My Daily Devotional Volume III By Robert William Brock, Jr.

My Daily Devotional Volume III

”You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3

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My Daily Devotional Volume III

About the Author

Robert William Brock, Jr.

Born in Pineville, Kentucky, the son of Robert William Brock and Irene Napier Brock, he grew up in the beautiful southeastern part of Kentucky. He attended Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky graduating with a degree in Business Administration and Accounting. Early in his career he became interested in Health Care Administration, and spent the rest of his career in Hospital Administration, where he retired after 45 years. He has been fortunate to have worked at several of the most prestigious hospitals in the country. During his career he also became enamored with the Credit Union movement and has founded and directed many Credit Unions during this time. After retiring from health care he has devoted the past ten years to a ministry, having founded and directed the Nehemiah Network, which provides assistance to the needy people in the area, by bringing together the numerous community organizations, churches and businesses to work collectively to meet the community needs. The Nehemiah Network concept has now spread throughout the nation and programs have been developed in 8 states adopting the framework of the Network. In addition to his work with the Nehemiah Network he has held several positions in the area including President and Chairman of the Board of Tri State Federal Credit Union, President and Chairman of the Board of Winter Park Federal Credit Union, board member of the University of Florida Federal Credit Union, President of the local YMCA, Vice President of the Ohio Valley Home Health Agency, board member of the Salvation Army, Vice President/Treasurer of the Community Resource Center, board member of the East Liverpool City Hospital, President and Treasurer of the Winter Park Jaycees, President of 3

My Daily Devotional Volume III the Winter Park Rotary club, President of the Winter Park Toastmasters Club, and also President of Newbold Technologies an organization that was founded with the vision of revitalizing the economy of the area and providing a future for the youth in the area. He was also named as businessman of the year in 2003 for the state of Ohio by the Republican National Committee. He is also a Kentucky Colonel. He is a published author of six Christian books, “God’s Plan for a Joy Filled Life”, “God’s Plan for the Family”, God’s Plan for a Father”, “My Daily Devotional”, “My Daily Devotional Volume II”, and “My Daily Devotional Volume III”. He has spent over twenty years tracing his ancestors, and has written a book “Our Kentucky Heritage” about his findings. He writes a free daily devotional which is distributed on a daily basis for the past four years to over 20,000 individuals via e-mail. He lives with his wife Margaret of 42 years in East Liverpool, where they have resided for over 27 years. They have three children and four grandchildren.

Our Family Bob, Margaret, Pamela, Rob and Christopher 4

My Daily Devotional

January 1

Volume III

Overcoming Evil

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21 Every morning when we wake up we are confronted by evil. The world is full of evil everywhere we turn. We are tempted like no other time in our history by Satan to follow the ways of the world. Our homes are invaded by evil, as our television, our music and our newspapers are filled with things that our forefathers would have not allowed into their homes. When we go to our places of employment evil is all around us. Fellow employees are talking, dressing and demonstrating evil in their behavior and their attitudes. Almost any product or service that is advertised or promoted on television, radio, billboards or in any public arena has sexual overtones in their messages. I can remember when we got our first television in the late 1950’s, that my grandparents were very skeptical as to the language and dress on the programs, and would not permit some of the shows to be viewed in our home. These were very tame programs, as compared to what is allowed in our homes today. We have slowly, over the years, condoned more and more evil, and have allowed this to invade our lives, our homes, and influence our children. The scripture above tells us not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good. Parents must become more aware of the evil around them, and begin to fight evil, by bringing the presence of God back into our families, and teaching our children about God. When God is present in our lives and our homes, we will bring back the good. Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” 5

My Daily Devotional

January 2

Volume III

Obey the Law

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” Matthew 5:17 I have heard many people over the years talk about that the Old Testament does not apply any more to our society, as it was only for the people of Israel and was their law. The Law that Jesus is talking about was given in the first five books of the Old Testament, and the Prophets were Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel who were the Major Prophets, and the twelve Minor Prophets, who were lumped together by the Jews as the “Book of the Twelve”, and also there were the other Former Prophets, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. Taken together “the Law” and “the Prophets” compromised all of the Old Testament. When Jesus came to earth, he fulfilled the Law and prophesy of all the Prophets. He emphasized its deep, underlying principles and total commitment to it rather than mere external acknowledgment and obedience. The Law that Jesus refers to is the Law that we still need to obey and follow today. The commandments that God gave to Moses, to give to the people, of Israel must be observed today by anyone claiming to be a Christian. Matthew 5:19 “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.” 6

My Daily Devotional

January 3

Volume III

Our Prayer Life

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:6 Our prayer life is so important, as it is our way to communicate with God. Although God already knows what is on our hearts and minds, we need to go to him daily, thanking him for the things he does for us. All our worldly possessions that we have accumulated, are due to him letting us have them, and we need to thank him daily for these. Our health, our families, our church, our nation and our leaders need to be lifted up to God in our daily prayers. The troubles and trials that we face daily need to be brought to him each day, so that he can lead and direct us to deal with them in a better manner. When we face decisions in life, God can give us guidance and wisdom to make the outcomes of these decisions positive ones. We need to go to God daily, asking him to watch over our children and our families and protect them from harm, and lead them on the paths of righteousness. I have learned so much from my wife during our forty seven years together about what our prayer life should be like, as she has diligently prayed each day asking God for all these things. When we develop a prayer life, where we are consistently going to God, both in the good times, and also in times of trouble, we are establishing a relationship with Him of trust and thankfulness. Jesus teaches us how we should pray. Matthew 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.” 7

My Daily Devotional

January 4

Volume III

The Use of Money

“How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Luke 18:24-25 The scripture above is what Jesus told the rich ruler who wanted to know what he must do to inherit eternal life. The message Jesus told him is one that is so true in our society today. The love of money and worldly possessions so often becomes the God people worship. God tells us that we should have no other God before Him, but many become so consumed with the love of money that it becomes their God. They spend all their time and efforts accumulating wealth, that they have no time left to worship the real God. God promises us that He will provide all our needs when we have faith and trust in Him, and we should not be consumed with the worry about our security and what life will bring. God will provide each of us money and wealth according to His plan for us; it is our responsibility to use our wealth as God commands us to. If we are a good steward of our money and wealth He will increase it in good measure, as He indicated in the parable of the talents. When we are able to control our money, and not let it control us, and use it in the fashion that God requires, we will be good stewards of our money. We should give freely of our wealth according to God’s word; a tenth of our income to the church and others in need. The law of simplicity should apply to our lives, meaning that our wealth should not be squandered on luxury items for our own pleasure, but rather dispersed to help others in need. When we control our money and not let it control us we are obeying God’s commands. 2nd Corinthians “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 8

My Daily Devotional

January 5

Volume III

The Path to Salvation

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Romans 1:16 The Jewish people were special in God’s eyes, and his favor will always be upon them. The apostle Paul tells us, however, in the scripture above that these privileges were not extended to the Jews because of their superior merit, or because of God’s partiality toward them. It was necessary that the invasion of the world by the gospel begin at a particular point with a particular people, who in turn were responsible to carry that gospel to the other nations. The Jews were chosen for this special task, and had the responsibility of spreading the gospel throughout the world. When we look at the history of the Jewish people we see that they have been blessed by God through the centuries when they have obeyed and followed his commands. They have prospered and conquered all their enemies when they followed God. We can also see that God has allowed them to be punished, humiliated and defeated when they have turned their backs on him and his commands. God told the apostles to go into all the world and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and salvation. The gospel that we hear today in our churches and throughout our land, is the result of what the apostles and the Jews began. The gospel of salvation is being preached throughout our nation, and no one has an excuse for not honoring God, because the whole created world reveals him. Today we have been given the choice to follow God and have an eternal life, and receive his salvation by believing that his son Jesus Christ died for our sins. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 9

My Daily Devotional

January 6

Volume III

Be a witness for God

“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” John 3:5 Salvation is not achieved by human effort or merit but comes through God’s mercy alone. God’s plan is that all men have the opportunity to be born again, and the gospel of salvation has been heard throughout our nation. There is no excuse for anyone in our country to not have had the privilege of hearing about God. We all have been given the choice to accept Jesus as our savior, however so many have turned their backs on this offer of eternal life. As Christians we have the responsibility to continue the quest to bring non believers to accept Christ as their savior. We all have opportunities each day to be a witness for Jesus to the people we come into contact with. Our jobs, our neighborhoods and our friends, all provide us the opportunity to be a witness for God wherever we go. Our acts of kindness, encouragement, giving, compassion and love for our fellow man are examples of how we can be a witness. All of us are evangelists for God wherever we go, and our duty is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. To bring someone to the Kingdom of God should be one of our primary objectives each day, and we should seek out opportunities all around us to complete this objective. The field is ripe for harvest but the workers are few. It is easy to be an example for God’s spirit in our lives by our actions, our speech and our behavior. We must walk the talk daily and obey God and his commands, and when we do we will stand out in the crowd as a beacon for someone that is lost. We will be able to be their lighthouse, and draw them toward God by our actions and behavior. John 3:3 “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” 10

My Daily Devotional

January 7

Volume III

Obey the Sabbath Day

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 There are not many people today who do not have stress in their lives, caused by our busy schedules, pressures from our jobs, financial issues, our health, our relationships, and just the busy lifestyles that we live. Getting stress out of our lives is difficult to do, and will take action on our part to change whatever is causing the stress. Many times we bring stress on ourselves by becoming overburdened with our ambitions to accumulate material things. We want a larger house, a newer car, more material possessions, and want to live a life of luxury, and devote our time and all our efforts to obtaining this. Our schedules are so full of meetings and appointments that we go from one to another without taking the time to refresh ourselves. It is tempting to want to do everything that everybody else is doing, as we want to be involved in everything, know everything, and be a part of everything, but it isn’t God’s best for you. We all need a break in the action from time to time. God tells us to spend six days at our work, but the seventh day should be a day of rest. This means that we are to spend this time refreshing ourselves, and withdraw from our labor and rest. We need to spend this time with God, worshiping Him and refreshing ourselves. Start your week off right by getting back to what God commands you to, respect the Sabbath and keep it holy, and you will reduce the stress in your life the way God intended. Exodus 23:16-17 “The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.” 11

My Daily Devotional

January 8

Volume III

The Importance of Baptism

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:4 Repentance was important in the message of John the Baptist, in the preaching of Jesus and in the directions Jesus left his disciples just before he descended into heaven. In New Testament times baptism so closely followed conversion that the two were considered part of one event. So although baptism is not a means by which we enter into a vital faith relationship with Jesus Christ, it is closely associated with faith. Baptism depicts graphically what happens as a result of the Christian’s relationship with Christ, which comes with faith—through faith we are united with Christ. As man fell into sin and became subject to death because of Adam and Eve, we now must die and be raised again with Christ—which baptism symbolizes. Being baptized does not forgive us of our sins, but rather forgiveness comes through that which is symbolized by baptism. Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins”. Through baptism we put off the old self and put on our new self which has been forgiven of all our sins. We are no longer under the control of sin, and have been freed by accepting Jesus into our hearts. We exchange our sin for righteousness and accept Jesus as our Savior. When we repent of our sins and are baptized, we are promised eternal life through Christ Jesus and will no longer be a slave to sin. Romans 6:6-7 “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” 12

My Daily Devotional

January 9

Volume III

Battling Discouragement

“A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? Proverbs 18:14 So often in life we become discouraged, as the pressures of everyday living leave us with the feeling that everything is against us. We become easily hurt and offended. We become suspicious of others, and have a fear of failure. We begin to withdraw from others, and even begin to withdraw from God. We can begin to lose our confidence in ourselves and our own abilities, which causes us to want to back away, as we don’t want to be rejected. A good example of this can be seen in the life of Moses, who had a confidence problem, and a creditability problem as to his ability to communicate effectively, and also felt inadequate to lead others, but God provided him with the power to overcome these deficiencies, and provided him with a helper, Aaron, who was able to help him. When God calls us to do his will, we need to be able to step out, and sometimes get outside our comfort zones to fulfill his plan for us. God wants to use us regardless of our past, and what we think may handicap us from making his plans come true. When God calls us, our focus should be on doing his will, not thinking about our limitations, as God will enable us to overcome our limitations, and empower us with whatever we need to fulfill his mission. When we go out in faith and trust in God to do His work, he will provide us with the power, strength and energy to complete His mission. God will open the doors for us in all our endeavors, when we venture out to do his will. Don’t let discouragement get you down, but trust in God to provide you with the strength to overcome. Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” 13

My Daily Devotional

January 10

Volume III

Staying Happy

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:29-31 This past week I had a few days when I felt down and a little bit gloomy. Nothing major was wrong that I could put a finger on, but my joy and enthusiasm was missing. Possibly it was just that some of my major projects were now completed and I was not able to keep myself uplifted. I began to think there were many people in the Bible that were like this as King David wrote many of the Psalms expressing times when he was down. Psalm 42:5 “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?” I then went to one of my board meetings where one of my friends said “Where is your enthusiasm, the spring in your step that you normally have?” My friend was joking but this made me think that everything was good in my life, my health was good, my family was happy, we had a nice house, financial security, and what else should I want. Those of us who know the Lord should have the most wonderful reason of all to be thankful and joyful. Jesus loves all of us, even when we have our bad days. He died on the cross, and rose from the grave so that we can have eternal life. With my friends help I now have my enthusiasm back and the spring in my step has returned. I am sure I will have other gloomy days, but knowing Christ, and remembering what he did for me will bring the joy and enthusiasm back to our lives. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 14

My Daily Devotional

January 11

Volume III

Be a Servant

“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” Ephesians 6:7-8 Over these past several years as I have been devoting almost all my time to serving the needs of the needy people around me, I have observed that so many times the selfish attitudes of people prevent them from really doing what God commands all of us to do. God wants us to be servants, and even demonstrated this to his disciples, by washing their feet, which shows us the attitude about serving others, that he wants each of us to have. So many people have good intentions to help their fellow man, but their own selfishness gets in the way of them extending help to others less fortunate. I believe that God wants us to focus our thoughts on ways to help others, as he gave his commandment to love others as we love ourselves. If we want to put this commandment into practice, we should get up each morning with the attitude that we are to have our lives focused on how we can serve others and not on ourselves. I know that I spend much of my waking hours thinking about others, and ways that I can reach them, and let them know about Jesus. This has become an obsession with me these last several years, and I struggle daily when I see others not having this same passion to serve as I have. I cannot judge them, as only God can judge their hearts, but someday when I stand before God I want him to say that I was a good servant, as I believe that His commandment should be one that is carried out in our daily lives by our actions and behavior, and only God will truly know what is on each of our hearts. Matthew 20:28 “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 15

My Daily Devotional

January 12

Volume III

Seek God Early

“Now get up early, along with your master’s servants who have come with you, and leave in the morning as soon as it is light.” 1st Samuel 29:10 Have you ever noticed the biographies of many of the famous successful men in our country and seen that most have one thing in common? They start their day early, usually getting up before most people do. We all think more clearly in the morning. We can focus. Our day is uncluttered early in the morning before the pressures of everyday life begin to take its toll. As we accumulate the emotions and stress of others throughout the day, the quality of our work usually deteriorates. Many champions in the sporting world begin early in the morning with their workouts and practice. Jesus also rose early. Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Jesus consulted his Heavenly Father before he consulted anyone else. He pursued the influence of God—early. Your life style may be an exception to this rule. Many people work all night, and use their day time for sleeping. But, for the most part, most of us have discovered that the greatest hours of our day are early, uncluttered with the demands of others. Jesus knew this and devoted this time to worshipping and praying. If this is our most productive time we should devote this time to God. When we give God our best time, we will be stronger in our relationship with Him, and will have more control over our time. God has given us gifts and talents that can be put to better use in our most productive time. We need to seek Jesus in order for him to motivate and use us in the best time possible. Exodus 8:20 “Then the Lord said to Moses, Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh.” 16

My Daily Devotional

January 13

Volume III

Wintertime

“Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? Job 12:12 You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was a young man, just married and embarking on my new life with my wife. And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all, as I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams—but, here it is—the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise. How did I get here so fast? And where did my youth go? But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I’m not sure how long it will last—this I know, that when it’s over—I am waiting for a new life to begin with Jesus. I look forward to my new life and a new beginning. Yes, I have regrets in my past life, such as things I should have done, but I have many things I’m happy to have done, and would do them all over again. So, if you’re not in your winter yet—let me remind you, that your winter will be here faster than you think. Life goes by so quickly, so do what you can today, because you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not. You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life—so live for good today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember. Life is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one. Make it one that you will have the assurance that you will have a new life in Christ Jesus, by asking Him into your heart, so that your new life will be an eternal life, with no winter in your future. Proverbs 3:1:2 “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” 17

My Daily Devotional

January 14

Volume III

The Law of Simplicity

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” 1st Timothy 6:6-7 As we have just completed the Christmas season I now reflect back and see how this blessed holiday season has been commercialized. Instead of celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, it has been relegated to a time of hoping we get many of our material needs met, such as the newest computer game, clothes, shoes, etc. So many people fall into this trap and forget that Jesus is the one that will supply all our needs. When we look around us we see many people in the world without even the basic necessities of life, while we enjoy nice houses, cars, cable TV, computers and articles that we rarely use. Still many of us are not content with what God has given us. I have heard our churches tell us about the many spiritual disciplines over the year such as daily bible reading, prayer giving, and forgiveness, but there is another discipline that does not get mentioned very often in our churches, and that is the discipline of simplicity. We should not become obsessed with keeping up with the Joneses, but should be obsessed with God and His love for us. When God is our focus, our lives will become simpler, and we become content. Contentment leads to true thanksgiving and to a simpler life. The apostle Paul gives us good advice in the following scripture. Philippians 4:11-13 “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” 18

My Daily Devotional

January 15

Volume III

Overcoming Discouragement

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” 2nd Thessalonians 2:16-17 With all the trials and troubles that we face in our daily lives we will all get discouraged at some time. Discouragement can become contagious and affect the people around us, our coworkers, our friends and even our families. Discouragement keeps us from being effective for God, as we cannot witness to others when we are downtrodden and at our wits end. It can cause us to isolate ourselves, and focus on our own trials and troubles instead of seeing the needs of others. Discouragement can cause us to lose our perspective about others, as we only see our dark valleys and the storm clouds hanging over our heads. This is what happened to the people of Israel, as they assumed their situation was hopeless, and could not foresee how God would deliver them from their plight. They became physically and mentally exhausted not being able to see the good things that lay ahead. We need to realize that when we become discouraged that God still hears us, and so often this is when we begin to seek God for His deliverance. So often it takes trials and tribulations to befall us before we will begin to seek God and ask for help. When things are going good in our lives, we don’t go to God and thank Him for our blessings, but when the storm clouds roll in, we turn our eyes to heaven and ask for His help. God only wants one thing in return for His assistance in helping us with our problems, and that is to offer ourselves to Him, and to ask Him into our hearts. John 6:35 “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” 19

My Daily Devotional

January 16

Volume III

Discovering God’s Plan

“And 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 Many times we do not understand why things happen the way they do in certain situations. We make our plans in life and have our course plotted, but situations develop that lead us in a different path than what we had planned. I believe this is the intervention of God directing our paths, and leading us where He wants us to be. I can recall when I began to research our family history, and record information about my father and grandparents history, I found that they always read their Bibles on a daily basis. I began to discover some of the scriptures that they referred to and had marked in their Bibles. As I began reading the scriptures they had marked, I began to see that they had lived their lives based on these scriptures. Even though they have now been gone many years their memories have still not been forgotten in our community. People still talk about them every time we go back to visit our family, and the kind of people they were. They had built up a legacy that has followed them for many generations, and I became enamored with the thought that everyone should be remembered in this fashion. This led me to begin my own Bible study, and really was the start to my developing a closer relationship with Jesus. This is not something that I had planned, but my search for history about my ancestors was the beginning of my study of the Bible. God had intervened in my life through this simple research, and this has now become an obsession with me, resulting in my daily devotionals and publishing thirteen books all devoted to serving God. Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” 20

My Daily Devotional

January 17

Volume III

Learn to Forgive

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 This is not a perfect world, as we all make mistakes. Your business is not a perfect business. Your friendships are not flawless. Those who work with you will make errors. I recall a story I read years ago. An up and coming young assistant to the president of a large corporation made a costly mistake. It cost the company $50,000.00. He was devastated and brought his letter of resignation to the president explaining, “I realize what a dumb thing I did. I am very sorry. I know that it cost the company $50,000.00. Here is my letter of resignation.” “Are you crazy?” the president replied. “I have been teaching you and educating you every week. Now, you have made a big mistake. I have just invested $50,000.00 in your education and you are going to leave? No, sir. You are not going to leave. You have cost me too much to lose my investment in you.” He stayed and later became the president of the company. We must always remember that we will all make mistakes, but forgiveness makes a future possible. Great leaders accept the responsibility for their people. If you are going to have extraordinary success in your business and your life, be strong and courageous enough to take the responsibility for the mistakes of those in the process of learning from you. Jesus was our supreme example as He taught us that no man is perfect, and that we are all prone to make mistakes, but He was always willing to forgive us for these mistakes. We need to be willing to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and learn to forgive others also. Peter denied Jesus three times, and yet Jesus lovingly said, Luke 22:31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.” 21

My Daily Devotional

January 18

Volume III

Stay in Control

“I urge you brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.” Romans 16:17 Having spent over 45 years in hospital administration, I discovered very early in my career to not permit anyone to cause division and show disrespect to the people I supervised. Rebellion is contagious in any organization, and also in your own personal life. One rebel can destroy any organization and lead people astray. Jesus did not tolerate disrespect and divisions with the people who followed Him. He confronted those who caused divisions, and rebuked them, as evidenced by the words He said to Peter: Matthew 16:23 “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” When we permit disrespect, and condone any kind of behavior that causes problems and divides people, we are promoting a behavior that God does not approve of. I remember the staff manager for President Ronald Reagan once saying that he managed by the acorn management philosophy. “I look for problems when they are the size of an acorn. I refuse to watch them grow into oak trees.” Any successful business career, and your own life, depend upon a peaceful and happy climate. You must constantly be aware of signs of discontent with the people around you. You must deal with any issues before they spread like a virus in your life. We must have the discernment and courage to keep those around us from becoming disrespectful and causing divisions. We must respond to them in a manner that will defuse the wrong attitudes and guide them towards a higher standard. James 3:16 “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 22

My Daily Devotional

January 19

Volume III

Do Not Become Discouraged

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:2 We are all going to have times of trouble in our lives, but we have God’s promise that He will be there to comfort us at all times. The Lord is faithful and He will see us through our troubles and trials. Our strength comes from Jesus, and although our troubles sometimes seem to overcome and overwhelm us, He will not forsake us, as He promises us in the scripture above. Our problems and trials cannot cripple the love He has for us; it cannot shatter our hope; it cannot corrode our faith; it cannot destroy our friendships; it cannot suppress our memories; it cannot silence our courage; it cannot invade our souls; it cannot conquer the Spirit but most of all it cannot steal our eternal life. We need to stand on God’s promise when we face our trials and troubles, and realize who is really in control. Our God is in control, and although we don’t sometimes understand all things that happen to us, we need to put our complete faith and trust in Him. God can heal all wounds and take away the hurt. He can make us whole again, and restore and renew us if we will only trust in Him. Without God in our life we would be swept away in the troubles of life, and would not be able to withstand the hurts and pains that befall us. We can all find the peace, contentment, joy and love that God can bring, in knowing and trusting in Him, even through our difficult times. So if you are struggling with something right now, look up, not out in the world for help, and God will help you to overcome. Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” 23

My Daily Devotional

January 20

Volume III

Nothing is Impossible with God

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 I am not sure how people cope without having God in their lives, but many are, or at least trying. These are not the days to be running around without Him. I know that in my own situation it is Christ who strengthens me, because if I relied on my own strength, I would not be able to do it alone. There is a popular Christian song “I Walk by Faith” which should be the theme song of everyone, as it gives each of us the message that our faith should be built on God and our trust in Him. When troubles beset us and it seems that there is no way out, this song should give us inspiration to put our trust in the only one that can change our lives and give us hope and a future. When we walk by faith, discouragement will burn away like dew when the sun comes up. Where there was confusion and bewilderment, there will be clear sailing and calm seas. God is there to give us strength to face any adversity in our life. There is not any problem or obstacle too great for God to conquer. God has also given us this power because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ to overcome our fears and problems. We have been given authority in Jesus’ name, to speak to the mountains that we face. As we command the mountains of sickness, despair, hopelessness and discouragement to be removed, they will be replaced with the fullness of God’s blessings. We need to know that God is in control and we can reach out in faith, believing and receiving the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, which will make each one of us completely whole. Matthew 17:20 “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” 24

My Daily Devotional

January 21

Volume III

A Key to Success

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” Ephesians 1:4 What is success? Success is not necessarily fame, money or what our position in life is. It is knowledge and awareness of your worth in the eyes of God. You are here for a purpose, designed and equipped for a particular function. You must discern and develop the God-given abilities He invested at your birth. It is only when those gifts are being used properly that you will feel and know success, and the value God sees in you. I believe success is happiness, and happiness is feeling good about yourself. If you do not feel good about yourself, neither money, fame or position is going to bring you success and happiness. All men crave greatness, recognition and rewards in life, as God told us to rule over all His creations and have dominion over them. Many people feel like they are not good enough to receive the benefits of God, but He gives us examples throughout the Bible of people who experienced success and were blessed. The Samaritan woman at the well, and Zacchaeus in the tree were examples of common people who experienced God’s blessings. God knows all your weaknesses, and the mistakes you have made in your lives, but you have to stop looking at these and start concentrating on the strengths He has given you. Stop looking backward at your weaknesses, and start looking forward and magnify your strengths. Nobody wakes up successful and happy, but we control our decisions, and our decisions create and control the majority of our circumstances. God wants us to be successful and happy in life as this is how we can serve Him better. Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” 25

My Daily Devotional

January 22

Volume III

Learn to be Patient

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 Patience is something that is difficult for many people. I have struggled with patience throughout my life, as I have wanted things done in my time frame, and have found it difficult to wait. We all have dreams and visions of what we want our life to be like, and want these to become realities now instead of next week or next year. I have learned over the years however that the waiting process is not all bad, as in the waiting process God is molding me to become more like Him, and teaching me to put my trust and faith in Him, instead of relying on my own abilities. About 6 years ago during a routine annual physical exam by my doctor the x-ray showed a suspicious growth on my adrenal gland. Although my doctor decided to just watch it for a period of time, and have an x-ray every 6 months to see if it was growing, this was the first time in my life that I was threatened by something as serious as this. Fortunately the size of the growth has remained constant and has not gotten larger, however having to wait for the results of the x-ray every 6 months has taught me to be patient, and that I am not invincible as I had always thought. Although the waiting throughout this entire process is not pleasant, my faith and trust in God has increased. I have learned to really trust in the Lord more during this time and put it into His hands. Today I know with surety that there is nothing that is impossible with God. Habakkuk 2:2-3 “And the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables that they may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end, it shall speak and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” 26

My Daily Devotional

January 23

Volume III

We Must Confess our Sins

“I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalm 32:5 During our life we all make mistakes, many times, rather innocently. I recall an incident where I borrowed a tool from one of my neighbors to use for a few hours and forgot to return it until months later when I was cleaning the garage and found it. I had promised him I would return it within a few hours. I apologized and it caused no great harm. It was just an innocent mistake, but many times we make mistakes that are not innocent mistakes. We speak words that hurt people, do deeds that are wrong, have thoughts that are inappropriate, deceitful and or hurtful. According to the Bible these non-innocent mistakes in thought, word or deed are called sin, and the consequences of these mistakes are always negative. God wants us to confess our sins to Him, as stated in the above scripture. We are to openly acknowledge these mistakes and admit the truth about ourselves to God, who is both holy and loving. Each of us need to examine ourselves, and spend some time reflecting on our own lives, and ask God to help us see ourselves as we really are. We may find that sometimes we do not like what we see, and may need to ask God for forgiveness. We may need to confess our sins and commit ourselves to the Lord, when we discover that we have “missed the mark” and made mistakes. We may find that we need to ask God to help us walk in a manner that is pleasing to Him, and guard our thoughts, our words and our deeds so that we do not continue to do things that are not pleasing to God. God will forgive us of all our sins, as He is a forgiving God. 1st John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 27

My Daily Devotional

January 24

Volume III

Let God Lead the Way

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.” Isaiah 41:6 We all have our dreams of what the future holds for us; it may be our dreams for our business, our family, our retirement or many other dreams of where we want to be in life. Our dreams keep us alive, inspired and moving forward. We need to keep in mind that we are not in this alone, as if our dreams are also God’s dreams, He will be there to hold our hand, as we continue to grow and rise to greater heights with His assistance. As we are traveling down the road of life, we shouldn’t worry about where we are going, but who we are following. We can go our own way and stumble along, many times getting off course, or we can follow God and stay on course. Many times we are uncertain about which path to follow when we try to do it ourselves, but when we follow God He will illuminate our way. Do you know where God is leading you? Are you uncertain about the path to take? Don’t worry for a minute for you have the Bible to guide you. You have God’s word as your road map. Obey the counsel provided within its pages, and you will find the right path which will lead to success. When we try to walk in the darkness, without a flashlight we will stumble and fall, but when we follow God’s word, it is like a light that will guide us, and every obstacle in our path will become visible. The Bible can become our flashlight and lead us on the right path. So when you think about your dreams and what the future holds for you, turn to God and align your dreams and visions with His will for your life, and He will guide you to fulfill and make them come true. Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” 28

My Daily Devotional

January 25

Volume III

Stewardship

“If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.” Proverbs 21:13 I have written many devotionals over the years about stewardship, mostly dealing with the power of money. However, I am totally convinced that God intends us to be a good steward of our time and our talents as well. Most people think about the parable of the talents as relating to money, but I believe Jesus intended it to equally apply to our time, our gifts and our talents. It is so easy for people to become absorbed in themselves and forget others. His greatest commandment told us to love God and also to love others as we love ourselves. Proverbs 11:24 “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.” If we bury our gifts and talents in the sand like the man who was given one talent, and not use it and multiply it, God will punish us as He did the unfaithful servant. “You wicked, lazy servant. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” I strongly feel that if we do not use our gifts and talents God will take these away from us and leave us in despair and depressed. I believe we see this in our society today as God has taken the joy out of people’s lives and replaced it with despair and depression. We see people becoming more and more dependent upon antidepressants to soothe and calm them down. I feel that if they were using what God gave them He would let them have peace and joy in their lives, and they would be experiencing God’s blessings in their lives instead of being depressed. Stewardship according to God is more than simply giving of our money; it is giving of ourselves which will produce God’s blessings. “Proverbs 11:25 “The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.” 29

My Daily Devotional

January 26

Volume III

Keep Your Mind on Jesus

“Blessed are those who hunger and righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6

thirst for

In the scripture above Jesus was describing people who want nothing else, and think of nothing else, than to be right with God. Many of us want to be righteous. However, few of us crave it so that it becomes the consuming passion of our lives. My great grandfather, who was a Methodist minister, founded many churches in Kentucky during his life, and I am reminded of a story I once heard. In the days of the circuit riders a minister was out riding one afternoon and came upon a man working in his field. “Fine day isn’t it?” the minister called out. “It’s fine for you,” the man replied, “all you have to do is ride around on that horse thinking about God all day long, while I have to sweat here in this field. I don’t think it right you should have things so easy while I have to work so hard.” “On the contrary”, the minister said, “thinking about God is one of the most difficult things you can do. And to prove it, I’ll give you this horse if you can think about God and nothing else for one minute.” “You’re on”, said the man and immediately he sat down in silence. Thirty seconds later he looked up at the minister, and said, “Does that include the saddle.” Thinking about God is not difficult. Thinking about nothing but God is very difficult indeed, as there are so many things in the world that compete for our time and attention. But Jesus assured us that only those who have that intense desire will receive what they desire. I leave you with this question for thought—what is it that you find yourself thinking about today? My prayer is that, more and more, your thoughts may be focused on God and Him alone. Psalm 63:3 “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” 30

My Daily Devotional

January 27

Volume III

Become More Humble

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James: 4:6

Most of us have just gotten over the Christmas season which celebrated the birth of our Lord and Savior. As we now get into the New Year we begin to think more about ourselves, and many times forget to think about the humble beginnings of Jesus. Jesus chose to come to this earth in the lowliest manner. He chose a manger to be born in, a workman’s home to live in, the most common clothes to wear and the simplest foods to eat. If Jesus chose this lifestyle, shouldn’t we, who profess to be His followers, be satisfied with the same. It is called being humble; accepting the simplest things in life. The hunger for material things, and the pride of life have a way of interfering with our spiritual wellbeing. They tend to take our minds off God’s work. Instead of always reaching for another blessing from God, we are reaching for the proverbial brass ring. The things of God become hazy and we forget about them, as we focus on worldly things. Is this an accurate description of you? Do you demand the newest and finest clothes, automobiles, homes, furniture, etc? Here was Jesus, the King of Kings—satisfied with nothing—worldly things didn’t interest Him. Spiritual things did. If we start our new year by following His greatest commandment which was to love God with all our hearts, and to love our fellow man as we love ourselves, we would be off to a great beginning, in our quest to be more like Jesus in our own spirituality. This would put our focus back to where it needs to be, and away from our selfish wants and desires. We would become more humble which would be pleasing to God. Psalm 13:7-8 “One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. A man’s riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat.” 31

My Daily Devotional

January 28

Volume III

Determine your Mission

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” Psalm 90:14 Your joy in life is determined by doing what you love. I have observed so many people over the years, who appear to not enjoy life, and are mired down in an existence where they are unhappy and many times depressed. I believe a good clue to what each of our gift and talent God gave us, is the things we love. What do you love to do? What do you love to talk about? What would you do with your life if money was not a factor? When we love what we do we become focused on it, and devote the time and our talent to better ourselves, and become better at whatever we love. We need to establish our mission in life. When we look at the life of Jesus we see that His mission was to save all mankind. He stayed focused on this mission and did not waver. He associated with fishermen, tax collectors, doctors, lawyers and religious leaders during His ministry, but He did not lose His focus. When we love something and are focused on our mission in life, we will succeed as we will devote our time and talent to it. I believe that broken focus is the real reason so many men fail in their lives. I have heard people say that they had spent their entire life working on a job that made them miserable. When you ask them why they have worked for thirty years, many will answer that “it is only ten minutes from my house, and in three years I will receive a gold watch, when I retire.” They have wasted their entire life doing something that they did not enjoy, and not fulfilled the mission of God. God has placed in us a specific design and purpose and we should remain focused on this mission. Ecclesiastes 3:13 “And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.” 32

My Daily Devotional

January 29

Volume III

Become a Cheerful Giver

“There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.” Acts 4:34-35 The story of Ananias and Sapphira is a good example of what can happen when we try to deceive God of what is rightfully due Him. Ananias and Sapphira sold their property and were to give the proceeds to the apostles to be distributed to the people in need. Instead of giving all they had gotten for the property, they held back part of the money for themselves. When confronted by Peter about this attempt to deceive God, they both denied this. When Peter told them the truth that both had not lied to men but to God, both fell down and died. They were punished by the guilt and fear of disobeying God and were punished by death. I believe so many people today are being punished by withholding from God. God does not make them fall down dead as was the fate of Ananias and Sapphira, but He punishes them by not bestowing blessings upon them. He gives them despair and depression in their lives and takes the joy and peace from their lives, and leaves them with feelings of fear, hopelessness, and not being fulfilled in their lives. Everything we own and have been given in life is due to God letting us have it. God wants us to share what we have been given with others. Our gifts and talents and also our material possessions are all thing we have been given by God, and to be a good steward of all our blessings we are to give of them freely to others in need. God blesses people who obey this command, but he punishes people who hold back for themselves. God wants each of us to be a cheerful giver. Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 33

My Daily Devotional

January 30

Volume III

Narrow is the Gate to Heaven

“Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21 Some day we are all going to stand before God and be judged on what we have done in our lives. All the good and bad things we have done, or not done in our lives will be revealed to God, and we will be judged as to whether we have fulfilled what God expects from us. Jesus gives us much wisdom as to the life we are to live, and the fruits that we are to produce. Jesus tells us in the book of Matthew Chapters 5-7 all the things that we need to do to become the kind of people that will be pleasing to God. These chapters tell us how we are to conduct ourselves, while obeying the Commands of God. But the fruit that we produce during our lives is what we will be judged on when we stand before God on our judgment day. It is not easy to follow these commands as many of them may be difficult for us to obey and implement in our lives. But to pass our test and enter Heaven, these things are necessary for us to follow and obey. When we arise each morning we need to understand and be aware of what is required of us to follow these commands. When Satan places obstacles in our way, and temptations that are meant to deter us, we need to be strong and not waver from our paths. God’s goal is for us to stand before him with good fruits that we have produced during our lives, and our efforts throughout our day should be with this in mind. Our deeds will find us out, and cannot be hidden from God. 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 it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” 34

My Daily Devotional

January 31

Volume III

Be Content

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1st Thessalonians 5:16 So often in life we find ourselves not being contented with our situations. We find ourselves unhappy, and begin complaining about what we think is a raw deal that we have been given. I recall a story that I read that illustrates this very well. There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. “He’s always there for me”, she said. She stated that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend. One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and then she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “now that you can see the world, will you marry me?” The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying, “Just take care of my eyes dear.” This is how so many people change when their status changes. Only a few remember what life was like before, and who’s always been there even in the most painful situations. Life is a gift that each of us should be happy with, and even though we may think we have been dealt a bad hand, we need to be content and joyful with what we have. Before we think of pointing the finger or condemning another, remember that not one of us is without sin, and we all answer to one maker. So when depressing thoughts seem to get you down, put a smile on your face and thank God that you’re alive and still around. Learn to be content with your life and where God has placed you. Life is a gift, live it, enjoy it, celebrate it, and fulfill God’s plan for you. 2nd Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.” 35

My Daily Devotional

February 1

Volume III

The Power of Prayer

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:19 During these past ten years as I have been sending out my daily devotionals, there have been few days that I do not have dozens of people replying and asking for prayer for some family member or problem they are having in their lives. I keep a prayer list of people who are asking for prayer and always respond to them with a copy of other devotionals that I have written that may relate to what they are asking prayer for. Almost all of these appear to give encouragement to these people who are having difficulties in their lives at this moment, and seem to encourage them and give them some sense of peace as to what is happening in their lives. I believe that we all can be an encouragement to others in their time of trouble and need. I have found that so many people get so engrossed in their own trials and troubles, that many times they do not take the time to help others that are in need. As the above scripture says when any two of us agree about anything you ask for it will be done for you. The power of prayer can accomplish wonderful results when we take the time to earnestly pray with someone, and come together and ask God for relief for people who are having difficulties. The gift of encouragement is a great gift that God has given many people that can benefit others so greatly. Just letting someone know that you are praying for them uplifts them and encourages them and enables them to handle these situations better. Look around you today and be an encourager to someone and uplift them with your prayers. Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” 36

My Daily Devotional

February 2

Volume III

Share your Burdens

“Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 Throughout the Bible we see the champions of God such as David and Moses always crying out to God to help them deal with trials and troubles in their lives. The Lord hears those who cry out to Him. Prayer is the key to reaching God and asking Him for deliverance from our problems, as He hears the cry of the righteous, and is faithful to deliver those who cry out to Him. How many times have we heard testimonies in our churches from faithful Christians, stating that it was God that got them through a death of a loved one, or through a broken relationship and other problems in their lives? God can give us peace in our lives when we cry out to Him, and His strength will let us get through these times. It is important to let others know our problems and trials that we are facing, as God tells us that when two or more come together in His name He will be with them and will hear them. God loves it when we carry each others burdens and I believe we are fulfilling the law of Christ when we do so. Corporate prayer is a wonderful tool that we all have at our disposal to bring our concerns to the feet of God. When we hand our problems over to God, we can walk away with the peace of knowing that God is in control of our situation. I believe that God is pleased and honored when we pray to Him both personally and collectively, as when together we pray to God for our needs, He will be with us, and hear us. We will find comfort as we lean on Him for peace to deal with our situations. So whatever problems or trials you are going through today, give them over to God and put them at His feet and let Him help bear your burdens. 2nd Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 37

My Daily Devotional

February 3

Volume III

Practice Love Every Day

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” 1st Corinthians 13:4 Each year about this time we begin seeing the signs of Valentine’s Day, and the appearance of red hearts, roses, balloons, cards and candy, which are to represent the showing of our love to the ones we love. This day is becoming one of the more popular days of the year, as the stores are stocking their shelves with all the above items and more. Did you know that more roses are sold on Valentine’s Day than on any other day of the year? It is a great occasion to express love and appreciation for any of your loved ones, but it is important to show little acts of kindness the other 364 days of the year. It means so much to the people we love when we spend time with them, share a meal or just talk to them. God tells us in his Word how much he loves us all the time too. His promise is that he will never leave or forsake us, as he will answer us whenever we call upon him either day or night, as he never slumbers or sleeps. We also need to tell him that we love him 365 days a year as well. We must realize that all the flowers we receive will die, the candy will be eaten and all the balloons will pop, but the love that God has for us will last for all eternity. The love that we share with others and the love we have for God will also never pass away. We need to never forget to love our God and others each and every day, and find ways to show our acts of kindness to those we love before and after Valentine’s Day this coming year. We must let Love be the theme of our lives each and every day, not just on Valentine’s Day. Mark 12:30-31 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.” 38

My Daily Devotional

February 4

Volume III

Use The Word of God

“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.” Hosea 4:6 The more I become committed to establishing my ministry, during these past several years, the more I realize the need for God’s people to have a working knowledge of the word of God. By “working knowledge” I mean a good understanding of verses from the scriptures, and promises of God that we can apply to our lives when we are tempted, troubled, or face challenging circumstances. In the scripture above Hosea is speaking of the tendency all of us have to forget God’s word in our daily lives. We all have a tendency to lean on our own understanding, education, or experience at times, when it would be better to embrace the word of God instead. Not only does the word of God feed our souls and teach us more about Jesus our Lord, but it can be used as a “sword”, according to the scriptures. By praying it and speaking it out loud whenever we are in need of deliverance, the word of God becomes a sword in our mouth to rebuke the compromising influences of this world, and the deceptions of Satan. I am convinced that if Satan can keep us from learning, studying and using the word of God when we are facing our temptations, tormentors, and trials he can impede our victory and stunt our spiritual growth. The word of God is the foundation of our deliverance and spiritual freedom. What Satan does not want you to know is that the word of God has the power to put him to flight; the word of God has authority over all the powers of Satan. Ephesians 6:17 “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” 39

My Daily Devotional

February 5

Volume III

Do You Want To Get Well

“One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “do you want to get well?” John 5:5-6 “Do you want to get well?” This seems to be a somewhat odd question that Jesus asks of an invalid lying by the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. If we were ill, what would we say, or would we need to be asked this question? If we are in pain or trouble, and in need of any kind of healing, almost all would say that we would want to be healed. But this invalid that Jesus was speaking to had been ill for thirty-eight years. It is possible that he didn’t want to be healed. He may have enjoyed feeding off the sympathy of others. He obviously made his living by using his infirmity to beg and receive gifts from anyone who passed his way. If he were healed he would have to go to work. Clearly, this man was ill both, physically and weak in spirit. Sometimes that is how we feel, too. Jesus healed this man with a miracle and the man, when accused by the Pharisees, shifts the blame to Jesus. It is clear that this ill man was not a nice man and was a sinner. Why would Jesus choose such a person out of all the ill people lying by the pool of Bethesda? If Jesus focused on a person who was not only weak in body, but also weak in spirit and character, then you and I have a real hope that He is looking at us with the same question. No matter how weak, wounded or weary you may be, Jesus is asking, “Do you want to get well?” Jesus is really saying to us “Let me love you.” Whatever is going on in your life, His love remains focused on you. Turn to Him and let Him show His love and strength to you today. John 5:8 “Then Jesus said to him, Get up. Pick up your mat and walk.” 40

My Daily Devotional

February 6 it.”

Volume III

God Answers Our Prayers

“You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do John 14:14

These past several years I have received hundreds of responses to my daily devotionals that I send out daily, from people asking for prayer for sickness, relationships, family issues and many other requests for prayer. I can recall a recent request for prayer for a young new born baby that had severe lung problems, and was not expected to live out the week. Her mother was asking anyone to pray for her newborn baby and had sent emails to anyone she knew. I believe God heard all the prayers that everyone was praying for this young baby, as miraculously this baby almost recovered overnight and was released from the hospital within a few days. I believe God hears our prayer and tells us that when two or more are gathered in His name, and requests anything that it will be done for them. God has the power to heal any hurts, troubles and trials we are going through in our lives, and will answer our prayers when we go to Him with our hearts surrendered. So many people only turn to God when they are in trouble or have problems they cannot handle by themselves, which is unfortunate, as we should go to God in our good times as well, but it is so comforting to know that He is always there to comfort us and hear us at all times regardless. There is no one that can do what God can do, to take away our hurts and trials and make us whole again. Our parents cannot do this, our bosses cannot do this; there is no one but God that can restore us. So today when you have troubles and mountains in front of you, turn to God for your healing, and go to Him in prayer and He will hear you and give you peace. John 14:13 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the father.” 41

My Daily Devotional

February 7

Volume III

Humble Beginnings

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.” 1st Corinthians 1:26 When I think about the scripture above I think of the many great wonders of our modern civilization that have come from the minds and actions of individuals that were not of noble birth or wealth or had fame to make them who they became. D. L. Moody, one of the great evangelists in our history was an orphan, but did great things. Abraham Lincoln, one of our greatest presidents, came from humble beginnings but impacted the world. Even Jesus was born in a manger, the most humble beginning for anyone. I have seen people throughout my life that have risen from humble beginnings to become great men and women and impact others by their achievements. There is one thing in common that I believe all of these great achievers have, and that is that they have used the gifts and talents that God has given them to their fullest extent. Each of us has been given gifts and talents from God, and if we put them to use in our lives, God will multiply these, and the fruits of our labor will result in great harvests. When you evaluate yourself see if you are using your gifts and talents to the fullest extent possible. Think about the following sentence and apply it to your life. “If you look at what you do not have in life, you don’t have anything. If you look at what you have in life, you have everything.” God has no boundaries on what we can become and the impact we can have on the world around us. Our life is a gift from God and we need to get the most from it by making it the best we can become. 1st Corinthians 1:30 “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God.” 42

My Daily Devotional

February 8

Volume III

Be Thankful Always

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure.” Philippians 2:14-15 Our life is a gift from God, and we need to enjoy it, celebrate it, and fulfill it according to the will of God. But so many people are not happy and contented with their place and position in life, and are constantly complaining about things that they cannot change. I believe that each of us, before we speak, need to think about what we say, and consider just how bad life could be for us. When we think about our plight we may just find that we are not in too bad of a condition ourselves. Before you think of saying an unkind word, think of someone who can’t speak. Before you complain about the taste of your food, think about someone who has nothing to eat. Before you complain about your husband or wife, think about someone who has just lost their spouse. Before you complain about your dirty house, think about someone that is living in the streets. Before whining about the distance you drive, think about someone who does not have transportation and must walk. Before complaining about your job, think about the unemployed, the disabled and those who wished they had your job. Before you complain about your life, think about someone who went too early to heaven. But most of all when you think about pointing the finger or condemning another for their faults think about your own life and look at yourself before speaking. Remember that not one of us is without sin and we all answer to one God. And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down, put a smile on your face and thank God you’re alive and still around. Life is a gift from God, be thankful for it. Philippians 2:18 “I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.” 43

My Daily Devotional

February 9

Volume III

God Knows all Things

“To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7 Someday we are all going to stand before the throne of God and be judged on our life. This will be our day when the book of our life will be opened for God to look at and judge us on. I recently saw a story that I believe tells how God will account for all our actions. It was almost time for school to dismiss and a mother noticed it looked like rain. So she drove toward the school to pick up her eight-year old daughter. She turned down the street to see her daughter running towards her down the sidewalk. A lightening bolt flashed and the little girl looked up towards the sky, smiled and then began running towards her mother’s car. Another lightening bolt flashed and again the little girl looked towards the sky, smiled and resumed running. This happened several more times until the little girl finally arrived at where her mother was parked. Her mom immediately inquired as to the strange behavior, “Why did you keep stopping and smiling at the sky,” she asked her daughter. “I had to, mommy, God was taking my picture.” God knows all the things that we do throughout our lives. He knows our thoughts, our actions and our behavior and all the things about us. There is nothing concerning our behavior and actions that we can hide, or even think about that is hidden from His sight. We need to keep this in mind throughout our day and remind ourselves that God, like the little girl, is keeping snapshots of our lives and one day will have these pictures in our files for all to see and be judged on. Life can be hard sometimes to always do what is good and just in the sight of God, but just remember the afterlife can be harder. Romans 13:12 “The night is nearly over, the day is almost here.” 44

My Daily Devotional

February 10

Volume III

Do Not Doubt Jesus

“Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:10 Sometimes when I begin to have doubt that Jesus will not be around to hear my prayers, I can think about the scripture above where Jesus had just rose from the grave and was telling Mary, the mother of James and Joseph and Mary Magdalene to go and tell the disciples that He had risen. They came to visit the tomb and did not expect to see Jesus alive, but they discovered an angel at the tomb, who rolled the stone away. Their hope was gone, but when seeing the stone rolled away and heard Jesus speaking to them their hope was restored. This scripture should remind us that Jesus is and will always be there for us, as He is once again back on His throne. It tells us that He has risen from the grave to save us from our sins, and that He is now alive and waiting for us to come and follow Him. When we think that our prayers cannot be answered the scripture should remind us that Jesus is alive again, and that He could also send His angel to roll away our stones and take care of our problems. We should learn as the two Mary’s did to not give up as Jesus can send His angel to take away our financial burdens, relationship issues, family problems, our health problems or any other problem we may be having. For all you know right at this moment He may be telling the angel to move the stone. The check may be in the mail. The apology may be in the making. The job contract may be on the desk. The health issue may be healed. We need to remember that we must not quit, for if we do, we may miss the answer to our prayers. God still sends angels. And God still moves stones. Matthew 28:2 “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone.” 45

My Daily Devotional

February 11

Volume III

God Provides our Needs

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 In the scripture above the apostle Paul was telling the Philippians that Christ Jesus would provide for them in all situations if they continued to follow His word and obey His commands. How do we get all our needs met? I recall a test that one of my hospitals gave all new applicants for an administrative position. You are driving along on a wild stormy night. You pass a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus: 1. An old lady who is about to die. 2. An old friend who once saved your life. 3. The perfect man (or woman) you have been dreaming about. Which one would you choose, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car? You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first, or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again. The candidate who was hired had no trouble coming up with his answer. His answer was, “I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the old lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams.” Most of you probably tried to meet the needs of only one of the people, not thinking how you could meet all their needs. It’s very much the way we feel about God. Most of us are people who gets pleasure from trying to meet the needs of people around us. But, so often we fall short. That’s why I’m so very thankful to have a God who can not only meet all my needs, but also the needs of everyone else I come into contact with. Romans 12:13 “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” 46

My Daily Devotional

February 12

Volume III

Love your Enemies

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:44 Recently I saw a scene from a movie about a middle-aged woman, driving a big, new, expensive car that was waiting to pull into a long awaited parking space, when suddenly, a young girl in a small sports car zoomed in ahead of her. The woman angrily asked why she had done that when she could tell she was trying to park there. The young woman’s response was “Face it lady, we’re younger and faster.” The young woman then entered the store. When she came out a few minutes later, she found the older woman using her big new car as a battering ram, backing up, and repeatedly ramming her little car. The young woman very angrily asked her why she was wrecking her precious sports car. The older woman responded, “Face it, I’m older and I have more insurance.” This scene reminded me that so often in life we take pleasure in exacting revenge when we have been wronged by someone. “Nothing is quite as sweet as getting even,” one saying goes. But as the legendary feuds of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s remind us, revenge only ups the ante and leads to unforeseen and bitter heartbreaks. God tells us, however, that we should be loving those individuals rather than lashing out in hatred and vengeance. While this may not make sense in human wisdom, our character under fire is often God’s way of giving us an opportunity to share His grace with someone who needs it most. Our lives are representative of the love of Christ. So when revenge is in our hearts and displayed in our actions, what does that say about our faith in a Lord who died for our sins and our love for those who are lost and have not received His salvation? 1st Peter 3:9 “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing.” 47

My Daily Devotional

February 13

Volume III

A Checklist of Fatherly Advice

“All your sons will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children’s peace. Isaiah 54:13 I believe our three children and our four grandchildren are a real blessing to me and my wife Margaret. I believe I could have been a better husband and father. I am making a checklist since we are living in a day where there are lots of broken family homes: 1. If I were starting my family again, I would love the mother of my children more, and let my children know I love their mother. True love is visible. Open the doors for her. This gives security to the children and shows God’s love for us. 2. If I were starting my family again, I would listen more. Most fathers are too busy. Listening can mean more than words sometimes. Listen when they share their little hurts. Look at them and show interest in all they do. 3. If I were starting over, I would make them feel that they belong, that they are on the team and have a part in the family. I would laugh with them, cry with them and pray with them. 4. Very important: Read to them. I can remember my mother and grandmother holding me in their arms, sitting on their laps, while they read many books to me. 5. I would express more words of appreciation, praise and compliments. Many children hear words of reprimand for making mistakes, but many children seldom hear words of commendation when the job is well done. 6. I would spend more time with them. My mother and grandmother spent time with me and taught me all the time. 7. I would laugh more, be happier. Making a child happy helps make them good. I would pray more, read the Bible and go to Church with them. It’s hard to change the past but 85% of a child’s life is set by the time they are 6 or 7 years old, so fathers heed these words as words to the wise are profitable for all time and eternity. 48

My Daily Devotional

February 14

Volume III

Be God’s Valentine

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1 Today is Valentine’s Day, and every year thousands and thousands of heartfelt messages are distributed to ones we love. There are gifts of candy, perfume, clothes and greeting cards that represent the love we have for the loved ones in our lives. Yet with all the cards, gifts, and other expressions of our love for others, we should always remember that Jesus gave us the greatest expression of love when he died on the cross for our sins. He tells us in the scripture above that “you are mine.” This scripture tells us that he has summoned us by name, and declared that we are his. This is the greatest Valentine’s Day gift that we will ever receive, and I wonder why the Valentine’s Day cards throughout the country do not express these words. To be God’s valentine and have him tell us that we are his valentine should warm our hearts and fill us with joy. The Bible is filled with scripture after scripture telling us of his love for us. God’s message of love is breathed into every word contained within his Holy Word. For God Himself is Love. His love is unconditional and all encompassing. He longs to embrace us and hold us close to his heart as he softly whispers “Be Mine.” Would you like to receive a very special Valentine this year? The truth is, you already have received it. It arrived two thousand years ago by way of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Will you receive his valentine’s gift today? He is ready to bring his message of his love to you and transform all your days into Valentine’s Day. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever should believe on Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 49

My Daily Devotional

February 15

Volume III

God’s Love for Us

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 Have you ever thought about how God feels toward you? In the scripture above He tells us how much He loves us, by sending His one and only son to die on the cross for our sins so that we can have eternal life. That’s a lot of love. God loves us so much. Our sins have led us to places where we should not have been. We have done things that we should not have done, and have said things we should not have said. We have had thoughts that we should not have had. We have lied, stolen, became vengeful, hurt others, been greedy, looked out only for ourselves, became consumed with wealth, and not loved God or our fellow man as God’s greatest commandment told us to obey. We have sinned and fell short of the glory of God. But God’s love is so great for us that no matter what the sin, He still sent his son to die for us, so that we can be forgiven and made whole. Someone had to pay the price and the blood of Jesus had to be given as a sacrifice. God sent Jesus, the sinless one, to be the payment for our sins. When we really think about the kind of love that Jesus had for us, it is only then that we can realize just how much He loves and cares for us. He tells us what we can do to repay Him for this love, and that is to only obey His Word and trust and have faith in Him. He even tells us that He will help bear and carry our burdens on His shoulders in order to help us deal with our problems and trials in this world. God is helping us everyday of our lives and running the race with us, and only asks us to give our hearts and souls to Him in return. John 3:3 “I tell you the truth; no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” 50

My Daily Devotional

February 16

Volume III

God is in Control

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8 Gardening and working in my flowers is one of my favorite pastimes. I spend many hours each week in my yard, mowing, planting flowers, watering and keeping my landscaping as best I can. However with all the tender loving care I give to my plants, they can be beset with many different kinds of mold, mildew, bugs, beetles, worms and many other diseases that can kill them, or keep them from developing into the beautiful plants that they can be. No matter how much I care for and tend to their needs many of them will wither and die each year or not produce as they should. This cycle reminds me so much of what our life is like as so often there is nothing that is permanent around us. We can spend our entire lives accumulating wealth, building relationships, friendships, job security and almost any other material things, and as with my flowers they can disappear almost instantly. The fires, tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disasters that we read about in our newspapers on a daily basis can destroy any of the treasures we have worked our entire life to accumulate. This indicates just how vulnerable we are and just how little lack of control we really have on this earth. However there is one thing that is constant, and that is the control that God has over all His creations. His word, His promises, and His love for us never changes and have always been there for us in the past, and will always be there in the future. It will never die or wither away like my flowers, but will always be within our reach. The word of our God will stand forever and will provide and protect us through all our trials. Isaiah 40:29 “He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak.” 51

