Devotional

I’d like to wish my daughter a happy 16th birthday today!He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. — Ephesians 4:28Imagine, for a moment, Bill Gates showing up at your door and begging you to give him a crust of bread. What a ridiculous scene! Bill Gates could go downtown and buy the bakery almost as easily as he could buy a loaf of bread.At some point, we need Jesus to show us how rich we are inside.…

"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. — Ephesians 4:26-27Anger is like dynamite. Mishandled, it can get you into a lot of trouble.Do righteous men and women get angry? You bet they do! There is plenty in this world to get angry about. But how and why are they able to get angry without sinning? It is because they operate from a position of strength. When we know who we are, we understand our connection to Christ. We don’t need anger…

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. — Ephesians 4:25Why do we lie? Most of the time it is because we are afraid to tell the truth. Sometimes there are other reasons — reasons that the gospel can cure, but I want to focus on this one.When I think of lying, there is one instance in my life that comes immediately to mind. I felt trapped. Everyone in the room was looking at me. I was afraid to tell the truth. So I lied. It…

A friend has graciously loaned us a van for several months, but the time has come for us to move forward with purchasing it. Although we’ve raise some funds to buy it, another $4,000 would enable us to complete the purchase. I’m not exactly sure how the Lord is going to supply this. I know He can and will, so I’m not worried about it. Here’s one possibility: I could write a book or a course for you or for someone you know for about $4,000. I can also do straightforward web development – nothing too fancy, but basic web…

… now you are light in the Lord…. — Ephesians 5:8For a moment, imagine yourself in heaven. Rather than think about what heaven will be like, think about what you will be like in heaven.Think about the energy you will have. Think about the confidence you will feel. Think about how nothing will upset you. Think about the wisdom and kindness that will flow with your words. Think about your desires, now completely pure and satisfied. Think about the inexhaustible fund on inner wealth that will be hours 24/7. Think about the gratitude that will flood every moment. You will…

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. — Ephesians 5:8I work part time cleaning a bowling alley early in the morning. Usually one or more of my children come along with me. While we are cleaning, we often listen to music. The bowling alley subscribes to music channels. Select a channel and get nonstop music of that variety. So we select 938 and listen to Christian music while we clean.One morning, I tuned the receiver to 938, turned on the amplifier and waited for the music to come out…

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief … — 1 Peter 1:6On the surface, this seems contradictory. Joy and grief? How can they coexist? If joy is the opposite of grief, then wouldn’t you need to get rid of all grief in order to have joy?Not so. When we were mourning the loss of a loved one, I made an amazing discovery. Underneath are the everlasting arms. While others grieved without hope, falling through emptiness in a bottomless pit of sorrow, we were buoyed up by something far bigger…

The angel of the LORD found Hagar … — Genesis 16:7Hagar was in a mess. She was deeply embroiled in a human plan that went bad. Pregnant with Abram’s first son, she made the mistake of getting snooty with Sarai, and Sarai was furious. Jealous, no doubt. Blaming. Even vindictive. Abram threw up his hands, hoping the problem would go away if he just stayed out of it.The problem didn’t go away, but Hagar did. I suspect all of us have been here. We want God’s plan, it doesn’t seem to be happening, so we try to jump start it…

Even in laughter the heart may ache … — Proverbs 14:13I know someone who is a closet alcoholic. She does not know that her thirst for alcohol is really a thirst for Christ. She does not know how to drink deep from God’s Spirit so that the parched and aching places in her soul might be soothed and comforted. She lives in fear that others will discover that she, a Christian, struggles with this hidden shame. There are so many aching and hurting places in her heart, that she abandons hope, opens the bottle, and prays for heaven to take…

… but those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. — Isaiah 40:31I’m going to open with a quote from Tom Stamman’s newsletter: "A 90-year old man asked a 100-year old man how do you get to be so old? He said, ‘You have to wait.’"Waiting is something that God seems to be very good at, even when we are not. I don’t like to wait — in line, in traffic, and, especially, in pain. Many times for…