Category: Strength for Today

Exodus 10:2
“And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.”

One of the reasons why God sent so many plagues upon Egypt was so that the generation to come could see the signs that God is the LORD. Oftentimes, you hear people say about a tragedy, “It was plague like…” Every time this statement is made, the prophecy of the verse above is fulfilled. God told Moses that He would show these signs before him so that he would “tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.”

The same God that showed signs to Moses and Egypt is still alive today. The next generation will often determine how powerful God is by how much they see Him working through your life. This should be convicting to any Christian. What is God doing through you that your children know that God is the LORD? Yes, the next generation needs to be reminded of what God has done for previous generations, but what they need to see more is that He still has the power to work today. They need to see God working in your life so it will create an appetite in them to see Him work through theirs. There are three signs that God wants to show to the next generation.

First, God wants the next generation to see the signs of His power through miracles. Friend, the same God that performed miracles in the past can still work miracles today. God has not lost His power, but Christians have lost their appetite for intercessory prayer. If we would pray today like they did in yesteryear, we could see God perform the same miracles in our lives. The next generation doesn’t just need to hear how God performed miracles in the past, but they need to see Him perform miracles through you.

Second, God wants the next generation to see the signs of His protection through deliverance. God’s deliverance of Israel wasn’t just for the generation who grew up in Egypt, but it was also for the second generation who were to conquer the Promised Land. Your children need to see how God has delivered you through tough times. Simply put, they need to see God answer prayers. If you want your children to continue serving the LORD, you need to make much about God’s answers to prayers. They need to see God answering so many prayers that it creates an appetite to have Him answer their prayers.

Third, God wants the next generation to see the signs of His presence in your life. God’s power on one’s life is not just for previous generations, but it is also for today. Do you have God’s power on your life? Is it obvious to your children that God is doing something through you? You won’t have to tell them if He is, they will be able to see it. They should see God’s power working through their preacher, parents and leaders so much that they want the same power working through them.

I ask you, what is God doing through you that your children know that God is the LORD? Let this devotional be that stimulant to see God work in your life. Remember that every time He works through you, it is so that you can show the next generation that God is the LORD.

Genesis 49:7
“Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”

Anger, in and of itself is not a sin, but anger that is out-of-control is a curse. If anger is a sin then God is a sinner because He has displayed anger. The difference between God’s anger and out-of-control anger is that He dictates His anger and out-of-control anger is dictated by circumstances.

The verse above shows the results of out-of-control anger. Simeon and Levi slew a man in their anger, and the Scriptures teach that anger’s curse divided and scattered them through life. Anger’s curse has a dividing and scattering effect. Whenever a person loses control of their emotions and becomes angry, you will always see those around get quiet and begin to walk away. The reason is that out-of-control control anger scatters and divides. The quickest way to lose credibility is to be a person who doesn’t control their anger. If out-of-control anger brings a curse, how do we deal with it?

First, deal with anger swiftly. Ephesians 4:26 says, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” Many people let circumstances fester instead of quickly dealing with them. The Scriptures teach that you shouldn’t let the sun go down until you deal with what leads to anger. Deal with anger swiftly so it doesn’t set up residence in your heart.

Second, be slow to react. Ecclesiastes 7:9 says, “Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.” Many people allow anger to be their first reaction to unlikeable circumstances. When you are prone to anger, you are going to have to learn to stop and allow your emotions to cool down before you act. Even if you have to leave a room or a conversation that leads to anger, that is better than dealing with anger’s curse.

Third, avoid the catalyst. Proverbs 30:33 says, “Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.” God is teaching that the best way to avoid anger is to avoid the catalyst that leads to it. An angry person always has a catalyst that sets off their anger. If you know what sets it off, avoid it. Until you learn to grow in that area, you would be better to avoid that which causes you to get angry.

Fourth, get the whole story. Proverbs 19:11 says, “The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.” Discretion is getting the whole story before making a decision. The best way to avoid anger is to be sure you have heard both sides of a story before you react. Most anger could be averted if you took the time to get the whole story.

Finally, when you have a problem with anger, ask God to help you overcome it. 1 John 1:9 teaches that if we confess our sin to God, He will “cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” You will never overcome it by yourself. You need God’s help to cleanse you from out-of-control anger. If you have a problem with out-of-control anger, don’t let another day of its curse control you. Ask God for help to overcome it, follow these four steps with every circumstance you face, and you will find that out-of-control anger will get under control.

Genesis 42:1
“Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?”

When you look at those who have been successful in life, you will find that most, if not all of them, have three characteristics. In doesn’t matter what field of life you look at, those who are successful in every field have these three characteristics. These characteristics are what separates them from the crowd. Many times those who are successful are not the most talented or the most intellectual, but these characteristics were the ingredients that helped them overcome whatever shortcomings they may have.