My Daily Devotional

February 17

Volume III

Reach Jesus with your Prayers

“O Lord, Remember David and all the hardships he endured.” Psalm 132:1 David was the Bible’s ultimate prayer warrior, as he was forever going to God in prayer, both in good times and in bad times. The scripture above depicts the prayers he made when he was asking God to remember him and deliver him from his hardships. When we are down and depressed and feel that it may be useless to pray to God for deliverance from whatever is troubling us, we must not give up. I have several suggestions to get us out of these dark shadows and the depression we may be in. 1. Find a quiet place, put on some soothing music, take a few deep breaths and relax. Imagine Jesus coming toward you with a smile on His face. Tell him how you are feeling right nowanxious, uncomfortable, distracted and wanting to focus. Open your heart to Him. Feel His presence very close to you. Let His love into your heart. 2. Go for a walk alone, and as you go, notice the sky, feel the season. Recognize what is around you; all the wonderful creations God has made. Tell Him how you feel, remember God wants to know everything in your life…joys and pains. 3. Remember others who are hurting. Think about the people you know who are sick or troubled. Focus for a few minutes on what each person may be feeling. Lift this person up by name to Jesus and ask His blessing on them. 4. Go to a quiet place with your Bible. Read Psalm 130 and focus on a scripture in it. Know that God loves you through these moments of darkness. Open yourself to God and His love. Read Mark 15:34 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” This is Jesus’ own prayer of emptiness and abandonment. Repeat the name of Jesus over and over. His love catches these words and He will hear you. 52

My Daily Devotional

February 18

Volume III

God can Deliver us

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.” Psalm 34:4-6 In a previous devotional I talked about a man who had been ill for thirty-eight year. Jesus asked him “Do you want to be made well.” Jesus then healed him but the man showed no gratitude. In Lystra there was another man sitting by the road who had never walked for he had been crippled from birth. This man listened to Paul as he was speaking, and Paul saw him and knew that he had the faith to be healed and said to him, “Stand upright on your feet, and the man sprang up and began to walk.” John 14:10. The first man showed no evidence of faith, but by the pure grace of Jesus he was healed. The second man clearly had a heart for God and also was healed by grace. Perhaps you face some disability or limitation of body, mind, and/or spirit. You may find yourself down in the valley with the storm clouds of life all around you. You see no way out as your mountains are too steep to climb. Perhaps your faith is vibrant and strong, or perhaps it seems weak or non-existent. No matter what your condition may be, our Lord sees you with eyes of compassion. Our Lord loves you deeply and will hear your cry and come to your rescue. Seek out and go to God with your prayers and He will answer you. Have faith and trust in Him for your healing and He will let you climb your mountain, and rise above your infirmities. God is there for you. Go to Him with your prayers and believe and have faith that He will heal you. God will answer our prayers when we ask. Psalm 34:17 “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” 53

My Daily Devotional

February 19

Volume III

Stand Strong Against Satan

“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” Isaiah 44:3 As I view the world today, the land of Israel is being attacked from all sides. There are countries who have declared that Israel should not exist as a nation and that the people of Israel should be destroyed from the face of the earth, and have threatened to do just that. Israel is God’s people and they have been chosen by God as His, and I believe He is still protecting them and guiding them even today. This tiny nation seems to be in the midst of so much toil and strife in today’s world, and at the forefront of so much hatred and violence directed against them. We live in a free society in our great nation, and have vowed to help protect the people of Israel against their enemies, and keep them a sovereign nation as God intended, and due to our stand, our nation is also under attack by these vows to protect them. Satan is out to destroy God’s people and will create trouble and turmoil around them as is the case with Israel. This is the way Satan will attack each of us as he will create trouble and turmoil in our own lives that will create a defeatist attitude. Israel has not succumbed to this defeatist attitude, and we cannot succumb to this defeatist attitude as well in our own personal life. Once we give in to the pressure to submit to evil, we have lost the battle. It is time to put on the full armor of God, and do battle with the evil forces of Satan who want us to succumb to his evil ways. It takes strength and courage, and the will to win, to defeat Satan, but if we trust in God, He will give us the strength to conquer our enemies and the temptations that we face. Isaiah 44:1 “But now listen, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have Chosen.” 54

My Daily Devotional

February 20

Volume III

Call on the Lord

“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.” Psalm 145:18-19 With all the pressure that goes on in our lives on a daily basis, it is so comforting to know that we have someone who will always be near to us that we can call on in our time of trouble. I know that during my life I have kept many of my troubles to myself, and did not share these with even my closest friends and many times even with my family. I believe many people are like this as they try to do things themselves and rely on their own abilities to solve their problems and difficulties. However God is always there to hear our prayers and listen to us. I have found it so easy to share my burdens with God, as I only have to close my eyes and let my thoughts express my feelings to Him. I know that God hears us when we open our hearts to Him in this way. We can all go to God in this manner; when we are in our cars, at our jobs, relaxing, working in our yards or doing anything. We can reach God during any of these times by simply talking to God with our thoughts. For even the simplest matter that affects us, we need to call on Him. It only takes a moment to close your eyes and ask God for help and guidance in dealing with your issues. God already knows your distress as He knows all about you, but by opening yourselves up to Him in this way, you are letting Him into your lives and His power will begin to work. When you begin to get into a habit of turning your issues over to God, you will begin to feel His presence and His power can then be unleashed. Don’t continue to depend upon your own abilities to deal with your situations, but let God help you and give you strength. Psalm 145:20 “The Lord watches over all who love him.” 55

My Daily Devotional

February 21

Volume III

Seek God’s Wisdom

“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 2:1-5 This is a powerful scripture as it tells us that if we can store up God’s word in our hearts we can help to avoid sin in our lives. The words of God teach us the good things in life and how to avoid the evil things of this world. When we have the wisdom of God’s word stored away in our minds, we will also know the course of action to follow in dealing with our many issues and troubles that we all face. His words will lead us on the paths of righteousness, and keep us from the paths of destruction. Wisdom will save us from the enticements of men to follow perverse ways, and from the temptations of Satan that lead us astray. Wisdom is such an important thing to discern from the word of God, as King Solomon desired wisdom more than anything else that God granted him. Just think that if we knew the full wisdom of God what a different person we would be. Think about how our lives would be changed. In the scripture above God tells us that if we will call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, that we can all find this knowledge of God. This is powerful, as if we can harness the wisdom of God, we will know how to deal with the many problems and issues we face on this earth, and as stated in the previous devotional will have God to help us deal with these. So today I urge each of you to seek God’s wisdom and put it into practice in your lives. Proverbs 2:6 “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” 56

My Daily Devotional

February 21

Volume III

God’s Plan for Us

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Romans 5:3-4 It is difficult to see sometimes how we should rejoice in our sufferings, as it is hard to understand why we have health problems, problems with our jobs, difficulties with our families, and many other issues that destroy and test our faith and our patience. Just recently there was a young man, in our town that was killed in Iraq, and was brought home to be buried. It is difficult to see how we should rejoice in this kind of hardship and suffering. My father was also killed in World War II in the South Pacific, and it has always been difficult for me to see why God would have allowed this to happen. These kind of unfortunate events however, all are a part of God’s great plan for us, and although we may never understand why these events happen, they do play a part in His great puzzle. Lives in future generations are affected by these tragic events, and although we do not see the immediate result, these events change the course of life for the families of these people. My life was changed by the death of my father. In God’s plan for us these events are necessary for each of the plans for our lives to unfold. Our lives are changed by these events, and our paths through life are determined by these events. God places us where he wants us to be in life, and all events lead us to our destination. God wanted me to be where I am today for a reason, and wanted my children where they are. The impact of my father’s death has led us to this place, and has developed my character, and as I have persevered through this time has given me hope for my future. Psalm 139:16 “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” 57

My Daily Devotional

February 22

Volume III

Think Before you Speak

“Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3 King David knew the importance of his words, and that they came from the heart, as indicated in the scripture above. This was his plea asking God to keep him from speaking, desiring or doing what was evil. The words that we speak come from our hearts, and Satan knows that if our hearts are unclean and not pure, that the words that come from our mouths will not be clean and pure, and can hurt and harm others. How many times have we spoken words that have hurt others, simply because we have not thought about what we are saying? This is a common occurrence in many of our conversations with friends, business associates and even family. We say things without thinking, which damage and hurt others. Thinking before we speak can be a great way to control our tongues, and also let us evaluate what is in our hearts. It is difficult to always think about what we say before we say it, but a little thought before we speak could prevent many of these instances. Since the tongue is so difficult to control, anyone who controls it perfectly gains control of himself in all other areas of life as well. The source of the tongue’s evil is the devil, and we must guard ourselves against letting the devil gain control of our hearts and our tongues. When we have the proper attitude about our fellow man and love them as we love ourselves, as Jesus commanded us to do, we will be well on our way to begin controlling our hearts. God tells us to keep our thoughts on the good things that are pure, noble, excellent, lovely and trustworthy and think about these things. When we keep our minds on God we can control our tongues. James 3:9 “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men” 58

My Daily Devotional

February 23

Volume III

Obey God’s Commands

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” Hebrews 10:36 Throughout the Bible God tells us to do right and to obey His commands. However, so many people stray from the commands of God, and go their own ways and make their own guidelines and follow their own paths. I recall a story I once heard of an emperor in the Far East who was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. He called all the young people together in the kingdom, and gave each one of them a seed, and told them to plant it, water it and care for it for one year, and then to come back and he would judge the plants they brought back, and then choose the next emperor. One boy named Ling received his seed and planted it, like the others, but his seed did not grow. The other young people’s seeds began growing and produced large and beautiful plants. At the end of the year all the young people brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling was very ashamed as his seed had produced nothing. The emperor looked at all the plants and complimented them, but then saw Ling at the back of the room with an empty pot. He had his guards bring him to the front, and announced to the crowd that he had chosen Ling to be the new emperor. He then said, “one year ago I gave everybody a seed, which had been boiled and which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. The moral is that if you plant honestly, you will reap honestly. Two thousand years ago Jesus told the same story with fewer words. 2nd Corinthians 9:6 “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” 59

My Daily Devotional

February 24

Volume III

Sow Seeds of Righteousness

“Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12 As mentioned in the previous devotional it is so important to sow the right kind of seeds in our lives. The Bible gives us the wisdom and knowledge to do what is right in the eyes of God, and we must be careful to follow and do the will of God throughout our lives. We need to be careful what seeds we plant, for it will determine what we will reap tomorrow. The seeds we now scatter will make life worse or better for us, or for the ones that come after us, such as our children and grandchildren. Someday we will enjoy the fruits, or we will pay for the bad choices we make. If we plant honesty, we will reap trust. If we plant goodness, we will reap friends. If we plant humility, we will reap greatness. If we plant perseverance, we will reap victory. If we plant hard work, we will reap success. If we plant forgiveness, we will reap reconciliation. And if we plant faith, we will reap miracles. Whatever we sow, while obeying God’s commands we will reap God’s blessing in our lives. God’s word is the path that we need to follow during our lives, and His ways are straight and will lead us to success in whatever we do in life, as God loves us and wants the best for us. So be careful each day to do God’s will for your life. Plant the seeds, wherever you go, that will bring God’s favor upon you. Plant the seeds of kindness, caring, compassion, and love for others today, and your harvest will be one that will be overflowing with blessings from God. Matthew 13:1 “Still other seed fell on good soil where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” 60

My Daily Devotional

February 25 field.”

Volume III

What will Heaven be Like

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a Matthew13:44

Have you ever wondered what heaven will be like? The Kingdom of heaven is of such great value that one should be willing to give up all he has in order to gain it. Jesus did not imply that one can purchase the kingdom with money or good deeds. Having been in the medical field for 45 years I recall a story about a sick man who asked his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room, “Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side.” Very quietly, the doctor said, “I don’t know. You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side’, said the man.” The doctor was holding the handle of the door; and on the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, his dog sprang into the room, and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness. Turning to the patient, the doctor said, “Did you notice my dog? He’s never been in this room before. He didn’t know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing—I know my Master is there and that is enough.” I believe this is the way that we need to approach death, and what is on the other side. Our Master will be there to welcome us home, and greet us with open arms. God promises us an eternal life where we will live with Him. We are only passing through this life, but a better life awaits us. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, we are assuring ourselves of a better life, where we will spend our eternity with our Master. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” 61

My Daily Devotional

February 26

Volume III

Value the Bible

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7 In today’s society almost everyone depends upon their cell phones, to keep in touch with our spouse, our children and our business associates. We would be lost without this valuable means of communication. We become almost totally dependent upon this simple device. I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone. What if we carried it around with us in our pocket or purses? What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it? What if we flipped through it several times a day? What if we used it to receive messages from the text? What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it? What if we gave it to our children as gifts? What if we used it as we traveled? What if we used it in case of an emergency? Just think if we were as concerned with our Bible as we are with our cell phone, what a difference our world would be in. The Bible has all the answers to our problems, and the wisdom and knowledge that is stored in its pages could help us deal with the difficulties we encounter in our everyday lives. God tells us that all we ever need in our lives is to trust and have faith in Him. He promises that He will supply all our needs. What better source could we turn to when we face our challenges, than to turn to God, as He promises that He will direct our ways and make our paths straight. I believe if we would keep the Bible as close to us as we do our cell phones, our lives would be so blessed, as we would be putting our burdens upon Christ. Also unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to worry about out Bible being disconnected, because Jesus already paid the bill. Proverbs 2:6 “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” 62

My Daily Devotional

February 27

Volume III

God’s Promises

When our questions are negative God has a positive answer: YOU SAY

GOD SAYS

You say: "I'm too tired"

God says: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: "It's impossible" You say: "Nobody really loves me" You say: "I can't go on" You say: "I can't figure things out" You say: "I can't do it"

You say: "I'm not able"

You say: "It's not worth it" You say: "I can't forgive myself"

You say: "I can't manage" You say: "I'm afraid" You say: "I'm always worried and frustrated"

You say: "I'm not smart enough"

You say: "I feel all alone"

God says: All things are possible God says: I love you

God says: My grace is sufficient

God says: I will direct your steps

BIBLE VERSES (Luke 18:27)

(John 3:16 & John 3:34 )

(II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15) (Proverbs 3:5-6)

God says: You can do all things

(Philippians 4:13)

God says: It will be worth it

(Roman 8:28 )

God says: I am able

(II Corinthians 9:8)

God says: I Forgive you

(I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

God says: I will supply all your needs

God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear

(Philippians 4:19) (II Timothy 1:7)

God says: Cast all your cares (I Peter 5:7) on ME

God says: I give you wisdom (I Corinthians 1:30) God says: I will never leave you or forsake you

63

(Hebrews 13:5)

My Daily Devotional

February 28

Volume III

Become a Conqueror

“So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” Galatians 4:7 Have you ever considered that we no longer have to become a slave to the problems of this world, but can become a conqueror and heir to the throne of God? To do this is easy as we only have to turn our hearts over to God and believe and trust in Him. We can become a winner in life instead of a loser. When Joshua and Caleb were sent to scout out the Promised Land they saw a land flowing with milk and honey. The other ten men saw only a land filled with giants. They were defeated before they ever began. A Christian needs to talk about winning, and concentrate on the opportunities, not the obstacles. Start praising God for what you have, not what you intend or want to have. When we begin to think positive about our lives we begin to change, but we have to make our minds up to change. God has given you the power of choice: the power to direct your thinking and your actions. Begin to build up your self confidence, by depending upon the Lord. Stop complaining about your circumstances, your health problems, your relationships, your finances and other problems, and begin to see the good things that you have going. See the good things in life as Joshua and Caleb did. When you dwell in despair and gloom and can only see the giants, you are falling into the devils trap, but when you dare to step out in faith, and become positive about life you are living a life that God wants you to live. God wants you to succeed and not fail, and when you have faith and set your eyes upon God you cannot fail. You will become victorious in your life and not succumb to a life of misery. 1st Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 64

My Daily Devotional

March 1

Volume III

Learn to Forgive

“The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.” Daniel 9:9 So often during life people do not receive the blessings from God that they could experience because of an unforgiving heart. I have had several occasions during my life to talk to people about God and their salvation, but due to their inability to forgive someone who had hurt and mistreated them, they were not able to accept Jesus as their savior. They had hardened their hearts and would not turn their life over to Christ. Unforgiveness is a stronghold that is not easily broken in the life of so many people. It is an unseen bondage of the soul that keeps the individual from experiencing the freedom of Christ’s power to save, heal and deliver. Their emotions become splintered and fragmented because of the deep hurt they have endured. As a result, they are unable to forgive because of bitterness, anger and resentment. Even though they don’t want to feel this way, they feel they have no strength to respond to the truth of God’s word. Maybe, you are in this condition, and are having trouble forgiving someone who has hurt you. I am convinced that God has the answer, and the power for those who are struggling with unforgiveness. No one is outside the reach of God’s ability to heal the fractured soul and bring wholeness to a divided heart. By accepting Jesus as your savior, He will give you strength to be able to overcome the bondage of not being able to forgive. Just look at what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross to forgive our sins. This was the ultimate act of forgiveness, and when we are able to forgive others we will then be able to experience the true blessings from God that He promises. Luke 6:37 “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” 65

My Daily Devotional

March 2

Volume III

Twinkies and Root Beer

“O Lord, remember David and all the hardships he endured.” Psalm 132:1 This is the kind of prayers that King David was constantly praying to God as he was seeking God throughout his life. As I read many of the Psalm’s and the prayers of David I am reminded of a story about a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six pack of Root Beer and started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an elderly man, who was sitting in the park feeding the pigeons. The boy sat down, opened his suitcase and offered the man a Twinkie. The man smiled so pleasantly at the boy that he offered him a Root Beer. Again the man smiled. They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling at each other, but they never said a word. As it grew dark and the boy started to leave, he turned back and ran to the man and gave him a big hug. The man gave him his biggest smile ever. When the boy got home his mother asked him why he was so happy. He replied, “I had lunch with God, and he has the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.” Meanwhile, the man, also beaming with joy, returned to his home. His wife noticed that he looked so peaceful and happy and asked him why. He said, “I ate Twinkies and Root Beer in the park with God, and you know, he’s much younger than I expected.” Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. Embrace all of them equally and open your hearts to let them see God in you. Psalm 118:1 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” 66

My Daily Devotional

March 3

Volume III

Use your Time Wisely

“Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12 I have written many devotionals during these past several years about the value of our time and how best we can use it. In our life, we often hear the excuse, “I wish I could—spend more time with my family, start my own business, chase a goal, travel or volunteer more—but, I just don’t have the time.” You have the time, but you are spending it somewhere else. We are human and will make time for what we see is a priority in our lives. The question is—are you prioritizing the correct things. We all have the same amount of time in a day that Albert Einstein, Bill Gates and the president have. The question is not—do you have the time? The question is—how are you spending the time you do have? It may be time to take an inventory of your life. First begin by journaling what is most important to you in your life. Then track how you spend your time for a two week period. It could be very eye opening. Remember that you have the same amount of time as everyone else, and if you are using your time effectively you can produce the results you desire. If you are a good steward of your time you will devote at least 10% of your time to God; reading, praying and spending time with Him. You must also devote time to your spouse and your children. These are the things that must become a priority in your life, and must come first in the things you value most. Evaluate your time and make the changes that you need to make in using your time wisely. Place God first in your life and your family next. 1st Corinthians 7:29 “What I mean brothers, is that the time is short.” 67

My Daily Devotional

March 4

Volume III

Let God be Your Guide

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2nd Corinthians 12:10

“Lord, I need your help to get through this?” “Why is this happening to me?” “Have you forsaken me during this time in my life?’ Do these questions sound familiar? More than likely, either you or someone you know has recently expressed these thoughts. In the scripture above and most of the 12th and 13th chapters of 2nd Corinthians the Apostle Paul was talking about the difficulties he had faced in his life. He talks about the time he spent in prison; the times he was beaten; the times he had to flee for his life and all the difficulties he faced because of his faith as a Christian and believer in God. Paul called it “his thorn”, which was a messenger of Satan, who tormented him. God tells us throughout the Bible that we will all face times of troubles and difficulties in our lives; that we will all be tested. Each of us has our “own thorns”, as Satan is always on the job to torment us and try to take away our faith in God. Job also faced so many difficulties during his life that most men would succumb and give up to the kinds of problems he faced. Both Paul and Job persevered however, and did not give in to the trials and tribulations they faced, but remained steadfast and did not waver in their trust and faith in God. As you go out each day to face your trials and troubles, keep your eyes focused on God and don’t give up and let Satan get the best of you. Let God be your shield and your comfort, and let Him lead you to your mountain top where you will reign supreme by trusting in Him as your Savior. You will be victorious in all your struggles when God is at your side. Isaiah 55:6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” 68

My Daily Devotional

March 5

Volume III

Obeying God

“You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:12 This was a scripture which told about the happiness and rejoicing of the Israelites returning from their exile in Babylon, as they had once again turned their eyes toward God and began to worship Him. As it is recorded throughout the Bible God had been patient with Israel, and punished them many times when they disobeyed His laws, by letting their enemies defeat them. However when they did as He commanded and obeyed His laws and commandments, He let them prosper and conquer anyone who came against them. I believe this is the way God will do with us today, as when we follow His commandments and do His will, He will also let us prosper, but when we forget about Him and go our own way, He will turn His wrath against us. Many times it takes troubles and difficulties in our lives to wake us up, and let us know that we cannot do all things on our own. Many times it takes a financial setback, a broken relationship, a bad business decision or a health issue to bring us to the point that we begin to pray and ask God for His mercy and help to restore our lives. So often when things are going good in our lives we forget about God; we don’t thank Him for all the good things He provides, but when things go sour in our lives we often rush to God for help to make things right. We can look at the lives of the Israelites as our barometer in seeing how God worked in their lives. When they obeyed Him they prospered, but when they wandered they were punished. Make it a point to do God’s will in your life today and let Him bless you. Isaiah 35:10 “They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.” 69

My Daily Devotional

March 6

Volume III

Humility A Key To Success

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Romans 12:3 Have you ever thought about what God’s will is for you and what He expects from you during your life? I believe God wants each of us to grow in our faith both spiritually and morally throughout our lives. Each of us can experience this growth by reading our Bible’s and becoming closer to our Lord and Savior. God has a plan for each of us, and we grow throughout our life to fulfill the plans He has for us. God tells us all our days were ordained before we ever came to be; He knows our every thoughts and actions even before they happen. Each of us has been given gifts by God that we are to develop and use during our lives to benefit others around us. So often however we develop an attitude that we do not need God to achieve success in our lives. We go our own ways and leave God out, and strive to do it our own way. We begin to take pride in our own abilities when we seem to have our life under control and things are going our way. The thing that we often forget is that whatever we achieve in life is due to God allowing us to achieve it, and it is not achieved by our own efforts. We become prideful and think of ourselves greater than we should. The scripture above tells us that we are in absolute dependence upon God, and to not give ourselves credit for our successes, but to give Him praise for our achievements. We must become humble, and realize that God is in control of all things, and not depend upon our own resources. Pride can be a sin when we think that we are above all others, and don’t realize that God is still in control. Luke 18:14 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 70

My Daily Devotional

March 7

Volume III

Be Transformed

“Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.” Exodus 24:9-11 The above is a scripture where God wanted the people of Israel to do what was right so badly that He allowed the leaders of Israel, along with Moses to see Him and visit with Him. What would we do if we had the opportunity to see God? Would this change our lives forever and transform us? All the leaders of Israel, even after having this experience of seeing God, went back down the mountain and continued building their golden calf’s and their idols. This experience of seeing God did not change their lives, as they continued to go their own way and continued to rebel against God’s commands. They did not come down from the mountain and oppose the people, to keep them from sinning. The experience on Mt. Sinai was given by God to transform these men. I believe this is the same way that many people are today as so often we can experience God in our lives, but do not have the commitment to make a life changing transformation. We can go to church and hear our pastor preach a sermon that really touches our hearts, and for a moment we commit ourselves to really get closer to God. However a few hours later we have lost this commitment, just as the leaders of Israel did, and we continue to go our own way and forget about our commitment. God wants us to change and transform our lives, and we need to allow these transformations to take root and follow through on them. We must ask the Lord to help us, and allow these changes to be made and become a permanent part of our lives, not just a temporary change and transformation. 71

My Daily Devotional

March 8

Volume III

God is Merciful

“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” Genesis 3:21 What would we do if our children disobeyed our rules of the family and acted so badly that we asked them to leave? This is the situation that God found himself in when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. Imagine the situation. God’s one household condition had been broken, as Adam and Even had succumbed to the temptations of Satan, and had sinned. God did ask them to leave His garden, but before He sends them on their way He makes them clothes. Even while He was disciplining them He showed mercy on them. No matter what is happening in your life, God will never withdraw His love from you, but will always have mercy on you. Adam and Eve had sinned but God still had mercy on them. There are not any of us who have not sinned and come short of the glory of God, but God will have mercy on us as well. He will not send us out to never be reconciled to Him, as He loves us too much. He will welcome us back into His household with open arms, when we turn our hearts and our lives over to Him. There is a time of reconciliation with Christ that He longs for each of us to find in our own lives. No matter how much we have wandered away from the household, and succumbed to the temptations of Satan, there is nothing that will keep Jesus from accepting us back into His fold. He will have mercy on us, and forgive us of all of these sins, and provide new clothes for us. We all need to know that through faith in Jesus Christ we are all clothed with the presence of God who will never forsake us and who loves to shower us with daily acts of mercy. Romans 13:14 “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” 72

My Daily Devotional

March 9

Volume III

Unsinkable with God

“Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me!” Matthew 14:29-30 So often we find ourselves in the same position as Peter was in the scripture above, as we want to accomplish great things with God’s help. We get ourselves in a positive frame of mind and think we can do and accomplish our goals and objectives and do the things that God has placed on our hearts. Then just as Peter did we begin to look around, and see the dangers and the frightening circumstances that Satan has placed in our way. Our faith starts to waiver, and we begin to sink just as Peter did. I can remember reading about the Titanic, which was the largest, most luxurious ocean liner of its time and was called “unsinkable” by most people. However during its first voyage from England to New York City in 1912, the huge ship hit an iceberg and sank with 1,500 passengers and crew losing their lives in the frigid North Atlantic waters. When we begin to look at our successes and begin to feel superior about our own abilities, so often we ignore the fact that our success was due to God allowing us to achieve it. We begin to feel unsinkable, like the Titanic. But Satan is always going to make us aware of the icebergs and hidden dangers that can wreck our witness and our ministry. There is only one way to safely navigate life, and that is to keep our eyes on Jesus. We cannot depend upon our own abilities or the circumstances around us. It is only when we keep our faith and trust in God that we will successfully complete our journey. Psalm 69:1-2 “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.” 73

My Daily Devotional

March 10

Volume III

We will Reign with God

“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:10 The Bible teaches us in Revelation 20:6 that we, as saints of God will physically and literally rule on the earth with Christ when He returns to set up His one thousand year reign. I believe that this is why many Christians are struggling and enduring so many fiery trials lately, as God is preparing us and getting us ready. Just like a recruit in the army who endures “basic training” to finally become a soldier, we too are in “basic training” to finally become the ruling “Kings and Priests” of the earth. “Why am I going through this?” “Why is this happening to me?” Do these questions sound familiar? More than likely, either you or someone you know has recently expressed these thoughts. Why are so many people facing such trying circumstances in their lives? Satan knows that he has only a short time to try, test and tempt the saints of God. He knows that our God has destined us to reign and rule with Christ. At this critical time before Christ returns, Satan is doing all he can to discourage, demoralize and keep the saints from taking their rightful place of authority in this present age. Satan knows that if we do not take our rightful place of authority now, we most likely will not be able to in the world to come. The fact is that all these difficulties we are facing now, is teaching us how to rule our own lives by the Word and the Spirit of God. We are learning to conquer and subdue satanic influence, temptation, lawlessness and rebellion not only in our lives, but in our families, communities, the nation and the world. God is training us and getting us ready to reign with Him. Revelation 20:6 “The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and will reign with him for a thousand years.” 74

My Daily Devotional

March 11

Volume III

Sail With God

“If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” Isaiah 48:18 The people of Israel have been a stubborn people, having been chosen by God, but repeatedly resisting following and obeying God’s commands. They have been protected and rescued many times by the compassion of God, but have also been humiliated and defeated often when they turned their eyes from God. The scripture above puts into context the promise that God gave them if they would simply follow His commandments. However they did not learn from their mistakes and continued their inconsistent pattern and behavior. They remind me of a Charlie Brown story where he and Lucy were sailing on a cruise ship. Lucy, the great philosopher that she is, said, “You know, Charlie Brown life is like a cruise ship. Some people take their deck chairs to the back of the ship to see where they have been. And some people take their deck chairs to the front of the ship to see where they are going.” What kind of person are you, Charlie Brown?” He pauses, and then says, “I’m the kind of person who can’t get my deck chair open.” Unfortunately so many people today are like Charlie Brown, as they have not looked at the past to see what happens when they do not obey God’s commands. They also have not looked forward to know what could happen when they believe and trust in God and obey His commands. They are still trying to get their deck chairs open, and therefore are still adrift, not knowing which way to go. I would advise each of you to look at your past and learn from it, and then change your ways and look to the future and get right with God. Isaiah 51:3 “But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.” 75

My Daily Devotional

March 12

Volume III

Listen to God-He is Speaking

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says….” Revelation 2:7

When God spoke to Abraham concerning his willingness to hear and obey the voice of God, Abraham recognized the voice of God and willingly began to do as God commanded him to do. As a result, all the nations of the earth are blessed today. Without question, each of us can be like faithful Abraham, open to hear God’s voice and willing to obey it. I believe we can develop our own “spiritual ears” to not only hear His voice, but interpret what He is saying to us. I am convinced, that many of the great things that God is doing today through the churches, and many of our great evangelists, and other ministries around the world would not even exist if leaders and Christians alike were not in tune with what the Spirit of God was saying to them. When we begin to hear with our “spiritual ears” what God is saying to each of us, we are better equipped to do His work and fulfill His will for our lives and our family’s lives. God has a plan for each of us, and He will reveal this plan when we open our hearts and our minds to Him, and seek His Word. When we are ready to go to the higher levels of spiritual understanding and power, all we need to do is open our “spiritual ears” and listen to God speak to us. As you study His Word the voice of God will become clearer and clearer to you, and your life, ministry and future will never be the same again. God will take you to the next level, and will give you peace, joy and fulfillment in all you do. When you turn your life over to Jesus, God will lead and direct you in the paths that you need to follow. Just as Abraham heard God speak to Him and listened with his “spiritual ears”, God will do the same for you today if you will let Him. Genesis 22:18 “Because you have obeyed my voice, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed through your seed.” 76

My Daily Devotional

March 13

Volume III

Be Wise not Foolish

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Ephesians 5:15-17 In the hectic, stressful and time constrained lifestyles that so many people find themselves in today, many people are missing out on opportunities to fully live for God in this evil environment. The scripture above tells us that the foolish person not only misses opportunities to make wise use of their time, but does not understand what the true will of God is and what His purpose is for them. God tells us in the first chapter of Ephesians that He has chosen us and predestined us to be His followers, and given us the opportunity to receive salvation and inherit an eternal life. Unfortunately, however, so many people do not take advantage of this opportunity, and squander their time and abilities pursuing their own selfish interests. They get so caught up in the things of this world, such as wealth, self indulgence, and greed that they forget about the most important thing in life; which is seeking the Kingdom of God and the rewards that it offers. There is nothing that can surpass the knowledge that when we follow the will of God, and take every opportunity to live our lives the way that He commands us to live, that our reward of an eternal life will outweigh any other material possession we would ever possess. When we go out into the world each day we should be so extremely careful to live our lives in a way that would be pleasing to God. We need to be wise and consider the rewards that await us when we follow God and know His will for our lives. Ephesians 1:4 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” 77

My Daily Devotional

March 14

Volume III

God’s Red Light

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1 Last night, as I was hurrying to get to one of my board meetings, which was about 30 minutes from my house, I was rushing frantically, trying to not be late, as I always like to arrive several minutes before the meetings start. However, it seemed like every where I looked there was a red light that was in front of me. Each one of these seemed to take an eternity to turn green so I could proceed and get to my meeting on time. As I continued hitting each of these red lights I began to think that life has a way of stopping us dead in our tracks. God also has a way of slowing us down anytime we get caught up in our busy time consuming commitments and lifestyles, and forget about Him. I thought that maybe all these red lights were God’s way of slowing me down as my thoughts were not on God but on other things. I had a Christian CD which I put in the radio and began listening to some of my favorite songs. Just listening to this beautiful music completely changed my attitude, and I began to relax and enjoy the songs. I actually began to look forward to wanting to listen to all of the songs on the CD before I got to the meeting, and the red lights gave me more time to hear them. My attitude completely changed and my thoughts returned to God. So the next time you find yourself at a red light, maybe this is God’s way of slowing you down. Use this time to soak in every moment of this time and get your mind back on God, and focus on Him. God can change your attitude, and the red light may be the catalyst to do this. This may be God’s timely way to make you pay heed to Him and direct your mind and thoughts back to Him. Psalm 146:18 “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” 78

My Daily Devotional

March 15

Volume III

We Need to Hear God

“You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” Matthew 13:14 So often throughout our lives as Christian’s we hear God’s word taught to us every Sunday, but many times we don’t really understand what it really is saying to us. I recall a funny story that I believe illustrates this so well. An elderly couple was sitting by a romantic fireside one evening when the husband looked over at his wife and said, “After fifty years, I’ve found you tried and true.” The wife’s hearing wasn’t very good, so she said, “What?” He repeated a little louder, “After fifty years, I’ve found you tried and true.” Thinking she heard him this time she replied, “After fifty years I’m tired of you too.” The beautiful moment was confused not by a lack of communication, but rather by the inability to hear clearly, as neither had their hearing aids. Let me assure you that after fifty years of marriage, this couple eventually got their conversation back on the right track. Nevertheless, a spiritual lesson can be learned from this funny story. The problem we face in hearing God is not a lack of communication on God’s part. Usually, our inability to hear God is caused by obstructions getting in our way. So often we become distracted by the worries of this world, and the deceitfulness of wealth that makes us take our eyes off God and our trust in Him, and rely instead on our own self and our own abilities. We must never forget God’s word that tells us that He controls our lives and directs our paths. It is when we begin to go our own way, disregarding God’s word, and His promises that He will provide all our needs, that we fall short. When we begin to trust in God and obey His commands we all can hear the Lord say, “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.” Matthew 13:16. 79

My Daily Devotional

March 16

Volume III

Overcoming Grief

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” Psalm 55:22 This past week I lost a dear friend and companion, whom I loved dearly, and who had been with me for nine years, constantly by my side and showing me his love. My faithful dog Trajan, my 126 pound black lab passed away, and it has been difficult for me to stay focused this week. For most of his life he was my companion each morning as I drove to the local Tim Horton’s restaurant where we got our morning cappuccino, and Trajan got his daily donut or doggy bone. He looked forward each morning to our trip together, and it has been difficult for me this past week to get my thoughts back together. When tragedy surrounds you in this fashion it is difficult to get back up again and keep focused on what lies ahead of you. In my time of grief however, I know that I can cast my cares on the Lord and he will sustain me, however, it certainly is easier said than done, but I know that God will watch over me and get me through this time of grief. I know that God will take my burdens, as he tells me to give my burdens to him, and place them in his hands and he will carry them for me. God’s hands created humanity, as they hold the whole world. Upon his hands are the scars that forever remind Him of how much he loves us. What better place to leave the things that troubles us? I know that even when we serve the Lord faithfully, life can be confusing and that each of us will have grief and our times of tragedy. However I know that even in these dark days that God is with me, and even though I don’t understand the reasons for all things, I know that God has the answer and is in control, and I will continue to trust him. 1st Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 80

My Daily Devotional

March 17

Volume III

The Fear of Failure

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.” 1st Chronicles 28:20 Fear of failure is something almost all of us deal with on a daily basis. We fear that we will fail in our finances, in our relationships, in our families and most of all in our own abilities to deal with life in general. I am reminded of the Ford Motor Company, who in 1958 decided to launch one of the most promoted cars that they had ever produced. The word Edsel has become associated almost synonymous with the word failure. The Edsel was designed to be the car of the future and much of Fords future success depended upon this new automobile. But, alas the Edsel simply didn’t sell, so after three disappointing years and millions of lost dollars, Ford discontinued production of the Edsel. So many of us can relate to this scenario, because just like the Edsel, we had plans for success, but somewhere along the way things got off track. Like most of the problems we face, failure has its roots in the bad decisions we have made all during our lives. And, like most bad decisions, we are filled with shame and fear that others will find out. To admit failure is to admit that something in our lives is out of control—and we don’t like to do that. We should never deny the fact that we are human and make mistakes, as it is only when we face our mistakes can the healing process begin. There is strength in numbers and sometimes the only way to deal with failure is through confession and accountability to other believers. So many people think they are alone, but you aren’t as God is with you. God gives us His wisdom in dealing with failure. James 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other so that you may be healed.” 81

My Daily Devotional

March 18

Volume III

Make God your Priority

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 Do you always feel that you do not have enough time to do all the things that you feel needs to be done? If so you are like the majority of people who feel like there is just not enough time. If you feel this way ask yourself are you living the life you really want to live? Having worked my entire career in management I’ve had the opportunity to observe disorganized people from all walks of life, both in business and personal environments, and seen so many of these people living unfulfilled lives. The answer to this is all about priorities. If you want to have a fulfilled life you need to begin investing your time, energy and resources in your priorities…the things that really matter to you. Ask yourself these questions. “What do I want my life to look like? How do I want to spend my time? Even if we achieve our goals, we still may feel empty if we haven’t been living out the things that are important to us. If, for example, your priorities include a fulfilling spiritual life, an intimate marriage, and deep personal relationships, then you can manage your life by choosing the activities that support these priorities. Without priorities to guide your decisions, your calendar will be overrun with obligations that don’t fulfill your life. Once you know your priorities, you can schedule the activities that support them on your calendar. When you establish your priorities, the number one priority on your list must be to love and worship God. Then set a time for Him and honor Him with daily worship and prayer. Your life will change and other things will begin to fall into place, and you can live the life you want, starting now. 2nd Corinthians 6:2 “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the time of salvation.” 82

My Daily Devotional

March 19

Volume III

Blinded by the Future

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it.” Isaiah 43:18-19 The other day as I was doing our daily mail route I was reminded how often our past blinds us from our future. After experiencing several weeks of overcast and rainy days, suddenly the bright rays of the sun were shining so brightly through the window of my car that they momentarily blinded me. To regain my vision I began looking back through my rear view mirror. This “blinding encounter” made me think about life, and how so often we take our eyes off of the road ahead, and the good things that God is doing in our lives. We begin looking back in the mirror, and so often we take our eyes off of God and we see ourselves and our past in the mirror. It is these times when we begin looking back that we see the past and the mistakes we have made, the dashed dreams, the expectations that weren’t met, and all the disappointments of our lives. We are too often blinded by what God has in store for us in the future that we revert to looking back into our past. This is what the Israelites did when they were in the wilderness, as they were so blinded by what lay ahead of them that they continued to look back at their past. God has a plan for each of us, and wants us to look at the bright road ahead that He has planned for us. He does not want us to be trapped in the past, but to look at the shining future He has in store for us. Today I would encourage each of you to think about what is binding you to your past, and forget it, but focus instead on God’s shining light in front of you and your future. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.” 83

My Daily Devotional

March 20

Volume III

A Time for Renewal

“If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.” Job 14:14 As I read the scripture above I am reminded of the dreaded Japanese beetle, which I fight every summer as they attempt to destroy many of my flowers and trees that I work so hard to protect. The Japanese beetles are born as grub worms and populate my yard, but along about June of each year a metamorphosis takes place, and they change into the dreaded beetle, intent to destroy most any vegetation they can find. I believe people are like this as there comes a time in our lives when we outgrow the space in which we live. We can feel and sense a drive or urgency to change into something different. Many times God places into our hearts this need to become a different and better person. This is God’s way to tell us that He has better plans for us and wants to fulfill His design for our lives. He tells us “our time has come”, and the transition can be smooth or turbulent. It is up to us to decide. It is time to leave worthless things behind, many times to get our eyes and hearts focused on God, instead of pursuing our own selfish wants and desires. I believe, like the grub worm, making the metamorphosis into a beetle, God has designed our transformation to take place. As we are changing, we need to grow toward the next level of God’s grace, and break free from our fears, insecurities and apprehension, and change into the kind of person that God wants each of us to be. We must push and stretch to persevere and change and reap the blessings that God wants to bestow on us. Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” 84

My Daily Devotional

March 21

Volume III

Renew Yourselves with God

“Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime; it is the Lord who makes the storm clouds. He gives showers of rain to men, and plants of the field to everyone.” Zechariah 10:1 I love the springtime, as the trees and flowers that have been dormant throughout the winter, suddenly spring to life and begin to fill our land with their beautiful and fragrant flowers and blossoms. This is how God brings refreshment into our drab and dreary lives. As we begin to do our spring cleaning and begin to prepare our yards and gardens, we need to also prepare our hearts and minds and refresh ourselves in the spirit of God. This is when we need to do our “spring cleaning of the Spirit” and renew our commitment to following God. Look around you in the springtime and see the wonders that God has created for you, and rejoice in the wonders of His creations. Feel renewed in the thoughts that all these majestic creations have been created by the wonderful hands of our Lord and Savior. Cast off your fears, your disappointment, your worries and the struggles of life that have surrounded you, and place them at the feet of our Lord. This is the time to turn all things over to God and renew yourself and commit your life to Christ. Begin your new season with the spirit of God in your heart, and the commitment to become a follower of God, who will help you renew your Spirit and let you spring to life and blossom in the love He has for you. Take the time to rededicate your life to serving God, reading his word and spending time with Him. The “spring cleaning” He can do in your life will produce a bountiful harvest in the days and weeks ahead, and can change you. Song of Songs 2:11-12 “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” 85

My Daily Devotional

March 22

Volume III

Prayer for Salvation

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:45

The scripture above describes the last words of Jesus, as he was hanging on the cross, preparing to die for the sins of all mankind. This is such a powerful statement, as the Bible tells us that Jesus had the power to call upon more than 80,000 angels who had the force to destroy all mankind. For example one angel was recorded to have killed 70,000 one day in 2nd Samuel 24:15-17, and another angel killed 185,000 in one night in 2nd Kings 19:3436. But Jesus knew his destiny, and the love he had for all mankind kept him from calling for the angels to save him. There is and never will be the love that someone will show to us in order for us to experience the power of salvation. The love Christ had for each and every one of us compelled Him to endure the suffering and agony He experienced in order to save us. When Jesus was crucified and arose from the dead three days later, this fulfilled the plan of God which was laid out before creation, and was the ultimate act of love for all mankind. This is why we celebrate Easter. The price of our sins was paid on Easter, and all our sins are forgiven. By simply believing and asking Jesus into our hearts we can now, all have a lasting relationship with God, something that will endure for all eternity. It is such a simple commitment to make, but one that will change your life forever, and allow you to experience a new life, a new attitude and begin your life anew. All the mistakes and sins you have committed in the past will be forgotten and forgiven. If you don’t believe, now is the perfect time to make the decision to believe. Just pray this simple prayer. Dear, Lord Jesus I am a sinner, I believe you died for my sins, and I ask you now to forgive me, and I ask you into my heart to be my Lord and Savior. Thank you Jesus. Amen. 86

My Daily Devotional

March 23

Volume III

Remembering God

“This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 1st Corinthians 11:24-25 I have spent the past 20 years researching my ancestors, as I have become enamored with wanting to know all about them. As I have recorded their birthdates and the dates of their deaths, I think about the role they have played in my life and how they have shaped who I am. When I print out any report which shows all of my ancestor’s birth dates and death dates, it makes me think that I am honoring them by remembering them and keeping their memories alive. I believe our Christian faith is also centered in remembering. Each Easter we remember and celebrate our Lord’s resurrection and also our own salvation through our faith in Him. In the Lord’s Supper, shown above, we remember His suffering and His resurrection from the grave. The tremendous sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for me and all mankind in order to give us the chance for an eternal life, is something that we must never forget. When we eat the bread and drink from the cup at our communion services, this must be the time to remember what Jesus did for us. Just as I want my family to know about their ancestors, and to always remember where we came from and who our family is, I also want each of them to always remember who Jesus Christ is and the sacrifice He made for them. So the next time you observe the communion service in your church, take the time to remember the love God had for you, and the sacrifice He made for you, in order that you can have an eternal life. John 1:12 “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” 87

My Daily Devotional

March 24

Volume III

Build your Future on God

“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:26-27 In this day and time everyone is looking for a security blanket to protect them during their time of trouble. I can recall the Charley Brown character that always had his security blanket with him wherever he went. We all work towards the time that we can retire and feel secure financially in life and not be worrying about our needs. This dream of security drives so many people, and they spend their entire lives working toward this goal. The unfortunate thing in all this however, is that we often build our futures on sand which can be destroyed in an instant. We can lose our jobs; our wealth can be destroyed by a crash in the stock market; a tornado or hurricane can instantly destroy all our life’s work, or an unplanned health issue can derail all our plans. The thing we leave out in our plans for our future is that we omit God from them. God promises us that He will provide for us, if we follow Him and obey His commands, as He will provide all our needs. To insure our future we need to build our house on the rock, where neither water, wind nor the worst of storms will destroy it. This rock we must build upon is God, and if we build our life around Him, our plans will hold up against the worst of storms. Jesus is the rock and the house is our life. Whatever plans we make for the future need to be prayed over and Spirit led. When we depend on Jesus our Rock, we really are secure. Anything less is built on sinking sand. Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” 88

My Daily Devotional

March 25

Volume III

The Importance of Forgiveness

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15 Having grown up in the wonderful state of Kentucky, I can remember hearing about the feud of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s who, over some unworthy event kept fighting and killing each other for many years. Neither family could bring themselves to forgive the other for something that their former ancestors committed. This feud carried on for many generations before the offspring forgot what the original feud was all about. This kind of unforgiveness is so tragic. No wonder God makes it clear in the scripture above that unless we forgive others their trespasses, God will not forgive us our trespasses. Even Peter had trouble with the principle of forgiveness as he asked Jesus how many times must I forgive someone who has sinned against me, Seven? Jesus replied, “not seven times but seventy times seven.” Everyone, through the strength of Jesus, can forgive every offense committed against him. For instance, the Nazis killed the family of Corrie Ten Boom, but with Jesus’ help, she forgave them. Unforgiveness is as serious as the original offense. When we harbor unforgiveness in our hearts, we also hurt God’s heart, as we are disobeying one of God’s greatest commandments, and refusing His help. Just remember that God forgave you and me, and He knows how to help you to forgive others. To be a follower of God, forgiveness is a must, and is necessary in order to receive our own forgiveness from God. Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” 89

My Daily Devotional

March 26

Volume III

Be a Seven Day Christian

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 During these past 15 years I have been on a mission to do God’s will for my life. I feel God has called me to be a witness for Him, and to help provide for the needy in our community. During this time I have spoken at many of the local churches, encouraging them to become involved with many of the programs we have established that provides food, shelter, and other help to the less fortunate people in our area. There have been many people who have responded, but many set back and do not participate in any capacity. I am reminded of a story about three pastors who were having lunch in a diner. One said, “You know, since summer started I’ve been having trouble with bats in my loft and attic at church. I’ve tried everything---noise, spray, cats--nothing seems to scare them away.” Another said, “Me too, I’ve got hundreds living in my belfry and in the attic. I’ve even had the place fumigated, and they won’t go away.” The third said, “I baptized all mine, and made them members of the church. Haven’t seen one back since!” This is a humorous story, but in many cases is so true, as there are many people who are Sunday morning Christian’s, and only show up on Sunday morning, but the other six days of the week do not follow up with following God’s word. God wants us to be a witness for Him in all we do, not just on Sunday. We need to all be proactive in reaching our neighbors, our friends and anyone we come into contact with, and be a witness for Jesus. Our good works will not get us to heaven, but God will bless us immensely when we help others and witness for Jesus in all we do. Ephesians 5:8 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” 90

My Daily Devotional

March 27

Volume III

Stand Strong

“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Philippians 1:27 We live in a world of turmoil, as everywhere we turn there is trouble. Our children do not have God in their schools anymore, families are torn apart by the high divorce rates, and drugs and sexual immorality are temptations that test the best intentions of parents. Where do Christians turn to when their children, families and loved ones are under attack from the evil forces of Satan? During these perilous times there is no one to turn to that has all the answers except God and His gospel. The Bible tells us in the scripture above that we must conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, and even though Satan will place obstacles in our paths we must stand together as Christians and keep our eyes focused on God. Christians need each other now more than any other time in our history, as we must encourage each other in order to face the forces of evil that Satan sends our way. The persistent attacks against our God, our families and our values are a sure sign of eventual destruction if we do not stand strong against this evil. If we succumb to these forces of evil we will be rejecting our only way of salvation. The bible tells us that we will suffer due to our privilege of being a Christian, but that this should be a blessing as this is a sign of the genuineness of our salvation. The Christian life is one where we need to approve and practice what is morally and ethically superior at all times. Always remember that one day we will stand before God and be judged, based on how we lived our lives, and we must prove ourselves worthy. Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” 91

My Daily Devotional

March 28

Volume III

Are you Committed to God

“I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Acts 21:13 These were the words that the Apostle Paul used to describe the commitment he had for his faith in God. As we can see from the many accounts in the Bible, Paul spent many years in prison and was beaten many times, but did not denounce God or his faith at any time. Have you thought about your faith and how committed you are? Would you endure the suffering that Paul endured? Where are our Biblical convictions today? Paul was ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die for the name of the Lord Jesus. Where are such men and women today? As Christians we have grown soft and weak-willed (with some exceptions). Many of our churches have contributed to this, as instead of preaching the full counsel of God they are resorting to preaching to please people, and increase their attendance, rather than preaching the real word of God. According to the statistics there are more so called Christians in the United States than there are unbelievers, however we have approved a breakdown of morality everywhere in our society, having devaluated human life and have taken God out of our schools and government. Everywhere we turn there are laws being passed getting our society further and further away from the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is time that Christians need to take a stand and be willing to commit themselves to taking our country back and putting God back as number one in our lives. Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you: Jesus Christ and the American G.I. One died for your freedom, the other died for your Soul. Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” 92

My Daily Devotional

March 29

Volume III

Fear Not By: Elena Bailey Ford (My Granddaughter)

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2nd Timothy 1:7 I have struggled with fear much in my 14 years of life. I always feared dying, family and close friends dying, pets dying, Satan, etc. But one thing I’ve learned about fear: “FEAR IS NOT OF THE LORD”. Satan is behind fear, and Satan is the father of all lies. Fear is of Satan, not of God, and I know everyone deals with fear. I know many people who fear things, but the Lord our God has not given us a spirit of fear, but the power to conquer our fear and a sound mind. Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? Satan has been defeated, rebuke his lies. Remember that God is with us, and that there is no reason to be afraid. He is our light and our salvation. He is the stronghold of our lives as he is there for us and never leaves us. Isaiah 35:4 “Say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Have faith in the Lord; do not be afraid of anything. He is there any time we fear, just call on his name. If you take God’s hand and let him take control over you, who do you have to fear? With God at your side nothing in this world can hurt you. Make God your dwelling; receive him in your heart as he wants to hold you in his arms when you are afraid. He wants to take your hand and guide you when you fear. He will give you rest and peace and comfort you. God loves you and he wants to be there for you always. Psalm 56:4 “In God I will praise his word; In God I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do to me.” 93

My Daily Devotional

March 30

Volume III

Don’t Compromise Your Values

“The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.” Psalm 9:15 I believe that many of the things that are going on in our world today are due to Christian’s compromising their values. We have gotten away from the values that our forefathers taught us, and little by little we are being devoured by the permissive society we are living in today. I recently saw a funny story that depicts the path we are heading. A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and couldn’t find a space with a meter. So he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: “I have circled the block 10 times. If I don’t park here, I’ll miss my appointment. FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES.” When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along with this note: “I’ve circled this block for 10 years. If I don’t give you a ticket, I’ll lose my job. LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION.” So often we find ourselves like this minister, willing to compromise our values to further our own good. The Bible has not changed since it was written, and neither has the values that are given in the Bible for us to follow. Our society is becoming more and more willing to compromise the biblical values our parents and grandparents followed, and little by little we are getting away from what God desires for us. The television programs we watch, and the music we listen to are just some of the things that we are allowing our children to watch and listen to, which would have been appalling to our ancestors. I would encourage each of you to revert back to the values that God has given us, and don’t compromise your values to conform to the ways of the world. Psalm 11:3 “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” 94

My Daily Devotional

March 31

Volume III

God will Provide

“To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.” Ecclesiastes 2:26 When I think of the scripture above I am reminded so much of my grandfather and how happy and contented he was. Any time you saw him he was always happy, and was always at total peace with himself. He did not possess many material things and was not a wealthy man; however he always was at peace and content with his place in life. I probably spent more time with him than anyone other than my wife, as he lived next door to me all during my childhood. We fished together and hunted together and trained our beagles together as I was growing up. I don’t ever remember him getting upset about anything or at anyone. He never criticized, grumbled or ever became upset at anything I can ever remember. Having spent my life in the business world, I have never encountered anyone who has demonstrated this ability to remain as content and at peace with himself as my grandfather. I know that through the years I have become upset and frustrated many times, and would take out my frustrations on others, as do most other people. My grandfather had accepted Jesus into his heart, and I believe God gave him, and will give each of us this same sense of peace and happiness when we please God and do His will. When we turn our lives over to God, He instills in us this same kind of happiness and gives us the assurance that He will provide all our needs. Wealth and material possessions does not bring peace and happiness, but the presence of God in our lives gives us total comfort as God will provide all we will ever need. Matthew 25:21 “Come and share your master’s happiness.” 95

My Daily Devotional

April 1

Volume III

Jesus is Returning

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Matthew 25:13 One day Jesus is going to return to earth to reclaim His kingdom. No man knows the year, the month or the day of His return, however much of the bible prophecy is now fulfilled or is being fulfilled as each day passes. When Jesus returns this will be both a day of happiness and also a day of mourning. All people who have worshipped God and obeyed His commands will be happy to see Jesus returning, as they will know that there is a better place that Jesus has in store for them. However all people who have turned their backs on God and not worshipped Him and obeyed His commands will now face their judgment. If our generation is fortunate enough to see Jesus return each of us will stand before God at His judgment throne and give account for all our time and our actions while on this earth. The books of our life will be opened and in front of our Lord and Savior to review. This will be a time like no other time in the history of the world, as everyone will be judged on how they lived their lives. While it is still not too late all of us need to search our hearts and seek Jesus, and give our hearts fully to Him. Our salvation is in our hands and it is only when we ask Jesus into our hearts, and believe that He died on the cross for our sins, and then begin to obey His commands and His will for our lives, will we know that our judgment day will be a happy one. When we have done this simple thing we will then be happy to see Jesus return and give us this eternal life that He promises. It is not too late to ask Jesus to come into your heart, as today could be the day. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 96

My Daily Devotional

April 2

Volume III

God will Provide all our Needs

“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35 Have you ever thought how much we center our lives on keeping ourselves from hunger and thirst? Much of our days are planned about what we will eat, where we will eat and how we will prepare it. Much of the Israelites time in the wilderness was spent thinking about where they were going to get their next meal. God had promised Moses that He would provide for all the people, and even sent them manna from heaven to sustain them in their journey to their promised land. However, just because they could not see where their next meal was coming from, they became frustrated and discouraged and complained about their plight. So often Christians are like the Israelites, as when we do not have a plan in front of us to follow, we become discouraged and frustrated, as we do not have the faith and trust in God that He will provide all our needs. Learning to believe and trust in Jesus that He will provide for us is one of the most important things we all need to develop in our Christian lives. He tells us repeatedly throughout the Bible to trust in Him and He will provide all our needs. When we begin focusing on our own wants and desires, we take our minds and thoughts away from serving God and doing His commands. I would encourage each of you to get your thoughts and minds away from worrying about such trivial matters as where your next meal or paycheck is coming from, as God will provide all this, but keep your energy focused on worshiping God and doing His will. When you are able to do this, God will then begin to bless you and give you the real peace and joy in your life that He promises. John 6:33 “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 97

My Daily Devotional

April 3

Volume III

A Mountaintop Experience

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7 I love the mountains, as I spent many peaceful and wonderful hours with my grandfather hunting and climbing the mountains as I was growing up in my beautiful state of Kentucky. It is encouraging to know that the disciple Peter also had a “mountaintop experience” with Jesus, and he wanted to stay on the mountain also. I believe God gives each of us a mountain experience during our lives to refresh and restore us. So often most people spend much of their lives in the valleys; worrying, struggling, and dealing with their problems of insecurity, financial issues, relationships and just dealing with the everyday stresses of life. Our time of “valley dwelling” is so filled with frustration, fatigue and irritation that we take our eyes off God and worshipping Him, as our thoughts are often centered on ourselves. When we are “valley dwelling” it is difficult to see what lies in our future as we cannot see what lies ahead as our thoughts and minds can only see the sides of the mountain. However during these times we need to look up, and see Jesus and the mountain top, as the view from the mountain top is wonderful and a “mountaintop experience” is all many of us need to refocus and recommit our lives to God. So today as the bills keep coming in, and the dishes pile up, and the pressures of life build around you, look up toward the heavens and renew yourself with a mountaintop experience with God. Isaiah 55:12 “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the fields will clap their hands.” 98

My Daily Devotional

April 4

Volume III

God’s Call to Me

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13 When I gave my life to Christ one of my greatest fears was that God was going to call me to do some great thing for Him, and I feared that I would be out of my comfort zone in order to do His will. I had always been comfortable doing my own thing and relying on my own abilities, and always staying within my comfort zone, where I knew what to do at the right time to get things accomplished. However when Jesus came into my life, my own distorted view of His plan for my life gave me great concern in the beginning, as God began speaking to me and getting me out of my comfort zone. I had always had a very successful career, but now God was asking me to step out in faith in an entirely different direction than what I was used to. At this point in my Christian walk I had not yet gained enough assurance of God’s plan for me to step out in faith and do what He was asking me to do. A big part of me wanted to take the leap of faith, but the other part stubbornly refused to step out without knowing what lay ahead. However, when I began to read God’s word the scripture above gave me guidance as the two words “will” and “act” caught my eye; as until we are willing, we will never act. I then realized that it was God who was working in me, and who was “willing” me and making me “act” according to His good purpose. I then knew that God was going to supply everything I would need, to do His will and to fulfill His plan for my life. Since then I have not hesitated to follow God’s will, even though many times I have not known where He was taking me, but at all times He has led me and kept me focused on His plan for my life. Isaiah 1:19 “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat of the good of the land.” 99

My Daily Devotional

April 5

Volume III

God has a Plan for You

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 The other night at one of our church’s small group meetings, one of the young men who will be graduating from college was concerned about what his future would be like. Most people go through life, like this young man, not knowing what the future will have in store for them, however the scripture above gives us a glimpse of how God looks at our future, as He tells us that He has plans to prosper us and give us hope for our future. From the time we set out on our own, we begin to make lifechanging decisions; we get our first job; we find the perfect spouse; we begin our family; we buy our first house and make many other life changing decisions throughout the course of our lives. Ultimately, through these decisions we decide our future. All the decisions we make are part of God’s plan for each of us, and in His time he will reveal His plan to us. In my situation God did not reveal His plan for my life to me until I passed middle age, and had experienced many of these life changing decisions. I believe God wants each of us to listen to His call, but gives us a free will to see what we will do of our own accord. I know that I made many mistakes, but I believe these were all learning experiences for me, as He was molding me and shaping me to be the person I am today. At the right time God will speak to you and reveal His plan for your life. When this time comes, allow your life to be guided by God, and listen to His gentle whispers, and follow Him and He will make your future a bright one. Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” 100

My Daily Devotional

April 6

Volume III

You Can’t Hide From God

“Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.” Psalm 139:4 God knows us perfectly, far beyond our knowledge of ourselves; our every action, our every undertaking, even our thoughts before they are fully crystallized, and our words before they are ever uttered are known by an ever present God. Even the little things that we do in our daily lives, where we are not honest in the way we conduct ourselves, are under God’s watchful eyes. I am reminded of the story about the minister who ended his service one Sunday by saying, “Next Sunday I’m going to preach on the subject of liars. And in preparation of this, I would like each of you to read the seventeenth chapter of Mark.” The following Sunday the minister asked, “Now then, all of you who have read the seventeenth chapter of Mark, please raise your hands.” Nearly every hand in the congregation went up. Then said the minister, “You are the people I want to talk to, as there is no seventeenth chapter of Mark.” This humorous story illustrates just how easy it is to sin in the eyes of God, and although many of these sins may not seem to be significant, they are nevertheless sins. I would caution each of you to always be aware of your actions, your thoughts, and your behavior at all times as God is watching, and is aware of all you do. There is no place where even the smallest of sins is kept secret from God, so be aware of what you do, what you think and how you live, even down to the small things of life. He will one day examine each of our lives and also our souls, as He knows our ever thought, word and deed, from whom there is no hiding. Psalm 139:1-3 “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” 101

My Daily Devotional

April 7

Volume III

Harry’s Tree

This week I received an e-mail from the secretary of the company we work with in doing our mail service, telling me that Harry, one of our dear friends had passed away. This was a man that we had met each day for over 10 years to deliver our mail to. He loved to talk and we would spend several minutes each day talking as much as we could, even with the tight schedule we both were on in getting the mail to the office to be presorted. We met each other for all those years under a maple tree by the side of the road. He had been stricken with cancer for the past several years and was not able to work, but even during this time when we would pass this tree we were reminded of him, and the time we shared together. The brief time we spent with each other on a daily basis reminds me just how precious life really is, and how just a few moments each day talking with someone can make a lasting impact on all of us. Harry was a man that during his time on earth made an impact on many people, not through his achievements or stature in life but by the caring attitude he had for people. Each day we would hug each other before we left and tell each other to be careful. Harry made an impact on our children and grandchildren in this manner. Harry liked to talk to people and often was late meeting us because of this, but we understood and got to expect his late arrivals. I would encourage each of you to cherish these kinds of brief encounters with the Harry’s you meet daily as these are times that can make an impact on your life. I was able to share the Gospel with Harry during these times and gave him a copy of one of my first Daily Devotional after it was published. I know that both my wife and I and my family will miss him, and will always remember Harry’s Tree. God tells us to be kind to one another, showing our love to others and making this kind of impact on the people we meet. We can make an impact on people in this way by showing that we care. 102

My Daily Devotional

April 8

Volume III

How to have a Full and Meaningful life

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 1st John 5:11 God loves you and offers you a full and meaningful life. This full and meaningful life is abundant. This full and meaningful life is everlasting. Jesus Christ can change your whole life and give you joy and peace now and forever. Life without Christ is empty and without meaning, but the life Jesus offers is full, meaningful and eternal. This life is made possible by Christ’s death and resurrection, and includes: forgiveness of sin, fellowship in the family of God and strength for daily living. A life without Christ includes guilt, loneliness and weariness. The life God offers includes forgiveness, fellowship and strength. You enter this life through a “spiritual birth.” “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3. Nicodemus, a member of the strictest religious group of his time, was a highly educated man. He came to Jesus seeking a more meaningful life. Jesus explained that without a complete change in his life no man could understand or enter the kingdom of God. Jesus called this change a spiritual birth. The spiritual birth is more than accepting facts, and more than doing good works. Spiritual birth takes place when you turn your life over to Jesus Christ. This life becomes yours when you turn from sin and accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. To receive Jesus Christ, you need to: admit that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself, be willing to turn from your sins and ask Jesus to forgive your sins and take control of your life. You become a Christian and possess this full and meaningful life at the moment when by faith you turn to God through Christ. The choice is yours. God offers you this full and meaningful life now. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. Acts 3:19. 103

My Daily Devotional

April 9

Volume III

Pray for God’s Will

“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done-“ Matthew 6:9-10 Tonight at a small group meeting of our church, we had a discussion about how to pray for prayers to be answered. There were several people who stated that they always pray for a specific thing in their lives. Some stated they prayed for their health, for their finances, for their relationships and many specific needs in their lives. I know that Jesus tells us that He will answer prayers, but so many times in our lives our prayer life in not in tune with God’s plan for us. We pray for things that are our desires but so often are not God’s desires. In looking back at my own life I now realize that I have prayed for specific things that at the time were things I thought were best for me or my family. However I can now see and I am glad that God did not answer my prayers because the things I prayed for were not what were best for me and His overall plan for my life. I believe that our prayer life should be one that asks God for His will to be done in our lives, as so often we do not have the wisdom to know what is best. I believe it is only when God has revealed His will and His plan to each of us that we are in a position to know what we need to pray for specifically. In my prayers I always pray that God will let me know His plans for me and will grant me the wisdom and knowledge to ask for the things that will best fulfill His plan for me. I pray for things that are His will for me and not my will, as He states in the scripture above where He is telling His disciples how to pray. He specifically tells us to pray for His “will to be done.” I believe that when our hearts are really in tune with God our prayers will be answered as they will be what His will is for us also. 104

My Daily Devotional

April 10

Volume III

Value Your Friends

“May another take his place of leadership. So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also called Justus) and Matthias…who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken from us. Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.” Acts 1:20-23 This is the scripture that tells us what happened after Jesus ascended to Heaven, and how the remaining eleven apostles chose the successor to Judas. So often we think that the twelve disciples were the only ones that were close to Jesus, but we see in the scripture above that there were others that were close to him as well. This scripture tells us that both Joseph and Matthias were with Jesus even before he chose the Twelve Apostles. Jesus also was close to Mary, Martha and Lazarus. We also find that there were the 120 people who gathered before Pentecost who also were close to Jesus. Just imagine Jesus meeting with these people in settings much like the small groups we have today in our churches. He ate with them, spent time with them, talked of God to them, and prayed with them. Have you given any thought of the people who are close to you? Who are your circle of friends and do you spend time with them as Jesus did? The church family during my childhood did things together, such as picnics, dinners, etc. as the life of the family revolved around the church. When we have people that are close to us we need to nurture them as Jesus did, by spending time with them, praying with them and worshipping together with them. We need to treasure those who have walked with us, and have been close to us for much of our lives, for they are among God’s greatest gifts to you. 105

My Daily Devotional

April 11

Volume III

Do Not Fear

“Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” Acts 18:9-10 As we look at our daily newspapers and our television we see more and more trouble all around us, the spirit of fear seems to be working overtime. With the terror threats, violence in our streets, the threats of war and the crime that is prevalent we have reason to be fearful. This fear is not coming from God but from Satan. The devil wants us to be afraid and on the defensive. He wants us to be so consumed by fear, and so afraid that our thoughts and minds will be so overwhelmed with fear that we will not be able to accomplish the things we need to do. The scriptures, such as the one above can give us strength to stand up and hold fast to the promises of God, that He will not forsake us and leave us alone. He will protect us from our enemies and our fear. We cannot get caught up in the day to day troubles that face our society, and become despondent and begin to have doubts about what the future holds for us. We must realize that the word of God tells us that we must refuse to worry about what “may” happen, as God is going to see us through. He tells us that there will be a brighter tomorrow, even though we sometimes cannot see through the dark clouds that surrounds us. I believe God has angels all around us that are there to protect the ones that believe and trust in Him. We also have our Christian brothers and sisters to aid and comfort us during our times of trouble. When the attacks of the devil begin to drag you down, and fear begins to overwhelm you, you can reach out to your friends, but just remember that God is always there for you and will not let anyone attack you or harm you, as He is always there to watch over you. 106

My Daily Devotional

April 12

Volume III

God Will Provide

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” Matthew 6:25 The thought that is becoming more prevalent in our society today is about pleasing ourselves and fulfilling our desires. From the simple life that our ancestors lived, we have evolved into one that is focused not on meeting just our needs, but are caught up in our wants and desires. These are things that go far beyond our food, clothing and shelter needs that are necessary to maintain life, but we have become consumed with the materialistic things of life. We must have that new house, that new car, that new television, go on our dream vacation, have the latest fashions, etc. The focus of our lives has become centered on these materialistic possessions, and before we know it the bills start coming in and worry and stress quickly follow. Jesus understood just how bad people can get caught up in the temporal, worldly, demanding and ruthless ways of the world, and tells us to not be concerned about our life. He tells us not to worry, but one of the silent killers in our society today is stress, which so often is brought about by worry. We all need to deal with the thoughts of tomorrow, and what it will bring, but we do not need to worry about it as God tells us that He will provide all our needs. It is true that our culture has changed, but the one constant is still there and that is the promise that Jesus made to all of us. That promise is that there is a bright future for all of us, as we do not have to be concerned about our tomorrows, as He came to provide a way where we do not have be burdened down with stress and worry about our future. Our eternity in heaven is already planned for us when we accept Jesus as our savior, and our future is assured when we trust in Him to provide all our needs. 107

My Daily Devotional

April 13

Volume III

The Purpose Of Life

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 Have you ever thought about what the purpose of life is? I believe when God created man He created him with the idea that he would last forever. When He created Adam in the Garden of Eden, I believe God made him to be eternal. When Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, this changed things. However when Jesus came back to die on the cross for our sins this again gave us the chance to again have our eternal life. I believe the purpose of life is just a step to prepare us for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to eventually be with Him in Heaven. Our life on earth is to prepare us and get us ready, as our time on earth is only a short time, but eternity will last forever. The hills and valleys that we go through on earth is only our practice field, as God wants us to grow in character and in our Christ likeness. Our life here on earth is a series of good times and bad times much like a roller coaster as we are either going uphill or coasting down. We are in many instances like David as he was either thanking God for the good times and on top of the hill, or asking Him for help during his bad times and down in the valleys. I believe that no matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good that you can thank God for. I believe God wants us to be happy on earth, but our purpose is to become more Christ like and to be more like Him. 108

My Daily Devotional

April 14

Volume III

Our Great Commission

“For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13

This past weekend I received a call from the local community center, about one of the young men that has been helping with some of the projects we have established to help the needy in our area. He had just attended a local church and had asked Jesus into his heart. This young man had a troubled past, as his family had been torn apart by divorce at an early age, which left him pretty much on his own throughout his teen aged years. He had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd and had begun using drugs, and had gotten himself in trouble with the police. He was assigned to do community service as part of his punishment, and had been helping distribute food to the needy. During the time he was assigned to us, there were several of us that counseled with him almost on a daily basis. When I received the call about him turning his life over to God, it thrilled my heart to know that I had a small part in rescuing this young man. This is just one of many examples of what I have experienced during the past seven years as I have ventured out to reach lost souls. I believe Jesus’ great commission to go out and reach others is the most important thing that we can do in our walk with God. We have to venture out of our comfort zones and go where these people are. This young man would never have gone to church on his own, but being in the presence of people of God was enough influence in his life to change him and get his life back on track. This is where God wants Christians to be, trying to bring sinners to know what a life in Christ is like. We cannot do this only going to church on Sunday. Sunday is the time we need our own spiritual food, but then we need to be out helping others partake of the spiritual food as well. 109

My Daily Devotional

April 15

Volume III

Step Out of the Boat

“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38 When I read this scripture a few nights ago it reminded me of the many times I had the opportunity over the years to let people know that I was a Christian. Even though I have always attended church I never was committed enough to really take my faith out into my workplace, which is so unfortunate. I had always been comfortable just being a good, considerate, respectful and honest man with all the people I came into contact with. However when the power of God began to work in my life everything changed. It reminds me of the Apostle Paul when he stepped out of the boat to go meet Jesus on the lake. I am sure he felt safe and secure in the boat, but when he stepped out in faith he was not sure what would happen. For a short time his faith sustained him, but when he began to doubt he began to sink. This is how so many people are in their own walks of faith. We are afraid to step out in the water, to venture out to territories where we have never been. But when we see and read some of the scriptures of Jesus such as the ones above, we must be willing to begin to step out in faith, and put our trust in God. I know that my life has changed dramatically since I have stepped out, and God has sustained me and given me abilities I never knew I had to make a difference. If there is one thing that I could ever encourage each of you to do, it would be to never be afraid to step out of your comfort zones to do the work of God and to spread His gospel. Amazing things will begin to happen in your life and you will never be the same again. God will take you to new heights in your ability to understand and reveal the plan He has for your life. 110

My Daily Devotional

April 16

Volume III

Learn To Forgive

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.” Luke 6:27-29 In this world we live in today, it would be rare to find many who would turn the other cheek as the scripture above states. However throughout the Bible this is the message that Jesus keeps sending us. Forgiveness is something that so many people struggle with every day of their lives. As I have counseled people throughout the years, many times the underlying problem that these people are facing is the lack of being able to forgive others. So many of them have been hurt by employers, friends, neighbors and many times by family members, and they have not been able to forgive and forget and go on with their lives. The pain keeps gnawing at them and does not go away, and the longer they harbor this hurt the more it spreads into other parts of their lives and into their family situations. “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Matthew 6:15. When we are unable to release bitterness and pent up anger inside us this is going to keep God from operating in our lives. I know it is difficult to forgive someone who has hurt you, but just remember the sacrifice that Jesus made to forgive you. What He is asking you to do is nothing compared to the sacrifice He made on your behalf. If there is someone that has harmed you, and you have not been able to forgive, I would encourage you to ask God for the strength to help you forgive them, as this is one of the most important elements in your walk with Jesus. As the above scripture tells us, what better reason do we have to forgive others so that our sins will also be forgiven? 111

My Daily Devotional

April 17

Volume III

God is our Refuge

“I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him will I trust.” Psalm 91:2 Recently we have seen wildfires destroy and do much devastation to the homes of people, especially in California, but also over many other parts of our nation. The material possessions that these people have worked a lifetime to accumulate have been wiped away in an instant. The security that these families enjoyed, even last week, has now gone up in smoke and they are left with a feeling of despair and helpliness. This is how quickly our worlds can change, as one minute we can feel safe and secure, and the next minute our worlds can be completely turned around and we find ourselves without any hope. Throughout the Bible God tells us not to become enamored with our worldly possessions, as these will pass away, but rather to be concerned about our inward selves as these will never pass away. God tells us that He will provide for our needs, and not to worry about anything else. He tells us that He provides even for the needs of the birds, as they do not worry about their needs. All of us need to learn a lesson from these kinds of disasters, and realize that many times we put all our focus on acquiring all the material things of life, rather than focusing on what should really matter. When times of trouble confront us, such as wildfires, hurricanes and tornadoes we are not alone as God tells us in the scripture above that He is still our refuge and our fortress and we need to continue to trust in Him. Even though God knows all things before they happen, I believe that He allows some of the catastrophic events to happen to make us aware of our vulnerability, and that He is still in control. During our times of trouble we still need to keep our eyes looking upwards and depend on God to help us through. 112

My Daily Devotional

April 18

Volume III

God is Always There

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:2-3 The above scripture should be such an assurance to all of us, as God is telling us that He will always be there in our times of trouble and trials. Many times it is only when we begin to pass through the waters and the rivers and are trying to keep our heads above water do we begin to turn to God to ask for help in solving our problems. I believe that when things are going good in our lives and everything is coming up roses that this is the time that we are most vulnerable from the attacks of Satan. During the past two years I have had several friends that have developed cancer. There is a national cancer care website that has been developed where they can share information and receive encouragement from others who have this terrible disease. I have been writing devotionals which I post on this website as encouragements to these people to help them deal with their problems, and through this website I have communicated with many of these people. I have found that it has taken this life threatening disease to bring many of them back to God. It is very difficult for many of these people, but I have seen that God has strengthened the character of many of them, and has even given some of them a ministry to help and support others. When people are down in their valleys and the storm clouds are surrounding them they begin to turn to God for comfort and protection. So often it takes adversity in our lives to make us aware of our vulnerability, but we can all rest assured that God will always be there in our times of trouble and trials, and all that we need to do is to call on Him. 113

My Daily Devotional

April 19

Volume III

You Shall Be Healed

“If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.” Exodus 15:26 Being in the health care field for 45 years I have sat and listened to people who were struggling with health issues, and have had them unburden their hearts to me about their fears of what was going to happen to them. They were torn apart emotionally, spiritually and physically with their diseases and usually did not know where to turn for comfort and reassurance. No one knows the anguish that people with chronic sickness suffer until they go through health issues themselves. God tells us in the scripture above that there is hope in Him as He can be our healer. I would encourage you to not lose hope, as He is still the God who heals us, no matter what disease we are battling, and no matter how bleak the situation looks. We can find many examples throughout the Bible where people with all kinds of illnesses were healed both by Jesus and by His disciples. Healing starts with the belief that there is a God and the faith and trust that God can heal any affliction. The Bible gives us instruction, hope and faith when we believe and pray to God for our healing. The Word of God tells us to lay our hands on those who are suffering, anoint them with oil and pray the prayer of faith to God on their behalf. When we do, we are taught that God will do the rest. We can discover that through prayer and asking God for healing that great things can take place. The power of God can heal, restore and make new bodies that were suffering. When we have even the amount of faith as small as a mustard seed we have enough faith to be healed 114

My Daily Devotional .

April 20

Volume III

God’s Masterpiece

“Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the Lord God made all kind of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.” Genesis 2:8-9 As our children were growing up, there was an artist that we would always watch that would draw beautiful scenic pictures of the trees, grassy hillsides, ponds and beautiful white fluffy clouds against a blue sky. He would always call his clouds, little happy clouds, and would instruct everyone who was watching that these were their clouds, and their trees and they could do whatever they wanted to with them when they drew their own pictures. Have you ever thought about God being a master artist, when He created the Garden of Eden? Can you imagine how He created the spectacular colors of a sunset, the colors of a rainbow, the red and gold leaves of autumn, and how He could have painstakingly painted each leaf on a tree and each blade of grass, and each flower in the field. The beautiful trees, the fluffy clouds, the blue sky, the grassy hillsides, and all the beauty that surrounds us was all created and formed by God. God is the ultimate Master Painter, as we can see His creations all around us, and we should be in awe of His masterpiece. But best of all God has placed us in this beautiful garden and now we are also painted into His landscape. Just as the artist we watched years ago instructed we can do whatever we want with our painting. We can add color to this dark world, as we can be a light to the world we live in, or we can live in darkness. We have the freedom to be the splash of gold to our own world and bring our lifeless canvas to its full brilliance. “The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.” Proverbs 13:9 115

My Daily Devotional

April 20

Volume III

The Trap of Sin

“He who leads the upright along an evil path will fall into his own trap, but the blameless will receive a good inheritance.” Proverbs 28:10 When I found this scripture a few nights ago I was reminded of something my grandfather told me as I was growing up. He loved to hunt and told me a story about how to trap and tame a fox. He said to find a suitable place in the woods and put some food on the ground. The fox would find it and begin to come back for more food. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the food. When they get used to the fence being there, you put up another side of the fence. When they get used to that you put up another side. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. When the fox, which now is used to the free food, comes through the gate to eat, a trap door closes the gate and the fox is trapped. Soon the fox forgets about his freedom, and eats the free food and accepts his captivity. I believe that the scheme of Satan is much like this. For example we begin to get used to and accept just a little sin in our life, like an off color program on television that we begin watching, then another level of sin is added and we become accustomed to this, then another is added until all four sides of our fence is built and we are trapped. This kind of entrapment is seen throughout our society as we start accepting and compromising just a little, then just a little more, then just a little more, and before long we can be trapped into a life of sin. Just as there is not a difference between a white lie and a real lie, there is not a difference between the levels of sin we commit. If we commit a sin and we know that we are sinning we are still guilty. A word of caution do only what you would be comfortable doing if Jesus was beside you watching you. 116

My Daily Devotional

April 21

Volume III

God is our Creator

“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 Last week as I was turning through the television channels, there was a program which I momentarily watched, which was talking about Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. The program was showing a progression of man from the so called apes to the present day form of man. I know that godless information such as this turns people away from believing the real truth of creation. I remember a cartoon several years ago showing a gorilla in a zoo, holding a Bible in one hand, and a book about evolution in the other? He was looking confused, so someone asked, “What are you doing?” The gorilla answered, “Well, I’m trying to decide if I’m my brother’s keeper, or my keeper’s brother.” The subject of Creation versus Evolution is no laughing matter as the sad truth is that our children and our future generations are suffering because of the evolutionist’s attack on the belief in God today. Unfortunately, many parents do not take the responsibility of teaching their children about God, the Great Creator, and leave this up to the ignorant multitude of liberals that are taking over much of our school system, and teaching our children this so called “evolution pollution”. As parents it is our responsibility to let our children know why they believe in God’s creation and to be able to share their beliefs. I would encourage all parents to make sure your child is not caught up in the web of deceit that is pervading our society on the subject of evolution verses creation. Make sure you are equipped to handle this situation, and are able to answer your children’s questions so they can present and defend their positions. It is extremely important to make sure our children do not begin doubting the real God and their creation. 117

My Daily Devotional

April 22

Volume III

You are not Alone

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2nd Timothy 4:7 Several days ago I received a call from one of my former employers that one of my good friends had passed away after a ferocious battle with cancer. This was a good Christian man who walked the talk in his everyday life and was a beacon for everyone to follow. That night I read the scripture above and it really hit home. It made me think that as my friend was going through all the trials in his life over the past few months he kept his faith, fought the good fight and finished the race. He was able to do this because he had God to lean on, and who was his strength during his struggles. I know that so many people try to solve problems on their own, and then realize that they can’t do it by themselves and eventually turn things over to God. We can all fight the good fight, and sometimes finish the race by ourselves but when we do it without faith it just isn’t satisfying, but only sufficient. There is no gratification in doing something that isn’t in God’s will. There is a security in knowing that when you fight the good fight and finish the race with faith that God was on your side through it all. God knows all our strengths and weaknesses, and as He promises throughout the Bible will not make our burdens more than we can bear. And even though when we are down in our valleys and the storm clouds surround us God is still there to guide us through and give us peace in our lives. I would encourage each of you, that when you feel that you are all alone, and that no one understands what you are going through, to remember that God knows and understands your troubles, and will provide the understanding that will guide you through your difficult times. Don’t try to do it all by yourself, but turn to God who will walk by your side. 118

My Daily Devotional

April 23

Volume III

Be Reborn

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.” Acts 7:51 These are some of the teachings of Stephen to the Sanhedrin just before he was stoned to death. These people were not willing to change their pagan ways and listen to new insights, new approaches and new ideas? They were not teachable in any way. Their hearts were hardened to the words of Jesus Christ that Stephen was trying to convey to them. The strong words “stiffnecked” and “hard-hearted” certainly tells us how inflexible and non-responsive they really were. We can see how the Sanhedrin were, and need to ask ourselves if we would consider ourselves to be as un-teachable as they were. Are we open to new insights, new approaches and new ideas? Most of us would want to answer “yes”, that we are teachable, but just how valid is our response. So often we have hardened our hearts, and have stiffened our necks to the point that we don’t or won’t consider a change in our thinking and attitude. In such a condition we are not open to new ideas, nor are we open to the transforming work of the Spirit of God in our lives. When God comes into our heart we must be ready to be transformed, and be made into a new creature. We must be willing to throw off the old self and put on the new self. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10. We must be willing to change the patterns of our life, and change our attitudes and behavior both in public and private. We must be willing to become the kind of people that God would want for us to become. We need to be committed to our new born self and ask God to reveal to us what attitudes and behaviors that He would have us change. 119

My Daily Devotional

April 24

Volume III

Be a Contagious Christian

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 Have you ever thought about what the disciples must have thought when Jesus spoke the message above to them? It must have seemed like an impossible request when they looked at their past lives as a tax collector, a fisher, etc. and Jesus was now telling them to go spread the Gospel throughout all the world. There are times in our lives when we are told to do things on our own, where we have major concerns. Our first day at school, our first bike ride without training wheels or even taking our first step by ourselves. We continually are asked to do things on our own through adolescence and even into adulthood, until we begin a family of our own. Each time we are asked to step out by ourselves we are unsure, but then become excited to find out that we actually could do it all by ourselves. The disciples were, I am sure, questioning whether they could do this by themselves, and had doubts, fears and questions. But Jesus knew what lay ahead of them, and the experiences they would encounter in their lives to spread the gospel throughout the world. It is not easy to step out in faith when we don’t know what may lie ahead of us, but this is what we must do, in our walk with God. Just as the disciples were told to do, to step out and spread the word of God to the world, we are also to step out and spread the word of God to our friends, our neighbors and in our workplaces. We need to be a contagious Christian wherever we are and wherever we go. We are also part of the Great Commission that Jesus gave to the disciples, and need to go out in faith as they did and spread the Word of Jesus wherever we go. 120

My Daily Devotional

April 25

Volume III

God will Protect Us

“I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” 2nd Timothy 1:12 Over the past twenty years I have done much research on the history of the Cherokee Indian tribes as my ancestors were Cherokee. An interesting custom was the rite of passage for a young man. His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a log the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the sun comes up in the morning. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him, and could attack at any moment. The sounds of the wind blowing through the trees, and strange noises frighten him throughout the night, but he must remain blindfolded. He cannot cry out for help to anyone but once he survives the night, he is a Man. The irony of the story is that when the young boys survive the horror of the night that they find their father sitting on a log just across from theirs. He had been there the entire night, protecting his son from harm. This is the way that our heavenly father watches over us. We don’t always know and realize that He is sitting beside us when we are afraid, and don’t know what is going on around us, but He is there protecting us from harm. Many times our blindfolds keep us in the dark, as when we can’t see God in our lives we do not think about Him at all times, but He is there just the same. When we can’t see our protector sitting beside us and watching over us, our troubles can seem greater than they are, and our fear can sometimes overwhelm us. It is during these times of trouble and fear that we can take comfort in knowing that all we have to do is reach out to Him, and He will take our hand and comfort us and watch over us. 121

My Daily Devotional

April 26

Volume III

Let God Lead You

“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 the road that leads to life and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 The scripture above tells us that only a few will find the road and the gate that leads to an everlasting life with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Have you ever looked around you, for example, at your church service on Sunday morning and wonder who are the few that are going to make it through the small gate and find an eternal life? Is your pastor, youth leader, the person sitting next to you, your spouse and your children going to enter through the gate and be one of the few? According to this scripture the majority of the people in your church service will not enter the gate, but just who will be the few that do make it through. Will I be included in this select few and will my qualifications and credentials be sufficient to allow me to be included in this select group? After thinking about this for some time I now realize that the road that Jesus is referring to is one that is inside me, and as Jesus becomes more and more a part of my life, that my road is no longer the broad road of my own selfish nature, but that it is becoming a narrow, one lane road which is leading me to the gates of life. God is changing my ways and is directing my life and getting me off the broad road and onto the narrow road. God tells each of us to walk the straight and narrow path, and I would encourage all of you to look at your own life and see which road you are traveling on. It is not too late to get on the right road that leads to life. “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that way.” Isaiah 35:8. 122

My Daily Devotional

April 27

Volume III

Is There a Barnabas in You

“Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles feet.” Acts 4:36-37 Barnabas’s name appears in the scriptures thirty three times, and we see him as being a great man with an encouraging nature and one to help and support others around him. He must have had an amazing gift of encouragement to be recognized this much in the scriptures. However this first mention of his name is not as an encourager but rather as a giver, which leads me to believe that he was also a man with the spirit of God in him and a true Believer. He had made a gift that was freely given, and had laid this gift at the feet of the apostles, and was a gift that was intended to help people. This gift was made with no fanfare and publicity, but rather given to the apostles for distribution to those in need. I believe Barnabas demonstrates so many of the good qualities of what our lives should be like today. He was a devoted servant of God and used his gifts and talents to the fullest in whatever he did, and God blessed him. When we compare ourselves to a Barnabas do we see ourselves using our gifts and talents in the way he did. What would we lay at the feet of the apostles today? Is there something of a material nature you would sacrifice and lay at their feet, or would you give of your time and talents to do a good work for people in need? The heart of an encourager is a giver; someone who gives of themselves to benefit the well being of someone else. I believe we must all become like a Barnabas to have a real true relationship with Jesus, as when our thoughts are about others they are not focused on our own selfish wishes and desires. I would encourage each of you to search your hearts and become a giver and get your mind off yourself. 123

My Daily Devotional

April 28

Volume III

Our Hero

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent men you save me.” 2nd Samuel 22:2-3 This past week there was a young soldier who received the highest medal awarded by our nation for giving his life to save others in his unit. This great hero was rewarded for his bravery and not thinking about himself but thinking about others instead. My father was killed in World War II and also was a hero as he considered others before himself. Even though we have men such as this young man and my father willing to sacrifice their lives for us and our protection, we need to remember that our real protection is not in mankind or in any government. Our real protection can only come through God. We can pray for our government, our president and our leaders, but we must ultimately put our trust in God as He is the only one that can protect us. We can all recall September 11, and the day the Twin Towers fell. There were also heroes there that day who died trying to save others as well, but they could not prevent this tragedy. Throughout the Bible there are recorded trials and tribulations that will befall all nations, however the real enemy that is attacking us is Satan himself, who is trying to destroy everyone. His attacks do not let up as they are relentless and occur each day of our lives. Our heroes cannot save us from these attacks, as they are helpless to defend and protect us. Our only hope to withstand these attacks is to turn to the only hero that can protect us, and that is Jesus Christ, who gave His life for all humanity. By His death on the cross for us, He made the way for us to have an eternal life and to be victorious over all our enemies. 124

My Daily Devotional

April 29

Volume III

Let God’s Joy Surround You

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1: 2 Do you have pure joy in your life? I have been reminded of this scripture for the past year or so, as I have a dear friend who stands out in our church and is always bubbling over with the joy of the Lord. About two years ago he seemed to have everything together in his finances as his business was flourishing and everything was rosy for his future. However, almost as quickly as everything had increased, his business began to grow sour and his revenues began declining. Several members of the church counseled with him to help him in any way we could, but were not able to do much to help him get out of his dilemma. The result was that he lost much of his wealth and his business was basically lost. Through all of this trouble however, the joy of the Lord still shown through him and still does today. His faith has not wavered and the joy of God still shines from him for all to see. The Bible tells us in Psalm 16:11 “you will fill me with joy in your presence.” The presence of the Lord is still with him during his times of trouble as it was with him in his times of plenty. I believe this is what the presence of God can do in our lives when we have given our life over to Him. Even though we may still have troubles and trials in our life, His presence is still there with us. This is the situation that David was in throughout his life. He had troubles and trials and also had his good times, but the presence of God was always with him. I would encourage each of you that when you feel like your joy is beginning to wane, to get into the presence of God and He will restore you, and will fill you with joy and give you the strength to withstand your troubles. 125

My Daily Devotional

April 30

Volume III

May God Give You Peace

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 How important is peace to you? Peace was important to the people of Israel as throughout their history they prospered when they were at peace with their enemies. The times they were at peace they were also following and obeying the commands of God. Peace is something that we all want and need. However there is so much going on in the world today that for many of us there are times when we have no peace. There are so many problems in society with our jobs, our relationships, our finances, our spouse and our children, that it is difficult to find peace anywhere. Our attitudes, our emotions and our actions all become confused because of the lack of peace. I believe this is due largely to the fact that so many people are removing God from their lives. The history of the people of Israel reveals so much as to what the power of God can do in our lives when we obey Him and follow His commandments. When the Israelites prospered they were mostly at peace with themselves and were following the ways of God and obeying His commandments. In the scripture above Jesus tells us that He will give us peace, and that we are not to be troubled or afraid. So often we think of peace only when things are going our way and times are good. However Jesus warns us that there will be times of troubles and trials for us all, but that doesn’t mean that the peace and joy of the Lord has to vanish instantly. The Lord’s peace is never failing and will always be with us. The world’s peace can vanish and fade away but God’s peace will stay with us forever. When you are in need of peace in your life turn to Jesus and He will give you peace. 126

My Daily Devotional

May 1

Volume III

Don’t Complain

“Do everything without complaining or arguing.” Philippians 2:14

One of the things that really bother me is to hear people complain. Having spent over 45 years in health care, I was obviously in a profession where much of my job was dealing with patients who were sick, and naturally they were always complaining about their medical condition. This is to be expected in this kind of environment, however outside of a medical setting I believe that our complaining should be limited and we need to seriously be aware of it. If we are sick we need to always seek medical advice from a physician, but to constantly be complaining to others that we did not sleep well, or that we are tired, or that some minor ailment is bothering us I feel does not do anyone any good. We need to keep a positive attitude about our lives, but just being around someone that has nothing to say but complain about all the things that are wrong with them, can quickly change our positive attitude to one that is negative. I strongly believe that God does not want us to be complainers, as this does no one any good. I believe conversation is healthy between all people, but so often a conversation that deals only with complaining about health issues or other events that are happening can demoralize the other person. My philosophy has always been if I do not have anything positive to say, I will keep silent. I believe if we are ill enough we need to go to the doctor, but to constantly complain and let others know that we are not feeling well, does not do us any good, and can bring others down as well. I would encourage each of you to think about yourselves and see if you are a complainer. God wants us to be a positive influence on others we come into contact with, and if even in the little things, we complain and cause someone else to falter just a little we have done them a disservice. 127

My Daily Devotional

May 2

Volume III

Be an Encourager

“The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment.” Proverbs 10:21 In the previous devotional I talked about complaining and the negative impact it can have on others. In the scripture above Solomon gives us his wisdom about the impact that our words can have upon others. God wants our words to nourish others and not to affect them in a negative manner. The people who stand out from the crowd in most of our lives are not complainers. They are the people we feel good being around because they build us up. They are the people that always have positive things to say and make us feel good just to be with them. Very few of us want to be around someone that is constantly telling us how bad they feel, or that they did not sleep well last night. We usually don’t seek these people out as someone we want to be around. We have enough problems of our own to deal with, and to be burdened down with others baggage does not do any of us any good. This is not to say that we should not be concerned with others when they have real issues, as we should be concerned, and be there to listen and help them in any way we can. But very quickly we will know when people have a chronic case of complaining, and I believe this is what Solomon is talking about in the scripture above. These people can demoralize and drag others down with them. God wants us to be an encourager and so often just the words we say to others can make a difference. Think about your own life and determine whether you are an encourager. Do you make others feel good about themselves, or do you constantly complain about things that both you and they cannot control. If you find yourself in this situation, just begin to think before you speak, and then speak words that are positive and uplifting, words that nourish. 128

My Daily Devotional

May 3

Volume III

The Battlefield for our Souls

“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” Matthew 3:8 Several years ago I heard a sermon from the Reverend Billy Graham who said something that has stayed with me for all this time. He said that when it comes to our spiritual walk, we are doing one of two things. We are either moving forward or falling back. There is no in between. As I think about this I can agree with him completely, as I have had periods of time since then that I have been enthused about reading my Bible each day and studying and seeking more wisdom from God about my life. These were the times that I was moving forward in my walk with God. Then there were times that I would put my Bible down for a day or two, maybe a week as I became too busy with other things. These were the times I was falling back. Many times when I only read and study for just a few minutes I am still moving forward, but it is when I stop completely I fall back. Just a little time with God each day lets us continue to move forward. The more time we spend with him, the farther along we will be, but just a little time each day lets us continue to grow and become a better person. The more time we spend with God each day the more fruit we will produce, as we will begin to better obey and follow God’s commands for our lives. There is a constant battle in each of our lives as Satan is competing for us as well. He will attempt and devise ways where we use our time and our talents for his purposes of evil instead of good. When we are moving forward this tells us that God is winning the battle, but when we move backward Satan is winning. Our life is the ultimate battlefield on which the most important war of all times is being fought, with the trophy being our souls. We need to keep our minds and our life focused on Jesus and use all the armor that God provides to defeat Satan as our life is in the balance. 129

My Daily Devotional

May 4

Volume III

Learn From Our Mistakes

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11 I can remember many times where I have made mistakes either as a child, in my family and also in my business life which I have been disciplined for. I am not alone as we have all made mistakes in all aspects of our personal and business lives which we have been disciplined for. All of us are also going to continue to make mistakes in the future as we are not perfect and mistakes will happen. The real question that we need to ask ourselves when we make mistakes is how we handle our mistakes. When others do something to harm us we are to forgive them. When we make mistakes we need to forgive ourselves. We need to move on and need to learn from our mistakes as they can become valuable life lessons instead of being crippling defeats. Failure is not something that we need to feel guilty about, as it is a part of life. God tells us that we are not perfect and will make mistakes, and I believe He wants us to learn and grow from these times of disappointments. The scripture above provides much wisdom that tells us that even though our mistake and discipline may be hard to take at the time that it will produce a greater harvest later on in our lives. We need to learn from our mistakes, and each time we fail we will learn just a little more. Each of our mistakes is simply a stepping stone that we can use to build and improve ourselves. We need to use each failure and mistake as our stepping stones to becoming more Christ like, and becoming more of the person Jesus wants us to be. These mistakes and failures may just be God’s way to show us that we were on the wrong path, and that He placed this detour in our path to get us back on the right road. 130

My Daily Devotional

May 5

Volume III

Begin Your Day With Jesus

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 What do you do when you wake up in the morning? Do you immediately begin to thank God for giving you another day, or does your mind even think about God? This is an important question for you to think about. God’s first and greatest commandment was that we should love God with all our hearts, with all our minds and with all our strength. If we are to love someone more than anything else in this world, our minds should forever be centered around them. If we have a newborn baby we would typically think about it the moment we wake each morning and rush in to its room to make sure it is all right. If we really love Jesus more than anything we should awake each morning and rush to Him to make sure everything is ok as well. Satan is also ready and waiting for us to wake up and wants to be the first to influence the hours ahead. He will make our life confused as he wants us to be consumed with what we are going to eat, what we will wear, what we will do and where we will go; anything to keep our mind focused away from Jesus. I am afraid that so many people do not wake up with Jesus first in their lives, as their minds wander and they begin to think about what Satan wants them to think about. The thought of Jesus usually is far down the list of what first occupies the thoughts of so many. It is extremely important that we need to talk to God first each day, and ask Him to watch over us and lead and guide us in the hours ahead. Taking time with God every morning takes practice and discipline, but is something that should be number one on our priority list. I would encourage each of you to begin to be aware of who you think about each morning when you awake. Is it Jesus? 131

My Daily Devotional

May 6

Volume III

Depend on God

“Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.” Psalm 57:1 For the past several years we have been going out to eat dinner each Sunday after church with my mother. During our way back home a few weeks ago we encountered one of the worst rainstorms that I’ve driven through in a long time. The rain was so fierce that you could barely see but a few feet in front of you. Many of the other drivers were pulling off the road or slowing down to a crawl, and putting on their warning lights. All the people in our car was warning me to slow down, or pull off the road, or telling me to be careful. I have found through the years that it is usually better to keep driving during these kinds of situations, but to slow down instead of pulling off the road, so I kept driving. This rainstorm reminded me that when you are going through a storm and difficulties in your life, it is so easy to pull over and quit as so many people do. Many people do stop and give up at the first sign of a problem, as they have experienced other difficulties and problems in their past and they were not resolved successfully, so they simply quit. I believe that whenever we are faced with our rainstorms in life that we need to turn them over to God, and listen to what He tells us to do. Many times our fate is in His hands, and God’s will, will be done regardless. But just knowing that God is with us in our times of trouble is usually sufficient to get us through our difficult times. So don’t pull over and quit when your next rainstorm or difficulties come, but look up to your Heavenly Father, depend on Him to lead and guide you, and you will gain the peace that you will need to go through any storm. 132

My Daily Devotional

May 7

Volume III

Do Not Judge

“Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” John 7:24 So often in life we are all guilty of judging other people by what we see or believe to be true. The Bible tells us never to judge others because we do not know their hearts as only God can be the true judge of others. Things so often are not really what they seem to us and we can make serious mistakes when we begin to judge others, such as the humorous joke below. Henry and Ellen were both patients in a mental hospital. One day when they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Henry suddenly jumped into the deep end, and slowly sank to the bottom. Ellen quickly jumped in to save him and pulled him to safety. The hospital doctor saw the act of heroism and immediately ordered that Ellen could be discharged, as she had shown good judgment and was now mentally stable. As Ellen was leaving the doctor came to wish her well and gave her some bad news, that Henry had hung himself after he got back to his room and was dead. Ellen replied, “He didn’t hang himself, I put him there to dry.” Can I go home now? This is what can happen when we try to know what really is going on with other people, and is in their hearts and minds. Things many times are not what they appear to be on the surface, as there are things that can cause people to react the way they do. Stress and anxiety, financial pressure, relationship issues and family situations can cause people to react in ways that we are not accustomed to them reacting. We need to withhold our judgment on others as we do not know the real situation behind their actions, as so often we can make mistakes that can damage someone forever. Only God can be the judge of others, and we need to leave their judgment solely to Him. 133

My Daily Devotional

May 8

Volume III

God’s Roadblocks

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 Just last week as I was going to a board meeting there was a detour sign that said the bridge was out ahead, and that I needed to go another way to get to my meeting. This obviously told me that there was trouble ahead if I continued on the road I was on. This reminded me that maybe sometimes God is putting up roadblocks in front of us when he wants us to change directions in our lives. We all know the story of the children of Israel and their path to leave Egypt after four hundred years of captivity, and inherit their promised land. Instead of God taking the shortest way possible, which was only a eleven day journey, he took them through the wilderness which took 40 years. In another Biblical example God led Paul and Silas to a different area to preach the gospel instead of where they had planned to go, this change could have changed the course of history, as only God knew what His plans were for them. I know that God’s plans for my life have been different than what I had planned for myself, and I am confident that each of your lives is different as well. I also know that I have not been concerned where God is leading me, as I am following the course He has for me. I realize that it’s easy to become confused and sometimes upset when God puts up a detour sign in front of you, and appears to be blocking your way and not letting you go where you want to go. But these detours could be God’s way of keeping you on the right path. God is not there to hinder you in your journey if this is His plan for you, but when you begin to wander from your plan, God can bring you back to the right path by His roadblocks. So, the next time you see a roadblock ahead, look to God and determine if He wants you to change directions. 134

My Daily Devotional

May 9

Volume III

God’s Timing

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 After many years of doing things on my own I am finally coming to the conclusion that everything is based on God’s timing. I know that my heart has been focused on doing what is right for the past ten years, and although I have already reaped a good harvest from my efforts, I have had thoughts of giving up many times because of what I thought was a lack of progress. Obeying scriptures like the one above is not always an easy thing to do. It is not easy sometimes to see a young man or woman become afflicted with a deadly disease, or to see disasters such as tornadoes and hurricanes destroy homes and take peoples lives. But I now feel that all these situations are all part of God’s plan and is part of His timing for everything. He tells us to have faith and trust in Him for everything, and I believe He tests our faith and trust by making us wait sometimes to see our results. I would encourage each of you, when storms begin raging in your lives, and when your mountains seem too steep to climb, to turn the situation over to Jesus and let Him calm the seas and get you to your mountain tops where you will find peace. When we have reached the end of our ropes and done what we think we can do, I believe that God knows all this, and will then step in and help us complete our journey and fulfill the plan He has for us. I know that when we plant a seed that sometimes it takes time to reap a harvest, and when we do good works in the name of Jesus, that it may take time for these works to really begin to bring forth fruit. All of these are best left to the timing of Jesus as we need to do what we are commanded to do, but the rest is in His hands and in His timing, and if we have done our part a good harvest will result. 135

My Daily Devotional

May 10

Volume III

Master your Sin

“But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouched at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” Genesis 4:7 Have you mastered your sin? This is a difficult thing to do as no one has ever mastered sin except Jesus Christ. Sin is always prevalent in our lives and even though we may try to be sin free each of us will sin every day of our lives. Oh, it may not be a noteworthy sin and one that people will notice, but we can sin in our thoughts as well as our actions. We are building a new addition on our house and it is taking longer than we expected to get this completed. Everyone has been patient so far but nerves and patience can only be stretched so far, and I have seen that as time drags on that everyone has become much more vocal and has begun to blame and accuse others for the delay. Instead of trying to uplift each other during this stressful time, the emphasis is now on blaming someone. Instead of being even more compassionate and considerate of each other and trying to comfort one another, Satan has entered and caused all to sin as the kind encouraging words that uplifted each other before, have now become words of blame and accusation, which are hurting people. Everyone is thinking of themselves instead of thinking about others during this situation. This is what can happen in such innocent situations in our lives, but Satan can take advantage of these situations and cause people to sin. Any words spoken that are not uplifting and that do not build people up are sinful words. This is what can happen when we get our minds on ourselves and begin thinking about our own needs, and this is what Satan is looking for to attack us. These kinds of times are ones where God tests us to see just how faithful and trusting we are, and as in our situation, as do most people, we have all failed the test and have sinned. 136

My Daily Devotional

May 11

Volume III

Always Do What is Right

“To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” Proverbs 21:3 A few weeks ago several of us had a discussion during a Bible Study session about what the appropriate behavior should be when someone has made a mistake and given us too much change. There were several different opinions discussed as to how this should be handled. This discussion brought to mind a story that a pastor friend told me, and I believe is the real way to deal with this kind of situation. He said that when he first moved to town that he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down he realized that the bus driver had given him a quarter too much change. He thought for a few moments about what he should do, whether he should keep the quarter or give it back to the driver. It did not take him long to decide to give it back, and as he exited the bus he handed the quarter back to the driver and said, “You gave me too much change.” The driver smiled at him and said, “Aren’t you the new pastor in town? I have been thinking about starting to church and I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I will see you in Church on Sunday. This is such a good example as to how we react to situations may be the only Bible that some people will ever see, and should encourage each of us to always be aware of how much people watch us as Christians and will put us to the test. This is also such a valuable lesson that our sins will find us out in all our behavior and actions. Many times we may be the only contact they have with Jesus and our behavior and actions could make a difference in their lives. Always be on guard and remember (as I try to remember) that you carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself a “Christian.” 137

My Daily Devotional

May 12

Volume III

Our Battle with Satan

“Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1st Peter 5:8-9 Since becoming a Christian I am becoming more aware of the continual battle we face each day against Satan, the most persistent and intimidating enemy we will ever face. I have found that any time our defenses are down that he is ready to pounce and invade our minds, create doubt and bring fear into our life. Satan is not an enemy of flesh and blood, but rather a spirit being, and affects our minds and our thoughts which ultimately affect our actions. His sole arsenal of weapons is to cause havoc and confusion in our lives which gets us off the path that God has for our life. Usually we are most vulnerable when there is doubt and fear in our minds and the path is not well lighted for us to follow. Satan wants to discourage us and make us believe that we will never be successful, and that we will always be a failure. We need to remember that we are not alone in our battle against Satan as he is attacking all those around us, including our government, our justice system and all authority that governs us. He is a powerful enemy that must be resisted. God gives us the only way to do battle against Satan in Ephesians Chapter 6, “Finally be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” There is only one defense against Satan and that is to use God as our weapon against him. 138

My Daily Devotional

May 13

Volume III

Mother’s Day

“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.” Proverbs 31:10-11 Yesterday we celebrated Mother’s day with my mother, my wife, my daughter and our grandchildren. There were four generations of our family present, and it was such a blessing to have all these godly mothers together and knowing how each of them have shaped the lives of their families. A godly mother’s life shapes and knits the family together, as her importance in the fabric of society is what binds and keeps the family together. She has the power to motivate greatness in her children, and instill quiet confidence in her husband. Without a wife’s influence a family can become separated and become dysfunctional, as we see throughout our society, but with her influence the family can become a haven of rest, security and safety for her children and a place of comfort and encouragement for her husband. A mother’s life is vital to God’s plan for the family as we can see throughout the Bible. Proverbs 31 describes the traits that a Godly mother should possess, and emphasizes the role and significance she should play in the family. Mothers are central to the success of every family, and their love, dedication and wisdom touch countless lives every day. Their love and guidance of their children help to develop healthy and spiritually sound families. President John Quincy Adams once said, “All that I am my mother made me.” Every husband should honor, respect and appreciate the role of their wife and their mother each and every day, and thank God for them and the influence they have made in their lives. Proverbs 31:31 “Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gates.” 139

My Daily Devotional

May 14

Volume III

Jesus Cares for Us

“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” 1st Timothy 6:11 Over the past ten years or so as I have been studying my Bible and seeking a closer walk with God, I have realized that the majority of my life was devoted to acquiring and obtaining the finer and nicer things in life, instead of being content and happy with things that would have met my needs but did not have the glamour or appeal. I remember the scene in the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark, with Indiana Jones, where the man had to choose the cup that Christ used at the last supper. There were many cups on the table; most were gold or silver and very elaborate. These were the cups that most people would want and desire as they would have been worthy of a king. However the cup that Christ drank from was a very plain cup that was not impressive, but one that would have fitted the lifestyle of a carpenter. Just think that if we were in line at any event to get a cup of coffee, and we had to choose our cup from a table such as this, most of us would choose the most elaborate and expensive cup over the plain cup. I would also suspect that most people would be eyeing other people’s cup to see who got the best one. Now think about this: our life is the coffee, and the kind of person we are does not require any special cup or packaging. The jobs, houses, cars, things, money and our position in society is the cup. They are used to hold and contain our life. The type of cup we have does not define or change the quality of life that we live, but rather many times can contaminate it. So often we concentrate only on the cup, and fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us. Just remember that God brews the coffee, not the cups. When you live your life following the way of our Savior the cup doesn’t matter, only the coffee matters to Jesus. 140

My Daily Devotional

May 15

Volume III

God’s Love for Us

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3: 17 It is sometimes hard to understand that there is nothing that we can do to make God love us more, and there is nothing we can do that can make God love us less. Why is this true? I have a dear friend who is battling with his fifteen year old daughter, as she is rebelling against any authority placed upon her. She has gotten into the wrong crowd, and they have influenced her and gotten her to follow their ways. Many nights she will not come home until very late, and even though her parents have tried every form of discipline, none have seemed to work. Several nights ago the parents were very angry as it was after 12 and their daughter was still not home, and they were becoming very angry. Yet when she finally came home, all they wanted to do was to take her in their arms and love her. Does this sound strange to you? Or does it sound like loving parents? When we sin we are much like this wayward daughter. Jesus, our Father, wants to welcome us back home with open arms, no matter what we have done or how much we have sinned. Nothing will or can keep Him from loving us. Our Father wants to love us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross so that we can come back home and be welcomed with open arms. I would encourage any of you that are involved with anyone that has strayed away from the fold and gotten into the wrong crowd, become involved with drugs, alcohol, sex or any other activity, to think about what Jesus would do. The Bible is filled with how Jesus would react, as He would welcome them back with open arms and accept them back into His fold. He would forgive them of their sins and would accept them back into His kingdom and love them. 141

My Daily Devotional

May 16

Volume III

Jesus Loves Us

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1: 17 When I think about the scripture above where God tells us that every good and perfect gift are ones that He sends to each of us so freely, and we see the love that He has for us, which never changes no matter what we do, there is hardly any comparison to this kind of love. It is sometimes hard for people to show and express their love to others in a way that is instantly recognizable, but I believe that dogs do this about as well as anyone. We have a little dog named Teddy which we adopted about two years ago. The moment I enter the house he instantly shows his love for me by wanting to jump into my arms and brings me a toy of some kind. The love he shows is instantly demonstrated by his behavior. I can reward this kind of love by gathering him up in my arms and petting him, but how can we reward Jesus for His love. Our society has not done a very good job of rewarding Jesus. A good example can be seen in the humorous joke below. A fourth grader’s dog followed him to school one morning, and when the bell rang for class, the dog snuck inside the building and made it all the way to the boy’s classroom before a teacher noticed him and put him outside, and closed the door. The dog sat down, whimpered and stared at the closed doors. Then God appeared beside the dog, patted his head, and said, “Don’t feel bad fella’…they won’t let me in either.” Jesus loves us so much and many times we show little love in return. Our thoughts, our actions and our life’s should be centered on returning His love, and thanking Him for forgiving our sins and giving us eternal life, but we do so little to let Him know and return the love. 142

My Daily Devotional

May 17

Volume III

Remove Sin From Your Life

“If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Matthew 5:20 This past week I heard the story of a man who was clearing land in Pennsylvania. In the process, a tree rolled onto his leg causing a severe break and pinning him to the ground. He called for help, but no one came. He concluded that the only way to save his life would be to cut off his leg. So he made a tourniquet out of his shoestrings and proceeded to cut off his leg just below the knee. He then crawled to his truck where he drove to the nearest house who took him to the hospital. This man knew that he must remove a part of his body in order to live. This story reminded me about the scripture above, and just how much humans love to live. Jesus tells us that if one part of our body begins to contaminate the rest of our body that we need to remove it before it destroys all our body. Sin also can spread throughout us and destroy us, and Jesus warns us to be aware of this in so many ways. “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:28. Many people think that what they do with their bodies and their minds is no big deal, however if it’s sin that is driving them, it is still a sin and will eventually lead them to hell. Jesus is telling us that we must remove whatever is driving us to sin. If it is our eyes we must remove them, if it is our hearts we must change them. Whatever is causing us to remain in sin must be removed, because left unchecked it will contaminate and destroy the rest of us. God’s final judgment will determine the fate for each of us, and will decide whether we live forever in heaven with God, or face our eternity in hell, and the removal of sin from our life is critical. 143

My Daily Devotional

May 18

Volume III

God Opens Our Gates

“But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.” Acts 5:19 Have you ever thought of the miraculous deeds that God has performed which are accounted for in the Bible? The parting of the Red Sea to let the people of Israel escape, the healing of the blind, raising Lazarus from the dead and all the other miracles He performed. This simple example in the scripture above is just another example where God showed His power and rescued the apostles. But on other occasions He did not open the gates, as we find that James, the brother of John was put to death with a sword, John the Baptist was beheaded, and many of the early apostles remained in prison and were eventually killed. Why did God open the gates for some and did not open them for others. I believe that if God chooses not to open a gate, then other means of support will be provided. James was not freed from Herod, but through his faith in Jesus Christ, James did experience heaven’s open door. God can also open our gates and free us from bondage, but does He and why not? I believe that when God does not open our gates it is because He is telling us that He has better plans for us. So often we think that the gate we want opened is the right one for us, but God knows which gate we need to enter and even though we see this gate being closed, God is opening up another gate for us, an even better gate. He is leading us on the right path, as the one that we are traveling, many times is not the one He has designed for us. When our gates do not open we need to trust and have faith in God that they are not opened for our benefit. We need to thank Him always whether we are in front of a gate waiting for it to open, or through a gate on the other side, and be grateful that He is there with us leading and guiding us in His plan for us. 144

My Daily Devotional

May 19

Volume III

God Will Provide a Way

“Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:6-7 The scripture above is one that all of us should aspire to, and claim as a promise of God that He will protect us and deliver us from our difficulties. Have you thought about what you do in your times of troubles and difficulties? Most of us are looking to friends, our pastor or a more experienced Christian to provide a certain level of instruction in spiritual things. These kinds of people are wonderful to have, and I believe accountability is an important key to our spiritual formation and growth. All of us have a need to have godly, spiritual guidance throughout our life, but Jesus gives us some advice about this when He said in Matthew 15:14 “If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a ditch.” We should rely on these people for comfort and counsel, but it is important to know the wisdom and guidance that only God gives. There is not much that is not covered in God’s word to help us get through the darkest moments. We are all going to have our trials and troubles as God tells us we will have, but there are also the assurances that God gives us that He will provide for us and protect us and get us through these times. The Israelites thought that things were hopeless when they arrived at the Red Sea, and saw the Egyptians behind them. They felt that they were doomed, but God provided a way for them and delivered them. When we see that there is no way out of our individual situations, God is still there and will provide a way for us as well. When we see our Red Seas in front of us, God can also part the waters and let us pass through to safety. 145

