DEVO: Do We REALLY Believe It?

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Most Christians will agree that this scripture is the truth. Maybe a few will say "AMEN!!". Others will say "That's right". On an intellectual level and on an emotional level Christians will typically brighten up, smile, and agree with this statement.

As followers of Christ, our question should not be "Do I believe this statement is true?" The indicator of true faith is when we ask the question "How am I living this truth out in my life?" If we truly believe it, we will be using it. We will be exemplifying it by the way we live our life.

A living faith is the indicator of a true Christian. Where are you today? Do you simply agree this scripture is correct or is your life showing that you believe this scripture is correct? There is a difference-are you making it?

DEVO: Grabbing Snakes

Exodus 4:1-5 (NIV)
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

Living out God's will in our life can be scary sometimes. Sometimes God asks us to do things that we are afraid to do. As we grow in trust, respect, and love for God we are able to perform increasingly bolder tasks for Him.

In this scripture God is trying to convince Moses to go to Egypt to free the Israelites. Moses doesn't want to go. God begins to perform miracles for Moses so he would believe and trust in Him. One of the miracles God performs is that he turns Moses' staff into a snake when Moses throws it on the ground. This is one area of scripture I totally understand. When the snake appears, Moses runs away from it. I would have too. But God tells Moses to grab the snake by the tail so it will turn back into a staff. Honestly, I would be more afraid of touching the snake than I would be of going to Egypt. God would have to do some pretty good convincing in order for me to touch that snake. But Moses trustingly touches the snake and it turns back in to a staff. Then God leads him to do bigger and more important things.

There are things in this world that can be scary for us to do. But if God calls us to do them, it's important that we obey. Many people are too afraid of rejection to talk to others about Jesus. They can also be too afraid of looking stupid by standing up for Him or by doing the "right" thing when everyone else is trying to get us to do the "wrong" thing. But it's only by being courageous in these moments that we grow in power and in our relationship with God. They are more necessary than they are tough.

As scared as I am of snakes, I would probably grab its tail if God told me to even though I would have wanted Him to turn it back before I touched it. As you find yourself in difficult or scary situations, listen to the guidance of God and follow what He tells you to do. If you do, you will find yourself doing increasingly scarier and more important things. It's all a part of the growth process and every step is needed. Today, if God is asking to you grab a snake by the tail, I want to encourage you to do it. There is a reason for it and God will bless you as you follow Him in faith, even if you never sleep with the staff by your bed ever again.

DEVO: Drive-Thru Car Wash

Matthew 8:23-27 (NIV)
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

My wife and I had just gotten our dog. He was (and is) an amazingly well tempered Lab/pit-bull mix. He's a big guy (about 88 lbs) and his name is Jake. We took Jake on an outing to the beach. We wanted to give him a good walk and work with him a little bit on his leash etiquette. We walked about a mile or so then headed back. The entire time we were there other people were really leery of him. He is a big guy that isn't scared of much. He's got a very outgoing personality so he is always anxious to visit with people along the way. He's not scared of the cars or the other dogs or people.

On the way home we decided to get the car washed. We went to a local gas station and rode through the car wash. Jake was happily hanging out in the back until the water started shooting at the car. Once he heard the water hitting the car and saw the soap on the windows he was scared to death. Despite our repeated attempts to calm him down, he would not be satisfied. His only thought was to get out of that car wash immediately. Jake didn't care that we were there and that we weren't worried. All 88lbs of that dog could only focus on one thing. Escape.

The disciples were in the same position in the scripture above. Even though they had been through some experiences with Jesus and were accomplished fishermen, they were still very afraid of the storm and wanted only one thing. To get out of it. They didn't stop to think that Jesus was with them, He was their master, He was in control and He was going to take care of the storm. Their focus was on the storm, not on the sovereignty of Jesus. When we face trials and storms of our own today, are we any different?

Just like Jake and the disciples, we need to learn to focus and trust in Jesus, not on the conditions around us. We often mistake calm seas for a good walk with the Lord. That is not the case. Whether the seas of your life are calm or stormy, Jesus is still with you, He is still in control and will console you if you come to Him. It's easy to have faith in Jesus when life is going well. But true faith only comes from the times of trial and suffering. If your seas are stormy today, don't focus on the storm. Focus on the truth of the one who ensures that you won't be destroyed by it. No matter what storms may rage in your life, Jesus is with you. He is holding you and He won't let you down. It takes faith to know He's there, even when you can't feel Him.

