Category: Strength for Today

Luke 6:23
“Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.”

If you choose to stand for right, you will have to be ready to become a very disliked person. You would think that standing for truth would cause you to be liked, but oftentimes those who stand for right are the outcasts. People enjoy their sin, will fight or attack anyone who tries to take that enjoyment away at all costs.

When you look throughout the Scriptures and history, you will find that those who stood for truth were hated by many. John the Baptist stood against the ruler of his day, and he lost his life. Stephen preached against the sins of the day, and they stoned him to death. Jeremiah prophesied the truth to the ruler, and he was thrown into prison. The three Hebrew children stood for right and were thrown into the fiery furnace. Daniel stood for right and was cast into the lion’s den. This list could go on for pages. Jesus says in verses 22-23, that three things will happen when you stand for truth.

First, you will be lonely when you do right. God says that people will literally separate from you. It is always amazing that those who stand for truth are the ones who are considered the divisive ones, but it’s interesting that they are always standing where they always stood. The ones who are divisive are the ones who separated from those who stood for truth. If you choose to do what is right and stand for truth, then you must be willing to be lonely at times because people will stop associating with you. You won’t be the most popular person in your world; instead, you will be the one who is treated as if you have a disease.

Second, people will lie about you when you do right. Jesus said that people will “reproach” you when you do right. I know this devotional doesn’t seem encouraging, but it is reality. You will hear people say things about you that are absolutely false, but you must not allow their lies to cause you to stand down. You must continue to trumpet and stand for truth so that their lies come to nought.

Third, you will be hated when you do right. Jesus says that not only will you be hated, but your name will also be considered evil. They will paint you as the bad guy. Though you did right, you are the one who will be considered wrong. Jeremiah exposed the false prophets, but society hated him and called him the false prophet. Elijah exposed the false prophets of his day, but he was the one who had a contract placed on his life and whose name was considered evil. This is all a part of standing for right.

However, when these things happen, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, God says to “rejoice…in that day,” because your “reward is great in heaven.” If you will continue to do right, there is coming a day when you will be proved right. Don’t let the venom of those who cast you out discourage you. It may be unpleasant to endure these things, but eventually truth always wins. Don’t despair and give up; instead, rejoice that you have a reward coming with the prophets before you. You are in good company. Time always reveals who is right. If you are going to keep on going, then you must believe in a judgment seat where you will be rewarded for doing right.

Psalm 42:3
“My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?”

Palestine was a country where aqueducts had to be built so each town could get water. Oftentimes, they would use big rocks that were bored into the ground to build these aqueducts so that water could get to these towns. On rare occasions, they would have to cut through mountains or boulders just to get water for people to drink.

The hart, or male deer, after running from its enemy or walking in a hot day, would begin to pant because of a need for water. The water for the hart was not just to quench the thirst of the dry tongue, but it was also to quench the thirst of its body so that it could cool down from the heat.

The Psalmist uses this analogy as he says in verse 2, “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” The Psalmist’s desire for God was like the thirst of the hart for water. It was not just a mere thirst that the Psalmist had, but a thirst of his soul that desired to be in the presence of God. This thirst for God led him to weep with tears “day and night.” He did not long for just the presence of the temple, but he longed for God to show up in that temple. He didn’t just long to hear the preaching and teaching of the prophets, but he longed for God to show up when the prophets and priests taught. The thirst led to the question above, “Where is thy God?”

How much do you long for God? Do you ask the question today, “Where is thy God?” Does your desire for God cause you to pour out your soul unto God as the Psalmist did in verse 4? Do you desire God so much that it would cause you to cast down your soul, or bend over in anguish for the desire of God’s presence? Does your soul, the innermost part of your being, truly thirst for the presence of God?

It is this desire that changes a place. It is this desire that moves the Christian to prayer. It is this desire that causes the Christian to set aside the possessions of the world just to be sure to get God’s presence on their life. This thirst for God from the soul is truly what moves the Christian to do anything possible to make sure they have God’s presence.

Friend, it is wonderful to hear great music in our churches, but did God show up? It is great to have the teaching and preaching of the Word of God, but did God show up? It is excellent to have busses running and bringing people to church, but did God show up? It was wonderful to see a church auditorium filled with people, but did God show up? It is excellent to see the Christian open the Scriptures in personal study, but did God show up?