My Daily Devotional

May 20

Volume III

Guard Yourself Against Greed

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15 Rich people are not always happy people. Your hands can be full of money; your head can be full of information, but if your heart is empty your life can be very empty. The Bible is filled with scriptures about money and material possessions and the power it can have over people. Just think for a moment. Most people probably possess more today than any of their ancestors ever imagined, and more than any time in their whole life. But do you feel more joy than you’ve ever had in your life? Do you laugh more now than you’ve ever laughed? Are you happier now than you’ve ever been? If you are truly honest with yourself you may find that you now have more money and more material possessions than you ever had, but you are not the happiest you have ever been. Jesus knew that money and material possessions does not bring happiness, but so often can do just the opposite, as man is never satisfied with what he owns but wants to accumulate more. Our prosperity should be measured by having enough to provide for our needs and to complete the purpose and plan God has for us. There are things that must matter more than our money and possessions. Jesus saw this and talked to the rich, and looked into their eyes and saw a longing for something that money could not buy. King Solomon was a wealthy king, yet he confessed “Therefore I hated life.” Ecclesiastes 2:17. I would encourage you that when you achieve success, please remind yourselves that money and possessions cannot bring you happiness, but giving it to others can. There are many other things in our lives that matter more than money. 146

My Daily Devotional

May 21

Volume III

Be a Tomorrow Thinker

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” Isaiah 43:18

Are you a tomorrow thinker, or do you dwell in the past? I believe Jesus was a tomorrow thinker as when He met the Samaritan woman at the well, He barely mentioned that she had been married five times. He pointed her to her future. He said that he would give her water and she would never thirst again. Another example of tomorrow thinking concerns the woman caught in the act of adultery. Jesus never discussed her sin, but simply said unto her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” John 8:11. So often people get caught up in the past and dwell on past hurts, disappointments and situations that they have gone through and cannot plan for their futures. I realize that it is difficult to release the past hurts from our memories, but when we are unable to do so, we are not really able to focus on our futures the way we should. We must let go of our past and get on with our lives, as there is nothing we can do to change things that happened in the past, instead we have to plan for what lies ahead. Satan wants us to be constantly reminded of the past, as it brings us down and keeps reminding us of the failures, hurts and disappointments, and keeps us in the frame of mind where we are vulnerable to his attacks. Jesus is not concerned about your past, as when you are reborn and have accepted Jesus in your heart, the past is forgotten and you will start anew. We need to stop taking journeys into our past and start living for our tomorrows. We need to thank Jesus for giving us a new beginning, and pointing us to our future successes. We need to thank Him for wiping our hearts clean and giving us a chance for a better future. We can now move forward and not keep dwelling on what happened in the past, but focus on what is to come tomorrow. 147

My Daily Devotional

May 22

Volume III

Take a Stand

“So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.” John 2:15 The scripture above describes the scene where Jesus cleansed the Temple which was being desecrated by evil. I have often thought about the kind of personality that Jesus must have had. We can see that He could become angry from the scripture above. We can also see that He was very compassionate, “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.” Luke 19:41. Jesus evidently was not afraid to show His emotions and feelings, as we can find instances such as this above, where He displayed both anger and compassion. He was enthusiastic when He saw a demonstration of faith, and He wept when He saw unbelief. The disciples were affected by the personality of Jesus, as they saw Him express His pleasure and displeasure first hand, and they changed the course of history by following His lead. I believe that we can learn much from the personality of Jesus. We need to be bold in expressing our opinions as He was. When things are not right we need to take a firm stand, just as Jesus did when He cleansed the temple, but we also need to be compassionate and understanding in other situations. Just as the personality of Jesus set the tone for His disciples, our personalities can set the tone for the people we come into contact with. We do not need to hide our feelings and emotions, but express them when we see things that are wrong, and also show compassion, love and understanding at the good things. We can be such an influence for good all around us, when we take a stand and not be afraid to express our feelings and opinions. We need to not be afraid to let others know about the things that matter in our lives. 148

My Daily Devotional

May 23

Volume III

Be Patient and Prepared

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” Hebrews 11:7 So often I have been guilty of not being patient enough and doing the proper preparation before I ventured out and committed myself to a task or project, and then have it become a failure and not succeed. I realize that a great concert pianist invests hundred of hours of practice before their concerts. They know that the quality of those many grueling hours of practice will prepare them for their greatest performance. The world champion heavyweight boxer knows that he must prepare himself before he steps into the ring with his opponent. So, for many weeks before his fight, he toils with his morning workout, running and exercise program. When Jesus began His ministry He had waited over thirty years preparing himself. His ministry was a short three and one half years, but His preparation time was thirty years. He was patient and did not begin until He was prepared and ready. The quality of preparation determines the quality of performance. Preparation time is never wasted time. Whatever business you are in it will take time to know your business. It will take time to know your product. It will take time to develop a list of customers and clients. Think about the life of Jesus. He saw hundreds die around Him because of sickness and disease. He saw thousands warped with the traditions and legalism of religious systems. But His time had not come, as He knew that His Father was letting Him grow and preparing Him for what lay ahead. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Luke 2:52. I would encourage each of you to be patient and keep your faith and trust in God, as He has great things planned for you and in His time will reveal these plans. 149

My Daily Devotional

May 24

Volume III

Keep our Faith

“Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the son of man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.” Luke 6:22-23 Every successful person wants to be loved, admired and respected during their lives. But so often there are times when we are rebuked, rejected and talked about because of something we did or said. This is no different than what Jesus experienced in His life, as He was slandered, falsely accused, and even told He was possessed with devils. Countless accusations were hurled like stones against Jesus every day of His life. But, it never affected Him, as He knew what He was really about, as He believed in himself and in His mission. He knew that His accusers were ignorant, unlearned and arrogant, and that they simply feared Him. We should learn much from the life of Jesus as we know what we are also about. We know right from wrong and when we take a stand for doing what is right, there may be people who will talk about us, ridicule us and downgrade us, just as they did with Jesus. However we need to stand our ground and not give in to these pressures as the truth will triumph over evil. Jesus never strived to “look good” in the eyes of others, or to try to please others; He simply did what was right. This is the way we need to live our life, doing what is right in our eyes and not in the eyes and ways that others may see it. We should ignore our critics and keep our attention on our goal and stay focused on achieving it. We do not need to waste precious time defending and concerning ourselves what others say about us. We need to thank God for the strength and faithfulness to continue to be a person of truth and character. 150

My Daily Devotional

May 25

Volume III

Serve God Every Day

“Then he said to them all: if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 Several years ago I heard a dynamic speaker who spoke at our church. He was an eloquent speaker and really had the audience worked up by his rhetoric and his ability to get them enthused and excited. However underneath his sensationalism his words were not exactly what the Bible teaches us. In the book of 2nd John the Bible warns of false teachers, and tells us to “Watch Out”. So often Christians can be led astray by sensationalism, but this is nothing new, as there have always been speakers who know how to get people worked up and excited. Often this kind of speaker majors on excitement, and minors on Biblical truth, and sometimes teaches error. I believe that many Christians are gullible, which could be why they are called sheep, and many are led astray easily when they become excited and enthused by a gifted speaker, even when they are not speaking the truth. It is good to be excited, enthused and renewed from time to time by hearing the word of God taught by an exciting and enthusiastic man of God, however we need to keep this excitement and enthusiasm in our lives on a daily basis, not just occasionally. The scripture above says to “take up his cross daily” not just at special times. Do we think that we are only effective in serving Jesus when we are all revved up and excited? We need to always be excited and enthused about serving Jesus. I would hope that God’s power and presence can be seen in our everyday lives and not just at special times. This faithfulness in our every day life can be a powerful witness to others. We need to focus on glorifying God in our daily lives, even on those days that are average days, and ones that are not so exciting and sensational. 151

My Daily Devotional

May 26

Volume III

Jesus Loves Us

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 Have you ever really thought just how much Jesus must have loved us, to have suffered so much just to save us from our sins and give us an eternal life? I know that all of us would give our lives for our wife and children, but when it would come down to giving our lives for someone we never met, and suffering the way Jesus did on the cross many would probably hesitate. Have you ever thought how we show our love for our families today, and how Jesus would show His love? Jesus loves us so much that I can just imagine that our pictures are probably pasted on His refrigerator along with all our accomplishments. I can see His wallet completed stuffed with pictures of us, and Him constantly showing these to everyone He would meet and bragging about us. Every spring He sends us bouquets of flowers and the rain to make them grow. In the autumn He shows us the beauty of His creations as magnificent colors surround us everywhere we look. Every morning He sends us the sunrise to announce the beginning of a new day, and every afternoon gives us the beautiful colors of the sunset to signal there is peace in the land. He sends us beautiful rainbows to let us know the storms are over. Whenever we want to talk to Him, even late at night, He is always there to listen to us, no matter what time we call. We can tell Him all about our troubles, and He will listen, and patiently reassure us and give us peace and hope. Jesus could have chosen to live anywhere in the universe, but instead He chose to live in our heart. God sent us a Christmas gift at Bethlehem, but the greatest gift was the sacrifice that Jesus made that Friday at Calvary’s cross. 152

My Daily Devotional

May 27

Volume III

Commit Yourself to God

“So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” 1st Peter 4:19 Just how committed are we to continually obey and follow the commandments of God every day of our lives? So often people become enthused and excited about their spiritual life, such as after a church revival, but as soon as the excitement wears off they are back to the daily routine and God begins to take a back seat to their other commitments. This reminds me of a story about a man in a fancy restaurant who started to choke on some food. A doctor rushed over, identified himself, and reassured the man that he was going to be all right. He performed the Heimlich maneuver and the food popped out. As the man’s breath and voice returned he said, “I’m ever so grateful, doctor, how can I ever repay you?’ The doctor smiled and said, “I’ll settle for one-tenth of what you were willing to pay while you were choking.” This is so true, as when we’re facing a crisis (especially a life threatening crisis), we would give everything we have to get through it. Money is no object. We do the same thing on a spiritual level. How many times have you faced a hardship or difficult time and prayed, “Lord, if you’ll just see me through this, I’ll serve you faithfully the rest of my life.” But what happens when the crisis passes? Those feelings of urgency about serving God pass as well. If we could commit ourselves to doing one-tenth of what we’re willing to do in those moments, most of us would ascend to a new level of commitment. I would encourage each of you to think about your commitment to God, and determine just how committed you really are to serving Him and obeying His commands. Now is the time to recommit yourself. 153

My Daily Devotional

May 28

Volume III

Begin a New Life

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2nd Corinthians 5:17 As I was growing up it was always so nice to get a new toy for Christmas and feel the excitement, but after a while the newness begins to wear off and our excitement begins to wane. Our life can be much like a new toy, as many times the days pass and the new wears off. We lose interest, we forget why we started, we cannot remember our original plan, we take one another for granted, our dreams fade, and we get discouraged and think about quitting. On the first day of our vacations our faces reflect excitement as we anticipate the events of the week ahead. On the last day our faces reflect sadness as they realize the time is passing too quickly and soon we will be back at work. On the first day home from the hospital the chores of taking care of a new baby bring joy and fulfillment. After a month the constant changing of diapers, feedings and lack of sleep bring frustration and misery. But when we are in Christ, our days don’t have to drag, work does not have to be misery, marriage does not have to grow stale, and caring for a loved one does not have to be a burden. When we have an authentic relationship with Jesus, life is new all the time. Each day brings new adventures. Every trial provides an opportunity for the Lord to reveal His glory. Life can drag sometimes, but it does not have to. When we develop a genuine relationship with Jesus, we can really begin to live. With Christ, the newness will never wear off and the adventure will never end. With Christ, the days will never be routine and life will never be dull. I would encourage each of you to find this place where you can really live to the fullest, and enjoy the abundance that God has showered upon you. 154

My Daily Devotional

May 29

Volume III

Spend Your Time Wisely

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 Do you make the most use of your time? I would venture to say that many people do not take the opportunity to use their time as wisely as they should. I can remember a story about Emmanuel Menger, a gifted artist who lived back in 1887. The story goes that Mr. Menger, gave a local neighborhood grocery store clerk a $20 dollar note to pay for his groceries. The clerk noticed that some of the ink came off on her hands when she put in into her change drawer. She had known Mr. Menger for many years and was shocked. However $20 was a lot of money in those days and she notified the police, who after procuring a search warrant, went to his home where they found in his attic the tools he was using to reproduce the fake money. They also found his easel, paint brushes and paints that he used to paint three portraits. These paintings sold at a public auction for more than $16,000. How could someone so talented waste their time doing something so foolish when they had the opportunity to do something so valuable? But we’re all guilty of the same thing. Think for a moment about how you spent your time yesterday, or last week. Think about the hours wasted doing things that were unimportant (or maybe even destructive)—time which could have been spent developing your relationship with God and helping others. We have all been given only so much time, and no one is richer than anyone else, for we all get exactly the same amount. None of these minutes can be stored up and used the next day, but must be used on the day they were given. Choose wisely, and choose to spend some of your time with God on a daily basis. 155

My Daily Devotional

May 30

Volume III

God Has Adopted Us

“…I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2nd Corinthians 6:18 I have been researching my ancestors for many years now and discovered years ago that my grandmother had been adopted back in 1895 when she was a baby. Although I know her adopted father and mother I have not been able to find out who her real father and mother were and the reason for the adoption. There are several examples of adoption in the scriptures—Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, Esther was adopted by her cousin Mordecai. But, I believe that the most beautiful example was when Mephibosheth was adopted by David in 2nd Samuel chapter 9. The beauty of that particular adoption is that there was no motivation, no reason for David to do it other than out of his grace and his love. And in many ways, that adoption is similar to our adoption by God. Even more remarkable is that Mephibosheth was the grandson of Saul who had repeatedly tried to kill David. And even most surprising of all is the fact that Mephibosheth was crippled in both feet, and was helpless to render David any significant service. And yet David brought this outcast, to dine at his table as his son and gave him a magnificent inheritance. Adoption agencies will tell you that there’s a big market for babies who are healthy, but for babies who are handicapped, mentally or physically, it’s hard to find a family for them. I am thankful that God is not like that, as none of us would stand much of a chance because we’ve all got handicaps of one form or another. We’ve all got blotches and imperfections. But the good news is that God has chosen us by grace, just like David did with Mephibosheth, and is motivated solely by His grace and His love, and has given us the opportunity to be His children. 156

My Daily Devotional

May 31

Volume III

Think of Others First

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2nd Peter 1:5-8 Having spent my career in health care management I saw what sickness can do to people’s lives, and saw the different ways that individual people would handle their sickness. Some people were able to go on and lead productive lives, while others withdrew and were not able to function effectively. I remember seeing a Gallup survey which was done to find out why some people return to work more quickly after an illness than others. They found out that the quick returnees almost never think about their physical problems, while those who are slow to come back to work focus on themselves and their impairment. When Jesus came to earth, His whole mind was on others, not Himself. He taught His followers to do the same thing; to think about others, almost to the point that they forgot about themselves. He was teaching them not to be absorbed in themselves. His message— and His example was to do something for someone else, serve someone, minister to others, feed the poor, teach the lost, always think about others before yourself. Jesus’ whole message is to think about others first before ourselves, but this is so hard to do for most people as they want to focus on themselves. I believe that if we follow the advice of Jesus we will live longer, work more productively and bless others because of it. 157

My Daily Devotional

June 1

Volume III

Be a Finisher

“A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil.” Proverbs 13:19 Have you ever had a desire or longing to do something so bad that you devote all your efforts to achieve it, but for various reasons it is never completed? I am sure most of us have experienced a similar situation in our lives where our dreams were not fulfilled. It is always fun to be creative, to give birth to new ideas, think of new places to go or new things to do. However so many of these creative dreams get left undone and unfulfilled. Jesus is an example of finishing what He started. Jesus was thirty years old when He began His ministry. His ministry went for three and a half years. He did many miracles, and touched many lives. He electrified the world through His twelve disciples. But hidden in the thousands of scriptures is a golden principle that revealed His power. It happened on the horrible day of His crucifixion. He was taunted by thousands, spears pierced His side, spikes were driven into His hands, and eight inches of thorns were crushed into His brow. That is when He uttered perhaps the greatest sentence ever uttered: “It is finished.” Jesus had completed His plan, and finished His task on earth. He had not been deterred, or distracted from His mission, and even though it was so difficult He had finished the race. Jesus finished what He started and did not quit, even though that would have been so easy for Him to do. I would encourage each of you to also become a finisher. Start today by completing the little things, call a sick friend, encourage someone, feed or clothe someone in need, find someone in need and help them. Stop finding excuses to keep from doing what you started. Look at what Jesus did and the sacrifice that He made on our behalf. Finish what you started and get the spirit of a finisher. 158

My Daily Devotional

June 2

Volume III

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

“The Lord had said to Abram, leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Genesis 12:1 Can you imagine receiving the message above to leave your country, your people, and your household and go to another land? This has taken a considerable amount of faith to go and leave everything that Abram had worked all his life for and go into an unknown place. I am sure this message was difficult for him to follow as doing something that we have never done before is hard for everyone to do. Everything we do is difficult at first. When we were beginning to crawl, it was very difficult. When we took our first step, it was very difficult. When we started to school, it was very difficult. Throughout our lives we have experienced new difficulties that we have faced and overcome. Thousands of people will fail in life because they are not willing to make the changes necessary to go farther. They refuse to change jobs, towns, or change friendships. People want to stay in their comfort zones, and many times become stagnant in their jobs, their communities and in their lives because they cannot change. Yet thousands of others move up the ladder of happiness because they are willing to go through a little discomfort to experience a new level in life. Peter wanted to walk on water, and Jesus saw his excitement, and said “Come”, and he left the boat and began to walk, but then he discovered that he was out of his comfort zone and began to sink. Many times, in order to fulfill the plan that Jesus has for our lives, we have to get out of our comfort zones. I would encourage each of you to move out of your comfort zones, and realize that in order to achieve something you have never had, that you must do something you have never done before. 159

My Daily Devotional

June 3

Volume III

Be Patient

“A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 19:11 Our generation is an impatient generation, as fast foods, microwave ovens and crowded freeways reflect this philosophy. We can see the impatient mindset almost everywhere we look, as people do not want to wait for anything, but want it now. We need to realize that most things take time and that when we try to rush things, we find that is when most mistakes happen. Most businesses fail because of lack of preparation and time. Even our great nation took years to become an independent nation. Jesus was patient and waited for thirty years becoming prepared for His ministry. Life is a marathon, not a fifty yard dash and takes time and patience to finish it. Our society needs to slow down and take time to prepare ourselves for the future. I have found that patience is a weapon that we can use so much through our lives when we have control over it. I have seen by experience that usually the side that wins in union negotiations is the one that has the most patience. Whoever is the most hurried and impatient usually ends up with the worst end of the deal. We need to take time to do things right. A good example of patience can be seen by Jesus when one of his close friends, Lazarus, was sick. Word was sent to Jesus, that Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus wanted Jesus to hurry and pray for his healing before he died. Jesus did not hurry but kept His own agenda, and Lazarus died. But Jesus, when He did arrive, called Lazarus forth from his grave, as the time was right for him to be raised from the dead. There is a time for everything in God’s plan for each of us. I would encourage each of you to ask God for patience in your life, and to wait until you hear from God and know that the time is right for you. 160

My Daily Devotional

June 4

Volume III

Show Your True Character

”Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” Psalm 139:7 This is a scripture by David telling us that no one can hide from the watchful eyes of God. When I see the character of so many people that put on a good face in public, I think about what they are really like in their private lives. I believe that our true character is shown when no one is looking. God knows what we are like in public and also when we are alone, as there is no hiding our true character from God. Our true character is found not in our words, not in our outward appearance to others but is found in the way we live. When we put on a show to impress others and are different in our hearts, and in our private life we are deceiving others and also deceiving ourselves. God knows and sees us at all times, as we cannot flee from His presence. We need our words, our actions and also our heart to be pleasing to God at all times. So many people have allowed themselves and their character to diminish to the point that they only want to please themselves and have no thought of pleasing God. They get caught up in “wanting to do what they want to do,” instead of doing what God tells them to do. If your thoughts, words and actions are things that you feel guilty about, and would not be pleasing to God, you are probably headed down the wrong path. I would encourage each of you to think about yourself, and consider if you would be comfortable with your words, your thoughts and your actions if God was beside you. If there is any doubt in your mind you are probably walking in secret sin, but God knows all about you, and these hidden secrets. There is no escaping His watchful eye. It is not too late to change, and become a person of true character, one who is not ashamed in front of men and also in the presence of God. 161

My Daily Devotional

June 5

Volume III

Use Your Words Wisely

“But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37 We have all heard the old saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” This old saying is not true however, as words can do as much damage to others as any physical violence could ever do. I had a severe speech problem as I was growing up, and I can recall the hurt and pain that other children caused me during the times that I stuttered. Although many times people do not know the damage that their words do to others, I believe it is important to choose our words carefully as not to offend and hurt someone. I am probably more sensitive to my use of words because of my own personal situation; however it is easy to say things that can hurt others as many times we speak without thinking. Words have started wars, they have destroyed friendships and they have destroyed marriages and families. Words can do damage that can carry over from one generation to another. The scripture above tells us that one day we will be judged for every careless word we have spoken, and this should be an encouragement for us to think before we speak. The words that come from our mouth originates in our hearts, and if our hearts are clean our words will show love, encouragement, joy, happiness and our true character. Our words are like money, as they should be accounted for and not spent unwisely. We need to ask God to give us the understanding and wisdom to cleanse our hearts of any bitterness, anger and malice, and let our tongues show our true character, and let our words be a blessing to others. 162

My Daily Devotional

June 6

Volume III

Develop Good Habits

“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.” Luke 4:16 Great men have great habits, just as Jesus did in the scripture above, as this was His custom to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. A well known billionaire has a habit of arriving at his office at 7:00 a.m. each morning, and working until 6:00 p.m. each day. Recently a best-selling novelist who has sold over one million books said, “I get up at the same time each morning. I start writing at 8:00 a.m. and I quit at 4:00 each afternoon. I do it every day. It is a habit.” When we get into a habit of doing something on a daily basis it becomes easier and easier to do. Many of the Biblical leaders had habits. Daniel prayed three times a day. The psalmist prayed seven times daily. The disciples of Jesus met on the first day of each week. This was just part of their daily routine, and these habits thus became a part of their lives. Do you have any daily habits that encourage you to become a better person, and have a closer relationship with Christ Jesus? Why not develop a habit of studying God’s word for thirty minutes each day, or developing a habit of spending time in prayer each morning and at night? These are habits that once you begin will become easier and easier to do, and ones that will bring you to a closer relationship with God. Good habits will lead to good things happening in your life, and will lead to success. However bad habits can lead you down the wrong path and lead to failure. I would encourage each of you to look at your daily habits, and see if they are habits that God would approve of. It is not too late to begin forming habits that will be uplifting and help you succeed in following God’s plan for you. 163

My Daily Devotional

June 7

Volume III

Do Not Judge

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” Romans 2:1 I have found over the years that it is so easy for us to judge others, by what we hear about them or from what we observe about them. So many times, however, I have discovered that sometimes what we see and what we hear is not what it seems to be. Just this week there was a young man that had been killed in Iraq that was awarded one of the highest medals that the army had bestowed on someone. Through his heroic actions he had saved several of his fellow soldiers from sure death, and had sacrificed his own life to save them. When some of his former schoolmates were interviewed they said about him “that he never stood out” and that “he usually thought about himself first”. This young soldier had been judged so wrong by the people who supposedly knew him, as they had only seen his outwardly appearance and had not witnessed his true inner being. It is so easy to want to judge others by what we see and hear, but only God knows the heart of every person. So often we do not take the time to get to know the true character of people around us, but judge them on the first impression. Outwardly appearances are deceiving, and we should never judge others based on them, but rather get to know what they stand for and believe in. There are so many examples in the Bible where Jesus chose people who did not stand out in the crowd, but He knew their hearts, and what they stood for. I would encourage each of you to not judge others based on what you see, but get to know them, understand them and then also realize that it is God that is the only one that can judge. 164

My Daily Devotional

June 8

Volume III

Let God Light Your Day

“The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Romans 13:12 I have a good friend who discovered that she had cancer about five years ago, and during this time has endured much pain and suffering, and many times has stated that it is by her faith and trust in God that she is able to continue. She is such a devout Christian and demonstrates her faith wherever she goes. She has touched many lives during these five years, as people see how her faith in God has sustained her during these difficult times. It is easy to become discouraged when this kind of trouble confronts us, and feel that our life is over, and simply give up. However God tells us that this is the time that we really need to trust in Him even more. I believe God will give us burdens to bear during our lives to test us and see just how strong our faith is in Him. It is easy to have faith in the good times, when there are not any problems confronting us, but when the storm clouds begin to roll in, who do we turn to? When David got into trouble, he turned to God, and prayed constantly to Him to deliver him from whatever difficulties he faced. This is what we all need to do when we face our trials and troubles in life; simply turn to God and ask Him to help us carry our burdens. We do not have to face our difficulties all by ourselves, as we have God to depend on who will help us climb our mountains and help us carry our loads. The scripture above so beautiful describes what can happen when we depend on God to help us through difficult times as our nights can turn into day, and our darkness can turn into light. I would encourage each of you that when you face trials and troubles in your life, to turn your eyes toward heaven and put on God’s armor of light, and your night will turn to day as you put your trust in Him. 165

My Daily Devotional

June 9

Volume III

Plan For Tomorrow

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2nd Corinthians 4:18 So often, we as Christian’s, cannot get ourselves focused on anything except our day to day problems and situations. We live in the “here and now”, thinking only about the things that will get us through today. Life today is so hectic that just taking care of what we see in our immediate future is so exhausting that there is little time left to worry about tomorrow. This kind of thinking and attitude about our life will lead to a disastrous future if it is not changed. We have to think about and plan for our tomorrows and what they will hold for us. For example if we don’t plan for our retirements, who is going to take care of us when we are not able to work anymore? The same is true for our souls. We can live each day at a time, having fun, indulging in sin and enjoying ourselves, but this time will quickly pass away, and then what will happen if we have not thought about our tomorrow. As the scripture above states it is easy to fix our sights on what is seen, but what is really important is what is unseen. Living only for today and enjoying what we see is only temporary and will pass away, but planning for tomorrow which is unseen and eternal, and which will last forever must be our top priority. Our earthly bodies are wasting away each day, but our souls can be destined to live forever, if we have planned properly. All the planning that is necessary for us to have an eternal life is to believe that Jesus died for our sins, and to ask Him to come live within our hearts, and then commit ourselves to obeying His commands. When we do this simple thing we are looking past today which is temporal, and planning for the future which is an eternal life with God. 166

My Daily Devotional

June 10

Volume III

Our Eternal Home

“Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” 2nd Corinthians 5:1 Yesterday my wife and I attended a funeral service for my daughter in law’s grandmother who passed away at the age of 93 years old. She had been blessed with a long life and had been a faithful and wonderful mother and grandmother and her memory will remain with them forever. This service reminded me that even though she had lived a life much longer than most people live, it is such a short period of time when we compare a life that will live for all eternity. It is hard to fathom just how long eternity really is. I have been doing family research for over 30 years, and have traced our family history from generation to generation and have gotten just a little perspective about the importance of time. In my research I am excited to find just a glimpse of one generation which may last only 50-100 years, but to think about a life that will last for all eternity is hard to comprehend. This eternal life is what we can all look forward to when we know Jesus as our personal Savior. Just think about what an eternal life in Heaven will be like; funerals will not exist anymore; sickness and pain will be nonexistent; there will be no doubt and worry, and all our days will be happy times walking on streets of gold. I know that it is difficult to give up someone we love as we will miss them, but to know that our family members have just left a world filled with pain, suffering, troubles and trials, and have entered into a new world filled with so much beauty, and which contains so many wonders and good things that our imaginations simply cannot describe, gives us peace and the assurance that they are now with God and living in their new eternal home. 167

My Daily Devotional

June 11

Volume III

The Bond of Love

“Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:2-3 In our society today it is so easy to lose the love we need to have for each other. God gives us one of His greatest commandments telling us to love others as we love ourselves, but everywhere we turn, we see examples where people are turning against one another. I just returned from a funeral service where a brother and sister had turned against each other several years ago about a small trivial issue and had not spoken with each other since. It took their mother’s death to bring them together again. These kinds of trivial issues are so prevalent throughout our society, and are destroying friendships, personal relationships and families. The scripture above gives us so much good advice about dealing with these issues, in that it tells us to be humble, gentle, and patient and to be understanding with each other in love. So many times I have witnessed people who get upset when the smallest thing goes wrong and immediately will look around to find someone to blame. So many problems start with these kinds of issues, but if we could just think before we react to things that do not go our way, and think about the scripture above, I believe our world would be different. Normally people do not do things to upset us, but if they inadvertently do something, we need to teach ourselves to be understanding, compassionate and to think before we react. Jesus is teaching us that through the bond of peace and love that we can heal our friendships, our relationships and our families. I would encourage each of you to think about others, and not react to every little thing that does not go your way, but live the scripture above and show others the bond of peace and love. 168

My Daily Devotional

June 12

Volume III

Open Your Heart To God

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparable great power for those who believe.” Ephesians 1:18-19 The catch phrase in the scripture above that aroused my attention was “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”, as so often I believe that we only react to what we see, when sometimes there is something deep inside us that we do not know about that needs our attention. God speaks to us in a variety of ways; sometimes in dreams, visions or thoughts, but it is our hearts that must be reached and enlightened to really make a change in us. In order for us to really understand what the riches of God’s great inheritance and power is for each of us we must get our hearts enlightened and willing to accept God’s riches. King Solomon, who was given the wisdom of God, gives us so many scriptures in the book of Proverbs that help us deal with issues we face in life. The first part of Proverbs talks about the importance of what wisdom, knowledge and understanding really means to each of us, and how we can obtain this wisdom. Acquiring this wisdom will open the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened, and will allow us to understand the true riches and power that God has in store for us as believers in Him. So often our hearts become hardened because of sinful habits that become part of our daily lives, but when we open the eyes of our hearts to God and His power, our lives can change. I would encourage each of you to open the eyes of your hearts today, and begin to let God speak to you. God wants to come into your heart and let you know about the inheritance He has for you. He offers you peace and hope but most of all He offers you an eternal life simply by opening your heart to Him. 169

My Daily Devotional

June 13

Volume III

God’s Patience

“But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and have eternal life.” 1st Timothy 1:16 As I have written in previous devotionals, I have always had a problem dealing with patience. In my business career and also in my personal life, patience has been one of my fiercest enemies that I still deal with today, although I have made significant progress through the years in conquering this demon. I believe that many people are like me, and are not very patient, and we see examples all around us. Bosses do not allow employees to make many mistakes before they begin to take corrective action. Horns begin to blow if someone does not begin moving when a red light changes. We become impatient when a checkout line at the grocery store is extremely slow. But just think how patient Jesus must be, as the scripture above tells us of His unlimited patience? Just imagine what we would do if someone that we love keeps on doing the same thing day after day, year after year after we have told them not to do something. Jesus tells us not to sin but we continue to sin each day; we tell lies, we say hateful things to hurt people, we steal, we think evil thoughts and do evil things every day of our lives, but Jesus is still patient with us. I can not imagine the patience it must take for Him to witness the sins that we commit every day, and still be able to open His heart to take us back and forgive us. But to experience the love that Jesus shows for us we need to follow in His footsteps, and teach ourselves to love others and be patient with them. I would encourage each of you to think about your love for others, and to develop and show them the same unlimited patience that Jesus shows to us. 170

My Daily Devotional

June 14

Volume III

Make a New Covenant With God

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people.” Hebrews 8:10 There had been other covenants that God had made with the people of Israel, but these covenants were broken time and time again as the people would drift away from obeying God’s commands and doing His will. The above scripture depicts a new covenant that God made with His chosen people, and one they were to keep in their hearts as to the commands and the will of God for them, so that they would not forget and go back to their wicked ways. What has happened to this covenant? I believe that the covenant that God made then, and the laws that He established for the people to follow are still in existence today, but the problem is that we are not following and obeying them. We are again turning our backs on God and forgetting about His laws and commands. Just look at God’s two greatest commandments to (1) “love God” and (2) “love others”, and see how our society has turned our back on obeying either of these. We have either taken God out, or trying to take Him out, of our government, our schools, our justice system and our society. We obviously don’t love others as we love ourselves, as there are people going hungry, sleeping on the streets and people without clothing all around us, but we are considered to be the wealthiest nation in the world. We have definitely broken the two most important commandments from God, and almost completely ignored the rest of His commandments. I would encourage each of you to make and commit to a new covenant with God today, and begin once again to let Him be your God and let you be His people. 171

My Daily Devotional

June 15

Volume III

Stand Strong Against Temptations

“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone: but each one is tempted when by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” James 1:13-14 No one other than Jesus has ever been sinless, as we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. There are temptations all around us, as we are confronted and tempted almost everywhere we look. Television, movies, music and even the clothing we wear are all designed to tempt us to do evil. God does not place the seed of evil in our hearts but Satan does. God does not tempt us, but our own evil desires are the ones that many times get the best of us. Temptations can be strong as they got the best of Adam, Moses, and David, and we ask ourselves how do we defeat temptation in our own lives. We can use the same technique that Jesus used when He was tempted, and that is the Word of God. If we follow the commands and the Law of God in all aspects of our life, we can fight all the temptations that Satan can bring against us. This certainly is not going to be an easy task to do however, as only Jesus has been able to conquer all temptation and sin. But in order to battle temptation we need to rely on the Word of God and also on His constant spiritual feeding. In order to battle temptations we must know God’s laws and know what is right. We must know that when we are tempted to do something, whether God would approve of it or not. We must always guard our thoughts, our minds, our speech and our actions to know what God’s laws are and to obey them. Temptations are all around us and we have to be alert, but we should use Jesus as our model as He remained faithful in temptation by relying on the word of God, as this is our best defense against our evil desires. 172

My Daily Devotional

June 16

Volume III

A Servant's Heart

“The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:11-12 People like to be recognized, and many will do almost anything to have honor and praise bestowed on them. Just recently I saw an article in the newspaper about a mother whose daughter was trying out for the cheerleading squad, and thought that another young girl was going to beat her daughter out from making the squad and actually had the other girl murdered. This is the lengths that some people will go to be honored and recognized. The scripture above tells us that we should humble ourselves toward others and not look for praise, honor and glory because we have done something good for others. Jesus tells us also when we give our tithes and give to others, to do so in secret as He knows what we have done and that is all that matters. We should never do things to bring honor and glory to ourselves, but do them out of the kindness and goodness of our hearts, and to help others. There are so many people that when they do something good they want all the people around them to know what they have done and to be recognized for this. There are buildings named after people who have made donations to charities all across our nation and many of these donations have been made solely because the people wanted to be recognized. God wants us to be a servant to others, just as He was. A servant does not serve others with the attitude that they will be rewarded in some way, but serves out of the goodness of his heart. We should not expect to be rewarded for our service to others by man, but God knows our hearts and will reward us for our good works. I would encourage each of you to become a servant, not seeking rewards for yourself as God will reward you. 173

My Daily Devotional

June 17

Volume III

A Clean Heart

“Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean.” Mark 7:15-16 When God gave us His commandments He gave us the Law that we are to follow in our everyday life. We know from His law what is right and wrong, and when we make our daily decisions we know which ones meet with God’s approval and which ones don’t. Therefore when we confront temptations in our daily life, we know which temptations to avoid. We know that if we visit a friend’s house and see money on his table that we aren’t to take it, as this would be stealing. We know that we should not make up a story that is not true, as this is lying. We know that we should not use the Lord’s name in vain, as this is cursing. God had given us His laws and expects us to obey them. The problem is that Satan also is tempting us to not follow God’s laws, and is putting all kind of thoughts in our minds, and we find ourselves in situations continually where we have to either obey God or Satan. Our lives therefore become a battlefield as to who will win, either good or evil; God or Satan. The battle is for our heart, as what comes out of us comes from our heart, and can either be clean or unclean. If we have filled our hearts with the word of God, goodness will come out of us and we will be clean. But if Satan has infiltrated our hearts evil will come out of us and we will be unclean. This is why we need to be in the presence of God each and every day of our lives, as He can protect us from the temptations and deceptions that Satan can send upon us. I would encourage each of you to go to God daily and get in His word, and know what His Law and commands are and follow them in your daily lives, so that when your decisions need to be made they will also be God’s decisions. 174

My Daily Devotional

June 18

Volume III

The Battle for Your Heart

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45 The Bible gives us many scriptures similar to the one above warning us that our words, either good or bad, come from our hearts. The previous devotional talked about clean or unclean things coming from our heart, and whether we allow God or Satan to gain control over our hearts. I believe the Christian is in a constant spiritual war between God and Satan for control over our hearts. The Apostle Paul recognized this and tells us to “take up the whole armor of God.” We need to recognize the need for constant vigilance at all times, and that the battle rages constantly, “in all seasons in the Spirit”, as Paul tells us that the enemy is not human, but spiritual in nature. It is ready to do battle 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is an army that is persistent and is ready to attack at any time. But when we submit our hearts and our wills to God and commit to following his commands, we are well equipped to withstand any attack that Satan sends our way. It is important to seek God each day through prayer and study in His word to ward off any attack that Satan brings against us. When we shirk our duty in God’s army to pray and seek Him daily, we are dropping our guard and can become vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. Putting on the full armor of God can protect us and provide a shield for us and prevent Satan from getting a foothold, as we need all the protection we can get to defeat him. I would encourage each of you to go to God each day, read His word, pray to Him and ask Him to help you keep your heart from becoming infected with the evil that Satan can store up in your heart. 175

My Daily Devotional

June 19

Volume III

Are You Ready

“You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Luke 12:40 Christ’s return is certain but the time is not known, so it is important to be prepared at all times. I have always heard people say that they are going to start to church next week as they want to begin serving God, and know that they are a sinner. Many times some do start going to church and get saved, however many times these people keep putting off the most important thing they will ever do in their lives. This is such a gamble as no one knows when Christ will return, and they are taking a chance on how they will spend all eternity. I have heard pastors speak on the end of time, and the signs that the Bible gives us telling us about the fulfillment of scripture, and that most of them are now fulfilled. These warnings are important, but these are man’s interpretations and not God’s, as only He knows when He is coming back. But the important thing to remember is that we must be ready. We are accustomed to being prepared in almost all things we do. We prepare ourselves for an exam at school. We prepare ourselves for our careers. We prepare ourselves to take care of our families. Everything we do in life we spend some time getting ready and preparing ourselves for. However when it comes to preparing ourselves for our future, by asking ourselves “how will we spend our eternity”, many times we do not plan and get ourselves ready. We need to begin preparing ourselves and be ready at all times for the most important thing that will ever happen to us. I would encourage each of you to get yourself prepared as Christ could return even today or tomorrow. Will you be ready? I would rather live my life as if there is a God, and die to find out there isn’t, than live my life as if there isn’t, and die to find out there is. 176

My Daily Devotional

June 20

Volume III

Seek God’s Kingdom

“Then Jesus asked, “What is the Kingdom of God like?” What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.” Luke 13:18-19 The scripture above gives us an indication about just how hard it will be to enter the Kingdom of God. There are several other examples such as “The Narrow Door”, and “The Rich Man”, where Jesus tells us that in order to enter God’s Kingdom that it will not be easy as many will be turned away. It is only the ones that truly believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and have asked Him into their hearts and are obeying His commands who will be allowed to enter His Kingdom. It is going to take more than just going to church on Sunday and then going about our business. It is going to take a commitment on our part to making God the focal point of our lives on a daily basis. It is going to take a commitment to begin obeying his commandments and letting our actions and our words follow the will of God. When God becomes the center of our life and our world revolves around Him, then we are on the narrow path that will lead to His Kingdom. With all that is going on in the lives of people today it is difficult to not get caught up in ourselves and our own selfish desires and leave God out. It is easy to find pastimes and hobbies that occupy our time where there is no time left for God. It is easy to spend all our effort on accumulating money and material possessions and not giving generously to help others. The most important thing that you will ever do in life is to find the path that leads to the Kingdom of God. It will be, as Jesus says, hard to find but will be worth it. I would encourage each of you to seek God daily, read His word, pray and ask Him for guidance to find His Kingdom. 177

My Daily Devotional

June 21

Volume III

Do You Love Yourself Too Much

“The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:25 There are not many people who don’t love themselves, but Jesus warns us in the scripture above that when we begin to only think about ourselves, and forget about others that we are walking on thin ice. Do you find yourself in this situation, in that your entire world revolves around your likes and dislikes, your wants and desires, with no thought of others? Is your time and your money spent entirely in making yourself happy and forgetting others? If you answer yes to these two simple questions you need to step back and evaluate your life. Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms that we are to love others as we love ourselves. This means that we are to devote time to others, and to spend some of our money in helping others. If we are not making this kind of commitment we are not obeying one of God’s greatest commandments. It is good for us to be successful in life and want to succeed, but we do not want to become self centered and think that we are the center of the universe, and that everything revolves around us. God does not want us to have this kind of attitude about ourselves, as He wants us to have a servant attitude and humble ourselves to others. As powerful as Jesus was He washed the feet of His disciples to show them the humbleness of Himself. When we develop an attitude that we are better or superior to others this is what Jesus is warning us about in the scripture above, and is the time to take stock in ourselves. I would encourage each of you to look at your own life, and determine if you are self centered; only thinking about yourself. If you find this to be true take the time to ask God for help in refocusing your life as your eternal life with God is in the balance. 178

My Daily Devotional

June 22

Volume III

Become A Servant

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:14-15 The interpretation of the scripture above tells us that Christ’s action provides an example of humble service, and that it teaches us that we are to have a servant attitude toward others. It tells us that Christians should be willing to perform the most menial services to help one another. It tells us that we are to love others as we love ourselves. It illustrates God’s commandment that we should love others as we love ourselves, and what more humbling example to show this than to wash someone else’s feet. I believe that each of us needs to evaluate our own lives to see if we have a servant attitude. We need to determine if we want to be in control and set on the throne, or would we be just as comfortable as Jesus was, and instructing his Disciples to do; and that is to be a servant. I believe this is one of the most important issues that Christian’s face today, as the servant attitude is being lost in our society, as the status of being successful in life is based on our titles and positions in our companies. The idea that we are to be humble and a servant to others doesn’t go well with the people that are striving to rise to the top in their organizations. The attitude that Christ wants us to have is to not be self centered, always thinking about ourselves, but to be concerned about others. We miss so many opportunities in life to be able to minister to others by not demonstrating this humble and servant attitude to them. I would encourage each of you today to begin getting your minds off yourselves, and look around you to see where you could make a difference in someone’s life, by giving them a helping hand or providing their needs. Be a servant to someone as Jesus was. 179

My Daily Devotional

June 23

Volume III

Expect Your Miracle

“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, so shall your offspring be.” Romans 4:18 God considers Abraham the father of the Jews and the gentiles, as the birth of Isaac through Abraham and Sarah, both of whom were far past the age of child bearing, populated future generations, and thus Abraham is considered to be the father of all mankind. The example of Abraham and Sarah is the perfect example of the miracles that God can do in people’s lives. Abraham was almost one hundred years old and Sarah was about ninety years old, but Abraham was a righteous man who was promised “offspring like the dust of the earth” and possession of the land of Canaan, and that all the peoples of the earth would be blessed through him. Abraham had faith that even though he was old that God would fulfill His promise to him. He did not lose his hope and continued to trust in God for his miracle. Could we ever have the faith that Abraham showed, and go against all the odds that our human frailty demonstrates, and expect our miracles in today’s world? The Bible teaches us that our miracles are also possible if we have the faith and belief in God that Abraham had. The Bible tells us that if we only have the faith of a mustard seed that we can make our mountains move. This tells us that God still is alive today, and can still work miracles for us as well. The question we need to ask ourselves is do we have enough faith and trust in God to hope for our miracle and receive it. Many of us have serious need for a miracle in our lives either due to health issues, financial issues, relationship issues or family issues. I would encourage you to start believing and having faith and trusting in God that He will provide you with your own miracle. 180

My Daily Devotional

June 24

Volume III

Restore Governing Authorities

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” Romans 13:1 I have always wondered how God would judge the authorities that exist in our world today, as much has changed from the time in which he lived. In the Bible God tells us to respect the authorities that govern us, and to submit to them. He tells us to obey the laws of the land and follow their instructions. However, there are many laws that are now in place that go completely against the teachings of the Bible and do not reflect what God wants us to submit to. Our government has legalized abortions, which completely goes against the teachings of the Bible, the mention of God is being taken out of our schools, which is against Biblical teachings, and our government, which was founded on God and his laws and commands, no longer allows prayer and God to be mentioned. When civil leaders and authorities overstep their proper function, the Bible tells us that the Christian is to obey God rather than man. Acts 5:29 “We must obey God rather than men.” Our authorities exist for the benefit of our society and to bring order to our government, and to protect the general public. God has ordained the authorities and expects the Christian to respect and obey them, but only as far as they are following the laws and commands of God. When they begin going against God’s laws and commands then Christians need to stand up and rebel against authorities. I would encourage each of you to begin to take a stand in restoring our civil and governmental authorities to ones that God would approve of and return our country to one that is based on Godly principles. 181

My Daily Devotional

June 25

Volume III

Are You An Example For Others

“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” 1st Corinthians 8:9 Over the years I have seen many people being influenced by what someone else is doing, as they think just because so and so is doing something, and that they are somebody that has status and influential in the right circles, that it is all right for them to do it as well. We have all had idols as we grew up, whether it was our favorite sports star, our grandparents, our parents or someone else who we would like to pattern ourselves after. Even though many of us do not realize it we may be someone’s idol and the person that someone is trying to pattern themselves after. The scripture above tells us that whatever we do in life, which means our words and our actions, should not become a stumbling block for others. This means that we need to watch what we say and watch what we do, so that we do not set the wrong example for someone. How many times do we see in the newspaper some individual who has been the so called example, or role model, caught in situations that are wrong and many times illegal? This fallen hero has many times destroyed someone who was trying to imitate their actions and be like them. When the weak Christian is influenced by the example of the stronger Christian, and even though he feels it to be wrong, it still has a tendency to blunt their conscience, so that doing what is wrong becomes much easier the next time. We are accountable to set an example of what a Christian should be like in our daily life by the way we speak and by the way we conduct ourselves at all times. I would encourage each of you to consider your actions, wherever you are, and to be a good example to someone who may be watching you, as God wants your life to reflect the life of a Christian. God is also watching you. 182

My Daily Devotional

June 26

Volume III

Giving Back to God

“On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.” 1st Corinthians 16:2 The above scripture indicates clearly how our giving needs to be done to support our church and ministries. This method of collection was quite widespread throughout the ministries of the Apostles in the churches that were established. The collections were brought to the churches on the Sabbath, which was the day of worship, and was given and accounted for by appointed men in the churches, who had the fiscal responsibility and guardianship for the collections, and who made sure the collections were disbursed properly. It was important for the ministry during the times of the Apostles to be funded by the people of the church, just as it is equally important for the ministry of the churches of today to be funded. Our giving is important as we need to realize that all our money and material possessions are the result of what God has allowed us to possess, and a portion needs to be given back in thanks. God only promises us that our needs will be met, but in today’s society we see great wealth all around us. We see successful people with much money and material wealth. There is also another side to this scenario in that we also see much need all around us. People are living in poverty, barely trying to find enough food, clothing and shelter to sustain themselves. During Biblical times there was a time of Jubilee where the wealth was redistributed among the people. I am sure that God would like to restore this time of Jubilee in today’s world as everyone’s needs would be met. I would encourage each of you to think about your own giving, and decide whether you are living up to his command about giving back a portion of what God has given you. 183

My Daily Devotional

June 27

Volume III

Dealing With Anger

“In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Ephesians 4:26 Anger is a powerful emotion which can strike suddenly, and take over our thoughts, and many times can seem to be uncontrollable. Anger and its devastating effects can leave everything and everyone that it is directed at in ruins. There are as many causes and expressions of anger as there are people, but one of the underlying causes of anger is due to the fact that things are not happening as we expected them to happen. We may not get the raise we expected, our children may not listen to us, or our spouse does not agree with our point of view about an important matter. Usually anger is directed towards the person that does not agree with us or we feel has harmed us in some way. Everyone will get angry at some point in their life, but controlling our anger is the thing that sets us apart from others. If anger is controlling you, there is only one way to find relief and that is to give God control of your life. God teaches us to love rather than be angry, and his answer to control our anger is to learn to forgive. Forgiveness is perhaps the greatest remedy for anger. Just remember that as Jesus hung on the cross dying for our sins, he asked His Father to “forgive them for they know not what they do”. Jesus had every right to be angry toward those who placed him there, but rather chose to forgive them instead. To anyone that is fighting anger in their lives, don’t let it fester and build up, as it will not go away by itself; it will grow like a cancer and affect the things that are most precious to you. Turn your anger over to God, and ask him to help you forgive the people that have caused you to be angry, as this is the only way that you will be able to rid yourself of this sin. God will take control and give you peace. 184

My Daily Devotional

June 28

Volume III

It Is Not Too Late

“You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-23 The Bible tells us that to be born again and experience the eternal life that God promises, we must accept Jesus into our hearts, and ask forgiveness of our sins, and change our wicked ways, and begin obeying God’s commands. This sounds so easy to do, but so many people don’t take advantage of this amazing offer. It is so important for everyone to understand that one day, you will die. That is a fact. At that moment, you will stand before God and there will only be one question, “Do you know Jesus as your Savior by faith?” That is a “yes” or “no” answer. You won’t have the opportunity to stand there and say, “no, but.” God is not going to be interested in your excuses. Each person is responsible for accepting or rejecting Jesus Christ into their heart and life by faith, and each person will be held accountable by God for all eternity for that choice. Let me ask you a simple question. If you died this very moment, do you have the complete assurance, without any doubt, that when you stand before God he will welcome you into His presence for all eternity? None of us know when our time will come, but it is coming. It is so sad that many people die each day because they keep putting off accepting Jesus into their hearts, thinking that they will do it tomorrow or next week at church, or next month. But they have waited too long, and their time to stand before God in judgment has come. It is not too late for you however, as you still have the chance to become this new person and accept Jesus as your savior. 185

My Daily Devotional

June 29

Volume III

Make Your Reservation Now

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” 2nd Timothy 3:1-4 Does this sound like the generation we live in today? Almost all of us can identify with people who fit any or all of these categories. The Bible prophecy is being fulfilled as we speak and all indications are that these are the last days. What do we do to get ready for the return of Jesus? Are we prepared for his return, and do we know how God is going to judge us? There are only two choices that we can make, either to be ready to live with God in heaven, or to follow Satan into his lake of everlasting fire called Hell. Getting ready for the return of Jesus can be like making and confirming our reservations to go on the last trip we will ever make. This trip will take us to the place where we will spend all eternity. The place we are going to is either going to be the grandest, most beautiful, joyful and magnificent place we can imagine, or it is going to be a place where we will suffer in Satan’s lake of fire for all eternity. Each one of us now has this option and can confirm and make our reservation to Heaven or Hell, as there is no other option available, and no one can make this reservation for us. I would encourage each of you today to please confirm your reservation now by accepting Jesus as your Savior. Ask him to come into your heart, and forgive you of your sins, and promise that you will serve him for the rest of your life. This simple commitment will confirm your reservation into God’s Kingdom. 186

My Daily Devotional

June 30

Volume III

Open Your Hearts To God

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing me in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.” Hebrews 3:8-9 These are the words that God gives us to warn us to not harden our hearts and obey his teachings. But I am afraid that our society as a whole is again hardening their hearts to the Word of God and his commandments. We are turning away from God and becoming a world where there is sexual immorality, perversion, greed, anger, and almost any other form of sin pervading our society. We are gradually taking God out of our lives, as he is becoming less and less of our daily lives. I can remember as I grew up that we prayed in school, and any government meeting was begun with prayer. Our families prayed before meals and we worshipped together at church on Sunday. Today, we are not allowed to pray in school, or in our government. There is becoming more and more families that do not pray together, and many do not even go to church to worship. God warns us to not test him in these acts of disobedience, as throughout history he has turned his back on his people when they began turning from him. In the scripture above he let his chosen people wander for forty years in the desert because they hardened their hearts toward him. Our society is forgetting God, and I believe he is again going to punish us for this disobedience. God’s chosen people have been the most powerful people in existence when they have obeyed and followed God’s commands, but when they disobeyed, God has allowed them to be defeated, conquered and humiliated by their enemies. I would encourage each of you to open your hearts to God and change your lives, before God takes his revenge on you. 187

My Daily Devotional

July 1

Volume III

Our Inner Beauty

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” 1st Peter 3:3-4 So often throughout our society our success in life is judged by our outward appearance. Recent surveys show that someone who is attractive has a much better chance of getting the best jobs, receive better raises and has a much better chance to advance in their careers. Our society routinely promotes outward appearances through beauty pageants, fashions and television and movie stars as the ultimate pinnacle of success. However, it is not the outward appearances that matters most to God, as it is the inner beauty of each of us that is important to Him. I recently saw a young girl who was deformed and crippled from birth with a terrible disease. Her limbs and face were distorted, but God had given her a talent for music, and she had been asked to play the piano for one of the largest symphonies in the nation. Her music was the best I have ever heard. Her beauty did not come from her outward appearance, but rather came from her inner self, and God had given her a gift that very few people have. It is important to never judge others based on what we see with our eyes, but to judge them on their hearts, and even then we are not the final judge as what we think does not matter. God is the ultimate judge for all of us, as it is when we stand before God on judgment day, we will not be judged on our beauty, as God will look at our hearts, at our good deeds, at the way we lived our lives and obeyed His commands. All of these things will be considered, but the most important thing of all is that we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. 188

My Daily Devotional

July 2

Volume III

Keep Your Faith

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” 1st Peter 4:12-13 It is sometimes difficult to understand why things happen to us. Why do we have the trials and troubles that we suffer through, when we are trying our best to be a Christian? Many times it seems like we are constantly deep in the valleys and the mountains seem too steep to climb, and there is no way that we can see how we will ever overcome our problems. I have a dear Christian friend who this scripture fits so well, as during the past year he endured a terrible year financially, as one problem after another happened in his business. He had given so much of himself during this time both financially and of his time, to help distribute food to the needy in our area, while his own personal finances had suffered. I recently had a conversation with him and asked him why he had continued to give the way he did, when he was suffering so badly himself. He stated that the time that he spent distributing the food to the needy was what was getting him through his own troubles. He said that he looked forward to the days that the food was distributed, and that this was his best day of the week. His faith and trust in God has never wavered during the year, and he faithfully kept giving of his time and money. The people in our church have seen his unwavering dedication to God during this difficult time, and it is touching many of the people around him. He is a tremendous witness for Christ wherever he goes, and through his trials he continues to keep his faith and trust. I would encourage each of you to continue trusting in God even during your trials because your reward in heaven will be worth it. 189

My Daily Devotional

July 3

Volume III

God Can Rescue Us

“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isaiah 46:4 Last week I saw the news where severe flooding in Texas had claimed the lives of several people. The newscast showed several people clinging to the tops of trees to try to escape the raging waters. In life there are times when we are going along without a care in the world and nothing to weigh us down. Then, without warning we are hit by a catastrophe such as this flood and our world is turned upside down. We look around and are terrified by what we see, as our human eyes do not see any way out of our trouble. I am sure that these people clinging to the tree tops felt exactly this way, and felt that their worlds had collapsed around them. Their homes, their material possessions and everything they owned had been swept away by the raging floodwaters. In the scripture above God tells us that there is hope in the worst of times as He will sustain us and rescue us. Maybe you are facing adversity in a physical, emotional, or financial area of your life. Don’t panic! Pray, even though it looks like there is no way out, you must not lose heart because God is still there, and knows your trouble, and tells us that He will not let us bear more than we can handle. Isaiah 43:2 “I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” I would encourage each of you to turn to God when you face your troubles, as He will be there to listen and come to your rescue. There is no one that can conquer the raging floods in your life the way God can. Even through our trials God can give us His overwhelming peace and assurances that everything is fine. 190

My Daily Devotional

July 4

Volume III

Your Independence Day

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, if they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” Exodus 13:17 In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, picnics and various other public and private events celebrating our freedom. The people of Israel also had their Independence Day from the oppression of slavery from Egypt, as Pharaoh, after enduring the plagues that God brought against them, declared that they could leave Egypt. Their Independence Day was the day after Passover, and according to the Bible there were about six hundred thousand men on foot, beside women and children, that left that day for their promised land. They had lived in Egypt for 430 years to the very day when they began their journey to freedom. As we know God provided the way for them, by parting the waters of the Red Sea and providing manna from heaven to feed them in the desert. God also has provided a day of Independence for each of us, in that He sent his Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins and set us free. When you ask Jesus into your heart, your Independence Day will be a day of celebration like no other day in your life, as this is the day that you will be reborn in the spirit of God, and washed clean from all your sins. Ask Jesus to come into your heart today and forgive you of your sins, and tell Him you will obey His commands and live for Him forever and receive your freedom. 191

My Daily Devotional

July 5

Volume III

Keep Your Joy

“This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 Have you ever noticed how easy our joy can disappear? We can wake up in the morning with joy in our hearts and a smile on our face, but the first disappointment or problem we face, completely destroys that joy, and takes away that smile. It is so easy to allow Satan to destroy our joy and our positive attitude, and replace it with discouragement and negativity. I believe that each day is sacred and precious to God, and He wants us to cherish it as much as possible. God wants us to be at peace and have joy in our lives, as we are going to be a better witness for Him, and be more focused on His will, when we are happy. When we begin to give in to discouragement, to have doubts, to concentrate on the negative things around us, we are on the path to losing our joy and happiness. The answer to getting back our joy and happiness, is to begin to refocus our minds and life back on God, as chances are when your joy and happiness began leaving you, was the time you were drifting away from God. I would suggest that when you sense that your joy is waning, to begin immediately praying to God. Thank Him for all the blessings that He has bestowed on you, for providing you with your needs, and saving your soul. Think about King David, as he prayed to God constantly, when his joy began to leave him, as much of the Book of Psalm was about him, either thanking God for blessing him, or praying for deliverance from his enemies. I would encourage you that when that black cloud threatens to take over, to seek God, and remember that you serve a good and gracious God, one who loves you unconditionally, and wants you to be joyful, so that He can fulfill the plan and purpose that He has for your life. 192

