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  • Living With Purpose Calls For Being Focused

    1 Corinthians 9:26 “Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight: not as one who beats the air.” 

    In The Message, 1 Corinthians 9:26 reads, “I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me!” 

    The apostle Paul uses athletic terms to explain the Christian life. He runs and runs with a purpose. He is following the path Christ laid out for him. He fights – a boxing term – with purpose. He is engaged against the forces of evil. As Christians, we run God’s race – the race set before us – and as we run we must resist temptations and the evil around us. Just as a runner or boxer, we must prepare. We are to get in shape and stay in shape. We must then perform. We get in the race, We get in the fight. We are not spectators! We are participants!! We run and we fight for the prize.  We are focused on crossing the finish line and hear well done my good and faithful servant.

    Are you focused on running God’s race that He has for you?

    Quit wasting time running aimlessly! 

    Continue Strong 
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • We Better Weigh Carefully Our Priorities! Begin With The End In Mind!

    Luke 9:25 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?”

    As Jesus lived on the earth, He taught numerous eternal truths!   In teaching He would present a question that got straight to the point.  Luke 9:25 He will ask one of those penetrating questions that stop us in our tracks.  Read it again:  “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?”   

    How do you answer this question?  Maybe by rephrasing it.  There is absolutely no profit – no value – in gaining all that the world has to offer – being the richest – wisest – most famous – most powerful – most attractive – by being the greatest of all time in a sport, or anything, and lose my soul for all eternity.  

    With this short devotional, I remind you that Luke 12:20b is in your future where “your soul will be required of you;” I remind you that Hebrews 9:27 is in your future.  It says, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”   I remind you that if you are a believer 1 Corinthians 3:13 will be a part of your future and 2 Corinthians 5:10 is in your future as “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

    This earthly life is not all there is!  Please hear what God’s Word says. This earthly life is not all there is! There is eternal life and one’s eternal life will be lived in only one of two places, heaven or hell.

    Begin with the end in mind, my friends.  A personal decision has to be made to spend eternity in heaven.  You must trust Jesus Christ for your salvation.  There is no other name given under heaven whereby you may be saved.  Have you trusted Jesus for salvation?  If not, what are you waiting on?  

    If you are already a believer you need to Begin With the End in Mind regarding standing one day at the Bema seat.  Make decisions today to live completely for Christ.  

    Toby Mac wrote Lose my Soul in 2007/08.  Here are just a few of the powerful words of that song.
    I don’t wanna gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
    Don’t wanna walk away, and all those people say
    I don’t wanna gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
    Don’t wanna lose, I don’t wanna lose my soul.
    Lord forgive us when we get consumed by the things of this world,
    That fight for our love, and our passion,
    As our eyes are open wide and on You.
    Grant us the privilege of Your world view,
    And may Your kingdom be what wakes us up and lays us down.
    Don’t wanna lose our soul, No, don’t wanna lose my soul.

    “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliott

    Continue Strong with the right priorities!  
    And remember to DATE The Word!

  • Oh To Know Him More

    Jeremiah 9:24 “But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”  

    To better understand Jeremiah 9:24 we need to back up to verse 23 where we read, “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”  

    What do you truly value?  Being honest with ourselves we tend to focus on the wrong things as we value ourselves and compare ourselves to others.  Am I right?  We place a premium on academics and intelligence, on how smart we are.  We place a premium on strength, on how powerful we are.  We place a premium on wealth, on how rich we are.   Worldly standards easily become our standards for self-worth and social standing.  

    But in light of eternity, those things don’t matter.  As my grandmother would say, “They are not worth a hill of beans.”  

    From Jeremiah 9:24 we learn what matters as God tells us that knowing Him and having a growing understanding of who He is should be the thing that excites us the most.  Our hearts should be filled with joy that we get to know and grow in our understanding of God. To even think we can know God should be one of the most humbling experiences we have.  As David wrote in Psalm 8:4 “What is man that You are mindful of him?”

    Focusing on the right things, the important things means focusing on things that can increase, not decrease. Don’t give yourself to things that decline.  Wealth and works and worldly wisdom and worldly pleasures don’t last.  Sooner or later there will be someone richer, someone more superior, someone smarter.  Yet when value is placed on growing in knowledge and understanding of God and who He is we find we out what our real value is and, (oh, watch this) we add value to others.  Learning about God helps us to live like God!   As He delights in love and justice and righteousness, we delight in showing love, doing justice, and practicing righteousness!  