“Where is thy God?” Have you lost that desire for God to show up? Christian, when your soul desires God, it will move you to lay aside hobbies, turn off your electronics and empty your schedule to give yourself time to pour out your soul so that God will show up.

My simple question to you today is this, does your soul thirst for God? You may be busy serving God on a daily basis, but does God show up? Don’t be satisfied just with the service of God, but only be satisfied when God shows up.

Mark 14:29
“But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.”

Great intentions don’t make something happen. There are many people who have great intentions, but they never follow through with what they intended to do. The failure to follow through with intentions oftentimes leads to low self-esteem and discouragement.

Peter had great intentions about never denying Christ. When Jesus said that everyone would forsake Him, Peter voiced his disagreement and said that though all “shall be offended, yet will not I.” As we know, he never followed through on his intentions. He failed with these intentions on many levels. His follow through didn’t match his desire intentions.

You can have the greatest intentions of everyone around you, but you can be the greatest failure if you don’t follow through with them. Following through on your intentions is accomplished on purpose. There were three things that kept Peter from following through that will also keep you from following through.

First, are you praying for God to help you to follow through? Peter was asleep when it was time to pray. Instead of spending time with God asking for strength to follow through with his intentions, you find him asleep with the rest of the disciples. You are going to need God’s help if you are going to follow through with your intentions. You should daily ask God to give you the wisdom and strength to follow through with all of your intentions.

Second, are you watching for things that will sidetrack you from your intentions? Jesus told Peter and the rest of the disciples to watch and pray. There are many things that will pull you away from your intentions and you must watch yourself that they don’t let them pull you away. Many people who started out with good intentions have found themselves failing because something pulled them away from what they originally intended to do.

Third, are you watching your associations? Peter failed because he went to the heathen’s fire to get warmth. Associations have pulled many people away from what they were supposed to do. It is not always that a person is bad, but they may pull you away from what God put into your heart to do. Don’t let your good intentions be quenched because of your associations. Spend time with people who will motivate and encourage you to follow through with your intentions.

Following through with your intentions will be done on purpose. Don’t be the Christian who always has great intentions but never follows through. If you decide to do something, then set out to do it now and don’t let anything pull you away from what God has placed on your heart.

Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.

Mark 9:31
“For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.”

The ministry of Jesus Christ was all about the Gospel. His whole purpose in coming to Earth was to make it possible for people to get saved. He came to a point in His ministry when He needed to tell the disciples about His death, burial and resurrection. It was right after Jesus explained this that He had to remove some impediments that would hinder the disciples from getting out the Gospel. Let me show you these three impediments which Jesus had to handle so the Gospel would not be hindered.

First, Jesus had to deal with their desire for position. The disciples had disputed among themselves about who would be the greatest. Jesus knew that this would hurt the church from getting the Gospel out if Christians strove to have the highest position. When you have a church where every member is trying to show how great they are, then it will keep that church from getting the Gospel to the lost.

Jesus showed how to deal with this problem by saying in verse 35, “If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” The Gospel will never be hindered when every Christian develops a servant attitude. Stop worrying about position and simply develop an attitude to serve everyone. This attitude squelches any disputings about who is the best.

The second thing Jesus had to deal with was the circle mentality. The disciples thought because someone was not following them that they were wrong. Jesus stopped this mentality by saying in verses 39-40, “Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part.” Be careful that you don’t think everyone has to do everything like you in order to be right. I’m not saying that compromise is okay, but you must be careful about developing a mentality that someone is liberal because they don’t support your meetings or go to the conferences you attend. The circle mentality runs many people off from Christianity and will keep the church from sending out the Gospel as it should.

The third thing Jesus had to deal with was to make sure His disciples kept their distinctiveness. Jesus says in verse 50, “Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.” One of the areas where you will consistently battle in the Christian life is the desire to be accepted by all. The one thing that allows the Christian to be able to reach the lost is our distinctiveness. If we are exactly like the world, then why should the world want the Gospel? Don’t lose your uniqueness by setting separation aside. The Christian who lives a separated life will keep their uniqueness.

The key to all of this is to simply keep your eyes on Christ. Every problem that develops in Christianity develops when Christians take their eyes off Christ and place them on man. The world is in great need of the Gospel. Don’t let these things become the hindrance from them hearing it.

Mark 4:35
“And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.”

