Consultant!'  We tend to look at the decision making process from a selfish standpoint unless we ask Him to give us His wisdom.  Godly decisions go against the flow of what human nature would decide.  So you have to decide up front that He is in control!  More confrontations happen between man and woman, husband and wife, because of selfishness and stubbornness than for probably any other reason.  God ask of husbands to be a good example for wives to live by and not to be a hammer that stamps out life.  In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul describes how he ask the Corinthians to follow him as he follows the example of Christ.  He goes on to say that the head of every man should be Christ, the head of every woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.  Man is responsible as He leads.  If we as men don't get Godly wisdom so that we can make Godly decisions, we are going to lead our wives completely down the wrong path!  For you single men, start out right now by giving Him control of your life and asking Him to fill your singleness.  If He decides to provide you a mate, you will be much more ready than most that jump into marriage.  Think about how many women would be better suited if we as men were to completely trust that He knows the mate that we need.   Admitting that you can't do it alone is the first step to Godly wisdom.  Seek His face and consult Him about every decision as you go forward.  
Your brother in Christ,
p    

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

In order to move forward, you must let go of the past! 1 Samuel 10:20-22

Good morning everyone,
The title of today's devotional is simply said a lot easier than the actions that it takes to do it.  See, we all have a tendency to build up a bunch of baggage unless we get rid of it on a daily basis.  Think for just a minute about your house only being cleaned once a month.  For some of us, there is so much activity, it needs to be cleaned on a daily basis.  The only way you can become what God intends for you to be is to allow Him to clean your dirty baggage out so that He can make you whiter than snow!  We seem to cling to baggage because we think that we can hide behind it.  That is not true at all.  1 Samuel 10:20-22 says that Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel before the Lord.  But when they looked for Saul, he had disappeared!  So they asked the Lord, "Where is he?" And the Lord replied, "He is hiding among the baggage."  Why is it that we think we can carry on the way we do and then hide from the Lord?  If you are to become what God has called you to be, you are going to need to become transparent.  Transparency is simply being truthful about who you are and dealing appropriately with your actions.  If you mess up, hiding is the last thing you try to do.  See, God already knows what you did and where you are.  Why not ask Him to forgive you and then you stop trying to carry more and more junk!  As we humble ourselves and show our change of heart, that is when He can use us the way that He intended to use us!  Once we turn the corner of letting go of the past, we can move forward with gusto!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Why giving up is not an option! Hebrews 10:25

Good morning everyone,
Everyday you wake up, there are a number of decisions that you have to make.  Am I going to roll over and go back to sleep?  Am I going to get up and face whatever is thrown my way?  See, there are choices that each of us have to make whether we want to or not.  If we decide no choice at all, we have in effect made a choice.  The importance of trudging forward is a tough decision for many people but it is necessary!  See, how you cope with your situation may be the catalyst for another brother or sister to decide not to give up!  Hebrews 10:25 talks about the importance of fellowship with each other.  'Not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.'  Some people believe that they can serve the Lord effectively by doing their own thing.  In other words, they don't necessarily have to go to a church building to worship.  And they don't but it shouldn't really be all about themselves.  They don't feel as though they need to interact with each other in a formal setting.  What they don't realize is the importance of being connected.  Verse 24 says, 'And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.' When we take time out of our busy schedule to meet together as a body, we in effect say that I am being accountable for my brother and sister.  There are many facets to corporate worship that are important.  Preparation of your heart is the most important!  Am I going to be sensitive to allow the Holy Spirit to direct me to someone who needs prayer?  Touch is another area that is greatly overlooked.  To touch a brother or sister on the shoulder and pray for their needs is powerful to say the least!  See God created us to worship together so we can get out of our comfort zone so that we can encourage folks, pray for folks, and help them to realize that giving up is not an option!  Yes, spur them on!!  The next time you have the opportunity, make worshipping with your brothers and sisters your priority!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Monday, June 18, 2012

Accomplish much for the Lord! Isaiah 55:10-12

Good morning everyone,
When we think about the word accomplish, we often look forward to what we anticipate that we will get done or looking back at what we've already done.  Sometimes, if not most of the time, our accomplished list may be different than our intended list.  The most important things that we can accomplish in a given day are the things that honor and glorify the Lord.  Isaiah 55:10-12 says, 'As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes out of My mouth:  It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  You will go out in joy and be lead forth in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.'  When we accomplish the things that are really important, God smiles!  In order that we do the things on our intended list that are important, we need to be connected to Him.  If you are like me, I need lists to remind me so that I can categorize them into levels of importance.  If I don't do that, inevitably certain things will get left off.  Just ask my wife!   If we don't stay connected to our Savior, how will we ever really know what is important to Him and how will our accomplishments amount to much?  Jeremiah 30:23-24 describes to us that God has a list and He will not stop until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart.  Let us all become part of that list so that He can accomplish much through us for His kingdom!
Your brother in Christ,
p   

