Category: Strength for Today

2 Peter 2:18
“For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.”

It is hard to believe that someone who has tasted of the right way would forsake it. Yet, God says that there are those who have forsaken the right way for the “way of Balaam.” It is a strong word that God uses to say that someone hath “forsaken the right way.” This means that they have purposely forsaken the right way to go in a wrong way. Something caused them to purposely forsake the right way. Someone told them that the “wages of unrighteousness” were better than the rewards of righteousness. Somehow, they were charmed into believing that paying a price for unrighteousness is better than receiving a reward for doing right.

God shows us what causes someone to forsake the right way for the “wages of unrighteousness.” He says that they left the right way because they were allured. The word “allure” means to be charmed or flattered. In other words, someone flattered them with the “wages of unrighteousness.” Someone flattered them in such a way that the “wages of unrighteousness” looked better than the right way. God shows us how someone is allured away from the right way.

First, they are charmed “through the lust of the flesh.” In other words, they attract you by appealing to your flesh instead of allowing the Holy Spirit of God to do a work in the hearts of an individual. Friend, we are not to attempt to attract the people by appealing to their flesh. Any religious worship that appeals to the flesh is wrong. When we change the music to appeal to the flesh, it is wrong. When we change the services to attract people through their flesh, it is wrong.

Second, when they use grace as a license for compromise, then it is wrong. The word “wantonness” means to abuse the acts of grace. It is giving people a license to do whatever they want to do because they say we live in the day of grace. My friend, grace does not give you a license to sin. You must be careful about abusing grace for the sake of lowering God’s standard of holiness for the sake of attracting a crowd.

Third, they promise one a Christianity that has liberty. In other words, they attract people by telling them they can come to their church and not have to worry about the “rules and regulations” of church. These are trying to lower God to man’s standard instead of trying to challenge man to rise to God’s standard. It is time that Christians stop believing the lie that God is so restrictive. The standards of holiness are there to restrict you from the “wages of unrighteousness,” but those restrictions will also give you joy.

The danger in going back to the world is that “the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” In other words, God warns the Christian that if they forsake the right way for the “wages of unrighteousness,” then they can expect their life to be worse than it was before they got saved. There is a steep price to pay for forsaking the right way.

Let me give you a friendly warning not to be charmed by these things. Any person who uses these things to lure you away from the right way should be avoided at all costs. They may sound charming, but their ways always end in heartache.

1 Samuel 1:6
“And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.”

Hannah nearly allowed her adversary to destroy her. You see some tragic steps she took that very nearly caused her to become a bitter woman in the end, but through the guiding hand of God she took some good steps that allowed her to come through her time of opposition with the blessings of God.

How you deal with an adversary will determine whether or not you will experience the LORD’s blessings upon your life. Your greatest desire should be to have the LORD’s blessings. Your adversary will oftentimes do what they can to get under your skin, but you must always remember that how you react will determine the degree of the LORD’s blessings on your life. Let me show you three steps that Hannah took when dealing with her adversary which resulted in the LORD’s blessings.

First, she acknowledged the truth of her adversary. Hannah had no power over what her adversary was using to provoke her, but she acknowledged the truth of what she said. You must realize that there is always truth in what your adversary uses to antagonize you. You can either ignore what they are saying about you, or you can take the truth of their antagonism and let it become your source of motivation to change your circumstances. The whole reason an adversary will antagonize you is to keep you from taking the proper actions to change your circumstances. Don’t let their actions keep you from taking the proper action. Acknowledge the truth of antagonism and take action.

Second, she found that trust is the antidote to worry. She initially allowed her adversary’s antagonism to move her to fret and worry, but she also found that the antiserum to dealing with worry is trusting in the LORD. You can worry about what your adversary is saying and doing, but worry wastes invaluable time and energies that could be used to change your situation. You must stop worrying about what you cannot change and start trusting the God Who can change your situation. Trust is the sword that puts worry to silence. Worrying all day about what you are going to do will not change your situation, but trusting the LORD is the only key that keeps worry from destroying your life.

