Thursday Devotional – Jesus is Worthy to Reveal Truth (4/30/26)

Recently, we were talking with the kids about how God doesn’t have to reveal anything to us, but He graciously chooses to reveal certain plans and purposes with us. As the all-knowing God, He has revealed Himself to us through His Word, His creation, and His involvement in history. With numerous promises already fulfilled, we can trust that the remaining promises, such as those in the book of Revelation, will also come true.

Revelation 22:6-11 ⁶ The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”

⁷ “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. ⁹ But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

¹⁰ Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. ¹¹ Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

In this passage, John was instructed not to seal up the prophecy, but to share it with the seven churches, as mentioned in Revelation chapters 1-3. The time was near for the specific warnings and promises given to these churches. The churches were called to demonstrate faithful love, purity, and allegiance. They were to also have fearless faith, service, and perseverance. We’re also commanded to heed the instructions and message in this book (vs 7). If we do, we’re promised blessings – eternal security, satisfaction, peace, joy, a heavenly inheritance, and a face-to-face relationship one day with our Creator and Savior! We can worship Jesus because He has revealed trustworthy truth.

How will you respond to these true words of Jesus and eagerly anticipate His second coming? Will you faithfully love Him, fervently serve Him and fearlessly persevere through difficulties? He and His blessings are worth it!

Thursday Devotional - Belong to Who?

Well, the twins moved in last Friday (September 4)! It’s hard to know what all they understand, but they came with all their clothes and toys and knew it was different than just a “weekend” visit like all the previous weekends.

One of them came down with a cold the first day and gave it to several others by the end of the weekend, including James, with all his asthma issues. So, it’s been a rough first week!

I was already nervous about the transition, mostly for the twins, but also for all of us. As rough as the first week has been, the first day went really well and much better than I expected. It ended on a high note with God giving us several layers of timely truths for all 6 of us.

First, as we read in our children’s Bible before bed that first night, the reading Providentially “happened” to be about Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael. It talked about how God was faithful to Hagar and Ishmael and provided for them as they moved to a new home!!!

After reading the Bible story and talking about it, I then opened our children’s devotional and read:

James answered the first question right away saying “God!” Then, as we were discussing it further afterwards, I asked again who we belong to and Edmund said: “Jesus!” Since then, Edmund has especially wanted to read from the devotional book and says “We belong to Jesus!” before we read each day’s devotion.

John 17:1-6 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. 6 I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 

Who do you belong to?

Alice   

Thursday Devotional - How Persuasive are You?

I wouldn’t consider myself a very persuasive person. I do not like to sell anything. In fact, I remember being terrified to go door-to-door to sell Christmas ornaments for a school fundraiser in fourth grade! It was not a fond memory!!! I’m not in Sales for a reason!!!

When it comes to sharing the gospel and truth about God, we don’t need to focus on being persuasive. We certainly want to get our facts straight, but sharing the truth from our heart and from our personal experience is where we can focus. We aren’t responsible for the other person’s response, but for our obedience to share the truth.

The last few weeks we’ve seen Paul share the truth and his personal experience over and over. It angered some. Festus called him insane, but that didn’t stop him!

Acts 26:25-29           ²⁵ “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. ²⁶ The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

²⁸ Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

²⁹ Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

Paul wasn’t focused on being persuasive (although, I’m guessing he was a very persuasive person). He focused on obediently sharing the truth out of love for the listener, no matter what the response.

With whom do you and I need to lovingly share the truths of God, without worry about their response? The Holy Spirit convicts. We aren’t responsible for persuading.

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Courageously Consistent

Have you ever been frustrated to tell the same story over and over? Have you had to tell your symptoms to the front desk person at your doctor’s office, then to the nurse and then again to the doctor? Or maybe it was a computer problem to the help desk, or instructions to a child/spouse, etc.

Paul had to tell his story over and over again. He didn’t get frustrated, though, and saw it as an opportunity to share God’s truths over and over to different people!

After Paul was seized in the temple, he spoke his defense to the crowd about meeting Jesus and told them Jesus gave him a mission to be a witness to the Gentiles (Acts 22). Then, the next day he spoke before the Sanhedrin regarding the same charges (Acts 23). As we saw last week, he was then secretly escorted to Caesarea. A few days later, his case was heard by Governor Felix. He calmly, courageously, and consistently continued to speak truth.