Friday, June 15, 2012

Were you given another chance that you passed up? Mark 12:30-31

Good morning everyone,
I suppose everybody that reads the devotional this morning is busier than a one arm paper hanger just like myself.  Busy enough that you passed by someone yesterday that maybe you didn't notice or you noticed and didn't take the opportunity to show them the love of Jesus.  To be real honest, when I pass someone in an intersection that looks lost and totally beaten down and I didn't at least make eye contact and tell them that Jesus loves them, it bothers me.  Chris Sligh sings a song and the lyrics go as such:  I wanna love because You love; I wanna give because You gave; I wanna reach my hand out to the lost because I know Your hand can save.  See, it shouldn't be our job to judge those folks on the corner, especially if they look like beggars.  Ask God to show you how to love them!  You don't necessarily have to give them money but an act of His love may make all the difference in the world.  You've just got to be willing to get your hands dirty.  He did for you!  Do you really want to know the struggle and the pain that others feel? Do you want to hear the stories you see echoed in their eyes or is the love that you're reflecting even real?  You say you're too busy to take time to even notice the lost and found that you go by during the day!  Maybe it's time to ask God to free up some time so you don't feel as though you can't give individuals the love that He wants you to show!  He did for you!  Mark 12:30-31 tells us to 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'  The second is this:  'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no greater commandment than these.
Your brother in Christ,
p    

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Upright and just! Deuteronomy 32:4

Good morning everyone,
Deuteronomy 32:4 is an amazing verse for all of us to build our foundation of faith upon because it talks about His perfection.  He is the rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just.  A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.  Today so many people are looking for answers to the questions they have about life and how to live it, yet they don't really start with a very good foundation.  In Luke 6:47-49 Jesus tells us, "As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like.  They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.  When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.  But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.  The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."  There is only one way to maneuver through life and be assured that your foundation is 'Rock Solid.'  That is by placing your hope and faith completely in Him, even physical death can't take away the future that He has promised you!  The Holy Spirit is there to guide your every move so that you can begin to experience that future right now!
Your brother in Christ,
p   

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Reaching the lost! 2 Corinthians 4:15

Good morning everyone,
It should be our job to never ever stop praying for the lost.  It isn't our job to judge whether people are worthy or unworthy.  That is the job of our Lord and Savior.  None of us are worthy if you really get down to the brass tax of things.  But God's grace is sufficient to cover all of our unworthiness and that gives hope to the hopeless.  At any given time, people are capable of seeing the void in their life that can only be filled by Jesus Christ.  As long as there have been people on earth, many have tried to put off the inevitable.  See, most people don't think that death is right around the corner.  Their thought is I've still got time before I need to make a commitment so in the meantime I'm going to be foot loose and fancy free.  Nudges are His way of saying, 'I want you in the family, are you listening yet?'  Ask God to give you a heart to be ready when people ask questions.  People are searching for answers and it just might be your answer that leads them in His direction.  Pray like you've never prayed before and ask the Holy Spirit to give you the boldness that is needed to encourage the lost.  How?  Well, one thought at a time because He is able to do far more than you can imagine and then it becomes His work and you are just the vessel that He uses to accomplish it!  2 Corinthians 4:15 says, 'All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.' 
Your brother in Christ,
p  

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Walking the tight rope! Matthew 7:13-14

Good morning everyone,
Have you ever tried to walk a tight rope?  For some, it takes much practice to balance themselves on a rope suspended between two points.  For others, they have a hard time balancing by simply walking.  If you take that same approach and balance yourself on a small beam a few inches off the ground, for most, it is a fairly simple task.  The higher you raise the beam, the more difficult it becomes in staying balanced.  Distractions can be the demise of a tight rope walker or someone who works high above the ground on beams of a building.  In a similar case, for those who take their eyes off the Lord, they can simply let distractions be their downfall.  The same is true of the narrow gate that Jesus talks about in Matthew 7:13-14.  Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Isn't it interesting that the key to life is Jesus, but these verses say that few find Him?  If you are walking a tight rope, balancing yourself on a beam, or entering into His gates, He needs to be the center of attention!  Expertise is letting Jesus work through you by keeping your eyes on Him so that the distractions don't have you going through the wrong gate.
Your brother in Christ,
p   