Third, she avoided bitterness through prayer. Hannah very nearly became a bitter lady who let the antagonistic spirit of her adversary destroy her, but the greatest action she took was pouring her soul out unto the LORD. Friend, the only One Who can help you deal with the antagonism of your adversary is God. Talking about it, worrying about it and fighting back will not change your situation. You must find yourself going to the LORD and let Him turn your bitterness into victory.

I don’t know what your adversary is trying to do to you, but let me encourage you to not let their antagonism destroy you. Your source of strength to deal with an antagonistic spirit is the LORD. If you are going to have the LORD’s blessings on your life, then you must learn to trust Him and His timing. In His time you will see the LORD silence your adversaries if you will continue doing the right thing.

Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

A fingerprint means that someone has been there. Whenever you see a fingerprint on a window, it reveals someone has been there. Hebrews 11 is the fingerprint of faith. Throughout this chapter, you can see when faith has left its fingerprint on someone’s life. Of course, you could study this fingerprint and come up with several results of the fingerprint of faith on someone’s life, but there are four glaring results that faith’s fingerprint leaves on one’s life.

First, the fingerprint of faith gives a vision for that which is unseen. Throughout this chapter, you see the patriarchs of faith seeing what others could not see. They could see the same vision God had for their lives. This is what moved them to action.

If you want faith’s fingerprint on your life, then you are going to have to get a vision to see what God sees. You will never get this vision by living for the world or having a materialistic mind. Faith’s vision can only be seen when someone decides to be content with what they have. You will never see what God has for your life when you are living for your dreams and desires. The vision of faith will only be seen when you have totally surrendered yourself to God’s will and are willing to do what it takes to fulfill that will.

Second, the fingerprint of faith moves one to action when inaction seems like the logical choice. These people in this chapter were willing to leave everything for the sake of faith’s vision. This is why you need to have faith’s vision, because without it you will never be motivated to move. You will always know when faith has left its fingerprint on someone by their actions. When you are living by faith, you can’t help but take action on the vision God has given you.

Third, the fingerprint of faith realizes victory in the face of defeat. One of the most interesting verses is Hebrews 11:13 when it says, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off…” Many of these people never realized the fruit of their faith in their lifetime. Were they failures? Absolutely not! You may never see the fruit of faith in your life, but you have not failed. God ALWAYS honors faith. Many of the results of someone’s life is oftentimes seen after they have stepped on Heaven’s shores. Just because you have not experienced the vision of your faith does not mean you have failed. Faith will honor your action if you keep going.

Fourth, the fingerprint of faith focuses on the One Who brings it to life. Hebrews 12:2 shows us their focus when it says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” This is the key to having faith’s fingerprint on your life. When you stay focused on Christ and not on man, then faith will leave its fingerprint on you. When you live for Christ and not for man, faith will have fingerprints all over your life.

Here is my challenge for you: don’t just let faith leave a single fingerprint on your life, but let faith leave its fingerprints all over you. What makes the Christian life rewarding is having faith’s fingerprints all over your life. Others will never quite understand you, but faith’s fingerprints will not only reward you while you are alive, but they will continue to reward you when you’ve graduated into Heaven.

Judges 17:6
“In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

Between the time that Joshua died and the time that Saul was set up as king, the Israelites had no king or leader who ruled them nationally. Many of the judges were regional leaders and not national leaders. The results of not having a king was that much heartache was experienced.

Everyone needs a king in their life. When I talk about a king in your life, I’m talking about someone who can tell you what you can and cannot do. When you have no king in your life, then at some point you will know heartache. The authorities we set up in our lives are there to keep us from heartache. When you read the Book of Judges, you will see four tragic actions that resulted from no authorities.