Acts 24:12-16           ¹² My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. ¹³ And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me. ¹⁴ However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, ¹⁵ and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. ¹⁶ So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

Paul was never ashamed of who he was, what he believed, or what God said. He consistently and courageously took opportunities to speak the truth. With whom do you and I need to be courageously consistent to speak the truth, even if it’s the same thing over and over?

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Chasing After the Wind of Flattery

I had a friend years ago that said she would rather hear what she wanted to hear, even if it wasn’t entirely true. I was shocked!!!

After thinking about what my friend said, I realized that she wasn’t any different than most people. Most people probably want to hear what they want to hear. She was at least honest about preferring flattery over the truth!

Flattery doesn’t benefit us, though. We don’t learn, grow and improve without helpful instruction and correction (like Jessica’s Monday devotional on Discipline).

Ecclesiastes 7:5-6

It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person
    than to listen to the song of fools.
⁶ Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,
    so is the laughter of fools.
    This too is meaningless.

I would much rather hear the truth, even if it hurt in the moment. 

Seeking wisdom is more beneficial than pleasure.

Seeking truth is more beneficial than flattery.

Let’s seek to give and receive truth, in love, rather than give and receive flattery.

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Truth in 30 Seconds?

I know God can use anything and anyone and can use a brief statement someone says, but it still amazes me every time I see Him do it!

A couple weeks ago my sister, Jane, was playing piano for one of her weekly church services. After a pre-service rehearsal, one of the other musicians told Jane her cousin was dying. She mentioned that he was of a different religion, but she knew he was going to heaven because he was a good person. Jane expressed sympathy to the lady and then God brought to mind John 14:6. So, in the 30 seconds Jane had before she needed to start playing, she said “Jesus said in John 14:6 that He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him.”

Well, after the service, the lady came back up to Jane and said she was stewing over that verse the entire service. They got to chat further about God’s truths. Jane mentioned several other truths from Romans. She mentioned how Christianity is the only “religion” where we don’t have to “do” anything. Being good doesn’t get us to heaven. They talked for a while and Jane reassured her she would be praying for her and the relative (and Jane told several of us so we could be praying, too).

We were saddened this lady (involved in church) was confused by the lies of the world and our culture and didn’t believe God’s truths and promises from His Word. This lady was bothered the Bible states Jesus is the only way, but God used that to prick her. In fact, this past weekend, she came back to tell Jane that last week she clearly saw first-hand that not all “gods” are the same. Jesus is truly the only way and she heard Jesus telling her all week “I am the way!”

Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Praise God!!! Jesus is the only way to have access to and a relationship with God the Father (and eternal life in heaven after death)! He revealed and confirmed that truth to this lady! God is amazing! He can use just one phrase from His Word to help, convict, encourage and instruct!  

Let’s pray for God’s help to recognize and take even the 30 second opportunities He gives us to speak His truths. He’s the one that can multiply it for His glory!

I Peter 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

Alice

Enough!

Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom.  But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.”

 “No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing.  What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.”  But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.

Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”

“No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.”

But he refused to listen to her.  He called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.”  2 Samuel 13:10-17

“What’s wrong with you,” said my mother with clear disdain in her voice.  “What’s wrong, mom,” I replied.  She says, “Didn’t I teach you better than that?  Don’t you ever go through a door without opening it for the woman,” she said.  “Yes, mom,” I replied without hesitation.  As I grew older, there would be one day where a woman would look at me and become upset for my opening the door for them.  “Don’t you think I can open the door on my own,” she would ask.  “Yes, but I was just being polite as I would to anyone else,” I replied.  If you live in the Midwest, opening doors for each other is almost like standard operating procedure.  But, that never would have started if it were not for the first lady in my life: my mother.  You see, I open doors for men because it’s the courteous thing to do, and I open them for women because it’s the right thing to do. My mother taught me to have a higher bar of respect for the opposite sex.  

