Category: Strength for Today

Isaiah 66:3-4
“He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.”

Every year when I was in high school, we had a party right before Christmas break. We brought sweets prepared by our parents, but we also played games. With one of the games we played, every student would take a number from one to whatever. All the gifts would be placed on a table, and if you were the one who had been given the number “one,” then you were the first person to choose from the array of wrapped gifts. Every person afterwards would choose a gift, and if they didn’t like their gift, then they would trade it with another gift someone else had already opened. The person who chose first had the opportunity at the end to look around and trade for the gift of their choice if they didn’t like their gift. That was the benefit of picking first.

Sin is not like this at all. You can pick what sin you want to commit, but you cannot pick the punishment that comes with it. Sin is not a gag gift. If you don’t like what your sin brought you, you cannot trade it with someone else and choose your desired punishment. Certainly, there is an array of sin that is wrapped in nice wrapping paper, but once you choose it, you are stuck with it.

God said about Israel, “Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.” Israel got to choose their sin, and they even enjoyed their sin. Yes, there is pleasure in sin, but the end of the story did not stop with this verse. God continued by saying, “I also will choose their delusions…” Notice, Israel chose their sin, but God chose the punishment. Israel got what they wanted, but God chose the result of their sin. Just like the gag gift on the table, Israel saw their sin wrapped in pretty paper. In fact, they opened it and enjoyed it for a time, but the enjoyment ended when God traded their delight for punishment.

Christian, I could write everyday about the punishment of sin, but for some reason we tend to think that the warning is for someone else. When we face the choice of sin, we often lie to ourselves and think that we will never have to suffer the consequences of sin as others have. Sin has a way of fooling us, but we must always keep in mind that sin is not a gag gift that we can switch with someone else if we don’t like what was inside of its wrapping paper.

Always keep in mind that sin may have pretty wrapping paper, and you can make your choice of sin, but you will never be able to choose the results of your sin. Please, let this devotional be a warning to stay away from sin. Look around and see all the people who have chosen sin, but also look at what it brought. Your sin may be enjoyable now, but you will face its consequences soon. Let this warning move you to repentance towards God and removing the sin from your life. It is only when you repent that you have a chance for God to give mercy. Remember, you can choose your sin, but you can’t choose your punishment.

John 13:34
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

Jesus had just finished the Last Supper with the disciples. He knew what was about ready to happen. He knew that Judas would betray Him. He knew that Peter would deny Him. He also knew that the rest of the disciples would struggle with Peter’s denial, so He wanted to make sure they learned to love as He did. He commanded the disciples to love as He loved so that those who hurt Him would not be pushed aside; rather, they would be given another opportunity to either get saved or to be accepted by other Christians.

It seems one of the most difficult things for Christians is to continue to love people when they have either hurt us or someone we loved. Christians are quick to cast someone aside who has fallen in sin, when Jesus still loves them and wants to love them back to usefulness. There are several lessons being taught when Jesus said that He wanted us to love one another “as I have loved you.”

First, Jesus is saying that He wanted us to love others for Him. In other words, be the physical replacement of Jesus to others. Certainly, Jesus loves the world, but the world doesn’t live by faith, they live by sight, so they need to see someone love them like Jesus does. That is where you come into place. Jesus wants you to be that person who loves people for Him.

Second, Jesus is teaching not to make your love performance based. Jesus doesn’t love us based on our performance; rather, He loves us because He chooses to love us. You must be careful that your love is not based on someone’s performance. In other words, don’t love someone because of what they can do for you. The love of Christ will cause you to love others when they can’t do anything for you.

Third, Jesus is teaching that we should love others into a new creature. In other words, love people to where you want them to grow. Jesus loves us from where we are to where He wants us to be. Likewise, you should love people from where they are. If you wait to love someone till they are what they should be, then you will never love them. Not only should your love not be performance based, but it should not be position based either. A godly love will love people no matter where they are or what they are doing. It doesn’t mean we are approving of their sin or where they are spiritually, but they still need to be loved. This type of love is what moves people to change their lives.

