Choose a Devotional Below:
Best Laid Plans Final Grade Game Day Grace Honor Roll Losing Focus Mammon Mud Puddles Never Leave a Man Behind Play Your Part Reflections The Cries of My Little Ones The Whole Story Tugboat
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Best Laid Plans
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15, ESV)
Things in life never seem to go according to our plans. We may plan a trip for the family, only to have the car break down, lose the keys, run out of gas, and hit every single red light from here to there. Plans blow up in our face, but sometimes these unforeseen circumstances may provide comforting and lasting impressions that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.
Later in life you may find that you could not have imagined living the rest of your days without the lasting memories of that disastrous trip. The trip when the car broke down and everyone had to get out and push for two miles and stay at that rinky-dink motel overnight sharing a bed. You played board games and told stories and remembered how to have fun together. The LORD brought you and your family through a set of ruined plans and frustrating circumstances, with obstacles to overcome at every turn, and the end result is a memory of togetherness that will be imprinted on all of your hearts for the rest of your lives.
God’s plans may seem to be difficult, frustrating, or even unfair at times, but we know that regardless of what we are going through our Father has planned it out perfectly to eventually benefit us (Romans 8:28). If we knew what He knows we wouldn’t have planned it any other way.
Final Grade
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (2 Corinthians 5:10, ESV)
Growing up, no doubt you have heard a teacher unexpectedly inform their entire class that everyone would be participating in an unannounced test, or “pop quiz,” in which you are tested on the last few weeks or months of school. In that moment, you probably found yourself wishing you had paid more attention to the teacher. Even the coolest kid in class begins to show signs of nervousness. Then, to make matters even worse, the teacher explains that the tests will be graded and then posted for everyone to see. Even a passing grade will be shown to everyone and reflect either diligent study or their laziness. No one will be able to hide their grade.
Many Christians think that this life is strictly a “pass or fail” test and nothing more, but they are mistaken. It is true that in the test of this life we “pass” by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior or “fail” by rejecting Him and suffer the eternal consequences. But there is more to our grade than that. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:10 and Romans 14:10-12 that we who follow Jesus will give an account to Jesus for everything done in this life. Make no mistake about it, class is in session and we will answer to our Savior for our misdeeds, but He will also reward us for our faithfulness to Him and the deeds done for Him (Ephesians 2:10). Jesus bought us with His blood and we are answerable to Him for every thought, action, attitude, and for every single second of our lives. We are His name brand and we must represent Him well.
Living a life according to biblical principles is challenging but it is also rewarding, both in this life and the one to come. God gives us the opportunity to come to Him, to know Him, to learn from Him, to find comfort in Him, to point the world to Him, and to stand in front of Him one day to receive our final grade. Hopefully we have been paying attention in class.
Game Day
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. (Psalm 63:1-5, NIV)
We love sports in America, especially football. Flags can be seen flying through the air attached to cars, trucks, trailers, and even in front yards. People will do some crazy things for the teams that they love. But what would our country be like if we were as eager to follow Christ as we are to follow our favorite team? What would America look like if we were as eager to get to church service on Sunday mornings as we were to get to the stadium on game day?
The word “fan” comes from the word “fanatic” and is used to describe all of us that are zealous to follow a particular team. Some fans will go to great lengths to display their pride and fervor, including screaming until there is no voice left in them, painting or even tattooing their bodies, all in an effort to declare their love and support for a specific team. What if we did that for Jesus Christ? Some fans come from hundreds of miles away, sometimes even traveling through multiple states, to attend just one game. Have you ever drove through several states for one church service?
All week the previous game is critiqued and discussed at workplaces across the nation. They dissect every play and second guess the coach’s decision to call pass play on the two-yard line. DVRs are set to record the game, pregame show, postgame wrap-up, press conference, and even sport’s talk shows on cable. We are dedicated football fans, but where is that same level of dedication to Jesus Christ? Imagine what the streets would look like if every car, truck, minivan, and front yard had a Christian flag waving instead of a football flag. Think of what our weeks would be like if we were to pore over last Sunday’s sermon in the same way we pore over game footage. Let’s be fanatics for Jesus.