Joseph’s brothers lacked these characteristics. A famine hit that region of the country, and their food sources had run out. Their father said to them, “Why do ye look one upon another?” This one statement shows why Joseph was so much different from his brothers. These brothers had heard like their father that there was food in Egypt, but they lacked the characteristics that cause people to separate themselves from the crowd. Three characteristics are seen in this one statement that will separate you from the crowd if you decide to adopt them.

The first characteristic is initiative. Proverbs 10:4 says, “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.” Initiative is that ability to make yourself do something without anyone telling you to do it. Initiative is what causes some to rise to leadership. There are going to be days when you don’t feel like doing what you are supposed to do, but initiative is what drives you to do it. If you want God to bless, you need to develop the initiative to do what you are supposed to do without being told. Initiative is an essential characteristic that separates you from others.

The second characteristic is creativity. In the parable of the talents, the men who had five and two talents were creative in multiplying their talents. They were commended because of their creativity. If you want to separate yourself from others, you are going to have to think on your feet. In other words, when you see an obstacle, find a way over the obstacle. Jacob’s brothers were looking at each other instead of finding a way to make it through the famine. The wisdom of God will help you to be creative. If you face an obstacle, ask God for wisdom to show you how to overcome it. He promises in James 1:5 to give you wisdom if you ask.

The third characteristic is productivity. Joseph’s brothers were standing looking at each other instead of working to find a solution. Proverbs 12:24 says, “The hand of the diligent shall bear rule…” Hard work will overcome whatever you lack in talent. I heard a person once say that work is accomplishing tasks, not staying busy. Many people stay busy throughout the day, but at the end of every day, you need to ask yourself what you have accomplished. Those who are successful will be productive; they will accomplish something every day.

In a world filled with people, there must be something that separates you from the crowd. When all three characteristics are found in one person, it is sure to separate that person from others. As a Christian, you should exemplify these characteristics for they are character traits God wants in every Christian.

Genesis 37:11
“And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.”

One of the most incredible men in the Scriptures is Joseph. He faced more adversity than most, yet he still loved the LORD and never gave up hope. One of the adversities he faced was the hatred his brothers had for him. The verse above says that they “envied him.” This envy was a result of their hatred. Joseph’s brethren saw that their father loved him more than they, and they hated him because of it. This hatred and envy eventually led to them selling him as a slave in hopes that they would never see him again. Of course, we know that this was all God’s hand working to save that region of the world from a humanitarian disaster, but that certainly didn’t make it any easier for Joseph to deal with their envy.

The English word “envy” is a derivative from the Latin word, “invideo” which means, to see against. In other words, envy is having images of doing something evil against someone to get what they have. This is why Joseph’s brethren had images of killing him. Their hatred stirred up images in their mind that led to their evil actions. You are in need of serious help when envy sets in and you start imagining what you should do to someone to get what they have.

Envy is a reflection of the heart. Envy is the result of covetousness. You would never become envious of anyone if you didn’t want what they had. When you envy a person with leadership, it is because you want their position. When you envy a person who has a better house, car or more possessions than you, it is only a result of you wanting what they have. 1 Corinthians 13:4 teaches us that the only reason you envy anyone is because you don’t love them in the right way. Envy is truly a revelation of your carnality. With envy being so consuming, how can an individual deal with it?

First, learn to be content with what you have. Paul said in Philippians 4:11, “…for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” You will never envy someone if you are content with what God has given you. When you become envious, you are questioning God’s sovereignty in your life. You are telling God that you know better than He as to what you need. If you’re content with what you have, you will never envy what others have.

Second, acquire an earning mentality. Romans 13:13 shows us that envy is a result of a dishonest lifestyle. In other words, envy wants everything given to them without earning it. If you change your mindset by deciding that you will earn everything you get, you will have a great probability of not becoming envious.

Third, keep your eyes on the LORD. Proverbs 23:17 shows us that the antidote to envy is living “in the fear of the LORD.” When you keep your eyes on the LORD, out of a healthy respect for Him, you will never come to the point where you want what others have. When you have your eyes on the LORD, you will realize you have everything you need because you have Him. If you have the LORD, you should not want anything else because He satisfies your every need.

Do you find yourself wanting what another has? Friend, if you don’t deal with it early, it will lead to envy. God knows your name and where you live, and when He knows you need something or should be promoted, He knows where to find you to do it. In the meantime, keep your eyes on Him and serve others.

Psalm 143:7
“Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.”

