Month: March 2014

Acts 16:25
“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”

Have you ever had one of them days when you tried to do right but everything seemed to go wrong? That is what happened to Paul and Silas. They went to a place outside of Macedonia to speak to a group of ladies who assembled to pray. While they were speaking, a young girl possessed with a devil continued to mock and disrupt them. Through God’s power, Paul cast the devil out of her. This young girl had brought her masters much money through her divination, and now that they saw their hopes of making money off her were gone, they were very upset. This caused them to stir up the people of the city against Paul and Silas to the point that the magistrates came and arrested them and took them to prison.

For serving the LORD, Paul and Silas sat bound in prison. Certainly, their day had not gone as planned, but instead of griping and whining about what happened, they sang praises unto God at midnight. Through God’s powerful workings, these men had an opportunity to witness to the guard and their fellow prisoners.

Imagine if Paul and Silas had complained and griped about their situation, do you think that prison guard would have been saved? Do you think the prisoners around them would have listened to them talk about the LORD? I think not! Their attitude in times of adversity gave them an opportunity to witness to those who before probably would not have listened.

Let me remind you that you never know who is watching you and who is listening to what you are saying. So often we show a bad attitude when we are having a bad day not realizing that we could be forfeiting the right to witness to those who are watching. It is in times of adversity when your testimony is validated. What you do in times of adversity truly dictates whether you will be able to witness to certain people. A good attitude in times of adversity allows you to witness to people who normally would not listen.

Moreover, all around you are people who are bound with their own adversity. Paul and Silas were not the only one’s in prison. You must realize that God most likely sent your adversity your way so that you could be a testimony to those who are going through the same adversity. Friend, let me remind you that around you are many people who are bound with their own adversity and you could help relieve their bondage. If your attitude is wrong, you will never be able to help them. Those around you in adversity need to see that there is a way they can get victory through adverse circumstances, and that way is through the power of God.

Furthermore, your attitude through adversity allows you to reach your captors. Paul and Silas were able to reach their captors because they kept a good attitude through adversity. Yes, it would be easy to get upset at those who are seemingly causing your adversity, but you must remember they are broken people who need to see that serving Christ is the way to overcome all adversity.

Let me ask you, what is your attitude as you endure adversity? Your attitude is important to reaching those around you. There are many people who are prisoners of their own adversity, and your attitude through your adversity just may be the thing that will allow you to reach them. I challenge you to watch your attitude, especially when you’re having a bad day. Though it may be easy to be short with people and gripe about your situation, that will not allow you to reach others. Keep a good attitude at all times and God will allow you to reach others through your adversity.

Proverbs 11:13
“A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.”

One of the greatest evils in life is that of talebearing. Talebearing destroys lives and reputations. When you checkout at the grocery store, you see magazines that are given to talebearing. These magazines do not care if what they are saying is true, the only thing they care about is selling a magazine at the expense of the one whom they put on their cover.

The word “talebearer” means, “a hawker or traveling chapman.” In other words, a talebearer peddles tales for the sake of profit. This profit isn’t always financial, but in many cases it’s about looking as if you are “in the know” about certain people.

God never talks highly of a talebearer. Every time God talks of a talebearer in Scriptures it is in a negative connotation. God does not like talebearing. Let me point out several things about a talebearer so as to caution you from listening to their tales.

First, just because a talebearer says it is true does not make it true. I am not a fan of most news reporters. I have watched them take portions of truth and report a whole story about someone to turn public opinion against them. As wicked as this is, talebearers are no different. Many talebearers don’t tell the whole truth. Many times they tell what they want you to know leaving out portions of the story that are important to the truth. You would be wise to err on the side of believing in the one who the tale is about than believing the talebearer.

Second, talebearers cannot be trusted. You may enjoy the tales they tell you because they are not about you, but one day they will tell tales about you. God says the talebearer reveals secrets. They don’t care who they tell the secret about as long as they have a secret to bear. Right now it may be about someone else, but eventually they will talk about you. Your association with talebearers should be little to none.

Third, what a talebearer tells you is not your business. Even if what they tell you is first-hand information, they learned that in the strictest of confidence, which means it is none of your business. If it is your business to know about what the talebearer is trying to tell you, then God would have brought it your way. Christian, you have enough to take care of without having to involve yourself in something that is not your business.

Fourth, talebearers are time wasters. Think of the time you could use for good that you used listening to a talebearer. You could live your life constantly gathering dirt from talebearers, but what is that going to profit you? A talebearer’s tale is going to waste your time, so don’t give them your time to waste.

Let this devotional be a friendly reminder to avoid talebearing and talebearers. There are so many more things you can do in life that are productive for the cause of Christ. If you will learn to stop the talebearer from telling you tales, then you will find they will stop bothering you. Instead of listening to the talebearer, let your mind be filled with good and spend your time trying to build people.