Fourth, Jesus is teaching to love people by laying your life aside. The love of Jesus caused Him to give His life for the world; likewise, if you are going to love like Jesus then you must be willing to set your life aside to help people. Love is not always convenient. There are times when you are going to have to stop what you are doing to help someone in their time of need. If you only love when it is convenient to love, then you will never love. Love is inconvenient, and it will call upon you at times to cause you to have to stop what you are doing to help others.

Do you love others as Jesus? It is the love of Jesus that changes lives. You will never influence others or see people grow in the LORD until you start loving as Jesus loves.

Isaiah 57:10
“Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.”

Several years ago when I was still in high school, I worked at a paper factory after school and during the summer. On Friday afternoon before we clocked out, a few of the men would talk about what they were going to do during the weekend. They would often say, “We are going to get smashed this weekend.” They would then ask me what I was going to do, as if my Christian lifestyle was inferior to theirs. I responded that I would spend my weekend nights with my family and the daytime trying to reach people for Jesus Christ.

Monday morning would come and they would talk about their “great” weekend. They then turned to me and asked me about mine. I told them what I did on Friday night and how I woke on up Saturday morning knowing everything I had done the previous night. I then asked them, “How about you?” I then told them how I served the LORD all day Saturday and woke up on Sunday morning and didn’t have to hug one toilet or experience a hangover from a night of drunkenness. I asked them again, “How about you?” I knew that my lifestyle was not inferior to theirs, and that their lifestyle would eventually become wearisome.

God made an observation about Isreal’s sinful lifestyle when He says, “Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way…” Israel initially thought their sinful ways were great, but they eventually became weary with those ways. They had served their idols, lived their wicked lifestyles and forsaken the God Who delivered them from Egypt, and yet they were not happy. Their sinful ways had become wearisome. They found out that their sinful lifestyle was not that great.

Sin always leaves a person wearied with life. Sin promises the world, but it takes life from you. Sin promises a great future, but it only delivers a future of toil and heartache. If sin is so great, then why don’t they advertise skid row? The only thing that sin does is add sorrow and to weary one’s life.

It’s amazing how serving God has never put someone on skid row. There is no regret in the good of serving God. There is no baggage that one must carry for the rest of their life because of serving God. No, serving God does not weary one’s life, but if anything it gives energy to one’s life.

Christian, don’t let the world intimidate you with their lifestyle. Teenager, stop letting the world’s enticement lure you away from serving God. The world can only show you the beginning of sin, but it can never advertise its end result. They can show you the party life and the smiling faces while committing sin, but they never show you the turmoil and heartache that comes from that night or life of sin.

Don’t let the good of your life become wearisome because of the world’s advertising of sin. Always remember that there is more to life than the present. There is a tomorrow, and you will live with the regrets or blessings from the decisions you make today. Keep serving the LORD, and keep in mind that sin eventually becomes wearisome.

John 4:29
“Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?”

Every child understands what show and tell means. When you were in elementary school, one of the projects you were required to do was show and tell. You were to bring something in and show it to the class, and then tell them about that object. Most of the time this project was something that most students enjoyed.

The Scriptures are filled with illustrations of show and tell. The greatest thing about show and tell is that you can’t deny what the person is talking about because they are seeing it with their own eyes. There is no doubt that the most powerful way to get the Gospel out is through show and tell.

It was a lady whom Jesus met at Jacob’s well who realized her need of the Saviour. When Jesus told her to go get her husband, she replied that she had no husband, to which Jesus revealed that the man she was living with was not her husband either. It was this convicting statement that caused this woman to go to the city and tell the people, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did…” She was essentially showing and telling the people about Christ.

After Philip surrendered to the call of “follow me,” he went to Nathanael to tell him of Jesus. When Nathanael asked from whence Jesus came, Philip told him that he came from Nazareth. Nathanael had a hard time believing that anything good could come from Nazareth because of its reputation. So Philip said, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) Philip simply answered, “Come and see.” It was the power of a show and tell session that caused Nathanael to believe that Jesus was as good as Philip said.