Your spirit will determine your outlook on your day. Proverbs 18:14 says, “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?” You show me a person whose spirit is always down, and I will show you a person who people do not want to follow. The people who seem to have the greatest followers are those who have a good spirit. I have several friends who I have purposely placed myself around because of their spirit. I want that joyful spirit that cheers everyone around me.

The psalmist says in the verse above, “…my spirit faileth…” He admitted that he had a broken spirit. The previous verses show why he had a broken spirit. The reason his spirit was broken was because he was looking at circumstances instead of focusing on actions that give a joyful spirit. There were four types of spirit he needed to have to keep a good spirit.

First, he needed a remembering spirit. He says in verse 8, “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning…” He asked God to remind him of His goodness every day. If you are going to keep a good spirit, you are going to have to purposely remind yourself of God’s goodness to you. Our sinful nature easily reminds us of everything that is bad around us, but if you are going to have a good spirit, you must stop and remind yourself daily of God’s blessings. A daily reminder of how good God has been to you will help you keep a good spirit.

Second, he needed an enduring spirit. He says in verse 9, “Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies…” If you are going to have a good spirit, you are going to have to get some grit and determine you are going to make it no matter what comes. An enduring spirit is what causes you to get back up after you have been knocked down. Don’t let the hardships of life keep you down. Get an enduring spirit that says you will get up no matter what life may throw at you.

Third, he needed a teachable spirit. He says in verse 10, “Teach me to do thy will…” If you want to keep a good spirit, you are going to have to let others teach you. I’m always amazed that those who have the best spirit are those who allow others to teach them; they are not know-it-alls. You will find a teachable spirit allows you to want to learn something from everyone, which will help you to keep a positive outlook on others. Don’t be the type of person who knows more than everyone else. Keep a teachable spirit so you can have a good spirit.

Fourth, he needed a joyful spirit. He says in verse 11, “Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake…” For God’s sake, you need to stop letting circumstances determine what your spirit is going to be each day. You need to approach every day with a joyful spirit. The way you do this is to stop letting outside circumstances determine your spirit. Joy always comes from within. If you will realize you are always a child of God and are on your way to Heaven, you can have a joyful spirit.

Friend, keeping a good spirit is no accident. Your spirit will have these four characteristics if you have a good spirit. Having a good spirit is a choice. What spirit are you choosing?

Genesis 21:2
“For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”

One of the most incredible stories in the Scriptures is the story of Abraham and Sarah. God promised Abraham early in his life that He would make of him a great nation. The problem with this promise was that Abraham didn’t have any children. Finally, when Abraham and Sarah were old, she conceived “at the set time which God had spoken to him.” What truly seemed to be impossible was possible with God. When it seemed like time had run out on God’s promises, God proved His timing never runs out. God’s promises to Abraham and Sarah were sure even when human sense dictated His promises had failed.

God’s answers have a process they must go through. God’s process for fulfilling his promises are: God promises, faith believes, hope anticipates, patience waits and God answers. It is always this process that you will go through before God answers His promises. Let me give you a few thoughts on the security of God’s promises.

First, if God promises, you can be assured that He will fulfill those promises. Titus 1:2 reminds us, “…God, that cannot lie…” When God promises that He will do something, it is as good as answered. If you don’t see the answer to God’s promise that doesn’t mean He has not answered. You must realize that God has already fulfilled His promise to you even though you have not seen it. You may recall that God answered Daniel’s prayer, but it took several days before he realized that answer because of the battle between the angel of God and Satan. If God promised that He is going to do something, His promise is secure; all you have to do is simply have the faith to believe that God will come through.

Second, while faith believes and hope anticipates, don’t do anything foolish that you will regret. Abraham made the mistake that many Christians make when we don’t realize God’s promise immediately, and that was he tried to work God’s promise out for himself. Instead of waiting on God, Abraham and Sarah conceived a plan to have a child through a surrogate mother. This foolish plan will cause heartache for millions of people until the LORD returns. Don’t let time cause your faith to wane. Just because you don’t see anything happening doesn’t mean that God has forgotten His promise. You must continue to anticipate the promise of God by continuing to do right, believing that He will come through on His promises.

Third, God’s schedule doesn’t need your approval. I’m sure that Abraham and Sarah didn’t approve of God’s schedule, but they were wrong and God was right. God’s schedule of when He plans to fulfill His promise is absolutely the right timing. God has scheduled to fulfill His promise at the very time it will give Him the greatest glory. During this waiting period, you must be patient and continue to follow God’s plan. God’s plan is always the best plan.

