Encouraging Others

Scripture:
Acts 11:22-26 (NIV)

News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

Devotional:

When was the last time you said something encouraging to someone?  When I was a freshman in high school I ran cross country.  There was a definite difference when you had someone giving support and encouragement.  You would run a little faster and farther.  When running all alone it was easier to just slack off a little.  Something that has always stuck with me over the years was something our coach would tell us.  When you are dead and feel that you cannot run any longer.  When you feel there is nothing left you still have 10% to give.  He pushed and encouraged his runners to give more, run faster, run longer.  

Who have you encouraged lately?  Who are you lifting up with encouraging words?  Who are you helping to strive a little harder and longer?  It is way too easy to tear someone apart.  In just a few words you can devastate someone for many years.  With just a few words you can help build them up for a lifetime.  You never know what you say that will stick with someone over the years.  Barnabas encouraged people to “…remain true to the Lord…” Acts 11:23.  Barnabas along with Saul remained in Antioch teaching.  Together Barnabas and Saul changed many lives.  Whose life can you change?  How many people do you either directly or indirectly effect with a little encouragement?

seek, Knock, Ask...

Scripture:
Luke 11:9-13 (NASB)

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Devotional:

Have you ever looked for those elusive car keys?  How about those pesky glasses that always disappear, usually on top of your head?  There is always something we search for that we just cannot seem to find. 

Good news, I found what you are looking for.  I am not the only one that has found it.  Some people may not even know what it is they seek after.  They just know they are searching.  What is it that each of us seeks out?  We are desperately searching for something to fill that void in our lives.  You know the one that can never seem to be filled.  Deep inside of us there are times when we feel emptiness in our lives.  No matter what we do or where we go we cannot get rid of it.  

Seek, and you shall find.  Once we realize who we are looking for all we have to do is ask.  Jesus tells us that if we seek we shall find.  It isn’t hard to find Jesus.  He is right there waiting.  All we have to do is knock and ask.  He will gladly open doors and let us in.  Jesus will fill the void in our lives.  He will fill the emptiness we have in our hearts.  All you have to do is seek and you shall find.  Ask, and it shall be given.  Knock, and the door shall open.  Are you opening your door to Jesus?  He is knocking.  Even though I have been a Christian most of my life I find I still have to let Jesus in.  I still will feel an emptiness that needs to be filled.  I still need to seek Jesus on a daily basis.  Every day I find Him all over again.  

I constantly ask for guidance.  The Holy Spirit nudges, prompts, and guides me along the way.  I ask for strength, the Holy Spirit enables me to endure and continue on.  In writing these devotionals I ask for the words to write.  The Holy Spirit fills my mind with the right words to type.  Sure there are times when my mind goes blank.  Times I can’t think of what to write.  However, eventually something comes to mind and I write.  I ask, and it is given.  I seek, and find Christ every time.  What about you?

It Is Good To Praise The Lord

Scripture:
Psalm 92 (NIV)

A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.

It is good to praise the Lord
    and make music to your name, O Most High,
proclaiming your love in the morning
    and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
    and the melody of the harp.

For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
    I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
How great are your works, Lord,
    how profound your thoughts!
Senseless people do not know,
    fools do not understand,
that though the wicked spring up like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
    they will be destroyed forever.

But you, Lord, are forever exalted.

For surely your enemies , Lord,
    surely your enemies will perish;
    all evildoers will be scattered.
You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox;
    fine oils have been poured on me.
My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
    my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
    they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
    they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him. ”

Devotional:

It is good to praise the Lord.  Why is it good to praise God?  What is the big deal?  I say a few words to Him from time to time, isn’t that enough? 

Have you ever felt that way?  When I was younger I had pictures of heaven float through my mind.  In these pictures everyone stood around shouting and singing praises to God.  That was it, nothing else.  I was horrified at the thought of doing nothing but giving someone praise for all eternity.  After all who would be that conceded that they only wanted people standing around praising them.  I thought it would be better to live in this broken world for all eternity than standing or kneeling around praising God.  I had enough after 15 minutes in church.  I couldn’t imagine thousands of days after thousands of days doing nothing but that.

Something else to think about, OK I shifted gears on you in the middle of a thought process but please bear with me.  Think of that special person you love and admire.  When you are talking about them with someone else don’t you give them praise?  You want to give your child praise when they do something really special.  After all I praise my daughter after she plays her piano and figures out a difficult song.  I praise my younger daughter for learning to ride her bike, or our youngest for learning to swing all by herself.  We offer up praise to people, places, and even things all the time.

