The Heart of the Matter

Freely you have received, freely give.  Matthew 10:8

We all make mistakes from time to time and sometimes we end up hurting the people we care for the most.  The good Lord knows that any member of my family or friends could attest that I have made my fair share of mistakes.  The only way to bring healing to a broken relationship, friendship, or marriage is by forgiveness.

Forgiveness allows both parties to move forward in the relationship with renewed freedom and strength.  Even if you are not at fault,  you can find peace by extending forgiveness. 

We have all been freely forgiven by our Father who loves us more than we can comprehend, so we must be fast to offer it freely to others.

Vacation

Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

It’s been a short, but fairly busy week for me as I stayed in Atlanta a few extra days to visit family and see Rush in concert.  It would be safe to say that the trip was a wonderful time away from home but coming back to work Thursday was brutal.

All of the extra stress that comes along with a vacation in addition to the normal responsibilities of my job have left me with very little peace.  I know that I will be fine in a couple of days, but I cannot help but feel stressed.

Through the Cross, God has made Himself available to us at ALL times.  Jesus invites us to come into the presence of God to find the grace, mercy, and peace that we so desperately need.  We need no middle-man to speak to God either; it's as simple as getting on our knees to pray.  God is always there and ready to listen to your inner most groaning and moaning.

God loves you and is available to you whenever you need Him...

What If I Stumble?

Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.  Psalm 119:165

In a personal devotional that I am reading, the past week’s lesson has been a painful self-examination of past sins and transgressions.  There are many details of my life that I am certainly not proud of as I was certainly keeping a distance between myself and Christ for so many years, especially during college...

Things have certainly changed for me, but I am still just a work in progress.  I do try to spend time in prayer daily, read my Bible regularly, and apply the Word of God to my life, but no matter how much my faith grows, I will always fall short of God’s grace.

It got me thinking-if we are not allowing God's Word to persuade us, influence our thinking, and impact our behavior, then who or what are we allowing to influence us?? 

You will constantly have the influence of what other people say to weigh against the written Word of God. Anything that does not line up with God's Word should be dismissed.  It’s impossible to live a sin-free life; Jesus is the only One who can make that claim, but as Christians, we should constantly be growing in our faith and looking more like our Savior each and every day. 

Maps and Legends

We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  2 Corinthians 5:20

I work for a privately held insurance agency in East Tennessee.  While I’d like to think that 15+ years of benefits experience has made me proficient in cranking out spreadsheet comparisons in Excel or whipping up presentations in PowerPoint, I must admit that I had quite a difficult time creating a graph for a client recently. 

I won’t bore you with the details of the defined contribution strategy I was attempting to illustrate with my graph, but the one thing I realized is that no graph, as simple or detailed as they come, is readable without a proper legend and/or markers. 

The same holds true for our lives.  You see, just like a graph with an understandable legend, we too are to lead others into a relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, by the way we live our lives.  If our legends and markers don’t include kindness, gentleness, patience, generosity, and love, then how can anyone possibly distinguish us as believers from the rest of the world?

We must allow God to shape our lives in such fashion that our lives guide others towards Christ.

Meant to Live

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2

Despite it being a short work week because of Memorial Day, Tuesday came and went yesterday and I was simply worn out before this week had even begun.  Everything has been going well at work, in fact, so well that I have been running ragged at work the past few weeks with various meetings and presentations.  When I rely on my own limited resources, I simply don’t have what it takes to make it. 

The more I learn about God, the more I am beginning to understand that He wants me to come to a place of dependence on Him, every single day.

This world wants you to believe that being self-sufficient is the way live, but the truth is, we need to rely more on God’s all-powerful and never-ending strength.

Let us rejoice in our insufficiency knowing that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.

Trouble Me

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  John 10:10

Someone very close to me is in desperate need of help but refuses to accept it from anyone.  This particular person seems to be defeated and overwhelmed by all of the troubles they have been experiencing in their life.