First, situational truth is the result of no king. You will notice in the verse above, “…every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” They had no border of truth other than their own feelings. In other words, there was no accountability for their actions, so their conscience dictated truth by how it affected them. You cannot be the one who dictates what is right and wrong because right and wrong will be dictated by your desires. Situational truth always leads to heartache. You must have absolutes to dictate what is right and wrong.

Second, when there is no king people will lose their drive. In chapter 18:1, the people were negligent in their responsibility to conquer Canaan. You will always find that people who have no strong authority in their lives will be a people who have no drive or motivation to go forward. This is why you must set deadlines and goals, and have a schedule to dictate what you will do at each minute of the day. Those deadlines, schedules and goals becomes your driving force to help you get things done.

Third, no guards of protection is the result of no king. In chapter 18:7, the people “dwelt careless” and had no walls or army to protect them. Everyone needs rules and standards in their life. An authority who doesn’t have rules and standards is an authority who leads people into heartache. Rules and standards are not there to keep you from enjoying life, but they are there to protect you from eventual heartache so that you can enjoy life. You need someone to tell you that you can or cannot do something. This is what keeps you from destroying your life.

Fourth, an immoral mindset is the result of no king. In chapter 19:1, the mindset of the people was very immoral. There was no restraint to their immorality. If you don’t have someone who can tell you what you can and cannot do, then you will eventually find yourself living an immoral life. Someone has to tell you not to look at certain things or go to certain places. Immorality always begins when people break down the guards that authorities have set up in their lives.

You need an authority in your life to tell you what you can and cannot do. Of course the Word of God is the final authority, but God’s Word needs an authority who will make sure people follow their guidelines. Let me encourage you to place an authority in your life who will use God’s Word as their guideline for truth, and then submit yourself to them. If you have no king, then you will know heartache.

Psalm 105:19
“Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.”

God made a statement about Joseph that if he had known it may have encouraged him and lessened the heartache while he endured his trials; however, he didn’t know about this statement and still came out and fulfilled his purpose in life. God says, “Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.” Everything that Joseph endured was a test until the time came. He didn’t know when that time would come, so he needed to do right every time because that may have been the time. He did do right, and the LORD used him to deliver Israel during the time of famine.

You will never know when your time will come, and that is why you need to be sure to do right all the time. Everyone is going to face hardships in life, but those hardships are there to test and see how you will perform when the time comes. That is the purpose of hard times. Hard times are preparation times for when the time comes for you to fulfill your purpose in being created.

Several years ago when I was learning how to fly, my instructor had me practice several different maneuvers to help me learn what to do when the time came that I needed to perform them. Little did I know that I would need those maneuvers one day when my plane stalled out. Likewise, you don’t know when your time will come, so you need to do right through hard times until your time comes.

Moreover, your time is a time of testing to see what you will do under pressure. God says that Joseph’s trials “tried him.” Your trials are there to prove to God that you can face the pressures of what you were created to do, but they are also there to prove to you that you can do what you were created to do when that time comes.

Furthermore, you are not alone during your time of testing. The verse above says, “…the word of the LORD tried him.” Notice, if God’s Word is there, then God was there. God is not going to allow you to go through your time of testing alone. Your trials may be hard to take, but God is there to help you. He will not allow you to go through your testing without His presence to support you.

Above that, others are depending upon you to make it. It says in verse 17, “He sent a man before them…” There was a whole nation depending upon Joseph coming through his time of testing. Friend, you don’t know who is depending upon you, but there is a group of people who need you to make it through your hard times. They don’t know who they are and you don’t know who they are, but God knows who they are and they need you to make it through your trials.

Until your time comes, keep going and do right! Only God truly knows when that time will come, so you must keep going even when you feel like your trials are worthless. Let me remind you that if you quit, there is a group of people who you will not know until the Judgment Seat who will not make it because you quit. God made you for a specific purpose, and He is going to test you to help you perform that purpose better. Until the time comes for you to fulfill that purpose, everything you face is a test. Whatever you do, do right and keep going. You will be glad you did when your time comes.