My heart is deeply troubled by the state of our nation in lieu of the treatment of women as of late, and to be honest, I have had enough of it.  In today’s world, we fight over who to believe when there is any act of misconduct.  Women who have been abused speak up, and we want to fall into the ‘he said/ she said’ line.  We somehow decided to blur the line as to who to believe strictly because it is expedient to ‘what we want to believe.’  The mistake I work hard to avoid is not to jump to a political, gender specific, or even personal view. Instead, I focus on a Godly one.  Why do we need to tear her story down so much?  Do we believe the other side is up to some ulterior motive?  Is our team’s record at stake?  Do we not realize just how wrong that thinking is?  What does it say to the women in our lives?  Here’s the thing.  To those who wish to make this a political issue, I will just say this.  It comes back to one simple thing.  All women are to be respected whether we believe them or not.  If I am ever accused of wrongdoing, my confidence has always been that my actions reflect what my mother taught me, and that and God would handle the rest.

God expects better than us.  Somewhere along the line, decency got lost.  I do not look to a side to blame because it is all of us.  We have somehow substituted doing the right thing for ‘they did it, and so I can do it’ mentality.  Well another thing my mother used to say is if everyone jumped off a cliff, you should too?  God does not want to hear your excuse.  He wants your submittal to His way of doing things.  In a discussion with a friend, we centered on the word ‘integrity.’  Our actions must be above reproach.  We have no control over what the world does to us.  We do have control of how we show love and reverence to God.  I was not comfortable writing this.  Not one bit.  But God made me uncomfortable to the point I had to because I am tired of women living in fear and us as men (and in many cases women) ignoring it like we had no stake in the game.  I love the women in my life far too much to let this lie any further.  If a woman comes forward regardless of your belief, stop tearing her down!  Period!  This must end immediately!

Women must always be respected and heard regardless of their motive.  I look at my wife, and I think of Ephesians where it says:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. (Ephesians 5:25-28)

While this only applies to my wife, it is the standard that I pray we uphold of all women.  I want to be clear.  There are zero acceptable excuses for disrespecting a woman making an accusation of abuse.  If you sense yourself looking for one, focus on Jesus saying, “But I say, do not resist an evil person!  If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other cheek also.” (Matthew 5:39)  How will you respond the next time a woman claims abuse?  How can you be more respectful of women as a whole?  My prayer is that God has prompted your heart to simply and unequivocally say, “Enough!”  Amen.

The Dumb Question

“It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.”  Philippians 1:15-18 NLT

One of the favorite things that I do in discussions (if your name is Loretta, my wife, call it an argument ☺), is what I call the ‘Kent dumb’ question.  These are questions that usually do one of two things.  One is to blatantly point out the obvious, which usually ends the discussion.  The other is when I feel there is something obvious that I am just plain missing.  For example when my daughter claims not to know where the missing cupcake is, the Kent dumb question is, “Mya, why is the cupcake wrapper in your bedroom?”  However, there are times where that so called ‘dumb’ question becomes a great one.  It’s great because often it is the dumb question that reveals something in a plan that no one has thought of.  These are important because it often is the difference between a great plan and a plan that sinks because no one ever asked that question.

It brought me to the very obvious question that we as Christians often wonder.  Am I doing what God asks of me?  When I make a stance on something, is it because it’s what God wants or what I want?  You see, these seem like dumb questions, but they are smart especially when we are not balanced in our approach to them.  Sometimes I allow my heart rule over me too much, and end up not doing what God wants me to do.  Other times, I let my literal sense lead because that’s what God’s law says, but in those cases, I am not as loving of others as God is as loving of me.  As a comedian once said about being a father, “We are dumb, but we are not so dumb.”

It is important that we always check our motives to ensure they are God driven.  God’s law is perfect, and so is His love for us.  But what if one conflicts with the other?  What do you say to the gay person who’s lost his loved one to AIDS?  Now I have not had to deal with this, but this is the dilemma.  How can I show God’s love without accepting or approving of the lifestyle?  You see for one side, it sounds simple.  God does not approve of the homosexual lifestyle, and as such, anything I do to uphold that is a sin.  Period.  That’s easy enough, right?  That’s exactly what happened in the South when they said slavery was acceptable (Note: They used scripture to prove that God approved of it because it wrote it explicitly God’s acceptance of it – see Exodus 20:10, 17 as prime examples).  The fact I bring this up does not mean I condone homosexuality.  It does mean that if we are not approaching it with God’s heart for the person, we are not following Christ for while He did love us for the person we would become, He also loved us right where we were.  I’m merely trying to point out we must truly understand our motives prior to saying one is right or wrong.

