2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
Devotional – Inward Botox
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Tag Archives: Bible
Devotional – Like Nothing In This World
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
I was talking to a friend the other day over Skype (best invention ever) about how amazing the peace of the Lord is. When I happened upon this scripture in my devotional time this week, I knew it was meant for sharing. Continue reading
Devotional – Comfort
John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (KJV)
“I will come to you.” What a promise. In this verse Jesus is not saying to seek God out when we need comfort. When we’re lost, confused and hurting He isn’t waiting for us to get around to asking for help. He will simply respond to the cry of our aching hearts. God will come to us. He is the instigator of the contact. The Lord of Heaven and Earth will be right where we need Him. In the moments of agony and pain. He is there.
Devotional – Secrets in Public
John 7:4 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.
What a great verse. So incredibly appropriate for me today. Somehow, I mixed up my daily readings and did today’s devotional yesterday. So, I’m doing what should have been yesterday’s today. But God knew I needed this exact verse this morning. It’s always amazing to me when I see so clearly that the Lord is showing me something. When He meets me right where I’m at and opens His word to me.
This premise is pretty basic. If you are willing to be openly known, you won’t be doing things secretly. Another translation talks about being a public figure and having secrets. You only need to look at Tiger Woods to know how that turns out. Continue reading
Devotional – Isn’t It Obvious?
Numbers 9:16-17 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents.
A cloud by day, and fire by night. What an awesome way to see God. The children of Israel sure had it good. They didn’t have to wonder where God was leading them. They just followed the big pillar of cloud and flames. How I wish God’s will was that obvious in my life sometimes. Continue reading
Devotional – Got Skills?
Exodus 35:34-35 “And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works.
Sometimes, I forget that God has given me specific abilities. I go along my merry way, and lose sight of my giftings. I get too busy, or self-involved and I don’t allow God to use me for the purposes I was created for. It’s amazing what happens when I serve in the areas I’m really good at. These verses this morning reminded me that the Lord has given me skills, and He calls me to use them. God didn’t ask the teach to be artistic. He didn’t tell the tapestry maker to get up and instruct a seminar on engraving. Each person was called to the thing they were good at. Where they had talent and knowledge. Serving God in our natural abilities is utter joy. Continue reading
Devotional – My Own Babel
Genesis 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
Ages ago men tried to build a tower to heaven in order to be known forever, and today we’re all still unsuccessfully trying to complete our own version of Babel. Continue reading
Devotional – Just Like Maddie-Girl
James 2:15-17 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. “If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Yesterday I was taught a valuable lesson about faith in action by my four-year-old. I ran into the grocery store, leaving my kids in the car with my sister – and on my way out noticed a Salvation Army bell-ringer. I haven’t seen one all season…at the malls, grocery stores etc…not a single one. I decided to seize the opportunity to teach my daughter a life lesson about generosity and giving to those less fortunate. Or so I thought. In actuality, God was going to show me something about belief and actions to back it up. Continue reading
Devotional – Show Me Love
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Amazing. For a solid three chapters prior to this verse, Peter is discussing how we should live. Submitting ourselves to authority, abstaining from sinful behavior, husband/wife relationships, not to gossip…on and on. He talks about us being set apart – living lives that demonstrate that we are different from the rest of the world. And then there is this verse. Nestled in chapter 4 – so easy to miss. “Above all” – above all the other stuff. Love. That is so profound. It seems easy, but it is by far the most difficult task of all the instruction given in the four chapters I read today. Continue reading
Devotional – Walking Away
Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
I read once that integrity is doing the right thing – even when nobody is watching. The fact is, it’s really difficult for our private thoughts and actions to mirror those up for public consumption. Even harder for me than achieving personal integrity is the unrest I feel when in my relationships with others, things don’t add up. There’s a disquieting of my mind as I try to think thru conversations and understand the motivation of others. There are things in my life I don’t want to talk about with others. Areas I’m ashamed of. While I can be honest with myself about where my personal convictions stand, I will never know the whole picture behind someone else’s actions. I cannot possibly hope to understand what drives others responses in life. The full truth of where they are. But God does. Continue reading
