Castles Made of Sand

"Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock." -Jesus  Matthew 7:24-25

In the age of information, there are many different opinions and viewpoints expressed over the Internet, radio, and television. It's hard to discern the truth at times and distinguish between what is fact from fiction. During a recent discussion over lunch, a client I work with shared that her teenage son feared that the end times are coming because of all of the bad news he continuously sees on the news.

Regardless of the endless resources of information available to us, God's Word remains the one source of truth. We can easily grow weary, fearful, or discouraged by listening to public opinion rather than staying grounded in God's promises and truths.

If you have enough time each day to watch television or surf the net, try to save a few moments to read your Bible as well. It doesn't have to be an entire passage or book, just start out slowly and read a verse or two each day.

The news is daunting enough for a believer that understands that we live in a fallen world, but I cannot imagine how terrifying it must be for someone who doesn't know that this world is not our final destination. God promises all who believe in him something truly greater than we can possibly comprehend, eternal life in heaven. Build your house on a solid rock!

What Does It Take To Win Your Love?

Long ago the Lord said, “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.  With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” Jeremiah 31:3

Knowing what I know now, it baffles me why I resisted turning my life over to God for so long.  Forget all of the usual “church talk” you have heard over the course of your lifetime and even some of the people who may have damaged or changed your opinion of God.

To put it in the most simplest of terms-God created us, God loves us, and God longs to have a relationship with each of us.  He pursues us with persistence and an unfailing, never-ending, love.

Has he caught your attention yet?  How does it make you feel to know that God, the creator of all of the universe, is pursuing you with his love?

Thanks be to God!

Stones In My Passway

For I know the thoughts and plans I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.  Jeremiah 29:11

It's hard to believe this at times, but God has a plan for you and me, and his Word reassures us that it is a good plan, indeed.  Of course, the enemy will stop at nothing to destroy God's good plan for our lives as he arranges all sorts of disappointments, discouragements, and painful events to keep us off the right track.

Regardless of how bad we have been hurt, God is greater than any problem or pain we will ever face and he can restore us.  If you are like me and got off to a bad start in earlier in your life, rest assured that God is in the repair business and His repairs will make your life better than new.

We must fix our eyes on Jesus and cooperate with God's plan during the restoration process. Reach out and allow Him into your heart and accept His never-ending love, grace, and mercy. Praise be to God!

Drifting

So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door ; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy ; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:7-10

Last week was undoubtedly one of the most difficult and most stressful weeks I have had at work this entire year. By Friday afternoon, my mind had just checked out as I was exhausted and worn out from a multiple series of events.  Being totally honest, I really struggled to find the inspiration to even write the Daily DEVO this week.  I am glad to say that the weekend provided a well-needed opportunity for me to catch my breath.  At some point, I either read another devotional or a passage of scripture that got me thinking about how Jesus resisted the Enemy during His 40 days in the wilderness.  He submitted to God’s lead and never took His eyes off of His loving Father.

Jesus’ example is one that we too should emulate in our daily lives.  It’s easy to be so preoccupied with our day-to-day lives that we adapt a worldly mindset.  When our thoughts turn away from God, we become dangerously self-dependent and let our guards down.  When we do, the Enemy always seems to strike.

We know that God will win the ultimate victory, but Satan will stop at nothing to lead us astray with his many lies and deception.  Don’t let the world fool you into trying to manage your life on your own.  Keep your eyes on Christ, stay alert and keep connected to His truth!

Think

As he thinks in his heart, so is he.  Proverbs 23:7

Whether we realize it or not, what we think makes a huge difference in what we say or do.  Our thoughts control our actions-what activities and interests we pursue.  Our thoughts control our feelings-how we react or respond to situations.  And finally, the way we think about other people becomes the way we treat other people.

Simply stated, we must choose what we focus our minds on.  There is a saying, ‘garbage in, garbage out.’  When we fix our mind on things that are good and righteous,  good things will come as a result.  When our mind is set upon the wrong things, it changes the way we treat others and navigates our actions in a negative way.

Fix your heart and mind on Jesus and allow Him to guide your thoughts, actions and pursuits!

Change

God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.  Philippians 2:13

For any parent, there surely are some behaviors in your children you would change, if you could.  For instance, at age six, our oldest son is a chip off the old block.  Last Saturday, he found the fuse box on the side of our house and proceeded to shut off the power to the dryer and oven.  It took me a while to figure out what exactly was going on and when asked if he had anything to do with the power not working, Elliott told me a ‘white lie’ and then ran outside and then shut the rest of the power off in house.  I am laughing about this now, but I was pretty frustrated on Saturday to say the very least.  I am sure that he will outgrow this, after all, he is still young and curious, but it would be nice to let the boys play around the house for more than fifteen minutes at a time without wondering what they are doing to be disruptive.  Even if I could change some of the boys’ less desirable behavior, I have to continue to just  love them and lead them in the ways of the Lord to the best of my ability.

Just like a parent, God will not force change on us, either.  When we invite him into our lives, we give him the permission to use his almighty power to change us.

If we try to change on our own, we are likely to fail because of our very limited strength and power.  Instead, we must move aside and let God himself begin the work of transformation in us that will last a lifetime.

Let God do his work in you and see the dramatic and healing power of the Holy Spirit!

Anything Is Possible

He (Jesus) replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."  Matthew 17:20

In looking at the vastness of the starry sky this morning while on my morning jog, I couldn’t help but feel pretty small in all of God’s wonderful creation.  There are times in my life when my faith seems a little smaller, but I know it’s still there.  Small mindedness is not such a bad thing, but being small minded in faith is bad because it prevents us from seeing the fullness and extent of God’s plan for our lives.

Most people are familiar with Jesus’ words from Matthew.  He was explaining to His disciples the reasons why they too could not cast out demons and cure diseases; it was because they had very little or were simply small-minded in their faith.   The disciples had lost their faith that Jesus would do what He said He would do.  When we doubt Jesus, we fail to see the big picture and only focus on our very limited capabilities.

Just like the disciples, so many of us as believers have also lost our faith.  Jesus reminds us that it doesn’t take a lot, just a small amount of faith, the size of a mustard seed, for us to accomplish great and mighty things.

“Father, help grow our faith stronger and bolder.  I believe in you, God, but help me to believe even more!  I will seek to serve and trust in your never-ending supply of strength and power.  I ask these things in Jesus’ name.  Amen.”