John 3:2
“The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”

A visitor came to Jesus at night to ask Him a question. This visitor was not an unknown person, but a religious leader of his day. This man was Nicodemus. The question came in the form of a statement when he said, “…we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” It is very interesting that Nicodemus knew that Jesus came from God. He understood that nobody could do the miracles that Jesus did without coming from God.

In the very next chapter a very similar story happened. Jesus was at Jacob’s well, and a woman from Samaria came to draw water. The disciples were gone, and Jesus said to the woman, “Give me to drink.” She was amazed that a Jew would ask a Samaritan for water because the Jews would not talk to the Samaritans. Through the discourse that Jesus had with this woman, He revealed this woman’s sin of adultery to her. When Jesus exposed her sin she said, “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.” This is amazing because Jesus never one time told her who He was. Yet, she perceived something different in Him.

In both of these stories Jesus did not have to tell who He was. In both cases these people quickly understood that He was from God. What was it that caused them to know that He was from God? In the first story Nicodemus recognized that He was from God because of the miracles that Jesus performed. Nobody could do these miracles except “God be with him.” In the second story it was that Jesus proclaimed the truth without fear of what would happen. These two things caused them to know that Jesus was from God.

This world is in desperate need of people who are come from God. Churches need pastors who are come from God. Sunday school classes need teachers who are come from God. Christian schools need teachers and professors who are come from God. Children need parents who are come from God. Cities and neighborhoods need Christians who are come from God. Nations need preachers who are come from God. The greatest need this world has are people who are come from God.

What is it that will happen when someone comes from God? The miraculous will happen when someone is come from God. When someone is come from God, you will see God doing great things through them. They won’t have to brag on themselves to tell everyone how great they are, for their works will reveal that God is with them. What is it that will show that someone is come from God? When people reveal truths that change lives, they will know you are come from God.

Friend, these things won’t happen with a five minute reading of the Scriptures every day. It won’t happen when you only spend a few minutes in prayer every day. No, the only way you will get the truths from the Scriptures you need to change lives is to live in the Scriptures. The only way you will see God perform the miraculous through your life is by spending much time in prayer with Him. God said this in Mark 9:29 when He says, “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”

Do people say about you that you are come from God? No, you are not Jesus, but He promised you can do greater works than He. Those greater works will not happen if you don’t spend much time in the Scriptures and in prayer. There are people whom God leads across your path on a daily basis who need you to be a person who is come from God. I challenge you to take this truth and let it motivate you to spend so much time with God that people will say about you that you are come from God.

Luke 17:3
“Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.”

Getting along with others is not always an easy task. With differences in personalities, opinions and techniques, getting along with others can be one of the hardest things a person will do, especially with those with whom interact on a daily basis. Jesus taught the disciples a lesson on how to get along with others, and He gave them six things they must do to accomplish this.

First, be careful with how you treat people. The very first thing that Jesus said to the disciples was, “Take heed to yourselves…” Jesus was trying to get the disciples to learn to look at their own actions before looking at the actions of others. I have always found that I will have an easier time getting along with others if I will look at what I can correct in myself instead of looking at how to correct others. The biggest problem you have is not another, but it is yourself. This first key is imperative to getting along with everyone.

Second, don’t always assume others did wrong. Again, “Take heed to yourselves…” In other words, if you look at your own actions before accusing others, you will find yourself having an easier time getting along. When a wrong has happened, immediately assume that you did the wrong instead of accusing someone else. You will have a hard time getting along with others if you always assume they did the wrong when a wrong occurred.

Third, don’t assume the intentions of others. When you take heed to yourself, you will stop assuming others intentions. It is so easy to fall into the trap of judging the intentions of others, but you don’t know their intentions, so stop trying to judge why another person did something. Believe in the good of people instead of the bad.

Fourth, correct with an attitude to forgive. Even when you must correct someone, you must do so with an intent to forgive. The key to the verse above is forgiveness. If your correction is given with no intention to forgive, then your correction will cause strife.

Fifth, don’t put a limit on forgiveness. One of the most important things you can do is never give up on people. This is why you must not put a limit on forgiveness. Aren’t you glad God doesn’t put a limit on how many times He will forgive you? Then you must not put a limit on how many times you will forgive another. Forgiveness is a belief that they will do better. Always believe that others will turn their actions around, and you will find it will not be hard to forgive.

Sixth, don’t hold people to your expectations. The word “trespass” means to miss the mark. In other words, if you’re going to get along with another, then when they miss the mark that you have set for them you must be willing to forgive. I have found the best way to accomplish this is not to expect others to live according to my expectations. My expectations are selfish and are not the measuring stick by which others should be measured. God set the measuring stick by which we should live, so stop trying to force others to live according to your expectations.