My friends and family are not the only people exclusive to experiencing difficulties; I too have had my fair share of trouble over the course of my lifetime as has every single other person on this planet.  The blessed assurance of Jesus is that we do not have to cave in by the pressures of this world or become defeated by our troubles, because we learn to accept that God is always with us.

With God, anything is possible.  We never have to face anything alone.  We can face our problems, and most importantly, we can overcome them.  Jesus also taught His followers that conflicts are only passing in nature.  Troubles and sickness all occur for a season and a reason.  They help us realize our need for God.

If we never faced adversity or difficulties, would we need God?

Seek Up

"I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." -Jesus Christ, John 11:25

There have been some great people who have served their purpose to motivate and inspire others, but no one else can make the same claim as Jesus did when He said "I am the resurrection and the life." 

I have several friends who are going through some tough times and I wanted today’s Daily DEVO to serve as a reminder for anyone going through difficulties that that are indeed loved.  No matter how bad, battle-tested, weary, and beaten up we may be on the inside, we must never forget what Jesus' resurrection means for each one of us. 

Jesus overcame death, so regardless of how tired, broken, or devastated we are, we cannot forget that He has risen to give each of us new life!  Thanks be to God!

Wildflowers

God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.  1 Corinthians 1:27

Driving around town the other day, I couldn't help but notice all of the beautiful wildflowers growing on the side of the road and inside the median on the interstate.  The wildflowers brought back a memory from when I was in kindergarten... I recall searching our backyard to find the perfect flower and proudly giving my mother what were actually dandelions, or ‘glorified weeds.’

Certain weeds are actually quite beautiful and it makes me understand that God still sees the beauty in us even when do things that He finds unpleasant.  Just think of the many people in the Bible that did not exactly live their lives beyond reproach.  David was an adulterer that sent a man to die in a war so that he could have his mistress all to himself.   Paul persecuted and killed Christians before his transformation on the road to Damascus. The point being, that we have all let God down at some time in our lives; I know that I certainly have and thankfully, God continues to love us, forgive us, and extend His grace to us despite our many shortcomings. 

We serve an awesome God and He remains steadfast and patient with His mercy and grace.  Don't ever sell yourself short and think that He cannot and will not use you to advance His kingdom on this earth, no matter what you have done wrong over the course of your life.

Worry

Stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life...who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure to his stature or span of his life?  Matthew 6:25, 27

Many people I know, myself included, worry about anything and everything.  Most concerns are trivial such as worrying about what to eat and what to wear, while some are based on what someone will do when faced with a certain situation before that situation even occurs.

Most of us are blessed with nice homes, food, transportation, clothes, and endless other items that we don't necessarily need, so why do we have such a problem with worrying?  I believe it is because the enemy enjoys creating doubt in our minds, especially when we are facing difficulties.  God wants us to know that worrying doesn't add a single minute to our lives; in fact chronic worrying actually shortens our lives.

Our loving Father knows our needs before we even go to Him in prayer, so it's in our best interest to stop worrying and focus on the One who is able to meet our needs and is good to us at all times!

Trouble

For I am the LORD your God, the one who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you, "Don't be afraid, I am helping you." Isaiah 41:13

In preparation for an upcoming business trip, I took my car in to have the oil changed.  My car had been on the rack for a couple of minutes when the mechanic came into the lobby and asked me to come out and take a look at my tires.  In the right rear tire was a large metal object that looked to be piece of a wood chisel that was buried deep into the tire.  The mechanic went on to tell me that I was lucky that they had caught it because my tire would have eventually blown apart and could have potentially caused an accident on the road. 

Of course, I was not thrilled nor even expecting to be in the market for new tires this week, but the more I think about it, the more I can see clearly that God was once again watching out for me.  What if I had been on the road and the tire had blown out or even worse, what if my family had been in the car with me and we had gotten into an accident?  I have never been more thankful to purchase a new set of tires in my life.