What promise from God are you still awaiting? What prayer are you still waiting for God to answer? Always remember God’s process is: God promises, faith believes, hope anticipates, patience waits and God answers. Keep doing right until God answers. When He answers, you will realize His timing was the best.

Genesis 11:4
“And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”

One of the great cries you hear from those who have compromised is the need for unity. There are many modern day Balaam’s who vilify those who call out their compromising ways. It’s amazing how the name calling and inflammatory defenses they make for unity are never backed up with Scripture. They simply want unity at any cost.

The tower of Babel shows how unity can be very destructive. The people were of one language, and they determined to build a tower that reached unto heaven so that their name would be remembered. When God saw what they were doing, He confused their language and scattered them causing the project to fail. In this story, you see how unity can become destructive when it becomes the focus.

First, unity becomes destructive when it’s focused on the act of unity instead of truth. The end justified the means to these people. It didn’t matter what they had to do to be unified; they just wanted unity at all costs so they could build the tower. There is nothing wrong with unity, but when it becomes the focus instead of truth, it then becomes wrong. Unity is supposed to be a result of people following truth. The Devil is a master of taking right out of order. Unity is good in its proper order. When unity is a result of doing truth, it is good. When unity replaces truth’s position of focus, it then becomes destructive. The Christian is to stay focused on truth and not unity.

Second, unity becomes destructive when it’s focused on personality instead of God. These people said, “…let us make us a name…” When you take your eyes off truth, you will always take them off God and place them on a personality. I’m amazed how Christians fight over a personality instead of contending for truth. Compromise is sure to follow whenever you unite over a personality. We must always remember that our eyes are to stay focused on God. If you stay focused on truth, you will not have any difficulty keeping God as your focal point.

Third, unity becomes destructive when it’s focused on human legacy instead of doing right. These people were more concerned with how they would be forgotten if they were “scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” This is the result of taking your eyes off God. Whenever you take your eyes off God, you will become concerned with your name and how you are remembered. Let me remind you that the Christian life is not about your legacy or anyone else’s for that fact. When the purpose of unity is to build a legacy, we will do whatever it takes to make our legacy happen even if it is wrong. You must stop worrying about how people are going to remember you when you are gone and just do right. If you do right, your legacy will take care of itself.

Friend, don’t make the mistake of making unity your goal. Unity is supposed to be a result, not an action. If you will make truth your focus, God your horizon, and doing right your command, you will discover unity with those who have the same aim and desires.

Revelation 17:14
“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”

The verse above is no different from what we experience today. It says in the verse above that the kings of the Earth will join to make “war with the Lamb.” Their desire is to remove the Lamb from their system. These are ten kings who usually would have nothing to do with each other joining affinity with each other in an attempt to destroy the Lamb.

The battle we face today is the same battle that we see in the verse above. The world system is all about fighting the Lamb. These campaigns come in different forms, but make no mistake, it all comes down to fighting the Lamb. Their desire is to remove the Lamb from society so they can justify their lifestyle and hopefully remove the impending judgment they will face by not trusting Him as their Saviour.

When you realize the focus of the world system is to destroy the Lamb, you will then understand why they come up with such foolish ideas. The reason they accept the foolishness of evolution is because they are fighting the Lamb. The reason they insist on the absurdity of climate change is because they are fighting the Lamb. The reason they push the acceptance of Islam is because they are fighting the Lamb. The reason they want to annihilate Israel is because they are fighting the Lamb. The reason they address the environment as Mother Earth is because they are fighting the Lamb. In whatever form the agenda comes, it all comes down to one thing, they are fighting the Lamb.

Why would they give themselves over to such foolishness? Verse 13 tells us, “These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” They have given themselves over to the Devil all for the sake of trying to defeat the Lamb. With this thought in mind, there are two things we need to remember.

First, be careful about joining the world system. Many Christians are more interested in investing in the world system than they are with where they are headed. Let me remind you that we are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Hebrews 11:13) We are told in 1 Peter 2:11, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;” God tells the Christian in Revelations 18:4, “Come out of her, my people, the ye be not partakers of her sins.” Every Christian needs to avoid becoming a part of the world system and embrace your pilgrimage and the lifestyle God wants you to live. Yes, you must live in this world, but you don’t have to embrace this world’s system, lifestyle, dress or ideas.

Second, don’t let the world system discourage you. When you read the verse above, you will see that the world system is fighting a losing battle. It says that the “Lamb shall overcome them.” Christian, you are on the winning side. It may seem as though the world may be winning at times, but they are fighting a losing battle with every ounce of energy they have to try and turn their end around. Don’t let the voice of the world attract you to their defeatist end. Let the end of the world be your motivation to keep serving the LORD realizing you are on the winning side.