These six principles are important to getting along with others. Whether it is in your marriage, home, church, workplace or surroundings, these six principles will help you to get along with others in each of these places. Don’t be a person with whom it is hard to get along. Life is too short to constantly being at odds with others, so work at getting along.

Luke 9:51
“And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,”

One of the main ingredients to the success of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ was that He was focused. It says in the verse above, “…he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,” What was so special about going to Jerusalem? It was that He knew He would die for the sins of the world in Jerusalem. That was the whole reason He came to Earth, and that was why He was focused.

The word “focus” means, the center of interest or activity. In other words, everything Jesus did centered around Him dying on the cross for the sins of the world. If something came His direction that would have been a good thing to do, but it wouldn’t center around Him paying for our sins, then He would not get involved. The focus of our Saviour is one of the main reasons He succeeded in His earthly ministry, and the main reason you and I can go to Heaven.

A person without focus is a person who is going nowhere. When I ran track in high school, we were trained to keep our eyes on the finish line. We were to be focused on where we were going. We were told that if we turned our head that we would get of course. Over and over again we were drilled about staying focused on the finish line. The finish line was where we were going.

Are you truly focused on what God wants you to do? A preacher who is not focused on his calling is a preacher who will one day find himself out of the ministry. A Christian who is not focused on winning souls will find themselves involved in activities that are meaningless. A church that is not focused is a church that will start useless ministries that have nothing to do with winning the lost to Jesus Christ.

Friend, focus is the key to keeping sin from ruining your life. When you get focused on what God wants you to do, then you will find that sin’s lure will not be great. One of the biggest reasons people step into sin is because they lose their focus. It’s not that they are bad people, they simply lost focus of what they were supposed to do. Saul lost his focus and went into sin. David lost his focus and committed adultery. Samson lost his focus and hobnobbed with the enemy. If you don’t want sin to ruin your life, then you need to stay focused on the souls of men.

Christian, be careful that you don’t allow the noise of the world to distract you from your focus. Keep your eye on what you are supposed to do. Don’t let your trials cause you to lose focus. When going through trials it is easy to lose focus of why God has left you on this Earth, but you must continue to stay focused on the souls of men. Furthermore, you must not let good things pull you away from your focus. There are many things with which you can involve yourself, but you must never allow yourself to be involved with things that pull you away from your focus.

The best way to look at this is to look at a bicycle wheel. Your focus is the hub of the wheel, and every spoke comes from that hub. Everything you do must come from the hub or the focus of your life. If what you do is not attached to the hub, then you are losing focus. Regularly look at everything you do and make sure that you are not losing focus. Be sure that everything you do is connected to the hub of reaching the lost for Jesus Christ. That should be your focus of life. Staying focused will not be easy, but if it is achieved it will help you to succeed as a Christian.

Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,”

You will notice that everyone whom Jesus went after were in some way or another broken. It is interesting the Jesus didn’t go to those who had everything together, but only to those who seemed to be living a life of hopelessness. His whole ministry was about trying to fix the broken.

Look at those whom Jesus went after. He went after the poor to give them the good news that they can be rich in spirit. He sought the brokenhearted to give them hope to heal their wounds. He worked to help those who had been captive by sin. He helped those who were blinded by life, and he found those who were for some reason bruised in life and gave them the hope that they could be freed from the bruise of sin. What a fulfilling ministry Jesus had in trying to fix the broken.

We would be wise to pattern our ministries after Jesus. Instead of trying to find those who have it all together, we would be wise to find those who truly need help. I have watched pastors and church members alike get excited when someone who seems to have everything together joins their church. Yet, you never hear people get excited when someone joins the church whose life seems to be in ruins.

Friend, let me remind you that a good church is not a museum where we praise the people who are so “great,” but church is an emergency room full of Christians trying to fix those who are broken in life. Yes, those who are broken certainly bring their problems with them, but the joy of seeing a life turned around is exciting and fulfilling. If a church is going to be what God wants it to be, then they will go after the broken.

Moreover, let me also remind you that when you go after the broken you will have to deal with their baggage of sin. When you bring in the broken, you will have to help put their life together. As a Christian we must not fall for Satan’s trap of looking down on those who are broken. We must remember that many of us were there at one point ourselves, and if we are honest with ourselves, we still have areas in our own life that are broken. Don’t bemoan those coming into the church who have broken lives, for that is what God wants His church to go after.

Furthermore, you will find that God’s power comes to those who seek the broken. The verse above says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to…” God’s power does not fall on those who are seeking to fill their church with those who have no problems, but He fills the Christian who tries to fix the broken with power to help those who are broken.

Christian, the church that God is interested in is the church that is actively pursuing the broken. If your church is not actively pursuing the broken, then I would reconsider where you attend. You want to be in a church in which God is interested, and that church is the church that is an emergency room that is open to fix those who are broken.