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Do you feel connected or disconnected? Colossians

Good morning everyone,
Back in October of 2010 before I first started the blog and sending out devotionals, I wrote on the book of Colossians and how it is a book of connections.  This morning I want to revisit it because I think one of the most important things you can ever do in this life is to be connected to the Lord.  Paul helps us to understand when you combine anything to the mix of Christianity, you get something that is not of God.  The Colossian church at that time was mixing philosophies and religion with Christian truth.  The result was Gnosticism which was steering people away from God and denying Christ as Lord and Savior.  It is a slippery slope when you choose to have a 'fruit salad' mentality for your beliefs; taking a little of this and a little of that because it better suits your needs.  To combat this devious error, Paul stressed Christ's deity---His connection with the Father.  Colossians 2:19 says, 'They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.'  When we think that we are more than what Christ intends for us to be, our thinking will get us in serious trouble. Many people believe that being a good moral person, staying out of trouble, and believing in a 'higher power' are the ingredients you need in order to get to heaven.  There is only one road to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ.  John 14:6 reminds us that there is no other way because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!  See, He made you so that you would humble yourself and realize beyond a shadow of a doubt that being connected to Him is your ticket.  Being a Christian starts with each of us getting on our knees and asking Him to change us.  It continues in how we 'love' and 'serve others.'  It is a commitment to Him by allowing Him to weed us so we can 'grow' and be 'fruitful.'  It isn't about where you've been!  It is about where He wants to take you! 
Your brother in Christ,
p

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

His grace is sufficient! 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Good morning everyone,
When you think about the condition you are faced with, do you see any hope?  2 Corinthians 12:7-10 gives us insight into Paul's condition.  So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.  But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.  See Paul ask God to take away the things that bothered Him.  Yet, since He had to live with them, He didn't stay in the moment continuing to complain about them!  Even in the midst of your weaknesses, He is ready to make you strong.  Be content in the moment and allow God the flexibility to use your condition for His glory!  When the world sees God working in and through your hopelessness, that is when eyes are opened.  Don't sit and complain about your physical, mental, or your psychological state because God is ready to use that state to reveal His power.  There is one thing that satan can not take away from you and that is the Holy Spirit!  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a peace about where you are at and then let Him take care of the weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities.  When we allow God to rule our being, His grace will be perfected through the thorns in each our lives. 
Your brother in Christ,
p

Monday, June 4, 2012

Progressive freedom for those who walk with the Lord! Galatians 5:1

Good morning everyone,
When you think about the word freedom, think about eternal freedom.  Any other kind of freedom is not freedom at all.  Galatians 5:1 says it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  Once you understand that you are totally free in Christ, sin is no longer this trap that has you ensnared!  A yoke is a wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals (or oxen) are joined at the heads or necks for working together.  It is used to control the animals so that you can steer them in the direction that you want them to go.  It is the same control that sin has over your life until you finally give the Lord the opportunity to set you free by allowing Him to become your Prince of Peace!  You may feel free and able to come and go as you please but until you allow Him to take the yoke off, you will find that satan is steering you right into the midst of his trap!  Don't delay, because freedom in Christ allows you to become what He created you to be.  Progressive freedom is beautiful because it builds on what has already been started.
Your brother in Christ,
p    

Friday, June 1, 2012

Are you transparent? John 13:15

Good morning everyone,
When you think about transparency, do you think that I'm referring to people being able to see through you?  If you think that, you are partially right.  Because allowing people to see through you says more about allowing them to know your good and your bad than physically being able to see through you!  Transparency is being vulnerable and allowing people to see the real you.  Rather than having bunches of deflectors up which keep people away, it is saying that even though I've been hurt before, I trust God in allowing myself to love again and again.  God wants us to love folks and be loved on His terms.  That means that you don't pick someone to death to find all their flaws but you find the things that you love about them because of His works.  See, God didn't create junk.  The definition of transparent gives a number of different usages but I like the following: free from pretense or deceit; easily detected or seen through; and readily understood.  Our Savior is the perfect example of transparency because He was the same yesterday that He is today and the same that He will be tomorrow!  John 13:15 says, 'I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.'  He came to serve and not be served!  How many times do we look at relationships from the outside to determine if we want to know someone on the inside?  If we are honest, most of the time!  May we trust that God shows us much more so that we can get around the deflectors to really get to know His children!
Your brother in Christ,
p