Month: March 2023

Let’s start this morning with some questions. And when you think about them, be truly honest with yourself. Sometimes real growth comes from tough questions. As you read these, please know that these questions are for me too. I think they are for everyone. So here we go. What does your relationship with God look like? What does it really look like? I know you probably know who he is. But do you really know him? Are you a follower? Or are you a disciple? 

There are many people out there who don’t understand Jesus. They don’t GET it. They proclaim to be followers. And that is awesome. But they don’t understand the abundant life that someone can get with a true relationship with Jesus. If I’m honest with myself, I did not know what a relationship was with Jesus until I was in my 30s. I remember being a new believer. And I thought being a Christian meant going to church, bowing my head and praying, listening to Christian music. I tried to copy who I thought were good Christians. There’s nothing wrong with doing those things. But there is so much more to be a believer. Working on a relationship with Christ is the key.

So today let’s work on building a relationship with Jesus. A real relationship. He wants to hear from us. He loves us and wants to see us succeed. And he is here for us when we go through tough times. Having a relationship will help us get through those moments. Plus we can rejoice with him during our successes. Let’s remember we have eternal security with Jesus in our lives. And for that alone, we should work on building our relationship with him. Let’s all work on becoming disciples. Let’s strive to show others how to do the same thing. If we can do these things, more and more people will come to know Jesus. And that will be awesome and glorious.

This last week I was talking with a friend of mine who is going through a very difficult time. Let’s just say that people that he has been very close to you for several years have turned on him. He is seeing a side of people he did not realize existed. A very ugly side. It’s so unfortunate that sometimes we go through moments like these. We go through moments where it seems like we are being attacked and we don’t know why. 

It’s moments like these that I believe God is building us. He is preparing us for something. We don’t know why at that time it’s happening. But, it could be he is setting us up for what is coming ahead. Times like these are hard to get through. Especially when those around you have turned their backs on you. But it’s times like these that I believe God is telling us to turn to him. To let him take control. To let him do his work. God is asking us to trust him. And I also believe he’s wanting us to forgive those who have wronged us during these times. Oh boy, how hard that is. It can be beyond our understanding. No doubt.

But we must remember, God has forgiven us. And that is also beyond our understanding. He has forgiven us even though we don’t deserve it. Sound familiar? I bet it does. I bet those who have wronged you, don’t deserve forgiveness. Releasing the resentment that we have helps purify our hearts. Releasing that resentment might require us to have God help us. Chances are, we are unable to do so by ourselves. Which is also part of us being prepared by God. He is working on our hearts in ways that we cannot understand. But no matter what it is, we must remember it is for our good. So maybe today is the day for us to go to our knees and ask God to take control. Maybe today is the day to LET him take control. Let him take our hearts. Let him begin working on us like never before. Maybe today is the day that we truly learn to trust him for his love.

This morning I was watching ESPN as I was getting ready. In their spotlight story they talked about a young wrestler from New York. Dunia is his name. If you haven’t seen it, look for it. It was pretty incredible. I have a link to a similar story about him below. Without giving the way what happens, let me just say it involves a horrific attack when he was younger. But the point of this devotion isn’t about the attack. As I was watching the story, three things stuck out to me: Perseverance. Love. Hearts of servants. 

This young man persevered. He persevered out of a situation that was terrible. After the attack, he was the only remaining survivor. Moved on in life to become a wrestler. A successful wrestler. Very inspiring to say the least. Also, his story is a great example of love. He now lives with a family in New York that fell in love with him immediately. Took him in and now care for him. Finally, the hearts I’m talking about are the ones that the doctors and the foundation have. His care was done at no cost. There would’ve been no way that he could’ve covered the expense. Serving others is a tremendous blessing. Not only to those being served, but also to those doing the serving.

Everything here reminds me of Jesus. Reminds me of his life on earth as human. He left his throne to join us. To live a life as a man. He had to persevere through so many things. The obstacles in his path. The hate and anger he endured. He never wavered. Kept on pushing through. The love he showed those that he came across. Amazing stories. The Bible is full of stories showing examples of his life. And how he preached about loving others. Something that we should all learn from. And I can confidently say that we all agree he had a servant’s heart. Just think about a story in the Bible. Any story. I’m sure you can see the point here. Constantly serving others. Ultimately dying, serving others. Serving us. All three of these are ways that we should live. We should persevere through what the world puts in our way. Never wavering. Staying constant. We should love others. We are even commanded to love our enemies. Difficult to do. Believe me, I know. And we should serve others with open hearts. Putting them above us. Valuing them over ourselves. Once again, I know this can be hard. But we can do it. We can do all of these things with God in our lives. He will lead us, if we let him. Because he loves us. Always has. Always will.

Dunia link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lYBNve6V5F4

The last two days were the first round games of the NCAA Division One Men’s Basketball Tournament. Better known as the Road to the Final Four. This is also the time of the year that high school teams in Missouri are playing for the state championship. The NBA season is beginning to move towards the playoffs as well. I love this time of year. I especially love watching March Madness.