Did Jesus know that a storm would come when He said, “Let us pass over unto the other side”? He absolutely knew there would be a storm. In fact, when you study this whole chapter, you will see that Jesus prepared His disciples for the storms with the sermons He preached and the illustrations He used. There were five things that Jesus tried to teach His disciples before they faced this storm to prepare them for the upcoming storm.

First, He taught them the importance of staying in the Word of God. The first parable Jesus taught was the parable of the sower. There are several lessons in this parable, but the one prevailing theme was the importance of the Word of God. Nobody will ever make it through the storms without having hid the Word of God in their heart. It is important that you daily spend time in the Scriptures so that you can face the storms that come your way.

Second, He taught them the importance of keeping a tender heart. In the parable of the sower, the only seed that was able to grow was the one that fell on good ground. Having a tender heart towards God helps you to receive instruction from His Word. Don’t ever let your heart become hardened with the affairs of this world, but let it stay tender so you can soak every truth God has for you in His Word.

Third, He taught them the importance of staying spiritually minded. One of the things that kept the Word of God from growing in their hearts were the cares of this world. When you are more interested in the world than you are the Word of God, then you will have no spiritual depth to face the upcoming storms. Keep your mind focused on Christ, and the things of the world will not keep you from getting the needed nutrients from the Word of God.

Fourth, He taught them the importance of telling others about Him. Jesus taught them in another parable about setting a candle in an open place so it could give forth its light. Soul winning has a way of helping you face the storms in life. It helps you because it has a way of motivating you to put sin away so that you can have a better testimony with those to whom you witness.

Fifth, He taught them the importance of growing their faith. The last parable Jesus taught them before facing the storm was the parable of the mustard seed. One of the best ways to grow your faith is through having an active prayer life. When you pray and see God come through, it grows your faith. If your faith is small, you will have a hard time facing the storms when they come your way.

Whether or not you like it, storms will come your way. How you apply these five things before the storms will determine how you come through the storms. Let me encourage you not to wait for the storms to start doing these things, but do them now so that you are prepared when they come. It is always better to be prepared for the storms so you can lessen their pressure upon you than to be unprepared and have to learn these lessons through the storms. Storms will come, but you can be prepared for them by letting these five things become a regular part of your daily life.

Psalm 23:1
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Throughout the Scriptures, God refers to Christians as sheep. That means that if we are sheep, then we need a shepherd. The Scriptures make it very plain that God becomes one’s shepherd when a person gets saved. Though God is your shepherd, that does not mean that you automatically get all the benefits of being His sheep. Those benefits only come from yielding to your Shepherd. Psalm 23 shows us several benefits of yielding to your Shepherd.

First, yielding to your Shepherd causes you not to lack anything you need. The verse above says that because the LORD is “my shepherd; I shall not want.” Notice, it does not say that the Shepherd makes you wealthy, but it does say that your needs will be met. As long as you yield to the LORD, you will find that He will make sure every need you have will be met. That is what God says in Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” If your needs are not met, then that is simply revealing that you are not yielding to your Shepherd.

Second, yielding to your Shepherd will give you direction in life. Verse 2 says, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.” God promises the Christian that as long as they yield to Him that He will lead them wherever they need to go. If you lack direction, it is because you are not yielding to the LORD.

Third, yielding to your Shepherd will help you to know what is right. Verse 3 says, “…he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Many people struggle with knowing what is the right thing to do. If you will simply yield to the LORD, you will find that knowing what is the right thing to do in every situation will be easy to see. God most certainly will show you the right thing to do in life if you surrender to His guiding voice.

Fourth, yielding to your Shepherd will give you comfort in times of heartache. Christian, one of the greatest things about yielding to the LORD is that when heartache comes, He will give you the comfort you need. Heartache is going to come in life, but if you are going to get the comfort you need you must yield to the LORD.

Fifth, yielding to your Shepherd will keep you safe from the enemy. Verse 5 says, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…” Notice, it does not say you won’t have enemies, but that you will be safe in the “presence of mine enemies.” You will face battles in life, but you can be safe in those battles as long as you yield to the LORD.

Yielding to your Shepherd has its benefits. If you want the goodness and mercy of the LORD to follow you all your days, then you would be wise to start every day yielding to Him. Though the world may scream to do your own thing, it is safest and most beneficial for you to simply yield to your Shepherd so that you can receive the benefits of His presence.

Matthew 17:15
“Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.”

