When It’s Right in Front of You

When It’s Right in Front of You

By Stephanie Romero

Everyday Christian devotionals

There is an interesting passage of scripture where Jesus tells the disciples about who is going to betray Him.  It is found in John 13:18-30.  Although at times Jesus spoke in parables, here He says some pretty straightforward things.

“He who shared my bread has turned against me.”

“I am telling you now before it happens…”

“Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”

“It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.”

Then we read that Jesus dipped the piece of bread and gave it to Judas.  So it would seem pretty obvious who would be the betrayer, wouldn’t it?  Yet we read that none of the disciples understood what was going on.  They didn’t seem to get it.

It is easy to read a passage of scripture like this and think, “What is wrong with those guys?”  It is so plain to see!  Yet how often do we not understand, even when it is right there in front of us?

We don’t understand why we are struggling to stay on top of the bills…yet we continue to splurge on items we really don’t need.  We don’t understand why our marriage is falling apart…yet we have developed a “friendly” online relationship.  We don’t understand why our kids have gone down the wrong path…yet we have compromised our own beliefs right in front of them.

Sometimes it really is right in front of us, yet we are just as ignorant as the disciples were when it came to understanding that Jesus would be betrayed. 

I guess we can’t be so quick to condemn them, can we?  What is right in front of your eyes that you need to see more clearly? 

Faith in the Unseen

By Valerie Lenon | Counselor and Life Strategies Coach

Everyday Christian devotionals

No matter what you go through, you are not alone. Though it feels that way sometimes, the key to making it through tough circumstances is holding fast to God and His Word. Did you know that one aspect of supernatural help which God has made available to you is angelic assistance? That's right! You are never alone. This exciting benefit of salvation is available to every Believer. Even though you can't see them, angels assist you in your daily life. Whether it is a financial struggle or protection from physical harm, angels are standing at attention, waiting to perform on your behalf. However, you must have faith in their supernatural abilities for their assistance to become a reality.

From the beginning of time, God assigned angels to do His bidding in the natural and supernatural realms of life. The Bible says, "For he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone" (Psalm 91:11, 12). When you have faith in God to never leave you or forsake you, you will have faith in whatever means He provides to assist you throughout life's journeys. Divine protection is a promise from God's Word. Stand on it and release your faith for it. Declare that you have angelic protection and open your heart and mind to the reality that angels are all around you.

The primary key to activating angelic assistance is speaking the Word of God. The Scripture says that angels hearken unto the voice of his Word (Psalm 103:20). In other words, every time you confess the Word in faith, angels are moving around and going to work on your behalf to bring to pass the Word that you have spoken.

Many Believers don't realize that they have angels waiting for their assignments. I believe that many of our angels are sitting around collecting dust on their wings! If you never give them an assignment and never call on them for help, they can't get much done. When you lack strength and endurance to get through troubling situations, or even when you just need assistance in any area of life, simply call on your angels. They will help you.

It would be ideal to be able to see your angels surrounding you, ready to guide you through the storms of life. But just because you cannot see them, does not mean they aren't there. Do not be discouraged simply because there is no tangible proof. Choosing to have faith in the unseen is part of your walk as a Believer (2 Corinthians 5:7). Having faith that angels accompany you is the same as believing God would never leave you alone.

I remember an encounter with angels that confirmed to me the reality of their existence. I was involved in a car accident that almost took my life and the lives of those with me. In those split second moments when I thought it was about to be over, I saw angels break into the natural realm as the car spun out of control and flipped onto its side. No one with me was harmed because our angels came on the scene. Because of years of declaring God's Word and declaring that my life is redeemed from destruction, angels were able to enforce the covenant of protection God made available to me.

Angels are heavenly beings ready to execute God's love and concern for your well–being. Just speak the Word of God and receive the comfort and guidance that He has charged His angels to provide. Dare to have faith in the unseen!

How I Write Versus How I Live

How I Write Versus How I Live

by Bob Kellemen | Founder and CEO, RPM Ministries

I’ve been thinking lately how difficult it is to live what I write. In my books like Soul Physicians and Spiritual Friends, I write about living the Christian life and being a Christian friend.

Frequently I fail at both.

While pondering my dilemma, I stumbled upon a quote from Samuel Johnson’s The Rambler (1750, Essay 14). (See Sympathy for Hypocrites by John Zahl at his blog Mockingbird.)