    Are you growing in knowing God and what His character is? Are you excited about this precious privilege to know and understand our God?   Are you excited, honored as well as humbled to know Him and make Him known? 

    Let us value what increases, not decreases.

    Continue Strong growing in knowing God and making Him known!  
    And remember to DATE the Word!

  • Dying Daily To Self To Be Fully Devoted To Your Savior

    Luke 9:23 “Then He said to them all,  “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.””

    Luke 9:23 is one of the top verses in the Bible as we consider the expectations that Jesus has for His followers.  Many churches, as well as many Christians, will have a mission statement that says they want to be a “fully devoted followers of Christ.” That type of mission statement is born out of Luke 9:23 and can only be fulfilled by practicing what Jesus called for in Luke 9:23.

    Let us look closer at the thought of being a “fully devoted follower of Christ” with Luke 9:23 as the guiding verse. Living out Luke 9:23 means one must not and cannot be about themselves. It is not about you if you are a follower of Jesus! If there is the desire to follow Jesus, one must deny themselves.  One cannot be self-centered as one is to be totally surrendered.  Jesus said one is to take up his/her cross, which is symbolic of you being dead.  To take up a cross means one had no rights.

    If your desire is to be a fully devoted follower then you are going to need to surrender fully of self and clearly decide that whatever Jesus says is to be obeyed. Wherever Jesus says to go is obeyed. The focus of life has moved from what you want to what Jesus wants.  You fall in line as a follower.  you can only be a follower if you have surrendered to the leading of the leader!

    Now let’s be honest with ourselves. Luke 9:23 may just be the most challenging verse to live out. We do want our desires fulfilled and our dreams accomplished. To be a fully devoted follower is so challenging that Jesus specifically states it is to be done daily.  Every day we are to die to ourselves in order to live for Christ. It is a daily prayer of not my will be done but His will be done!

    As you ponder Luke 9:23, which says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me,” pause to ponder the difference between one who is committed to Christ and one who is surrendered to Christ.  What is the difference between being committed and being surrendered? 

    I would also challenge you to connect Luke 9:23 to Romans 12:1, which says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

    Have you decided to follow Jesus?  Have you surrendered all to Jesus?

    Continue Strong Dying Daily To Self Be Fully Devoted To Our Savior!
    And remember to DATE the Word!

  • A Time to Celebrate!!

    Esther 9:22 “As the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor.”

    Our verse to consider called for the Jews to pause and celebrate as the plot of evil Haman to destroy (literally annihilate) the Jews was foiled and had greatly failed. With reports coming into the capital of how the Jews had not just protected themselves from their enemies but had killed their enemies, Mordecai determined it was time to celebrate.  And it was a very deserved celebration as just a few chapters earlier in the book of Esther the Jewish people were facing annihilation. But because of the bravery of Esther to expose Haman’s plot and her request for the Jews to defend themselves the Jewish people rallied and experienced one of its greatest victories.  And when there is a victory there needs to be a celebration!  

    Do you know how to pause to celebrate?  I heard once that Christians don’t celebrate well.  The thought was presented at a leadership conference.  The challenge was given that as we lay out the vision and goals we believe God would have us do and then see God do the miraculous to accomplish those goals that we should pause to celebrate.  I will state here that I was convicted, and was greatly challenged to incorporate pause to celebrate into our schedule.  Working at a university did offer natural pauses and we decided to start taking advantage of the end of the school year with end-of-the-year banquets or celebrations.  While we did not do everything found in Esther 9:22 we did try to have a time of feasting.  And there was lots of joy as we shared stories of how God worked.  

    As you consider to incorporate a pause to celebrate I will tell you that there is great value in doing so. It allows for reflection that leads to gratitude to God and for a time to say thank you to those who worked so hard to make the dreams become a reality. Pausing to celebrate leads to glorifying God for the great things he did.  Pausing to celebrate will also bring about more dreaming.  

    So, how do you pause to celebrate the workings of God in your life, your church, your ministries, etc.?  

    Most of us know how to celebrate a sport’s victory.  Let us celebrate spiritual victories!

    Continue Strong with an Occasional Pause To Celebrate
    And remember to DATE the Word

  • A Patient Of Failed Physicians Has Faith That Jesus Is The Great Physician

    Matthew 9:21 “For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”

    In chapters 8 and 9 of Matthew, we read of the incredible POWER of Jesus Christ.  Matthew will tell one story after another so we can learn that there is absolutely nothing He cannot handle.  Whether it is a disease, a demon, or even death, Jesus is more powerful than any of these things.  In these chapters, He healed what was considered unhealable as seen when He healed the leper and the paralytics.  In these chapters, He will calm the raging storm on the sea and in doing so astonish with amazement His own disciples as they could not believe how powerful He was. 

    As Matthew tells these amazing stories of the POWER of Jesus, he tells how two different people approached Him, bringing impossible situations to Him. First would be a man named Jarius, a leader in the synagogue.  He comes to Jesus with one of the most stunning requests one could give a person as he “bowed down before Jesus, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.”  Talk about asking for the impossible to happen!! 

    To the request, as you probably know, Jesus got up and followed him and Matthew will tell that Jesus would raise this girl from the dead! 

    As Jesus is making His way to Jarius’ home Matthew tells of a second person who will display amazing, and in some ways, alarming faith.  Matthew describes her in verse 20 as being a woman who has suffered for 12 years from a blood issue.  Mark tells us that with the health issue she “had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.” (Mark 5:26) Luke tells us she could not be healed by anyone. (Luke 8:43)

    What a sad, pitiful, and painful story.  However, this poor woman somehow hears about Jesus and all the powerful things He has done.  In her desperation, she decides to go where Jesus is and get the help she desperately needs. But unlike Jarius who will go up to Jesus to ask the impossible this woman comes up behind Jesus with the belief that all she needs to do is TOUCH HIS GARMENT.  What faith she had to believe that just a touch of His garment would bring about the healing numerous physicians had not been able to bring about over 12 long years.  

    I feel like I want to stand up and APPLAUD her. What about you? Some might describe her as having superstitious faith but what we read is really simple faith.   It was not superstitious or even superior or supernatural faith but simple, pure, genuine faith.  She had heard of His work with others and believed that He could change her life! So, by faith, she went to Him and touched His garment, and HE CHANGED HER!

    I trust you will pause and ponder the actions of this desperate hurting woman and decide to take your needs to Jesus! Nothing is impossible for Jesus. 

    Continue Strong trusting Him with Everything! 
    And remember to DATE the WORD!

  • From Persecuting Christians to Proclaiming Christ

    Acts 9:20 “Immediately Saul preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.”

    Saul (who as you know would soon be known as Paul) has an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road that changed his life as he goes from being an unbeliever to a believer. 
    With that decision:
    He went from the feared persecutor of the faith to the fearless preacher of the faith!  He went from persecuting Christians to proclaiming Christ!   

    What a reminder to us that no matter how far someone may be from Christ or even how much they may be against Christ they can come to know Christ and then start making Him known! The one who rejects Christ receives Christ! Persecutors can become preachers!  Resisters can repent and start preaching repentance.  The hardhearted can become soft!

    Please let this change in the life of Saul remind you to keep praying and keep witnessing to that person who right now is the farthest from Christ (the closest to hell) and the most against Christ, His church, Christians, and Christianity.  They are one decision from everything changing, changing so much that family and friends will surely be saying they can’t believe the change!!  

    Keep sharing the salvation story with sinners so that they might know the Savior! They are one decision from everything changing!

    Continue Strong being a witness for the Lord! 
    And remember to DATE The Word!

  • I Will Sing Of Your Manifold Mercies

    Nehemiah 9:19 “Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, And the way they should go.”

    In my humble opinion, God’s greatest promise is His promise of His continual presence with us as He has stated over and over that He will never forsake us. That means even when we resist His guidance, He stays with us. We see with the Israelites that instead of walking away from them, He continued to walk and work with them. Though they were committing awful blasphemies (Nehemiah 9:18) God never deserted His people.  

    We might ask what brought Him to do this level of commitment to those who were not fully committed to Him.  Nehemiah 9:19 tells us it was His manifold mercies. 

    I don’t know about you, but the word manifold grabs my attention as much as mercy does. It was not just His mercy but His manifold mercies.  What a word to describe God’s mercies – they are manifold! To be manifold is to say there was abundant mercy.  To say manifold is to say it exceeded the amount needed. To say manifold is to say it was a great mercy and a great mercy was needed because great sins were being committed.  His manifold mercies kept God from giving them what they deserved and being gracious, He continued to walk and work with them as their guide leading them!  

    Quick thoughts of God’s mercy; From Nehemiah 9:19 we are told about there being manifold mercies. 
    Ephesians 2:4 tells us that God is RICH in mercy. 
    Psalm 119:156 proclaims “Great are Your tender mercies.” 
    1 Peter 1:3 tells of His abundant mercy! 
    Psalm 23:6 tells us that “surely goodness and mercy follows us all the day long.”

    In several places in the Psalms David wrote that he would sing, especially singing of God’s mercy.
    Ps 59:16  But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble.
    Ps 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
    Ps 101:1  A Psalm of David. I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O LORD, I will sing praises.

    May we like David sing of His mercy to us that is renewed day by day for as Lamentation 3:22 says, “Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed,”

    Continue Strong 
    And remember to DATE the WordIn my humble opinion, God’s greatest promise is His promise of His continual presence with us as He has stated over and over that He will never forsake us. That means even when we resist His guidance, He stays with us. We see with the Israelites that instead of walking away from them, He continued to walk and work with them. Though they were committing awful blasphemies (Nehemiah 9:18) God never deserted His people.  

    We might ask what brought Him to do this level of commitment to those who were not fully committed to Him.  Nehemiah 9:19 tells us it was His manifold mercies. 

    I don’t know about you, but the word manifold grabs my attention as much as mercy does. It was not just His mercy but His manifold mercies.  What a word to describe God’s mercies – they are manifold! To be manifold is to say there was abundant mercy.  To say manifold is to say it exceeded the amount needed. To say manifold is to say it was a great mercy and a great mercy was needed because great sins were being committed.  His manifold mercies kept God from giving them what they deserved and being gracious, He continued to walk and work with them as their guide leading them!  

    Quick thoughts of God’s mercy; From Nehemiah 9:19 we are told about there being manifold mercies. 
    Ephesians 2:4 tells us that God is RICH in mercy. 
    Psalm 119:156 proclaims “Great are Your tender mercies.” 
    1 Peter 1:3 tells of His abundant mercy! 
    Psalm 23:6 tells us that “surely goodness and mercy follows us all the day long.”

    In several places in the Psalms David wrote that he would sing, especially singing of God’s mercy.
    Ps 59:16  But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble.
    Ps 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
    Ps 101:1  A Psalm of David. I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O LORD, I will sing praises.

    May we like David sing of His mercy to us that is renewed day by day for as Lamentation 3:22 says, “Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed,”

    Continue Strong 
    And remember to DATE the WordIn my humble opinion, God’s greatest promise is His promise of His continual presence with us as He has stated over and over that He will never forsake us. That means even when we resist His guidance, He stays with us. We see with the Israelites that instead of walking away from them, He continued to walk and work with them. Though they were committing awful blasphemies (Nehemiah 9:18) God never deserted His people.  

    We might ask what brought Him to do this level of commitment to those who were not fully committed to Him.  Nehemiah 9:19 tells us it was His manifold mercies. 

    I don’t know about you, but the word manifold grabs my attention as much as mercy does. It was not just His mercy but His manifold mercies.  What a word to describe God’s mercies – they are manifold! To be manifold is to say there was abundant mercy.  To say manifold is to say it exceeded the amount needed. To say manifold is to say it was a great mercy and a great mercy was needed because great sins were being committed.  His manifold mercies kept God from giving them what they deserved and being gracious, He continued to walk and work with them as their guide leading them!  

    Quick thoughts of God’s mercy; From Nehemiah 9:19 we are told about there being manifold mercies. 
    Ephesians 2:4 tells us that God is RICH in mercy. 
    Psalm 119:156 proclaims “Great are Your tender mercies.” 
    1 Peter 1:3 tells of His abundant mercy! 
    Psalm 23:6 tells us that “surely goodness and mercy follows us all the day long.”

    In several places in the Psalms David wrote that he would sing, especially singing of God’s mercy.
    Ps 59:16  But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble.
    Ps 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
    Ps 101:1  A Psalm of David. I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O LORD, I will sing praises.

