The Devil Went Down To Georgia

Put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.  Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.  Ephesians 6:13

Whether you are aware of it or not, you are part of an ongoing and never-ending spiritual battle.  Satan will always attack us where we are weak, and those areas are typically the ones we refuse to give over to God.  Think of it as the weak part of the spiritual armor we are given by God as protection.

The enemy knows my areas of strength, but unfortunately he also knows where I am weak.  For instance, like any married couple, Alicia and I have been struggling with issues concerning money the past few weeks/months.  So, where do you suppose we have been attacked?   You guessed it…my wallet.  Sure, things have certainly gotten better, but being stubborn prolonged us from turning our situation over to God, fully and completely.

God promises to give us strength to overcome attacks from the enemy, but we must first ask God to cover our weaknesses with His mighty strength.

Sometimes You Can't Make It Own Your Own

Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you.  He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.  Psalm 55:22

The past few weeks at work have been taxing.  I have never been so thankful for an amazing team in which I am blessed to be a part of.  There are only so many hours in a given day and every single person on my team has stepped up  to help in such a big way.

Our Loving Father works much in the same way.  He cares for us and helps us whenever we ask Him for help.  When we bring our burdens to God through prayer, we will experience freedom from our worries and anxieties because we know He has listened to our cares. In fact, anxiety and worry are conflicting conditions for us as Believers; we either believe God is with us always or we don't.  

God reassures us through His Word and His never-ending love and grace.  Praise be to God!

Heart of Gold

"Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.  "And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table ; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom ; and the rich man also died and was buried.  "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'  "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things ; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.  Luke 16: 19-26

In the above passage from Luke 16, Jesus shared a story of a rich man who lived only for himself, paying no attention to poor man that begged for the crumbs that fell from his table.  The rich man died and was eternally separated from God, while the poor man died and went to heaven.  The rich man was not separated from the Lord because he harmed other people, or overlooked those in need, it was because he spent his life taking care of his himself, but doing nothing for his soul.

The ‘norm’ in our culture is to acquire as many material possessions as we can, satisfying ourselves-focusing on our wants instead of our needs.  I honestly had to re-read this scripture a few times before I discovered the underlying theme.  If we are focused on our self, we are missing the point of our existence.

You see, life is not about us.  However, it’s all about Jesus.  It’s simple and often times overlooked, but those of us who choose to have a relationship with the Lord will live eternally with Him in heaven.  Those who reject Christ will pay the ultimate price-separation from God for all of eternity.  Seek the Lord with all of your heart and soul!

Time

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.

2 Peter 3:8

I recently recalled said something that our boys said when they were much younger which is simple and shows the heart of child-like faith: “Daddy, God is always on time.”

I admit, that I am stubborn and often forget that simple statement when I am trying to be the God of my universe; I am NOT God. 

God moves in His timing and NOT mine.  He is normally never too early with His blessings, but is also never late, either. 

I am also convinced that He often waits to make sure that I am not going to take matters into my own hands and do something outside of His perfect timing before He intervenes on my behalf.

We must learn to trust God and trust His perfect timing.   We must also learn to rely less on our independence to allow God to be free to do His work, His way.

Trust Him and believe that He is doing a good work in you for His purpose!

Money

Those who love money will never have enough.  How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!  Ecclesiastes 5:10

Being a proud graduate of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, I selected today's passage because I have shared Dave’s advice on buying insurance with several friends and clients recently.    

There was a time, not too long ago, in our household, that we followed Dave Ramsey's recommended budget worksheets, paid for everything with cash, and paid off of our debt, including both car notes.  After our second son was born, we got lazy with our budget, and fell off the proverbial  "Financial Peace wagon."  

We realize that the pursuit of money and possessions is merely a facade in which people are deceived into thinking that if they only had more, they would be content.  We both know that true contentment comes from spiritual wealth and not material wealth.  We understand that we are stewards of God's money and that He will never fail to provide us with what we need. Knowing all of this, why do we struggle so much with the concept of money?  I can only imagine, but I don’t think that we are the only married couple that struggles with this.

I believe that our only hope is to keep an eternal perspective and realize that true happiness is found in our relationship with God.  God has never let us down before, so why would He start now?

Praise be to God from whom all blessings flow. 

My Father's Eyes

The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. Psalm 103:8

Our beliefs about God are without a doubt more important than any other beliefs we have. If you grew up with a parent or authoritative figure that was always angry at you, most likely you will feel the same way about God. If you believe that God is always angry with you, you will be defensive and fearful of Him.

It's when you believe that God shows you deep love, grace, and mercy, that you can live in the joy of being forgiven and knowing that heaven waits you after you leave to earth.

You can live freely and without fear knowing that God extends His grace to each one of us.