Grace
Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. (Romans 8:33-34, HCSB)
We describe many things as having “grace,” but definitions never do this word justice. It never gives enough weight to the true meaning. We use the five-letter word to characterize many things that don’t really amount to grace. We characterize our restraint from holding someone accountable to the full measure of accountability when they offend or wrong us, but that would be mercy. We say a gifted dancer or athlete is graceful, but that’s coordinated or athletic. People who have proper etiquette are said to be full of grace, but that’s considerate. So what does grace actually mean?
Christian theology will describe grace as, “the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it; free and undeserved favor.” That sounds accurate, theologically, but it still does not convey the weightiness that a practical application of grace in our lives can. In his book, “The Grace Awakening” Charles Swindoll describes grace this way: “Let’s imagine you have a six-year-old son whom you love dearly. Tragically, one day you discover that your son was horribly murdered. After a lengthy search the investigators find the killer. You have a choice. If you used every means in your power to kill the murderer for his crime, that would be vengeance. If, however, you are content to sit back and let the legal authorities take over and execute on him what is proper- a fair trial, a verdict of guilty, capital punishment- that is justice. But if you should plead for the pardon of the murderer, forgive him completely, invite him into your home, and adopt him as your own son, that is grace.”6
There is no way I could ever do this but God does it every day. He sent His Son to Earth to seek and to save us, and we killed Him. You and I have brutally murdered the Son, yet He is the One that loves us, forgives us, and pleads for us. He is our mediator. The forgiveness that we receive was costly. It’s not cheap. It costs Jesus His everything. You don’t deserve it, but you have it if you ask for it. We murdered the Son of God, but there He stands calling us His friend. Not only forgiving us but pleading for us to the Father. That, my friend, is grace. And it truly is amazing. What more could we ask for?
Honor Roll
All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine. (Revelation 3:5, NLT)
You cannot drive down the street of any city in America without seeing a car with a bumper sticker on display that boasts of their child’s academic achievement. It usually says something to the effect of, “My child is an honor student at [whatever school they attend],” or “Proud parent of a [whatever school they attend] honor roll student.” But is that your greatest accomplishment? Some people will pour everything into their academic success to earn a coveted spot on the dean’s list, or they will invest in the workplace to get on the shortlist of upwardly mobile, rather than investing in their marriage and family life. Maybe popularity or physical beauty is your aim. This is a life that is spent in search of acceptance. A life spent waiting for someone to say, “Well done. I’m proud of you.” But if you are a Christian, God is already proud of you, and He has big plans for you.
I do not care about any academic list or promotional list. I don’t care about being the richest, most famous, or most attractive. I care about God’s Honor Roll. I care about the list of names that are in the Lamb’s Book of Life. That is the list of upward mobility that I strive for and it is our job to help fill that list with the names of the people that God places in our lives. That will be our job as long as we have life left in us. That is our charge. That is the honor roll that I will boast of.
If you have come to the conclusion that you must live this life following Jesus, and you have asked Him to change you and make you into a new creation, then you are already on a list. It is a short list but it is the only list that really matters. You have already won my friend and God has proudly shouted your name throughout all of heaven and earth. You made Honor Roll!
Losing Focus
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind,he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:28-33, ESV)
It is amazing what we can accomplish when we are focused on Jesus Christ. When we are willing to do whatever He asks of us, regardless of circumstances, we will see the impossible happen. But if we allow things to take our focus off of Jesus we will fall every time.