Judges 9:9
“But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?”

Israel was at an unstable time in their history. Abimelech violently took the throne of Israel by killing all of his brethren but one. The one brother, Jotham, after hearing of his brethren who were slain, went to the top of a hill and in an allegorical speech show Israel their foolishness in following Abimelech. Inside of this allegory is a hidden truth that can be applied to many areas of your life.

He spoke about a forest that wanted a king. The trees went to three different trees to ask them to become king, but in each instance the trees responded by saying their job was more important than having a title to become king. Yet, when the trees went to the bramble, a thorn bush, and asked it to become king, it quickly took the position. It is very interesting that the olive tree, the fig tree and the vine each understood the importance of what God made them to do, and to them that was the most important job. Yet, the bramble, a result of sin, was quick to leave its work to take a higher position. These stories carry an important principle that every Christian needs to apply in every area of their lives.

First, your job is important to God. Notice that the olive tree knew that his fruit honored “God and man.” Whatever you do for the LORD is important to God. You must understand that every time you perform the task God has given you to do that you are honoring God. Your task may seem unimportant in the whole scope of a project, but every job is important to God.

Second, you should see your job as important. The olive tree understood the importance of doing everything first class. Never give a second-rate effort when doing something for God. You must always perform your task with excellence. Always remember that the enemy of excellence is best. The mentality that you did your best must not be accepted if you want God to be honored. You must take the mentality that nothing short of excellence is acceptable when doing something for God. God is a God of excellence, and He will help you to perform excellence if you will ask Him for His help.

Third, don’t leave your task for the inferior. Being the king of the forest didn’t mean much to the olive tree, because its position was the highest position. Understanding the role of what God has called you to do is vital to being all that God wants you to be. If God called you to do something and something of higher position comes your way that is not what God wants you to do. In that case, the higher position is actually a lower position for you. The highest position you can achieve is doing exactly what God wants you to do. Don’t leave what you are supposed to do for the inferior. There are things that may not be bad in and of themselves, but if they sidetrack you from what God has called you to do, then they become bad because they take you away from what you were made to do. Always remember the task God’s called you to do is the highest calling you can do even if it is not the highest position of authority.

Friend, let this devotional compel you to do your job with excellence. Never settle for anything less than what God wants you to do. Remember that God made you for a specific task, and that you are honoring God as long as you are doing that task and doing it with excellence.

2 Timothy 1:3
“I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;”

Paul makes a bold statement about his prayer life when he says, “…without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;” Paul wanted to be an encouragement to Timothy, and he chose to be an encouragement to him by reminding him that he was remembered in his prayers. I’m sure this was a great encouragement for Timothy because Paul was his mentor in the ministry.

To pray without ceasing does not mean that Paul was praying twenty-four hours a day for Timothy; rather, he was saying that anytime he was reminded of Timothy he prayed for him. It was a prayer life that Paul used to be an encouragement to others. The key word that Paul used in this verse is “remembrance.” Paul set up reminders to help him to remember to pray for Timothy. You are also going to have to set up reminders to pray for others if you want to encourage and be a help to others through prayer. Let me give you some suggestions that will help you to have remembering prayers.

First, have a list where you have the names of others listed for whom you wish to pray. You will find that if you don’t have a list, then you will often forget to pray for others. Sadly, the only time we remember to pray for others is when we see them. It is not an intentional act on our behalf to do this, but we simply forget to pray for them because they are not on our minds. If you are going to remember others in prayer, then you need a list you follow and with the names of others on it.

Second, have a set time to pray for others. You will notice that Paul said he prayed for Timothy “night and day.” This means that he had a set time daily when he prayed. If you don’t have a set time to pray, then you will find it hard to pray for others. In my personal prayer life, I have found it hard to pray for everyone each day. To accommodate my desire to pray for everyone, I have set days when I pray for certain groups of people. If you put people into categories, then you can pray for certain categories on certain days so that you can pray for everyone each week.