Hope In A Hopeless World

All glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.  Ephesians 3:20

I recently came across some notes I had written down during a sermon I heard at Cokesbury several months ago.  The message was a profound statement about how Jesus didn't discriminate between the people He loved and offered His grace and mercy to. 

The same holds true for us as believers.  We are to all offer this world hope, one person at a time, loving them into a relationship with Christ, regardless of what shape or situation a person is in.

When faced with our own struggles, we sometimes fail to put enough hope into God, expecting too little from Him.  Just pick up your Bible and read Scripture, and you can rest assured that God never lies to us.  He is incapable of doing bad or breaking His promises to us.  Knowing that and all of the amazing things He has done for each of us in the past, why would anyone have any reason to believe that God would let us down now?

God wants to bless us more abundantly than any of us can possible imagine, so put your faith, trust, and hope in the sovereign Lord of the universe! 

Fly By Night

In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.  2 Samuel 22:30

The past few weeks have been challenging.  I have faced some recent adversity and the all of the travel for work has been tiresome, to say the least. Whenever I begin to daydream about an easier path for my life, I remain grateful that I face new challenges each and every day.  While things may be difficult at times, I continue to be blessed with many new opportunities to help  and serve people, and because of that, I am truly content. 

You see, challenges keep us from getting too comfortable with where we are and prevent us from just accepting the status quo. This would certainly be frightening if we do not have God leading the way, but even when we don’t necessarily enjoy when things don’t come easy, we should certainly enjoy the adventure with God.

Regardless of whatever difficulty or challenge you are facing, be sure to do it with God at your side!

I Keep Forgettin'

“I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.” Psalm 116:1, 2

Do you have people in your life who only seem to talk to you when they want something? Conversations that solely revolve around the other person’s needs or demands make it hard on a friendship or relationship. These one-sided relationships can lead to us feeling used and/or manipulated.  Sadly, I regret that I treated my wonderful parents as the proverbial ‘ATM machine’ during my years at Auburn University.  I would stop by the house to visit briefly with my folks and then hold my hand out and ask for a check or some cash to help bail me out of my careless spending habits.

I have a feeling that God must feel much the same about us when we only approach Him with our needs and desires. We’ll gladly give Him our prayer requests without spending any time praising Him or taking the time to thank Him for our past blessings or seeking a relationship with Him. We  have no problem praying for future events without even acknowledging His help, provisions, and blessings in the past. Our forgetfulness is an indication of our ingratitude toward God and it renders our prayers ineffective.

God loves each of us, but doesn't want to be taken for granted either.  He also doesn't want to hear our lists of needs and wants every time we pray to Him without an effort on our part to truly know Him and be in a relationship with Him.

When we face difficult times, we must look at the past and acknowledge all that God has done in our lives.  We must spend more time thanking Him and praising Him, so that our blessings glorify Him!

Papa's Home

"God has moved into the neighborhood making His home with men and women.  They're His people, He's their God."  Revelation 21:3 (The Message)

I have been working a lot of late nights recently and have been on the road for work with a pretty filled October, so needless to say I have felt like I have been missing out on time with Alicia and the boys.

There is nothing like the excitement of children (or your dog) greeting you after returning from a long day of work or after returning home from out-of-town business trip. So, it leaves me wondering just how will I react when I am finally see the face of my loving Father. How will He greet me?

The day is coming when we will finally meet God, face-to-face.  Do you have hope knowing that one day He will 'Wipe the tears away from our eyes" with His hand?

Angels on High

In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus.  So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. 1 Peter 5:10

Our youngest son, Elijah, truly enjoys playing football in the backyard. The other afternoon, he and I were having a great time tossing the football around, when he suddenly quit laughing and drew my attention to a cut on his finger that was bleeding.   My focus quickly became geared towards how to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible, so I washed his hands and we found a Band-Aid for his minor injury.

Sometimes when we feel pain, we neglect the fact that God is still with us and become solely focused on easing our pain.  We quickly forget that God always keeps His promises to us and will never leave us or forsake us.  In fact, God will never desert those who follow Him. He never turns His back on us and never takes a vacation from caring about us or our pain.

Even if  we experience pain for a time, we must never forget that God promises to help and heal us!

Patience

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will.  Then you will receive all that He has promised.  Hebrews 10:36

Patience is a trait evident in a person of strong character, so this is certainly an area of my life that needs drastic improvement.  I still get frustrated on my 20 minute commute between home and the office when traffic backs up.  I sometimes expect too much out of my oldest son who is only four years old and am definitely impatient  when it comes to writing new business at work.

