Various Articles
Someone dying of cancer commented that they thought they still had more to accomplish in life, but limited time prohibited those ambitions. Perhaps one of the devil’s great tricks is to lull us into lethargy as time swiftly passes, regardless of whether our years be few or many. We cannot reclaim time and opportunities past.
Our identity is found within the Bible. We can find peace and hope in our identity. You are a child of light. You are light through Christ. This means you are filled with the love and goodness of God, and your life has been sanctified through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. What you have read about in the last few devotionals are all centered around living out this light. Living in a manner that brings glory to God by shining your light to all those around you.
There is increased pain in the world these days. Tensions are rising between nations, and there are areas of significant conflict, war, suffering, and death. These may portend earth’s final conflict, prior to the return of Jesus. But, beyond the world scene, there is private pain. Death’s tentacle reach brings profound grief to friends and families. Fractured relationships result in painful, agonizing isolation. The death of hopes and dreams leave deep emotional scars.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, Paul discusses one of the ways to live a sanctified life. Paul reminds the readers to love one another which God has taught them previously. In the case of the Thessalonians they were doing well with showing this brotherly love to those around them. Because they are doing well, Paul encourages them to love even more. What a high praise to have received from Paul and great encouragement to continue not only in doing well but to do it even more! If Paul wrote you a letter inspired by God, would he praise you for the love you show others or would he need to teach you what it means to love those around you?
Do you recognize the work of God in your own life? It’s easy to fall into a mundane routine of our lives, living each day the same and simply going with the flow of life. In these moments of routine, we are likely to miss God’s mighty hand working within our lives. When life is peaceful and easy, we tend to forget to lift our eyes to God in praise and thanksgiving.
Individuals walking almost unaware in public while focused on their smartphones serve as illustrations as to how we may be walking by the Spirit. We may have a desire to walk by the Spirit, but worldly cares and attractions easily draw us similarly to focusing on a smartphone. As such, we may wander from the way of the Spirit and not even be aware of the danger.
Jesus said in Matthew 20:28, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” He is explaining to his disciples that his role was to serve the people and to give his entire life to them. Jesus many times flipped the worldview of being the best and greatest to showing that humility and service was above all most important. Paul recognized this about Christ and imitated this selfless and humble lifestyle.
We need to be enlightened as to the greatness of God’s power. The prime exhibit of this power is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. If God’s power working in us is the same power that brought the helplessly dead Jesus back from the grave to immortality, imagine what that power within can do! Not only did the power of God raise Jesus from the dead, it has exalted Him to the right hand in the heavenlies, and has elevated Him far beyond all other powers and authority.
We can scarcely imagine a President, prime minister, or king calling a major press conference to declare the sovereignty of Almighty God, but a Mede ruler named Darius did exactly that. He declared that “he is the living God, enduring forever.” When confronted with the miraculous deliverance of Daniel from the lion’s den, it was abundantly clear to Darius that the true God is living and active in human events. He wisely and humbly acknowledged that the living God’s kingdom and dominion vastly superseded his - an amazing acknowledgment in itself for a governmental ruler to admit.
As a kid growing up, I’ve always loved baseball. From the time I was five or six my favorite player played for the Baltimore Orioles and his name was Frank Robinson. Frank had a lot of natural talent, but what really set him apart was his grit and determination and willingness to get back up after being knocked down.
When I went into the hospital for surgery, I brought along a couple of books of light reading in case I wanted to read some. I decided to take and read Frank Robinson‘s autobiography. I have been finding it very inspiring, and while reading it, there was another example of God showing up in unexpected ways , I received a small package in the mail that was brought to my hospital bed. When I opened up the package, I found that it was an autographed Frank Robinson baseball card with a portion of a bat that he used in a game back when he played in the 50s through 70s, it came directly from a baseball card shop and I didn’t know who sent it to me. I eventually found out that it came from my friends, Michael and Melinda Cisler. Is it a coincidence that I just happened to receive an autographed baseball card from my favorite player while I was reading his autobiography? as I recovered from surgery? absolutely not! To me this is just one more of many signs from God that he is with me and paying attention to me, and this particular story reminds me of the importance of continuing to persevere even when you get knocked down. Frank Robinson went from growing up in a ghetto in Oakland and a broken home to becoming a two-time, most valuable player, Triple Crown winner, World Series, champion, member of major-league baseball Hall of Fame , and the first African-American to manage a major-league baseball club. Perseverance.
©Jeff Fletcher
The evidence of spiritual warfare is readily observable daily. We are constantly being bombarded with the philosophical messages prevalent in today’s culture. Gender identity and abortion are just a couple of the specific issues ever in the forefront today. The most effective way to combat these and other issues is to be as close and clear concerning God’s truth as possible. A pro-active gospel approach (Acts 8:12) is the only real weapon capable of demolishing the philosophical fortresses built against us. This spiritual “nuclear” weapon alone is able to utterly destroy all satanic strongholds.
It is easy to look at poor people and blame them for 'being too lazy' or 'on drugs.' Sometimes that is no doubt true. But we don’t necessarily know that. We don’t know how lack of educational opportunities, racial inequalities, generational poverty and many other factors may be contributing to their situation.
McLaughlin-Levrone won her second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles on Aug. 8th, posting another world record time at 50.37. As the only woman to win the event in two consecutive Olympic Games, she said, “Just grateful for all that has been taking place. God has been good to me."
Solomon, of course, knows nothing of football. In his world, as king of Israel most of the work that he accomplishes is with his mouth. When he as King utters a decree, it becomes law. As King, his words matter. The King’s words have the power of life and death. In some ways, the King’s authority is exercised by his words, they are powerful and effective. In some ways, they are very similar to God’s Word, which the Bible also says is powerful and effective. In Genesis 1 God speaks His word and the heavens and earth are formed.
Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 3 are a challenge and encouragement to us. These are not times to compromise, retreat, and even quit. We have been entrusted with service and ministry, not of our own choosing, but the Lord’s. If it is His work, then it has His supply and progress as He sees fit. For that reason, we do not lose heart.
How you live your life and how faithfully you teach your children will have a major influence on them. Proverbs 22:6 says that we should “train up a child in the way he (she) should go”. Should is a word that contains judgment. You need to decide what is right and wrong in God’s word and you need to train your child to adopt those same values.
The older I get the more keenly aware I am of just how little any of us can do concerning our spiritual condition. Our best efforts to “improve” result in failure. Good intentions rarely translate into effective action. If all our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), then our best course of action is to follow the prompting of inner Holy Spirit. The way of true righteousness is submission and obedience. In essence, don’t try harder; yield more.
The word, sloth or slothful means lazy or indolent. The slothful person fails to engage life in a meaningful way. They are essentially withholding energy or effort to do the things that need to be done. Proverbs 19:15 points out this truth about the danger of sloth: “Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.”