Third, have a “without ceasing” prayer life by letting reminders of people cause you to pray for them. Certain things will cause you to remember people. It may be a car that reminds you of person or a face of a person who reminds you of another person. Whenever God allows something to remind you of others, then stop and pray for them at that moment. God has reminded you of that person at that moment because they need your prayers at that time. Let reminders help you to have remembering prayers.

Finally, use your prayer life to be an encouragement to others. Paul let Timothy know that he had prayed for him. I believe you could be an encouragement to others by letting them know that you are praying for them. A simple note or text message can be very encouraging to others. I have heard people say to me over and over again that they received a text that I was praying for them at a very needed time. Let your remembering prayers be encouraging prayers.

Your prayer life can be enhanced greatly with these suggestions. Take them and implement them in your life. It will not only help your personal prayer life, but it will also help your prayer life to be an encouragement to others.

Judges 2:12
“And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.”

You will only succeed in the Christian life by faith. Faith is what activates every promise in the Word of God. You will find that the only time someone fails in the Christian life is when they stop living by faith and start walking by sight.

Israel stopped walking by faith towards the end of Joshua’s life. The great battles they won somehow caused them to take their eyes off God and begin to walk by sight. Their faithless life acquired sequential faults that eventually led to bondage and judgment. There were five faults of their faithlessness that you must be aware of so that you don’t take the same sequential steps as they did.

The first fault of their faithless journey was that they took their eyes off God. In Judges 1:1 they said, “Who shall go up for us…?” This was a foolish question because they knew that God would go before them if they would continue to live by faith. You must never forget the life of faith requires you to keep your eyes on God. The answer of who will go up for you should always be God. You are always better off trusting God for He will never fail.

The second fault of their faithless journey was they depended on man. In the same verse, they were looking at which man would go up with them. Let me remind you that man will never be able to help you win the battles of life. Don’t look to man for your direction in the Christian life; instead, always look to God. Man will not be there for you when the battles come, but God is faithful to help when everyone forsakes you.

The third fault of their faithless journey was they lost their drive. They stopped driving out the heathen, which was a step backwards instead of forwards. You will always find it hard to keep your motivation and drive for God when you stop living the life of faith. Faith always keeps the drive alive.

The fourth fault of their faithless journey was an overconfidence in their own ability. They thought they could keep their enemies under “tribute.” God told them to destroy their enemies, not to control them. The faithless life always thinks they can control their sin, which is foolish and fateful. It doesn’t matter how strong you think you are, you will never be able to control sin.

The fifth fault of their faithless journey was they made a league with the world. The last step before one is destroyed is to start justifying the world’s influences in their life. Worldliness should have no part in the Christian’s life. An agreement with the world puts you at odds with God. You must never allow worldliness to have any part in your life.

The final fault of their faithless journey was forsaking God. How sad to find them forsaking God, the very God Who delivered them from the world. Friend, you cannot take this faithless journey without ending up forsaking your God. If you want to continue living for God, then you must choose to daily live by faith because the life of faith is the only life that will keep you close to God. I beg you to never take the journey of a faithless life, for it will only lead to your eventual destruction.

1 Timothy 3:1
“This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.”

There used to be a day when homes and churches made an emphasis for young men to grow up and desire serving the LORD in the ministry. The programs of youth departments were geared towards sending young people off to become full-time servants of the LORD. Parents would often make it clear to their children that they wanted them to become full-time servants. Pastors would make calls for full-time service in their services. The result was that many young people surrendered to serve the LORD full-time, went off to get training and eventually became full-time servants of God.

Times have changed! Parents are now discouraging their children from serving the LORD full-time. Youth departments are praising the youth who go into secular work more than they lift up the call of God on one’s life. Pastors have reworded the call of God upon ones life so much that youth don’t know that God accepts volunteers. The result is that we are coming to a point where we don’t have enough men to fill our pulpits, and churches are struggling to find people who can be hired to fill their staff positions.