“It is not difficult to conceive that for many reasons a man writes much better than he lives. For, without entering into refined speculations, it may be shown much easier to design than to perform. A man proposes his schemes of life in a state of abstraction and disengagement, exempt from the enticements of hope, the solicitations of affection, the importunities of appetite, or the depressions of fear, and is in the same state with him that teaches upon land the art of navigation, to whom the sea is always smooth, and the wind always prosperous…

We are, therefore, not to wonder that most fail, amidst tumult and snares and danger, in the observance of those precepts, which they laid down in solitude, safety, and tranquility, with a mind unbiased, and with liberty unobstructed… Nothing is more unjust, however common, than to charge with hypocrisy him that expresses zeal for those virtues which he neglects to practice; since he may be sincerely convinced of the advantages of conquering his passions, without having yet obtained the victory.”

Well put. Two lines summarize it best for me.

“It is not difficult to conceive that for many reasons a man writes much better than he lives.”

“Nothing is more unjust, however common, than to charge with hypocrisy him that expresses zeal for those virtues which he neglects to practice; since he may be sincerely convinced of the advantages of conquering his passions, without having yet obtained the victory.”

I want to live well what I write. However, I’m not there yet.

More importantly, I want to live well what is written in God’s Word. I’m certainly not there.

I’m thankful for the grace of God in Christ.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of God

Listening to my Hair Grow 

by rosemccormickbrandon

Of the 12 spies who went into the promised land, 10 brought back a godless report. They exaggerated the size and power of the inhabitant tribes. Only two men returned to camp with a good report – Joshua and Caleb. They said, “Let’s go up and take the country. It’s a good land and we’re strong enough to take it.” (Numbers 13,14)

The Israelites looked at numbers. Ten against, two for. They chose to shake in their boots with the fearful ten. That choice led to much whining and complaining. Some even made plans to return to lives of slavery in Egypt.

The Israelites did what we often do. They overestimated the power of evil and underestimated the power of God. They accepted bad news as fact. Often information from experts turns out to be tainted by pre-conceived ideas, faulty input or personal agendas. In the 1970s a movie circulated amongst many evangelical churches. It showed maps of the world illustrating how Communism would eventually take over the whole world – doom, doom, doom.

Like the enemy tribes ofIsrael, Communism had many weak spots. It wasn’t invincible. Their takeover of the world wasn’t imminent. God was at work behind the scenes taking it apart brick by brick until it tumbled, seemingly overnight.

Many of the challenges we face today appear impenetrable. They make scary noises, spread false rumors of destruction. If we believe the stories of doom, we will fall into the same trap the Israelites fell into – the trap of disrespecting God.

We must always be careful not to overestimate the power of evil and thereby underestimate God’s power to destroy evil. If we view the world as a great enemy, able to take us down at any moment, we will end up living a faithless fearful life.

Forty years later, the quivering voices of the fearful Israelites were dead. Joshua and Caleb, men of faith and courage took charge and led the Israelites to victory.

Will you side with the fearful ten or the faithful two?

The Truth Will Set You Free 

By Dan Buckhout

Everyday Christian devotionals

The desire for freedom is ingrained in each of us. This desire is God-designed. The way to achieve freedom is also God-designed. Jesus taught His disciples about this design. By way of the Bible, we get to listen in and personally learn what he taught.

“. . . Jesus said, ‘If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”--John 8:31-32 (NIV).

Jesus said that His teaching revealed truth, and that if we held to it we would be set free. But to be set free, we must first be held captive. This teaching begs the question, “Set free from what?” Jesus’ disciples came right out and asked it! “We have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be free?” (John 8:33). Jesus said that they were, in fact, enslaved and needed the truth to be free. The truth can set us free from the most dangerous slavery of all—the slavery we don’t think controls us. Let’s examine the concepts of slavery and freedom to see how the truth can free us.

We can experience two types of freedom. Let’s call them Freedom A and Freedom B. Freedom A is the freedom to do what we want. When nothing physically restricts us from doing what we want, we experience Freedom A. Freedom A allows us to do wonderful, loving, and kind things if we want to do them. Freedom A also allows us to do hurtful, hateful, and harmful things. In fact, if we examine Freedom A closely, we find that our sinful nature dominates it.

It is easy to think otherwise, but Jesus taught that sinful thoughts are still sinful, even when we disguise them with actions that hide the thoughts (Matthew 5:27-28). God sees the inner thoughts, and those thoughts—not the “candy coated” behaviors we show others—are the measure of sinfulness in our lives (Proverbs 21:2). So, Freedom A leads to self-focus, and ultimately produces immorality, impurity, idolatry, discord, and many other unsavory characteristics in our lives (Galatians 5:19-21). Freedom A serves a sinful, self-focused nature and enslaves us to it. In the end, Freedom A is really slavery masquerading as freedom.

