• Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 17th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 17

    Devotional: May 17

    Speaking With Authority

    And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Mark 1:22)

    Jesus was not the first person to teach the Scriptures to a group of disciples. The people in Jesus day had heard other teachers of the Scriptures. What set Jesus apart was that He taught with authority. To many of the scribes, the Scriptures were meaningless, dry collections of theological speculation, but Jesus taught them as the living words of God. John the Baptist claimed that a man could only receive that which had been given to him by God (John 3:27). When the religious leaders searched the Scriptures, they came away empty-handed. When Jesus read the same Scriptures, the Father gave Him a full measure of His wisdom and His authority.

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 16th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 16

    Devotional: May 16

    Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” (Judges 6:14)

    In Gideon’s mind, victory over the Midianites was an impossibility, and he was absolutely right! The Midianites, along with their allies, overwhelmed the feeble Hebrews. Yet the moment God told Gideon to fight them, victory was no longer an impossibility!

    When Jesus commanded His small group of followers to make disciples of all nations, was that possible (Matt. 28:19)? Certainly, if Jesus said it was! When Jesus told His disciples to love their enemies, was He being realistic? Of course, because He was the One who would achieve reconciliation through them (2 Cor. 5:19-20).

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 15th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 15

    Devotional: May 15

    As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. (Proverbs 27:17)

    The Christian life is a pilgrimage. At times the road is difficult, and we get lonely. Sometimes we may become discouraged and consider abandoning the journey. It is at such times that God will place a friend alongside us. One of God’s most precious gifts to us is friends who encourage us and lovingly challenge us to keep going.

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 14th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 14

    Devotional: May 14

    “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ” (Luke 17:10)

    The servant carries out the master’s will. The servant doesn’t tell the master what to do. The servant does not choose which tasks to perform for the master, nor does the servant suggest days or times when it would be convenient to serve the master. The servant’s function is to follow instructions. The master, on the other hand, gives directions. The master does not tell the servant to develop a vision that will guide the master. The master is the one with the vision; the servant’s task is to help fulfill the master’s purposes.

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 13th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 13

    Devotional: May 13

    And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. (Mark 6:46)

    What do you do after a spiritual victory? Where do you go after reaching a high point in your Christian life? Jesus went to pray. Jesus had just fed a multitude with only five loaves of bread and two fish (Mark 6:34-44). If there were ever a time to relax and bask in the glow of God’s power it should have been then. Instead, Jesus climbed a mountain to pray. When Jesus prayed, the Father clearly revealed His will and His ways to His Son. It eventually dawned on Jesus disciples that Jesus prepared for every major decision and difficult challenge with a time of prayer (Luke 11:1).

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 12th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 12

    Devotional: May 12

    Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. (Proverbs 27:6)

    Jesus never gave relief to people who were under conviction. When Zaccheus, in remorse for his sin, shared his generous plans for restitution, Jesus did not say, Now Zaccheus, the important thing is that you feel sorry for what you did. Jesus brought no comfort to him as he dealt with his sin (Luke 19:1-10). Neither did Jesus excuse disbelief. We never find Jesus saying, Well, that’s all right. I know I’m asking you to believe a lot, and that’s not easy. On the contrary, Jesus was quick to chastise His disciples when they failed to believe Him. Jesus loved His friends too much to condone or comfort them in their sin.

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 11th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 11

    Devotional: May 11

    And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:10)

    It is easy to see why Moses became frustrated with the Hebrew people. They were so hard-hearted and weak in their faith that Moses lost his patience and became angry with them. Yet every time Moses shifted his focus away from God, it cost him. When he sought to help his people by taking matters into his own hands, he spent the next forty years herding sheep in the wilderness (Exod. 2:11-15). This time his impetuous behavior cost him the opportunity to enter the Promised Land (Num. 20:12). In his frustration at the peoples irreverence, Moses committed the very same sin, blatantly disobeying God’s instructions. How did this happen? Moses allowed his attention to shift to the behavior of others rather than focusing on the activity of God.

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 10th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 10

    Devotional: May 10

    He who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (13:9)

    These are familiar words, of course, this final He who hath ears to hear, let him hear. You remember when Jesus addressed the churches in the book of Revelation, over and over He was exhorting those who had an ear to hear, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. As Jesus gives them this parable, it’s sort of a challenge to understand it. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. It does follow that not always have an ear to hear. There are many who though they hear, they do not hear, they do not understand, they do not comprehend.

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 9th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 9

    Devotional: May 9

    Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being. (1 Corinthians 10:24)

    As a Christian you are obliged to view your actions in light of how they will affect other Christians. You will discover God’s will for your life when you consider His activity in the lives of others. This goes contrary to worldly thinking. The world encourages you to live your own life, taking care of your own needs and wants first. Sin promotes independence. It isolates you from others and separates you from those you could help or who could encourage you. God designed you for interdependence.