If you are like me then you also will go to great lengths to avoid problems in your daily life.  Unfortunately, it's simply unrealistic as Jesus assured us all in the Gospel of John that, "in this world you will have trouble."  Instead, we should face each day anticipating that we will face problems, seeing them as a challenge we can face with the help of our Lord and Savior. 

We must not forget that Jesus is on our side and while we are assured trouble in this world, we must also remember that He has overcome this world!  Thanks be to God!

Happy

..we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.  For the joy set out for him He endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:2

Think for a moment about the things that make you happy....for many of us we would name our family, friends, a vacation, a concert/music, food, sports; the list could go on and on.  All of these items are good and noble, but they are only temporary and will only produce fleeting happiness.

Joy is completely different than happiness.  In the Biblical context, joy is not a fleeting emotion.  Joy is much deeper and actually an overall attitude or state of being rather than a feeling.

Joy lasts, while happiness is circumstantial and does not last.  Simply put, joy is only found in God and He gives it to all of His faithful followers through the Holy Spirit.

The enemy will stop at nothing to rob you of your joy, and one of his favorite deceptions is to tempt us with something that will only produce temporary happiness in the hopes that we will turn away from our loving Father.

There is a big difference between joy and happiness; hold on to your joy and live in the love, freedom, and peace that only Jesus can offer us!

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you.  Jeremiah 31:3

There is some truth to the one of the Rolling Stones' most recognizable classics, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."  When you accept God's love, you experience a deep-rooted satisfaction that simply cannot be found anywhere else, because you have an understanding that despite your circumstances, God is always present and with you.

Knowing that God loves us means that we accept the price that was paid for our forgiveness and we can rest assured that we are wonderfully and fearfully made and cleansed by Jesus' death on the cross.

Understanding these truths about God sets us free from our bondage to sin and the attacks from the enemy that never cease to end while we are on this earth.  God loves each one of us and has prepared an eternal home for us in heaven.

Praise be to His holy name!!!

I’m Free

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things. Romans 8:32

Before Christ became my personal Lord and Savior, I used to think that becoming a Christian meant living a boring and tedious life filled without laughter, without fun and without pleasure.  I could not have been more wrong....in fact, I would say that life is much more enjoyable and peaceful as a follower of Christ.  This, of course, does not mean that my life is easy or without any trouble, but when I look at all of the good God has done in my life, it's almost unfathomable.

 

The same holds true for anyone who is willing to walk in obedience to God.  His desire is the same for all of His children; He wants us to enjoy a life filled with His many blessings, laughter, beauty, peace, joy, creativity, adventure, success, freedom, good health, comfort, friendships and LOVE.

Miracles

Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe." The royal official said' "Sir, come down before my child dies."  Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."  John 4:48-50

While recently praying for clarity, peace, and direction, I was tempted to ask God for a sign; anything to prove that my prayers were not falling on deaf ears.  I never actually asked for a sign, but once I began to notice God's presence in my life, it became clear and apparent that not only Has he had His hand on me, but He continues to, even when He seems miles away and distant.  

The above verse from the Gospel of John recalls Jesus' second recorded miracle in Galilee.  A royal official approached Jesus with his sick son and pleaded for Jesus to heal him.  The official took Jesus at His word and his son was miraculously healed at the seventh hour, which is when Jesus said that "his son would live."  The official and his family became believers after the boy was healed.  After pondering this verse, the key is not the miracle itself, it's actually the matter of faith that Jesus mentions.

Do we believe without seeing miracles or wonders?  Do we trust that Jesus is ever-present with us?  Do we have faith in His ability to answer our prayers?    Ask yourself these questions and allow His truth into your heart...

Graduate

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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 3:13-14

I am honored and privileged to be invited to a graduation celebration for a family friend this weekend.  Just witnessing the excitement from both recent high school graduates reminded me of how I once felt graduating from high school-the excitement mixed with fear about college and beginning a new chapter in my life...