My Daily Devotional

July 6

Volume III

Keep God’s Law

“I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” Matthew 5:18 The above scripture describes how Jesus felt about the law, and the importance it meant to him. I have heard many people say that the Law of the Old Testament was not meant for Jesus’ time, or was meant for the society we live in. This is not true, as throughout the New Testament, both Jesus and the Disciples talk repeatedly, about the Law and the importance it means. The Law that is depicted in the Old Testament is still the Law that God expects us to obey today. When I think back to the time of my childhood, and see the changes in family values that have occurred during this time, I realize what perilous times we are living in. The lifestyles of today’s families bear little resemblance to what they were, as I was growing up. Families have compromised their values little by little, until they have succumbed to the temptations of Satan, and have thrown God out of their families. The divorce rates are skyrocketing, and families are being torn apart by drug and alcohol abuse, sexual permissiveness, relationship and financial pressures. The home is no longer a place for children to feel safe and secure, and a place where Godly principles are taught. Children are left to find their own values, usually from their peers, who have not been taught the word of God, and what is right from wrong. When God gave us the Law, it was meant to provide guidance and wisdom for all people to use, as it gives us the format to pattern our families and our lives after. I would encourage each of you to study God’s word, and apply it to your life and your family. It will make a difference in your life. 193

My Daily Devotional

July 7

Volume III

Giving Freely

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:3-4 During this past ten years I have been amazed at the lack of commitment that our church community has shown to provide for the needy in our community. I have visited the majority of the churches in our area speaking to their congregations about the need in our area and the number of people who are going hungry. The majority of these churches have not responded to this need, and have not participated in any way. Many of the churches that have responded have done so with the idea of getting publicity for their churches, and unless there has been a way to get their name in the public eye they have not contributed. The scripture above tells us how Jesus views our giving to the needy, as it needs to be done in private and not with the thought of bringing attention to ourselves. I know that my wife and I have provided help to the needy throughout the years, always keeping our giving between the person we are helping and ourselves, as God tells us to do. There was a wealthy gentleman in our area several years ago who would give large sums of money to worthwhile causes, but always insisted on the building being named after him or his name displayed in a public place. His sole purpose was to let others know that he gave and to get public recognition for his gift. I believe that giving in this manner did nothing to bring him any reward in the sight of God, as he was doing it not with the idea of helping others, but to gain glory for himself in the eyes of others. God wants each of us to give freely, as He has provided our needs and wants us to then give freely of our excess. 194

My Daily Devotional

July 8

Volume III

By Faith We Can Be Healed

“Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, ‘if I only touch his cloak, I will be healed’. Jesus turned and saw her. ‘Take heart, daughter’, he said, ‘your faith has healed you.” Matthew 9:20-21 Jesus tells us in His scriptures that if we have as little faith as a mustard seed we can make a mountain move. This woman in the scripture above proved Her faith just by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment and was healed. Jesus also healed two blind men. Matthew 9:28-29 “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored.” There are so many people suffering with medical issues, financial issues, relationship issues and family issues today that could be healed, if they just had enough faith, as in the two examples above. As Christians we go to church each Sunday, and read our Bibles each day, and know what God tells us about the power of our faith. God tells us that our faith can heal and restore, so why don’t we have enough faith to cure ourselves of our sickness? I have personally witnessed several people during the past two years that have been healed, and had the faith necessary to have God touch them, and heal their bodies. To be able to witness a healing by faith is such an important occurrence, in that it lets us know that the power of God’s word is still alive in our nation today. God is still with us, and His power is still as strong and alive as it was in the days of the Apostles. I would encourage each of you that have a medical need, to seek God, spend time with Him and get to know Him in such a way as to have the faith needed to ask for your own healing, as in the examples above. 195

My Daily Devotional

July 9

Volume III

We Can Influence Others

“And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.” Mark 9:30 People are so easy influenced by the actions of other people, and children are especially vulnerable to be influenced by their peers and parents. I know personally the influence my grandfather had on me as I grew up, as I wanted to be just like him, and still do. The things he did, the respect he was shown, and the way he lived his life are things that I would like to master in my own life. It is extremely important to think and realize that our actions and behaviors can influence others around us that might be looking to see how we react in certain situations. In the scripture above Jesus’ point is clear: to cause even those whom we might consider to be the least of believers to sin will bring serious judgment on us. I can remember going to a hospital dinner years ago with my wife. There were several couples at our table who worked with us, and everyone was having a glass of wine with their dinner. It is very rarely that we will drink wine with our dinner, but since everyone else was having some we had a small glass. For several days thereafter almost everyone mentioned the fact that we had wine with our dinner, as they had never seen us drink before. There had always been a small doubt in their minds that this may not be right, but when they saw us drinking the wine this took their doubt away. I am not saying that it is a sin to drink a glass of wine, but using this as an example how our actions can influence others. We all need to be careful in our actions when we are around people, and make sure that they would be acceptable in the sight of God, as people watch what we do and a bad action on our part could influence them to sin. 196

My Daily Devotional

July 10

Volume III

Happy Anniversary

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” Mark 10:7-8 On July 10, 1965, I became the husband of Margaret Sue Lefevers, and my life has never been the same since. We just recently celebrated our 42nd anniversary, and our life together during these years has been a wonderful blessing to me. We have enjoyed so many good times together, and have stored up so many wonderful memories of our life together as husband and wife. God has blessed us through the years and has given us three wonderful children, and so far four grandchildren. We have experienced much success in our life together, as God has provided our needs plus an excess of material possessions that we give him the glory for. Margaret has been the perfect example of what a Christian wife should be, as she exemplifies the traits that God desires and talks about throughout the Bible. She has provided the presence of God in our family for myself and our children to see every day. She has been the extreme example for me and my children in her prayer life and in her daily devotion to studying the Word of God, as our children have seen her Bibles become worn and marked with dozen of scriptures that she has claimed for them. She prays for them and all the family on a daily basis and one of the most valuable possessions the children all cherish is her Bible with all her notes and underlined verses. God has blessed me so much by giving Margaret to me as my wife, as she has made my life complete. Our love has grown more each year and our life together is growing sweeter and sweeter as time goes by. My prayer is that God will allow both of us to grow old together and continue to give us good health and continue to bless both of us. Thank you God for giving Margaret to me, as my wife. 197

My Daily Devotional

July 11

Volume III

Let God Be Your Guide

“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:4-5 Recently I was given directions to get to a board meeting in a nearby town. I had written down, what I thought were detailed directions to the restaurant. It was in an area that I thought I was familiar enough with that I would not have any problems. However I had missed a key part of the directions as I found myself going completely through the town without seeing the restaurant. I retraced my steps and again found that it did not lead me to where I wanted to go. Finally, in desperation I called and found the right direction and got to the meeting on time. The problem had been that the person giving me the direction was doing so by looking at coming into town from the west, but I was looking at coming into town from the east. So when he said to turn right I should have been turning left. Both of us had completely misunderstood the other. Our daily lives can also be confusing as well, but God gives us directions through our daily reading of the Bible, praying and then listening to what it really says can keep us going in the right direction. When we turn to God for our directions he has the answers and will lead us to our correct destination. There are many decisions that each of us have to make in our daily lives such as financial decisions, relationship decisions, health decisions and family decisions. Most of these decisions are ones that many times we need help with to make the best decision possible. God can help and assist us and give us the right advice and direction to follow, if we will only call upon Him. I would encourage each of you to call upon God as he will show you His ways and teach you His paths and guide you in His truth. 198

My Daily Devotional

July 12

Volume III

God Is Faithful

“The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.” Psalm 145:13 Sometimes we don’t understand just how faithful God is to provide for us in the way He does. He tells us that He will provide all our needs, but so often we want much more than our needs to be met. I am reminded of the Book of Job where chapter after chapter finds Job saying, “God, I don’t understand why these things are happening.” God’s response is, “you don’t need to know why; you just need to know Me.” This is the way that most people are today, as we seldom understand the wisdom of God, and question why we are not all blessed with riches and everything we ask for. We question why we are given our crosses to bear, such as our health issues, our financial issues, and the all so often relationship issues with friends and even our families. Why do we have to struggle with everything, and why doesn’t things come easy for us? With all of these questions facing us, and very few answers, it is easy to get frustrated and simply quit trying to understand. But God tells us that He is faithful, and will provide for us and will fulfill all His promises. When the Israelites left Egypt they did not understand where they were going to get food in the desert, but God provided manna from heaven. They did not know how they would cross the Red Sea, but God parted the waters for them to pass through. Whatever our needs are God is faithful and will provide them. We may not receive the things over and above our needs, but God knows what is best for us, and will be faithful in taking care of us. He will never let us carry burdens that are too heavy for us to carry. I would encourage each of you, that when you feel overwhelmed with the struggles of life, to turn your burdens over to God and let him faithfully carry them. 199

My Daily Devotional

July 13

Volume III

Jesus Died For You

“They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. Then they led him away to crucify him.” Matthew 27:28-31 We can never imagine the agony and pain that Jesus suffered that day in Jerusalem before His crucifixion on the hill of Golgotha. We could never visualize just how disgusting this must have been to the followers of Jesus, as they saw the spit running down Jesus’ face, the blood gushing out of His side, the excruciating agony of the spikes being driven into His hands and His feet, and then finally seeing Him raised onto the cross and watching Him die. We all need to really be able to visualize this disgusting scene, and have it etched in our thoughts and minds every minute of every day, because it for us that Jesus endured this agony and suffered this pain. It was for us that He allowed his tormenters to hang Him on the cross. It was for us that He died that day on Calvary. It was not a pretty sight, but it is in that disgusting sight, that we need to keep in our minds, that should enable us to find the strength to turn away the sin that we are contemplating. It is this sight that we need to have engrained in our minds, when we are tempted to do something that we know we should not do. We need to remember this sight, when evil thoughts begin to pervade our minds and threaten to lead us astray. Every time that we sin we need to remember this disgusting sight, and it should remind us that Jesus died for us. I would hope that you would never forget the sacrifice that Jesus made for you that day, and before you sin think about this sight of Jesus on the cross. 200

My Daily Devotional

July 14

Volume III

God’s New Law

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2 I am sure that most of us have heard of Murphy’s Law which states that “if anything can go wrong, it will.” Or you may have also heard of the law which states that “if everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.” There are other laws such as the law of gravity that truly are laws in that they always hold true. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament speaks about the subject of Law quite extensively. In previous devotionals I have discussed the Law that God gave Moses, that Jesus and the Apostles still followed in their day. There are two other laws mentioned in the scripture above. One of these laws “of sin and death” tells us that whoever sins, must die. This is a frightening law because we all know that we are guilty of sin, and that the consequences of our sin is death. However there is another law mentioned in the same scripture, and that is the law of the Spirit of Life through Jesus Christ. This law is probably the most important law of all, as this law is the only thing that can keep the law of sin and death from having its dreaded effect in our lives. This law tells us that if we live a life in Jesus Christ that this law will save us from our sins. When Jesus came to earth and was crucified on the cross of Calvary, he died to save us from our sins. When we accept Jesus as our Savior and ask Him to come into our hearts, and admit that we are a sinner, and that we know He died for our sins and will obey His commands in the future, we are now covered under this New Law of the Spirit of Life. Everything starts anew and afresh for us, as we are covered by this New Law that brings us blessings from God for those who live in Him. 201

My Daily Devotional

July 15

Volume III

Are We Willing To Sacrifice

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” Matthew 13:44 This parable that Jesus told teaches us that the kingdom of heaven is of such great value that one should be willing to give up all he has in order to gain it. Jesus did not imply that one can purchase the kingdom with money or good deeds. The parable also tells us that the man joyfully made a sacrifice and sold all he had in order to gain the kingdom of heaven. This man doesn’t just sell everything he has; he does so with joy. He doesn’t regret it. He doesn’t complain about the sacrifice he has to make. In fact, he probably doesn’t even consider it to be a sacrifice. He gives a lot for the field, but he gets so much more in return. This parable reminds me of a story about two wealthy Christians, a lawyer and a merchant who were vacationing in Korea. They saw a field where a boy was pulling a crude plow, and an old man was holding the plow and guiding it. They asked, “I suppose they are very poor”. The guide replied, “Yes, when the church was being built, they were eager to give something, but had no money, so they sold their only ox and gave the money to the church.” The businessman thought for a moment and said, “That must have been a real sacrifice.” The guide replied, “They do not think that way, as they thought it was fortunate that they had an ox to sell.” The same principles stated above holds true in our walk with Christ. Sacrifices will be necessary, but only a deep love for Christ will make them a joy. The real test of our commitment is not so much whether we are willing to make sacrifices for our Lord and Savior, but whether we are able to make those sacrifices with joy. 202

My Daily Devotional

July 16

Volume III

We Can Predict Our Future

“Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come? Ecclesiastes 8:7 What does the future hold for us? This is a question that we all ask ourselves throughout our lives. We begin making plans and dreaming from the time we are youngsters and continue through our old age, trying to figure out what lies ahead of us. Predicting the future is a difficult thing to do. And yet we often wonder, what does the future hold for me? What does God have in mind for my life? Who will I marry? What will happen to me when I grow old? How can I make it through the pain or sorrow I’m experiencing right now? Will things every get better? When we don’t know what the future holds we often think the worse will happen which causes fear, doubt and anxiety to creep into our minds and rob us of our peace. Predicting the future is so uncertain that the majority of time we get it wrong, as things do not turn out the way we want them to. Some of the most notable predictions that went awry was: “The radio has no future and x-rays are clearly a hoax,”-Royal Society President Lord Kelvin, 1897. “You ought to go back to driving a truck.” Concert manager firing Elvis Presley in 1954. “The atom bomb will never go off-and I speak as an expert in explosives.” U.S. Admiral William Leahy in 1945. As it is obvious no one knows what the future holds for us, except God, and any plans that we make are so uncertain that they can change in an instant. However God has known the plan He has for each of us even before we were formed in our mother’s womb, as He knows all about us and what He has destined for our life. The only thing that we can be certain of is that when we turn our life over to God, we are able to predict with certainty that we can spend all eternity with Him in Heaven. 203

My Daily Devotional

July 17

Volume III

Get Both Sides of the Story

“The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.” Proverbs 18:17 This is a proverb of King Solomon which provides so much wisdom, which we should use every day before we jump to conclusions about anyone or anything. Most people are quick to come to a conclusion about any issue or matter before hearing both sides of the story. For example, we’re quick to believe in gossip about a co-worker or a neighbor. We’re quick to believe everything we hear about our sports heroes, or a politician that is being ridiculed in the press. We’re quick to condemn people who are accused of crimes that are sensationalized by the media. When we are quick to jump to conclusions, we usually don’t have the other side of the story, and there usually is another side of the story that could change our opinion. Many times when we jump to conclusions we can hurt others if they are our family, close friends or neighbors. How can we protect ourselves and keep from hurting others? There are a number of things we can do, such as to not believe just one side of a story that is told about someone. We need to hear both sides of the story, and then we can understand the situation better. We can also protect ourselves from false doctrine by testing what we hear as the Bible suggests. 1st Thessalonians “Test everything.” It is important that we know the truth, and not over react to what we hear, as we can damage and hurt someone by not knowing the full story. We need to ask God to give us discernment about what is true and wisdom about what is right. Too often, we as Christians believe in the wrong thing, and we are too quick to take a stand, without knowing both sides of the story. Ask God to help you know what is true and not be deceived by untruth, as this can damage and hurt others. 204

My Daily Devotional

July 18

Volume III

Be an Encourager

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1st Thessalonians 5:11 Encouragement is such an important trait to master, and each of us should strive to be an encourager to others. Our children’s attitude and behavior can be shaped, because of a father’s encouragement and motivation. A sick friend can find encouragement, from a visit by their neighbors and family, and recover more quickly. An athlete will be more confident and perform better, if they are motivated by an audience of encouragers. The Bible teaches us that some people have been given the gift of encouragement. These people are blessed, as they are able to change attitudes, and bring the best out of the people they come into contact with. An encourager is able to uplift the spirits, and even change the attitude of people they encounter. An encourager is someone that we all like to meet, as they make us feel better, after our encounter with them. I have found through 45 years of management experience, that encouragement is a much better motivator than discipline, in getting the most productivity out of your employees. A carrot dangling in front of a horses face, will motivate him to pull a wagon, more than a whip across his backsides. Throughout the New Testament, the Apostles were writing letters to the Churches they had established, and almost all of them had statements where they were encouraging the churches and the leaders, to keep up the work they were doing. I believe that God wants each of us to be an encourager, and to build each other up. One of the duties of the body of the church is to be an encourager to other members, and through fellowship, encourage and build each other up. Make a point today, to find someone that you can encourage and build up, and God will bless you for it. 205

My Daily Devotional

July 19

Volume III

God’s Grace Is Sufficient

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2nd Corinthians 12:9 Have you ever thought about how God gives us strength to get through each day, and what life would be like without him? There are many days that we all feel that we do not have the strength or energy to get up and face the day, but somehow God gives us the energy, and we are able to breeze through the day. Then there are days that we think we cannot handle one more bit of bad news, but when we receive it, somehow he empowers us to handle it. Sometimes there are days when we wonder if the money will be there, when the bills come in, but somehow he provides a way, and the bills are paid. There are other days when temptations seem too strong for us to resist, but somehow he provides a way of escape, and strength to resist. There are many examples that I could use where God gives us just enough strength and energy to get through, whatever trouble and trials that comes our way. We all have difficult times in our life, but when we face these struggles, God is always there to help us get through them. He promises us that he will never forsake us or leave us, and will never load us down with troubles that are more than we can bear. Yes, God is always there by our side, even though we do not think about him, or call on him as often as we should, he never leaves our side. God can give us strength to get through our difficult times, and can give us wisdom and guidance, to handle any situation that comes our way. I would encourage each of you, to remember that God is always there for you. When you are faced with any problem or difficulty, call upon God. He will be there with you, helping you deal with your situations, giving you strength, and the energy necessary to overcome any difficulty. 206

My Daily Devotional

July 20

Volume III

God Can Do More Than We Ask

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 God is able to do much more than we can ever ask for and imagine in our life, as he tells us that anything is possible when we have enough faith and trust in him. If we truly believe that anything is possible, why do we not have enough faith and believe that anything we ask for will be granted? If we truly believe in this, why don’t we expect to be cured of our cancer and healed of our other diseases? Why do we become so fretful, angry and frustrated when things don’t happen the way we want them to, or in our time frame? Why do we hang on to our problems, such as broken marriages, troubled children and family issues, instead of asking God to mend these for us? Why doesn’t our finances improve to the point, that we are content and feel safe and secure? God tells us that everything is possible, but we just don’t have the faith and trust in God that we need to have to make all these things happen. If only we could have the faith of a tiny mustard seed we could even make mountains move, let alone solve our own small problems. The answer to all our problems, our difficulties in life and our daily trials lie within reach of all of us, and that is to increase our faith and trust in God, to the point that he will answer all our requests. When we reach this point however, we will find that the things we were concerned about before are not the concerns that we now have, as so many of our current concerns are things that are of the world, and do not matter anymore. God is able to do immeasurably more than you could ever ask for or imagine, so why don’t you begin living and believing it today. 207

My Daily Devotional

July 21

Volume III

Give a Gift of Life

“Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Acts 3:6 The scripture above tells about a man who had been lame from birth, that was carried every day to the temple gate to beg. Everyone who passed by him, to enter the temple, knew who he was, and the condition he was in. But this was not an ordinary day, as Peter and John were passing by, and the man asked Peter for money. Peter did not have any money to give, but he gave him all he had to give, which was the faith of a Christian who believed in Jesus Christ. The amazing thing about this story, is that you and I have exactly what Peter had, both for our life and also to give to others. We do not have to have money or wealth to give away, but we can share and give our faith in Jesus Christ to others. Jesus tells us that by faith, we can also do miracles, as if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we can receive whatever we ask for. Most of the time when we think about giving, we think about writing a check or giving cash to help someone who is in need, but we need to remember that a gift of faith in Jesus Christ is a much greater gift to give to anyone. If we are able to give someone an eternal life, by getting them to accept Jesus as their savior, this is the greatest gift of all. We have the opportunity to have the same relationship that Peter had with God, and our faith can be as strong as we want it to be. The results of our giving can be as lifechanging as the results of Peter’s. The next time when you are faced with a genuine need from someone asking you to give, think about the gift that Peter gave, and offer them the gift of an everlasting life with Christ Jesus. Money isn’t everything, as an eternal life is a gift worth many times more than silver or gold, and is more precious than any other gift you could give. 208

My Daily Devotional

July 22

Volume III

God, Heal our Land

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2nd Chronicles 7:14 When God spoke to King Solomon, about what He would do when his people humbled themselves and prayed, He gave them a great promise. He said, “I will heal your land.” If ever there was a time in America that our great nation is at a cultural and spiritual crossroad, it is today. The battle for the soul of our nation, and its entire population is raging. The materialism, sexual perversion, drug and alcohol addiction, abortions, divorce rates and family values, has set our nation on a road that is leading to an unparalleled crisis, like we have never seen before. It appears that all of this moral failure of the family, and their compromised values, has caused God to look with disfavor on our great nation. Satan is currently winning the battle for the soul of our land. The Bible holds the only answer to this dilemma, as shown in the scripture above, and that is that the Church and its body of believers, must begin to seek God with a renewed vigor, and turn from our wicked ways. The so called Christian majority of our great nation make up the bulk of the population, and I am convinced that if we don’t begin to stand up in faith, and pray to God, and change our behaviors that there is little hope for America’s once bright future. It is time that all believers commit themselves to stand behind the Old and New Testament scriptures, and come to God in earnest prayer, with clean hands and pure hearts, and ask Him to intervene on behalf of our nation. If we start now to humble ourselves, and ask him for forgiveness, God will hear our prayers, and will again heal our land. 209

My Daily Devotional

July 23

Volume III

Give Thanks To God Daily

“Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20 Do you sing and make music in your heart daily to the Lord? This is such an inspiring scripture that all of us should aspire to do each day. How often do we really give God thanks for all that He has done in our lives? I mean really taking the time to look up into the face of Jesus, and with grateful hearts of praise, offer sincere thanks to Him. I think we can all honestly say not often enough. Most people only go to God when they are having troubles in their lives, and need help to solve their problems. This is good, but we need to go to God each morning even when things seem rosy for us, and thank Him for blessing us. We live in a nation that so far God has blessed, as most of us have material possessions that far outweigh what our ancestors had. God has blessed us with many things, and when we wake up in the morning we should thank God for all our blessings. He should be first on our thoughts and our minds each day, and our lives should be focused on doing His will during the hours ahead. The scripture above says to give thanks for all things, even the small things that we often take for granted, as God has provided them to us. I believe that a thankful heart is something that will get God’s attention, more than anything we could do each day, but it needs to be a heart that is filled with, faith, gratitude, and sincerity and really come from within us, and show God that we really are thankful. We need to learn to offer thanks to God with a grateful heart, regardless of what we are going through. I would encourage each of you to begin your day with a “Prayer of Thanksgiving” to God. 210

My Daily Devotional

July 24

Volume III

Test Yourself

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith, test yourselves.” 2nd Corinthians 13:5 Every day almost all of us will have problems and difficulties that Satan will send our way that will test our faith. Satan wants us to constantly be in a state of confusion, not knowing which way to turn, as we are vulnerable to temptations during this time. Knowing that we will be attacked in this manner, it is important to keep reminding ourselves that God is the only one that matters, and that he is in control. We must constantly test ourselves, and reflect back to see that we are not losing our focus, and taking our eyes off God. It is easy to be distracted by the ways of the world, and compromise our values and succumb to the things that others do. Just because our friends go to see a movie or listen to music that is not justifiable in God’s sight, does not mean that we need to follow along. This is what has happened to our generation, as we have compromised our family values, just a little at a time, until now something that our ancestors and God would not have permitted, is now acceptable as routine. There is no compromise in God’s eyes, as if something is just a little bad, it is completely bad. Just a few bad words in a movie or a song, contaminates the entire production and we should not compromise our values, because the next movie and song may have a few more bad words, which will shortly lead to us compromising our values even more. I would encourage each of you to examine and test yourselves, and determine if you are slowly compromising your values. Are you following the ways of the world and succumbing to the temptations from others around you. Ask yourself if God would be pleased with what you are allowing to come into your life and your homes. Test yourself to see if you are in the faith. 211

My Daily Devotional

July 25

Volume III

Give Yourself Fully

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1st Corinthians 15:58 Because of Christ’s resurrection, we know that serving Him is not useless activity, as our labor is not in vain. Our effort is invested in the Lord’s winning cause, and we will be rewarded at His second coming. During the past several years I have observed that most people are prone to set back, and not give 100% of themselves to doing work for God. It is difficult to find people to distribute food to the needy, to help counsel with people who are going through tough times in their lives, or to generally just help people who are in need of other assistance. Most of these people are willing to discuss the problems and offer solutions, but when it comes to actually doing the work, most want to set back and wait for someone else to do the work. Just as the saying goes, “there usually are too many chiefs and not enough Indians”. This is not giving yourself fully to the Lord and doing His work. God gives us clear and concise commands about helping our neighbors who are in need, and when we let our other commitments get in the way, we are committing a sin in the eyes of God. I believe we can commit just as great a sin by not doing something, as we can by doing something that we know is wrong. When we see someone going hungry, or needing clothing or shelter, and do not respond to their needs, when we have the resources to help, we have sinned in God’s eyes. Please take a moment and look at your own lives to see if you are giving yourself fully to the work of the Lord. Jesus tells you to love others as you love yourself. Take time to test yourself to see if you are following His commands. When you give fully to do God’s work, your labor will not be in vain. 212

My Daily Devotional

July 26

Volume III

Resist Temptations

“And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1st Corinthians 10:13 All Christians face daily temptations in our walk with Christ. Everywhere we go and in everything we do, Satan is there to tempt us to do things that are evil, and things that test our faith. Everywhere we look there is advertising, books, television and music that is tempting us to do wrong. Even our friends, peers, and sometimes even our family, try to persuade us to join the crowd, and do things that are not right in the sight of God. I believe that one of the most important things we can do to ward off temptations is to face them head on. In order to do this we need to prepare ourselves, just as God tells us to do in Psalms 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” If we expect the enemy to attack us we need to be ready, as it should not be any surprise. We need to stand up and in the name of the Lord declare: I do not care how you got here Satan, but I was expecting you, as I knew that I was going to have troubles and be tempted in this world, so you are no surprise to me. But I am ready for you Satan, as I have God on my side, and he has even prepared a table before me in your presence, and I am going to enjoy a heavenly feast right before your eyes, and there is nothing that you can do about it. My God and I are in control and your power cannot tempt me. If we keep this kind of attitude and faith in God to help us withstand any kind of temptation, we will be able to ward off any attack that Satan will throw against us. I would encourage each of you to anticipate temptations on a daily basis, and when you are tempted think about this scripture and let God help you resist and prepare your own table in front of Satan. 213

My Daily Devotional

July 27

Volume III

Judgment Day

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2nd Corinthians 5:10 One day each of us will stand before Christ, and be judged on all the good things and bad things we ever did. This will be a day that all the records of our lives will be opened for Christ to see and hold us accountable for. There will be no stone left unturned, or nothing about us that will be hidden from his sight, as all our sins will be laid at his feet. There will be nothing that we can do to make ourselves look better, as there will not be a defense attorney appointed to protect our rights. There will not be any in-between sins or grey areas to debate, as all our sins will be held against us. But God promises us that he will reward us for all the good we do. I believe he will base his rewards on the opportunities God gave us to serve him, along with the abilities and gifts he provided each of us. He doesn’t expect the same level of achievement or amount of work from everybody, but he will assess how we responded when God opened a door of service for us, and he will reward our obedience. Jesus will be righteous, so his judgments will be accurate and fair. Believers’ obedient deeds will result in eternal rewards, however, for those who don’t have a relationship with God; they will suffer eternal separation from God. What can we do to get ready for our judgment day? The most important thing we can do is to immediately ask Jesus to come into our hearts, and ask him to forgive us of our sins, and promise to obey his commands for the rest of our life. When we have committed our lives to Jesus, we then do not have to fear our judgment day, but can look forward to receiving our rich rewards according to the good deeds we have done. 214

My Daily Devotional

July 28

Volume III

Remember the Scars

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5 Sometimes we just don’t take the time to think about the sacrifice that Jesus made that day on the cross for us. I remember a story about a respected general who fought for the south in the Civil War. His name was General John Gordon. After the war, he was running for the United States Senate, but a man who had served under him during the war, had become angry about one of his political stances and was fighting General Gordon’s bid to become a senator. During the convention, this man angrily stomped down the aisle with his anti-Gordon vote in hand. As he saw General Gordon sitting on the platform, he noticed how his once handsome face was disfigured with the scars of battle— marks of his willingness to suffer and bleed for a cause he believed in. He was suddenly filled with remorse, and overcome with emotion, said, “It’s no use: I can’t do it. Here’s my vote for the General.” Then, turning to the General, he said, “Forgive me, General, I had forgotten the scars.” What a difference it makes in our lives when we remember the scars. With so many things to distract us, we don’t often take time each day to reflect on what Jesus went through on the cross for us, but when we are tempted to stray, the cross and the scars remind us of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, and it draws us back to him. We need to take the time each day to reflect and remember the scars that Jesus endured for each of us, and then thank him for suffering the way he did for us, and saving us from our sins. I would encourage each of you to take a moment right now to pause and “remember the scars.” 215

My Daily Devotional

July 29

Volume III

A Sense of Duty

“So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, we are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.” Luke 17:10 Sometimes we have to do things, even when we don’t feel like doing them. It’s called having a sense of duty. When we go to church on Sunday and hear our pastor talk about the importance of doing things for God because we want to, and not because we have to, many people do not follow through on this principle because it is not a requirement. I can recall a humorous joke which illustrates this so well. Early one morning, a mother went in to wake up her son. “Wake up son; it’s time to go to school.” “But why, mom, I don’t want to go.” “Give me two reasons why you don’t want to go to school today.” “Well, the kids hate me for one, and the teachers hate me too.” “Oh, that’s no reason not to go to school. Come on now and get ready.” “Give me two reasons why I should go to school.” “Well, for one, you’re 52 years old, and for another, you’re the principal.” This is the way it is with many people as they know that they need to serve God, but they don’t feel like it at this time. This is why we have so many Sunday morning Christians, as they think they need to only serve God on Sunday morning, and the rest of the time is theirs to spend as they please. When we only serve God when we really feel like it, our service is going to be minimal indeed. We need to have a sense of duty to serve God at all times, and know that serving him is the right thing to do. We need to rededicate ourselves to serve God every morning as we need to develop a sense of duty to serve him, and make this a mandatory part of our morning. I would encourage you to give yourself entirely to God each morning and then let him lead you all through the day and serve him. 216

My Daily Devotional

July 30

Volume III

You Reap What You Sow

“A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8 Last night at one of my board meetings, we spent a few minutes discussing how our organization had grown over the past few years. Someone mentioned the seed money that was invested at the beginning, and how it had grown and multiplied to become the organization it was today. This is the way that God wants each of our lives to be like, as the small seeds that we sow each day needs to grow and multiply and produce bountiful harvest in whatever we do. If we sow the seed of diligence, honesty and hard work in our jobs, our harvest will be a promotion. If we sow the seed of love in our family, our harvest will be children that will love us in return, and result in a happy and joyful family. If we sow the seed of giving with our tithes, our harvest will be financial blessings bestowed upon ourselves, and our storehouses will be overflowing. The Bible tells us “whatever we sow, so shall we reap”. We need to remember that everything we have came from God, and that everything we will receive in the future will come from God. He is our total source for everything in our life, both now and in the future. God wants us to be blessed in everything we do, and wants us to sow seeds of righteousness, wherever we go and in whatever we do, so that he can bless us. The secret of our future is in our hands, and is determined by the seeds we sow today. The seeds we sow today can create any future we want. We need to always keep the principal that “whatever we sow, so shall we reap” in our minds, and plant good seeds, and expect a good harvest from God, in whatever we do. 217

My Daily Devotional

July 31

Volume III

God Is All Powerful

“You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.” Psalm 89:9 God has been and still is all powerful, and can create life and destroy it in an instant. I am reminded of his power by reflecting back at the power of the tsunami that hit the coast of fourteen countries from Southeast Asia to Northeastern Africa in late December 2004. This tsunami was created by a massive earthquake, which had a magnitude of 9.0, which struck deep under the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the Island of Sumatra. The disaster that resulted from this earthquake and the tsunami obliterated cities, villages and popular holiday resorts along all the coast lines of these cities. The death toll from this catastrophe amounted to over 290,000, with thousands of others left injured. This entire region was left devastated and with losses they will never recover from. This demonstrates how our lives can change in an instant, as God has the power to suddenly allow a disaster such as this, and take away all our material possessions and everything we own. In the same way God can also change our lives for the good in an instant. He can bring us healing for our bodies from our diseases, he can allow the blind to see and the lame to walk, he can cure our finances, and heal our relationships. We still see examples today of His power. But the most important and powerful thing that God can do for us is to give us an eternal life, where we will never have to be concerned anymore about earthquakes, tsunamis, or diseases. God gives hope for all that sincerely desire to be free from sin. He can heal wounds that have not healed, and restore broken relationships. God is there to help deal with all our troubles, but most of all He will give us an everlasting life in Heaven with Him. 218

My Daily Devotional

August 1

Volume III

Set Your Goals

“May he give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” Psalm 20:4 I believe that one of the major causes of failure in the lives of people is their unwillingness to take the time to set their goals. If you do not know where you want to go in life, chances are you are not going to get there. You will be lost and continually spend your life from day to day trying to get by and not knowing where you are going. There are several reasons why people don’t set any goals for themselves, such as they do not know how to go about it, or they are afraid of possible failure, but the greatest is that they have not been taught the power and joy of such an action. Planning and goal setting takes the disorder out of life, as you know where you want to go and the steps needed to get you there. Proverbs 14:8 “The wise man looks ahead.” (TLB) The setting of specific goals is one good way of fulfilling the purpose God has for your life. For instance, you might have as a goal to be a better Christian this year. To fulfill that goal, one of your daily goals could be to read a specific amount of chapters in the Bible each day, or set up a morning prayer time. Goal setting may take some time, discipline, courage and patience but the rewards are very well worth the effort. You must decide for yourself what you really want out of life, as nobody else can decide for you. If you don’t care what happens to your life, no one else will. You need to ask God and seek his wisdom to make sure your goals and plans are ones he desires for you as well. Some people get comfortable in a particular job and stay with it for 20 years even though they may be missing a divine position God is wanting for them. Financial security to them is their job, not their Heavenly Father. It is important to know God’s goals and plans for your life. 219

My Daily Devotional

August 2

Volume III

Resisting Sin

“Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.” Proverbs 13:6 We are all born into this sinful world, and have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, but this does not have to continually be the pattern of our lives. Many times when we sin we tend to cast the blame on others, as was the case with the first sin when Adam and Eve blamed each other for their transgression. Many times there are reasons why we sin, as we use envy, strife, unforgiveness, revenge and jealousy to try to justify it, but it is no use as we are still the only ones to blame when we commit a sin. Satan is always on the prowl to tempt and entice us to do wrong, and will affect our thoughts, create doubt and any other logic that will cause confusion and disorder in our lives. We must always stay focused, and remember that it is Satan that is originating the assault against us, and not blame others that may be used as pawns to carry out his plans. The Bible tells us that we must discern for ourselves what is right and wrong, and that if we seek wisdom from God it will be given to us. Proverbs 2:6 “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.” The best defense against Satan’s attack is to put on the full armor of God, which includes knowing the truth which is given throughout the Bible, and knowing what God’s commands are. This truth will help us make the proper decisions, and give us wisdom and understanding, to find the proper path to travel throughout our lives. A righteous man will be a man of integrity, who is following the will of God and obeying His commands, and will be one that will shun evil and wickedness. Please remember that only you are responsible for your sins, but when you are faced by Satan’s attack God is there to defend you. 220

My Daily Devotional

August 3

Volume III

Let God Transform You

“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1st Corinthians 6:11 Over the years I have observed many, who are good and decent folks, who go to church on Sunday only to keep up the appearance that they are good Christian people. Their outward appearance is what matters to them, as their thoughts are only how they appear to others. Their involvement and thoughts about God rarely extend beyond the Sunday morning sermon. Their actions and activities are usually non existent when it comes to meeting the needs of the less fortunate in their community. If you see yourself as this kind of Sunday morning person, you need to think about transforming yourself into a more dynamic individual who is depicting God in your daily life, and not be concerned about your outward appearance. The thing that matters most to God is not your outward appearance, but your inner being, your spirit, your mind, your thoughts, but most of all your soul. What you need to seek is an internal as well as an external transformation. Some of us hope getting the outside clean and keeping appearances up to date will suffice. Deep down, however, we fear that if we let God in too close, if we open up our hearts and truly let Him look inside us, then we will have to change significantly. Our hidden sins, our pettiness, our grip on pride, our self centered attitudes are suddenly threatened if we let God really come into our lives. God can transform us if we open ourselves up to Him, and let Him come into our hearts. Becoming a real Christian is critical in this transformation, as God will empower us and strengthen us through His Spirit. When we come to Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit cleanses us and makes us holy. 221

My Daily Devotional

August 4

Volume III

Become A New Christian

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:10-12 The previous devotional talked about becoming transformed and truly accepting Jesus into our hearts. The apostle Paul reminded the Christians in the wicked city of Corinth that they had been horrible sinners. He gives them a long laundry list of sins that they described in their lives. Then he says: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” He is telling them that God has cleansed them inside and out. In a later letter to the same church, Paul reminds them that the Holy Spirit gives them freedom to become what they couldn’t become without Him; God’s children with power like Christ. The presence of the Holy Spirit is the defining mark of who is a Christian and who isn’t. One of the great gifts of salvation is the gift of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. One of the great blessings of being a Christian is that we can ask God to empower us and strengthen us through His Spirit. While the spirit is always present in us, He gives us special power to meet our obstacles and also fulfill our opportunities. Giving thanks to God and obeying His commands and doing His will for our lives are things that each of us can do to begin this transformation. We need to also seek God’s will by studying his Word. The Scriptures are Spirit-inspired, and when we read, study and meditate on God’s will in Scripture, the Spirit helps us understand what is said, and convicts us of what is wrong in our life. It also empowers us to live out what God has called us to do, and fulfill his plan for us. 222

My Daily Devotional

August 5

Volume III

Let God Lead the Way

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.” Isaiah 42:16 It is good to have dreams and plans for the future, as this is what keeps us motivated and many times moving ahead. Many of us have gotten to the place we are today because of the dreams and plans we made years ago. However many people have gotten where they are by circumstances that they have not planned for, and are living day to day dealing with things as they come, with still no plan for the future. I believe most Christians would prefer to follow God’s lead and stay on course, rather than go their own way and stumble along. I know that when I am uncertain about the correct decision or path to take, I can find direction and peace in my decisions by asking God for help. When we follow God and His plan for us, we do not have to worry about where we are going, as we always know that He is going to lead us to the right destination. One of the keys to unlocking the doors to our future is prayer. Prayer can bring us peace of mind when it comes to making decisions or deciding which road to travel about our future. Just a quiet time with God can give us a direction, and provide us with the wisdom needed to make the right decision, about what to do. If you don't know where the Lord is leading you, or are uncertain about the path to follow, or the decisions you need to make, don’t worry because you have the Word of God, and the Scriptures from God’s Holy Bible to give you wisdom and understanding to set you on your journey. God gives you His road map to let you get to your proper destination. If you follow the wisdom and advice found in the pages of His Holy Word, you will find success in whatever you do and wherever you go. 223

My Daily Devotional

August 6

Volume III

Our First Times

“Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” Revelation: 1:17

Have you ever thought how we remember our favorite “firsts”, and how these are many times the most memorable moments of our lives. For example, the first time I saw my children after they were born, or saw my wife for the first time, or the first time I caught my first fish, were moments that will always be etched in our memories, and will last our lifetimes. Have you ever thought about the very first day, and what a wonder this must have been as God surveyed what he had created. Or the first man, when God saw Adam walking around in the Garden of Eden. Take a moment and think about all that you value in your life, and pretend for a moment that you could awaken tomorrow and experience them once more—for the first time. I am confident that each of us can think of many things that we value more than anything in our lives, and would love to relive these “first times” again. There are also times in our past that I would refer to as our “dark times”. Each of us has our own “dark times”, but instead of wanting to relive these moments, these are the times we would like to forget and never be reminded of again. These are the times we were hurt, disappointed, suffered failure, and are times we want to forget. The truth is that we will never be able to bring back either of these times, even if we wanted to. They are gone forever, and we either have a good or bad memory of them. The thing we must concentrate on now is our future. We need to get excited about our tomorrow, and make all our new “first times” ones that will become our favorites, and ones that we will value. Jesus is the answer to make our future the brightest yet, as he can remove all the “dark times” from our past, and make all our new “first times” the best ones possible as they will last for all eternity. 224

My Daily Devotional

August 7

Volume III

God’s Great Commission

“Then the master told his servant, Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. Luke 14:23 As I have been growing in my walk with God I have discovered that in so many of our churches today, everyone gets so focused on the church community within the church, that we forget the community outside the walls of the church building we attend. Jesus gave us the Great Commission to all churches to go out into the land and make disciples of all mankind. As Christians we are to reach out and be ambassadors for Him, in our communities and throughout the world. I am witnessing so many of our churches who have wonderful programs set up, such as small groups, where the purpose is to train members of their congregations to go out into the community and reach the people. However, they are failing so badly in that they are forever “training” but never “doing”. They constantly minister to each other in these small groups, supposedly getting each other prepared. This small group then trains others, with the bottom line being that all the time is spent training to go out but no one ever goes out to become actual workers for God. This reminds me so much of a recent commercial, where as a man sits at a table choking to death on a piece of food which is stuck in his throat, while others are calmly sitting and talking about how to administer the Heimlich maneuver. No one does anything to help the man, but continue to talk about the procedure. It is time that our churches begin “acting” instead of “talking” about planning and training. There are souls that are being lost in the meantime, due to this irresponsible behavior. It is time to become a doer instead of a talker and actually reach out. 225

My Daily Devotional

August 8

Volume III

God’s Great Commission #2

“Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” Luke 14:21 This week a dear lady that we give food to passed away. In the previous devotional I discussed the irresponsible behavior of so many of our churches today in reaching the lost in our communities. I know that a large percentage of people in our churches do not think they are called to be evangelists, but we all can do the work of evangelism. We are witnesses for God, to others wherever we are and wherever we go. Our mission as a Christian should be to share with others outside the church about the goodness of God and win the lost so that none will perish. However, I find very few Christians doing this, as it is difficult in our community to find people who are willing to work with the needy in distributing food, providing clothing or shelter, or even praying with someone who is having trouble. Meanwhile they are in weekly home groups with other Christians being trained to go out and reach the lost. The lost are not in the churches or in the home groups. They are in the lines waiting to get food for their families, or waiting to get a pair of shoes at the local community center. There is nothing like on the job training to make a difference in the lives of these needy people. The church family does not have to receive a degree from the pastor to be able to help distribute food or show someone that you love them. It does not take a diploma from the church to be able to pray with someone who is having financial difficulties and no place to stay. It is time to start putting the training to use, and time for our churches to actually start sending out their members to reach out and win souls for Christ in our communities, as each day we are missing out on being able to reach someone for Christ, and for some it is too late. 226

My Daily Devotional

August 9

Volume III

God’s Great Commission #3

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2nd Corinthians 4:8-9 I have been going through some difficult times lately dealing with the issues of getting churches involved in reaching outside of their churches into the community and saving souls for Christ. Each day that passes it seems like we lose another dear person to death that we have been ministering to where we are not certain that they have received Christ in their life. When this happens I wonder have I done enough, and what could I have done better or differently? Many times it seems that no one else is concerned about the plight of our community, as our churches are not responding to the call of these people. Yes, we have some volunteers that are faithful workers that help distribute food and clothing to the needy, but such a small percentage of the need is actually met. The time our few volunteers have to spend with these people is very limited due to the volume of need. We should have the time to know them and be able to share the Word of God with them and tell them about Jesus. We have people in the local agencies that are crying out for help in dealing with family issues, financial issues and relationships issues which offers such a great avenue to minister to them and tell them about Jesus and win their souls to Christ, but we are failing miserably in our church family providing this to them. Each time I see an obituary in our local paper about one of these folks, I wonder if they were saved, and did we provide information about Jesus to them. There is so much that our churches could be doing to win souls for Christ that is going undone. I would ask all of you to pray that God will inspire our churches to respond and reach out to save these souls. 227

My Daily Devotional

August 10

Volume III

God’s Great Commission #4

“Remember this; Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” 2nd Corinthians 9:6 As you can gather from the previous three devotionals, and many others throughout my writings, winning souls for Christ is such an important part of my life and has been the sole purpose of my ministry during these past years. All the programs I have developed have been built around meeting needs, but most of all reaching these people and ministering to them, and telling them about Jesus. I have found that the people who are in need are usually the ones that need Jesus the most in their lives, because they are normally in their plight because they have not followed the commands and will of God in their lives. There is so much need all around us, and it is so easy to assemble any size or group of people that we want to assemble. It is easy to assemble groups of teenagers, the elderly, the sick, the unemployed, the alcoholics and drug addicted, the blind, the disabled, the divorced, etc. These are the people that need to be ministered to by our church family the most, as God gives us his Great Commission to reach out to these people and bring them to Christ. During the past several years we have assembled groups of almost all of these people together and have tried to get our church pastors, deacons and church leaders to minister to these lost people, help them with their problems, but most of all lead them to Christ. It is sad that so few of our churches, do not seem to care enough to become involved in these types of ministries, but even sadder that they do not have any programs of their own that are reaching out. It is time for a revival of our churches and time for them to begin reaching out and fulfilling their duty to save lost souls. 228

My Daily Devotional

August 11

Volume III

God’s Great Commission #5

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19 The mission of Jesus is to set the captive free. My Cousin Pastor Randy Rice preached this message some time ago which ties in very well with my previous four devotionals, and much of his message is shown below. Jesus declared his mission publicly from the outset of his ministry when he spoke the scripture above. The question is how can we, as the people of God fulfill the mission of Jesus and empower the people of God to do the work of Jesus in the world? I am convinced the body of Christ in America has lost its way in the matter of its mission because we have neglected the work of the Holy Spirit. Many leaders in the body of Christ are so bound up themselves and have grieved the Holy Spirit so much that the only thing that moves in the Sunday service is the clock. People leave the same way they came in, broken, bound, feeling helpless, and destitute. Many churches in America never see a conversion, a healing, deliverance, or broken hearts mended because the leaders refuse to allow it to happen, and the church people are themselves bound by the very same habits, compromise, and sinful pursuits as the ones who have never experienced God’s deliverance. The body of Christ needs revival. We need a God sent, Spirit empowered, sin cleansing revival in the church in America today. These words of Randy tied in so well with what I have been saying that I wanted to share them with you. We need to pray as Randy stated for revival in our churches, and for the pastors, elders, deacons and others to begin a revival in their own hearts and then pass this on to their members. 229

My Daily Devotional

August 12

Volume III

Our Children Need To Know God

“Only be careful and watch yourself closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” Deuteronomy 4:9 Parents have an obligation to their children to teach them about God, and to instill in them good moral family values. Children learn more from their parents, and are influenced more than from any other source. Our children are watching, listening and learning from us every day. A recent statistical study suggests that if neither parent is involved in worship and discipleship, then their children would be ninety-five percent more likely not to participate in either. When the mother alone takes part in worship and discipleship, her children are thirty percent more likely to involve themselves in both of these areas as well. If only the father partakes in worship and discipleship, his children are fifty percent more likely to be involved. However, with both father and mother actively participating in worship and discipleship, their children are eighty-five percent more likely to have the same desire. With these powerful statistics, it is obvious that parents are the key-influencers of their children’s spiritual growth and development. Every Christian family must nurture their children in the ways of God. The big problem in our society however, is that it is difficult to get parents in church to minister to them. This is where many of our churches have lost their focus as they are not getting outside of their church walls to reach the lost. God’s Great Commission is to spread the gospel of Jesus to all the world, and this takes a commitment from every church to go out into their community in every possible venue to spread the word of God; then our society can return to God and our children can be saved. 230

My Daily Devotional

August 13

Volume III

Practice Humility

“A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools blurts out folly.” Proverbs 12:23 The scripture above reminds me of a board member at one of the hospitals where I worked, who was always trying to impress everyone by bringing up the fact that he had graduated from Harvard Law School. No matter what the subject was he could always find some way to bring this up in a conversation, and usually wanted to dominate any conversation. Even though he evidently was a well educated man, he was never able to apply his knowledge to his job as a board member or to his profession, as he was not a very good attorney and the public and people he came into contact with quickly realized this. On this same board was another attorney who had gotten his Law Degree from a small state university who was a brilliant man, and had a well established practice in town. He was a very quiet man but when he spoke everyone listened as he always knew the solutions to any of the problems and situations the hospital encountered. Jesus talked throughout the New Testament about the Pharisees who gave the eloquent speeches, and prayed long prayers in public, but did not walk the talk, and led lives that were less than Godly. Jesus tells us that we need to humble ourselves around people, and not try to impress them by our wealth, our power, our prestige or any other means. Others need to see us as we are, Godly men and women, living Godly lives and obeying and following God’s commands. The way we live our lives needs to be our testimony to others, as they need to see us being a caring, respecting and loving individual who does not have our own individual concerns in mind, but are always thinking about others around us. I believe Jesus was this kind of man, as he humbled himself to others. 231

My Daily Devotional

August 14

Volume III

Pray for God’s Deliverance

“For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1st Peter 4:17 As you can probably gather from my previous devotionals, I believe that God is going to shortly punish our great nation for the sins we are allowing to happen to our society. We as Americans are not standing up and being a force and preventing the moral decay of our nation. We are allowing the pagan society to bring us to the point of destruction, and God is going to pass judgment on us as he did on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroy us as he did them. The church of God is a force that needs to heed the words of God, and change our wicked ways and take back our country and become a Godly people again. This change needs to start in our churches and with our church leaders. We have gotten away from God’s commands and are concentrating on ourselves instead of concentrating on bringing the lost to Christ. We have allowed the killing of unborn babies, removal of prayer from our schools, homosexuality, drug and alcohol addition and other perverse behaviors to take over our values. We have thrown God out of our daily worship, and have succumbed to the ways of the world, and we are going to pay the price for our wicked behavior. It is time for all Christians to take a stand and seek God again. We need to cry out to God to heal our land. He tells us that if we seek him and seek His heart He will hear us and come to our rescue. He will intervene in the hearts of our young, our old, the ones with addictions, sexual perversions and all other sins. If God’s people begin to pray today and call upon the name of the Lord, He will hear our prayers, and will heal our land and bring it back to the righteous behavior that He intended for us to have. 232

My Daily Devotional

August 15

Volume III

Pray for our Nation

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2nd Chronicles 7:14 The American people are God’s people as well as the people of Israel, as the Bible and the scriptures were also written for the people of today. The Bible was not just for the people who lived in the Old Testament days, and Jesus reiterated this throughout the New Testament that all people who follow His laws and His commandments will be His people for all generations to come. God tells us in the scripture above that if His people will humble themselves and pray, and seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways, that He will hear us and will heal our land. When we look at our nation today, we find that we are turning our backs on God and allowing the wickedness of the world to overcome us. As I was doing research a few days ago I ran across a survey that showed that in 1990 there were 88.4% of American’s that were Christians. In 2001 this percentage had dropped to 81.1% of the population that were Christians, a decrease of 7.3% in just 11 years. Even with this drop in the number of Christians we have allowed God to be taken out of our government, our schools and our society. We have allowed a minority of citizens to change our laws, our government and our justice system. As a nation and especially as Christians we are failing miserably in following the commands and will of God in our great country. God has not forgotten our nation, but we have forgotten Him. We are still His people and if we want to restore our nation and regain His favor, it is time that we as citizens begin to take a stand and begin to seek God’s face and pray for Him to hear our prayers and heal our land. 233

My Daily Devotional

August 16

Volume III

The Winter Of Life

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” 2nd Timothy 4:2 We need to be mindful all during our lives that there are different times that we all go through. There are times of learning, where we are taught the good things of life; things that God would have us do. There are times when we need to live out these good things that Jesus gives us. Then there are times when, if we have sowed our good seeds when we reap the harvest of what we have sown. Our seasons have a way of coming at us before we know it and soon we find it is our winter season. Time has a way of moving quickly and catching us unaware of the passing years. I know it seems like only yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my wonderful wife. I have passed through the first three seasons and now find myself in the winter of my life. But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I’m not sure how long it will last, that I have very few regrets. Yes there are things that I wish I had done differently and better, and things that I still haven’t gotten accomplished, but I am pleased with my life and what God has provided me and blessed me with. Life goes by so quickly, and I would encourage each of you to do what you can today, as you can never be sure just how long your winter will last. You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life—so live for good today. Say all the good things that you want your loved ones to remember, and teach them by your example, the good things that God has given you. Be their mentor, their teacher and their example in the way you live. Life is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after you. Make it one they will follow. 234

My Daily Devotional

August 17

Volume III

Reflections of Life

“You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!” Galatians 4:10 We all see the power of God in our lives when we make Him number one in our lives and follow His commands. As I look back on my life I can see how God has worked in me, and how He has influenced me, and made me the person I have become. I believe that in the winter of our lives God gives us the wisdom and understanding to reflect back on our lives and see our accomplishments and also our failures. Old age is winter for many people, but for those who are wise and optimistic, it is the happiest and most fruitful time of their life as they now begin to see the abundance of their harvest. We can see the fruits of our labor begin to be manifested in our children and our grandchildren, as they bring back the memories of our own childhood, and we relive aspects of our youth all over again. Old age arrives suddenly, as does the snow, as one morning on awakening one realizes that everything is white. However I believe that by growing old one learns to remain young, as we can now understand and rid ourselves of our shortcomings, because they no longer serve any useful purpose. We can now see how God begins to put all the pieces of His magnificent puzzle into place, and can begin to see His design, His purpose for all things and can see our part in completing this amazing puzzle. Even as through the effect of the setting sun on the beautiful twilights of autumn we can see our reason and place in God’s magnificent and beautiful world. Things that used to cause us grief, worry and strife no longer seem to be the important things of life as we now get a glimpse of the future that God has planned for us; a future that far surpasses what God has given us in this life. 235

My Daily Devotional

August 18

Volume III

God May Be Speaking To You

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” Hebrews 5:7

Throughout our lives I believe God speaks to us. We may not receive his words through an audible loud voice or through visions or dreams where we are struck with awe. I believe that God can speak softly to us through gentle whispers, and through our thoughts. God places His will for our lives in our hearts and keeps reminding us of His plan for us. He tells us that He knows all our thoughts, and knows all about us, even before we were born. God’s plan and will for our lives is imbedded in our hearts, and is engrained in our minds from the beginning of our lives, but so often we do not open ourselves up enough to let His words come through. I know that I had heard these gentle whispers from God long before I opened my heart and really let His words sink in. Many times it takes difficult situations and trials in our lives before God gets our attention to allow Him to talk to us. Many times it takes a health issue, financial issue or a relationship issue to bring us to the realization that we cannot do it on our own, and need God’s help to bring us out of our despair and right our ship and allow us to continue. This is how God so often got the attention of the people of Israel, as before they really heard and began to obey God they suffered difficult times and situations where there was no place to turn to except God. Many times God needs to get our attention before we begin to hear Him. If you are in a situation at this moment, maybe this is the time that you need to turn to God for help. This may be the moment that you realize that you cannot handle the situation by yourself and need God’s help to right your ship. God is always there for you, and if you ask Him for help He can calm your storms and take away your fears. He is waiting for you to respond, as this may be your time. 236

My Daily Devotional

August 19

Volume III

Obey the Sabbath

“There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.” Hebrews 4:9-10 Throughout the Bible God tells us about a time for rest, a Sabbath; a time where we take time out from our busy schedules, and spend renewing ourselves and spend building our relationship with God. I believe that we all need our Sabbath’s where we can reflect on the goodness of God and his mercy and the blessings that he bestows on us. People in today’s society get so caught up in the hustle and bustle that we do not take the time to slow down and smell the roses. The Sabbath should be our time to stand back and reflect on what God does in our life each day. This is the time that we need to give Him thanks for the blessing He gives us. All of us need this Sabbath, this time that we devote to God. Begin by thanking Him for some little thing, and then go on, day by day, adding to your subjects of praise…until you see in everything some cause for thanksgiving. Our praises of thanksgiving need to be carried throughout our days and weeks, but a good time to begin is during our Sabbath day. God needs to be number one in our lives daily, as He commands us to throughout the Bible, but so often we lose this sense of dedication and need our Sabbath day to bring us back, and get our minds and thoughts refocused on serving and obeying His commands and making Him first and foremost in our lives. The Sabbath day is critical to God as this is one of His ten commandments, and one that He expects us to follow faithfully during our life. I would encourage each of you to begin to honor God throughout the week, and make Him number one in your life, and on the Sabbath day to set this day aside as a day of rest and spend the time letting Him know you love Him. 237

My Daily Devotional

August 20

Volume III

Seek God’s Word

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 2nd Timothy 4:3 In these perilous times we live in, it is so important to know the Word of God, so we can discern what the real truth of God really is. So often we try to find reasons that suit our own desires, and follow teachings and beliefs that give us justification to do what we want to do. There is only one way that each of us can be assured that we are following the real Word of God, and that is to seek the wisdom given to us throughout the Bible for ourselves. There are answers for almost any situation that we will ever encounter throughout God’s Holy word, and these answers will be given to us when we seek them. It is extremely important to spend time each day seeking this wisdom and then applying this knowledge to our daily living. God’s commands will take us to a new level when we consistently apply them to our lives. When we make God number one in our lives, and seek Him daily, He will open the floodgates to this wisdom and fill our hearts with the knowledge that we need, in order to bring peace and joy to our lives. The more time we spend with Him daily, in seeking this wisdom the more understanding we will receive in return. God’s wisdom will enable us to grow and mature in our spiritual walk, and will give us the assurance that how we are living our life is pleasing to Him. When we live each day with God first in our lives, we will begin to experience the overflowing blessings that He will bestow on us. Our lives will change, our attitudes will improve, things will be brighter and we will now have hope for our future. God can make a difference in our lives if we seek him. 238

