Tag: Daily Devotions

New Year, New Word

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Matthew 13:16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.”

Each year I ask God for a word to meditate on. It always amazes me how he delivers that word to me. This year I was driving home from dropping off my son at school for basketball practice during Christmas break. The word just popped into my head, and I was like, “Wait, what? Is that even possible to get a word while I’m driving?”

I had always been IN the Word, like reading the Bible, studying a devotion, or praying when I received a word before. So, because of this I doubted the word I was given. I finished driving home and went back to work (since I was working from home that week) and didn’t think about it again until that night. 

I am reading the Bible in 365 days on the YouVersion Bible app.  I actually listen to it each night once I am all snuggled down in bed. That night I prayed, “Lord if that is the word you want me to focus on this year, please give me confirmation through these Bible verses tonight.”  The word I received while I was driving was “complete”. The first Bible verse I listened to that night included Acts 15:25-27.  It says:

“So, we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question.”

So, within the first minute of diving into the Word, it said my word, complete, and the word confirm. WOW! I paused the recording and went back to read it myself to make sure I heard it correctly and I had! Is that confirmation or what? But then of course doubt crept in. I thought, “Well maybe the word “complete” is in the Bible a lot and maybe it would be impossible for me to read the Bible and not come upon the word “complete”.”

Wrong! I looked it up. I’m reading the NLT version of the Bible and the word “complete” is only used 55 times in that translation of the Bible. The word “confirm” is only used 13 times. They are only used together 1 time in the same chapter of the whole Bible and that is the chapter I was reading that night.

Coincidence? Nope! That was a God thing. So, what am I going to do with my word? I’m going to study it and all 55 verses that use it in the Bible. I’m going to look for opportunities that Jesus leads me into every day to complete things. I’m going to listen to what God is trying to tell me. It’s going to be an adventure and I’m excited about it!

Have you asked God for your word?

Lord, thank you for speaking to us everyday through your word, your creation, and other people around us. Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear what you are trying to tell us and give us wisdom to use those words to your glory. Amen

Be a Sample of Jesus

1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

I hate shopping. If you know me at all you know that I like to get new things, but I dislike going into a store…especially at Christmas time. The stores are too crowded with people milling about not paying attention to anyone else. It is hard to find what you want when you are wandering, helplessly hoping something you like or want will just jump out at you.

So, I do most my shopping online. Such an amazing invention for people like me. The only part I don’t like about shopping online is that you cannot sample or feel the products before you buy them. Because when you sample something, you know if you like it or not and then you can buy it with confidence.

Today at church, Pastor Ethan said something that really struck me. He said (and I’m paraphrasing now) that we should be samples of Jesus. When people are around us, they should be able to feel what it’s like to live a life with Jesus. I just loved that analogy. It hit so close to home for me.

So, I started to wonder, when I meet people, interact with people, eat or drink with people, are they getting a sample of what it is like to have Jesus in their lives? Gosh, I hope so. But just in case, I am going to make a point of remembering to be a sample this week. How about you? Can you do the same?

Thank you, Lord, for setting an amazing example for me to follow. Help me to be a sample of your great love to everyone I encounter this week.

A Position of Power to Serve

Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of the other.”

This week the Lord spoke to me through his word and through the words of others about serving. He told me that he did not put me in a leadership position to grab power but to serve others. That statement really made me stop and think. I don’t think of myself as a person that is trying to be powerful, but I also don’t think of myself as a person that is trying to serve others. So, what does that make me, lukewarm? I don’t want to be lukewarm. I want to be serving others. I don’t want to be selfish or vain. I want to be humble.

During my studies, the Lord reminded me that he has given each of us gifts or strengths that we can use to serve others. Those gifts are seeds that you can sow every day in every aspect of your life. If your gift is leadership, you can sow seeds of encouragement. If your gift is positivity, you can sow seeds of enthusiasm. If your gift is coaching, you can sow seeds of improvement. The more seeds you sow, the more other people will be blessed. As you learn to exercise your “sowing muscle”, serving others will come naturally and it will refresh you.

Proverbs 11:25 says “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”

So, what can you do this week to sow into someone else? How can you use your gifts and strengths to serve others? Take a moment today to think about your strengths and write down how God can use them in every aspect of your life. As Michael Todd would say, “Be a serial sower.”

Lord, thank you for putting me in a position where I can serve others every day. Open my eyes to see the opportunities you put before me so that I can sow the seeds of your love in others. Amen.

God Is Not a Genie in A Bottle

Philippians 4:6-7 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Some people only talk to God when they have a problem. When they have a prayer of need. Let me ask you this, what would your relationship with a friend look like if they only called you when they had a problem?  They never wanted to celebrate with you or share the good things that happen in their life.  Just their strife, problems and worries.  What kind of a relationship would that be?

God is not a genie in a bottle that you only call on when you want something. God wants a relationship with you. A relationship where you share the good and the bad. A relationship where you acknowledge what you are thankful for and what you need. He wants to communicate with you all day long no matter what your circumstances. When you open that line of communication with God on a daily basis, you will begin to see his presence and feel his peace in ways you have never seen or felt before.

So, I challenge you to change your perspective about a relationship with God. Don’t look at him as a wish-granter or a means to get what you want. Remember that he wants a real relationship with you and that takes time and open communication (prayer) about everything.

Dear God, thank you for your word and for opening my eyes, ears, and minds to understand what you are saying to me. I want a real relationship with you, and I will pray about everything. Amen