Joy in All Things

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Psalm 30:11-12

You were created for one reason – a love relationship with God the Father and the way has been made for you through the incomprehensible sacrifice that was made 2008 years ago by His Son, Jesus. In this relationship comes great joy for communion with God and this is what your heart is longing for deep down within the quiet places of your soul. The problem today with believers genuinely experiencing the presence of God in their lives is that they put up a wall by trying to earn their way to the Father through works; or they keep their distance as a result of guilt and fear; or they are bent on trying to figure out the mind of God and have all of their questions answered prior to surrendering all and completely trusting in Him. Listen, God wants nothing more than for you to love Him and trust Him completely, right where you are in your journey of knowing Him today. He is longing for your attention and your open arms as a gesture to say to your Father and Creator that you are His and His alone to enjoy and to love and to do with as He pleases as you just long to live your life in this love relationship with Him, forever! He is doing the same for you as He loves you right you where you are today, right in the midst of your sin and shame and hurt and weakness and pride and all of the other things that seem to your limited mind to muddy up your perspective and view of God – He would tell you today that He has died to make the way as clear and to bridge the gap that leads to His awesome love and joy! Spend some time with Him now – pour out your heart and be filled by His Spirit as there is nothing better in this life than walking hand in hand with the God who made you and who loves you and who will never let you go!

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Shameful Ways

Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth in disrepute.

2 Peter 2:2

Wow! This passage is a little foretelling of times to come by the apostle Peter and it seems to perfectly describe the scene today in modern day America. I was in a book store yesterday looking for a book called "The Shack" that has been recommended by several friends. While I was gazing through all of the books in the "Spiritual Growth" section of Barnes and Nobles I noticed a book in that section that was discussing Spirituality without God that had been written by an atheist. There seems to be tolerance in our society today for every form of religion except Christianity. There are even tolerance and laws to protect groups that radically disobey the word of God, however, to discuss your relationship with Jesus in public has caused for convening of the Supreme Court in attempts to remove any mention of God from our schools. To call yourself a Christian in today’s society does indeed cause disrepute and uproar within our society that has seemed to have lost all respect and honor for our Creator and His Son Jesus who died to set us free from living in the bondage and oppression that we seem to be living in as a country today. If you call yourself a Christ follower then I would encourage and challenge you today to love this world around you whole-heartedly with the agape love that lives inside for there are many people that you will come into contact with today that desperately need to experience God in order that their perspective and direction on how to live an abundant life can be changed. It is only as you and I live out the miracle of God’s grace in our lives that our world will be changed for the better and restored to the perfect love and peace that only comes through relationship with our Father in Heaven.

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In Christ you are a Minister

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

1 Corinthians 12:7

One of the coolest truths about being a Christ follower is that once you have believed in Jesus and committed to follow Him with the way that you live your life; He will by His Spirit create in you a Spiritual gift that is unique and personal to your own purpose and that is to be used to minister to the world around you. You see, every believer is a minister and every believer is equipped for service to play his/her part in building the church up through loving God and loving people. Christianity is not just about soaking up all that God has to offer in order that you can live in some kind of spiritual vacuum that is all about you, no; Christianity is about letting the Spirit of God restore and transform your heart into a deeper relationship with Him in order that His love and power may be reflected to the world around you. It is a very deep mystery indeed that it is only in giving away the gifts and blessings of God that Jesus becomes more relevant in your life and your purpose for living becomes even clearer and incredibly fulfilling. I believe that it is that very gift of God’s Spirit that has enabled me to write these daily devotions each week day morning for the past 3 years now and each week I am humbled and in awe of how great our God is and how much He loves us and wants to use us to help encourage, inspire and challenge His people to live their lives for Him. What is your gift? Are you giving it away in order that others may be blessed and may share in your story and purpose? I would challenge you today to be intentional about your faith and start living your life for God!

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You are Chosen and Dearly Loved

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Colossians 3:12

Don’t you know today that you are a child of God! You are chosen and dearly loved; nothing that you have done or will do in the future can separate you from the love of our Father in Heaven who stands in the gap for you, through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus covers your sin both past and present and wants nothing less than the very best for your life. No matter where you are in your journey of knowing God, please know and remember today that God has an incredible love for you that meets you right where you are, He meets you right in the middle of your sin and pride and gently lifts your fragile fleshly body that has been tainted by this fallen world with His loving hands in order that He can carry you through the storm in order that your life can be a witness of the awesome transforming power of His Spirit that lives inside of your heart of hearts. Come worship at the throne of grace today and let the transforming power of Jesus in you restore your heart and mind in order that you can live out this incredible abundant life that God has chosen and created just for you. You are chosen and dearly loved – let the world see Jesus in you so that they too may believe.

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Hard Work - Big Dividends

I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.

Proverbs 24:30-34

One good thing that my father instilled in me from the time I was a child was to always have a strong work ethic. I can’t ever remember my father staying home sick from work, coming home early or leaving late. As a result, I have tried to maintain the same work ethic throughout my professional career and it has paid big dividends. I am not the smartest guy in the world and I don’t really have any exceptional talents or abilities that would enable me to rise above my competitors. The thing that I do have outside of the Spirit of God living inside of me is a commitment to work every day as I am working for the Lord and this alone has enabled me to excel in this fast paced business world in which we live. So, with this in mind, work today and every day as if you are working for the Lord, no matter what your occupation. Whether you are a stay at home mom, a full time student or a business professional; if you give 100% to the work that you are doing then your work will be honored by God and He will be glorified in and through your life and you life will be richly blessed.

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Future Hope

Future Hope

There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off

Proverbs 23:18

In economic times such as what we are in as a country, it is very easy to get discouraged and lose hope and direction and perspective. Be encouraged today by the writer of this chapter of Proverbs who is reminding you about the hope that you have as God’s son or daughter. There is hope for you today that God will provide all of your needs, no matter how difficult your circumstances may become. There is hope that God will use you in a big way to make a huge impact on this world for Him. There is hope that God will comfort you and hold you in His arms when you are wounded and exhausted from the battle. There is hope that God’s strength combined with your weakness will be the perfect formula for a victorious life in Him. No one can steal or take away the hope that you have as a Christ follower today and so with this in mind, let your light shine brightly today as you live your life for the King!