Jesus instructed Peter to step out of the boat by faith. Peter had just asked Jesus to prove His power and authority by making the impossible possible. He put Jesus to the test by essentially saying, “If you really are the man you claim to be, you will make it possible for me to do what you are doing.” And that is exactly what happened. Peter stepped out in faith and in obedience to Jesus and he did the impossible. He was literally walking on water until he lost his focus and began to doubt. He allowed the circumstances around him to distract him from Jesus. Peter saw what seemed to be unsurmountable odds stacked against him, became afraid, and then doubt crept in. It was his doubt in Jesus that sank him, and it is our doubts in Jesus that will sink us.
If your circumstances seem to be impossible, call out to the Lord. Step out in faith and do not doubt. Put your safety in the hands of Jesus and He will make the impossible possible. He will equip you with all you need to accomplish what He has called you to do (Philippians 4:13) as long as Jesus Christ is the center of your life. Keep your focus on Jesus Christ and walk on water my friend.
Mammon
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24, KJV)
The United States of America is the wealthiest and most blessed country in the world. We have multiple cars in every driveway and a television in every room of the house, but we complain about traffic and television programming. We have a grocery store and a fast-food drive-through on every corner of town, but we grumble about check-out lines and cold fries. We have every single material need in our lives met, yet anti-depressants are the most prescribed drug in America. It would stand to reason that if one has his basic necessities satisfied, he will be content, but that is simply not true.
The word “mammon” has been commonly translated as money, wealth, dishonest gain, gluttony, and the love and servitude of what money can provide. It was also commonly referred to as a pagan god of accrued material wealth- the deity of excessive earthly possessions. The desire for stuff is extremely powerful and can easily enslave our hearts if we allow it to, but we are never to serve money. Money is a tool we use to serve God, not ourselves. Our Heavenly Father already knows our needs and He will supply all of them at just the right time (Matthew 6:25-34). But mammon will dominate our thoughts if we let it- if we serve it.
The happiest and most peaceful people on earth are always the ones who trust God with their whole heart and are content with His provisions. They do not allow the things that they own to own them. They allow the One who purchased them to own them. Don’t serve stuff. Don’t serve mammon. Serve God.
Mud Puddles
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9, ESV)
Dogs love to get dirty. They literally seek-out anything and everything that is muddy, dirty, sticky, and get completely covered it. You can give them a bath and scrub them as clean as a whistle but as soon as you let them outside, they will literally roll in poop. Now, obviously we are not dogs. That is an instinctual for dogs. But the point is: if you’re clean, stay clean.
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, He makes a home in our hearts and brings us into an intimate relationship with Him. Not only are you exposed and vulnerable, but you are fully accepted as the man He created you to be. You don’t need to clean yourself up or change your clothes before you come to Jesus; just come as you are. He is the One that cleans you up. Jesus cleanses us, purifies us, and dresses us in His righteousness. He has given us everything we need to be a clean and happy part of His family. So why would we ever want to jump right back into mud puddles or roll in poop? Let’s keep clean.
Never Leave a Man Behind
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:1-2, NLT)
As a veteran, the phrase, “never leave a man behind” is much more than just a military term to recite on a whim. It’s a way in which we live. It is a core belief that every single soldier, marine, airman, and seaman must embrace and live by, and it’s also a core belief that every single Soldier for Christ must embrace. Without consciously applying this principle to our everyday life, it would be impossible to place our life in the hands of the men fighting beside us. Without it, a wounded soldier would never be carried off the battlefield and be saved from the attacks of the enemy. But are we applying this same mindset to our fellow Soldiers of Christ?
Our Christian brothers are being ambushed, blown-up and shot-up, and what are you doing about it? Are you allowing your family and friends to be infiltrated by the enemy and bleed-out on the battlefield, or do you run out on the battlefield and rescue them?
Stand up, gather your courage, sharpen your sword, and prepare for battle. Engage the enemy and save your brothers dying on the battlefield. Take note of the dangers that they are facing so that you do not fall into the same trap and show them the way out. Carry your brother on your back and help him through the minefield of his life. Never leave a man behind.