My Daily Devotional

August 21

Volume III

The Road to Heaven

“But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” 1st John 3:5-6 This is a powerful scripture and one that every new Christian needs to embrace. Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God promises to take away our past sins and forgive us. He puts into our hearts the desire to be righteous from that point forward, and live a life that would be pleasing to Him. The sins of our past are now forgiven, and we are to move forward in our life, living and obeying the commands of God. We must now make God first and foremost in our daily lives, and follow His will in all things that we do. There is no more room in our life to continue to sin, as we did before we were saved and accepted Him. Our thoughts, our behavior and our actions must now be centered around Jesus and following and obeying His commands. The Bible tells us that the road is narrow that leads to Heaven, and few will find it, but wide is the road that leads to destruction. The Christian that finds this narrow road will be the ones that seek His commands and live them out in their daily life. The road to Heaven is given to us in God’s Holy Word, and we must begin to embrace God’s commands for our lives and live each day holding these truths in our hearts and displaying them in our thoughts and actions. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our lives will be changed, and our focus will now be on serving Him and not on the things of the world. Obeying God’s commands must now become the number one priority in our lives, and we must go forward with the knowledge that one day we will stand before God and give account of all we have done. We must commit our life to Jesus. 239

My Daily Devotional

August 22

Volume III

The Gift of Leadership

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:6-8 I believe that God gives each of us gifts to use throughout our lives such as indicated in the Scripture above. The gift of leadership is one which I would like to discuss at this time. A leader has the power and ability to do great things, if and when he is given this gift by the power of our Holy God. We can see that God gave many of the great men of the Bible this power of leadership and through them he set an example for what the power of leadership can do. David was a great leader, and when he followed the will of God he conquered many kingdoms and his nation prospered. Moses, a man of humble beginnings became a great leader and let the people of Israel out of bondage and into their promised land. All of his problems, such as his speech, did not hinder his gift of leadership. If God has given you the gift of leadership, this is something to be proud of, as this is one of God’s gifts that can change the destiny of mankind if the will of God is followed. Wars have been won, nations have been conquered, organizations have prospered, lifestyles have been altered and people’s lives have been changed forever, all because leaders have used this great gift of leadership from God. If God has bestowed this gift upon you, remember to govern diligently and keep God first and foremost in your life and let him lead and direct your path and be a witness to others that God’s will is directing your life. 240

My Daily Devotional

August 23

Volume III

The Road to Heaven

“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, ‘I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1st John 2:3-4 It is not going to be easy to get to heaven as Jesus tells us that the road to heaven is a narrow one and there will be few that will enter. Throughout the years I have observed many people who go to church on Sunday morning, and hear the word of God preached to them by their pastors, but do not put into practice the teachings that they heard. The Bible is very clear when it talks about the importance about obeying God and his commands. The Ten Commandments were not just something that God told us about as an afterthought, and we have the liberty of obeying them or not obeying them. Also it is not just all about the Ten Commandments as there are other commands that God tells us we must obey in order to get to heaven, such as we must put God first in our lives, in everything we do, and we must also love others as we love ourselves. Jesus told us that these were the two greatest commandments. If we are going to find the narrow road to heaven we must all begin to obey God’s commands, and not take them lightly. When we say we know God, as in the scripture above, we must do what he commands. There is no room for anything else, and we do not need to go on fooling ourselves and making excuses for not following the commands of God. There is too much at stake as heaven is the reward and hell is the punishment if we do not do as God tells us to, and begin to obey God’s commands. If God is really in us we are not going to continue sinning as we are going to live the kind of life that Jesus led, as he tells us that we need to be an imitator of him in everything we do. Begin today to obey God’s commands and live your life as an imitator of Jesus. 241

My Daily Devotional

August 24

Volume III

Our Purpose in Life

“Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2nd Corinthians 5:5 God has a plan and a purpose for your life and this plan and purpose was known by Him before you were born and still in your mother’s womb. It should be your main objective in life to find out what God’s will for your life is, and to work towards meeting this objective. God will lead you to fulfill this purpose if you will let Him lead and direct your life, in everything you do. One of the first steps you must make is to fully accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. When you accept Jesus and ask Him to come into your heart He is ready to take you to the next step in finding your purpose in life. When you accept Jesus you are going to make Him number one in your life. You are going to obey and follow His commands and live your life in a way that will be pleasing to Him. You will cast aside all the worldly pleasures and focus your future to doing His will. This does not mean that everything will be rosy in your future, but with your destination, which is heaven, in front of you, you must forge ahead despite any setbacks. There will be challenges ahead, as Satan knows what is happening and will come against you with all his schemes, but you must not let setbacks determine the final outcome which is a place reserved for you in heaven. You must now determine what is important in serving God and make Him number one in your life. You have complete control of your time and your life, and only you can determine what your real priorities are. God tells each of us what His chief priorities are and all of us need to make His priorities our chief priorities. The will of God must be the most important thing to us every minute of every day. Our goal must be to serve God. 242

My Daily Devotional

August 25

Volume III

The Road to Heaven is Narrow

“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” 1st John 3:9-10 This is a powerful scripture which we do not hear many pastors preach about in their weekly sermons however it tells us in plain language just how important it is to live a sin free life. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we must make him number one in our lives and begin to obey his every command. This scripture tells us that there is little room to not obeying God’s commandments. If we truly have accepted Jesus into our hearts he tells us that we cannot go on sinning. God tells us that the path to heaven is a narrow path and that few will find it, but the path to destruction is a broad path. “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 the road that leads to life, and only a few will find it.” Matthew 7:1314. These warnings from Jesus are very strong words, and my purpose is to let you know just how important it is for each of you to live a life that will guarantee you a place in heaven. As we read our Bibles each day, we find the commands of God and he tells us how to live our lives, and what we are to do and not to do. The scriptures give us directions to handle almost any situation we will ever encounter during our walk through life. I would encourage each of you to seriously consider your individual daily walk with God and understand and recognize the life that Jesus expects us to live. Heaven is too important for us to miss because of sin. 243

My Daily Devotional

August 26

Volume III

Your Life Is In The Balance

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” Hebrews 10:26 This is another powerful scripture that Jesus gives us that tells us that once we have received Jesus into our hearts that we must change our ways and not continue in our sinful ways. The wages of sin is death and will lead to our eternal destruction. When we accept Jesus into our hearts as our Lord and Savior he forgives all our sins and allows us to start a new life and a new beginning. We are forgiven of all our past sins and now need to make God first in our lives. We must now begin to obey God’s commands, and this must now become the most important thing in our life. I am afraid that many people do not put God first in their lives as is evidenced from their actions and behavior, even though they show up at church on Sunday. God needs to be first in all our lives, throughout our entire week, not just on Sunday. We need to devote time to him every day and in everything we do. Our lives must revolve around him. How much time do you devote to God daily, either through prayer or reading the Bible, and spending on the concerns of others? Jesus tells us that his number one commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind and also to love your neighbor as yourself. I would encourage each of you to reflect back on your daily walk with God to see if you are truly living up to God’s greatest command for your life. It is not too late to begin to honor God and make him number one in your life. An eternal life with God must be your goal, and only you are able to make this become a reality, as the truth is before you and your life is in the balance. 244

My Daily Devotional

August 27

Volume III

Let God Protect You

“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” 1st John 5:18-19 The above scripture is another warning from God about the importance of removing any sin from our life, as it tells us that anyone born of God does not continue to sin. The devil is all around us, enticing and luring us into temptation, and wanting us to sin in our daily walk with God. The world is an evil place and Jesus tells us it is under the control of Satan. However God tells us throughout the Bible how we are to resist Satan and his attacks on us, and in his Holy Word gives us the wisdom and knowledge to withstand Satan’s attacks against us. It is not easy to live with the temptations that surrounds us without the help of God, but when we truly have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and have put God as number one in our lives, he promises that he will give us the strength and ability to endure all the obstacles we will face and let us be victorious in our lives. He tells us that we need to arm ourselves with the armor of God and with his help we can overcome all the temptations that Satan will put in front of us. Reading our Bibles and discerning the wisdom of God’s Holy word will be our shield to withstand Satan’s attacks against us. We need to constantly be on our guard and think and live each moment and hour of our daily lives with the thought that Jesus is watching our every move and knows our every thought. There is too much at stake in our lives to let Satan entice us and influence our lives and cause us to miss an eternal life in Heaven. I would encourage each of you to live every minute of your life for God and let him lead and guide you in your journey to an eternal life. 245

My Daily Devotional

August 28

Volume III

Be an Encourager

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1st Thessalonians 5:11 Having spent my entire 45 year career in administration I have encountered many people, including many managers who were critical of almost anything and anybody they met. These people were very negative individuals and hardly every had anything positive to say about anything or anybody. These same individuals always seemed to be ones that were unhappy with themselves and never had any joy in their lives. I am sure each of you has people in your lives at this time that are similar to the ones I am describing. I have always believed that Jesus wants us to be encouragers instead of being critical, complainers and negative, and I have never condoned this kind of behavior with the people I supervised. The Bible gives us many scriptures, such as the one above, where we are to always be uplifting and to always build each other up. No matter how rough your day is today, speak words that uplift and encourage those around you. Encourage others when you notice them doing a good job or a good deed. You can do this with all the people you come into contact with, such as store clerks, auto mechanics, food service employees, your friends and neighbors. Always give compliments for good service and good works and deeds. You can change your own life and your own attitude by choosing to speak positive words. We can improve our relationships with others by leaps and bounds when we become encouragers instead of critics. You will become an ambassador for Jesus when you begin to embrace this habit as people will begin to see Christ in you, and His righteousness will begin to shine upon you. You will be in God’s favor when you choose to bless others through your kind words. 246

My Daily Devotional

August 29

Volume III

Seek the Fruits of the Spirit

“Blessed are those who hunger righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6

and

thirst

for

Have you ever thought about what comes out of us when the pressure of life comes upon us? That question is something that we all need to ask ourselves and take a close look at what the real answer is. If the fruit of the Spirit and the righteousness of the Lord do not come out, then we need to allow the Lord to do some work in our life. Jesus tells us that the fruit of the Spirit should be love, joy, peace longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, and should be shown coming from us at all times. Are these the fruits that flow from your mouth and your actions, when the trials of life come upon you? What comes out of us reveal the true character and nature that is inside us to others, and if we do not exhibit these fruits in our times of stress we need to earnestly seek Jesus to change things in our lives. If you find yourself lacking in this regard, and desire to change and want to become a person who resembles Christ in your actions and speech there are two things that you must do. First get in the Word. That means to read and study your Bible, and begin to put the wisdom and knowledge that you find to practice in your every day life. When we put God’s word in our heart we are able to stand against sin and act with the character of Christ, when we are feeling the pressure of the world trying to squeeze us. Second, we need to obey the scripture above and get hungry and thirsty for this righteousness. If you are filled with the righteousness of God, then the only thing that will pour out of you when the pressures of life come will be the righteousness of the Lord. All the righteousness you have filled yourself with, will now come out and you will become a true witness for Christ by your conduct. 247

My Daily Devotional

August 30

Volume III

The Family Fortune

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 When I look at our society today I see so many families who are dysfunctional and their children are left to find out about God on their own. This creates a cycle where our children imitate their parents and have their own dysfunctional family. I believe that as Christian parents, giving a godly heritage to our children is a deeprooted core value that is necessary to keep families together and stop this devastating trend in families today. Whenever we hear the words, “Family Fortune,” we immediately think of the wealthy of our culture. But we have something to give our children of greater value than money, assets and mansions. We have a “Family Fortune” from our Heavenly Father to pass on to our children. It is a fortune that far exceeds all earthly riches. It is the riches of a godly life lived and worked out in front of our children on a daily basis. The Biblical story of the prodigal son illustrates the impact of a godly parent on his children. Though the father was rich in earthly treasure, he was even richer in spiritual treasure. When both sons went astray, one to extreme carnality and the other to extreme judgmentalism, it was the godly life of the father that was the catalyst for change in their lives. Both sons eventually returned to the godly wisdom, counsel and lifestyle of their father who raised them to do what was right in the sight of the Lord. He had given his sons more than money and wealth. He gave them something that rescued them from the corruption of their own soul. He gave them a godly heritage. Your prayers, lifestyle and unconditional love is a major part of what God uses to influence the direction and destiny of your children and parents must give their children a godly heritage. 248

My Daily Devotional

August 31

Volume III

A Child’s Family Fortune

“My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad; my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.” Proverbs 23:15 Don’t you wish that all parents could experience the joy from the scripture above as their children would speak and live a life that is pleasing to God? All parents could experience this joy and happiness when they leave their children with the “Family Fortune” I discussed in the previous devotional. As parents, we cannot force our children to know and serve God, but we can, however, minimize the possibility of them going astray and maximize their potential to love God by living a godly life before them. The Bible tells us that it is the responsibility of every parent to pass on the eternal riches of knowing and honoring God to their children. There is no doubt that parents are the most powerful influence upon their child’s spiritual development. At some point however, as the child matures they must begin to take ownership and possess the godly heritage for themselves. A youth must initially receive and begin to live by faith in the Lord Jesus on their own. Making the transition from “passive” to “possessive” toward their spiritual heritage is not easy for some, but for others it is a natural process in their spiritual development. The fact is, most youth and young adults are going to be severely tested in their faith and love for God as they come into their own. They are going to be tempted by peer pressure and unfortunately by their teachers and other influential adults in our society today. The statistics tell us that many of our young people are failing the “test” of faith once they launch out on their own. I know that for me, and I hope that for all of you, this is one “test” that we as parents cannot allow our young people to fail. Parents must leave their children a “Family Fortune” that will follow them always. 249

My Daily Devotional Volume III

September 1 We Can Take Back Our Nation

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” 2nd Peter 3:13 There has been much discussion in recent days and years about the coming of the end of time, and the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. No one knows the day or the hour of Jesus’ return, but according to Biblical accounts the prophesies of the Bible are being fulfilled each day. Our great country is turning their back on God and His teachings, and I am sure that God is disappointed with what He is seeing. As we look back on the history of the people of Israel we can see that when God became dissatisfied with what was going on in the land He destroyed it. This is seen when God destroyed the earth and allowed only Noah and his family to survive and repopulate the earth. We can see what God did again with the accounts of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as He destroyed them. With the sexual immorality, drugs, abortion and dysfunctional families that is so prevalent in our society today, and the overall turning away from any Christian moral family values, our nation is again in danger of God taking His revenge against us. It is time for all parents to begin to take a stand and reverse this trend in our society by bringing back godly family values to their homes, and restoring these godly values in their everyday actions and teach these values to their children. Parents can reclaim this great nation by returning to the biblical principles of the Bible, and practicing these principles in their everyday lives. If we continue this downward spiral our children and grandchildren are going to feel and see the wrath of Almighty God come against them and see His wrath. It is time for parents to wake up and begin to take the action needed to teach our children about God and begin to live a life that is pleasing to God. 250

My Daily Devotional

September 2

Volume III

Do You Need A Makeover

“Come near to God and he will come near to you.” James 4:8

The scripture above is such a powerful verse as it tells us that when we become closer to God, He will reciprocate and draw closer to us. This reminds me of some of the programs on television where people are having makeovers that are supposed to change their lives. They are attempting to change their appearances and behaviors to become a new person which is going to change them forever. Although their outward appearances may be enhanced and their attitudes about themselves may be uplifted, it is their inward beings that need to be changed. God can give us a complete makeover when we draw ourselves closer to Him. He can renew us and make us a new person. He can change a lifeless person from the inside, and make him a completely new being. God tells us that when we want to become more like Him, we must spend more time with Him for that to happen. In order to have a complete makeover we must devote more time to God. We can do this in our prayer life, in our thoughts and in our daily lives and actions. We can practice love with our fellow man; we can forgive others that have harmed us and done wrong to us; we can read and study God’s Holy Word and get His wisdom; we can begin to help our fellow man by showing our love, and helping to provide for their needs. There are many ways that God teaches us throughout the Bible where we can draw closer to God. When we reach out to God He will reach out to us. Our lives will change, and the fruits of the Spirit that He promises us will begin to spring up in our lives, and we will experience the love that God has for us. When we reach out to God, and begin to live our lives with Him being first in all we do, we can then experience an extreme makeover that will last for all eternity. 251

My Daily Devotional

September 3

Volume III

God Can Change Us

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 In the previous devotional I talked about a makeover that started from the inside and one that God wants for each of us. When we invite God into our lives and let Him take charge and control, our lives will never be the same again. I am reminded about some of the extreme makeovers of people where God has taken control of their lives, and changed them and made them a completely new person. Chuck Colson is one of these individuals, as after being convicted of a federal crime he spent many years in prison, but came out of prison a changed man. During his time in prison he allowed God to come into his life and is now a different person who is doing a wonderful ministry for Jesus Christ and bringing many lost souls to salvation. Just as a makeover with our outward appearance gives us a pleasurable appearance that may last for a short period of time, it takes an inward makeover to give us a change that will last for all eternity. A makeover of the heart requires that we spend time with our Heavenly Father. Our desire to become more like Christ will only be realized, as we set aside time to listen to Him and study His word. It is during these times that He will shape our hearts and our will to conform to His. It doesn’t matter what condition our lives are in at the present time, God is there to listen and will welcome our invitation to come into our lives and to help us change. When God is in our hearts and we make Him number one in our lives we can then begin to bear much fruit as the scripture states. Without God in our lives we are nothing, and will not produce any fruit, but with God by our side He can mold us to become the person that He created us to be. 252

My Daily Devotional

September 4

Volume III

Our Sacrifice to God

“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.” Matthew 21:12 When most people look at this passage of scripture they focus on those who were selling and changing money in the temple of God. These were the people who were commercializing and degrading the sacrificial system of God. However I would like for you to look at those who were buying what was being sold and bringing nothing of their own to the temple as a sacrifice to the Lord. The temple at that time was a place of worship and a place where people brought their sacrifices to give to God as a way of honoring Him. The people who had come there to buy did not come to bring a sacrifice, but had come to buy goods. God knew their reason for being in the temple and drove them out of the temple along with the sellers. The buyers hearts were hard as well as the sellers hearts and they were not putting any value on the reason why they were at the temple or their sacrifice to God. When we go to our churches, do we go with the thought of worshipping God and bringing a sacrifice to Him? Do we enter with the thought of bringing our tithes to God cheerfully? God wants our very best; He wants the first fruits of our lives. We need to ask ourselves if we are giving God our best sacrifice. Do we give Him our very best when we see someone who is hurting or in need? Do we assist to provide food, clothing or shelter to people around us who are in need? Do we love each other and serve one another as Christ loved and served us? We must begin to always give to God our best, our first fruits, not just in our tithes but also in our service to meet the needs of others around us. 253

My Daily Devotional

September 5

Volume III

Forget the Past

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” Philippians 3:13 So many times when I have counseled friends, fellow church brothers and sisters and neighbors about various problems and issues in their lives, the primary cause of the majority of their problems and issues is that they are not able to forget the past. In today’s society so many marriages begin with baggage left over from broken homes, such as abuse, drug and alcohol addiction and divorce that the foundation is not strong enough to weather any kind of problems and issues that families can face. When godly family core values are not present in a family, children grow up without a foundation in which to build their families on, and when issues and problems arise they are not equipped to know how to handle them. Paul tells us in the scripture above that this baggage needs to be forgotten, and that we need to look at what lies ahead. I have seen people live with their past, and it places them in a dark and lonely arena. There is no life in the sea of regrets and hurts, as there is only a place of hopelessness and despair. Instead of staying in the past God wants us to look ahead to each new day with a fresh hope in what we can accomplish and to depend on Him for all our needs. The Bible tells us that His mercies are new and fresh every morning, and that His grace is sufficient for this day. We can see how God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness as He gave fresh manna daily during their journey. We can trust Him to give us what we need each day and look forward to living one day at a time. The years ahead can be the dawning of grand and glorious days for you if you follow God’s word to forget the past and depend upon Him for your future. 254

My Daily Devotional

September 6

Volume III

Jesus Will Return Soon

“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” 2nd Corinthians 6:2 I believe that too many people in today’s society do not take seriously the importance of being ready if Jesus should return today. They are too busy with their daily routines and supporting, in most instances, lifestyles that they cannot afford. I believe that these folks have their priorities completely out of order as they are looking at the things of the world which will mean nothing to them in determining where they will spend all eternity. The Bible tells us that things of this earth will rust and pass away, and are only temporal things, but an everlasting life will last for all eternity. There are several questions we need to ask ourselves. Are we personally ready for the return of Jesus? Have we accepted Him as our Savior or have we been to busy with other priorities on our to-do list? All of us need to really think about our priorities and get our life right with God. We do not know the year, the day or the hour that Jesus might return, but we do know that Jesus will be coming one day, and it is so important that we be ready for this day. We cannot continue to put off thinking about this day and using the excuse that we will take time for God next year or next week, when we get our other priorities taken care of. It may be too late then as God is not going to give us a warning so that we can get ready at the last minute. We must begin to get our house in order today, and not put off something as important as our salvation and our future. It is so imperative for all of us to share the importance of the return of Jesus, and let our children, our families, our friends and neighbors know the importance of being ready for his return, and what is at stake for them. Jesus is going to return soon, and we must be prepared and ready. 255

My Daily Devotional

September 7

Volume III

A Church Without Walls

“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:46-47 This past week we went to a small group meeting at our son’s house where there were gathered about 14 people who had come to worship God together. This setting reminded me of the early church in the book of Acts which was a church without walls. This church broke out of the religious establishment of their day and spread the message of hope and salvation to small groups throughout the land. In Acts chapter thirteen we read about an “outbreak” of the Spirit of God in the city of Antioch. People from diverse backgrounds came together to form a group of faith and began to reach not only their city, but the nations with the love of Jesus Christ. The power of God and fellowship became so great in their lives that it changed their city and the world. One of the most interesting things about the church at Antioch was the way it began. It was started through humble means, as we see that men came from Cyprus and Cyrene to Antioch and began to share the gospel with not only the Jews, but other ethnic groups in the city as well. These men and women undoubtedly started the church in a small house, but soon became a church without walls as they began to experience an outbreak of the Spirit of God. Moving into every part of the city with their message of grace and forgiveness, the entire population was greatly moved by this infectious group of people. I am convinced that God’s design is not “containment” of the church within the walls of a building, but a “contagious” church that changes cities and nations. A church without walls; a church without limits! 256

My Daily Devotional

September 8

Volume III

God is Faithful

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Psalm 91:4 William Penn, the founder of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was well liked by the Indians. Once they told him he could have as much of their land as he could walk on foot in a single day. So, early the next morning he started out and walked until late that night. When he finally went to claim his land, the Indians were greatly surprised for they really didn’t think he would take them seriously. But they kept their promise and gave him a large area which today is part of the city of Philadelphia. William Penn simply believed what they said, and found the Indians to be faithful to their words. I can certainly count on God to be faithful to His words in my life. There are many times during each of our lives when we are disappointed with others, as they have let us down and not lived up to their promises to us. These disappointments can color our outlook on life, and can even change the way we see God. I know several family members that have turned their backs on God because of disappointments in their lives and now they blame God for these disappointments. They are missing so much as God was not to blame for any of these disappointments, but their hearts have been hardened to the point that they have forsaken God. Each of us is going to be faced with disappointments throughout our lives, and when these disappointments come we must not allow them to cause us to doubt God, as He continues to be faithful to those who believe in Him. When times of trouble face us, we need to turn to God even more, and depend upon Him to let us endure and be victorious. We can depend upon God, who is faithful to those who believe. 257

My Daily Devotional

September 9

Volume III

The Return of Christ

“For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” 1st Thessalonians 5:2 How close are we to the return of Jesus Christ? What are the signs that tell us that his return is near? The most thrilling event in all of human history is yet to come, as our Lord Jesus Christ will return to this earth in His power and glory to set up His kingdom that will last 1,000 years. Most Christian scholars believe that His return is soon. Even unbelievers are taking a closer look at biblical prophecies that predict the end of all things. Without question the Bible is very clear about the subject of Jesus’ coming again and how it should affect believers today. In the scripture above the Apostle Peter is telling us that the return of Jesus will be like a thief in the night, as no one knows the time or day of this great event. I strongly believe that all Christians need to take a hard look at their daily Christian life and their lifestyle to make sure that their lives are in order, to be one of the chosen people on this great judgment day. If you find that there are things in your life that are not pleasing to God, this is the time to change the things that are not as they should be according to God’s word. This is something that we must not put off any longer as we may have done in the past. There is nothing more important than making sure our home in heaven is guaranteed, and that we have committed the rest of our life to serving God and obeying His commands. I would encourage each of you to prepare your hearts to receive God’s word, and allow the Holy Spirit to ignite a passion in you for Christ’s return. We need to ask the Lord for wisdom and guidance and renew our personal devotion to Him, and further prepare ourselves for that great and glorious day, and the return of our Lord. 258

My Daily Devotional

September 10

Volume III

Visions from God

“Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” Nehemiah 2:17 I love the story of Nehemiah who had the great vision of rebuilding the walls and the city of Jerusalem seventy years after King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it. Nehemiah traveled to Jerusalem, which was a city he had never seen, and went out by night to survey the wall and the city. He inspected all that needed to be repaired and scoped out what materials and manpower would be needed to complete the project. Nehemiah was a man of vision, and a man that had his plans in order to know the steps that would be necessary to rebuild the wall and the city. I believe that all of us need to have our visions firmly implanted into our minds as to what God is leading us to do. I know that God has given me the vision for my ministry, and through His direction and guidance I am seeing a tremendous result as I implement His plan for my life. The thing that I discovered that made Nehemiah so successful in getting his vision accomplished was that he planned in advance every task and every job, and organized and worked together with many others to get the job done. A vision without a plan is only a wish, but with a plan it can become a reality. I have heard many people throughout the years say they have a vision of something they want to happen, but so often this vision does not come to fruition because they do not have a plan. God will put many visions into your mind, big ones and small ones, visions for your family, your place of work, and your community. When God places these visions in your mind just remember that planning will turn these visions into reality, and God will give you direction and wisdom to make these plans come true. 259

My Daily Devotional

September 11

Volume III

My Daughters Birthday

“When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful.” Genesis 6:1 Today is Pamela’s birthday, my precious daughter, and my first born child. I will never forget the instant love that I had for her when I first held her in my arms. I know this was the happiest moment in my life and one that I will never forget. There is something that happens when you see and hold your firstborn child that cannot be put into words. Your life and your world are instantly changed and the love that you have for this little baby cannot be described in mere words. It is a love that you have never experienced before, and a time in your life when nothing else is as important as protecting and taking care of your new precious baby. I believe this is how God feels about all of us, as he is proud of all his little children when they are born and tells us throughout the Bible just how precious little children are to him. He tells us to become as humble as little children in scriptures throughout the Bible, as they are God’s precious little ones. It is so important for parents to love their children and want the best for them. God wants the best for them as well, and has given parents much instruction and wisdom throughout the Bible in how to instruct and guide our children during the time we have them. We must remember that our children are God’s children and we have them for only a season and then we turn them over to God. While we have them we need to teach them about God and show them the way they need to live their lives. We need to be their examples and live a life that is pleasing to God, obeying and following his commands. God tells us that if we bring up our children in the way of the Lord they will not depart from it. 260

My Daily Devotional

September 12

Volume III

Sow Good Seeds

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.” Matthew 13:24-26 In a nearby city there is an annual festival called the Johnny Appleseed Festival named after the legendary character that supposedly went around the country planting apple seeds. This is a fun festival where hundreds of families get together each fall to celebrate this historic event. The scripture above also tells us a story about planting seeds, and the result of the type of seed we sow in our families. Parents have the choice of sowing good seeds like the wheat, or bad seeds like the weeds in their homes and families. The dysfunctional families that are springing up all around us are prime examples where the parents have sown weeds in their homes, and they are choking the life out of families today. The divorce rate is growing astronomically in our society. The weeds of contention, strife, hostility and unkind words are so prevalent in families today, that the children that come from these broken homes carry this baggage to their own families and the trend continues. I recently heard a program from one of the leading pastors in the country about disciplining unruly children, and how oftentimes the cause of these children’s behavioral problems are “learned behavior”. He stated that 99.9% of this learned behavior comes from home life. I would encourage all parents to begin to get these bad seeds out of your family, and begin to sow love, peace and joy in your family instead. We must begin to be the living examples for our children in our daily walk, and bring God back into our homes and reverse this trend. 261

My Daily Devotional

September 13

Volume III

Use Words Wisely

“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of

silver.” Proverbs 25:11

Have you ever thought about your choice of words that you use daily? Just being able to say the right word, the helpful word, the encouraging, correcting, guiding, blessing word is like apples of gold set forth in a stunning and beautiful way as the scripture above indicates. There is something incredibly powerful about our words, especially when the right word is said in the right way at the right moment. We all need to take time to reflect on the nature of our own speech and the words that we use. We need to ask ourselves if our words reveal us to be a believer, blesser, builder, encourager, teacher, counselor, consoler and friend, which is what our words need to convey to others. If we find that our words convey us as a grumbler, complainer, criticizer or blamer we need to try to adjust our attitude, as this is not the nature that God would want us to have and convey to others. James 3:9 “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.” Perhaps you may find that you are a little bit of all these things, the up-lifter and encourager at certain times, and a demoralizer and discourager at other times. God wants us to be a positive influence at all times in our lives; to be uplifting and encouraging; to be faithful in all things, and to be a witness of God’s grace wherever we are and in whatever we do. We must guard our use of words so that they always show the love in our hearts. Your words can carry a powerful message, and be a blessing to others, and you must allow the Holy Spirit to be the master of your tongue, so that what you say, when you say it, and how you say it, may build people and honor your Lord with apples of gold in a setting of silver. 262

My Daily Devotional

September 14

Volume III

Be a Witness for God

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 1st Peter 3:12 During all my years in Health Care Administration it was always so obvious just how much the eyes of all my employees were on me. Corporate America has a way of taking a toll on a Christian, as almost all business settings have similar environments, consisting of backstabbing, rumor mills, brownnosing up to the boss and pushing to get ahead. With all the emphasis to move up the corporate ladder it is a wonder that any work gets accomplished with all the individual agendas among the employees. If you are a Christian working in this environment you come even more under the watchful eye and scrutiny of all the other members of the workforce. They watch to see if you are prone to lose your cool, to become angry or to say words that are disrespectful to others when things do not go your way. Any kind of behavior that is unbecoming of a Christian gives others room to doubt your actual Christianity. A Christian has a very big responsibility in their workplace to be a person of character at all times, and in all situations. You cannot be caring and respectful one day and uncaring and disrespectful the next. Your daily walk, your actions and your behavior quickly tell others the true person you are, and you will either be known as a true witness for God or you will not. There is little room for error if you are not truly walking and being a witness for God as people will quickly find you out. I would encourage each of you before you go out into your workplace each day, to ask God to give you the patience, the understanding and ability to conduct yourselves in the way that will be pleasing to God, as you are His witness wherever you go. 263

My Daily Devotional

September 15

Volume III

Love one Another

“A new command I give you: Love one another, as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 During the recent presidential election there has been much heated discussion between the candidates that have bordered on hatred, and much innuendo about the character including personal attacks on their families. It is obvious that there is very little love lost during many of these heated exchanges. I have always held to the belief that all people may disagree about certain issues, however we can disagree and still treat other people with dignity and respect even if they do not share our convictions. In our society it is becoming difficult for people to “disagree with grace” both in our churches and also in our society in general. This loss of civility means we frequently see a basic lack of mutual respect in conversation between persons in any kind of public discourse, and also in private conversation within our homes. Many of the problems in dysfunctional families, which are increasing astronomically in our present day culture, stem from the different viewpoints family members have, and the inability to work together to reconcile their differences. The society of yesterday which our ancestors lived in, was one where reconciliation was practiced, and when issues arose where there were disagreements they were settled respectfully, and the dignity of those involved was not damaged. God instructs us to always treat others with respect and with dignity, and not to let divisions occur that will hinder anyone’s walk with God. We should never cause others to become angry as this is causing them to sin, but should try to settle any disputes with kindness and compassion, and to always show our Christianity and be a witness to God in everything we do. 264

My Daily Devotional

September 16

Volume III

God’s Stand on Sin

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalm 51:1-2 The above scripture was David’s humble prayer for forgiveness and cleansing of his sins. We see many scriptures throughout the Bible where David and others were asking God to forgive them when they had sinned against God. Even as David had sinned when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, sin is a transgression of a command from God, and thus all sin is against God, whether it has injured another human being or not. There is no justification for a Christian to continue to go on sinning after he has accepted Jesus as his savior. 1st John 3:9 “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.” All Christians need to take heed, and begin to ask God for wisdom and guidance in their daily life, to give them the strength and courage to live a life that is pleasing in the sight of God. There is no excuse for sin in your daily life when you have accepted Jesus into your heart. When we stand before God at our Day of Judgment there is no excuse that we will be able to bring to the table, that can defend our reason for sin. God has given us His commands that we are to follow, and the Bible clearly spells out how we are to live our lives obeying and following these commands. Our lives need to be characterized not by sin, but by doing what is right, which is what we must practice in our daily living. Our focus each and every day must be to do what is pleasing in the sight of God, and our actions and our thoughts must demonstrate this as we are a witness to God in all we do. 265

My Daily Devotional

September 17

Volume III

Listen to God’s Call

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” 1st Corinthians 1:27 Several months ago Reverend Jerry Falwell passed away, and the Reverend Billy Graham’s health is failing. These two men are some of the greatest evangelical leaders that our nation has had for the past several decades. Neither of them was afraid to speak the truth, and both were dedicated to God and spent their lives making our nation a better place. Neither of these men came from well known families, but had humble beginnings, however God had big plans for each of them and their purpose in life was destined to reach thousands of people and bring them to Christ. These situations are not uncommon as God often chooses the least likely in the world’s eyes. Look at David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons. David was merely a shepherd when Samuel found him, and not even his father suspected that God had chosen him to be king. When we consider the marvelous things that God did through Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham, and see each of them give all the credit to God for what they became, it is wonderful to know that God has a destiny and a purpose for each of us that can enhance God’s kingdom. We may not be famous, but we are not insignificant in God’s eyes, and we need to listen to Him and let Him lead us in the path He wants us to follow. I believe God speaks to all of us and gives us visions as to what we are to do, as God chooses many times the weak to carry out His mission. I would encourage each of you to listen to God when He speaks to you and sacrifice all you have to do His bidding. We will all be amazed at what God can do through each of us when we heed and listen to Him and obey and follow His call and will for our life. 266

My Daily Devotional

September 18

Volume III

God Will Never Forsake You

“For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.” Psalm 94:14 There are not many people who go through life without their up’s and down’s. Life is constantly changing, as some days we may be shouting to God, and praising Him for the good things that are happening to us. Then, there will be days where the storm clouds are all around us, and our world seems to be falling apart. We need to have a godly mindset in order to handle these changes, and deal with them properly. If we have our faith and trust in God, and have Him as number one in our lives, we will know that God will never reject us and forsake us. Even when the trials and troubles of life surround us, we will know that God is still there with us. We need to look at each new day, and even each hour, as an opportunity for God to bless us. So often we overlook all the blessings that God sends our way, as we seldom recognize an encouraging word from a friend, or a pat on the back from our boss, or even an unexpected financial blessing, as blessings from God. We can even see the blessings from God by looking at the beautiful blue sky or the large oak tree on our way to work, or the food before us at dinner. God has given us all these blessings, but so often we take them for granted, and do not appreciate them as we should. We need to always remember that God wants the best for us, and even when we may have a trial come our way, God is still there with us. So when we awake each morning we need to look for all the blessings that God has provided, and thank him for these. When our trials come we must not walk in fear, but hold on to the faith and trust that God is with us through all our challenges in life. Look for God’s blessings today and thank Him and trust Him during your challenges, as God will never forsake you. 267

My Daily Devotional

September 19

Volume III

Clear Communications

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” John 3:36 This past week at our weekly food distribution we had the opportunity to talk to a young man about his salvation. He seemed amazed that it was so simple to ask Jesus into his heart, and said if he had known it was so easy he would have done this earlier in his life. This incident reminded me of a story I had read about Dwight L. Moody who approached the president of a large coal mine, and told him about salvation. The man listened patiently and courteously and then said, “It’s too cheap, I can’t believe it’s true. You ask me to do nothing except to accept Christ in order to obtain salvation. It is too cheap. It should cost more than that.” D. L. Moody replied, “Did you go down in the shaft of the coal mine today?” “Yes I did”, said the man, “I pushed a button and the lift came up and took me down, as the company has spent thousands of dollars to construct the lift for our employees.” “That’s it exactly”, said D. L. Moody, “as God has already paid a tremendous price for your salvation. The price God paid was the most expensive thing in the world, yet God offers it to you free.” D. L. Moody was one of the greatest of all American Evangelists, and used this example to demonstrate how easy it was for someone to seek salvation. In this simple encounter we can see a very important component of clearly communicating the Gospel, using illustrations. As Christians we may have many occasions to talk to people about their salvation, and many times we may find that they do not clearly understand how easy it is. Sharing illustrations such as this could go a long way in shedding more light on their understanding that could lead them to God. 268

My Daily Devotional

September 20

Volume III

Are You Approachable

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 One thing that jumps out at me when I read this scripture is just how approachable Jesus must have been, as He was inviting all that heard him to come to Him and He would give them rest. This makes me think just how approachable are we to the people we meet. Do we make ourselves accessible to others if they want to discuss some issue on their heart? Does that include parents, children, friends, co-workers, clients, students, neighbors and other people in your life? I have seen many people throughout my life that had this gift of being approachable, and also seen others that seemed to push people away from them. I believe that as Christians it is our duty to make ourselves accessible to others that may need to talk to us about issues they may be having. How they seek access, whether face-to-face, or by telephone, or by e-mail or some other avenue is not as significant as whether such access will be granted. I would ask each of you to consider if you are approachable? Jesus gave us many examples such as the leper who found Jesus approachable. The prodigal son found his father approachable. The apostle Paul found the mother of Rufus approachable. If we do not make ourselves accessible to others we are going to miss many opportunities to make an influence, and be a witness for God in the life of others. We need to remember that you and I are created in God’s image, and since our Lord is approachable, we need to be approachable as well. Be sure the people in your life have some way to approach you. At times it may require extra effort on your part and humility of spirit but that is the way of Jesus. We can also use the examples above and call out to others to approach us instead of waiting for them. 269

My Daily Devotional

September 21

Volume III

Fathers Love Your Children

“The father of a righteous man has great joy, he who has a wise son delights in him.” Proverbs 23:24 This devotional is dedicated to the many fathers that receive my devotionals, and the importance your role is in your family. Various studies conducted by Yale, Johns Hopkins and other groups have documented that the absence of a father is a stronger factor than poverty in contributing to juvenile delinquency. In forty eight cultures around the world crime rates were highest among adults who, as children, had been raised solely by women. A lack of closeness with fathers was the common factor in hypertension, coronary heart disease, malignant tumors, mental illness and suicide. A study of thirty-nine teenage girls suffering from anorexia showed that thirty-six of them had one common denominator, a lack of closeness with their fathers. It is a fact that an emotionally or physically absent father contributes to a child’s low motivation, low self-esteem and susceptibility to group influence and juvenile delinquency. It is clear, fathers are important in the lives of their children, and they need to be there not just physically, but emotionally as well. Being a father myself, I sometimes do not come up to the standard I set for myself, nevertheless, through the years of raising three wonderful children, God has continued to remind me that God’s standard for fatherhood is not perfection, it is love. And although I may have failed in some respect it was not in my love for each of them as this has always been the most important thing in my life. I would encourage each father to make sure that your children see the love you have for them, and demonstrate this to them each and every day during the time you have them. There is not a greater heritage that you can pass on to them than to show them love. 270

My Daily Devotional

September 22

Volume III

Our Prayer Time

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” Psalm 68:19 Do you pray daily? This is an important question to ask yourself. Each of us needs to set aside time in our daily routine to pray to God. I know that with the pressures on our lives that prayer of any significance beyond the “bless me today” kind of prayer may seem not to be doable in your schedule. However, I believe that God wants us to give Him our tithes in our time as well as our money. This means that we need to spend at least a tenth of our waking time worshiping God. We are to spend time praying, and spend time reading and studying the Bible. Part of this time could be spent on helping others that are in need. Our days should not consist of all our time spent on ourselves and our needs, as God commanded us to love others as we love ourselves. This means our time should not be spent entirely on our pleasures, but some time should be spent to assist, encourage or help someone other than ourselves. But a good part of our worship time should be spent in prayer. During our prayer time we need to thank God for all the blessings that He gives us daily, and also ask Him to give us guidance and wisdom that we can use to better understand and follow what He wants us to do in fulfilling the purpose He has for our lives. Our prayer time should include the Lord’s Prayer as it encompasses all of the things that God tells us are important. We need to pray to the Lord who bears our burdens, about our burdens, for the necessities of life and for mutual encouragement with other believers. We need to always offer praise, affection and love for the God who loves you. We need to understand that God loves to hear the voices of His people, and that He also loves the sound of your voice. 271

My Daily Devotional

September 23

Volume III

The Vision of Noah

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4 Having spent the past decade trying to implement a ministry that God has placed on my heart to implement, one of my largest hurdles has been to communicate my vision to my family and have them behind me 100%. Although God has allowed all aspects of my ministry to succeed and grow much greater than I ever envisioned, this hurdle has gnawed at me all during this time. I have done much research on how God worked in the life of many of the chosen in the Bible. The best example I have discovered is of Noah’s wife, whose name may not be recorded in Scripture, but evidently caught Noah’s vision. Here was a woman whose husband told her that God wanted him to spend a good part of his life building a huge boat in the desert, one large enough to load with thousands of animals, that she would have to live with for over a year. Noah’s wife must have been a woman of great faith in both her husband and also in God. While Noah was urging his neighbors to repent from their wicked ways, they probably thought he was crazy. His 100-plus year construction project seemed to be a work of insanity. However, I doubt that his wife was one of the people laughing at him. I imagine she was devoted to her husband and her children as they also assisted in this project, and she evidently served her husband and children with love and joy. Marriage provides many opportunities for spouses to lovingly serve each other. This must have been the case with Noah and his wife as they must have had their priorities in order and their priorities must have been aligned with God’s priorities. We must be careful in our lives to recognize the visions that God gives to others and assist in any way in the fulfillment of these visions. 272

My Daily Devotional

September 24

Volume III

I Can Talk To God

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17 It was almost 20 years ago that God began talking to me. No, I did not hear his booming voice come down from heaven, but heard Him through gentle whispers. These gentle whispers were enough, however, to get my attention and want to know more about what He was saying to me. Although God was placing His vision in my heart, I hesitated for several years before succumbing to Him and what He was saying. As this time passed I could more clearly see what God wanted me to do, and as this vision became more engrained in my mind and thoughts, I began questioning why God had chosen me to do His work. I had never had thoughts before of what God was asking me to do, and this was completely out of my comfort zone. However, as I began to read and study my Bible I became more at ease as my faith and trust in God began to grow and the task did not seem as large. God continued to talk to me, and still does, in these gentle whispers and continues to lead me and direct me in the fulfillment of my tasks. So often I do not know how these tasks will be carried out, but in all circumstances, as I have forged ahead everything falls into place. Many times I press and push for these tasks to be completed in a time frame I establish, and many times I can become frustrated as God knows when the time is right, and without fail He has always allowed them to be completed. When I now hear these gentle whispers I rush forward without any hesitation to answer God’s call to me, and in all situations God allows these gentle whispers to come to pass. Hearing God’s voice is such an important part of my life now, and I can hardly contain myself as He talks to me and I can talk to Him and get help and answers to any of my problems. 273

My Daily Devotional

September 25

Volume III

Implement God’s Word

“My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” Luke 8:21 This scripture reminds me of a situation that I encountered during a college basketball game where my coach was telling us how to run an offensive play that would almost certainly produce a score that would enable us to break up a tied basketball game and give us a victory. He called a time out and told each of us exactly what we were to do during the play and if we each did our job we could win the game. All of my teammates heard his instructions and did exactly what he told us to do, and the result was a score in the last seconds of the ball game and we won. God is telling us in the scripture above that if we hear and obey God’s word, and do what we are told to do we will also be victorious in our life. So many times however we read and know what God is telling us to do, but for some other reason we do not put His words into practice in our lives and we fail. There are instructions throughout the Bible that tell us how to deal with almost any situation we will ever face during our life, but so often we read and know what to do, but do not put God’s wisdom into practice and the result is failure. If you are dealing with issues in your life today that you don’t know how to handle, chances are that God already has a play designed that will allow you to conquer these issues and defeat it. To get the answer it is as easy as opening your Bible and studying it to find out what the answer is and you will be successful. God tells us that there will be trials and troubles in our lives, but He has the answers for these, and that He will help us get through them. I encourage each of you to turn to Jesus during your times of trouble, as He has the answer to deal with your problems. Your job is to put into practice God’s word and follow His instructions. 274

My Daily Devotional

September 26

Volume III

Verify With God’s Word

“We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.” Acts 15:24 Faith in God is a wonderful thing to have, as it can get us through many of the trials and troubles that all of us will endure at some point in our lives. By our faith we have become children of God and received our salvation. We need to have faith in the Word of God and trust it, but we always need to make sure that the Word of God comes from our own understanding and make sure that it is right, by verifying it ourselves in the Bible. Too often, however, we as Christians believe in the wrong things that we have heard from others and don’t verify it for ourselves. I have heard pastors, deacons and Sunday school teachers teach the wrong things even though they think they are right. People are quick to believe in gossip about co-workers, friends, neighbors, and our governmental leaders are a target for almost anyone. When we believe misinformation this can lead to slander, we can hurt others by judging them about things that might not be true. How can we protect ourselves and keep from hurting others? One way is to not believe just one side of a story that is told about someone. We need to hear both sides of a story, and then we can understand the situation better. In addition, we can protect ourselves from false doctrine by comparing what we hear to the actual Word of God found in our Bible. We should test everything with the Bible and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. James wrote “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5. Let us resolve to not hurt ourselves or others by believing in things that we shouldn’t, but let God give us wisdom. 275

My Daily Devotional

September 27

Volume III

Respect Other Christians

“May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:23 In our society it is not unusual to find someone who is in the process of changing churches for many varied reasons. Many leave because they don’t like what is going on in their churches, others because of personality conflicts, others because of the style of worship and others because of differing opinions concerning the understanding of doctrine. Everyone needs to feel comfortable in their church and with the people that they associate with, as part of the churches mission must be to uplift and encourage fellow brothers and sisters. I believe God cares about our relationship with our churches and with our relationships with the people who attend them. I also believe that there is too much denominational strife between our churches today that is destroying the faith of others. We need to remember that Heaven will be a place where there are not any denominations; there will not be a section for the Catholics, one for the Baptists, one for the Methodists, and another one for the Presbyterians, etc. All of us will be together in one Holy place where there will not be any disagreement or animosity toward others. Until we reach heaven we need to be understanding and show compassion with others points of view of the Bible. We need to always seek God’s wisdom and verify for ourselves what God teaches us and put it into practice. Bitter theological debates about religion can be divisive, and cause others to turn away from God and the church, and must be avoided. We need to hold fast to our own convictions that we have verified as true by studying God’s word for ourselves, and be careful to not cause any one to turn away from God by our actions. 276

My Daily Devotional

September 28

Volume III

Be a Contagious Christian

“Always be prepared to give an answer to every one who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1st Peter 3:15 Most of us have heard stories from various people in our lives that have touched our hearts and impacted our lives. When I read the scripture above I was reminded of the story about a young missionary named Bob Pierce who while on a mission trip to China ran across a young Chinese girl whose widowed mother could not afford to send her to a mission school, and he felt such compassion that he gave all the money he had to help, which was only five dollars. However that was enough to enroll her in the school, and he committed to send money each month for her continued support. After returning to America he began to tell others about the needs he had seen in China, and the story of what he had done to help this young girl. From his story the concept of child sponsorship caught on and began to grow. Today the organization he started, World Vision, has over 500,000 people sponsoring children every month and also supports 100 million people in 99 countries. It has become one of the largest relief agencies in the world. All of us may not have an impressive story such as this to tell others, but if we’re genuine followers of Jesus, we need to tell our story of salvation and what it has meant to us. Our story of our life-changing salvation can have a dramatic impact on those we talk to. Our testimonies can be absolutely contagious in their influence and impact. Real life stories can change minds, touch hearts and impact lives. Your story may impact someone’s life as you share the dramatic transformation it had in your life. It may just be the key that unlocks the heart of some uncommitted person and help them step across the line from skepticism to saving faith and accepting Jesus as their savior. 277

My Daily Devotional

September 29

Volume III

God is Always in Season

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 Fall is a wonderful season, as I always look forward to the time when we can go to our local apple orchard and get our favorite Johnagold apples. We discovered them several years ago and love them so much that we have planted two of these apple trees in our own small orchard. These apples are the best we have ever found and they last from early October until after Christmas. However, as wonderful as these apples are, they are here for only a season and then they are gone until next year. This analogy is true for many things in our life as most things have a season when they thrive and bring forth their fruit. Is there anything in our life that remains in season always? There most definitely is, and it is the Word of God, as it is the same yesterday, today and forever. You can rely on God’s unchanging Word no matter what is going on in your life, whether it is happy times or times of trials and troubles. You probably have experienced times and circumstances in your past where the promises from the Bible worked as God had promised you, and in the future these promises will still be the same. God’s word will always remain constant, and you will always be confident in depending upon them in both your good times and also in your bad times. Seasons change all during our lives and we move from one season to another. We may move from one place to another, from one job to another, experience the death of a loved one, experience relationship issues, health issues and many other changes may affect our world and our life. However, I would encourage each of you, to remember that God is in every moment of every hour of every day, and there are no seasons with Him, as you can always count on Him to be there. 278

My Daily Devotional

September 30

Volume III

Walk With God

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 Have you ever considered that Jesus wants us to walk with Him every day? All of us who have given our lives to Jesus have been invited to follow Him every day. I know that in my situation I resisted following Jesus for many of my younger years, although He was calling out to me. However he did not give up on me and continued calling my name and begging me to follow Him. All during the time I was not following Him I believe I was afraid of the change that I would have to make in my life. However, I now know what I was missing and regret not making this commitment earlier in my life. As the scripture above says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge is understanding. There is no formal education and earning any college degree or diploma, that can describe the wisdom and understanding that Jesus gives us when we begin to follow Him. It is much like going from complete darkness to being able to see again when you discover the wisdom that God grants, when you accept Jesus as your Savior. The Bible, which for me, was difficult to understand and comprehend the true meaning of scriptures, suddenly became a storehouse of knowledge, as God poured out the meaning of each scripture, and enabled me to understand and apply these to my life. It was as if the Bible was written entirely for me, and was giving me a roadmap as to how to live my life, and handle every situation that confronted me. Where God leads us sometimes is not always the easy road. But when we encounter a rough time in our lives, we know that God has led us into a season of testing our faith. Let me encourage each of you to keep following God. Do not turn away from Him. Trust Him and He will strengthen you. 279

My Daily Devotional

October 1

Volume III

Commit Fully to Jesus

“What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” Philippians 3:8 In the previous devotional I talked about following Jesus and the difference He can make in your life and just how He can impact your world. There is a choice each of us has to make if we genuinely choose to follow Jesus and make Him Lord of our lives. I believe we have to give our hearts completely to Him and commit everything we do entirely to Him. I do not believe we can half heartedly commit, and still go our own way and do our own thing. It is all or nothing. I believe when we decide to go along with Jesus we become a part of His life, and He becomes a part of ours. There are many benefits to committing our entire self to following Jesus. God promises us an eternal life, which will last forever after the brief life on earth is over. He promises to give us strength, and will be with us during our trials and troubles. He is our shoulder to cry on, and does not leave us without hope. His mercy and forgiveness is assured no matter what each day brings. God has planned our lives and our purpose in a good and perfect way, and when we follow Him our paths and our steps are easy to follow. God promises us a peace and joy in our lives, even through our disappointments. Just these few promises mentioned above, should be enough to want us to sacrifice our worldly wants and desires and to follow him. Anything that we sacrifice in order to follow Jesus we will get back a thousand-fold in paradise. Our sights must be firmly fixed on the choice to follow Jesus, as there is much more to gain than we will ever lose by not following Him. Don’t make the mistake to not allow Jesus to come into your life, and lose out on all the things He has in store for you. 280

My Daily Devotional

October 2

Volume III

A Life Without Limits

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36

When I read the scripture above I am reminded that we indeed are free, and that there are no limits to what we can do with God by our side. As I was doing family research on my Great Grand Father I found him to be a perfect example of someone who had no limits. He was a man that had come from humble beginnings, but was raised in a home where Godly family values were followed daily. He was called to the ministry at an early age, and spent his entire life in the southeastern part of Kentucky as a minister and a schoolteacher. He was the first Methodist minister to settle in Kentucky and was the founder of almost all of the Methodist Churches in the westward movement. He was one of the most sought out speakers in the area, and is listed as being one of the most influential men to settle in the eastern part of the state of Kentucky. He certainly was not living a life of confinement and limitation, but was trusting in God to direct his path, and according to all historical documents God had provided him a life without limits. The same is true in our lives as God has not placed any limits on what we can accomplish. When we are following God and His plan there is nothing that can keep us from fulfilling what He has planned for us. Your dreams, ambitions and success in life can all come true when you follow and live your life with God first in all you do. I believe that God will allow us to go beyond our limits, as He sets no boundaries when we are doing His work. When our desire, our efforts and our time and talents are put to the work of God, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish with Him by our side. I would encourage each of you to put God first in your life and follow Him, and your life can also be one without limits, and one that is pleasing to God. 281

My Daily Devotional

October 3

Volume III

Jesus Is Coming Soon

“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.” 2nd Thessalonians 2:3 Are you aware of the signs of Christ’s return? They are all around us in our world that gives us indications that Christ’s return is soon. Many times we put off doing things that need to be done today, as we have become complacent and believe that we have until tomorrow or next week to get things done. This may not be true as Jesus warns us that tomorrow may never come, as no one knows the day or the hour that Jesus will return. He tells us that His coming will be as swift as the twinkling of the eye. We need to be ready for the return of Jesus, and not be caught unaware by falling into spiritual compromise and a luke-warm faith. We should never gamble that tomorrow will come as usual, and we will have time to repent and ask God for salvation. Today is the day for salvation and everyone that is not right with God must take control of their life and ask God to save their souls before it is too late. We cannot afford to put off until tomorrow something as important as spending all eternity with God. The signs of God’s coming are all around us as the prophesy of the scriptures are being fulfilled every day. There is nothing that is more important in your life than to get right with God and be ready for His coming. The future will be bright and joyful when we are ready and prepared to meet Jesus, but it can be disastrous when we are not prepared. I would encourage each of you to not delay asking Jesus into your hearts as time is running out, and tomorrow may be too late. With Jesus as your Savior there is nothing to fear about your future, as you will be safe in the knowledge that you have an eternal home in heaven with our Lord and Savior. 282

My Daily Devotional

October 4

Volume III

My Path to Heaven

“Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.” Proverbs 4:1-2 During the past ten years I have chosen to fill my mind with the Word of God and sound biblical teaching. It helps to keep me walking in the way of the Lord and fulfilling the plan he has for my life. During this time I have been enlightened so much by the wisdom that God has given me. The Bible has become my path to better understand just what kind of life that God wants me and each of you to live. The Bible is our roadmap to a happy and joy filled life, and one that can lead to our everlasting life in heaven with our Lord and Savior. There is nothing greater than to learn God’s wisdom and apply it to our lives. All my devotionals, my books and my teachings have been directed to help my family and all my readers know the importance of what an eternal life means to them, as without the assurance of our home in Heaven there is nothing else that matters. Our time on this earth is only temporary as we are only passing through, but our time in Heaven will be for all eternity. It is difficult to comprehend what Heaven will be like, as there will be no troubles, no trials or heartaches, as only peace and joy will surround us, and this will last forever. What a future to look forward to. I only hope and pray that my family and all my readers will be prepared, as the path is a narrow one that leads to Heaven and Jesus tells us that few will find it. God has revealed this path to me and I am on this path and am looking forward to spending my eternity with God. I would encourage each of you to spend time in God’s word, and find this path for yourself and walk on it every day of your time on this earth, so that you can also spend your eternity with God. 283

My Daily Devotional

October 5

Volume III

Giving Back to God What is His

“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.” Deuteronomy 8:18 I love the story I heard of a church that had a parking problem. It was next door to a store that was closed on Sunday. They asked the owner if they could use his parking lot. He said that they could use it for 51 Sundays out of the year, but that it would be closed off one week. They were happy with the deal, but curious why it would be chained off that one Sunday. He explained that he just wanted them to remember that it wasn’t their parking lot. You know, there’s a lot of wisdom in this, as if you use something long enough, you tend to assume that it’s yours, but everything we have belongs to God. God wants us to remember that as indicated in the scripture above. Everything we have, our homes, our automobiles, our furniture, our bank accounts are not ours but God’s, as only He has allowed us to accumulate them. We need to remember that everything we own can be taken away just as easily, as we see families lose all their wealth and their material possessions every day in hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and other natural disasters. What we have belongs to God; it’s His stuff to begin with, as He blesses us by letting us use it, but it’s still His. When we understand this principal, it makes giving back to God become a lot easier. As long as a man thinks he owns what he has, then giving back to God will be difficult. But once a man realizes he owns nothing, but owes everything, and that even his life is given to him in trust, then the proper portion of his blessings will be given back to God. I would encourage each of you to begin to give back to God what is already His, and you will be blessed. 284

My Daily Devotional

October 6

Volume III

The Biblical View of Marriage

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:31-33 The Bible has a very high view of marriage, as it is to be a lifetime plan, not a convenience that can be disregarded as it is being done today. I have seen statistics that state that as many as half of all marriages today end in divorce. This is not the state that God teaches in the Bible as to how marriage is supposed to function. Somewhere along the line the idea of permanence has been thrown aside. Most marriage vows use the phrase “till death do us part”, but so often this vow is thrown by the wayside, and the result is broken families and dysfunctional children that do not have the structure and foundation on which to build their own lives. God wants the family to be a place that gives honor to the marriage vows, where the husband and wife remain faithful to one another, and where minor disagreements and differences are not the grounds for divorce and breaking up the home. It is true that the Bible gives marriages a reason for divorce, but so often marriages of today are breaking up for reasons other than these. I am sure that God is very displeased with our generation today, as the sacred union of marriage is being degraded in this fashion. We can look at the history of Sodom and Gomorrah and see the punishment that God inflicted on that generation, and should learn from this example that God can also punish us as well. We need to give honor to our marriage vows, and follow the word of God in dealing with issues that may arise in the family. What can we expect from our children and grandchildren if we don’t give them an example of what a godly family is like? 285

My Daily Devotional

October 7

Volume III

Devote Time for God

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 I have written many times about the use of our time, but was reminded just this week when another friend stated that he did not have time to read his Bible each day. Our time is the one thing that we should all have control over, and is the one thing that we need to use wisely. Time control is all about priorities, and our priorities need to be the things that matter most in our lives. When we have a newborn baby almost everyone gives this new baby their top priority. We rush to it when it cries and watch over it all during the night when it may cough or make any sound. A Christian’s priority must be the same, as God tells us that our number one priority is to love God with all our heart, mind and strength. He must be number one in our lives, and be part of everything we do. In order to find time for God we must control our schedule. We need to wake up every day and have on our schedule the time to spend with God. I believe God expects us to give Him a tithe of our time as well as our money. We need to make time for God, and spend this time reading and studying His word and praying to Him, and thanking Him for everything He has given us. Putting God on our schedule may require some changes. It may mean that we need to get up earlier in the morning or stay up a little later at night. But God needs to be on everyone’s daily schedule, and His time must not be pushed aside by other worldly matters. We cannot relegate God to only a few hours at church on Sunday, but need to make Him a priority in our daily routine and schedule. When you find time for God every day, not just in a passing thought, but a tithe to God where you devote your thoughts entirely on Him, then God will begin to bless you. 286

My Daily Devotional

October 8 path.”

