DEVOTIONALS

There’s no doubt that God cares deeply about children and the poor, and He expects us to be His hands and feet.  In Matthew 25:35-40, Jesus left little to the imagination!  When we care for those in need, we are giving that care to Him!  Search a few statistics and find that the resources most of us live on each day is an astronomical amount compared to the poorest in the world.  It’s difficult to see outside our own “box,” but Jesus certainly loves the whole world, not just my little world! For I was an hungred, and ye gave me

That title feels a little (a lot?!!)  hypocritical.  Let me tell you, I have felt disappointed! But don’t kill the messenger.  It’s the Word of God. Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5 AMP I use the Amplified version of the Bible quite a bit in order to get a broader sense of how the original Greek and Hebrew root words could be more fully translated.  I usually use the King James Version “parallel” to the AMP and

When I think of the word “grace,” this definition from Strong’s Concordance for the Greek “charis,” #G5485, matches my idea of the “Amazing Grace” of my God; it is the word from which practically any biblical reference to grace originates. Of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues In my walk with the Lord, I have focused much more on the first part – in bold, than on the italicized portion.  His merciful

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”  John 15:4 (NIV) Is it just me?  Am I the only one who can rapidly spiral into an unpredicted hurricane of whens and hows and what-ifs? Sometimes it clearly builds, but sometimes it swells out of seemingly nowhere.  There’s the expectation of fruit and the anxious thoughts of ‘how am I going to come up with it??’  We are often so results-oriented that we just want to check off the lists of

Troubles, heartbreak, and disappointment come in many forms. We do not understand the Lord’s timing, the sickness, and suffering that we see and experience.  Proverbs tells us  “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; But a wounded spirit who can bear?” (18:14).  This is encouraging, but also challenging.  I have found both parts of the verse to be true in my life.  When my spirit man is strong and at peace, I can bear other troubles.  When my spirit is weighed down, all of life, even the small problems, is heavy.   Here are some tidbits I gathered from a

We can be in our day what the heroes of faith were in their day,  but remember at the time they didn’t know they were heroes. -A.W. Tozer All these people were still living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised;  they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,  admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. Hebrews 11:13 NIV Hebrews chapter 11 is a familiar text that outlines the “heroes of faith,” part of a “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) that cheers us on.  I’m sure it’s beyond my understanding the

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12 You and I only have one enemy.  One.  No matter who has done what, how I feel, what’s going wrong… Satan is the enemy.  He sends evil influences our way and his goal is to “steal, kill, and destroy,” (John 10:10). We must take him seriously and be aware of his tactics, “lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices,” (II Corinthians 2:11).

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.   In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV When I was a teenager, a wise Sunday School teacher (A.K.A. Pastor Odie Carroll) suggested reading a chapter a day from the book of Proverbs; thirty-one chapters coordinate nicely with the days of the month.  I did this for years and still love the wisdom of Proverbs today.  During the stressful times as a budding adult when so many life-altering decisions must be made, I clung to Proverbs 3:5-6.  It gave

The questions that matter in life are remarkably few and they are all answered by the words “Come unto Me.” Not – Do this or don’t do that, but – “Come unto Me.”(Matthew 11:28) -Oswald Chambers* How we complicate things!  Questioning, analyzing, working and doing, none of which are absolutely, necessarily sinful, but if fully embraced they can become a pit of doubt, disobedience, and despair.  That’s not where Jesus died for us to live.  The questions and even their answers won’t satisfy.    Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters and you who have no money, come, buy

We read in Luke 10:38-42 about the friends of Jesus: Mary and Martha; they had a brother named Lazurus, and scripture says Jesus loved them.  In Luke 10 Martha opened her home to Jesus and the disciples, served Him, and learned from Him.  In John 11, we find an even more familiar and miraculous story about this same family. Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet