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  • Life Has Its Ups And It Has Downs

    Ecclesiastes 3:4 “A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;”

    Life is not monotonous. There will be times when it feels like we are on a roller coaster. Life will bring us all types of experiences.  Some will be good and some will be bad. Some will be pleasant and some will be painful.  There will be the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  We will hear news and sometimes the news will be good and sometimes the news will be bad. We can hear of the birth of a child and the very next moment we hear of the death of a friend.  This is life with its ups and downs. 

    As we face all types of circumstances it will bring about an array of emotions.   There will be times of weeping and there will be times of laughing.  Sometimes this array of emotions happens on the same day. We experience victory one hour and failure the next. This is life. 

    We have to know that not everything in life goes great and thank the Lord not everything goes bad. One has to understand that while there are great days there will be hard days. There is a time to weep – to mourn. We experience pain and heartache. Yet there will be times when we laugh and we dance with joy. Doors open that have been closed. Prayers are answered. We celebrate!! This is life.

    So stay calm and rely on God when things are hard. Stay calm and rejoice in the Lord when things are good! Laugh a little – cry a little!

    Continue Strong on the roller coaster of life,
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • Where God Guides He Provides And He Protects!

    2 Thessalonians 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard  you from the evil one.”

    The opening verses of 2 Thessalonians 3 provide one of the great prayers of the apostle Paul and subsequently a tremendous prayer for anyone involved in ministry, especially missions.  He wrote, “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.”  He follows up the prayer with the REMINDER that God is FAITHFUL!

    Telling us that God is faithful is one of Paul’s favorite attributes about God.  He would not only state it here but in 1 Corinthians 1:9 he wrote, “God is faithful;” in 2 Cor 1:18 he wrote, “God is faithful;” in 1 Thessalonians 5:24 he wrote, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.”  

    Friends, GOD IS FAITHFUL!! He shows His faithfulness in working in our lives so we will be victorious. He provides strength and protection from the evil one who wants to devour.  The word for establish/strengthen has the idea of “turning one resolutely in a certain direction.”  As we commit our ways to the Lord, He directs us away from temptations. We must then be careful not to disobey the nudging of the Holy Spirit as He gives direction.  

    As we live and serve the Lord in the enemy’s territory the Lord has promised to be with us with His presence (I will never leave nor forsake you; Lo I am with you always) and His power. Having both His presence and His power gives us protection against the wiles and the works of the evil one. I am not sure what you are facing today but rest assured that if you are doing a work for God, you are being opposed by the devil. 

    If you and the devil are not having a head-on collision, then you and the devil must be going the same way! 

    Rest assured today of God’s power and protection and KEEP doing what He called you to do by His power!! HE IS FAITHFUL!!!

    Before closing this devotion, I would want you to see another 3/3 verse on March 3.  It comes from John 3:3.  Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus and He tells him “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  On March 3 (3/3) I asked this most important question: Have you been born again?  I am certain you have a physical birth date.  Do you have a spiritual birth date?  Has there been a time when you acknowledged your need of Jesus for salvation and called on Him to save you and in doing so you were BORN AGAIN?  If not, I appeal to you today to do so for as the verse states “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

    Continue Strong knowing God is faithful,
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • Essential Actions of a Discipler

    1 Thessalonians 3:2 “And sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith,”

    Defining what discipleship is and what a discipler does brings about many discussions.  As I look to God’s Word, I find one verse after another from the teaching of the apostle Paul that explains what a discipler does thus defining for us what discipleship is.  Here in this verse, Paul tells the Thessalonians the purpose of Timothy coming to them and in doing so reveals what it means to be a discipler and the primary actions of a discipler. 

    First notice that Paul described the character of Timothy as a discipler must be an example. 
    As a reminder, there is one tremendous verse on being an example that anyone wanting to be a discipler must know and live out.  I speak of 1 Timothy 4:12 which says, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

    Secondly, to disciple a person is to help them become established or firm in their faith. They are to be taught to know what they believe AND why they believe it. 
    1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”

    Thirdly, we find discipling others calls for encouraging them as they run the race God has for them. Just as Moses was to encourage Joshua we are to encourage those we disciple. 

    From this one verse, we learn three essentials of being a discipler and doing the actions of discipleship.  Be an example to the disciple, teach them what to know and why they should know it to establish their faith, and give encouragement as to them as they run the race with endurance that God has set for them. 

    My checklist for myself as I disciple is what are they learning from what they are seeing (example).
    What are they learning from what I am intentionally teaching to establish their beliefs and behavior?
    What are they hearing from me to stay running strong in the race? (encouragement)

    Continue Strong being a disciple that disciples,
    And remember to DATE the Word

  • Don’t Forget To Obey God’s Word

    Proverbs 3:1 “My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;”

    DO NOT FORGET.  That phrase seems to be familiar.  I have forgotten how many times I have been told not to forget something.  As I recall the phrase DO NOT FORGET was said to me at a very young age by my parents, grandparents, and sisters.  It now continues to be said by my wife as well as administrative assistants and even my children have told me the words “DO NOT FORGET.”  It is a little embarrassing but it has been and continues to be a phrase I need to hear because I AM FORGETFUL.  How about you?  Are you forgetful?

    As I come to God’s Word, I find He knows that I (we) need to be reminded to remember and told NOT TO FORGET.   Solomon writes to his son DO NOT FORGOT GOD’S LAW. He knows his son is forgetful. 

    We are to REMEMBER God’s Word so we can have RECALL of God’s Word when we need it.  We are to HIDE it in our hearts.  We are to HAVE IT WITH US!

    Not only are we to remember God’s Word we are to KEEP the commands. The word “KEEP” can be viewed in two ways. On one hand, we HOLD the commands like one would hold a piece of treasure. The idea is to hold tightly.  On the other hand, KEEP carries the idea of OBEYING.  We are to be doing what the commands say.

    As we hear the appeal of Proverbs 3:1 and make practical application let us 1. purposefully acquire wisdom and store it (hide it) in our hearts and 2. let us then apply wisdom.  When we acquire the INFORMATION and take the action of APPLICATION we will have active TRANSFORMATION!

    In short – Don’t forget to OBEY God’s commands 

    Continue Strong acquiring and applying His Word,
    And remember to DATE the Word   

  • Abide In Him To Abound For Him!! 

    1 John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”

    John calls on followers of Christ that he affectionally calls little children to ABIDE IN CHRIST.  This idea of abiding in Christ was conveyed by Christ Himself during His last evening with His disciples. As He spoke to them about leaving them He tells how to be fruitful.  Recall from John 15:4-5 His words, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

    A phrase I put with John 15:4-5 is ABIDE TO ABOUND!! The one who abides will abound with fruit. ABIDE in Him TO ABOUND for Him.

    Now it should be our desire to be found faithful to the Lord and fruitful for the Lord.  Paul prayed for the Colossians that they might walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, and being fruitful in every good work.  Paul, himself, wanted to have fruit from his ministry in Rome.  (Romans 1:13)  

    While it should be a desire to be fruitful we should also have a desire to never be found unfruitful.  Paul wrote to Titus in Titus 3:14  to “let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.” Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:8  that by taking a set of actions the believer would abound,  and will neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    I think the call to abide in Christ is so that a believer is not unfruitful which would lead to one being ashamed at His coming.  Thus learning to ABIDE in Him is one of the most important lessons to learn and apply.  By being completely connected and reliant on the Lord one can be used by the Lord to accomplish His work.  Remember that you are the branch and as a branch, you must fully rely on the vine to give you what you need.  Don’t neglect prayer and Bible reading as these are keys to abiding. 

    I remind you that you will be tempted to do God’s work without Him.  Your flesh, the world, and the devil will tell you that YOU CAN DO IT.  John 15:5c says, “For without Me you can do nothing.”  For an illustration of this check out Numbers 14:40-45 as the Israelites tried to go into the promised land without God.  It turned out terrible for them. Don’t attempt to do God’s Word without God!

    An essential to your Christian life is abiding in Him!

    Continue Strong abiding in Him,
    And remember to DATE the Word  

  • God Wants His People To Know Him

    Joel 2:27 “Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: (then you shall know) I am the LORD your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.”

    Throughout the Word of God, we find that God wants His people to know Him!  He wants us to know Him personally and relationally.  In a recap of what God did for the Israelites in Egypt, Moses says in Deuteronomy 4:35 “To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.”

    Here in Joel, we read the word “THEN.”  What happened in the days of Joel had a purpose. With what was happening God’s people would “THEN” know that HE IS in the midst of Israel.”  THEN they would know I am the LORD your God and there is no other.”

    We need to know that God is at work making Himself known. He wants the knowledge to be more than knowledge about Him but personal knowledge. In other words, you might say the Lord is a shepherd. You know this about God. God, however, wants you to be able to say the Lord is MY shepherd.  

    I think we should be aware that there are several very important areas He wants us to know about Him.  We should know that He will bring about things sometimes in ways to make Himself known that we might wish He did not but remember His objective is so you will know Him personally.  Notice a few things God wants you to personally know about Him.

    We can rest assured that He wants us to know His PRESENCE.  He wants us to learn that He is our God and then know that HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU or FORSAKE YOU.  Psalm 34:18  says, “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart.”  

    He wants us to know His POWER.  God used Pharaoh to show His power to both the Egyptians and the Israelites.  Exodus 9:16 “But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power to you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.

    He wants us to know His PROTECTION!  An example comes from Psalm 68:5. Psalm 68:5 says,  “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.”

    He wants us to know His PEACE.  Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

    He wants us to know His PROVISION!  Psalm 23 starts with “The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want.  2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”

    How might God be working in your life today to make Himself more known to you? 

    Continue Strong GROWING IN THE KNOWLEDGE and grace of the Lord!
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • How Are You Growing?

    1 Samuel 2:26 “And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the LORD and men.”

    We like to ask a person how are you doing.  How about asking how are you GROWING?  From the moment of birth, we expect a child to GROW physically. You take your newborn to the doctor and they do all types of measurements to determine if there is growth.  As the years pass we want to see a child grow up. In growing up we want more than physical growth but also intellectual growth.  And there is the emotional and social growth. 

    But is this all the growth we should be looking for in our child?

    When we come to the Bible, we find verses like 1 Samuel 2:26 along with Luke 2:52 (“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men”) that speak of growing.  We read of how the child Samuel GREW but more than marks on a doorpost to show he was getting taller, he was growing spiritually and relationally. As well, Jesus grew more than just physically and intellectually and relationally.  We read that He grew in favor with God

    Don’t miss a crucial area they grew in.  They grew spiritually.  

    A balanced growth plan needs to (MUST) have a spiritual growth plan.  However, it seems the other areas squeeze out the spiritual area.  As parents, we make sure our child does their homework and prepare for tests so that they do well academically.   As parents, we make sure our child is at practice and never misses a ball game.  As parents, we plan family and friend events.  As parents, (I now ask) are we making sure our child(ren) is being taught how to have a growing relationship with God?  Are we making sure they are having daily devotions?  Are we making sure they are at youth group?  Are we getting them signed up for Christian camps? 

    A spiritual growth plan does not happen accidentally. It happens intentionally.

    Okay – I will pause and ask again the pressing question. HOW ARE YOU GROWING and how are you growing your children and grandchildren?  Does your growth plan include growing in favor with God?  Does your growth plan for your children include spiritual growth?

    While many parents have their children learning skills for a job and/or a sport we must remember they need to learn skills for living (WISDOM) so they can know not just how to make a living but how to live, how to live a life for God!

    Continue Strong growing like Samuel and Jesus,
    And remember to DATE the Word  

  • A WWW (Working While Waiting) Example

    Luke 2:25 “And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.”

    Simeon gives us a WWW example of Working While WAITING for the Lord to return.  In Luke 2:25 we find Simeon watching/waiting for the Lord’s first coming while working in the Lord’s work!  He is a great example for us as believers. Today we are to be anticipating the Lord’s second coming. Each day should begin with PERHAPS TODAY!  But with this anticipation, there should be much activity, not apathy.  When He returns, He should find us BUSY doing His work.  The Lord should find us watching for His second coming while working diligently in His work.

    It is worth noting that Simeon was also described as a man of character and commitment. He is described as being a just or righteous man.   (Noah, Zacharias and Elizabeth, Joseph, (earthly father of Jesus) Joseph of Arimathea, and Cornelius were all described as just or righteous). Then Luke describes Simeon as DEVOUT.  DEVOUT.  We don’t seem to use the word DEVOUT too much these days. It is a good word we should want others to say about us.  It means to handle something entrusted to you with GREAT CARE. The devout person is very cautious and conscientious with the assignments given to them. They handle their responsibilities with reverence.  Some might call it a godly fear. They are very trustworthy.  The devout ones are often highly respected because of their diligence in handling things entrusted to them with such care.    

    While watching for the coming of the Lord, Simeon was doing what was right. He was reverent with his responsibilities, handling them carefully.  

    Be alert to His coming as if it could truly be the next minute and be working as if He will not return for another 100 years.

    Continue Strong LIVING IN EXPECTATIONS OF HIS COMING
    And remember to DATE the Word  

  • Death Could Not Hold Him

    Acts 2:24 “Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”

    The cornerstone of cornerstones for Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul made this clear in 1 Corinthians 15:13-17 writing, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14  And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15  Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16  For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17  And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” 

    Oh, vanish such a thought that Christ is not risen!!

    Yes, He is risen.  As Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, he made it clear that DEATH COULD NOT HOLD HIM!  While Christ did die and He was buried, the third day He arose, (RESURRECTED) from the dead.  Death was DEFEATED.  We serve a risen Savior.  His testimony is stated in Revelation 1:18 “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”

    The ramifications of His resurrection are way too many to put in this devotional.   Full books have been written and are worth your time to explore. What we do know is that since Christ was raised from the dead by God, we will one day be raised from the dead. (1 Cor. 6:14)

    Believing what God did in raising Jesus from the dead is essential to salvation. Romans 10:9  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  Have you believed in your heart that God raised Him from the dead

    Continue Strong 
    And remember to DATE the Word  

  • Acknowledging The Answerer For The Answer With Appreciation

    Daniel 2:23 “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”

    Daniel 2 tells of the precarious situation Daniel and his friends along with all the magicians of Babylon found themselves in when King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to know what his dream meant without telling them the dream.  Failure to give him an answer meant OFF WITH THEIR HEADS.  A precarious situation indeed!

    You may recall how Daniel pleaded so respectfully for an opportunity to get the king an answer.  Given the opportunity he and his friends prayed to God and God revealed to Daniel the meaning of the dream.  Upon receiving the answer Daniel does not rush back to answer the king but first acknowledges the Answerer for the answer with appreciation and adoration.   Notice Daniel 2:19-23 

    19  Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20  Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. 21  And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. 22  He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. 23  “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, for You have made known to us the king’s demand.”  

    Our verse challenges us (challenges me) about how we respond to God answering prayers.  Desperate situations cause us to almost demand of God His immediate help.  However, upon receiving the answer to our urgent prayer do we pause to acknowledge God with appreciation and adoration?  

    The proper approach to God in prayer is with THANKSGIVING (Phil. 4:6 and Psalm 100:4) and the proper response to His response is with THANKSGIVING!  

    Continue Strong giving thanks and adoration to God for answered prayers,
    And remember to DATE the Word