The angel of God used a show and tell session to help the ladies who came to visit the grave where the body of Jesus was laid. They didn’t believe that Jesus had risen from the grave, so the angel said in Matthew 28:6, “…Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” When they saw that the grave was empty, they immediately ran and told the disciples that Jesus was alive.

We could tell many more stories about the power of show and tell. Many people have come to Christ because someone showed and told. The greatest weapon you have in telling others about Jesus Christ is show and tell. People cannot argue with what Jesus has done in the life of another. When people don’t believe the Scriptures, they can’t argue when someones shows and tells them about a life that used to be ruined in sin that was changed because of the power of Jesus Christ.

The greatest way to get people to come to your church is through show and tell. Go show people there is a church in town that continually helps people, and tell them they need to come and see this great work. You may think that it won’t work, but until you try it you will never know. Many people have come to church and gotten saved because someone showed and told.

The most powerful witnessing tool you have is show and tell. All you have to do is simply tell people, “Come, see a man…” Once they see the goodness of Jesus Christ, it will be hard for them to reject Him. I challenge you today to have a show and tell session with someone whose path you come across.

Isaiah 40:9
“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!”

The greatness of God is something we all must be reminded of on a regular basis. It is so easy for man to get His eyes off God so we must be careful as to not allow anything to pull us away from Whom we are serving. God reminded Isaiah of His greatness and then said, “Behold your God!”

Let me remind you to “Behold your God!” Behold the power of your God. Verse 10 says, “Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand…” God says in Isaiah 59:1, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save…” The power of God’s hand is what parted the seas, defeated the giants and delivered from the enemy. Don’t ever lose sight that you serve a very powerful God Whose hand can help you with anything you face.

Moreover, behold the knowledge of your God. We are reminded in verse 14, “With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?” Don’t lose sight of the fact that God has the wisdom to help you with whatever you face today. You may not have the knowledge or wisdom, but you serve a God Who can give you the wisdom needed for every task.

Furthermore, behold the presence of your God. God reminds us in verse 15, “Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” You may feel lonely, but behold the presence of your God. You may feel that you are the only one standing, but behold the presence of your God. No matter where you are, you are not alone for God is with you.

With this in mind, be careful not to take your eyes off God. Why would you want to place your eyes on anything or anyone else other than God when you have a God this great? The greatness of God should motivate you to keep your eyes on Him. Don’t look to man, for he will disappoint you. Every Christian must purposely keep their eyes on God. Be careful that money, position, possessions or people do not pull your attention away from the God Who is so great. Every problem you face in life is when you allow your attention to be pulled away from God.

Furthermore, with this in mind, be sure to tell the world of God’s greatness. If God is such a great God, then why would you think it bothersome to tell others of His greatness? The world is constantly on the search for the answers of life, and you have that answer in God. Tell the world of the greatness of God for it is your responsibility to do so.

Let this devotional be a friendly reminder to regularly take time to behold your God. Let it remind you to keep your eyes on Him. If you will continually take time to behold your God, you will find out that the things this world offers will not pull you away from the things you are supposed to be doing.

Luke 15:12
“And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.”

The parable of the Prodigal Son has several lessons which it can teach. Every time this story is read, it should break the heart of the reader because of the potential that was wasted. It is always tragic when potential is wasted because of foolish actions. I find there are five lessons in this parable that teach how potential is wasted.

First, using relationships for personal gain will waste one’s potential. This younger son said to his father, “…give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.” This younger son cared less about giving to his relationship with his father or brother; instead, he used relationships for personal gain. When you make every relationship about what you gain from them, then you will start wasting your potential. Relationships should never be about what you can get from them, but what you can give to them. When a young man or woman uses a relationship to gain personal pleasure, they will ruin the potential they could have gained from staying pure. When married couples make their relationship about personal gain, they waste the time to build a meaningful relationship. When one uses friendships for personal gain, they waste the potential of meaningful relationships and become known as one who uses people for personal gain.