God says, “…If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” The key word in this verse is “desire.” God did not say that if a man is called to the office of a bishop, but if a man “desire the office of a bishop.” God is making it clear that He accepts volunteers in His service. In fact, Romans 12:1 clearly shows that God is looking for volunteers to serve Him full-time. If a nation is ever going to be saved, then we need to create an atmosphere where people desire to serve the LORD full-time. Let me show you a couple of things you can do to create that atmosphere.

First, encourage youth to serve the LORD full-time. The greatest thing one can do in life is serve the LORD full-time. Be careful that you don’t belittle those who have volunteered to serve the LORD full-time. Parents need to encourage their children to serve the LORD full-time. One of the greatest desires anyone can have is to serve the LORD full-time.

Second, create an atmosphere where youth can qualify to serve the LORD full-time. 1 Timothy 3 gives the qualifications for someone to be a pastor. Make sure your home is such that your children can grow up where these qualifications are a way of life. When someone is already living these requirements, then answering the call of God or volunteering becomes a natural step for the youth.

Third, pray that your children will serve the LORD full-time. Pray that God would place the desire in the heart of your children to serve Him full-time. You can create the atmosphere in your home where youth see the greatness of serving the LORD full-time, but only God can place that desire in their heart.

Are you encouraging or discouraging your children’s desire to serve the LORD full-time? Remember that your children are not your’s, but God’s. When they express the desire to serve the LORD full-time, praise them for that desire and be sure to live your life in such a way that you would not lead your children to live a life that would disqualify them from serving God full-time.

Joshua 24:15
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

The best family is the family that serves the LORD together. The strongest family is the family the serves the LORD. The closest family is the family that serves the LORD. The common denominator for an enjoyable and close family life is making the LORD the centerpiece of all that you do.

When Joshua presented the choice for Israel to serve the LORD or to serve the gods of the Amorites, he made it very clear what he and his family were going to do. It was not a business meeting to decide what they were going to do, but it was a declaration to those around him and his family that they were going to serve the LORD together.

When it comes to your family, you must not give them options about what life you are going to live. Joshua said, “…as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” He made it clear what they were going to do. He didn’t leave any doubt what they were going to do as a family. If you want your family to be happy and serve the LORD, then you must make it clear to all that serving the LORD is the life you are going to live. If you waffle on whether or not you are going to serve the LORD, then your children will make that decision for you. Every father must make it clear to his wife and children that their home is going to be a home that serves the LORD.

Moreover, you must make it clear that you are serving the LORD together. One of the mistakes I see in our homes is that the parents serve the LORD, but they leave the children at home. Make it a family affair to serve the LORD. It can’t be the parents sending the children to serve the LORD while they sit at home, nor can it be the children sitting at home while the parents serve the LORD. It must be something that is done together.

Furthermore, you must make it clear on a daily basis that you are going to serve the LORD. I have found that one of the best ways to make this happen is to make sure everyone has spent time reading the Scriptures. Don’t be afraid to ask your spouse and children if they have read the Scriptures that day. Serving the LORD is a daily choice. All it takes is for one day of not serving the LORD before it becomes a lifestyle.

Finally, make your direction clear to everyone that you are serving the LORD. Joshua didn’t make this declaration in private, but he made this declaration known to all. It was a clear directional choice what they were going to do. When you see something that you should not do, then remind your family that you are a Christian family and that Christians don’t do those types of things. Your family needs to understand that serving the LORD isn’t just a passing fad that you are going to do today, but they need to understand that this is what you are going to do for the remainder of your lives.

Friend, have you made the declaration to serve the LORD today and for the rest of your life? It must be clear to all that you are going to serve Him. There can be no other option but serving the LORD. I challenge you today to make serving the LORD your choice for today and forever.