The above verse from Hebrews confirms that we cannot have endurance or perseverance without developing some patience first.  As a follower of Christ, our faith will be tested, time after time.  As we pass each test, we will develop more patience, which will result in greater strength when we are tested again.

It’s when we are patient that we eventually receive the fulfillment of all that God has promised us.  Thanks be to God!!!

Hungry Heart

What is the price of two sparrows-one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it….So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.  Matthew 10:29-31

I believe that deep within every human heart lies a hunger for significance.  We all want our lives to mean something, to make a difference, and to be worth something.  For some reason, too many people feel that their lives don’t mean anything and they in fact feel insignificant.

I have a great friend who is sharp, witty, funny, and a good looking guy, but has absolutely no self-confidence whatsoever.  His feelings of insignificance have held him back for far too long.

The good news is that the Bible reassures all of us that we do matter and we are significant. The best part is that it is not because of anything we can accomplish on our own, but because God loves each of us and promises us that we are indeed valuable to Him!

The Question

He who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:6

Just recently, Thomas (the disciple that doubted Jesus' death and resurrection) became a topic of conversation among friends.  I can only imagine that God wanted me to read about him or better yet, wanted to reassure me to trust Him at all costs, despite some recent difficulties I have faced as of late.

People without solid faith are at the mercy of the winds when they face the storms of life.  They have a difficult time learning where God is leading them because their faith is not strong enough to discern God's voice and will for their lives.  When your faith is weakened, it's hard to see all that Jesus is doing to protect you and in the midst of a storm, this is a major problem.

We (myself-definitely included) need to expect God to answer our prayers, petitions, and needs, without doubting Him.  God desires to be in fellowship with us, to speak to us, and to meet with us.  Doubt makes us wonder whether interaction with God is even a possibility.

Open your heart and mind and trust God without doubt...if you want it you've got to believe.

Rock

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.  Philippians 4:6

I recently read a fantastic devotional on the topic of trust-more specifically, trusting God.  The good Lord delivered that message in His perfect timing as I found myself on my knees, praying, and trying my best to trust Him with my current circumstances before the end of the work day on Monday.

The best way to overcome worry in your life is to have a greater awareness of God’s presence.  I like to look in the past at all that God has done for me over the course of my lifetime to know that He isn’t going to stop now because of my present circumstances.  I have faced all sorts of trials and circumstances during my lifetime, but no matter how big they were, God has always been and will always be bigger!

We must let God know that we do sincerely trust Him, with all of our being.  We must also continue to praise Him for all that He has done, all He is doing, and all He is going to do!  Doing so will give us greater calm to face the day with the confidence that we are loved by the King of all Kings, our Savior, our Provider, our Deliverer, and our Rock.

I'm Not Alone

"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;  that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.  John 14: 16-17

The only time I have to exercise, with a family and career, is typically early in the morning, before work and school begin, often while it’s still dark outside.  We live in a newer subdivision, and while we have streetlights, some parts of the subdivision are dark and a little creepy while I'm on my morning jog.  Most of us don’t like to be alone for any length of time, but all of those mornings jogging by myself, I have never felt like I was alone, because I guess I always know that God is always with me.

All believers have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them once they accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, so none of us are ever alone.  The Holy Spirit is vastly different than our human companions because only He can meet our every need.  When no one else will seem to listen, He is always there and wants to hear more.  He knows what the future holds for us, so only He is equipped to guide our every step along the way.

We are all created with a void that can only be filled by the Holy Spirit and with Him, we can rest assured that we are never alone!

His glory, mercy, goodness, and love are constant and new with every sunrise!

No One Is To Blame

The Lord’s loyal kindness never ceases; His compassions never end.  They are fresh every morning; your faithfulness is abundant!  “My portion is the Lord,” I have said to myself, so I will put my hope in Him.  Lamentations 3:13

On occasion, we all are guilty of placing the blame for our mistakes on someone or something else.  This behavior is particularly easy to pinpoint especially with two young boys.  The other morning a toy flew across our den and hit our youngest son in the head, causing him to cry.   When confronted about the mysterious ‘flying toy,’ our oldest said, “Daddy, I didn't do it.  The toy just lifted off of the ground on its own and flew across the room and hit Elijah in the head.”  I must say even though I didn't buy it, that was a pretty creative excuse…

Sometimes I struggle with wrongly placing the blame on God for some of my own problems.  I often accuse God of being unfaithful or punishing me when I am the one who is making careless mistakes.   The truth is, God provides for us each and every day, regardless of us being aware of it or not.  God’s grace, mercy, kindness, and love are always with each of us during the good times and the bad times, but when faced with trouble, it is easy to feel like God doesn't care about us.

Many things change in this world, but you can rest assured that God never changes…His grace, mercy, kindness, and love are constant and new with every new morning!