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 8th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 8

    Devotional: May 8

    “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.” (John 5:19-20)

    Jesus, realizing that His role was that of a servant, never sought to initiate activity for the Father (Matt. 20:28). The servant never sets the agenda the master does. The servant must be so alert to what the master is doing that whenever the master begins to move in a direction the servant quickly joins him. Even the Son of God did not assume He knew the best thing to do in a situation. Instead, He looked to see the Father’s activity and then joined Him. Jesus knew His Father so well that He was keenly sensitive to divine activity around Him, immediately recognizing His Father at work.

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 7th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 7

    Devotional: May 7

    Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 1:21)

    One of the paradoxes of the Christian life is that God’s gifts often require labor on our part. God brought the Israelites to the Promised Land and told them He was going to give it to them (Num. 13:2). The gift of the Promised Land sounded great to the Israelites until they realized that, with the gift, came battles against giants and fortified cities! Perhaps they assumed God was going to obliterate the inhabitants of the land before they entered. Ideally for the Israelites, they could then have entered a vacant land with houses and cities already built and ready to inhabit.

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 6th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 6

    Devotional: May 6

    And they said to them, “Let the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.” (Exodus 5:21)

    “It is possible for people to become so accustomed to their bondage that they resist efforts to free them. The Hebrews had been slaves in Egypt for four hundred years. Slavery meant that they were not free to do God’s will or to go where they wanted. Moses had come to tell the Israelites how they could experience freedom, yet they were more concerned about the reaction of their taskmasters than they were about pleasing God. For them to be free would mean that the pharaoh they were serving would be angry! It would mean that the Egyptians they had served all their lives might attack them. Freedom from their slavery did not seem to be worth the hardships they would inevitably endure.

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 5th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 5

    Devotional: May 5

    And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” (Exodus 3:14)

    When Moses encountered God in the burning bush, he still had much to learn about his Lord. Moses was impressed with the miracle before him (Exod. 3:3). However, it would take much more than a burning bush to lead Israel out of captivity from the most powerful nation of Moses day. Would the same God who could cause a bush to burn without being consumed also be able to do what was necessary to deliver a multitude?

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 4th, 2012

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    Devotional: May 4

    Devotional: May 4

    You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. (Exodus 19:4)

    God did not deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt so that they could enjoy the Promised Land. He freed them from their so they could come to know and worship Him. Three months after they left Egypt, God reminded His people why He had delivered them on eagles wings. It was to bring the people to Himself. That is, God saved them so that they could enjoy intimate fellowship with Him. The Israelites had been slaves with no freedom to worship God. Now, with their own land, they could come to know and serve God freely. God’s call was not to destroy the idolatrous nations in Canaan, not to settle the lands they conquered, and not to establish a new nation, although all of these would be accomplished. Rather, God called them primarily to be a people who loved and worshiped Him. Through God’s act of deliverance they came to know Him as an almighty and compassionate God, and they were now free to respond to Him.

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 3rd, 2012

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    Devotional: May 3

    Devotional: May 3

    “But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.” (John 17:13)
    If there is anything that ought to characterize the life of a Christian, it is joy! Jesus spoke many times to His disciples about His joy being complete and full in them. His disciples were filled with joy as they realized who they were: children of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:16—17). They had been dead in their sins but were now made alive in Christ (Rom. 6:4). They had once been helpless victims of death, but now death had no hold over them (1 Cor. 15:55—58). With such a marvelous salvation experience with Christ, how could the disciples be anything less than joyful?

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 2nd, 2012

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    Devotional: May 2

    Devotional: May 2

    “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (John 17:12)

    Nothing that Satan can do to you should cause you to fear (2 Tim. 1:7). Jesus chose the twelve disciples the Father had given Him and then jealously guarded them from the evil one. Jesus sent His disciples into the world where they experienced difficult and dangerous circumstances, but He interceded on their behalf with His Father that they would have His strong protection from the evil one (John 17:15).

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on May 1st, 2012

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    Devotional: May 1

    Devotional: May 1

    And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. (Colossians 3:23)

    There is an important difference between doing something for people and doing something for God. God always deserves our best effort. People will disappoint us, betray us, neglect us, and mistreat us. Some will constantly ask for what we can give while offering nothing in return. From our human perspective, these people deserve our minimal effort at best. What then should motivate us to serve people, except our love for God? God deserves our love, and He demands that we love others in the same way He does. We are to love our spouses, not as they deserve, but as God commands (Eph. 5:22-33). We are to treat our friends, not as they treat us, but as Christ loves us (John 13:14). We are to labor at our jobs, not in proportion to the way our employer treats us, but according to the way God treats us. God is the One we serve (Eph. 6:5).

  • Daily Devotional

    Posted on April 30th, 2012

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    Devotional: April 30

    Devotional: April 30

    I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church. (Colossians 1:24)

    Ministry is costly. When the heavenly Father wanted to save His creation from sin, He could find no other way except the sacrifice of His Son (Rom. 5:8). Scripture gives a stark picture of the price our Savior paid to obtain our salvation: “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). If Christ is your model for ministry, you cannot avoid going to the cross for the sake of others. Salvation comes with a great price, and if we are going to “take up our cross” and follow Jesus, then we must be prepared to go with Him to the place of suffering if that’s what it takes to bring salvation to those around us.

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