I remember it like it was yesterday when I graduated from Springwood School.  Those were certainly some exciting and memorable times.  I had been accepted to Auburn University and the one thing I knew for sure was the size of the college campus was 20 times bigger than what I was accustomed to at my small private school.  My orientation was interesting as I was bunched in with several hundred freshman and we all were given a tour of the campus.  We also attended a class to prepare us for the days that were to come. We learned how to register for classes, where to eat on campus, how to find the library, and were issued our student tickets for football, baseball, and basketball. 

When all of the student body had returned from summer break, the parking situation was pure madness and I felt a bit lost among the throngs of students on campus.  No matter how early I left for classes, I could never seem to find a parking space, so I racked up several parking violations my first quarter and my parents were not happy with me, to say the very least.  To be quite honest, the orientation was helpful, but I had to learn an awful lot as I went along.  I pledged a fraternity my first quarter and many of my Pi Kappa Phi brothers helped teach me what I needed to know about college life on The Plains.

While high school graduation is the end of a chapter of a young man or woman’s life, it is by no means their final destination.  Even after college, when the milestones are fewer and far between, we must all learn to ‘press on’ toward the goal that Paul mentioned in the above letter to the Philippians. 

As followers of Christ, we must make a daily commitment to walk with the Lord, understanding that we will never learn too much by attending church or reading Scripture to earn a diploma of sorts.  Regardless, we can be at peace knowing where our final destination is-heaven, and that is the ultimate goal/prize for all believers in Jesus Christ!

Victory Dance

But you, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.  Psalm 3:3

There are times when I feel down and out and it's easy to focus on my problems rather than seeking God.  We have all been there before...when things begin to fall apart, we lose our hope, strength and everything changes, our attitude and body language included. 

When we are downcast and only able to see our problems, we feel worse and even may consider giving up.

Regardless of who you are, or what you are do, life will always provide trials and discouraging situations.  God is always waiting for us to seek His help, sometimes we have to lift our heads and look to Him.  We can rest assured with confidence that God can guide us through even the most dismal circumstances.

The next time you encounter problems and feel like giving up, don't focus on all that's going wrong, but keep your heart, mind, and soul focused on the One who will see you through to victory.

Horizon

So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed...continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort-for the sake of His good pleasure-is God.  Philippians 2:12-13

  

Recently, I was able to use a painful experience from my past to help minister to a good friend.  Without sharing any details, this was a dark period of my life where I was essentially running away from God, but in all of His glory, God took my shameful failure and worked it into good for His kingdom.

God's awesome power is often found in our weakest and darkest moments.  It brings to mind many of the gripping testimonies that I have heard at places such as Celebrate Recovery-people who have lost everything due to a destructive habit, hang-up, or addiction and with God's love were able to completely turn their lives around.  It's hard to wrap our minds around this concept, but God can always produce positive results in all circumstances, even people's pain. 

If you will allow Him to do so, God will use your life-the good and the bad, to impact people with the good news of the gospel.  During difficult times, it's hard to focus upon God's will and the many blessings He has in store, but you must learn to trust that ALL things work for the greater good of His kingdom!

Are We Ourselves?

A sound heart is life to the body.  Proverbs 14:30

Being in sales and trying to maintain proper nutrition has been and is difficult and still an ongoing struggle for me.  On any given week, I am eating lunch with prospects, clients, and insurance carrier representatives several days during normal business hours.  In the evenings, we sometimes normally don't eat dinner until after both boys have gone to bed which is seemingly later in the evenings during the spring and summer.

 

I am committed to exercising every single day, but often, I feel that I am only exercising to prevent myself from gaining a bunch of weight.  Since Easter, I committed to eating lighter and making wiser choices and the results have been remarkable in a very short period of time.  I feel healthier, I have more energy, and I have been more focused-due to a healthier diet. (Not to mention, I have shed a few stubborn lbs. along the way.)

