Author: Scott

The other day, I mentioned that my family lost 3 men that played key roles in my life. One of them was my father figure, Coach Dan Armstrong. Whenever we talked, he seemed to always get a life lesson in there somewhere. And somehow I always left the conversation feeling better about myself. It was an amazing gift God had given him the ability to do. And, there was a reoccurring theme that he preached: There are 2 teams in this world. God’s team. And Satan’s team. And he was spot on. 

We’re living in a very real crisis. I’m not talking about the virus, nor any political, social, or economic issue. I’m talking about our internal identities. As we grow we ask ourselves several questions. Who am I? What is my place in life? Where do I belong? Who are my people? How do I fit in? Which team do I identify with? Which captain am I going to follow? Very powerful questions. 

And even more powerful is the answer to each. No matter where we are in life, we belong to God. Our lives are to be spent according to His purpose for us. Our sense of identity derives from Him. When God is placed at the center of our lives, the crisis finds resolution. We put all the worldly noise behind us. We play on the right team, under the leadership of the right captain. Jesus! Yes we’ll stumble. Yes we’ll fall. No player, or team, goes undefeated forever. But even so, we’ll win the ultimate victory. And as we work towards that victory, think of the people we can bring onto our team. And that is where your identity should be. There is no confusion. There is no question. We are made in his image. Male. Female. Black. White. Left. Right. Doesn’t matter. God’s image. And that might be the most powerful point of today’s devotion.

We try to close all of our events with a message and communion. During the communion meditation, we talk about servitude. We discuss how our nation’s military serves us all. Without even knowing us, they sign that line, becoming a part of our military, and they serve us. All of us. That includes you and me. And our families. And our friends. This humbles me. 

We are all called to serve. Called to serve in some capacity. We all have talents that we can use to serve. I like to think that this part of our lives really shows who we are. Many of the ministry’s volunteers do not hunt or fish. And that is actually fantastic. Because many other things that need to be done do not include hunting or fishing. We have things going on behind the scenes that include our volunteers. Serving! 

And that brings us to this. The ultimate act of service: Jesus sacrificing himself on the cross. Serving us all. Paving the way for us to have eternity with him. Is there any other example of what we should follow? Not really. I don’t mean we need to sacrifice ourselves. But we need to devote ourselves to what we are called to do. Love God. Love others. Serve the world. And in that order. Let’s let God lead our hearts as we serve others. If we do that, just imagine who might come to know Jesus. Who in your family might come to know Jesus. What at an incredible testimony that would be.

Satan has several sneaky ways of trying to control our lives. One of his weapons is trying to control our thoughts. By making us think negatively about things inside us and around us. Making us believe lies such as I am helpless, I am worthless, I don’t matter. He does this because he knows how we think, shapes how we live.

If we allow him to control us in this manner, then we lose out on a strong relationship with our Lord and Savior. And we get trapped in the pain and agony of those thoughts. And being trapped can actually distract or distort how we view God. We can actually begin to believe that God does not love us. We begin to question, if God did love us, why would he allow such feelings and thoughts to be inside us? 

The Bible teaches us that God deeply loves us. God chooses us. That means all of us. And that includes you. Negative thoughts and views of ourselves can block us from believing these truths that we read. They can make us feel invisible. They can rob us of our joy and our peace. So today let’s throw off the dark cloud of negative thoughts that hovers over us. Let’s reset what’s in our minds. Let’s begin to believe and trust in the truths that are in the Bible. Let’s refocus our minds on God. Let him take control. Let’s let him battle back Satan, take control of our hearts, and lead us to victory. It has already been declared anyways. Because he loves us. Always has. Always will. 

All week we have been reading about being thankful. Trying to cover what we should truly be thankful for. As this day begins, I’m trying to narrow down what it is I’m thankful for to put into this devotion. Not an easy task. As I am thankful for many things.

Obvious answers would be health, family, friends, etc. And that is perfectly fine. We should be thankful for those things. I know I am. But today, I think I’m going to say I’m thankful for having a loving God that we can praise and worship. A God that we can pour out our hearts too. A God who is always there for us. A God who sent his son to die on the cross for us some 2000 years ago. 

