What Really Matters The Most?

From: Ambassadors For Christ International - John North

 

Psalm 37:4-5 "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it."

 

If we are honest, many of us find ourselves thinking about things that will not last for eternity, things of this world. Those things won’t last. It must make God sad how we often don’t learn this lesson until late in life when we have tried all those things and found they still haven’t filled up that empty spot in our hearts.

What really matters the most? The one thing that will matter to you the most for all eternity—your living relationship with God Himself.

Today God wants you to know that if you will make Him your deepest desire, then He will satisfy your desire. Do you desire love, acceptance, forgiveness, purpose, security, joy, peace? You will find it all—and more—in Him. He has wired our hearts to long for Him. For that reason, the only way to be truly satisfied in life is to make God the great delight and enjoyment of your heart.

Finding Strength

From: New Life Daily Devotions

Psalm 120:1 "I call on the Lord in my distress, and He answers me."

Some people die a thousand deaths of distress, as it highjacks their hope. It may be the material distress of overwhelming financial pressures. It may be physical distress of a body that is accelerating down a path of pain and disease. The rough edge of a cruel tongue can sting and sabotage your quiet confidence.

So what are the next steps when you, or someone you love is drowning in distress? Distress can define you with a humble dependency on God, or it can drive you into a shell of self-pity, that ignores Him and others. It is a facilitation of faith that provides the best benefits. "David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God." (1 Samuel 30:6)

Therefore, learn to lean on the Lord during lean times. His Holy Spirit assures you that He hears, and He cares. He is attentive to every detail of your distress, so rest in His reassurance and your soul will settle down. Above all else, use distress to enjoy your dependency on God.

God's Promises

From: New Life Daily Devotions - Steve Arterburn

John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

In difficult times, hope can be elusive, but Christians need never lose it. After all, God is good; His love endures; He has promised His children the gift of eternal life.

If you find yourself falling into the spiritual traps of worry and discouragement, consider the words of Jesus. It was Christ who promised, "I have overcome the world."

This world is indeed a place of trials and tribulations, but as believers, we are secure. God has promised us peace, joy, and eternal life. And, of course, God always keeps His promises.

Divine Appointments

From: Our Daily Bread Ministries

Romans 8:28 "All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose."

Have you ever been stuck in an airport? For 24 hours? In a city where you can’t speak the language? Four thousand miles from home?

It happened to a friend recently, and we can learn from his response. While most of us would find such an inconvenience intolerable, my friend John saw God’s hand in his delay. As he waited out his forced stay, he looked for opportunities to connect with fellow passengers. He "happened" to find some fellow Christians from India—and in talking to them he heard about a ministry they were involved with. In fact, because John’s interests matched his new friends’ ministry, they invited him to India to participate in a short-term project.

How often do we experience delays, changes of plans, and redirections and treat them as intrusions? It could be that God is detouring us so we can do something different or new for Him. Often God will use what we consider inconveniences in our lives as divine appointments.

The Cure For Discouragement

From: Billy Graham's Daily Devotionals

Psalm 31:25 "Take courage and be stouthearted, all you who hope in the Lord."

Discouragement is nothing new. Many of the great Bible characters became discouraged. Moses in the Sinai desert; Elijah when he heard Jezebel was searching for him to take his life; and David when his son Absalom rebelled against him. It is as old as the history of man.

There is often a cause for discouragement. It comes many times when we don’t get our way, when things don’t work out the way we want them to. Discouragement is the opposite of faith. It is Satan’s device to thwart the work of God in your life. Discouragement blinds our eyes to the mercy of God and makes us perceive only the unfavorable circumstances.

I have never met anyone who spent time in daily prayer, and in the study of the Word of God, and was strong in faith, who was ever discouraged for very long.