Volume III

The Greatest Book

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my

Psalm 119:105

The greatest book on earth is the Bible, as it has outsold every book that has ever been written. According to Biblical scholars it takes approximately 56 hours to read the Bible through completely. If you read 40 chapters a day, you will complete the Bible within 30 days. If you read nine chapters a day in the New Testament you will finish reading the New Testament in 30 days. I know in my life every time I open the Bible there is a new revelation that jumps out at me when I read its scriptures. Even though I have read each verse many times before I am able to understand additional wisdom that God is telling me. The Bible is truly a lamp to my feet and a light for my path, as the scriptures gives me guidance for anything that will occur in my life. I believe that faith comes when you hear God talk through His Holy Word, and the wisdom that you get from the scriptures help you deal with life’s problems. The word of God will help keep you pure, as it will keep you on the right path and not let you give in to the temptations that Satan is constantly bombarding you with. The Bible is God’s word and has been given to us to give us direction and guidance in how to live a godly life, and one that is pleasing to God. We need to go to God’s word daily which will give us the strength to overcome all the adversities that we face, and to give us the faith we need to trust in God for all things. Faith and trust in God is all we need to sustain us, as He promises to provide all our needs. The Bible should be the most important book in all our lives, and the one that we turn to for all the answers. The Bible is God’s word and we need to listen to God and let Him be a lamp unto our feet and a light for our path. 287

My Daily Devotional

October 9

Volume III

Speak Out for Jesus

“Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news, about the Lord Jesus.” Acts 11:20 In the scripture above there was nothing special about these men, as they were not trained evangelists or pastors. We do not even know their names. They are just ordinary people like you and me. However they spoke freely of their Lord and Savior in a positive way and the people responded. In your normal everyday conversation with your family members, your friends, co-workers or anyone else, do you ever talk about your faith and speak freely about God? Do all the people you come into contact with know that you are a Christian? In the vast majority of cases, American Christians today do not speak about their faith in a personal conversational way, even when given an obvious opportunity to tell others about Jesus. In not being outgoing in letting others know about Jesus we may be depriving them of the single opportunity they will have to know about Him and His plan for salvation. It is easy to let people you come into contact with know that you are a Christian, and share your faith and Christian values with them. The Bible tells us to be a contagious Christian, and to spread the good news about God wherever we go. We need to be alert and ready to seize any opportunity to let others know about God. We should not argue with anyone however, and let our faith become a stumbling block to others, but spreading the word of God to others is something that God expects each of us to do. Colossians 4:5-6 “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” 288

My Daily Devotional

October 10

Volume III

God has a Plan for You

“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” 2nd Corinthians 4:1 As I have stated many times in my devotionals every one of us is an evangelist according to the word of God. We need to always be seeking any opportunity to reach others around us and tell them about God and His plan of salvation for them. You may think that you are not capable of being an evangelist and reaching others for Christ, but it is our duty. I believe many times that ministries are established by God out of sufferings and hardships that we have in our lives. A good example is Joni Erickson, a professional world class diver, who suffered an accident that left her paralyzed. I am sure she thought her life was over, however God, though this terrible ordeal, gave her one of the most wonderful ministries possible, as she has touched the lives of hundreds of people, and brought them to Jesus Christ. There are countless examples of others that God has used to witness to people through their sufferings, and is using these people to tell others about the power of God. God evidently had a plan for these people, and although it does not make sense to us, God’s plans are always for a specific purpose. As Christians we all need to seek God’s heart and discover what His plan is for our lives, and do everything possible to fulfill it. We need to listen to God as He speaks to our heart and follow His every call, even when we don’t know where He is leading us. I know that God has given me direction in my life, and has led me to where He wants me to be. He will do the same for you if you will submit to Him, and follow Him. Maybe God has a unique ministry planned for you, and is wanting you to trust him. Be open to let God speak to you and lead you to accept whatever plan He has for your life. 289

My Daily Devotional

October 11

Volume III

Make God Your Priority

“For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.” Philippians 3:18-20 This is a message that Paul was giving to the Philippians, telling them that they were getting away from the example that Jesus had set for them. Paul was following the example of Christ, and he was telling them that the life styles Christians should lead ought to be models worth following. I am afraid that so many Christians today are leading a life style that is not what God would want for us, as our minds are on ourselves and on earthly things, instead of making God first in our lives. We want our own desires met without thinking about God and others. We have set our minds on the things of this life, and nothing else matters except getting the most and the best that we can afford. But according to God life is not supposed to be this way, as we are not to be addicted to material things, but to seek first the kingdom of God, and then all things will be given to us. God does not want us to be poor, but wants us to put things into priority. He wants us to first seek Him, and then He will provide all our needs. He wants us to get our priorities straight and then He will do the rest. When we follow the example of Jesus and the one that Paul embraced, we will get our minds off ourselves and our wants and desires, and put our priority on serving God and our fellow man. When we have mastered this, then God will begin pouring down His blessings on us and all that we do. I would encourage each of you to look at your own life and follow the example that Jesus and Paul gives us, and set your priorities first on Jesus and not on yourself. 290

My Daily Devotional

October 12

Volume III

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” Matthew 6:25 Worry is one of the causes for many of the medical problems that people face today. Hospitals are full of patients with diagnoses of depression, mental issues and stress related problems. The Bible gives us much wisdom about how we are to deal with everyday issues and tells us not to worry about them as God knows all our needs and will provide for us. However, so many people want to ignore God’s wisdom and want all the material things that this life offers. We want to accumulate more money, a bigger house, a bigger car and all the material possessions that we can get. This desire to acquire wealth creates financial problems, relationship issues and many other kinds of issues that create worry and stress. I believe we need to slow down and enjoy life more, as God tells us to. I would propose the plan that God gives us, and that is that every day is a special day and one that we need to enjoy to the fullest. We need to search for wisdom and knowledge, read more, sit on your front porch and admire the view without paying attention to your need. Spend more time with your family and friends. Eat your favorite foods and visit the places you love. Use your Chrystal goblets. Do not save your best perfume. Remove from your vocabulary phrases like “one of these days” and “someday”. Tell our families and friends how much we love them. Do not delay anything that adds joy and laughter to your life. Every day, every hour and every minute is special and you don’t know if it will be your last. Eliminate worry from your life as God tells us to, and enjoy the time He gives us. So quit worrying about life, as God tells us that He will provide all our needs. What more could we ask for. 291

My Daily Devotional

October 13

Volume III

Don’t Become Discouraged

“The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.” Proverbs 12:6 When I read this scripture I am reminded that almost all of us have been misjudged at some time in our lives. People laughed when the idea of a horseless carriage was proposed. Others sneered when the telephone was invented. Even when our ministers speak about prosperity and wealth, they risk being accused of greed. People who have been given the gift of healing risk being called a fraud and a fake. Even our own families may misjudge our motives. Almost anyone who has been in an administrative capacity has been misjudged by their decision making. God tells us not to be discouraged by others who may misjudge us, as once we have taken the time to discuss our position with those who appear genuinely sincere we need to move on. We do not need to waste our time and energy on those whose motives are to stir up conflict. Jesus was constantly misjudged by others. Pharisees accused him of even being possessed by evil spirits. There are some ways we can prevent others from misjudging us, such as always be bold but very distinct in what we say. Do not leave room for misunderstandings when possible. When you are talking to someone, totally focus on that conversation, and shut out everything else. When you totally focus on what you are saying and hearing, you can keep others from any unnecessary misjudgment as you have a better chance of being on the same page. Jesus should be our example and we should pattern our life after His, and when we are falsely accused and misjudged we should know that if we have done the best we could, and followed God’s wisdom we will be redeemed, because our life should be an example for others to follow. 292

My Daily Devotional

October 14

Volume III

We Need to be a Teacher

“Instruct a wise man and he will become wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.” Proverbs 9:9 All Christians need to take the time to train and teach others. I believe it is very important that we take the time to mentor other Christians. We need to train and teach them what we know. I know that during my career in hospital administration I spent a good part of my time teaching my employees and training them to be the best they could be. Everyone needs to know from their leader what is required of them so that they can perform their duties in the best possible manner. Any successful business will have employees who are informed, well trained and confident about carrying out their instructions. This takes time, energy and great patience to do the job well. Everyone needs motivation in order to achieve to their full potential, and our instruction and teachings can mean the difference to someone being successful. Jesus was a master teacher. He sometimes taught thousands at a time, but at other moments He sat with only His twelve disciples and motivated, influenced and inspired them. We can teach the people we mentor about prayer, about heaven, giving, relationships and all the other wisdom of the Bible. We need to remember that none of us were born with great knowledge. We became who we are by being taught by someone else, and we need to pass this down to others. The people we mentor will not know everything; they will not see what we see; or feel what we feel; they will not know what we know. It will take time to nurture their vision, their dreams and the rewards you want them to pursue. They need someone good to mentor them, to inspire and motivate them, and you may be their only source for information and motivation. Take the time to train and teach others. 293

My Daily Devotional

October 15

Volume III

This is Our Place to Serve God

“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them, to the Israelites.” Joshua 1:2 There are many times in our lives when God calls us to go somewhere or do something. During these times He wants us to step out in faith and go and do what He is asking us to do, but these may seem frightening and undoable to us. Many times we miss out on these exciting opportunities because of fear of the unknown or fear of failure. We are reluctant to step out of our comfort zones and let God work through us. I am sure this is what Joshua felt when God spoke these words to him in the scripture above. But Joshua faithfully listened to God and followed Him, and God led them to their promised land. God has a plan for each of us, and wants us to be in specific places at certain times so that He can use us to fulfill our plan. I know that God wanted me and my family where we are today, as this was His plan for my life. I did not expect to be here, and left to my wants and desires I would have been in another place. But God destined me to be here as this was His plan for me, and is using me to witness for Him. We sell ourselves short when we believe that only missionaries can make a huge impact for Christ. God calls all of us to be missionaries, and puts us is our mission field. True service to the Lord is a combination of two things: faith and submission. God has placed us where we are today for a reason, we need to go out in faith and submit ourselves to do His will. We can’t wait until we feel we are where we want to be, and have everything in place that we dreamed about and desired before we begin to serve God. We can serve God now as this is the place God has destined for us to be, and we need to faithfully obey. 294

My Daily Devotional

October 16

Volume III

Live a Worry Free Life

“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Philippians 4:11 Most people in today’s society are not content with anything, as our wants and desires get the best of us. We want the bigger house, the bigger car and every new convenience that we see and can afford. We want and desire all the comforts and conveniences that life can bring us, but after acquiring all of these luxuries we are still not content. When we look at the life of the disciples, we can see that they were content wherever they were, even though they were often in dire straights, either in prison or being humiliated and hunted by unbelievers. Jesus tells us that we should be content and not worry about our lives, and that he will supply all our needs. Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” But worry is one of the more common illnesses that we all face, as worry causes depression and mental illness, and destroys many lives as people let worry get the best of them. The disciples were contented because they believed in Jesus, and saw His mighty power, at work all around them, and were not afraid, as their faith was enough to provide them contentment. God tells us throughout the Bible that we need to have faith and trust in God, and that He will sustain us, provide for us, and protect us, even in today’s world. God’s plan for our lives is not one of worry, but is one of joy, happiness and contentment. As Christian’s we can obtain this worry free life and be contented, by committing our life to Christ, and having faith and trust in Him in all things. By making Christ first in our lives, we can live each day knowing that He will be there to guide us through life’s storms, and let us be content whatever our circumstances, just as He did His disciples. 295

My Daily Devotional

October 17

Volume III

God Loves You

“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up in the last day.” John 6:40 Have you ever thought just how much God loves each of us? Could you imagine sacrificing your own Son to save others and give them an eternal life? This scripture reminds me of the father who had a handicapped son, whose dream was to be in a triathlon. This father loved his son so much that he entered him in a triathlon, and pushed, pulled and carried his son by swimming 2.5 miles, cycling 125 miles and running 26.2 miles. No, they did not finish first or second but they did come in under the deadline. This earthly example showed the love that a father can have for his son. We can also see this in the love that God has for us, as our Heavenly Father is running in a similar race with us. We are all in a race, as the sins of this world have led us to places we should not be in, doing things we should not be doing, and saying things we should not be saying. But God’s love is so strong for us that no matter what sins we have committed, He still sent his Son to die for us so that we can be forgiven and have a new life. This was God’s sacrifice as the blood of Jesus was given as the ultimate price for our sins. However, with the help of Jesus our goal is to win our race, and receive our trophy which is an eternal life. In order to win our race, we need to strive to live a sin free life, and depend on God to help us withstand the temptations to sin. We need to put on the full armor of God, and depend on Him to push, pull, and carry us across the finish line, and claim our reward. I would encourage each of you to think about the love that God has for you, as He wants the best for you. He cares for you, and wants you to be cleansed from your sins, and give you an eternal life. 296

My Daily Devotional

October 18

Volume III

God Can Heal Broken Families

“Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 9:9 The statistics tell us that in today’s society that as many as 40% of all marriages end in divorce. Under God’s plan this is not the way that families are designed to function, as marriage is to be a godly union that is everlasting, joy filled and a place where children are taught good family values, which they will pass on to future generations. Family is where members can turn when they need guidance or comfort. I have counseled many families that have been broken by divorce, and everyone is hurt, especially when children are involved. It is in times such as these, that we can take comfort in the scriptures that say that Jesus is a father to the fatherless, and the Holy Spirit a comfort to the hurting. I believe that God wraps His love and strength around His children during these hard times. I have always encouraged people in this situation to trust God and turn to Him during this difficult time. It is important that the children see our faith in God lived out. There are many difficulties that are involved, and feelings are destroyed and shattered. Natural instinct tells us that during hard times such as divorce, we are prone to produce emotions of bitterness, rage, sorrow and anger. But as believers we are given something greater, as the God that holds the universe in His hands is big enough to carry you and your children through the hard times. I would encourage any of you that are going through a situation like this, to ask God to minister to you, and give you wisdom and guidance, and heal your broken spirit. There is nothing that is impossible with God, and though you may think that your world is falling apart, God is there with you, walking beside you and if you continue to have faith and trust in Him, He can provide healing. 297

My Daily Devotional

October 19

Volume III

Don’t Be Afraid

“Yet not one of them (sparrows) will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31 I find it very uplifting and exciting to see the number of times that Jesus said throughout the Bible, “don’t be afraid”, as seen in the scripture above. This indicates to me that God doesn’t want us to go through life concerned about the worries of the world, but is telling us that we need to have a positive attitude about our life. He is telling us through these scriptures to not give in to Satan, who wants us to be afraid, as we are weak and uncertain about how to deal with situations that we are confronted with, when we are fearful. God wants us to be able to confront our difficulties, to be positive about all their outcomes, but most of all is telling us to trust and have faith in Him, and that He will provide and protect us. Jesus loves us, and places an immense value on us, and does not want us to go through life afraid of what might happen. When the disciples were in the boat and a terrible storm came and threatened to capsize the boat, Jesus awoke and told them to not be afraid, and He calmed the storm. Jesus is here with us during our storms, and will calm the wind and the seas that threaten to wash us under. When we go through our valleys, and do not see how we can ever get back to our mountain tops, Jesus is with us, and tells us to not be afraid, but to be positive, continue to have hope, and continue to have faith and trust in Him. Nothing is impossible with God, as none of our problems are too great for God to handle. Just as He calmed the storm for the disciples He can handle any trial that Satan sends our way. So the next time that you face a trial, look up, and see Jesus and “don’t be afraid.” 298

My Daily Devotional

October 20

Volume III

Don’t Dwell On The Past

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” Isaiah 43:18

Jesus tells us throughout the Bible to not dwell on the past, but to look to the future. This is difficult for many people to do however, as so often the tragedies they have incurred during their lives continue to haunt them. The death of a mother or father when you were young, an alcoholic parent, an abusive relationship, guilt over a serious mistake you made in your teenage years, and other situations can cause most people to continue questioning, and having self-doubts about these events. But it is very important to remember that your past is over, and nothing will ever change what has happened to you. Just remember that God never consults your past to determine your future. You need to move beyond the scars of yesterday, and look to what is ahead of you. Staying in the past and having a pity party because of the things that have befallen you will only keep you from becoming the most you can be in the future. As I counsel people, the one thing that keeps coming up is something that has happened in their past, that is preventing them from moving forward. The “what if this had not happened I would not be in the position I am today”, is something that keeps so many people from reaching the place they want to be. “What if” keeps people from reaching their dreams and being the person they want to be. We need to stop advertising our past and continuing to dwell on it. Each of us has had adversities in our past which may have hindered us physically, emotionally, mentally and sometimes even spiritually, but dwelling on these adversities does not help us reach our dreams and ambitions. I would encourage each of you to stop looking where you have been and start looking where you are going. Never build your future around your past. 299

My Daily Devotional

October 21

Volume III

God’s Judgment

“But I will pass judgment on you because you say, I have not sinned.” Jeremiah 2:35 The Bible tells us that someday God is going to judge us for all the sins we have committed. Our book will be opened and all our sins will be recorded in it. There will not be one evil thought, one evil deed or action that will not show up in this book of our lives. There will be no one we can blame for causing us to sin, as only we will be held accountable. When I think of how God will judge us, I am reminded of the two robbers that were crucified on the cross with Jesus. These two robbers had been judged by the authorities and had been sentenced to death along with Jesus. One of these men however saw the true heart of Jesus as He prayed for His accusers, and asked God to forgive them for what they were doing. This man knew that he had sinned and was being punished justly for his crimes, and asked Jesus to remember Him when he came into His kingdom. Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43. Jesus knew that this robber had repented and promised him salvation. Even though this man had sinned, and was being punished by man for his sins, God’s judgment reigned superior over the judgment of man. Earthly man could take this man’s life, but Jesus could give him an eternal life. It is not too late to confess your sins and ask God for your salvation. When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, He did this so that you might be saved. Just as the robber gave his heart to Jesus, you can also give your heart to Jesus and be promised your own eternal life. You may not have tomorrow, so it is critical that you ask Jesus for your salvation today. God’s judgment is something that none of us will be able to avoid, and I urge you to consider asking Jesus into your heart today. 300

My Daily Devotional

October 22

Volume III

Jesus’ Sacrifice for You

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 These were the words of Jesus as he hung on the cross, and was asking God for forgiveness of the people who has tortured, beat and crucified Him. I saw the movie “The Passion of the Christ” several years ago, and can still not forget the pain and suffering that Jesus must have gone through the day of His crucifixion. Jesus had been beaten and tortured for hours before He was led to the cross. His body must have been bloody, bruised and torn apart from the lashings and the abuse His tormenters had inflicted upon Him. Having nails driven through His hands and His feet must have been excruciating pain. At any time during this horrendous ordeal Jesus could have called ten thousand angels to come and rescue Him, but He knew His purpose and resisted. He endured all this pain and suffering for you and me because He loved us. As we wake up each morning, and all during the day we need to be thanking Jesus for enduring all this agony just for us, as it is because of our sins that He died. He endured this kind of death just because we are sinners. There is no one that loves us like our Lord and Savior, and all He asks in return is for us to believe and trust in Him. To have someone die for you in this fashion is the ultimate sacrifice, as there could have been an easier way to die, but the suffering, abuse and pain that Jesus endured is beyond our imagination. I now realize that Jesus’ death was for me, and that I will never be able to repay Him enough. I would encourage each of you to think and read the passages of how Jesus died, and to realize that He did all this for you. If you will really study these scriptures, you will realize just how important your salvation means to Jesus and the sacrifice He made for you. 301

My Daily Devotional

October 23

Volume III

Take Time to See People

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1st Samuel 16:7 A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn’t look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful precious stone. Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. He immediately realized that he had just thrown away tens of thousands of dollars into the ocean. It’s like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn’t look like much from the outside. It isn’t always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it. We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful, stylish, well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person. There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth. May we not come to the end of our lives and find that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. Take the time to see the people in your world as God sees them. 302

My Daily Devotional

October 24

Volume III

Listen to God

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 Several years ago I heard a voice from God telling me to undertake a very demanding task, one which I knew could bear much fruit for our Lord, but one which I also knew would be very difficult and demanding. I did not know if I was up for this task as it was not something I had ever done, and was completely out of my comfort zone. After thinking about this for several weeks, the voice would not go away, and I questioned this voice and wondered, “Could this actually be the will of God, and why had He chosen me to do this for Him”. I reasoned that there were others who were more qualified than me, and why had He not chosen them to do His will. After praying to God for guidance I accepted my task, and began to work with all my heart to do God’s will. Even though I questioned God’s call to me, I knew in my heart that my only response would be “Yes sir, God, I will obey you, and trust you and do whatever you ask of me.” I believe that God talks to us and tells us what He wants us to do throughout our lives, and our only response should be to say “Yes, God, I will follow and obey you.” Although my task has been difficult and demanding God has also blessed it and also me, and I have accomplished much more than I had ever imagined. Perhaps you are facing some major opportunity or obstacle in your own life, some challenging situation to navigate; whatever it is if God is telling you to take the challenge, you must obey and follow His calling. Even though you may think you are not worthy, or up to the task, God can give you the wisdom, courage and strength to succeed. When God is walking with you all things are possible. 303

My Daily Devotional

October 25

Volume III

The Lord’s Prayer

“Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen Luke 11:2-4 Christians think of this prayer as The Lord’s Prayer, the model prayer and the prayer that gives direction. The disciples had asked Jesus to teach them how to pray and He gave them this prayer. Jesus also used parts of this same prayer in His Sermon on the Mount. Jesus tells us throughout the Bible to pray without ceasing. When our heart is so heavy with all our problems, this is the time that most people turn to Jesus, however we need to turn to Him also in the good times as well. I am reminded of a story about a small boy who had been having nightmares and his grandmother began saying a prayer for him before he went to sleep. After a few nights his nightmares went away, and after several nights he said to his grandmother “I don’t need to pray tonight, as I no longer have any nightmares, and there is no longer need to have God take care of me.” Later on that night, the little boy woke up crying hysterically; his nightmares had returned. His grandmother rushed to his bedside, and his first words were I want to pray so God can hear me. He then prayed and in just a few minutes he was fast asleep. The little boy learned an important life lesson, and that is that trouble can teach us to pray, as so often we only go to God in prayer, when we have problems. God’s prayer has so much more to offer than to help with problems, as it covers so much of what God promises us. I would encourage each of you to pray to God each and every day of your life in the way that God has instructed us to pray, His prayer. 304

My Daily Devotional

October 26

Volume III

Listen to the Wise

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.” Proverbs 1:5 Throughout the Bible we find scriptures such as this, that suggests that we seek advice from others, wiser and more experienced than we are. Even Jesus sought knowledge as when He was twelve, He was found in the temple listening and talking, with the teachers of the day. Much of what we have learned in our life has been taught to us by someone, our mentors. Our parents have the greatest influence on us, but grandparents, friends, teachers, neighbors and peers also teach us throughout our lives. Our mentors are not perfect people; they simply have experienced life, and are capable of transferring that knowledge into us. Our mentors can be older or younger that ourselves. Our mentors can be anyone that is capable of growing and increasing our lives. We see almost all of the Biblical leaders having mentors. David sat at the feet of Samuel, and gained much wisdom and knowledge. Joshua received instruction and guidance from Moses, throughout their journey to the promise land. Timothy received wisdom and teachings from Paul, that let him become an effective evangelist to many. All of these people had one thing in common, and that is that they had a willingness to listen. The first step to success is the willingness to listen to the wisdom and knowledge that others can teach us. All of us need to be willing to listen to our mentors, set in their presence, and absorb all the knowledge they have to give. It is so important to become a good listener, as knowing where others have been, can become an important factor that can keep us from making mistakes in our life. I would encourage each of you to become a good listener, and open your ears and your hearts to the wise around you, and especially to the greatest mentor, Jesus. 305

My Daily Devotional

October 27

Volume III

Control Your Bitterness

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” Ephesians 4:31 Have you ever been betrayed in your life? I am confident that most people have experienced a situation or situations where you have been hurt, and bitterness, rage and anger has manifested itself inside you. A friend or co-worker who slanders you behind your back, a boss that has fired you without reason, an unfaithful spouse, a broken relationship without any cause can all be reasons to feel betrayed, and cause you to store up bitterness against someone. Jesus was the ultimate example of how we need to deal with betrayal. When Judas betrayed Him with a kiss, Jesus refused to be bitter, and did not penalize Judas for what He had done. Judas destroyed himself; it was not Jesus that took his revenge. Jesus also did not hold bitterness against Peter when he denied him three times. Jesus forgave him and Peter was restored, and became the great preacher on the Day of Pentecost. Being betrayed is an external act against us, something that others do to us, but bitterness is internal; something that we do to ourselves. Bitterness is more devastating that the act of betrayal, as we can survive betrayal, but very few can survive the effects of bitterness, and what it can do in our lives. We may not be able to control an act of betrayal that is done against us by someone, but we can and must control our hearts, and keep bitterness from invading our lives. We need to eliminate any words of bitterness from our conversations, and not remind others of our experiences, unless it is to teach and encourage them to rise above their own hurts. We need to remove any bitterness from our hearts, and be on guard against bitterness in the future, and use Jesus as our example as He refused to be bitter. 306

My Daily Devotional

October 28

Volume III

We Can Make A Difference

Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” 2nd Timothy 1:3-5 This is a very personal scripture for me as I can relate to this very much. My grandmother was very dear to me as I was growing up, and taught me so much about how I was to live my life. She was my comforter, and someone I always went to for anything that ever bothered me, as I was growing up. She lived her life for Jesus, and ingrained this in me throughout my teen aged years. She always had all the answers for anything I ever questioned, and was always there to comfort me, anytime I needed someone to reassure me in any way. I believe grandparents are great bridge-builders, as she possessed the strength, faith, courage and ability to pass these attributes on to me. Today, I feel my children still benefit from my grandmothers faith, because they can see these attributes which she instilled in me, and which I am passing on to them, and hopefully they will pass on to my grandchildren. In a sense, it seems strange that grandparents can have such a far reaching influence. After all, even though they can be separated in age from their grandchildren by 40-70 years, yet they have the ability to bridge that generation gap—sometimes even better than parents can. I am sure that each of you has been influenced in a positive way by someone in your family that has instilled in you godly family values, in my case it was my grandmother. This is a treasure you must never forget, as you must apply these teachings to your family, and let these traits be passed down to your children, as you can make a difference to future generations. 307

My Daily Devotional

October 29

Volume III

Conflicts in Marriage

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4 I consider marriage to be one of the most sacred arrangements that any person will ever enter into. God gives us much advice throughout the Bible about marriage and the sacred contract that He considers it to be. Marriage is to be a place of sharing dreams, visions and raising a family with godly moral values, where God is always present. This does not mean that all marriages will not have some degree of conflict and disagreements, but the most important thing to remember is that you are husband and wife, and that you have committed yourselves to your mates for the rest of your life. This is God’s plan for marriage, as it is a permanent arrangement, with very little room for divorce. Your spouse must be the most important thing in your life, and you must be dedicated to serving each other. Any disagreement or conflict must not come between the true love you have for each other, and must not be allowed to grow and become larger than it deserves. Resolve any conflict and put it behind you as early as possible, and do not let it resurface again in your life. Remember there are two sides to every problem. Try to identify your own contribution to the problem and seek forgiveness. Marriage is a process that requires forgiveness and understanding by both parties. It is important to not hide the conflict and let it grow to larger proportions, but work together and resolve the problem early on so that it does not grow bigger and continue to be a burden for you. Ephesians 4:26 “In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” 308

My Daily Devotional

October 30

Volume III

Establishing a Foundation

“If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.” Proverbs 21:13 It is essential that the lives of any parents be grounded on the word of God. Our gifts, our acts of kindness, our love for others will get God’s attention, and it will also get the attention of our children. They will begin to see how they can also affect the lives of people around them. It will start the blessings flowing in their own lives. It will change them. I am witnessing this in our family each and every day. Our youngest son, as mentioned previously has been called into the ministry. This calling has been in his heart for some time as we have talked over the years, and he has been very interested in ways to help others. He has shown a passion over the years to want to help, encourage and meet the needs of people around him. Our daughter has always had such a talent as an encourager to others, and is now devoting much of her time and talent to be a sounding board and encourager to the people in her church. She is so gifted in this regard and God is using her to affect the lives of others. Our oldest son has always been a perfect example of someone who is living his life for God, and has such a talent to make everybody he comes into contact with feel good about themselves. He has made such a lasting impression with the people in our community and our church that they are constantly asking about him even though he moved out of the area many years ago. He still has this ability and I can see this in his life today. All of our children have been able to embrace God’s command that they are to love others as God loves them, and are putting this commandment to practice in their everyday lives. By putting God first in your family you are establishing a foundation for your children that will last forever. 309

My Daily Devotional

October 31

Volume III

Life is Short

“As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.” Psalm 103:15-16 The above scripture depicts how insignificant our life is in the big scheme of things. We are here for only a season, and all that will be left of us is the legacy that we leave behind. All our worldly and material possessions that we have accumulated will be gone, and all that will be left is the little things that our children and grandchildren will remember of us. Our future generations will only recognize our names, and will have no further knowledge of our existence on this earth. Our place in this world could be compared to the analogy of placing our hand in a bucket of water and removing it; after the water stills and the ripples subside there is nothing left. Therefore we need to live our lives, not with the desire to accumulate great wealth as we cannot take this with us, but need to concentrate our lives to leave a legacy that will carry on after we are gone. Our efforts need to be to do what is right and good, and to be remembered by our families, friends and everyone as being an example of someone who made a difference in the lives of others. This is the way that we need to be remembered, and our legacy should be reflective of this. Our children need to see us practice this in our everyday lives. Through this they will see that we value other people greater than we value ourselves, which is God’s plan. Our children have seen the legacy that their grandfathers and grandmothers have left, and they are aware that they are creating their own legacies to leave for their children and grandchildren. The type of person we are defines our life and our character, and our actions and daily values need to be something that others will want to duplicate. 310

My Daily Devotional

November 1

Volume III

God’s Timing Is Perfect

“Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.” Ecclesiastes 8:5-6 I have always been very impatient throughout my business career, as I have always wanted things done in my time and on my own terms. I have had the vision of what I wanted to accomplish, but have struggled with patience, and waiting for everything to come together and make my visions become realities. Waiting for something is very hard for me as I always thought I knew what to do and how to do it, but it seemed to always take too much time to get my tasks accomplished. I have heard the saying that God gives each of us a thorn in our side, and I believe the thorn in my side is patience. Over the past years I have been studying the fruits of the spirit that God promises each of us, and the fruit of the spirit that I have not mastered at this time is patience. I have copied every scripture in the Bible about patience, and have these before me each day. I have read and studied these scriptures constantly, and have discovered many things in God’s word that has helped me deal with my lack of patience. I have studied the scriptures where Jesus tells us that our time is not his time. Ecclesiastes 3:1,11 “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. He hath made everything beautiful in His time.” Timing is important as we attempt to master the virtue of patience. Many times we think we are ready to undertake a new change or a challenge, but God knows that we are not ready yet, as He has not molded us and shaped us and prepared us for the change, and will place roadblocks in front of us. When God is ready for the change to 311

My Daily Devotional Volume III occur all the roadblocks will be removed and all doors will be opened. When we look at the ministry of Jesus, we find that He spent 30 years preparing for His ministry before He did His first miracle. There is a time for everything and a purpose for everything. We will never understand God’s timing, but I now know after much study that the answer is to have faith and trust in God. He knows how the puzzle of life will come together for each of us, and when the pieces will fall into place. In God’s time the purpose and plan for each of our lives will be revealed and fulfilled according to His will. Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” When our plans mesh with God’s plans for us, our plans will become realities, not in our timing but in God’s. During these last few years when I began doing God’s will, I quickly found that He begins pouring out His blessings on us when we obey His calling. 2nd Corinthians 9:8-9 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” So as I write this devotional I now realize and understand so much more as to the timing of God, and how it relates to each of us. We expect certain things to happen in our own time frame, and can become frustrated and impatient when they do not occur as expected, but God knows how our purpose in life is supposed to be carried out, and in His own timing, our plans will come to fruition. It is important for each of us to wait on God, and not to become impatient, and try to make things happen before God is ready. God’s timing is always perfect, and His outcomes will always produce the fruit of our labor. I would encourage each of you to listen to God when He speaks to you and follow and do His will, but learn to wait on God, and not become impatient in doing His work. You will be rewarded in God’s time by a harvest that will be overflowing and abundant, as God’s blessings will pour down on you for all your efforts and patience. 312

My Daily Devotional

November 2

Volume III

God Is Dependable

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” Joshua 1:-3 When I read the scripture above, I am reminded that people disappoint us so much. They let us down, and we never get used to being disappointed. We may trust a friend to help with a particular situation, but they are too busy to assist us. Our bosses may disappoint us by promoting someone else to a particular job. Even our church family may not visit us or phone us when we are sick and are not at church. Our father may not take us to a ball game or fishing like he promised. We have all experienced disappointments such as these throughout our lives. We can see that the children of Israel had a long history of dependence based on disappointment. They had a great leader Moses, but leaned on him too much. When things went wrong, they complained to Moses and wanted him to take care of their needs. When things went bad they kept reminding Moses of their suffering and blamed him for taking them out of Egypt. Despite the miracles of God, they kept depending upon Moses to take care of them, and were disappointed in him. Our friends, our church family, our coworkers and even our own family members are going to disappoint us at some time. There is only one person that will never disappoint us, however, and that is God. There is no one in our lives that we can depend on to take care of us completely, and that will not let us down in some way. But God tells us that He will never let us down; that we can depend upon Him at all times. 313

My Daily Devotional

November 3

Volume III

God’s View of Money

“Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.” Proverbs 13:11 I grew up in the country on a farm, and my family had very little money or material wealth. We depended on what we grew on our farm for our food. We worked hard for everything we had and lived a very simple life. I can remember my grandmother loading as much fruits, vegetables, eggs, butter and milk as she could carry on our horse and go throughout the community selling these to the neighbors. This was the way they provided for our family. They earned their money little by little, as there were never any windfall schemes that produced huge sums of money. Even though they gathered their money little by little, they always seemed to have money to give to someone in the community that needed help, and always put their tithes in the offering at church every Sunday. I have had a successful business career during my life, and God has been good to me and my family, and has provided for our needs very well. My family’s lifestyle has been vastly improved from the one I grew up with. However with all the things God has given me and my family, am I any better off than my grandparents were? They had a family filled with the presence of God. All their needs were provided for; they were happy and contented with what they had; they always helped others; and they always gave their tithes joyfully. What more could anyone want out of life? Their life was not complicated as life in today’s world is. It is true that we make more money, but we spend it on bigger homes, bigger automobiles, more comforts and more material possessions. It is harder today to be contented and happy than it was then, as we keep trying to work harder, enjoying it less to accumulate more money and more possessions. 314

My Daily Devotional Volume III I believe the key to happiness in life is simplicity, as life was like for my grandparents. They knew that God would provide for their needs; they knew that He would protect them and they were happy and contented with their lives. Today people are not happy and contented, as they are always reaching for the brass ring and trying to find the end of the rainbow. They are waiting for their ship to come in and bring them instant wealth and possessions. I believe the scripture above which says little by little will we make our money and grow wealth is good advice, as it prepares us to grow spiritually as well. We will learn to appreciate what God gives us and will enjoy our lives more. My grandparents knew the secret for a happy and contented life. God wants us to value people and relationships more than our possessions, but the social image of having money, and making sure everyone else knows it, puts so much pressure on most people that they succumb to these worldly desires. When we earn and save money little by little, I believe this captures the essence of the biblical view of money. God teaches us that our love of money is probably the greatest thing that will keep us from the kingdom of heaven. When we get our minds focused on our money, and it becomes our God as He warns us, our Christian walk with God will begin to deteriorate. I believe that the way God would want us to value our money can be stated as follows: Earn little by little, save ten percent, give ten percent or more, and do not owe anyone. This will determine your lifestyle, and your life will be happy and contented as financial stress will be lifted. This is a simple strategy, but one that will work in everyone’s life. I would encourage each of you to think about how you value money in your life, and see if your money and material possessions are becoming your God. These things are good to have, but when our time and energy is spent on obtaining them above all other things, we need to know that our priorities are not correct, and changes need to be made. 315

My Daily Devotional

November 4

Volume III

God Can Deliver Us

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” John 10:10 We all have had days when everything seems to be going wrong. Days when we feel dejected, and think that the world is against us. Everything we do seems to be the wrong thing and we struggle with even the simplest task. These days appear to us to be like a dark cloud is over our heads, and everything that could go wrong in our life is happening. During these times when we feel everything is lost, and we have no peace and joy in our lives, it is not God that is working in our lives, but it is Satan attacking us. These are times that we have let our guard down, and Satan has seen an opening, and is making his assault on us and our inner peace. It is easy to focus on those things the enemy is attacking us with, because they represent the things we value most in our lives. Maybe it is an illness that has befallen us or a loved one, a financial loss, a ruined relationship, the death of a dream, or even the death of a loved one. When these times happen to us, and they will, we must always remember that Satan will attack us and try to destroy everything that is precious to us. It is during these times that we need to remember that God is greater than everything. He knows all about us, our strengths our weaknesses and also our vulnerabilities. We should not forget that this might be a time when God is testing us, to let us know just how vulnerable we really are. When things go bad in our lives, this is the time we need to get our minds, and our thoughts focused back on God, and ask Him to take control of the situations and lead and guide us back on the right paths. These troubled times may be our wake up call, telling us we need to refocus our lives on God. God can handle our troubles if we ask Him. 316

My Daily Devotional

November 5

Volume III

Start Your Day With God

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be selfcontrolled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1st Peter 1:13 I would hope that each of us would get up in the morning with good intentions of living the kind of life that God would want us to live. God wants our lives to be lived in a way that is pleasing to Him, and to be lived to honor and serve Him, and be a witness to our fellow man. It is with all of these good intentions that we should begin each day. If we have discovered the talent that God has given us, we need to look for ways each and every day to utilize it, to help and witness to the people around us, and whom we come into contact with. We should also get our minds focused on our goals and objectives before we begin our day. As I traveled to my place of employment, I always thought this was the perfect time for me to ask the Lord for His help and guidance during my day, to keep me focused on the things He would want me to do. I would encourage each of you to simply take a few moments at the start of each day to ask for guidance from God, to lead and direct your lives to do the things that will be pleasing to Him, and to create opportunities where your talent can be utilized to the fullest extent possible. Each of us can find a few moments at the beginning of our day to prepare ourselves, and get in the proper frame of mind to meet the days challenges. God will lead us and direct our every move and decision we make during the day, if we will ask Him. I believe if we prepare ourselves in this manner, we will be more aware and better equipped to handle the problems we encounter. We will have a more positive attitude, and be able to react to situations in a more positive manner than we would otherwise react. 317

My Daily Devotional

November 6

Volume III

Give Freely

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the flood gates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Malachi 3:10 We cannot out-give God. During these past several years I have personally experienced this in my life. As I have developed my ministry I have found that every time I have gone out of my way to help someone in any kind of fashion God has blessed me for it. I am not talking about receiving money, but blessings that have touched my heart. Just being able to provide a nourishing meal to the children, and seeing their faces has provided me with so much peace and joy in my life that it has uplifted me. Being able to provide a pair of shoes to a child that was going barefoot has given me peace. Being able to provide a place of shelter for someone who did not have a home has brought me joy. All of these things have given me a warm feeling in my heart that is indescribable. Helping to bring broken families back together again; being able to comfort someone after they have lost a loved one, or giving comfort to someone who has just lost their job, are just some examples of things that has given me a sense of peace and joy in my life. And as Jesus said is worth a hundred times more than I gave. I know I spent the bigger part of my life not giving in the manner that God wants us to give, but when we realize the real importance of giving of ourselves to others, this is the time that God really touches our hearts and begins to pour out His blessings in our lives as He has done with me. It is not difficult to start giving of yourself. Whenever we give freely, and give from our heart God will repay us many times over and bless us. 318

My Daily Devotional

November 7

Volume III

The Responsibility of Parents

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9 This scripture tells you how important God’s commandments should become in your life and your families lives. You should have them wherever you go, and in whatever you do. They must remain with you at all times, and you must not forget them. You must teach them to your children throughout the time your children are with you. This is God’s commands to you as parents, and to be successful parents you must obey and follow His commands. You must spend time in God’s word and find out His wisdom. The Bible is full of wisdom and knowledge that you can use in order to train your children in the way they should go. This step is not difficult, and if you want to be successful as parents, spend time each day seeking this wisdom and knowledge, and put it into practice in your everyday life. Just reading and discerning this wisdom is not enough. You need to model this wisdom daily in your actions, your attitude and your behavior to your children in order for it to be effective. You cannot do it some days, and not do it other days; it needs to be consistently and constantly demonstrated to your children throughout your life. Your whole life needs to be devoted to being the model for your children. This is what God expects from you, and is what you need to give your children; an example for them to follow. We see pictures in our children’s room of people they admire; many times these are pictures of sports heroes, rock stars, movie stars or 319

My Daily Devotional Volume III other famous people. Our children should have their parent’s picture over their beds as the ones they admire most. Wouldn’t it be nice if they had your picture over their beds, and told visitors that you were the ones that they would be like when they grow up? During our after school program, which is part of my ministry, I had the opportunity to ask many of the children about their parents. There were over 69% of the children in the program that had come from broken homes. Most of the children I would ask, hardly knew one of their parents, and if they did, knew very little about them. They would say that they worked all the time, or that they were not home much. The role models that these parents were making on their children, was not one that many of them wanted to imitate in their own lives. This is so sad that so many children today do not want to be like their parents. When we go back home to Kentucky to visit some of our families, they are constantly talking about their parents, and the good times they had as they were growing up. We seldom find many of our children today talking about their parents in this fashion. The people, who remember their parents and were talking about them, can remember their parents spending time with them, doing things together and having fun together. They can remember when they went fishing together, or to the ball game, or the time when their parents took them on vacation. When parents do not take the time to spend with their children, there are no memories such as these that the children can remember. All parents need to be building up hundreds and thousands of memories that their children will remember of them. These are the treasures that they will keep forever in their minds and thoughts. When we spend only five minutes a day with our children, there are not many memories we are giving them. Time goes by too fast in the lives of our children. We only have them for a season, and the time we spend with them is too precious to not be storing up memories of good times. I would encourage all parents to spend time with your children, as they are God’s gift to you, but most of all teach them about God. 320

My Daily Devotional

November 8

Volume III

Use Your Time Wisely

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2nd Peter 3:8-9 During my career I have conducted numerous seminars covering various administrative and financial issues. The number one problem most people listed as keeping them from their goals was time management. Most people just can’t find enough time to accomplish all the things they want to do or would like to do. The thing to consider if you have this problem is that you have something in common with everyone else on this earth, and that is that all of us have the same amount of time each day to work with. You might ask yourself why other people get different results out of the same amount of time. In my book “God’s Plan for a Joy Filled Life” I devoted an entire chapter about how to use your time effectively. There are three keys to making the most of your time (1) Know what God’s purpose for your life is, (2) Live by biblical priorities and (3) Make plans that reflect God’s will for your life. These three keys will let you manage your time, and do the things that both you and God want accomplished. I also discuss time management in many of my devotionals. To make the most of our time we need to have our priorities developed into a plan of action. If we don’t know where we are going, we will not know how to get there, or even know if and when we do get there. We must establish a daily plan for our lives. We must know what we are going to work on each day. We must have our priorities engrained in our minds and not waver from them. If we don’t have a plan for our day, we are going to aimlessly wander from 321

My Daily Devotional Volume III one thing to another and not get anything accomplished. When we know our purpose in life, we will know what our priorities need to be. Our priorities will then determine what our plans and goals will be during our day. Time management is simple when we follow the progression: From purpose, to priorities, to plans and goals. Just remember that when we set our plans and goals each day, knowing our purpose and living by biblical priorities, these will be God’s plans and goals for us as well. God will always provide enough time to accomplish His goals and plans. When we use God’s plan for our lives we will find our time will be more productive time. Begin today to use your time productively. Ask God to reveal your purpose in life, which will enable you to establish your priorities and make God’s plan come true. The pursuit of so many Christian’s today is that their plans are not God’s plans. Their pursuit is that of acquiring riches, and their own personal gains and desires. Their plans do not mesh with God’s plans. By looking at our purpose, our priorities, our plans and our goals, we can quickly see how we spend our time. How we spend our time determines who and what we are. When we decide to manage our time by God’s priorities we will find that we will become effective time managers. We need to ask ourselves if we have set our goals and priorities for each day to match what God’s goals and priorities are. The time we have on this earth is uncertain, and utilizing our time wisely is the difference between us meeting our goals and objectives in life, and utilizing our talent to the fullest, or not accomplishing what God wants us to accomplish. Set your priorities for your day to include God. Just a little time alone with God each morning will make us ready to face our busy schedules, and a little time at night will help us reflect about our day’s activities and ways to improve them. When we can’t take the time to schedule some time with God each day, there is something wrong in our lives. Now is the time to get our priorities in order, and begin to listen to God, and spend time with Him and in His word. 322

My Daily Devotional

November 9

Volume III

The Book of Proverbs

“The Proverbs of Solomon Son of David, King of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair.” Proverbs 1:1-3 I love the book of Proverbs because its scriptures give prudence to the simple; knowledge and discretion to the young, and they make wise men wiser. They will guide you into a happy and prosperous life. Acquiring wisdom and knowing how to avoid the pitfalls of folly will lead to health and success. Although Proverbs is a practical book dealing with the art of living, it bases wisdom solidly on the fear of the Lord. Throughout the book this reverence for God is set forth as the path to life and security. People must trust in the Lord and not in themselves. For example, the references to the “tree of life” recall the joyful bliss of the Garden of Eden, and tell us that the one who finds wisdom will be greatly blessed. The book in addition to telling us about the way of wisdom, also tells us the paths of violence and immorality. But most of all the scripture in this book leads me to wisdom, and tells me how to handle many of the problems that will confront me. When I have trouble of any kind, I usually can find some scripture in Proverbs that will give me the wisdom to handle the situation, or know better how to deal with it. Each scripture is thought provoking, and even though many are short they have a much broader meaning. They make you think and reflect on what the writer is saying. The book of Proverbs urges people to get wisdom, for it is worth more than silver or gold and it leads us to a loving reverence for God that includes submission to His lordship and the commands of his word. I would encourage each of you to spend some time each day acquiring wisdom from this great book. 323

My Daily Devotional

November 10

Volume III

Strive for Excellence

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.” Colossians 3:23-25 No matter what we do in our lives we must always be fair in all we do. The most important thing that represents us to our fellow man, and lets them know the kind of person we really are, is how we treat other people. The way we present ourselves to others, and the way they perceive us is one of the most important things that will separate us from them. We must at all times strive to conduct ourselves in a manner that we will never be ashamed of anything we did or said, that will negatively influence the people around us. The way we conduct ourselves in our encounters with our friends, neighbors, the people we work with, and any one we come into contact with reflects upon our character, our integrity and our attitude. Many people are content to be complacent with being just an average person, and not doing anything over and beyond what they could do to help their fellow man. My thoughts about my life has always been to always try to go the extra mile, and go out of my way to do something to help someone, or to make somebody feel good about themselves. I believe that God does not want us to just be average, and settle for mediocrity in all we do. I believe God wants each of us to be the example and the frontrunner in whatever we do. He wants us to stand out in the crowd, by showing people that we are a cut above, in our character, integrity, attitude and the way we conduct our lives. He wants us to strive for excellence in the way we conduct ourselves and deal with others. 324

My Daily Devotional

November 11

Volume III

Teach Character

“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. 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.” Romans 5:3:4 As we send our children out into the world the thing that will set them apart from others is the character that we have taught them. The character of our children will provide the foundation for their lives. I know that if there was ever one thing that my mother, grandmother and grandfather ever taught me was that my character was one of the most important things in my life, and that I should guard it above anything. I have found their teachings to be so true in my life and in the business world, and seen this revealed so many times throughout the years. I feel that the leadership crisis we are facing in our businesses, in our government and in our churches can all be traced back to the issue of character. We must send our children out into the world prepared to withstand the pressures of this world, and the temptations they will come against. It is our duty as parents to raise our children with a Godly character. We must raise them to follow Jesus Christ, and teach them the commands of God. We need to send them out into the world equipped to do battle with the enemy, that will confront them from all sides. We must prepare them to know right from wrong, and to not give in to their temptations and follow the way of the world. If we will read and study the above scripture it gives us all the things we need to teach our children to prepare them to handle the obstacles and temptations that are going to challenge them in their lives. 325

My Daily Devotional Volume III

November 12 Bring God Back to the Family

“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.” Psalm 112:1-2 From the beginning God ingrained in man that he was to be a protector of his wife and his family. He was to watch over and care for the ones he loves and is in charge of. Just as Jesus was the shepherd and in charge of his flock, so is man in charge of the care and protection of his family. In the world today, there is so much evil all around us that is invading our homes and our families that must be blocked from our lives, so that our focus is not diverted away from doing what is right. Satan is at work in our society and will fill our minds, thoughts and attitudes with his devious schemes, to divert us away from God and his teachings. I believe that man is being challenged like never before in our history by the things of this world, to turn away from true moral and Christian values and follow worldly trends. It is difficult to stay focused on God with all the pressure exerted on our families and our children in today’s society. The television, music, internet, fads and trends of today, send the message to our families that these things are the norm, the things we should do and follow. But many of these are not the things that God wants us to follow, as so many of our television programs, our music, our magazines and newspapers are promoting a life style that is not acceptable to God and his teachings. Satan is attacking our culture as he has never before. We are being bombarded with immorality, sexual pressures, temptations and evil everywhere we turn. Our government is giving in to Satan, and has even allowed God to be taken out of our schools. Our children are not being given the freedom to pray in our schools, or be taught good moral Christian 326

My Daily Devotional Volume III values by their teachers. I can remember when I was in school, we began our day with prayer, and much of what we were taught had to do with Godly principles of respect, caring for others, building friendships and how to love and get along with others. They were things that were Biblical in nature, and things that have followed me throughout my life. Our children of today are not being given this opportunity in their schools to be taught these same family values, as they are not being taught about God and his teachings. Children are also receiving little or no instruction about God in their homes, as many parents have not been taught these values as well. This is why there are so many broken families throughout our country, as God is not present in our families and our schools to influence and direct our young people. Our children are brought up without God in their lives, and do as their parents do. Our children are imitators of their parents and learn from them. When God is not present in the home the family can become dysfunctional, and this will be carried on to their children. I believe that there has never been such an important time as today, for parents to step up and take the responsibility to begin to turn around the situation our families are in. Parents must become the leaders of their families once again, as God commands us to do, in order to reverse this trend, and take back the control of our families. I believe God places this responsibility directly on the shoulders of the parents. The broken homes that we see in today’s society is due partly to the parents not managing their families as God commands. We have the responsibility to keep evil out of our family, and to instruct our children in the way of the Lord. Man has a tremendous responsibility in these troubled times to protect his family from all these pressures. The most important thing we can do is to make sure the presence of God is at the forefront of our family. Living for God each day and following his scriptures in all aspects of our life, is the only way that he will be assured that the true Christian family values will prevail, and be carried out by our children. 327

My Daily Devotional

November 13

Volume III

Be a Man of Character

“Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.” Psalm 112:5 During recent weeks and months, the television and newspapers have been full of government officials, religious leaders and others who have been discovered having stolen, committing adultery and doing other sins that have brought scandal and disgrace upon both their families and also the public trust. Although history tells us these acts have always been true in our past, the press has been much more readily in today’s society, to glamorize and bring it to the public’s attention. Throughout the Bible God gives us many scriptures that tell us that our sins will find us out, and in our world today this is proving to be so true. I like the scripture above which tells us that good will come to those who conducts His affairs with justice. It is so important that we always be fair and truthful in all that we do. I have always thought that our character and the trust that we develop with others, is one of the most important things that we can store up as treasures for ourselves. However, in the “dog eat dog” world today, man seems to always be looking out for themselves, without any regard for the welfare of others, and their character is being lost. The Bible tells us to humble ourselves to others, and to love others as we love ourselves, but so often we see others wanting to “get” instead of “give” to others. With the attitude that so many people have in this regard, it is no wonder that our society is turning from God, as we are disregarding God’s teaching, and the sins that people are doing are being found out and uncovered. I believe it is important, more so than at any other time in our history, to begin to return to the wisdom found in our Bibles, and to think before we act. We need to think about others, before we think about ourselves. 328

My Daily Devotional

November 14

Volume III

Trust God for Your Victory

“He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.” Psalm 112:7-8 How often do we hear bad news, that someone has died, lost their jobs, developed a serious illness, a marriage has broken up, and many other instances where serious issues have developed in people's lives? Many times it is difficult to know how to respond to these problems, and know how to counsel someone. When tragedies face us, many times we do not know where to turn to, and what to do in these circumstances. The scripture above should give solace to us, as God tells us that if our heart is secure in him that we should have no fear. Even though we may not see how the situations will be resolved, we need to face these trying times with the assurance that God is in control, and lean on His everlasting arms for protection and guidance to get through these issues. We must always remember that God knows all things and is aware of what we are going through, and tells us that He will not place burdens on us too heavy for us to bear. God tells us that we will be tested throughout our lives in order to let us know that we are not in control, but that He is. During these rough times we need to be steadfast in our faith and trust in Him, as God will let us triumph over our problems. We must continue to thank Him and believe in Him for our deliverance. I can recall times when I have had issues in my life which I did not know how to handle at the time, but by being faithful and trusting in God for the answer He provided the solutions to my problems, many times with better results than before the problems began. I would encourage each of you, that when you face challenges in your life, to not give up on God, but continue to believe and trust in Him for your victory. 329

My Daily Devotional

November 15

Volume III

God Detests Lying Lips

“The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.” Proverbs 12:22 Our words tell so much about the true character of who we are. They tell so much about what is in our hearts, and God gives us much wisdom throughout the Bible, that tells us what is spoken through our mouths come from our hearts. It is so easy to speak words that are not true, as many times we say things because we do not want to hurt someone’s feelings. We tell so called “white lies” because we may not want to go to a meeting, or do not take a phone call from someone we don’t want to talk too, and then give them an excuse which is not the real reason. Many times when we do not tell the truth the first time, the result is that we will tell another lie in order to cover up the first one. This one lie can in many times lead to multiple lies to cover up the one initial sin. Yes, lying is a sin in God’s eyes, even the “white lies”, as God wants us to be truthful in all that we say and do. In God’s eyes these are still lies, and as the scripture above tells us He detests lying lips. I believe it is important to always tell the truth, as we can see instances all throughout our society where government officials, business leaders and even religious leaders are discovered in lies to cover up indiscretions. The truth will always be discovered and come to the front. Even if our lies are not discovered by men, God still knows everything about us and knows of our lies. We need to be careful in our words, and even though it may be easy to lie to keep from doing something we do not want to do, it is better to tell the truth. If we get into a habit of lying about the little things, it will become easier to lie about the bigger things. I would encourage each of you to think about your words, and to make sure they are truthful as God detests lying lips. 330