For most of my ministry, twice a year I have preached at a boarding school for troubled young men. One of the things that is very obvious to me over the years is that people from all backgrounds have problems with troubled children. There have been young teenage boys from the wealthy as well as the poor in this school. There have been children from influential parents as well as common parents in this home. There have been children from eight years of age all the way to young men of eighteen years of age in this school. Troubled children cross all race and social barriers. Parents who deal with a troubled child are many times at their wits end as to knowing what to do with their child.

In the verse above, there was a man who had a troubled child. He said to Jesus, “Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed…” This man’s son was literally insane. This man had seen his son throw himself into fires and even into waters to drown himself. Before you condemn this father, you must realize that this verse infers that this father put his life in danger and saved his son from these situations. He had come to the end of his resources and Jesus was the only hope he had. In this story, Jesus shows us four things a parent must do when dealing with a troubled child.

First, admit your problem. This man understood that denial would not help his son. He had to admit to Jesus that his son had a problem. Certainly, no parent wants to admit that they have a troubled child. Oftentimes a parent won’t admit it because they feel it is an indictment against their parenting skills. Whether or not it is your fault is not the issue at this point, you need to stop denying your problem and admit it so you can get help.

Second, get help from your spiritual leader. This man went to Jesus to get help. Your pastor can certainly give you advice on how to deal with your child. God can give your pastor special insight that you have not thought about, and it would be very wise for you to get help from him as he will not tell others or hold this against you.

Third, have faith that God can get through the heart of your child. Jesus said that one of the reasons this man couldn’t help his son was because he was “faithless.” Don’t lose faith that your child can be helped. No matter how bad off your child may be, you need to have faith that God can get through the hardened heart and change them. When you lose faith, you lose hope. Never lose hope that your child can be reached no matter to what depths they have fallen.

Fourth, spend time fasting and praying for your child. Jesus showed the only way this situation can be changed by saying in verse 21, “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” Fasting and prayer shows God how serious you are about your child, and it will empower the parent with God’s power to influence that child. Troubled children will never be reached without fasting and prayer.

Don’t despair if your child is troubled. Take Jesus’ advice on dealing with a troubled child and follow it. Never lose hope for your child, because God can get through their heart.

Matthew 11:1
“And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.”

Whenever you find a model that works, you would be wise to follow that model. God gave us a model for the local church in the church of Jerusalem, and anybody wanting to reach their Jerusalem for Christ would be wise to follow that model. God gave us a model to world missions with the church in Antioch, and anyone wanting a solid missions program would be wise to follow the model God gave us through this church.

The Great Commission is oftentimes not fulfilled in the life of many Christians. Leading someone to Jesus Christ is one of the easier parts of the Great Commission; however, that is only one part of the Great Commission. If you are going to fully follow the Great Commission, then you must get a convert baptized and then disciple them so you can send them back out. Jesus shows us in the verse above a great model to follow in discipling Christians.

First, action without instruction causes discontent. One of the areas that causes many young Christians to become discontented with the Christian life is that they immediately want to go and reach others, which they ought to do, but oftentimes no one gives them instruction on how to do it which leads to discontentment. Many Christians have become discontented because they have not been instructed like Jesus instructed the disciples in the verse above. If a person is going to be successful as a Christian, then you must take the time to instruct them.

Second, instruction without action breeds a disgruntled Christian. God didn’t save the Christian to sit and do nothing, but He expects them to go out and give what they have learned. You can only soak up so much instruction, but eventually you need to go act upon what you have learned. If a person wanted to learn to fly a plane and all they received was instruction and never got behind the yoke of the plane, then they would become disenchanted with the instructor. Likewise, a Christian who never puts the instruction they received to use, then they will become disenchanted with their church and pastor.

Third, instruction results in confidence and action results in hunger. Both instruction and action are important to keeping a Christian growing. If you don’t receive instruction, then you will lack the confidence to act. Once you receive the confidence to act, then you will find that you will continually hunger for more because you are giving out what you have received.

Fourth, instruction with action results in solid growth. Growth will never be realized in anyone’s life without instruction followed by action. If you want those you lead to grow in the LORD, then you are going to have to take the time to instruct them in the ways of the Christian life. But, you must not stop there. You must give them avenues to put what they have learned to action so they will continue to grow. Instruction and action together are the key to helping others to grow in the LORD.