God wants all of us.  Mind, heart, and soul.  These will take us to places where we will feel very uncomfortable.  It will make us think when our hearts have led us astray, and soften our heart when our heads are stubborn.  Our goal is to love God and His word, and ask prayerfully for guidance.  So let us not be too simplistic in our approach to situations.  Let us always be willing to make God’s word truly living!  My prayer is that before we jump to the seemingly obvious answer, we pause to check our motives and ask The Dumb Question.’  Amen.

Thursday Devotional - What is Truth?

If you had a private one-on-one meeting with Jesus what would you ask Him? What would you want explained or defined? I have several things I would want to know and understand.

Pilate had a private one-on-one meeting with Jesus and even asked Jesus an important theological question.

John 18:37-38         ³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

It appears Pilate was a relativist. Maybe it was because he constantly heard different people’s perspectives on all sorts of issues. However, he had an opportunity to hear straight from Jesus what truth is and passed it up! How sad and foolish.

What about you and me? We get inundated with news, people’s opinions, all kinds of statistics, and “new” research. What information is really true? Only God’s Word is 100% trustworthy. Are you like Pilate? Do you pass up the opportunity to hear truth directly from God? Do you spend more time watching and reading news articles than reading truth from God’s Word? If so, we’re just as foolish as Pilate.

Many of us chart our daily steps and hours of sleep. What if we charted the amount of time reading, studying and applying the Bible, versus time spent taking in information from the world? Truth is available to us! Let’s not foolishly pass it up.   

Alice

No Matter Your Title Or Clothes

Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” 

And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.” 

They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. 

Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  John 8:25-32 

I was in a discussion with a group of people that included a Jesuit priest.  The priest made a statement about being a Christian.  He said, “There’s no need to tell everyone how Christian you are.  Just act like one: love, forgive, be merciful, help the poor.  They’ll get it.”  Someone replied, “I agree with you father.  But it’s kind of funny that you said that with your collar and credentials.”  Having gone to Catholic school but not being a Catholic, I knew where the gentleman was going with his response.  “It’s easy to say that as a priest.  As for the rest of us, we will just go on with our lives, thank you very much.”  I just could not let that go.  So I chimed in saying, “Truth is truth no matter your title or clothes.”  When the multitudes chimed in agreement, I knew I hit the right cord, and the discussion had ended because even the gentleman opposing could not argue the point further. 

Following Christ's truth is an act.  Not a statement.  In today’s verses, Jesus tells a crowd who He is, and there is clearly a decent among the group if Jesus is or is not the Messiah.  Like in the aforementioned discussion with the priest, Jesus spoke truth of being the Messiah, and many believed.  However, many does not constitute as ‘most’ or ‘all,’ and thus, there were those who had other thoughts.  “It’s easy to say that, Jesus, but anyone can say they are the Messiah,” had to be the thoughts of the dissenting portion of the crowd.  Notice Jesus did not focus on the ones who had already dismissed Him.  He focused on the ones that understood the truth.  He thus solidified the relationship with them saying to abide in His word to become disciples and know He has liberated those who believe in Him from sin.  When you hear Jesus’ truth, one cannot respond just in word.  It is selfless acts of commitment to Him, and this is the truth that both Jesus and the Jesuit are making.  As a line from one of my favorite movies said, “These are the facts of the case, and they are indisputable.” 

Embracing Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior is an act of love, and it is that love that defines who we are as Disciples of Christ.  Whether we forgive, show mercy, or help others, it is for love that all these things connect.  In the closing of Ephesians, Paul, talking about wearing the armor of God, said, “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth.” (Ephesians 6:14a)  Let us stand boldly in the truth that Jesus is indeed our savior, who frees us from sin and died so we may have eternal life.  How can Jesus Christ’s truth inspire you today?  What falsehood must you replace with God’s truth?  My prayer is that we acknowledge truth is truth no matter our title or clothes.  Amen.