All of this reminds me a Coach Armstrong. We would be talking about the games we watched. The players that were making the biggest impact. I was always looking forward to our conversations. One thing he used to say was, “You better have your ducks in a row.” Basically saying, you better be prepared. You never know what’s coming. Not only was he talking about basketball, he was talking about life. And he was spot on. If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. Preparation in basketball takes practice. Perfect practice. That’s how you get better. Hard practice leads to easy games. The same can be said about life.

We aren’t promised tomorrow. We aren’t promised the next few minutes. We never know what’s coming around the corner. Or when the end is going to be here. When we are born, we are promised one thing. There will be an end. So maybe we need to look at our lives. Maybe we need to take inventory and make sure that we are prepared. And the only way to be prepared for eternity is to have Jesus in our lives. That’s the only way to ensure that we are ready. If you don’t know Jesus, let’s talk. Let’s make sure you are prepared. Let’s make sure you are ready for when life here ends. If you do know Jesus, make sure that you are living life like he wants you to. Love him. Love others. Serve the world.

Here’s another tough one. And believe me as I’m writing this, I am pointing this at myself. It’s directed towards me. But I’m guessing others out there probably need to hear it too. It’s tough because it deals with our thoughts. Because our thoughts can consume us. They can control us. Our thoughts can have their way with us if we let them. Sometimes we find ourselves losing control of them. And that’s not good. Especially if they are toxic. Unhealthy.

When I first became a believer in 1992, I was still struggling with who I was. I was struggling with who I was going to be. I wasn’t even 21 years old yet. And I was trying to figure out my path. What was it going to look like. I knew I needed to shed my old self. But I was struggling with that because that’s what I had been for so long. And let’s just say that my thoughts at that time in life were not very pure. As I’ve gotten older, I have learned to control them. There have been times that I could feel the wrong things coming into my head, and then I would intentionally steer my thoughts other directions. One thing Barbara said to me years ago resonated with me. And I hope she still believes it now. She told me that she appreciated way I would turn my head away from other women. She might not have known it, but that was intentional. I was intentionally turning my attention to my beautiful wife. That way I would keep my thoughts on wanting her. And only her.

You see, our thoughts have so much control over us that sometimes they can lead to action. My example earlier is just a small part of what I’m trying to say. We live in a world that tries to control what we believe. What we think. Telling us that this is ok, that is ok, this is fine, that is fine, etc. Look at this. Watch that. Listen to this. Do that. So many things coming at us from so many different directions. We must learn to control what we think, and let that help us control what we believe. If we can keep in control this way, then our actions will follow. So today, let’s pray for God to help us keep our thoughts pure. Keep our thoughts on things that he wants us to focus on. Let’s pray for his wisdom when temptations do come. Let’s remember that we are created in his image. And we can defeat anything that comes our way. Especially, when the evil one tries to creep in to our minds. 

Lately have you found yourself in a place where nothing seems familiar? A place where you have nothing left? Has your faith been tested? What about having doubts? Doubting that you are capable of anything. Sometimes these things can be overwhelming. That can cause fear. We can lose confidence that we can help others. We don’t believe we are good to ourselves at all. So, how can we possibly be good to others? Fear not though. It’s moments like these that God is there waiting to build us back up.

We are all aware that Satan is a snake sneaking around. He uses whatever opportunities he can to destroy us. And it is moments like in the first paragraph where he thrives. Doing all he can to assure us that we are unworthy. We are hopeless. That God has forsaken us. So let’s work on battling him back. Putting him back in his place. Where he belongs. Let’s declare God‘s truth in our lives. We can shout it out. We can pray it quietly. We can speak it softly. Whatever way we decide to do it, let’s declare God is in control. Because he is.

So today let’s go to our knees. Let’s talk to God. Tell him are concerns. Let him know that our faith is weak in moments where it is. Let’s tell him we trust him. Let’s pray for strength that can only come from him. Today is the beginning of us knowing that we may stumble. We may fall. But today is also the day of us knowing that we can rise up with Jesus. We can press on. We can be confident and crush our doubts. We can face whatever comes our way because the Lord is our strength. And it is perfect. Finally, let’s believe that God has us. Because he loves us. He always has. He always will.

Ever wish you could go back in time and do something different? Make a different decision than what you had made? Maybe go somewhere, try something, or not go somewhere, or not try something different? Erase a mistake that you made? Or add to the successes that you had? Sure you do. I think all of us have had that thought at one point or another. Go back in time, knowing what you know now. Truth is though, we can learn from our past. Our mistakes and our successes.

But today, I think we should focus on where we are and where we are going. Let’s not focus solely on the past. Let’s move forward. Let’s move forward knowing that God has us. Think of it this way: “The person I was isn’t the person I am, nor is it the person that I hope to become.” Let’s look forward to what God has planned for us. We don’t want to forget where we have come from. We don’t want to forget where we have been. That’s part of knowing who we are. But reminding ourselves of our past, especially our mistakes, can get us into a rut that is hard to get out of. And that can limit us on serving God and showing his glory to others. Then that becomes a victory for the enemy. Not good!