Second, being unappreciative of previous generations contributions will waste one’s potential. The younger son didn’t care about the contributions his father made to give him what he had, but all he wanted was what belonged to him. Don’t waste your potential by not giving credit to the contributions of the previous generations. Don’t tear down the previous generation’s contributions in order to build your own legacy. Tearing down others to build your own legacy will quickly destroy your potential.

Third, desiring unearned honor will waste one’s potential. The younger son wanted the honor his dad earned without earning it himself. You must always keep the mentality that your honor will come one day after you spent years earning it. You don’t gain honor because you think you deserve it, but you gain honor by earning it.

Fourth, being careless with money will waste one’s potential. This younger son used money as if it would always be there only to find out that it will run out. You will waste your potential if you are not careful with how you spend your money. Always remember that one dollar spent here and there eventually adds up. Be frugal and spend money wisely.

Fifth, not budgeting his life wasted his potential. This younger son spent his whole life and never took into consideration there was a tomorrow. Budget your life. Always remember that what you spend in your life today will cause you not to be able to use it tomorrow. So, spend the life you have wisely so that you always have something to do in life tomorrow. Take the mentality that you will save some experiences in life for when you are older. If you spend your life today experiencing tomorrow’s experiences, then you will have no enjoyment for today.

Everyone has potential, but if they waste it they will find their lives in ruin. Let these five areas be lessons for you to learn how not to ruin the potential God has given you.

Isaiah 36:21
“But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.”

Hezekiah was facing pressure from the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria criticized and mocked Israel and their ability to defend themselves. Yet, when Hezekiah addressed the people, he commanded them not to answer the mocking and criticisms. He told his people not to dignify these people with a response. He understood that God would come through. He understood that they would be vindicated for doing right. He understood that time always reveals who is right.

If you do right and serve the LORD, you will oftentimes find yourself facing criticism and mocking from those who do not like what you are doing. It is easy to want to quickly respond, but Hezekiah was right in not dignifying the king of Assyria, and you would also be right not to give an answer. When you experience criticism and mocking, there are several things you should do.

First, don’t dignify with an answer, and continue doing right. Those criticizing you would love for you to stop what you are doing to take the time to answer their criticism. I have always learned that you never win when you answer criticism because the critic has already made up their mind. When people mock what you do or how you do it, just keep doing what you are supposed to do. Don’t dignify their actions by responding. When you respond, you are saying that there is credibility in what they are saying. You must continue to do what you are supposed to do and not dignify them with a response.

Second, don’t dignify with an answer, instead go to God. Hezekiah responded by going to the One Who had the power to turn the mocking and criticism into good. When you dignify your critics with a response, you are not giving God the opportunity to reveal their foolishness. We oftentimes want God to do something right now, but if you will learn to wait on God, He will show that you are right. Going to God is always the best response to mocking and criticism.

Third, don’t dignify with an answer, and let time vindicate you. You just keep doing what you are supposed to do and you will find that time always reveals who is right. Time has shown the foolishness of many critics. Time has squelched many rumors. Time has revealed the agenda of those who mock. Though you may not like to wait, you must. You must let time do her work, for when you wait on the LORD, then He will reveal in time if you are right.

Let me encourage you to not dignify with an answer those who are criticizing and mocking. Just keep doing right and you will find that, in the end, you will be the one who is vindicated. Don’t change what you are doing, but keep doing right. The pressure of criticism and mocking may be great, but God can give you the strength to endure it and come out on the right side.

Luke 10:41
“And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:”

The phone call came, and my mother would answer it only to get off the phone and start giving orders to my siblings and I. Someone was on their way to the house and we had to make sure the house was in order. Though my mother kept a clean house, she was like most ladies who always think their house is never clean, and she wanted her house to look good for the company when they arrived.

