All in Daily Devotion

Do you ever find yourself worrying about being inadequate in the eyes of God? Do you recall all of your human shortcomings, and think “How can God, the creator of the universe, possibly tolerate me; much less love me?” Then, In your despair, He takes your hand, fills you with His Spirit, and you find yourself amazed to realize that despite all your faults He does love you... so deeply that He sent His Son, and His Spirit to redeem, and transform you? This is more than mercy, it is more than grace, it is a love that conquers all things, forgets all your faults, and forgives the bitterness of every sin. 

We get up in the morning, say a quick prayer, wash ourselves, and then prepare to dress, but now the decisions of the day begin... we must decide what we should wear. We can easily decide which shirt to put on, or between blue jeans or slacks, but the one choice that determines how our day will really go is this... will we put on the armor of God? Will we wear just the breastplate, or the full suit of armor today? Perhaps at this point in our daily routine we fool ourselves completely, and wear nothing at all.

How are we in our faith today? Are we having a good day, or a bad day? Did we open our eyes this morning with a prayer of thanksgiving on our lips, or were our first thoughts about something in our earthly lives that we were worried about? As Christians we often end our day by turning over our concerns to God in bedtime prayer, then sleep soundly through the night, only to open our eyes in the morning to take those things back again... We lean on the promises of God at one moment, and not in the next, yet God’s promises are not meant to be whimsical, but everlasting. 

What do good fathers give their children of themselves that lasts for a lifetime, and what does our Heavenly Father give us that is more valuable than His love, and grace, which lasts an eternity? Discipline is a way of training someone, or one’s self, to adhere to certain rules, or manner of behavior. It also includes punishment as a form of correction. Fathers owe their children more than just food and a place to sleep, they must teach them how to live well in their life, and world... how to be honorable, and who God is.

Are you in the middle of a situation that perplexes you? Are you overwhelmed by adversity and don’t know what to do next? Sometimes we find life to be more than we can handle, or circumstances to be new to us, and in such times we are uncertain what our next step should be. In times like these we should seek the presence of God, and the intercession of Jesus; then obey As they instruct us. The apostle Paul found himself in just such a confusing circumstance as he travelled to Damascus.

Are we living a Christlike life? Do we want to be pleasing to God, or even more than that, do we want to be like God... perfect? To some this might sound like heresy, but we should always want to do as He does, and be as He is, because isn’t that what Jesus is, and doesn’t He tell us that He abides in us, and we in Him? So if Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s nature, and being like Him is our great desire, then being like God should be our greatest desire. Knowing Jesus we then know God.

There is a difference between faith, and imagination. Both dwell in our minds, but faith springs from trusting the Word of God, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, whereas imagination is founded on fantasy, and the concoctions of our own mind. Some who say “I am a Christian“ are guilty of folding the two into one way of worshiping as they seek what is easy or pleasing to them in God’s will, while imagining the hardships and suffering to be useless, and not of the Lord.

Do we thirst after the water of the world that satisfies our body alone, and that must be replenished each day, or do we long for the living water that is Jesus Christ, and wells up in us for eternity? Which do we cater to, and place most value in, our earthly body that begins a journey towards death from the moment it is conceived, or our soul that will live on in either salvation or damnation forever?

How content are we in our spiritual lives? Are we satisfied with what the Lord provides us, or do we approach our faith like we do our earthly labor; driven by dissatisfaction, and an unending need for more? If we climb mountains isn’t there always another peak to summit, or if we are a fisherman isn’t there one more cast of our net to make? Yet as believers, we should be happy with where God is taking us, and content with His daily provision... our lives should be lived peacefully each day in the presence of God.

When we first hear God calling us to follow Jesus Christ, or later as Christians to do His will, and we ignore Him... do we think that He just goes away and that this is the end of it? Sometimes we attempt to treat God as if He were one of our fantasies, and if we ignore Him then He will vanish, but nothing could be further from the truth. Even in our faithlessness, our disobedience, or when we turn our back on Him... He is there, and He remains God. 

Just as we pray for our physical wellbeing, we should also pray for our hearts, minds, and souls. It is so easy to concentrate on the outward pains and the worldly needs of our physical selves, but the worst of all pain emanates from our heart, and our spirit; they are born of a damaged faith. They well up in us from an aching deep within our soul. We see the wounds made to our flesh, but is our soul bleeding, and suffering today? 

Our lives are ever changing, and no matter how hard we try to control them they will always be set upon by outside forces beyond our control. Not even the sweetest times of faith go without looking up to find a looming challenge on the horizon, because as we experience life we lean on God in various new ways, and through this we come to a fresh understanding of Him in the process. How well we know God seems to depend on how fully we have lived our life. 

Are there those we know who were called by God, and stood before Jesus to profess their faith, just as we did, but have since fallen away? Well, how do we treat them? Do we shun them, look down on them, and make them to feel unwelcome in our midst? Do we judge them, and stand firmly between them and God at the moment they might desire to reconcile themselves? Do we feel that we are the guardians of the sanctuary, and defenders of God Himself? Woe to us who keeps one of God’s children from Him. 

We read the Bible, and study God’s Word, but is doing so a joy? Reading the Bible can be a daunting task because, depending on the translation, the language can be challenging, the meaning behind certain passages (such as parables and stories) can be difficult to interpret, and quite honestly there are lists, and long genealogies, in the Bible that put many readers off. Let’s be truthful... reading the Bible is not as entertaining as reading “The Arabian Nights”, or “Aesop’s Fables”, but no other book can have such an impact on who we are, thrill us with its revelations, or save our souls. The joy comes when we open our hearts, minds, and souls, to God through His Word.