So today, let’s try to be ready to move forward. Let’s try to build on our past. Not forget it. But, not dwell on it. Let’s use it to catapult us forward. Let’s believe that our best days are ahead of us. If we allow it, our faith will guide us. It’ll keep us on course. I know it’s not easy to do this all the time. Believe me, I’ve been there. I understand. But, faith will give us the strength to carry on. Despite what has happened, or what we are going through, faith will get us there. God has us covered. Whatever we are going through, he already knows. He will see us through.

In the book of John, we read about the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000. I’m guessing it’s probably more along the lines of 15,000. Maybe even up to around 20,000 or more. The Bible says it’s 5000 men. Most likely those guys were probably with their wives and children. Either way, 5000 or 20,000 is not the point that is important here. What Jesus was showing is what is important. Jesus was showing that we need to have faith even when it seems hopeless. We need to have faith even when it seems impossible.

Can you imagine what it must’ve been like to watch that happen? Can you imagine being there? Seeing Jesus feed the masses like that out of a handful of bread and fish. Wow! But as awesome as that must’ve been, just think of the faith that was being tested. Just think of how that might have strengthened your belief if you had been there. And that is the point. We need to believe that Jesus will be there for us. We need to believe that he will get us through, even when it seems impossible.

Now think about your life today. Think about times that have seemed impossible. Times where you did not know how you would get through. We have all had those. I know I have. My family has. Many times. And it was very difficult for us to keep our eyes on Jesus. Honestly, I’m sure there were moments where we didn’t. But guess what, Jesus saw us through. Even when we couldn’t believe it was possible. Sickness. Depression. Anxiety. Anger or hatred. The list goes on, and on, and on. He never wavered. Even when we did, Jesus never wavered. Always remained constant. He always remained faithful. We shouldn’t need to witness miracles like the 5000. We should just go to our knees and pray for his guidance. The end may not be what we hope or pray for it to be. The outcome may not go our way. But he will see us through. Our faith will be strengthened. We will be stronger through the outcome. No matter what. Then our testimony will be even more powerful. And others need to see that. So today, let’s have faith no matter what situation we are in.

Yesterday afternoon, I spent some time with 4 friends doing some therapy. Better known as shooting guns at targets down range. One of them is the President of Charlie 22 Outdoors. The other three are veterans. One of them being one of the founders of the ministry. It was an amazing time of fellowship and firearms. 

I’m always interested by the knowledge that these guys possess when it comes to long range shooting: Minute of Angle, D.O.P.E., Hold at 3 clicks. All foreign to me. I just know enough to look through the scope, put the cross hairs on the target, and pull the trigger. And when you are shooting at 500 yards away, my limited knowledge would have me way off target. No doubt. To have any chance at all, I needed them there too guide me. To tell me how to adjust to what I was aiming at. And even then, I missed my targets several times. But, I eventually hit everything, including a 4 inch diameter circle with Tannerite in it. It really was an awesome afternoon.

Having them there to assist me reminds me of having Jesus in my life. Just as I would have missed my targets all day long without their assistance, I miss my targets daily in life without Jesus. Even with him guiding me, I still miss sometimes because of my attempt to go it alone. Isn’t that human nature? To do things ourselves. I’m not saying it’s correct thing to do. I’m just saying that’s what we do. And I’m also saying that I fail all the time. I fail  because I’m trying to go it alone. I need Jesus. All the time! We all do. And I am confident in saying that I bet we would all agree that without him, failure is eminent. So today, let’s strive to put Jesus first in all that we do. Let’s let him guide us. Please remember he has a plan for us. And it is glorious. Let’s also remember, even when we fail, it’s never too late to turn to him. He will take us where we need to go. He will keep us on target.

It is easy for us to get caught up in earthly things. Everywhere you look we are being enticed to eat here, buy this, come here, try that. Television, radio, computers, phones, and more. Each grabbing at us. Friends, family, acquaintances, even those we don’t know. People actually make good careers out of marketing. They’ve learned the best ways to get our interest. Now, I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with any of these. In fact, I enjoy many earthly things. Let’s just remember to not value them over everything else. Let’s be sure to have our priorities in the right place. 

One thing I truly enjoy, and get “joy” out of, is being out in the creation. I’m aware it’s part of this earth we call home. But, I’m more aware of the fact God created it. And we should enjoy God’s creation. We should celebrate God’s creation with joy! And if we look at this more closely, we realize we are part of the creation. God created us too. And when we look at it like this, then we know that all of creation should rejoice and praise God. The joy of creation is Christ-centered. 

So let’s conclude with this. Yes, we are in this world. We are in an earthly existence. But let’s keep our eyes on God. Then we can experience life on earth knowing how it all came to be. And then when we leave from here, we will get to celebrate and rejoice with the one who created it all. Because he loves us. Always has. Always will.