My Daily Devotional

November 16

Volume III

Choose Our Words Wisely

“Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18 We can see how our words can be a sin in the previous devotional, but our words can also bring healing when spoken with encouragement and kindness. The taming of the tongue is important for Christians to conquer, as words spoken in anger can bring hurt, and damage and destroy relationships, but words spoken in love can bring joy and peace and hope to these same relationships. The scripture above provides much wisdom and guidance as to how we should always use our words. We must always remember that whatever comes out of our mouths comes from the heart. Our words express our true feelings about things. In order to tame our tongues, we always need to think before we speak, and consider whether our words are angry expressions that will hurt and damage our relationships with others, or whether they will be uplifting, show love and be encouragements to others. We must teach ourselves to think before we speak. Many times words spoken in anger to someone is lasting and not easily forgotten and overcome. It may take time to rebuild trust in a relationship where anger has been demonstrated. Jesus commands us to never use words that will damage and show our anger towards others. We need to always be forgiving and not hold anger against anyone. We need to be peacemakers, and our words and actions should always be to show others that we love them. It does not do anyone any good to demonstrate anger, as anger is a sin and indicates that God is not living in us. Throughout our lives we are all going to be in situations where Satan is attacking us and causing situations where we can be provoked to anger. God tells us however to resist this temptation, and choose words of love. 331

My Daily Devotional

November 17

Volume III

Are You Poor or Wealthy

“One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet he has great wealth.” Proverbs 13:7 During my career in health care, I witnessed situations where someone in our hospital faced death almost every day. Many of these people were very wealthy and others were very poor. In all situations it did not make any difference about how much wealth they had accumulated or how little they had, as when death was staring them in the face they were all equal. Their wealth could not buy them an extra day as they all faced either an eternal life with Jesus or spending their eternity in Hell. Many people when they had Jesus in their hearts were at peace with themselves, and ready to stand before God and face their judgment. I have witnessed many of these people happy to leave the pain and suffering behind as they knew what their future held. Others that had not accepted Jesus and knew they had no hope, were bitter and resentful as they did not know what their future held. Wealth keeps many people from enjoying their lives, as they spend all their waking hours working to accumulate wealth and material possessions, but realize too late that all their wealth has not brought them happiness. Just recently one of the wealthiest men in the world made a large multi million dollar contribution to a very worthwhile charitable organization, and stated in the donation ceremony that this should help pay his way to heaven. Although his donation will certainly assist the needs of people, it certainly will not do anything to get him any priorities in heaven. The wealth that all of us need to obtain is to first ask God to forgive us of our sins, and accept Jesus into our hearts. When we do this one little thing, Jesus will consider us wealthy, and then peace and joy will fill our hearts, and then we will not fear death. 332

My Daily Devotional

November 18

Volume III

Always be Truthful

“He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.” 1st Corinthians 4:5 Just recently, the news was filled about new revelations that have been discovered about the presidential candidates. Many of these were things that they had tried to hide from the public, as they bordered on unlawful acts and behavior that will damage their reputations and their character in the eyes of the public. Even though these individuals thought they were above the law, and took the chance to engage in these activities their sins have now been uncovered and brought to light. Just as the scripture above states, their sins have found them out. We may think that we can do something that is wrong and get away with it, and many times we do keep it hidden from man’s eyes, but God knows all things and knows when we sin and do things we are not supposed to do. He knows the motives of our hearts, and our thoughts and actions even in private are not hidden from His sight. Over the years I have witnessed many highly talented people submit an application for employment to my hospitals, and have falsified information on their resumes, with the intention of making them more qualified for the positions. When their resumes were checked out, their real qualifications were discovered, which resulted in them not being hired. We need to always be aware of falsifying anything with the intention of making things better than they are, as it is better to be humble than boastful. We need to always speak the truth, and our actions and behavior should always reflect what is right and truthful. I would encourage each of you to be truthful in all you do, and have the right motive, as you might be able to keep the truth from men, but not from God. 333

My Daily Devotional

November 19

Volume III

What Will Heaven be Like

“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” 1st Corinthians 15:42-44 I have heard many fanciful ideas that have been passed down by pastors on Sunday morning, about what we’ll look like in heaven. Some of these described heaven to be a place where the saints and angels are reclining on clouds and playing harps. The apostle Paul has a far more accurate and descriptive picture of what heaven will be like. His scripture tells us that departed believers are already with Jesus, for as soon as a Christian is absent from the body, he is present with the Lord. 2nd Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” When Christ returns, a trumpet will sound, and all who died believing in Him will be raised so that their bodies can join their spirits. The book of Revelations Chapter 21 tells us that in this way all followers of God will be prepared to be part of His new heaven and earth. Our resurrected bodies will be perfect. There will be no sickness and no pain, as there will be no sorrow and grief that will cause us worry. Our bodies will not be damaged or grow old, but be healthy and strong for all eternity. We will be so much like God that we will be reflections of His radiance. Our new bodies will be righteous and do everything that God requires of us. We will not be rebellious and have a sinful nature, but will serve the Lord in an unhindered manner. We will have eternal bodies which will be perfectly equipped to continue what we have begun on earth, which is to serve the Lord with all our heart, mind and strength. Heaven will be our eternal home. 334

My Daily Devotional

November 20

Volume III

We Need to Be Near God

“But as for me, it is good to be near God.” Psalm 23:28

Have you ever thought about how we go about the task of keeping close to God? In order to keep our fellowship and be in the Spirit of God in our lives, I believe there are three things that we need to do. The first thing we need to do is to be in constant study of God’s word. His scriptures are meant to lead and guide us in the way we are to live. These scriptures will come alive and have meaning to you when you study and meditate on them each day. You must be constantly reading, studying and applying His wisdom and knowledge to your daily life. The more you study His Holy Word the more that will be revealed to you. The second thing is to speak to God all during your day with prayer. When you make God first in your life, you need to talk to Him. God hears your prayer and will respond. God will talk to you and let you know His will for your life through prayer. When you align your desires, your will and your life to God, you are now walking in his ways and His desires become your desires. His will now becomes your will. Your purpose in life and God’s plan for you will be revealed and your life will reflect what God desires for you. The third thing is to share with others. God gives each of us gifts and talents that we are to use in His glory. We must remember to share our gifts and talents with others, so that we will become a witness of Christ’s love for us and others. We are to become an evangelist to spread the word of God to all. When we share God with others, things begin to also become deeper within us, and we become closer to God also. When we practice these three things, we will always be close to God, and He will work in our own lives, and bless us. We all need to experience God on a daily basis and let Him lead us on the paths we need to follow. 335

My Daily Devotional

November 21

Volume III

Are People Close to You

“May another take his place of leadership. So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also called Justus) and Matthias…who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken from us. Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.” Acts 1:20-23 This is the scripture that tells us what happened after Jesus ascended to Heaven, and how the remaining eleven apostles chose the successor to Judas. So often we think that the twelve disciples were the only ones that were close to Jesus, but we see in the scripture above that there were others that were close to Him as well. It tells us that both Joseph and Matthias were with Jesus even before He chose the Twelve Apostles. We also find that there were the 120 people who gathered before Pentecost who also were close to Jesus. Just imagine Jesus meeting with these people in settings much like the small groups we have today in our churches. He ate with them, spent time with them, talked of God to them, and prayed with them. Who are your circle of friends and do you spend time with them as Jesus did? In our society today all researchers tell us that our circles of relationships are smaller than they used to be. Has your life gotten so busy that you do not have time for those who are close to you? If we want people to be close to us, as these people were to Jesus, it can happen in just the same way. When we have people that are close to us we need to nurture them as Jesus did, by spending time with them, praying with them and worshipping together with them. We need to treasure those who have walked with us and have been close to us, for they are among God’s greatest gifts to you. 336

My Daily Devotional

November 22

Volume III

Are You Ready

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9-10 Many people today believe that this present life is all there is—that when people die, they simply cease to exist forever. But this is not what the Bible teaches about life after death. The Bible makes it clear that there are great blessings in store for those who accept God’s forgiveness for their sins and follow Him. Such people will enter Heaven, the perfect place where God reigns. More than a mere enticement to follow God, however, the promise of Heaven gives God’s people great hope—assurance that there is reward beyond this life so that we do not need to worry about the trials we must endure today. What will life be like in Heaven? The above scripture makes several truths about the place where all believers will live forever. I believe we will live without fear or worry, as Heaven is a place of security, safety and protection. In Heaven we will also live without need, as it will be a place of complete sufficiency. We will live without pain, and Heaven will be a place of comfort. Finally Heaven will be a place where we will live without sorrow, for Heaven is a place of boundless joy. In Heaven we will be free of life’s cares and will be filled with the joy of being in God’s presence. One day we all will stand before God at his judgment throne and give an accounting of our life, there will not be a chance then to give any excuses for our thoughts, actions and behavior. Are you ready for this judgment? 337

My Daily Devotional

November 23

Volume III

Don’t Give up Praying

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 Throughout the Bible Jesus tells us the importance of prayer in our lives. Our pastors tell us every Sunday the importance of prayer, and what the power of prayer can do. So many times when we have difficulties and problems that we cannot handle by ourselves we pray to God for help in dealing with our situations. Usually we expect an immediate response from God to help us deal with whatever is troubling us. We pray for something and expect it to happen immediately or shortly after. We become impatient, and many times become discouraged because God does not instantly answer our prayers. As Christians we need to learn patience, and to not give up if our prayers are not immediately answered. Jesus teaches us a valuable lesson about our prayer life in the parable of the persistent widow, who did not give up, and I believe that Jesus does not want us to give up in our prayer life. We need to be persistent going to Him with our prayers. It does not matter how we pray or how eloquent we are, as God knows our hearts and understands our motives. If we are sincere and really want to reach God, we only need to pray earnestly to God and He will hear us. Our prayers bring us into God’s presence and He will then hear us and listen to us. But most of all our prayers can lead us to our salvation which must be our main goal in life. Our prayer life is the way that each of us can talk directly to God, who is always there to hear us. When you pray to God, thank Him for your blessings, and then ask Him to let His will be done in your life, not your will but God’s will. 338

My Daily Devotional

November 24

Volume III

Get in God’s Presence

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Mark 1:35 Every individual needs to put the power of prayer to work for them. Prayer is such an essential part of our daily worship that we cannot speak enough about it and do it enough. Prayer is the main avenue God uses to transform our lives and change us. If we are not willing to change, we will not have a need for prayer, as it is through prayer our life will be changed. As we become more accustomed to prayer we will begin to think like God; we will begin to desire the things He desires; to love the things that He loves and to obey His will. As we develop our prayer life He will teach us to see things from His point of view. I believe David was the ultimate prayer warrior, as he was either thanking God for his blessings or asking God to deliver him from his troubles. I remember a quote from Martin Luther where he declared, “I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.” John Wesley also said “God does nothing but in answer to prayer,” and backed this up by stating that he spent three hours daily in prayer. God does not expect us to become like these great men instantly, and become discouraged because we do not devote this amount of time daily to prayer, but He will meet us anytime in prayer and will lead us to the point where we will want to spend more of our time communicating with Him in prayer. I would encourage each of you to begin to devote more of your daily worship time in prayer to God. When you start communicating with God He can change you when you are in His presence, as His presence will give you hope and a future when you hear Him and begin to abide in Him. 339

My Daily Devotional

November 25

Volume III

God Can Calm Our Storms

“Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.” Psalm 4:1 When David asked God to hear his prayer in the above scripture he was asking God to relieve him from his distress. I believe so many of us only go to God in prayer during times of distress. However this is not the only time we need to go to Him in prayer. We need to go to God every day, even when we are not in distress or trouble. We need to thank Him for the good times as well as the bad times. We need to thank Him for everything He has done, and has provided for us and our family. Throughout most of my life, I know I would only go to God in prayer when things were going bad, as David did in the above scripture. When things were going good I had very little time for God. I now realize that we need to go to God every day in prayer with praise, with thanksgiving and a grateful heart. We need to ask Him for guidance in doing His will for our life, and when we do He will answer our prayers and give us the peace and joy that we all desire. I realize that most people only go to God in prayer when they are facing trials and difficulties in their lives, and I believe that there are times when God wants to get our attention, and allows many of our problems to confront us, because we are going in the wrong direction, and it is through these difficult times that He is wanting us to turn our lives back over to Him. I know in my own life that when I have strayed from God, it seems like the whole world would turn against me, and I would have multiple problems. But when I turned back to God through my prayers, my problems seemed smaller, and I would again have hope and would begin to see a way out of my troubles. God can calm our storms. 340

My Daily Devotional

November 26

Volume III

Seek God’s Plan

“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:2-3 The above scripture is not one that many pastors routinely mention in their messages; however it tells us that if God has given us a vision of what His plan for our life is to be we must be patient and wait for it to happen. I know that God has given me His plan for my life, and I can’t wait for all the things to happen that He has planned for me to do. I am so impatient and want to do all the things today and see them completed. The waiting turns from days to weeks to months and even years. I know however that the vision He has put in my heart and spirit, and know that He will bring it to pass in His timing. I am also learning that the waiting process is also not all bad, as in this process God is molding me and making me better equipped to fulfill the plans He wants me to do. There are things that I felt I should have done earlier that could have speeded up the process, but I resisted and trusted God that He would let me know when the time was right. In all of these instances God knew what was best as if I had gone on my own, and did these things they would not have worked as well. I do not believe we can rush God and His timing, as I am learning to trust Him more, regardless of the circumstances. Waiting is sometimes hard for us to comprehend, but God promises us that good things will come our way when we are patient and wait on Him. I would encourage each of you to seek God’s will for your life, then in God’s time you will have a peace that will make you alive and committed to do His perfect will. 341

My Daily Devotional

November 27

Volume III

God is Patient With Us

“Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation.” 2nd Peter 3:15 Just last week when I was in the grocery store picking up a few things, I noticed a woman in front of me with a small boy about 4 years old. This young boy was running all around his mother, and it was obvious that he had enough energy to wear all of us down. His mother tried and tried to get him to slow down, but nothing she did kept him from continuing to run, jump and have a good time. The mother finally said if you don’t calm down I am going to count to ten, and began counting very slowly, One--Two---Three. This incident reminded me of my children when we would take them to the beach in Florida, and when they were getting too far out in the waves Margaret would hold one finger up and then another, and by the time she held three fingers up our children knew that it was time for them to begin coming closer to the shore. I believe God is like this with us as He is also very slow in pulling us in. Hs is a very patient, kind and loving God, and waits on us and counts to ten, and gives us every opportunity to respond to His gentle voice. I believe He gives us the opportunity in many ways, throughout our lives, to come to Him on our own, but He has plans for our lives, and if we don’t come on our own He will begin counting very slowly. I know that I have heard people say that the Lord is just waiting for us to mess up so He can let us have it with some bad things in our life. I don’t believe God is like that as He counts to ten real slow. He states in: Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you; they are plans for good, and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” We all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, but God is merciful and patient with us, and wants to fulfill His plan for us. 342

My Daily Devotional

November 28

Volume III

God’s Plan is Perfect

“After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted him and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver, and a gold ring. The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. Job 42:10-16 This account of Job’s life is the perfect example of someone using the true meaning of patience in their life. With all the afflictions Job suffered he weathered the storms of life and all the pain and suffering. He lost everything but kept his faith in God and did not give in. He had the patience to endure the hardships of life, as he had a promise that if he would keep his faith he would be rewarded many times over with God’s blessings. This is the way God wants each of us to be in dealing with all of the pain and suffering that we have in our own lives. He knows ahead of time what impact many of these things will have on our lives. My father’s death was an instance in my own life that has always been very difficult for me to understand why this was allowed to happen to me. I am now beginning to understand why God allowed this to happen as I can see how his death has influenced my life, and also my children’s lives. It has been difficult for me to be patient all these years living with this, but I now realize some of the reasons why he may have allowed this to happen. I probably will never understand the full story as this is only a small piece of a large puzzle, but just realizing and seeing only a small piece of the big puzzle has satisfied me and given me peace and joy in my life. I believe God’s plan is a perfect plan. 343

My Daily Devotional

November 29

Volume III

My Personal Peace

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 23:3 When I began to follow the plan that Jesus called me to do, the scripture above was one that I accepted as my own personal scripture. I have had this scripture placed on the cover of all of my books, and is one that I have found to be so true. Prior to God’s call in my life I depended on myself for all things, as I had the confidence in myself and in my own abilities to do what I needed to do in my business career, and did it very successfully for over 45 years. However there was something seriously missing, and that was the peace; as even though I was successful in all my endeavors, my world was filled with stress, unfulfillment, worry about what the future held, material things and my own personal ambitions and desires. I knew all about Jesus, or so I thought, as all throughout my life I went through the motions of going to church, reading my Bible occasionally, and praying when I encountered problems in my life. However, this all changed when I heard Jesus calling me, and although I resisted for several years, when I actually committed myself to following Him and giving my life fully to Him, my stress, my un-fulfillment, my worries about the future, my need for material things and my own personal ambitions and desires all disappeared. Peace entered my life and I have never been the same. The peace and contentment that Jesus can bring into your life is indescribable, when you turn everything over to Him. There is nothing in this world that is like having Jesus in your heart. Your whole world begins to revolve around Him and wanting to do His commands. You can’t get enough of Him and you want more. You want to read more of His Holy Word, and when you study the Bible the scriptures leap off 344

My Daily Devotional Volume III the pages at you, and they come to life, and have meanings that you never saw and comprehended before. All of the commands of God leap out at you, and your thoughts and actions want to obey and follow all of them. Things that seemed acceptable before now suddenly are not acceptable, and you turn away from these and seek to follow the things of God, things that He is placing on your heart and in your mind. Your thoughts are solely concentrating on doing things that would be pleasing to God. You want to become a servant to others, and help meet the needs of less fortunate people around you. Their welfare becomes more important than your welfare, and your thoughts are about how to make their lives better. The material possessions that you have accumulated do not seem important anymore, as these have no meaning as you realize that they are only temporary, but you now begin to thank God for these as you realize that it is not by your power that you have them, but it is by God’s power that He has allowed you to have them. The world around you is suddenly changed, as you can begin to see God in everything you do. You begin to appreciate all the beauty and majesty that God has created. During this time God began to give me words that I have been compelled to write down in my books and in my daily devotionals. These words are not my words, but God’s words as He gives me these words, as He places them on my heart, and gives me the wisdom and the ability to discern what His scriptures mean. God’s plan for my life has changed me completely, and my desire is to serve Him with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. The peace that I now have is my reward, and as I go through the rest of my days on this earth, I pray that God will use me in whatever capacity that He desires. I hear God each and every day as He talks to me in gentle whispers, and gives me direction in my life. My life is now at total peace, and it is all because that God is my Lord and my Savior. My future is now secure because I know that God is by my side and that I will serve Him always. Thank you Jesus for saving my soul and being in my life as you are each day. I will serve you forever. 345

My Daily Devotional

November 30

Volume III

Serve Others

“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43-45 In looking back on my life, I realize that I spent the majority of my life in a career where I was always in charge, and always the boss and not the servant. I wanted things to be done my way, and demanded my employees to follow my instructions. I now realize that so many times throughout my career, I missed the true meaning of what the above scripture really tells us. Although I always fulfilled my duties as a manager, and got the job done well, there were so many missed opportunities I had to put the welfare of others ahead of my own, but did not do so. Jesus is telling us to be a servant in everything we do, to put others first, to think about others instead of ourselves. Most of the things we do in life impact other people, and we need to remember that by putting them first, we are doing what Jesus wants us to do. I know that during these last few years as I have become more of a servant, Jesus has blessed my life, and has provided me a peace and joy that I have not experienced before. During the last part of my business career, I had the attitude of being a servant to my employees. I wanted to know what I could do to help them perform their jobs better. As I began to follow this method I realized that this is the way that all of us should live our lives. All of us need to be servants in all that we do, as when we have the attitude of being a servant we are fulfilling what God really wants us to become. God has blessed me when I began to be a servant, and I will continue to serve others for the rest of my days. 346

My Daily Devotional

December 1

Volume III

Have You Been Transformed

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2 This scripture is my second most favorite scripture in the Bible, followed only by Isaiah 26:3. What is so important about this verse is that it tells me that when Jesus came into my heart that my life changed, and I became no longer a part of this world, but was transformed into a new me. My son in law is a programmer and I believe our lives before Christ was programmed into us. The world that we were exposed to had taken over our lives, and thus we became the people we were. The influences of our family, our friends and peers, our teachers, our jobs and all the experiences we were surrounded with made us what we had been. If we grew up in a Christian environment this was programmed into us, and if we grew up in a non Christian environment we developed a philosophy of how to survive and cope and succeed in the world apart from God. But my scripture tells me that when I became a Christian my sins were washed away, and I was reprogrammed and transformed into a new person. I cast aside all the influences and experiences that had made me what I was, and was transformed into a new being, and now became influenced by new people in Christ, new friends in Christ, new peers in Christ and new surroundings, the House of God. But the most important thing in my scripture is that my mind was reprogrammed and transformed from the things of the world, to the things of Jesus Christ. God designed us to live in fellowship with God and to fulfill His purpose and His plan for our lives, but we were born physically alive but spiritually dead in a sin filled world. We had to be born again, and be transformed and reprogrammed into the person that God wanted us to become. 347

My Daily Devotional

December 2

Volume III

Our Framework for Giving

“The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your need in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame.” Isaiah 58:11 I have written much about how God will satisfy our needs, but how do we distinguish between our true needs and our wants and desires? This is where we each have to establish our philosophy about generosity and giving to others, and make sure this is the same philosophy that God desires for us. There are two things that we need to understand in order to determine if we are following God’s will in this regard. The first is that we must understand that everything we own is not ours but is God’s. We don’t have anything that God has not given us, as all our possessions are His. He promises that He will provide our needs, but our wants and desires is another thing. God tells us that He will grant our wants and desires, but only after we have gotten our life in order about our generosity to others We need as much as will make us fit-spiritually, physically and mentally-for the purposes of God, but what we have beyond this belongs to the needs of others. The second is that we must begin to give generously to others, not for the good feelings that giving brings, but because we are supposed to be a blessing to them. We should give generously not with the idea of getting a blessing for ourselves, but to give a blessing to others. When we have our philosophy on giving aligned with God’s philosophy, we will have real freedom from the temptation to let material possessions and wealth control our life, and become our God. I would encourage each of you to look at your life and your philosophy about giving and align it with God’s philosophy. It is important to follow God’s commands in this regard, as God loves a cheerful giver, and thinking about others needs is to love others as we love ourselves. 348

My Daily Devotional

December 3

Volume III

Obedience to God

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” Hebrews 11:8 I would like for each of you to consider if you are willing to obey God even when it’s not easy, and you don’t understand? This kind of obedience takes a great deal of faith. It takes a devotion to God and a desire to please Him and obey Him, regardless of the circumstances and the unknown. Growing in faith and obedience is a process that will span our lifetime, and is one that will have no boundaries as we can grow each day. So many times throughout the Bible we see examples of just how much faith the Biblical men of God must have had. Noah must have had a tremendous faith to obey God in building the ark, or Abraham must have had an outstanding faith in God to obey Him when he was commanded to kill his own son. None of these examples were easy ones for these people to follow and obey God, but they trusted Him so greatly, and had so much faith that they were willing to sacrifice everything for God and be obedient to His commands. What would you do if you suddenly got a command from God to go build an ark or to kill your child? We need to all work towards building this kind of faith in God by meditating in God’s word, by prayer and letting God live in our daily life. We need to be in a position in our faith that when we sense God’s direction in our life, that we don’t hesitate, but will step out in obedience, even when we don’t understand the reason. We need to trust Him, as God’s plan and purpose for each of us is always perfect. We need to pray to God to help us follow in the example of Abraham and Noah, and be willing to sacrifice all that we have in obedience to God and His will for our lives. 349

My Daily Devotional

December 4

Volume III

Our Sins Will Find Us Out

“The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:8 We have all read the Bible’s wisdom telling us what we sow, so shall we reap. I recently saw a story that so well exemplified this wisdom. A successful building contractor called in one of his senior employees, a skilled carpenter, and told him he was going to put him in charge of the next house the company was building. He told him to order all the materials and oversee the entire process from the ground up. This was the carpenter’s first opportunity to be the boss, but greed got the best of him, as he began thinking that he could make more money for himself if he would cut a few corners. He then ordered second grade lumber, inexpensive concrete for the foundation, put in cheap wiring, and cut every corner he possibly could. All of this with the thought that the paint would cover up all the inferior materials and no one would ever know. When the home was completed, he asked the boss to come and see it. His boss was impressed by the outward appearance and said, “you did such a fantastic job and have been such a good and faithful worker, and so honest all these years that I am going to show my gratitude by giving you this house.” This is such a good example of how we reap what we sow. We can’t make beautiful flowers bloom in the summer if we plant weeds. We can’t reap righteousness if we sow sins throughout our lives. If we want to reap rewards from God we must obey and follow his commands. We cannot go our own way and continue our sinful nature, and expect to be rewarded by God on our day of judgment. We reap what we sow, and our sins will someday find us out, and we will receive our just rewards as we stand before God. 350

My Daily Devotional

December 5

Volume III

Resist Temptation

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Matthew 26:41 Temptation is a strong force that drives a wedge between what we mean to do and what we actually do in so many issues of our lives. Every one of us makes decisions all during our lives concerning financial issues, relationship issues, family issues and work issues. We reach a point in each decision as to whether to do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord, or whether to be tempted to do something that we know God would not approve of. Temptation is present in most of our daily lives to try to gain a foothold in our minds, our attitudes and our actions and lead us down a path that could lead us to our ultimate destruction. When we are tempted to do what we know is not right, we are living independently of God, and living in the flesh, which is of Satan. This is really the true battle when we are facing temptation, as we are deciding whether to follow Christ or Satan. The scriptures tell us that God has provided a way of escape from every temptation. 1st Corinthians 10:13 “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” It is important for us to know what is right and wrong at the time we are tempted, as we must control the temptation at the beginning, because if we don’t control the temptation at the threshold, we run the risk of allowing the temptation to control us. Once we give in to the temptation it is very difficult to turn around and escape, and return to our innocence. God will provide a way out when we are tempted, but we must be willing to take a stand and not give in to Satan. Our stand is to trust and be obedient to God’s will for our lives, as God will strengthen our will to obey. 351

My Daily Devotional

December 6

Volume III

God Will Not Disappoint

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

Every one of us will sometimes have problems that we expect others to help us with, but we will find that they do not always have the answer and will disappoint us, even though they may not intend to. It would be nice to have someone that we could depend on, but there is only one that we know that will always be there for us, and that is God. When we depend on God we will never be disappointed, as He is always going to be there showing His love and providing all our needs. The majority of disappointments and hurts we will face in life are ones where we have depended upon others, and they have let us down. Whether it is a family member, business associate or a friend, we set our expectations that others will assist us in a project or something we are interested in. Then for whatever reason, when they do not come through with what we expected of them, we are hurt and disappointed. Usually the people that we have trusted and have depended upon in the past are the ones that will disappoint and hurt us the most in these kinds of situations. The thing that we need to remember during these times is that everyone’s priorities are not the same as ours. We should not expect others to be as enthusiastic about our projects and plans as we are. They have their own priorities and projects and their own expectations. What may seem like the most important thing in our immediate life may not be important to them, and results in them not taking the time to help us, and we become disappointed and hurt. However when we are disappointed with others, we can look upward and find God who is always there for us, as He will never leave us or forsake us. I would encourage each of you to keep your eyes on Jesus, and you will never be disappointed in the results. 352

My Daily Devotional

December 7

Volume III

Look To The Future

“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:21 So often I believe that people become so enamored with material possessions and wealth that they lose sight of what the real riches of this life is all about. The scripture above is a lesson that each of us need to learn and follow. It is the story of a rich man who was a farmer, and whose crops had produced so generously that he had no place to store them. He thought to himself, I will tear down my barns and build bigger barns where I can store all my grain and my goods, and I can lay back, take life easy and be merry. But God told him that this very night his life would be taken from him, and then who would get all his possessions. We must never forget that our material possessions and wealth will some day pass away, as they are only temporary things, and that they are not going to last, but will be here for only a season. Everything that we cherish and love will be left behind for someone else to use and enjoy. The only thing that should matter to us is what is waiting in heaven, as this will be eternal and will last forever. We must look beyond the moment, past our temporal pleasure and into the future. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew that Jacob was cooking, as he saw only a temporal pleasure and failed to look ahead. There are a lot of people like that today. They don’t think about God, or have time for Him unless they have some trials or troubles come against them. Then all at once they begin to think about God, and now have time to pray to Him. Then when their problems and crisis is past they return to their old ways, and no longer think they need God in their lives. I would encourage each of you to seek God, not as a temporary God, but as an Eternal God, one that will last forever. 353

My Daily Devotional

December 8

Volume III

The Majesty of God

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 Last night I attended a small group meeting of our church, where a series called the Truth Project was being discussed. This session was on the differences between evolution and divine creation. As this discussion continued for several minutes, I was reminded of my career in the health field and the knowledge I have learned about the human body. Everything in the human body must function and work together, and in unison for us to be healthy and in good physical condition. If our heart is not functioning, blood will not get to the rest of our body and these parts will deteriorate and we will die. If our brain does not work properly our muscles will not know when and how to move our arms and legs. If our lungs do not pump and produce oxygen the rest of our body will suffer and die. When God created man He made us in His image, His perfect image, and with all the complexities of every part of our bodies working and functioning together. The presence of God is in us because we were made in the likeness and image of God. All we have to do is look at our own bodies to recognize the amazing wonder that God has created. We can also see His majesty all around us in the wonders of nature, when we see birds in flight, the fluffy clouds in the sky, a magnificent sunset, a beautiful rainbow, the feel of the wind on our face. God is all around us and to have someone question His creativity, and suggest that all this beauty was created by a process of evolution is absurd. Just knowing the wondrous creations that God has made is enough to give us a glimpse of what lies in store for us when we enter heaven, to be with Him for all our eternity. The majesty of God will be everlasting and all this is for us. 354

My Daily Devotional

December 9

Volume III

Jesus Has Plans for Us

“Take away the stone, ‘He said. But Lord, said Martha, the sister of the dead man, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” John 11:39 Have you ever been disappointed with God’s apparent lack of response to your prayers? I am sure that almost all of us have at one time prayed to God, and have not had our prayers answered in a timely manner. It can be disheartening when you have asked God to help and intervene in a particular situation, and to know that He could have changed the outcome of your particular circumstance. But through all this, we must realize that God’s plans may not be our plans, just as it was with Martha and Mary, and their brother Lazarus. We can see in the scripture above that it was not that Jesus did not care about Lazarus, as He loved him, and had not forgotten about him. The Bible tells us that Jesus intentionally delayed going to help saying “it is for God’s glory, so that God’s son may be glorified through it.” Jesus had a plan, but Mary and Martha did not know that. All they knew was that their brother had died and Jesus didn’t come in time. Jesus knew their pain and felt it also. In fact, the Bible tells us that Jesus wept with them, but when they came to the tomb, Jesus commanded that the stone in front of the tomb be removed and for Lazarus to come forth. Many times in our lives we only see the trouble in front of us, and we want Jesus to come to our rescue and save us, but we don’t always know about God’s divine plan for us. We can become weary and disappointed when God does not immediately answer us. We need to remember that sometimes God’s plans for us might include a delay. As we wait, we must not give up, but continue to trust and have faith that God will answer our prayer, and that He cares for us and in His time will come and save us. 355

My Daily Devotional

December 10

Volume III

Trust and Have Faith

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” Psalm 37:5-6 So many times in our lives we have situations where we had been feeling comfortable with our lives, then suddenly uncertainty enters the picture and we feel unsure and uncomfortable. We can see examples in the Bible where this even occurred with Peter. Peter was a fisherman and was familiar with boats and spent much of his time on the water. He was also familiar with storms and knew how to deal with these and felt comfortable just being on the water. Despite all this, when he saw Jesus approaching his boat, walking on the water, he immediately trusted Jesus so much that he stepped out of his boat, where he was safe and comfortable, into a situation where he was unsure and probably a little uncomfortable. This lasted only a few moments, and then he began to doubt, and his walk on the water ended abruptly. This is how many of us are in our walk with God, as we put our trust in God and are so committed to following Him that we actually step out of our boats, and our comfort zones. We must remember that God will never allow us to fall and sink when we are living by faith. This is the place where God wants us to be, in our walk with him; the place where we have complete trust and faith that whatever we do will succeed. It doesn’t matter that we have stepped out of our comfort zones, and may feel insecure about what God has called us to do, we need to know that God is there and will not let us fail. If God is calling us to do his will, we must be obedient and not hesitate to step out in faith. We must not let doubt and fear of the unknown keep us from pressing forward to do God’s will, as when God is by our side we will be victorious. 356

My Daily Devotional

December 11

Volume III

Put God in Control

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 2nd Corinthians 10:3-4 I believe that the strongholds mentioned in the above scripture, and the battle that is being waged is to gain control over our minds. Satan is waging a fierce battle to gain control over each of us, and our mind is the ultimate prize that he wants control of. Our minds control our actions, our thoughts and our behavior. What we think governs what our actions are and where our attention is directed. We can’t outsmart or outthink the flesh or the devil on our own, as there is too much temptation that is thrown at us to resist. Our weapons must be “divinely powerful” if we are going to win any spiritual conflict with Satan. Satan is going to try to promote his lies through deception and temptations to try to turn us to sin. We need, however, the wisdom and knowledge that our Holy Bible gives us to resist this deception and temptation; we need God’s help. We may think that we are strong enough to resist Satan on our own, but we must realize that even though we believe in our own ability to resist, we are not strong enough to withstand the devils attacks. When we wake up each morning and turn on our televisions, we will be attacked by the evil that we see; we will be attacked when we get to our places of work by the evilness, and be tempted to do wrong; everywhere we go we will find evil. We must understand that our world is full of temptations, and we are vulnerable to these throughout our day. We must rely on the strength of God to withstand and ward off the enemy. We must allow God to have control of our minds, as this is the only way to resist Satan’s attacks and keep us pure. 357

My Daily Devotional

December 12

Volume III

Building a Stronger Family

“He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.” Acts 10:2 As I have expressed many times in my writings, I believe that parents have a tremendous responsibility to be living examples for their children as to God’s will for the family. Building a stronger family is not easy. It takes a lot of work, time, prayer and sacrifice. The results, however, can be highly rewarding as parents begin to see their children develop into godly men and women, and see how their future generations can be affected by the kind of example they set. There are many things that we can do to strengthen our families, and be the role model that God wants us to be. We need to always show appreciation, respect and love to family members. Compliments and sincere demonstrations of approval are needed so badly by our children in today’s society. Our children need to feel good about themselves and develop a positive attitude. Much of this is developed when we spend time together, such as meals, working together and having fun times together. We need to structure schedules in order to spend time with each other. We must be committed to each person’s happiness and welfare, by spending time and energy with each other, and making our family our number one priority. We must spend time developing good communication patterns by talking and listening to each other. We must know what is going on in each others lives, and showing respect to all members of the family in everything we do. God must be present in the family at all times, and family life needs to revolve around Him. God will protect the family that has Him as their priority. I would encourage parents to make God and your family your top priority today, so that your children have the best chance to succeed. 358

My Daily Devotional

December 13 law.”

Volume III

Open My Eyes

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your

Psalm 119:18

This wonderful scripture is a very simple one, but one that should be so meaningful to each of us. It is telling us to open our minds and our eyes, so that we will see the wisdom of God’s word, so that we can apply it in our everyday lives. This is so important to open our eyes to the knowledge of God’s Holy Word, and see how we are to love others as we love ourselves. We are to see how we are to deal with the needs of others around us, and take care of the weary and the downtrodden, and be able to assist them in some way. We need to see the people that God has placed in our lives, whom we are to encourage with words of faith and deeds of compassion. We need to see and understand what our true motives are, and the purpose and plan that God has for us. So often we go through each day not seeing and understanding the will that God has for each of us, therefore we miss opportunities to be a witness for Him to others that may never have this opportunity again. God has given each of us gifts and talents that we are to use fully to further His kingdom, but so often we bury these gifts and they wither away and die, and do not produce fruit for God. God wants us to produce a bountiful harvest, and grow and multiply our gifts by using them to influence and bless others with them. We need to search out and see the opportunities all around us, and take advantage of our gifts to witness for God. It is so important to open our eyes to all of God’s commands, and begin to be obedient and follow them throughout our lives. If we commit our lives to following God, making Him our top priority and seeking His wisdom daily, our eyes will be opened and His law will be revealed to us, and we will never be the same again. 359

My Daily Devotional

December 14

Volume III

Turn to Jesus

“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 have overcome the world.” John 16:33 When you have troubles confront you where do you turn, to your God or away from him? According to the many scriptures found in our Bible, God tells us to expect troubles and tribulations throughout our lives. Most of the apostles were beset with troubles all through their ministries, and spent much of their time in prison, or on the run from their enemies. Paul and Barnabas were strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in their faith and trust in God, and saying, “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22. With the assurance that we are going to encounter tribulations during our lives, we are faced with the question who do we turn to? I can remember my oldest son when he was about 2 years old walking into our living room when the lights were out. He did not know that I was sitting on the sofa, and when he entered the darkened room, I yelled out thinking that I would have fun with him and surprise him. Instead, it terrified him. One would expect him to have run away from danger, as he could not see who was there, however he began running directly to me with arms outstretched, looking for comfort. This is the innocence of a young child. I believe this is how we should be as adults, as when danger threatens we should run and seek comfort from Jesus, as He is the only one that can provide complete peace and comfort. The one thing that I would encourage each of you is to also run to Jesus in your good times as well. Don’t just use your times of trouble to run to Jesus, but think about Him during your good times, as He will give you comfort and peace any time you call. 360

My Daily Devotional

December 15

Volume III

God’s Calling

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” Isaiah 61:1 The Bible gives us scriptures such as this which indicates that each person has been called of God, and has a purpose and a destiny in God’s kingdom. For some, it may be in the public eye to serve in government. For others, it may be behind the scenes, as an encourager and helper. Others may be called into a leadership position, while others may be called to minister to providing for the needs of others. Each of us can have more than one talent or gift, but God has given each of us a calling. I know my wife has such a tremendous gift as an encourager, and can help anyone who is having difficulties and problems in their lives by uplifting and showing love for them. I have also talked and counseled with many people over these past 10 years about their calling, and I have had several say that they are waiting for God to show and tell them how to use their gifts and talents. The answer to this is that God will show and tell them when the time is right. We should remember that Jesus prepared himself for 30 years for His ministry which lasted only 3 years. We must be patient and wait on God until we have time to grow and mature from our past hurts and wounds, and heal ourselves. We are never going to be effective serving God if we are bitter, have not mastered forgiveness, pride, self centeredness and been given the other fruits of the spirit. But there will be a point in each of our lives when God will release us to do the things that He has destined for us to do. When this time comes we will find ourselves producing much fruit in our calling, as we will be reaching out to minister to those who are hurting and are without hope. You must be patient and wait for your season to come when God calls you. 361

My Daily Devotional

December 16

Volume III

Are You Ready

“There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.” Luke 21:11 This is a scripture which tells us just a few of the signs of the end of the age. None of us can predict when God will come again, but there are earthquakes, famines and pestilences and fearful events and signs in our world today that could indicate that the end is near. Just this fall a deadly unstoppable influenza pestilence is mutating and strengthening which could be one of the pestilences that is mentioned above. The last time an influenza outbreak occurred was in 1964 when almost four million people died. In 1918 almost eighty million people died from an outbreak. In fact, the 1918 outbreak was the greatest disaster that America has ever had with almost one half million people dying in just a few weeks. To get all of this in perspective, Jesus warned us that a plague, a pestilence, a wall of death is going to someday stalk the entire planet. I believe that with the advent of Global Travel, it is possible to have a plague that could be spread to all points of the globe. The Bird Flu is another threatening plague that could jeopardize all mankind. The Bible also goes on to say that if these catastrophic events didn’t stop they would wipe out all human life. The potential is there for this very thing to happen. For our generation, the ability to kill a quarter of mankind with the spread of pestilence or war fits into the timeframe that God tells us could be the end of the age. It is so important that each of us are ready for this time, as although we do not know the day or the hour, the end days could be near. We need to be ready and have the assurance that if this time would come soon, that our eternal life would be guaranteed as we have accepted Jesus as our Lord. 362

My Daily Devotional

December 17

Volume III

Take a Stand

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” Psalm 19:7 We live in a world today that is becoming more evil, where Christian morals are being violated, and where godly family values are being ignored. God’s Ten Commandments are being mocked with impunity by millions of people, and even the mention of God in our schools and our government is being banned. The sad thing that I am observing is that we as Christians are showing very little remorse, and doing nothing about it. I am afraid that this anti-godly attitude is being rubbed off on all of us, as we keep bending and compromising our rules to allow for more freedom for the liberals who are very outspoken. When God gave us His Bible and all the commandments, He gave it to us so we would be obedient to His words, and follow them and teach them to our children as He commanded us to do. He expects us to walk the talk in our actions and behaviors each and every day. I believe our government should not be questioning God’s word and making laws such as to permit abortions, when God has told us what He says about this horrible action. Man cannot make laws that Christians should follow that go against what God teaches us. Homosexuality and same sex marriages are other areas that man is defying God’s teachings and enacting laws to approve of this sin. The Christians of this great nation are standing by and watching this happen every day, without taking a stand. God warns us that we must take a stand when we see God’s commandments questioned and violated as they are being done. I would encourage each of you to look around you and compare the kind of laws that Americans are being forced to submit to, and then read your Bibles to see what God says about these laws. 363

My Daily Devotional

December 18

Volume III

A Historical Perspective

“Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.” 2nd Chronicles 34:1-2 The scripture above tells us just a little about Josiah who was made king when he was only eight years old. But from the moment I read about him, I was very impressed because in the prior two generations of the kings of Jerusalem, they had ruled with evil intentions, and had turned their backs on God and their kingdom had suffered. But when Josiah began his rule he brought God back into the land, and the kingdom began to prosper again. This is how it was for the people of Israel as when they turned their backs on God they suffered, but when they worshipped God they prospered. During Josiah’s reign two impressive things happened. The Book of the Law was found and began to be followed, and Josiah began to celebrate the Passover again, which was a sacred part of their worship. These two events indicated that God was again part of the daily life of the Jewish people. The story of Josiah intrigued me because I believe we see this kind of history being repeated in society today. For instance as I have done much research of my family’s ancestors I have found that when a divorce occurred, which resulted in a broken family, it took about two generations for the family to mend and heal itself. During these two generations almost without exception divorces in the children’s family would continue until someone would break the cycle. Then the next generations would be divorce free for several generations, and the family would thrive. I believe there is much to be learned by looking at history such as Josiah as it repeats itself over and over, even down to our own generations. 364

My Daily Devotional

December 19

Volume III

Prophesy is Being Fulfilled

“If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. Jeremiah 7:5-7 The above words were ones that came to the Prophet Jeremiah from God, and that he was to proclaim to the people. This one scripture mentions the violation of many of the Ten Commandments. But when Jeremiah gave these words to the people they did not listen and continued in their own sinful ways, and continued to suffer and be punished by God for their actions. We do not have prophets, such as Jeremiah in today’s world, to proclaim the word of God, but we do have the Bible, which is God’s written word, which gives us the same messages that the prophets gave. But regardless of who gives us the message, our society still does not obey God’s word, as we continue to go about our own ways, disregarding the commandments, and we are also going to be punished. The Prophets were prophesying about Jesus’ coming and what the future held for the people of Israel. They did not have the New Testament which proved that what the Prophets had prophesied had come true, but we now have these also to tell us what will happen when Jesus again returns. But just as the people of Israel did, we also are not listening and being obedient to God’s word. It is so important to heed the wisdom of God, and put it into practice in our everyday lives. These words should not be taken lightly, and dismissed, in that we convince ourselves that we still have tomorrow to begin to obey them, but rather we need to be ready as the prophesy’s are being fulfilled. 365

My Daily Devotional

December 20

Volume III

Churches Without Walls

“As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collectors booth. Follow me, he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.” Matthew 9:9 I believe the calling of Matthew, is a good indication of what God wants each of us to do in our own lives. My point is that Matthew was a tax collector, and was probably one of the most despised men in the land, as he collected taxes from the people. The tax collectors were usually wealthy individuals, as they were allowed to keep part of the money they collected for themselves. They were disliked and in our eyes they would not have made a good candidate for Jesus to have representing Him to all the people during His ministry. But Jesus chose Matthew, because He wanted to show others that all people could become believers. Jesus does not want us to just spend all our time with other Christians, but to go out into all the world and find those that are lost. We certainly need other Christians in our life to encourage and uplift us, but our mission field needs to be out in the world, where sinners are and where we can spread the word of God to the lost. This is why we find many of the most successful ministries in our country going out to the prisons, to the bars, in bicycle gangs, anywhere there are sinners that need to know about Christ. There are many of the more well known evangelists that used to be drug addicts, prisoners, prostitutes, etc. themselves that have been converted and are now winning souls for Christ. Our churches should all have an outreach in their local communities, into places where they can tell others about salvation. However, I am afraid that many of our churches are churches with walls around them. I believe our churches should be churches without walls, where we are out being evangelists as God commands. 366

My Daily Devotional

December 21

Volume III

Signs of the Times

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 As we approach the Christmas season we need to be mindful that for hundreds of years before Christ was born, prophecies were given of the Messiah’s conception, birth and promise of salvation for mankind. The scripture above from the Prophet Isaiah gave us this account, and the sign when Jesus would be born. When Jesus was born, the sign from God that the prophets had declared should have been obvious to all the world. But, many people of that day missed the prophesy, as they were not paying attention, or did not believe. Not everyone saw the Star that the Magi saw, nor did everyone see the angels appear and hear them, when they announced the birth of Jesus. There were few that paid any attention, when a young virgin girl named Mary was found with child. Nor did anyone listen when Joseph told his story of the angel who appeared before him, and spoke to him about Mary’s baby. I am afraid that it is much like that today, as God is moving all around us, with signs of Jesus coming again, and we are still not paying attention or believing. Even with the Christmas season almost upon us we are still not paying attention. Just as it was in the days of the first Christmas, even with all the signs not many noticed and ready for the first coming of Jesus. Today, we have the Bible giving us all the signs of the second coming of Jesus, and we are still not paying attention or heeding them. This time will be the last coming of Jesus, and is the critical one that we must make sure we are prepared for, as this time we are going to be judged by God, to see if we have been paying attention. There will not be a next time to get prepared for, as this will be the last. 367

My Daily Devotional

December 22

Volume III

The Simplicity of Christmas

“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:12 This Christmas like most others almost all of us will dress up, wrap our presents and prepare our best meal of the year to celebrate the greatest of all seasons. But what we miss so often in the elaborate and glamorous celebration we are accustomed to, is the simplicity of Christmas. Just think of God becoming flesh and coming to earth, and living among mankind. When God got ready for Christmas, He undressed, stripped off His finery and apparel, and left His place in eternity, and laid down as a baby in a manager on Christmas. Can you imagine just coming from Heaven to a manger in a stable? This is the simplicity of Christmas that I want to make you aware of. But if Jesus had not come to earth in this way, and become flesh with us, we would not be able to understand just how much of a sacrifice He was making on our behalf. There are so many people who don't understand the significance of what God did for us during Christmas. There are not many that will celebrate Christmas as it should be celebrated. Not everyone will understand its eternal significance in our lives. The commercialization, the presents, the food are just a few of the things that have gotten us away from the real understanding of what God did during this precious time. We think of it as just another festive time when we get time off from work and give and get presents. I would encourage each of you this Christmas to read the story of the birth of Christ, and to think about the significance it has for us. We need to focus on the first six letters of Christmas, and understand that without the birth of Jesus we will not have the promise of salvation. Yes, Christmas is a season of simplicity, but it is one of the most important days for all of us. 368

My Daily Devotional

December 23

Volume III

Are You Looking For God

“She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for him in the inn.” Luke 2:7 In just two more days we are going to celebrate Christmas, and the birth of Jesus Christ, which I believe is the most momentous occasion in human history. The night Jesus was born is also the greatest night in human history. But, why, on this most important night, were the majority of people like the innkeeper, unaware of what was going on. Angels had appeared to proclaim His arrival. Wise men came from afar to acknowledge His birth. Shepherds were visited by an angel who announced where the Son of God was born. But, with all the open proclamation, how did the majority of people miss the birth of Jesus. Why did the innkeeper not know that Jesus was to be born that night? I believe the reason is that they were not looking for Him, because they were too busy. This is how people still are today, as we become too busy with the demands and struggles of daily living that we lose sight of God and neglect to spend any time getting to know anything about Him. We become too involved in our own pleasures and don’t try to adjust our time and schedules to make room for God. Even though the shepherds were busy, keeping watch over their flocks, they took time to adjust their busyness and make room for Him. The innkeeper however put his priorities ahead of God and did not see. I would like to ask each of you if you are looking for God in your own lives, or are you to busy with all the other things that are going on. For those that are looking for God, the heavens are open, the angels are singing and God is giving you signs. For those who are not looking for God, you are like the innkeeper as you will not have any room for Him when He comes back to earth, and are relegating Jesus again to a stable. 369

My Daily Devotional

December 24

Volume III

Joseph’s Transformation

“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:18 Can you imagine the transformation that Joseph must have had when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him to take Mary home as his wife? Joseph was just an ordinary man with ordinary dreams for his life. He was going to get married, start a family, raise his children and build his carpentry business in a little town called Nazareth. There was nothing unusual in his plans, just a simple life. But when Joseph had first found out that Mary was going to have a baby, he had thought about divorcing her quietly, as he had wanted to be married to her, but being a righteous man did not want to expose her to public disgrace. But God had different plans for him and also for Mary. This encounter with God changed their lives. Most of us can look back at certain moments in our own lives where we have encountered God, and He has changed everything. It may have been when you were baptized, or when you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. I know there have been several encounters, in my own life, where God changed everything from what I had planned for myself. During this Christmas Season, don’t forget to do more than just open presents. Open your heart to Christ in a greater way than ever before, and worship Him and let Him transform your life. Your encounter with God can become the most important event that will ever happen to you. Just remember that God has already given you the greatest gift possible, when He first sent His Son Jesus to earth, and then to die on the cross for your salvation. Merry Christmas Bob and Margaret 370

My Daily Devotional

December 25

Volume III

Christmas Day

The Birth of Jesus Luke Chapter 2

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” This is the day of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ who came into this world to suffer and die on the cross for us and forgive us from our sins. Merry Christmas Bob and Margaret 371

My Daily Devotional

December 26

Volume III

You Still Have Time

“But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.” Luke 16:25 The scripture above is from the story in Luke of the rich man and Lazarus. Lazarus was a beggar who spent most of his days at the gate begging for food and money. He was covered with sores, and even the dogs came and licked his sores. He had lived a miserable life. The rich man passed Lazarus each day at the gate but did not look toward him or try to help him in any way. Then one day both Lazarus and the rich man died and were judged by God for what they had accomplished during their lives. Lazarus was carried away to heaven, but the rich man spent his eternity in Hell. So many people around us could die in the next year or even in the next hour, many unexpectedly and rapidly, and many of them will be lost. They will face the same fate as the rich man, a place that has been feared since the earliest times of life on earth. This will be a dark place of endless night, and a dreary place of never ending hope. Most people think about this place more and more the older they get. There are dozens of scriptures in the Bible that tell us about life after death in this place and what it will be like. All of us have a destiny that will be either a joyful existence in the presence of God, or a Christ-less eternity in the place prepared for the devil and his angels. If you are not saved and have not accepted Jesus into your heart you will be destined to spend your eternity in this place. You will have no name, no reprieve, no visitors, and no hope. Your chance will be over and you will spend forever alone and abandoned. But there is still time for you to escape this fate, as Jesus can still come to your rescue and save you from this terrible future, if you will ask Him. 372

My Daily Devotional

December 27

Volume III

We Must Learn to Forgive

“For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.” Proverbs 30:33 There are not many of us that have not been hurt at some time in our life, which has stirred up anger inside us, against the people who have hurt us. Many times this anger has grown and become an infection that has spread throughout out life, and has kept us from experiencing God at His fullest. As I counsel people I have found that forgiving hurts of the past and moving on with their lives is difficult for many of them. I have heard these people say they can never be able to forgive those who have hurt them, as they have been damaged too greatly to forgive. The thing that we must always remember when we think we are unable to forgive, is that we don’t understand just how much we have been forgiven by God. It may be difficult for some to see this, especially those who have gone through deep hurt, but nothing others have done to you is as awful as what you have done to God. Jesus died a terrific death for us as He was beaten, humiliated, crucified and died on the cross for our sins. Our sins did this to Him and He is still willing to forgive us. Unless we are willing to forgive others, Jesus tells us that He is not willing to forgive us. This is important, as His refusal to forgive us if we are not willing to forgive others, could be the only thing that will keep us from experiencing God’s kingdom. Having been given such forgiveness from God, can we, or better still, dare we withhold our forgiveness from anyone who has betrayed our trust and hurt us, no matter how horrifying that hurt has been? I would encourage each of you to search your self and see if you are holding anger against another. Do it today and forgive them so that God can then forgive you. 373

My Daily Devotional

December 28

Volume III

Would You Follow Jesus

“Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 I have written many devotionals about the calling that God makes on our lives. Although we sometimes may question this calling and feel that we are not worthy or adequate to do God’s will, we must always trust and be obedient to God. We can see in the scriptures just how important it was to Jesus to have His disciples follow Him when he asked. He came to several of them and told them to follow Him, and when they asked if they could attend to some business, He emphatically told them no, as they were to come now with only the clothes on their backs and follow Him. In the scripture above we see another instance where Jesus stated to not look back, but to follow Him now. I am sure it took a tremendous commitment for some of the disciples to just drop what they were doing and follow Jesus. Matthew was a tax collector, and was probably quiet wealthy, but he stopped what he was doing, gave up everything and followed Jesus. Several of the others were fishermen, who had families and a business, but when Jesus called they also stopped and immediately followed Jesus. I am sure all of these men had some wealth and material possessions that they left behind, but they were willing to give all of this up and go follow Jesus with not even a promise of where their next meal was coming from. If Jesus called you today, would you be willing to drop everything, give up your wealth and material possessions and be obedient to follow His call. I believe this is what Jesus wants each of us to be willing to do. He may not ask all of us to simply give up all that we have worked our entire lives for, but I believe we need to be willing to do this if He called. Do you have enough faith and trust to follow Jesus if He called? 374

My Daily Devotional

December 29

Volume III

We Have a Choice

“I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Luke 18:17 Throughout the Bible we find scriptures such as the one above where God is telling us that we need to be as innocent as a little child in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. God also tells us that the path to his kingdom is a narrow one and that few will find it. He also tells us that it will be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it will be for a rich man to get to heaven. God is warning us through these many scriptures that we must be prepared to lead a godly life while on this earth, one that is obedient to His commands, and one that is pleasing to God. Little children, are examples where God tells us that we must be willing to imitate them if we are to experience an eternal life. Even though all people are born in sin, even little children, they have not been subjected to Satan and evil, where they have to make a choice between doing what is good or bad. Most adults, on the other hand, have had the laws of God taught to them, and have also experienced the temptations of Satan, and know what is good and what is evil. We have made our own choices, based on this knowledge, to follow either God or Satan. The paths we have chosen to follow will either lead us to temporary pleasures or to eternal pleasures. It is so important to consider all these warnings that God is giving us, which tells us just how difficult it will be to follow Him throughout our lives. Satan will forever be there with his temptations, and excuses that we do not have the time to follow God, and that we need to look out for ourselves first. This kind of reasoning will sound good to many people, and will lead them astray, as this makes us think only about tomorrow, and not about where we will spend all eternity. The choice is yours. 375

My Daily Devotional

December 30

Volume III

Children of God

“But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Matthew 18:6 In our society today we see the deterioration of the family, as divorce rates are climbing and families are being torn apart. Parents are being bombarded with financial pressures, time issues, peer pressures imposed on their children, and the overall moral decay of our society. However, even with all of these pressures it is still the duty and responsibility of parents to keep their family intact. The Word of God tells us that the proper upbringing of our children is one of the most important responsibilities we have before us. In the previous devotional I discussed the innocence of our children, and that they do not understand right from wrong when they are babies. They can be taught this, however, by godly parents, who have God in their lives and in their homes. But I am afraid that many parents don’t have time for God, and this is having the wrong affect on their children. This reminds me of a story about a mother who was running furiously from store to store on Christmas Eve trying to get those last minute gifts. Suddenly, she realized that her little three year old son was missing. She looked around and saw him standing with his little nose pressed against a frosty window. He was gazing at a manger scene. “Look mommy, its Baby Jesus in the hay.” The mom grabbed his arm and jerked him away snapping, “We don’t have time for all that. Can’t you see that Mommy’s trying to get ready for Christmas.” We must begin to take time for Jesus and teach our children about him. We must not permit the pressure of life to cause any of our precious children to sin, because of our neglect. 376

My Daily Devotional

December 31

Volume III

Your Path To Salvation

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 God loves you and wants you to know him so he can fill you with peace and give you real life—forever. The Bible says: “Because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God (Romans 5:1). God created us in his image so we can know him personally and have a joy-filled life. Since the beginning of time, we have chosen to disobey God and go our own willful way. We still make this choice today. This results in separation from God and ends in misery. The Bible says: “All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s holiness (Romans 3:23). There is only one way to reach God, and this is through Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can bring us back to God. He died on the cross and rose from the grave, paying the penalty for our sin. The Bible says: “There is only one God, and Christ Jesus is the only one who can bring us to God (1st Timothy 2:5). God has provided the way—we must make the choice. We must trust Jesus Christ to forgive our sins and be determined to obey him for the rest of our lives. That way we can know God and find peace again. There are three things you need to do to turn your life over to Christ. 1. Admit you are a sinner and need forgiveness. 2. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave. 3. Ask Him to come into your heart today and that you will be obedient to him for the rest of your life. Through prayer, confess that Jesus Christ is the only way to God and commit to live for him. May God Bless all of You 377