So as you enjoy this holiday, keep in mind that we have a Lord and Savior who’s Love is so vast that we could never comprehend just how big it is. We have a Lord and Savior who is waiting with open arms for us to run too. He is the Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end. He is everything that matters. And that is awesome. I also want to ask you to keep our troops in your hearts. A large portion of them are not home during this holiday season. Pray for them. I love you all. 

Sometimes, we don’t know what we need, until we get what we need. There is so much truth in that. It’s worth reading again: Sometimes, we don’t know what we need, until we get what we need. I’m sure at some point you have said, “I needed that.” Maybe after a three day weekend. Or a cup of coffee or hot chocolate on a cold day. Or simply maybe just spending some time not doing anything after a long day at work. These are simple pleasures. But the point is clear. Sometimes, we don’t know what we need, until we get what we need.

And a lot of that, if not all of that, can be said about our faith. Our walk with Christ. I know it was with mine. For years I knew who Christ was. But I did not know Christ. For years I floundered around doing my own thing. Yes I prayed. Yes I went to church. Yes I believed. But I did not know Christ. I did not know what I needed. It wasn’t until I truly followed him and let him guide my heart, that I understood what a relationship with Christ was. Only then did I find the peace and hope that comes from our Lord and Savior. Only then did I realize he is there for us no matter what situations we find ourselves in. It was only then that I realized, I did not know that I needed Jesus, until I truly found Jesus. Oh boy, am I glad I did. 

If you don’t know him, maybe today is the day for you to pursue him. And if you do know him, but are not really following him, maybe today is the day for you to truly open your heart to him. I can’t think of anything better to do on this Thanksgiving. Jesus is what you need. He loves you. He loves us all. Always has. Always will. And for that I am thankful.

Feeling sorrow and pain is part of being human. They are emotions that we are created with. God gave us these intentionally. I look at them as part of his tools for us to really understand what we should view as being important. Tools to help us to understand where to put value. The year 2021 brought these emotions to me and my family like no other. We lost three men within months of each other that were very important in my life. My biological father in January. My father figure in March. And my stepfather in August. I could go on and on about how each one of these men shaped my life. But that’s not the point of this devotion.

Feeling joy is also an emotion that we have. Another amazing part of being created. Once again, a tool that God uses to teach us what is important. Just as pain and sorrow can rock us to our core, joy can lift us to a height that we never thought imaginable. It can move us to tears. Watching our children and our grandchildren brings us great joy. Being with somebody experiencing their first successful hunt can bring us joy. Celebrating the victory of your favorite sports team does as well. I’m sure we all have other examples. Once again, not the point of this devotion.

We are going through this week of being thankful. Today, I am thankful that our God instilled in us emotions. Emotions that include pain and joy. If you think about it, they really are amazing. In his famous speech, Jim Valvano told us to have our emotions move us to tears each day. As he was dying, he understood the importance of pain and joy. I am so thankful that our God loves us so much, that tears from emotions were part of his plan. Sure, I don’t want to feel pain. No one does. But I’m thankful that I can understand what is important. I am thankful that I get to go through pain and joy. I am thankful, because they give me a full heart. And they will give you a full heart too. Because…God loves us. Always has. Always will.

I want you to take a moment and think about the “climate” of the world. And I am not talking about the weather. What I mean is the civil unrest that we’re seeing all across the planet. Everywhere you look, there is hatred and vile. Evil has become good. Good has become evil. And it seems to be perpetuated by the media. if you need an example, just look at what’s happening in the Middle East. 

Now, as you think about this, I still want you to think about being thankful. What are we being thankful for? That can be hard to do when you’re thinking about evil. But…today I am thankful that we have the ability to denounce and combat evil. Thankful that we don’t have to let it take hold and control us. We don’t have to let it make us fearful. We don’t have to accept it. That’s because we are covered with the grace of God. That’s what I’m thankful for. The ability to pray to the Lord and Savior and not let evil take over. 

Unfortunately, we live in a world full of evil. Satan is doing his job very well. You don’t have to look very far to see it. Global terrorism. Domestic violence. Child abuse. Etc. And just simply hating your neighbor instead of loving them. Evil is everywhere. But the good news is this, Good is everywhere too. Peoples’s hearts are opening to serve others. Miracles are happening daily. The Holy Spirit is moving and changing lives. Ultimately in the end, we win. Christianity wins. Satan will not be victorious. Jesus won that for us on the cross. The victory has been declared. So today be thankful. Be thankful that we have a loving God. And his love is much greater than any evil that we will ever face. No amount of suffering we have on earth will compare to what we’re going to feel and see in heaven for eternity. Because God loves us. Always has. Always will.