Thurs Devo: Letter from Jesus

If Jesus wrote a letter personally to you and to me, what would it say? In what areas would He say you and I were faithful and what weaknesses would He point out?

Here’s what He had John write to the Ephesians.

Revelation 2:1-7       “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. ² I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³ You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

⁴ Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. ⁵ Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶ But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Jesus recognized the Ephesian church’s faithful service, faithful doctrine and faithful endurance. They worked hard for Him and were conscientious to uphold Godly standards. However, they had forsaken their love for Him. Maybe they were so focused on their work FOR Jesus, that they forgot to BE with Jesus.

Jesus wants us to faithfully serve Him and uphold His truths, but not at the expense of truly spending time with Him. He desires our love first. He wants a personal relationship with each of His children where we enjoy Him, talk to Him, listen to Him, etc.

Are you and I more focused on serving God than loving and enjoying Him? Often, my answer is yes. Studying and teaching this passage this week really challenged me to take time to be with and enjoy God instead of focusing most of my energy on serving Him. 

What might need to be put off in order to pursue loving God more? Is someone or something else our first love? Or is it God Himself? He loves us so much and desires us to faithfully love and enjoy Him!

Alice

Seriously?

One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!  Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.  Matthew 16:1-3

My eleven year old daughter really makes me laugh at how she tries to get out of the obvious. This phenomenon is not unfamiliar to any of you who have parented a child. The other day, an ice cream bar that I had been saving suddenly was missing. I asked my wife if she had eaten it, and she said no. Being that there are only three of us in the house, the finger naturally goes to my daughter. We asked if she had eaten the ice cream, and she said emphatically, “No!” My wife and I look at each other, and say, “Seriously?” While we had to hold her accountable and reinforce the importance of telling the truth, we continue to laugh about how ‘creative’ she was in trying to explain for the unexplainable.

This brings me to how we as believers encounter people who choose not to believe in Christ. We must without hesitation be able to confirm both His existence and truths. We encounter those who choose not to believe even though the signs are right there in front of them. The verses today refer to such a instance where the elite and knowledgeable sects of the Jewish faith questioned Jesus’ authority . . . dare I say again. This was after Jesus had (get this) fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21) and then another 4,000 with seven loaves and a few small fish (Matthew 15:32-39)! So in reading Jesus’ response, we get the impression of ‘what the heck does He have to do to convince these people?!?!?’ Seriously? Rather than appeasing them, Jesus, the master that He is, tells them of the sign of Jonah, which referred to His own resurrection. This would be proof beyond all doubt of Jesus’ divinity. We are often presented with things where people will question the existence of the true living God. We must answer with a sound mind and heart not focusing on what we do not know (i.e. why a tragedy occurs). Instead, we must focus on what we do know (His grace, His word, the transformative changes in our lives). Only then are we able to be advocates for Him.

Our personal relationship with Christ answers all doubts of His existence. While nonbelievers may come up with evidence of His nonexistence, we know beyond question how real He is. Our mission is not to convince others of His existence. Ours is to be knowledgeable of it and present the evidence to them for their spirit within cannot deny it. Where do you doubt Christ’s existence and how will you address it? How will you without hesitation tell of Jesus’ existence in your life? My prayer is that we confirm our truths so when questioned of Christ’s existence, we simply say to ourselves, “Seriously?” Amen.

Giving All of Us

Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”  So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord.  1 Samuel 7:3-4

Do I serve God with my head or heart?  This is a constant in my mind because there are times that the head and heart are not on the same page.  For example when dealing with my own sin, it would appear that the head (i.e. reading God’s scripture and taking it to ‘heart’) should win the day.  Yet when dealing with others in their brokenness of their own sins, having a heart and being compassionate is the right thing to do.  I have found that I best serve God with my head as the guiding force but my heart as the driving force.  You see, we cannot serve God just one way or the other.  He wants every bit of us to serve Him.  Only then will we be able to have a growing Christian walk.