Freedom B is the freedom to do what God wants. When we are not constrained by our self-focused human desires, we are free to love God and love others. Freedom B allows God to do His will through us. It leads to God-focused activity, and ultimately produces love, joy, patience, kindness, and other godly characteristics in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23).  Freedom B serves a loving, almighty God, joining us by free choice to Him. Freedom B is true, eternal freedom. It’s the real deal!

In the end, the type of freedom you experience depends upon whose servant—or slave—you choose to be. If you serve yourself, you attain a false freedom. If you serve God, you attain true, everlasting freedom.

We can find the key to true freedom by working our way in reverse through our passage: We must know the truth. To know the truth, we must become a true disciple of Jesus Christ. To become a true disciple of Jesus Christ, we must hold to His teaching.

We hold to Jesus’ teaching by doing the following:

Prayer: Pray daily that the Holy Spirit will reveal to you the truth of Jesus’ teaching.

Study: Encounter His teaching by studying the Bible; make it a part of who you are.

Worship: Worship (reverencing, honoring, praising in word or song, paying homage, etc) draws us closer to God, allowing us to more intimately experience His teaching.

Fellowship: Join with others who also seek His teaching, for both support and accountability.

If we build an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus, we will know the truth and it will set us free. That’s the truth.

When you pray, when you study the Bible, when you worship Me, when you fellowship with others who also seek Me, you are empowered to hold to My teaching and you are really My disciple. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

That’s the YouTruth. The truth will set you free.

Remembering the Milestones in Your Spiritual Journey

Remembering the Milestones in Your Spiritual Journey

By Stephanie Romero

Everyday Christian devotionals

 

I love this reminder in Psalm 25:6 (The Message):  Mark the milestones of your mercy and love, God; rebuild the ancient landmarks!

Landmarks are great ways to recall times of the past.  Last summer our family took a trip to Washington D.C.  We were surrounded by so many landmarks…so many milestones of what it took for America to be what it is today.

The same can be said of our spiritual journey.  Along the way we have established landmarks, moments in which the future of who we would become have been set in place.  There are milestones in which we see the hand of God so clearly, all of the times He has bestowed on us His mercy and love.

I find this to be a great way to get out of a spiritual funk.  Ever have one of those?  You feel disconnected from God, unable to pray, reading the Bible is like peeling wallpaper and you don’t even feel like going to church.  Most of us wouldn’t admit to ever feeling this way but I am willing to.  Yes, I have had those moments in my life.

But when I get into one of those ruts, I find the best way out is to recall the milestones in my spiritual journey.  I might think back to the day I asked Jesus into my heart, or when my husband came into a relationship with the Lord.  I think of the times Jesus has healed someone in my family, or has directed me to go a certain way.

In the midst of our pain or struggles, we sometimes forget all the wonderful things that God has done.  We forget that He has taken terrible moments in time and managed to turn them around into something beautiful.

Remember the milestones in your spiritual journey.  It just may be what you need to keep pressing on.

Sometimes It’s Just One Step at a Time

Sometimes It’s Just One Step at a Time

By Stephanie Romero

Everyday Christian devotionals

There is an old Rich Mullins song I like called “Step by Step.”  In the chorus he sings, “And step by step You’ll lead me, and I will follow you all of my days.”

Some days that is exactly all we can do, take one step at a time.  When life begins to overwhelm you, it may be necessary to first catch your breath and then determine that you will get through this but it may be in steps.  Forget the leaps and bounds.  You are holding onto the tiny steps.

It reminds me of the game “Green Light, Red Light.”  Your back is to the person behind you and when you say “green light” they begin to move toward you but when you say “red light” they have to stop.  The person who is moving behind you will sometimes take big steps but then other times they take small steps.

It also reminds me of the verses in Psalm 17:4-5 (The Message) that say, “I’m staying on your trail; I’m putting one foot in front of the other.  I’m not giving up.”

There are times in life when all we really do is put one foot in front of the other.  We don’t understand, we are confused, we are disappointed or discouraged.  But the point is that we keep moving and we don’t do it alone.  We have the Lord by our side.
The past couple of weeks in my family have been like that.  There has just been a lot going on.  Some of it is just the normal “stuff” of living in a home with teenagers.  And some of it is the “extra stuff” that sometimes gets dumped on us.  When you put it all together, it can feel very overwhelming.

So I have purposed that I won’t try to run ahead.  I won’t try to move farther or faster than I can.  I will take it one step at a time but I also won’t give up.  Because I know I am not walking alone.

Whatever your situation is, remember that sometimes it’s just one step at a time.