Play Your Part
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.For we were all baptized byone Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. (1 Corinthians 12:11-14, NIV)
If you have never listened to a professional orchestra, you should. An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. It contains several musicians playing their individual instrument at exactly the right time to make a beautiful and harmonious musical composition. No one plays a major part, and no one plays a minor part, but each individual is of the exact same importance as it relates to the composition as a whole. The symbols or chimes in the back of the room may not look like an important instrument to play to the audience, but they are absolutely vital to the overall design of the musical composition. If they miss their opportunity to play at the perfect time, or if they quit waiting for their time to play, everyone suffers and the composition will fail to make the impact on the audience that it was intended to. Furthermore, every musician must play the instrument that they are skilled at playing. If one is skilled at the violin but plays the trumpet, he is not playing to his strengths and the orchestra will not sound right.
Every orchestra also has a conductor that leads them as they play. This conductor’s job is to ensure that every musician plays their instruments passionately, properly, and timely. The audience may not notice when a musician stops playing, or is playing half-heartedly, but the conductor does. The conductor is just as pleased with every musician, regardless of the instrument they play, when they play their part the way they should.
Regardless of the value you place on your instrument and your part in the orchestra, God places great importance you. You are important to him and He is paying attention to the effort you are putting into playing your instrument. Make a beautiful melody that has an impact on the world. Listen and hear how beautiful the orchestra can be when we all play together and play our part.
Reflections
Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. (Psalm 119:18, ESV)
God gave Israel a specific way in which to live and certain rules to follow that set them apart from their neighboring cultures. God instituted these rules for three basic reasons:
- To keep them safe from actions, behaviors, and objects that would harm them
- To reveal man’s sinful nature, which shows us that we need a Savior
- To reveal Himself to the world as the Savior
The Law shows us just how far we fall short of God’s expectations. In the same way we use a mirror to reflect our outward appearance, God uses the Law He to reflect our internal appearance. He showed us the standard He requires, then He met the standard for us. He sent His Son to fulfill every command and pay the price our sins demand from a holy and righteous God. He repaired the fractured relationship between man and God through Jesus.
Lastly, the Law reveals God to the entire world through us. When we love the Jesus, we naturally reveal Him to the world through our actions and attitudes. The world sees God’s love working in and through us- through our testimony and through how we live our life.
What’s your reflection look like? Does your life reflect the love of God? Thank the Lord for opening our eyes to His expectations and for meeting them in Jesus Christ! Live a life that reflects Jesus.
The Cries of My Little Ones
If you see someone on their way to death or in danger of being killed, you must do something to save them. You cannot say, “It’s none of my business.” The Lord knows everything, and he knows why you do things. He watches you, and he will pay you back for what you do. (Proverbs 24:11-12, ERV)
Roe vs Wade, dues to be paid,
Even now, sacrifices to Chemosh and Molech are being made.
Thousands of abortions performed each day,
I, the LORD, will deliver the little ones taken away.
You think you have the choice,
to decide who lives and who dies;
You cannot hear My voice,
You’ve shut your ears to their cries!
I’ve heard the rationalizations for taking these innocent lives,
“My body, my choice” you say, while torturing my little ones with saline injections and knives
I, Elohim, do craft and create every detail of every child in the womb,
From there you dare to make a garbage pail his tomb!
You’ve sacrificed My little ones to this god you call “pro-choice”
O! The horrors that have been done to these who have no voice!
These children deserve to be loved with all your heart,
But instead, you tear them to pieces, dismembering them part by part!
Speak out now against this travesty, you who know what’s true!
No doubt, ruthless and murderous hearts will say, “I never knew”
In Ramah there is still great weeping, for her children are no more,
While you were sleeping, infanticide endured; this I abhor!
Yes, you will say, “I didn’t know,”
But in truth, you have already heard.
I’ve spoken clearly; I’ve already told you so,
In your selfishness your conscience you seared.
Millions of My babies slaughtered each year,
My heart breaks and I wipe away every tear.
I will deliver these little ones! I am the One you will come to fear!
Truly I tell you, your Judgement draws near.