Help!

Whenever they were in trouble and turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought Him out, they found Him.  2 Chronicles 15:4

Simply stated, there just aren't too many people you depend on for help these days.  I am guilty of this to a degree.  Sometimes our life can become so overwhelmingly busy, we cannot afford the time to lend a helping hand to a family member, friend, or neighbor in need.

Thankfully, our awesome God works in drastically different ways.  God helps us by always being available.  He is always ready and willing to help us and to listen to us, whenever we call out to Him; any time, any day, any place, regardless of the situation.

Prayer is our lifeline and it connects us to our Father.  Knowing this, we should pray daily and receive the help that we truly need.

Free Somehow

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, emancipation from bondage, freedom.  2 Corinthians 3:17

Jesus came to this earth for one reason, to set us free.  This freedom is sometimes misunderstood.  Being free doesn't mean that we are free to do whatever we feel like doing, instead it means that we have been set free from legalism so that we can follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. 

The legalistic mentality is what plagues our current society and it says that everybody has to do exactly the same things, the same way, all of the time.  This conflicts with the Spirit of God who leads us as individuals in unique and creative ways.

Jesus wants us to be free-free from sin, free from being manipulated and controlled, free from trying to be better than others, free from addictions and dependencies, and last but not least, free to be who you are!

Good Times, Bad Times

Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him.  God is a refuge for us-a fortress and a high tower. Psalm 62:8

If I can be perfectly honest with my Daily DEVO readers for a moment, the last few weeks have been tough and  got  me  asking God a lot of questions.  

 

To say that it's 'been busy' at work simply cannot begin to describe how the past few weeks have been for me and my team. There was a span of days this past month that I didn't make it home before the sun went down.  Trying to assist my clients and insureds and keep them up to speed on Health Care Reform has been one of the single greatest challenges in my 18 years working as insurance broker.   Add family, travel, weddings, and other commitments and functions into the mix and you will start to come unraveled if you are not careful.

Like I have been known to do before, I have worked myself into a‘funk’ now that I have been in for the past several days.  Regardless, I am feeling better now things really are going well at work, we have been blessed, just wish there was more time in a day. 

There are many things that just don't make sense to me right now, but I am convinced that I must rely on and trust God.  We cannot just trust God when things are going well, we must also learn to trust Him during bad times. I also believe that along the way on our journey with God, we will encounter many different trust tests with our loving Father.

We may never have all of the answers, but we must learn to live in our faith, trusting God in all circumstances.

Heaven (Must Be There)

God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.  Matthew 5:3

A good friend, mentor, and pastor, John Gargis, once told me something that I have never forgotten: “It teaches me so much when I meet someone that has absolutely nothing and still shows gratitude!  It teaches me that gratitude is not about your circumstances.”  I agree with brother John and the above verse from Matthew also comes to mind.

You see, if you believe that Jesus died for your sins and you recognize that only He can forgive you, you can rest assured that you are going to heaven to spend eternity by His side.  There is nothing you can do and there is no way to earn your way into heaven; it’s God’s free gift to those who admit their need for a Savior.

Thanks be to God for His never-ending love, mercy, and grace!

Dirty Side Down

Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.  Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.  Isaiah 1:18

There are a couple things that every single human being has in common, regardless of our personal beliefs, background, nationality, gender, etc...the first being that we are all eventually going to die, and the second is that no one is free of sin.   The only exception being Jesus Christ, who defeated the grave and lived a sinless and blameless life here on this earth.

With that said, when you repent and seek God for forgiveness, God looks at you as though you have never sinned.  It means you become blameless before Him, like His beloved Son. 

God does not sweep our sins under the carpet, either.  Instead, He washes all of our sins away, making us perfect and pure like Jesus.

Thanks be to God for His mercy, endless grace, and forgiveness!

Pretty Persuasion

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.  1 Corinthians 2:4

I sometimes have a hard time expressing myself during a conversation;  I actually prefer to collect my thoughts and then write them down.  It’s hard to imagine the apostle Paul, the author of most of the New Testament, as a weak, fearful, and trembling kind of guy, but that’s exactly how he viewed himself.  He must have been much more impressive in written word than he was in person, regardless, people became believers not because of how Paul delivered the gospel to others, but because of God supernaturally proving His own truth.

You see, God’s power alone doesn't convince anyone to believe the gospel.  Jesus performed many miracles during His earthly ministry, and many that witnessed still refused to believe.  There is no amount of persuasion or wise tactics that will ultimately impact another person’s life, it all comes down to our witness to others and when people can see us trusting in Christ.

A believer who reflects such a trust will always be accompanied by God’s mighty power and there is nothing else like it that can change lives!