Most Christians understand the harmful effects from partaking in certain substances, drinking too much, or smoking, but often overlook the benefits of maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating a well-balanced diet and exercising.  God commands us to love ourselves which means that we are to do nothing that will bring harm to our bodies.

God doesn't want to damper our life experience by any stretch of the imagination, He just wants us to avoid things that cause us spiritual, physical, and emotional harm.  

Small Town

How joyful are those who fear the Lord-all who follow His ways!  Psalm 128:1

Growing up, I never truly grasped what it meant to 'fear God' as mentioned in the John Cougar Mellencamp's classic 80's hit, "Small Town." The word 'fear' evokes feelings of being scared or frightened, but when mentioned with God, it means being awestruck by His power, grace, forgiveness, and goodness.

When you 'fear' God, you draw closer to Him, and experience much greater joy.  It's almost too simple, but the further you are from our Father, the less joy you have in your life.  I am sure that you can name many folks who could use some more joy in their lives.

Loving respect and awe for God also motivates us to do our best to follow His principles for living.  Fear God because He is awesome and experience the joy and blessings from being close to Him!

People Are People

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  1 John 4:11

I am amazed by some of the posts I read on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. There are times when I can easily become disenchanted with reading my news feed on Facebook because it is so full of negativity...

Despite my own personal, religious, and political convictions, I realize and respect that other people hold different and opposing views than me. Too often, people feel that they should only mesh with people who are of similar belief, culture, nationality, race, gender, or income level.

The truth is that God wants us to treat EVERYONE with the same mercy, kindness, forgiveness, civility, and compassion as Jesus did.  And what about good manners?  I am not sure if it’s because I am more in tune with what people say to each other now that I am 'plugged in', but where has the common courtesy gone to these days?

I realize that I personally have a lot to learn and am not being self-righteous; I guess I am just wondering why people can't try to get along more often; we just aren't living together the way God intended us to....

99 Problems

With God's help we will do mighty things.  Psalm 60:12

Have you ever felt consumed and overwhelmed by the problems you are facing?  I know that I have and also know that I am not alone.  In just the past few days, I can identify with people in my circle of friends who are struggling in their marriages, another that's facing a difficulty at work, and another who is struggling with raising their children.  While all of these are serious and difficult problems to face, we sometimes forget that not a single one of them are larger than our God.

In fact, there are no set of circumstances, difficulties, trials, or tribulations that are larger than our Loving Father.  Try not to look at the size of your problem, but at the size of your awesome God.  We have an awesome and loving God that is always willing to listen and help us accomplish the impossible!

Amazing Grace

God saved you by His grace when you believed.  And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Ephesians 2:8

My dad traditionally waits to the last minute to shop for gifts at Christmas.  It was my freshman quarter at Auburn University in the fall of 1993, and I completely 'bombed' and almost failed out after a quarter of foolishness and debauchery.  I strategically planned to intercept my grades so that my father wouldn't see them before he went Christmas shopping, but it was too late...he arrived with an arm full of presents for my mother and sister and simply handed me an opened envelope from Auburn University.  My parents were disappointed in me to say the very least, and aside from a few pieces of clothing and The Allman Brothers boxed set collection- "Dreams", it was a pretty light year for presents.

Thankfully, God saves each one of us because of His mercy and grace alone.  There is nothing we can possibly do to earn His grace and love.  He simply loves us and approves of us regardless of what we do or don't do and He has paid the ultimate price to forgive us of our sins.

The fact that this is God's gift and something that we can never repay, should be a great comfort to each of us and should also provide hope and security.

When you accept God's grace as you accept any other gift that you receive, you will fully enjoy His peace, blessings, and mercy.

Alone

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness-trusts me and relies on Me, knowing that I will never forsake him. Psalm 91:14

Despite the many people I know and am close with, there a occasions when I simply feel alone.  I am sure that I am not the only person who ever feels this way, but God wants us to know that we are never alone.