How foolish you are, your cold heart of stone,
You will understand That Day when you stand before Me at My Great White Throne
Repent you whore, you wretched slut, Babylon the great,
Return to Me before it’s too late!
The Whole Story
The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him. (Proverbs 18:17, ESV)
There is never a shortage of complainers in this world. Not even Christmas is spared from these cynical citizens. They complain about early shopping, Christmas music before Thanksgiving, and how Christmas is, “nothing but a marketing ploy.” They usually end up looking like fools because they don’t hear the whole story.
One year, the residents in Port Clinton, Ohio started their shopping, decorating, and gift giving as early as October. Port Clinton’s shopping centers were abuzz with customers coming and going. They were buying the latest and greatest toys and tools and decorating to their hearts content. Mothers were crossing out items from their Christmas list before they even planned their thanksgiving dinner, but before you start making assumptions about this little town capitalizing on the commercialization of a sacred holiday, you should hear why they were jumpstarting Christmas. Devin Kohlman was a thirteen-year-old resident of Port Clinton that had been battling cancer. Doctors told his family that chemotherapy wasn’t working and that he may only have a few weeks left to live. In response to this news, the community rallied together to jump start the Christmas celebrations to ensure that Devin will have had the best Christmas ever. He died on November 11, 2013, shortly after the town’s Christmas celebration.
There is no shortage of personal perceptions and opinions in America and there are multiple platforms available to express them. Unfortunately, in our haste to be heard we rarely take the time to hear from a differing perspective and we rarely take into account an opinion other than our own. If we do not take the time to listen to the whole story before we offer our opinions we will always end up looking and sounding like fools. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent. (Proverbs 17:28, ESV) I have learned, after pulling my foot from my mouth on several occasions, if I offer an ear rather than an opinion, circumstances usually tend to turn out much better. Sometimes an opinion is the last thing that someone wants or needs, especially when we don’t know the whole story.
Tugboat
The one who lives with integrity is righteous; his children who come after him will be happy. (Proverbs 20:7, HCSB)
Tugboats are a special kind of boat. They are not the most expensive, luxurious, or the fastest of ships, but they are strong. Tugboats move other vessels that cannot move by themselves or that have been disabled by pulling them out of harm’s way and into a safe harbor. There the damaged vessel may receive the attention they need and be repaired.
Additionally, tugboats are powerfully and strongly built. They are able to move massive objects that are many times their own size with relative ease. They slowly and gently guide vessels through dangerous and narrow canals, carefully keeping them on a safe path. They can even tug multiple vessels at the same time by connecting them all together with a strong tow cable. Then, once all of the vessels are connected to the cable the tugboat starts pulling. Sometimes it may take a while for the cable to become taught and all of the ships to align, but with proper leadership all the vessels behind will naturally follow the tugboat that leads them. During their journey, a gentle protective wake forms in which all of the vessels may safely travel until they all reach their destination together. All of this is accomplished without any form of impact or rough treatment of the vessels. The only thing that is required is the gentle and consistent leadership in the right direction and a strong cable.
A tugboat is a perfect example of how a man ought to lead his family. Men are created bigger and stronger than women and children for four primary reasons: to gently and consistently lead them in the right direction, to carry the burdens that they cannot, to provide a protective environment for their journey, and never quit. We are to grab hold of God’s Word and attach it to our family in the same way a strong cable is attached to the boats that follow that tugboat. We lead the way and deflect all of the debris and wreckage in our wake, protecting our families. All of this happens naturally if you just don’t stop. You may be approaching your final destination, or you may have just begun to head in the right direction, but you must finish your journey. Perhaps you are still waiting for your fleet to follow; just keep chugging. As long as you are firmly tied to the Word of God that cable will get taught and they will naturally fall in line. In every situation the answer is always the same: be gentle and consistent in your leadership, carry the load that your family cannot, provide a safe environment for them, and keep on tugging. That’s what you are built for, tugboat.