Thank You Lord

From: Joel Osteen Ministries

 

Ephesians 5:20 "Give thanks to God always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

 

All around you, God’s goodness is on display. The question is do you see it? The scripture talks about how God was in the midst of people, but they knew Him not. God is working in our lives, protecting us, providing opportunities for us and sending us healing. For example, if you’re going through a difficult time and a friend stops by out of the blue and cheers you up, that's the goodness of God.

We have to remember not to take the little things for granted. All through the day we should be saying, "Thank You, Lord, for Your goodness. Thank You for my health. Thank You for my spouse. Thank You for the opportunity that You have given me."

Today, be on the lookout for His goodness. Remember, what you seek you will find. Seek Him and thank Him for His faithfulness and blessing upon every area of your life!

Perpetual Awareness

From: Good Thing Daily Devotionals

Luke 2:49 "I must be about my Father’s business."

What is the driving motivation of your life? Whose "business" are you usually and primarily concerned with? Are you mostly working toward your own ends and purposes, toward the pleasure and admiration of your colleagues, toward the fulfillment of your friends’ expectations? Jesus determined that His Father’s business was His one driving, overruling interest.

You may excuse yourself as being too young or too new to the faith to make such an all-encompassing, single-minded resolution. It is never too soon (or too late) to give your life to the service of the Lord, to dedicate your time and energy and labors to His glory and pleasure.

Jesus lived in perpetual awareness that His Father had a purpose for His being here, and that He must therefore be constantly about His Father’s business. We must always be about our Father’s business! Do not let any personal ambition or conflicting counsel get in the way of that great purpose.

Relationships

From: InTouch Ministries

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 "We keep thanking God for all of you and we remember you in our prayers, for we constantly are mindful before God of the way you are proving your faith, and laboring in love, and showing constancy of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."

Paul gave relationships a high priority. The apostle surrounded himself with people who could help him achieve two things: fulfillment of his God-given mission and conformity to Christlikeness. While Paul was pouring himself into the lives of others, he was being built up and strengthened by his fellow believers.

Do you have certain relationships that motivate you to pursue God more fervently? It does matter whom we allow to influence our lives. The Father equips your brothers and sisters to invest in you—to encourage you and to pray for you. Good relationships with people who build each other up can help believers fulfill God’s plan for their lives.

The finest relationships are between people who want to see each other succeed in faith. In other words, our best friends are those who love us as we are and never cease to encourage us on our spiritual journey.

The Gift Of Peace

From: New Life Daily Devotions - Steve Arterburn

 

Proverbs 19:11 "It is good sense in a man to be slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense."

 

Life is full of frustrations: some great and some small. On occasion, you, like Jesus, will confront evil, and when you do, you may respond as He did: vigorously and without reservation.

 

But, more often your frustrations will be of the more mundane variety. As long as you live here on earth, you will face countless opportunities to lose your temper over small, relatively insignificant events: a traffic jam, a spilled cup of coffee, an inconsiderate comment, a broken promise. When you are tempted to lose your temper over the minor inconveniences of life, don’t.

 

Turn away from anger, hatred, bitterness, and regret. Turn instead to God. When you do, you’ll be following His commandments and giving yourself a priceless gift . . . the gift of peace.

It's Worth It

From: Bryant Wright Ministries

 

Psalm 111:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; prudent are all who live by it. His praise endures forever."

"Fear of the Lord" is a reverence for God. It is a willingness to realize, "I don’t have all the answers. I need God’s help in making this journey of life." By trusting God enough to obey, we begin to learn Godly wisdom.

Now, the way God gives you wisdom may not be the way you want it to happen. You may have to go through a lot of brokenness, a lot of difficulty. As a young Christian starting college, I asked God to give me wisdom – what God did was not what I had in mind. It was literally like God knocked the legs out from under me. I didn't like the loss of confidence and the fears of an unknown future, but sometimes, that's the only way God can begin to shape us and begin to work in our lives to where we have Godly wisdom.