Real Wealth Investments

One major upheaval in America today is the poor condition of the stock market. So many people places all of their faith in money. When the money ran out, they lost their hope. I'm not saying that having money or physical wealth is bad, I'm saying our attitude about that wealth can be. Over and over again, the bible teaches us not to put our faith in anything but God himself and His things. We see Jesus trying to teach this very thing in the following verses.

Matthew 19:16-22 (NIV)
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?""Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.""Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied,"Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,'and 'love your neighbor as yourself." "All these I have kept,"the young man said. "What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

I've always thought this passage only had to do with this guy's greed for physical money, but as I was meditating on it this evening, it occurred to me that Jesus might have been trying to teach a much bigger lesson. I think He was trying to re-shape the man's thinking and realization on what true wealth was and how to properly invest it.

By Jesus telling the man to get rid of all He had, He was telling him to take his eyes off of worldly things and to focus on Godly things. He told him to get rid of the worldly wealth (possessions) and the hollow way of investing (appreciating assets, stocks, bonds, etc) and to transform it to Godly wealth (giving), investing it in a Godly way (giving to those in need).

What does this mean to us? Well, we could be just like this guy and not even realize it. We could be "good Christians", going to church, being an active part of one or more of the ministries, tithing, praying, and even studying the bible. But just like this man, if we don't have a heart for investing wealth in a godly way, we could be just as empty as he was. Just because we can show up and unlock the church doors every week doesn't mean we have provided shelter for someone in need. Just because we can quote several verses of scripture, doesn't mean we've fed a person that desperately needs it. Just because we pay our tithes, doesn't mean we are clothing real people.

Where are you investing your wealth? 401K or For the One King?

Prayer Life Conservation

When we notice a species of animal in danger of going extinct, we pass laws, we make boundaries and we place them in protected areas so that they will have time to live, grow and multiply. We take active steps to save them.

Because dark spiritual forces are always on the hunt, our personal prayer time can be in danger of extinction too. The personal prayer life of a Christian is the most important ingredient in our relationship with God, along with personal bible study and involvement in a church community.

It's vital that we put up signs of our own, make real boundaries and actively work to make sure our personal prayer time stays alive. We won't just find them time to pray, we have to make it happen. We have to carve time out of our schedules.

Our prayer life is vitally important. Do you have your own personal pray-life conservatory? If not, make a commitment of time that you will pray each day. Make it known to your family and be diligent about making it happen daily. So many other things will pop up to stop you from praying, that's because the hunter is working very hard to make sure you don't.

Build your prayer-life conservatory today, your prayer life is counting on it.

Jail Cell

John 8:34-36 (NIV)
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Upon taking a quick glance at Christianity, you hear some of the rules and some the ways Jesus asks us to live and you can almost picture Jesus standing at the door of a jail cell wanting you to go in and be locked up. “Thou shall” and “Thou shall not” can seem like a death sentence to any fun you may ever possibly want to have. But that is simply not the truth. As a matter of fact, it’s radically not the truth. Living the life of a Christian is more freeing than you could ever imagine.

It’s easy to just look at the Christian faith as a bunch of rules meant to suck all the fun out of our lives. As a matter of fact, some Christians treat Christianity this way too. This is not what God wants. Yes, there is a moral code God has given us and expects us to live by, but these aren’t just rules that God made up because He’s mean and wants to take all the fun out of life. God loves us. As a matter of fact I want you to personalize this: God loves you. Say that out loud “God loves me”. He does love you deeply. He wants the best for you, not only in the afterlife, but in this life as well.

The things God tells us to do and the way He wants us to live is for a reason. That reason is that God wants the best for us and He can’t give us the best when we aren’t around. We have an enemy who is actively trying to hurt us at every turn. Satan will take any weakness you have and use it to his advantage. Through God’s word, prayer and His people, Jesus will free us from every weakness we have if we will allow Him in.

I used to think of Jesus just being a jailer, trying to make me do His bidding. But when I started walking closer and closer to Him and that jail cell door, I started to understand that He really does have my best interests at heart. He has your best interest at heart in everything He says and does. When you finally close your eyes and take that last step through that jail cell door to stand beside Him, He smiles greatly and says “welcome to freedom, my friend”. Then as you look back you will realize that Jesus wasn’t trying to lead you in to a jail cell, He was trying to get you to come out of one. Walking beside Jesus is not a jail term; it’s a death row pardon. Keep walking with Jesus, the view just keeps getting better and better the further away from the prison you get.

Blogs

I have had a lot of people asking to start writing blogs...so...here you go. I hope you enjoy. It's my prayer that you will be blessed by reading them.