Category: Daily Devotions

Psalm 27:8 NIV

In his book, Talking Dogs, Sam Mason discusses how God can use our pets to speak to us. Looking back on some dogs he has owned and the lessons he learned from them, he writes: “One such occasion was when Ranger, our eleven-pound Italian greyhound, was sitting on my lap as I relaxed in the recliner. I noticed that familiar, endearing little tilt of the head, as he looked me directly in the face. I found myself wondering what his purpose was. A second later, I warmed to the pleasure of divine inspiration, as the explanation flowed into my stream of thought. Ranger was see king my face! You see, dogs become students of their owners. Their comprehension of spoken human language is limited to a handful of words. Their capacity to understand a creature of far greater intellect is restricted. So they study our movements: facial expressions, hand gestures, and other body language. Likewise, we have limited understanding of our Master. So how do we ‘seek the face’ of Someone who is so far our superior? The Lord reveals Himself through His Word. That’s where our pursuit begins. How sad that so few professing Christians read and study the Bible on any regular basis. But beyond the Scriptures, there are other ways to seek God’s face. Pay attention to the ways of God as the Holy Spirit moves upon your heart during church services. Learn from His interventions in your life and those of your fellow believers. Behind His works are His ways! Determine to become a student of the Master at every opportunity.”

Psalm 119:130 NKJV

In December 2005, Brian Hardin says God told him to podcast the Bible. Hardin writes: “On New Year’s Eve when I read my first podcast…I said, ‘I’m Brian…I have no broadcast experience. I really don’t know what I’m doing, but I plan to read through the Bible this year. If you get this, here’s my email address.’ I expected about five people to sign up. On New Year’s Day 2006, I had 257 responses, and by June the daily audio Bible had been downloaded 200,000 times. Now, following our sixth anniversary, it’s been downloaded more than 51 million times and is still one of the top podcasts on iTunes. With more than 1.5 million downloads monthly, the daily audio Bible is one of the most listened to podcasts in the world. We’ve become a vast online family that prays and hears the Bible together. When somebody calls or goes into the online prayer line with a request, thousands of people pray for that person…We receive an endless stream of emails from disenfranchised believers who have found the place appealing…Separated couples who had nothing left to do but sign divorce papers…started listening to the Bible and found their marriages restored. I can tell you many stories of people who were hopeless – I mean suicidally hopeless – who found comfort in God’s Word and were restored. The Bible has a voice, and if given a chance to speak – in context – it will create amazing things in your heart. The Bible can transform even the most tangled life. I know. It radically changed mine.” Bottom line: Reading the Bible will change your life.

2 Chronicles 20:17 NIV

Fifth, stand firm. Notice what God told Jehoshaphat: “Stand firm.” What does it mean to “stand firm” when you’re in a crisis? It’s a mental attitude of quiet confidence that says, “I’m going to trust God.” One pastor writes: “This is something I’m slowly learning; it’s never God’s will for me to run from a difficult situation. If I do, the situation will only follow and catch up with me a little further down the line. It may not look the same, but it will be the same. Why? Because God wants to teach me that He is sufficient for any problem. If we don’t learn this today, we may learn it next week. If we don’t learn it next week, we may learn it next year. But eventually we’ll learn it – and the sooner the better. We can save ourselves problems by standing firm and waiting on God in quiet confidence.” So what do we stand firm on? “Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful” (v. 20 NIV). First, we need to stand firm on the character of God. God is faithful, and we can depend on Him. Second, we need to stand firm on the writings that He has given us through His prophets – in other words, the truth of the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word, and we need only rely in quiet confidence on His written promises. So the word for you today is: Stand firm on the unchanging character of God and the unchanging promises of His Word.

2 Chronicles 20:3 NKJV

Third, take your problems to the Lord. In the midst of his crisis, Jehoshaphat “set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast.” Prayer is often the last thing we think of. Why? Because we want to work our problems out on our own. A deacon approached the pastor one day and said, “Pastor, we’ve got a problem we can’t solve. We’ve tried everything and nothing works.” The pastor said, “Well, I guess all we can do is pray about it.” The deacon replied, “Pastor, has it really come to that?” When you’re facing life’s battles, prayer should be your first resort, not your last! And sometimes when the problem doesn’t yield to prayer alone, God leads you to add a second element: fasting. Ever tried it? Fasting isn’t something mystical and mysterious; it’s about focus! It’s saying: “Lord, I can do without food and other things, but I can’t solve this problem without You. So instead of eating, I’m going to spend time seeking Your face until I have an answer.” Cornelius, a Gentile, fasted and prayed for four days, asking God for direction. As a result, God sent Peter to his house to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, and in the process changed the course of history (See Acts 10). In order to know whom to appoint to leadership positions, the New Testament church fasted, prayed, and asked God for guidance. And as a result, one of the most dynamic evangelistic teams of all time, Paul and Barnabas, was born (See Acts 13:2-3). When you get serious enough to fast and pray about your problem, God will show you the solution.

2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV

With God’s help, King Jehoshaphat overcame not just one army, but three! And his victory teaches us how we can win life’s battles. First, identify the enemy. Many of us have no clue who the real enemy is. We think it’s the person who is interested in taking our job, our spouse, or our money. But many times the enemy is our own attitude! It’s not so much what’s happening that gets us down, it’s our response to the situation. Before you can win on a personal level, you must identify the enemy. Note how Jehoshaphat reacted when he heard “a vast army” was coming again st him. He was “alarmed” (vv. 2-3 NIV). It’s a fairly typical human response. We see a big problem, panic, and become fearful about what’s going to happen to us. And in truth, fear isn’t all bad unless we deal with it in the wrong way. We can use it to motivate us to conquer the problem and drive us closer to God. It’s when we get discouraged, give up, get angry, and start asking, “Why me, Lord?” that fear defeats us. If you’re in a situation that’s filling you with fear and anxiety today, remember – God doesn’t respond to need; He responds to faith. So stake your faith on His unshakeable Word and stand on His promise: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV). Unshakeable trust in God’s Word is what brings His help.

1 John 2:19 NIV

There are some people in life we get along with well, and others we don’t. And in some cases, we’re not supposed to! Now let’s be clear: We’re not talking about being unloving, insensitive, or divisive. Paul says, “Do all…you can to live in peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18 NLT). We’re talking about people God specifically tells us to break away from. When it comes to those who don’t belong in your life, here are two things to consider. First, there’s the revelation. The Bible says: “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us…if they had…they would have remained …but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” Just like you can’t fit a square peg in a round hole, or mix oil and water, there are people who simply don’t belong in your life. Second, there’s the separation. Paul said: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers…what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?…what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them…walk among them…be their God, and they will be my people.’ Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate…and I will receive you.’… ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters'” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18 NIV). Bottom line: When God tells you a relationship is not right for you, listen, and obey Him.