Today is Monday of Thanksgiving week. A week where we will all celebrate with annual customs with friends and family. A week that includes meals prepared by hands of those who love us. And we cannot forget that there are football games and Black Friday shopping frenzies. I’m certain that there are other customs. These are just what come to mind. 

There is nothing inherently wrong with any of these. In fact, I’d like to suggest that we all find ways to bring our loved ones together. Whether it be by food, football, shopping, etc. Being together is important. It can strengthen the bonds we have. It gives us the opportunity to reflect and remember times from our younger years. Maybe times that included loved ones no longer with us. Or maybe times that were the beginnings of traditions we now have. 

But as this week begins, I’d like to also suggest that we truly think about what we are thankful for. What is it that really rocks us to our core? This might include things we never really thought about. Or maybe things we had forgotten. Let’s take a few moments to think about this: What are you truly thankful for? Then let’s go one step further. Let’s pray of genuine prayer of thanks. Go to our knees and open our hearts and be thankful. I am not going to make suggestions on what you should be thankful for. I am certain that you know what they are. I am simply saying let’s give thanks to our Lord and Savior for these things. And while we do so, let’s be sure to be truly thankful for his love and grace. Because if we’re truly honest, that’s what really matters.

Here’s an interesting question: “How can something we can’t see control so much of who we are, determine what we feel and what we do and what we say or don’t, dictate how we move or sleep, and inform what we want, what we hate, and what we love?”

What we are talking about here is our thoughts. They have tremendous control over our actions. The good and the bad. And even more interesting to me is that even though they have so much “control” over us, we ultimately have the ability to shift the focus of them. We can decide what we think about. What an amazing gift that God has given us. 

In the Bible there’s an example of someone doing exactly that. The Apostle Paul. Talk about someone doing a complete 180. We know his story. Before converting, Paul was known as Saul. He worked on sending believers to prison. Men and women alike. While on his way to Damascus to arrest and extradite Christians back to Jerusalem, Saul was confronted by Jesus. And from that moment on, he shifted his thoughts to serving our Lord and Savior. Paul “chose” to live under the power of the Holy Spirit. We can do the same thing. The world tells us how we should think and view things. How we should believe. How we should agree with the masses. But the Holy Spirit gives us the same power that Paul had. This is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. That’s the power to shift our focus. The power to take control of the battle in our minds. The power to serve God by serving others. Is today the day for you to take control? Maybe it is.

Who we surround ourselves with is very important in determining who we are and what we represent. Our relationships are very important. And often times, if not all the time, our thoughts and behaviors can determine our relationships. Therefore, it’s important for us to have a clear mind and think appropriately. Keeping all of our focus on God. Even in the dark times, we should strive to keep our focus on him. If we do so, he can help us keep our thoughts and our behaviors where they need to be. And that will help us keep our relationships healthy.

But what about relationships that are unhealthy that we want to keep? Like with family and close friends. And what about thoughts that seem to reoccur? Or behaviors? I would like to suggest that we spend our time trying to determine a way to fix these. That would require us to figure out what causes these. God can help us figure this out. If we pray to him for wisdom on how to work on unhealthy relationships, and how to keep our thoughts more pure, he will do it. 

And here is the good news. If we do this. If we focus our energy and our efforts on God. If we let him guide us in our thoughts and our relationships,  then we might be the light that leads those that don’t know him-to him. Wow! Talk about doing a 180. We can take our inner thoughts, our inner emotions, and turn them into tools to show others God‘s grace. And that might be what leads them to salvation. Instead of wallowing in despair of what we are going through, we can work through them with God’s unending love. Instead of allowing ourselves to live day by day in unhealthy relationships, we can strive to show others God’s unending love. And that’s awesome. So let’s try to take our thoughts captive. Let’s try to work on our relationships. And let’s let God’s love take hold. Just imagine the testimonies that we will have if we do so.