    May we like David sing of His mercy to us that is renewed day by day for as Lamentation 3:22 says, “Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed,”

    Continue Strong 
    And remember to DATE the Word

  • Wisdom Is Better Than Weapons Of War

    Ecclesiastes 9:18 “Wisdom is better than weapons of war; But one sinner destroys much good.”

    Reading through Ecclesiastes one will read several verses that are called contrastive verses.  They are easily recognizable as they will have the words “better than” or “but.”  Here we have a contrastive verse that has both “better than” and “but.”  Ecclesiastes 9:18 is one of those verses that demand we pause to ponder and let the verse challenge our thinking about how we live.

    Pause then to ponder that wisdom is better than weapons of war.  

    Can you picture the contrast?  Wisdom is better than weapons of war.

    Wisdom here means to have skills, and, in this case, it would be skills of diplomacy as well as skills of preparation.  Diplomacy seeks to resolve issues rather than allowing for the problem to divide and dissolve which could then lead to massive destruction and death.  Wisdom also brings to the table the skills to prepare so that one is protected.  The concept of peace through strength comes to mind.  

    Weapons of war.  Can you picture them?  While there is a time for war (Eccl. 3:8) one must know how horrific the weapons of war will be.  Diplomacy and a strong defense are better than the destructiveness of war.

    BUT.  There is another contrast in this verse telling us that even as wisdom is sought so that wars are not started one, yes, just one sinner can destroy much good.   What a warning.  This warning is not just for a nation or nations but for a couple or a family or a church or any organization.  ONE sinner bent on having their own way brings about destruction.  Arrogance, pride, and ego contaminate the good work others are seeking to do!  

    Practical application: Wisdom says seek to resolve and be very slow to dissolve!

    To those who lead, be it family, church, businesses, government, etc. you must be on guard for the ONE who can poison the good work!  Recall the story of Achan in Joshua 6 and 7.

    Continue Strong seeking to resolve relationships, not dissolve them.  

    And remember to DATE The Word!

  • God’s Remarkable Response To The Rebellion Of His People

    Nehemiah 9:17 “They refused to obey, and they were not mindful of Your wonders that You did among them. But they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion, they appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them.”

    Nehemiah 9 recalls the history of Israel, giving snapshots of their journey.  In Nehemiah 9:17 we see how God was so faithful to them even when they were rebellious toward Him.  One cannot help but notice the contrasting descriptions of how God’s people acted and how God responded.  With God’s people, there is rebellion.  Let that word sink in for it is very descriptive.  Rebellion means to be in opposition. How did they rebel? V 17 says, “they refused to obey.” 

    Furthermore, they failed to remember God’s wonders in bringing about deliverance from Egypt.  They resisted what He was doing (hardened their necks.) In other words, they were stubborn. They were a stiff-necked people which meant they were resistant to turning to go God’s way. They were so against what God was doing and where He was taking them that they recruited leadership (are you ready) to return them to slavery.  

    Talk about a sad summation of the people of God as they started their journey to the Promised Land.  And yet their story is so often our story as we still rebel and resist going and doing what God wants us to do. 

    Now if you were God how would you respond to such rebellion?  After responding to their request for relief from their bondage you have Your people rebel, resisting Your leadership in their lives. Their rebelling against God has them not just wishing to return to Egyptian slavery but working to return back to slavery.  Seriously, if you were God, how would you respond?

    From Nehemiah 9:17 we find out how God does respond and it is nothing short of remarkable.  The verse gives us one of the best descriptions of God we get in the Bible about our God, especially considering how the people of God are behaving. Nehemiah 9:17 tells us that God is, well, God!  “But You are God!”  And as God you are ready to forgive!  As God, He is gracious.  This means He will continue to give what they don’t deserve.  As God He is merciful.  This means He will continue to not give them what they deserve.  As God He is slow to anger or He is longsuffering, meaning He has a long fuse. His anger does arise but with great control.  As God He is not just kind but demonstrates abundant kindness which means He does for His people things they never would have expected.  As God, He does not forsake.  He keeps His promise!  What a remarkable response, wouldn’t you say?

    Nehemiah 9:17 is one of these verses you want to have tucked away in your heart and mind as a reminder of 1) What not to be and it gives 2) a tremendous reminder of who God is!  

    Continue Strong with much gratitude to God’s remarkable response to your rebellion!
    And remember to DATE The Word!