Nobody exemplifies Godly wisdom like Jesus. So, what this tells us is, if you and I will choose to trust Jesus and follow Jesus and imitate Jesus in spirit and in character, then especially during trials, we will begin to experience Godly wisdom. So, look to Jesus, the perfect embodiment of Godly wisdom. It may not be easy, but Godly wisdom is worth it!

A Door Of Opportunity

From: Greg Laurie Ministries

 

Revelation 3:8 "I know your works. I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it. You have little strength, but have kept My word, and have not denied My name."

Jesus has not only opened the door of opportunity, but He also has the key.There is no door so tightly closed that God cannot open. There is nothing that is impossible to Him. Or to put it another way, there is no person beyond the reach of God.

We live in a critical time in human history. I think it can be summed up best with the opening words of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. . . ."

That is the United States today, don’t you think? It is the best of times and the worst of times. In some ways, things have never been worse morally. Yet there is great opportunity for the gospel. There is an open door for us as believers. So take advantage of those doors that God opens.

Misplaced Allegiance

From: Ambassadors For Christ International - John North

Psalm 16:11 "You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in Your presence, the delights of Your right hand forever."

We try to appear happy and confident to other people, but many of us struggle with a feeling of emptiness about our lives. God made us to live lives of meaning and purpose. When we feel empty, we immediately look for a way to remove that emptiness and to fill it with something.

Some people immerse themselves in their work or their studies. Others resort to drugs or alcohol. Some strive for achievement or recognition. It is not only non-Christians who take these paths. Believers also can lose sight of God.

God will oppose that misplaced allegiance. You’ll never find the peace, meaning, fulfilment and wholeness that you seek until you find it in God. But when you truly build your life around God, He’ll meet every need.

Not Finished Yet

From: New Life Daily Devotionals - Steve Arterburn

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

As you continue to seek God’s purpose for your life, you will undoubtedly experience your fair share of disappointments, detours, false starts, and failures. When you do, don’t become discouraged: God’s not finished with you yet.

The old saying is as true today as it was when it was first spoken: "Life is a marathon, not a sprint." That’s why wise travelers select a traveling companion who never tires and never falters. That partner, of course, is your Heavenly Father.

So pray as if everything depended upon God, and work as if everything depended upon you. And trust God to do the rest.

Encouragement And Hope

From: New Life Daily Devotionals

Ephesians 4:29 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Life is a team sport, and most, if not all of us need occasional pats on the back from our teammates. As Christians, we are called upon to spread the Good News of Christ, and we are also called to spread a message of encouragement and hope to the world.

Whether you realize it or not, many people with whom you come in contact every day are in desperate need of a smile or an encouraging word. The world can be a difficult place, and countless friends and family members may be troubled by the challenges of everyday life.

Since you don’t always know who needs our help, the best strategy is to try to encourage all the people who cross your path. So today, be a world-class source of encouragement to everyone you meet. Never has the need been greater.

Don't Give Up

From: Michael Youssef Ministries

Isaiah 40:31 "They who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint."

No matter how frustrated or anxious we become, we do not have to lose hope. Our hope should never be in ourselves or in our abilities, nor should it be in other people. At some point, others will let us down. Rather, our hope should be in the living Christ, who has kept every one of His promises to us!

We can have hope because Christ Jesus is our Savior. He is our joy. He is our peace. He is our fulfillment. If we try to get our joy from our feelings or from our possessions, then we will be constantly disappointed. However, if we find our joy in the Lord and in trusting in His Word, then we will experience hope—regardless of our circumstances.

Have you ever experienced the joy of the Lord? There comes a time when we must stop dwelling on our despair. We must stop giving in to the moaning and groaning that keeps us from experiencing the hope and the joy that God freely gives. Don’t give up. God is always with you.

Take Heart

From: Bryant Wright Ministries

Psalm 107:29 "They cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out from their distress; He made the storm be still."