Matthew 6:16
“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”

One of the groups whom Jesus consistently exposed were the Pharisees. The Pharisees were certainly very religious people who made sure everyone saw how good they were. If you were to come across a Pharisee today, you would think of them to be a very good and moral people. They attended their services regularly, tithed of all their income and they prayed on a daily basis. They were very good people if you compared them to other men.

On the other hand, Jesus was not at all pleased with their type of worship. They were a people who only performed moral acts so that they could be seen of man. When they gave their offerings, they made sure that everyone saw how much money they put into the offering plate. When they prayed, they prayed openly so that everyone could hear their “great” prayers. When they fasted, they would fast in such a manner that everyone knew they were fasting. Jesus said about this type of worship, “They have their reward.” Their reward came from being seen of men.

Jesus desires a better type of worship from the Christian. He says in Matthew 6:1, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.” Notice that Jesus wants us to obey Him, not for the recognition of man, but for the sake of doing right. This type of service to God produces an open reward.

Moreover, whenever you serve God not to be seen of man, then God has the opportunity to receive the glory by openly rewarding you. God wants to receive the glory in all that we do; however, when we do things openly to be seen of man, then there is no way He can get the glory. You must develop a mindset to serve God for one purpose, to please Him.

Let me encourage you to stop worrying about what others think of your Christianity and do it because it is right. The Devil loves it when the Christian is always concerned with what others think about what they have done. Preachers, stop worrying about how the sermon comes across and preach to please the God. Christian, stop being concerned with whether your soul-winning presentation is good enough and just go tell others about Jesus Christ. Furthermore, stop worrying about what others think of your prayers and just pray. One of the greatest days in your Christian life will be when you stop worrying about others opinions of how good you are doing and start serving God to please Him.

You have a choice every time you do something for God. You can serve God to be seen of man, and if you do this then you already have your reward. On the other hand, you can serve God out of complete obedience without being concerned with man’s approval, and God will reward you openly. The greatest part about the latter type of service to God is that He receives the glory, will bless you openly and will also reward you when you get to Heaven. Don’t have the type of Christianity that receives the immediate reward from man, but have the type of Christianity that simply does what it’s supposed to do out of a desire to please God. This type of Christianity produces the greatest rewards that will last for an eternity.

Ecclesiastes 8:1
“Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.”

If I were trying to find someone who is wise, then I would try to determine what their habits are so I could identify them. It is asked in the verse above, “Who is as the wise man?” This rhetorical question is answered throughout this book. The reason this question was asked was to get the reader to find the answers that were already given throughout this book. As you study the Book of Ecclesiastes, you will find there are four main habits of a wise man.

First, the wise man is one who thinks before he acts. Ecclesiastes 2:14 says, “The wise man’s eyes are in his head…” The wise man does not act rashly; rather, he stops and thinks before he acts. You are never wise when you act off a whim. If you want to mimic a wise man, then you would be wise to think before you act.

Second, the wise man is one who is discerning. Ecclesiastes 8:5 says, “…a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.” One of the greatest weaknesses I find in people today is a lack of discernment. This ability to be able to show good judgment of when to do something and the ability to determine whether something is right or wrong. If you would like to be one who is different than most, then acquire the ability to discern time and judgment and you will easily rise above the average.

Third, the wise man is one who protects his heart. Ecclesiastes 10:2 says, “A wise man’s heart is at his right hand…” This is nothing more than a person being able to determine direction. Very few people protect their heart in this area. If you can acquire the ability to discern, then your discernment will help you to determine direction. Protect your heart from those whose direction is wrong.

Fourth, the wise man is one who protects their words. Ecclesiastes 10:12 says, “The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious…” The wise man understands that everything he says can be used against him. This is why he is very gracious, or calculating with what he says. He knows that whatever he says will always be remembered by someone who is listening. Instead of continuously talking, the wise man is protective with his words.

The reason I’ve written this devotional is because everyone needs to find wise people whom they let influence them. Let me encourage you to be very careful whom you allow to influence you. Only allow wise people to be those who guide and influence you. This is not to say that you should shun others, but those who influence you are those who determine where you will end up in life.

Look at those people who influence you. Do they exhibit these habits? Better yet, do you exhibit these habits? As the verse above teaches, when you become wise, then you will exhibit confidence in what you are doing. The best way to gain the confidence you need in life is to surround yourself with wise people because “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise…” (Proverbs 13:20)