Satan does his best to make us feel isolated and alone, but we are not.  Satan also does everything in his power to make us believe that no one else understands how we feel, but that too is also a lie.  Sometimes the enemy will send someone into your life that is wrong for you, such as an attractive man/woman that shows you attention when you are the most vulnerable and experiencing difficulties with your spouse.  Again, it's only another deception and a trap set to destroy your marriage.

God is always with us and He can relate to any and everything we can possibly experience in our lives.  As children of God, we can all claim His wonderful promises.  No matter what you are facing or how lonely you may feel, take God at His word and know that you are never alone.

God is good and faithful and he will never leave your side.

Ignoreland

Those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.  John 6:37

Alicia and I are blessed with two wonderful sons.  Being a daddy is particularly cool as I enjoy being able to pass along all of my extensive comic book and music knowledge to the boys.  However, being a father can be difficult at times, especially when the boys go out of their way to choose their mommy over me. 

This form of rejection is not subtle by any means and happened to me just the other evening when I wouldn't let our youngest have a lollipop.  Elijah was mad at me because he wanted a sucker like his older brother was enjoying.  I wouldn't let him have one because Elijah did not finish eating his dinner like Elliott had.  The next hour, Elijah proceeded whine and pout a bit and ignored me for the rest of the evening. This little incident got me to thinking how many times I have rejected God during the course of my lifetime; most likely because He did not answer one of my prayers in the exact way that I asked for it to be answered...sound familiar?

Thankfully, God accepts everyone who comes to Him in faith, even those who previously rejected Him.  We can always approach God knowing that He will make time for us and will always listen to us.  In fact, He is always dependable, always loves us and is always there for us. 

God never turns away from us and we can learn how to accept others that may be difficult for us to accept in His loving arms.

Surprise Valley

My goal is that their hearts, having been knit together in love, may be encouraged, and that they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  Colossians 2:2-3

In an effort to heal the pain of Iliotibial Band Syndrome or ITBS, a common runner's injury, I have been trying to incorporate cycling and swimming at the local gym in order to get some sort of cardiovascular exercise on the days that I don't run as much.  

Just the other morning, all lanes of the pool were being used and the stationary bikes I normally ride were taken at my local gym.  This was a minor inconvenience for me as I was up even earlier than normal to drive out of my way to make it to the gym to work out and get back home so that my wife could head out for work that morning.  Needless to say, I did not like having to change my normal routine, which got my day off to a bad start.  My bad attitude quickly changed as I was heading home that morning and witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen.

The sun was big and filled the Knoxville skyline and made me thankful that I had to change my routine that morning as I would have probably not seen it otherwise.  We must learn to approach each day with the desire to seek God.  He is good and faithful and blesses us in ways that we will miss if we are not diligent in searching for Him.

When you seek Him, you will find Him and all of His deep treasures all along the way-it may be the sunshine, an unexpected call from a friend, some flowers or an answered prayer.  Whatever it may be, God is always present in this broken world.

Send Your Mind

“The LORD your God is in your midst; he is a warrior who can deliver.  He takes great delight in you; he renews you by his love; he shouts for joy over you.”  Zephaniah 3:17

I must admit that I have struggled from writer’s block over the past few weeks.  I can’t pinpoint a specific reason, but can say that I haven’t spent as much time in God’s Word as I should have and for that very reason, I feel that my writing has suffered a bit...

I came across the above verse from Zephaniah in yesterday’s devotional by Sarah Young from “Jesus Calling.”  When I read the verse, a light bulb seemed to have turned on inside of me.  For far too long, I have let my mind get wrapped up in all sorts of thoughts and, sadly, have left God out of much of my ‘world-view’ lately.  This has brought me to a dark place and just hearing the words of comfort from our Loving Father has renewed my spirit.

God takes delight in all of His beloved children.  Even when we veer off-path, as much as he patiently waits to hear us cry for help, He will never step in and violate our freedom.  We must give up trying to ‘fix’ everything in our lives as none of us were ever created to carry our burdens on our own.

Let go and let God!