Though Martha did not receive a phone call, she did receive word that Jesus was coming to her house. She immediately began to clean the living room and make sure the house was in order for the Saviour when He came. After cleaning the house, she started the meal that she was preparing for the Saviour. Yet, when Jesus came to the house, Mary wouldn’t help her with the kitchen duties; instead, she sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to His every word. When Martha had enough of her sister not helping, she tried to employ the Saviour to get her sister into the kitchen. To her surprise Jesus responded, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:” Jesus wanted her to understand that she was so concerned about things that she truly had no control over and that Mary was focusing on the One Who could help her with life.

Many Christians are like Mary and are troubled with the unnecessary things of life. What is interesting is that when you get troubled with the unnecessary things of life, you will also become agitated with others action or inaction, whichever you perceive. Too many Christians are troubled about the peripheral when they need to be concerned with the spiritual. There is certainly a place for Martha’s concerns, but our main concern should be the things of Christ.

Do you find yourself agitated with many people? Look at what you’re concerned with and see if you are troubled with the unnecessary. This world has a way of getting us off focus. It has a way of getting us to focus on ourselves and the affairs of the world, which only results in becoming troubled with the unnecessary and agitated with others.

The first thing you should consider from this story is the importance of spending time with Jesus. If you don’t have a daily time sitting at the feet of Jesus and gleaning from His Word every day, then you are going to find yourself becoming agitated with people throughout the day. The Word of God and prayer have a way of getting our focus off ourselves and onto the matters that are important to Christ.

Furthermore, stop worrying about the unnecessary things that quickly pass away. I’m not lessening the importance of doing your best in everything you do, but I’m wanting you to realize that many of the things we become agitated over are things that quickly pass away. Keeping your focus upon the eternal will keep you from damaging relationships with the unnecessary affairs of life.

Are you troubled with the unnecessary? Are you like Martha who was so troubled about the unnecessary that she forgot to enjoy the presence of Jesus? Don’t miss the greatest opportunity you have in life of spending time with Jesus because you are troubled with the unnecessary.

Isaiah 16:5
“And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.”

In the verse above, Israel was under the rule of Moab. God addressed the king of Moab and gave him several options as to how to reign and establish his throne. The most favorable way to rule his throne was to follow God’s instruction for establishing the throne. There are several things that God expected of this ruler, and the things God expected of him He expects from every person who leads.

First, God expects the leader to establish his throne in mercy. Years ago, I had a preacher make a statement to me that influenced how I conduct my ministry. He said that when you preach from the pulpit you should make sin sound as ugly as you can. When you preach from the pulpit, you cannot be afraid to call out sin. But, he said when you leave the pulpit be kind and courteous to those to whom you preach and allow the Holy Spirit to convict their hearts. This is what God is saying by establishing the throne in mercy. A leader cannot be going around constantly picking their followers apart. Every leader needs to exercise mercy.

There are leaders who seem to have no mercy which results in an unstable business, church home or ministry. I’ve heard leaders say, “I’m slow to hire, but quick to fire.” This is not a strong way to lead. Where is mercy? How can the follower grow if they perform with the fear that they will be quickly released if they make a mistake? Certainly, the follower needs to know that they can be released, but a good leader will be more apt to teach through failure than release through failure. Followers will fail, and the good leader will be merciful during the failure so they can teach them how to do things right.

Second, God expects the leader to rule by judgment. In other words, a good leader will have definite guidelines. There have to be rules set into place for the followers to follow. Most misunderstandings happen because there were no clear guidelines. Everything has to be black and white or right and wrong. There can be no gray areas, because the gray areas are where misunderstandings happen. A good leader will clearly define their expectations for those whom they lead.

Third, God expects the leader to be knowledgeable in righteousness. The word “hasting” means to be skillful. A good leader knows how to do right. In other words, a good leader knows the direction they are going. They are not experimenting with what to do, but they know what to do and they lead their people to do what they know is right. Weak leaders are always experimenting about which way to go. Friend, if something worked before, then do it again. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel and do what you know has worked in the past.

These expectations God has for leaders will help any leader to lead their people in the right direction. A leader’s job is to grow the follower into a leader. These instructions on leadership will turn out great followers and create a stable environment, but it will also train followers to become leaders themselves.