So the question is why would we not want to praise God?  He is so much more worthy of our praise than anything else in this world.  I cannot give enough praise to Christ for all He has done for me and my family. Psalm 92:4 (NIV) “For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done.”  What more could be said.  God is worthy.  He alone is worthy of all our praise.  As my faith continues to grow I gain new insights and perceptions about God.  I now look forward to the days I can praise God in heaven.  Until then I will offer up my praise to Him here and now.  It is good to praise the Lord…

Die For A Lie...

Scripture:
Acts 12:1-4 (NASB)

Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them.  And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.  When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread.

Devotional:

How many people die for a cause?  Men and women have died fighting for their countries, friends, and families.  People today continue to die for what they believe in.  People will stand up for what they believe to be true.  They will fight and die for what they believe in, and believe to be true.  James the brother of John was killed because he believed in Christ and preached the truth about Jesus.  It is believed that all the apostles, except for John, died as martyrs.  They died for their faith.  

Some people might stand up for a something that is a lie.  No one will be tortured or willingly die for one though.  So convinced were the disciples that they lived the rest of their lives proclaiming Christ’s resurrection.  They suffered hardships and even deaths so that the truth would ring out loud and clear for all to hear.  Paul started his career hunting and killing early Christians.  So why did he become one of the greatest advocates for Christ, literally helping to change the world even today.  People do not change their lives that drastically for a lie.  But for truth, and what they believe in, we will strive to the ends of the world trying to convince others of the truth.

As my pastor put it, if you had the cure for cancer would you keep it all to yourself?  No, you would share it with anyone who has cancer.  If you knew someone was in a burning building would you simply keep walking by?  No, you would do what you could to save them.  Christ is the way, truth, and the light of this world.  He is the cure.  It is up to us to share that cure with the world…

Time With God

Scripture:
Matthew 13:19-23 (NASB)

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Devotional:

When someone is talking with you do you listen to them or is it just a pretense?  Sometimes when I am focusing on something I will hear someone speaking to me, but I will not really know what was said.  Later I will wonder what they had said.  

How many times do we listen to God in this manner?  I will comment on not being able to hear God, or know what He is saying to me.  In these cases I need to ask myself, am I really listening to God or just pretending to?  Are you really listening to God?  Is the seeds being planted being sown in good soil?  Are you instead pretending to listen and the seeds fall upon the rocky ground?  Maybe we are listening to Him but we allow the worries of this world get in the way.  Take a moment to reflect on how you listen to God.  If you are busy and let the distractions of this world get in your way pause a moment to just listen.  Start with just two or three minutes when you blank your mind and focus on God.  Be still; quiet your thoughts so that you can hear Him speaking.  Be attentive so that you can understand what is being said.  

In time your two to three minutes will naturally grow longer and longer.  At first it might be difficult and seem a chore.  But keep at it and eventually it will become second nature.  I once read that it can take over six weeks before something becomes a habit.  If you slip and forget to take your moment with God don’t fret.  Just pause then and there to be with Him.  God is waiting.  He wants to have a conversation with you.  All it takes is for you to take the time…

Clean Inside And Out

Scripture:
Matthew 23:23-31 (NASB)

“ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

“ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

“ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

Devotional:

In order to clean the inside of a cup the outside becomes wet.  As dip the cup in the dish water you automatically get soapy water on the outside.  A part of wiping out the inside is getting the outside wiped down as well.  Once inside the cup is clean the outside sparkles as well.  However, you can just wipe off the outside of the cup making it look cleaner without even touching the inside of your cup.  Placed high on the shelf for use the cup appears clean and ready.  Only when you look on the inside do you realize that it is still dirty.

Jesus is warning us not to just appear righteous on the outside.  Saying the right things and doing what appears right in the face of others.  Instead we need to focus internally.  We need to seek Christ and place Him in our hearts.  By scrubbing ourselves clean on the inside we will naturally be cleaned on the outside.  We will sparkle through and through.  A clear glass will show the dirt on the inside as well as the outside.  Only until you have cleaned it inside and out will it sparkle.  Spiritually we will sparkle if we bury deep in our hearts Christ Likeness.  By changing our hearts, thoughts, and beliefs we will cleanse what is inside us.  Then people will see our true selves.  We will not just appear holy as the Pharisees did in Jesus’ time.  We will be made righteous through and through.  Then we will truly shine bright for Christ.  We will brightly reflect His light into the world.