Serving God must be done fully and completely.  I was fascinated with the story of Samuel in doing this devotion not only for the verses above but also the build up to this moment.  Samuel was called on directly by God to serve, but first, the stage had to be set for God’s truth to be revealed through Samuel.  God allowed Israel to be defeated by the Philistines and lose the Ark of Covenant of the Lord in that battle.  If you do not understand the significance of this, imagine doing the thing that you do better than anything else, and on your best day, you still were not as good as someone else.  Pretty devastating!  However, God was just prepping the stage by later causing all kinds of grief and suffering for the Philistines while Samuel was being elevated to his leadership role.  Thus when Samuel spoke to Israel asking for them to give everything to God; hearts, turning away from false idols, and obeying God alone, they were ready to listen to everything he had to say, and the Israelites gave everything to God.  As such, the Philistines would attack yet again, but this time they were defeated as God was with the now faithful Israelites.

In our lives, we will have situations that may not go our way.  These are opportunities to pause and reflect on whether we are fully vested in the God we serve; mind, heart, and soul.  If we are, we know He is setting the stage for our future triumph as He is faithful and without fail.  Do not focus on those things you do not control or enemies who have seemingly incredible odds stacked in their favor.  Focus on being completely vested in an awesome and amazing God.  Are there parts of you that are not completely vested in what God wants for your life?  How can you respond to situations with both heart and mind toward God?  My prayer is that we are giving all of us to God today.  Amen. 

Speaking to the Enemy

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’  But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.  And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”  Matthew 5:38-42

I had someone in my life that one might call an 'enemy.'  As in most cases, this person is someone who you befriend and do all you can to help them.  Then at some point, they do something that is not at all like a friend.  Being honest, there are times it still bothers me. To  give so much only to have them tear you down behind your back is disheartening.  There has never been an opportunity for me to say anything to them since finding out this was happening, but if it does, what would I say?  More importantly, what should I say?

God’s gift of grace is a shining example of how we are to give grace to others.  When I read these verses as a young child, I took it to mean to avoid fighting when possible.  Today, I realize that was a narrow view of them.  Jesus’ point here is for us to be bigger than the transgressions against us.  It is about showing the face of God to one who may have never seen what true grace is. Thus when the pain seems unbearable or anger is greater than we can handle, Jesus encourages us through His teachings that we can indeed be above all of it.

Jesus always speaks the truth!  When the moment of conflict comes and every fiber in us says to react with either anger or vengeance, focus on Jesus for guidance.  Not only will He give you peace but He will also give you the victory in the end for as He teaches us in prayer:

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matthew 6:12)

What emotional scar can you give to God today?  Who can you show grace toward as God has to you?  My prayer is that we can trust Jesus to take away pain and replace it with His love when speaking to the enemy.  Amen.

Telling Our Own Story

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 1 Peter 3:3-4
   
One of my colleagues has mastered the skill of telling their own story.  Here is how it works.  A situation will occur where a peer asks questions about a situation.  The reality is the peer just wants information to help solve a problem.  However, my colleague will tell their own story saying, “They are questioning my judgment!”  I have to laugh about it because I can clearly see what is happening, and then subtly inform my colleague of what the reality is.  The truth of the matter is we all fall prey to this.  We might see someone homeless, and ‘tell our own story’ that they must be lazy.  Or we see a child running wild in a store with their mom chasing them, and then we ‘tell our own story’ that they are not a very good parent.  It raises the question that as a Christian what is the true story about us and how does God see us?

God knows us inside and out, and focuses on the potential of what we can be.  There are numerous stories in the Bible that show how God uses people for His will to be done.  In many cases, these were not perfect people, and like us, they had sinned before God.  However, God saw the ‘inner self’ of those individuals, and used them where they were rewarded for making the choice to follow God.  We often gravitate to the ugly stuff of other people because it sounds more interesting (ex. We love to tear down our heroes after building them up).  However, if we were to use our God centered lens, we’d see the potential, beauty, and positive aspects of people.  That is at the center of a Christian’s heart.

Seeing things through God’s eyes always provides the right story.  The Pharisees had ‘told their own story’ that Jesus was blasphemous and disobeyed God’s laws.  The reality was Jesus is the Son of God who sacrificed His life so that we would not suffer for our sins.  When you begin to assess another’s situation or motive, remember to ask yourself like those bumper stickers would ask, “What would Jesus do?”  How can you see others as God sees them?  Do you tell your own story to justify wrongdoing before God?  My prayer is that we see the world as God’s sees it and not tell our own story. Amen.