By this time, you have probably figured out that life is not free of challenges. Difficulties and even tragedies are to be expected. As a matter of fact, Jesus told His disciples, "Take courage. There are many storms in this life. But take heart, I have overcome the storms and the world." (John 16:33)

Certain storms do come into our lives because of our own sin, but many storms occur when we're right in the middle of God's will. We're not doing anything wrong. We're doing what God wants us to do. Certainly, that was the case for the disciples. Jesus told them to get into the boat and row across the Sea of Galilee. They were obeying Jesus when they suddenly found themselves in a horrific storm. It was so bad they didn't even know if they'd survive. But, here is the important message from that event - they did survive. With the help of Jesus, they did survive.

Accept the fact that your life will not be a perfectly smooth ride. The road will sometimes have bumps and potholes and sharp turns. All roads do. Look upon these tragedies and difficulties as part of life. Turn to Jesus for guidance and He will lead you as you ride out your storms.

Preparation For Success

From: Michael Youssef Ministries

Philippians 1:6 "I am sure of this much: that He who has begun the good work in you will carry it through to completion..."

God does not call us into His work to fail. He wants us to succeed, and sometimes that means being groomed into patient, obedient servants. God can work through anyone who has a willing heart, but sometimes we need to be hidden for a while in order to reach that point.

Has God asked you to do something extraordinary on His behalf? Has He asked you to step out in faith, speaking the Truth, so that His children may be brought back to Him?

Maybe you have stepped out in faith, but you now find yourself in a hiding place of preparation. You may feel frustrated, confused, and even purposeless. Take heart, God is working out His purpose through you. He is preparing you for the next step so that you may be an even more effective servant.

As you pray, ask God what He is preparing you for, and how He needs you to grow and change to accomplish His will.

Guided By His Light

From: Wisdom From The Psalms Devotionals

Psalm 119:105 "Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path."

Nick and Davy thought it would be fun to explore deeper in the cave. When they saw their chance, they separated from the rest of their class and headed down a corridor that was roped off. They walked on through twisting and turning shafts until they were no longer sure how to get back. They stood in total darkness, feeling the cavern close in around them.

Just as they verged on panic, Davy looked down and noticed a fine, dim glow. Phosphorescent stone was embedded in the cave floor, and it cast off a dull shine. By following the path of light, the boys made it back to the safety of the well-lit shafts.

Darkness can close in around us quickly in this world today. It seems to be getting darker all the time. However, we are recipients of the light that cannot be put out and will never fade away. The Word of God will guide us through even the darkest times, and He will be close by to comfort us in times of trouble. Rely upon the light of the Lord.

Our True Calling

From: Bryant Wright Ministries

  

Ephesians 1:17 "May He enlighten your innermost vision that you may know the great hope to which He has called you..."

We can all think of a bad day at work, but can you think of any time when you were "in the zone" - a moment where you enjoyed your task, you were caught up in your work and lost track of time? What were you doing at that moment? What skills were you using? What was it that caused you to be passionate about the work? Understanding the answers to these questions will often help you better understand how to best use your time and talents - in other words, find your calling.

A calling is when we are passionately using our God-given gifts in a way that pleases Him. We are not talking about your personality profile, but about those God-given gifts listed in the Bible like teaching, counseling, generosity, administration, and prayer, among many others.

Kirk Livingston, CEO of a communications company, sums it up, "When we find ourselves involved with God at work, we also begin to find the work we were meant to do." And that’s how we discover our true calling from God.

Time To Press Forward

From: Joel Osteen Ministries

Romans 11:29 "God's gifts and His call are irrevocable."

When God created you, He deposited seeds of greatness inside of you. He's given you your own dreams and desires. You have something to offer that no one else has. But too often, we allow adversities, disappointments and setbacks to push these things down, until one day, we find that we’re not pressing forward anymore.

When adversity comes, it's easy to think, "Why is this happening to me?" The answer is because the enemy knows what's on the inside of you. He’s going to do everything he can to keep that seed from taking root. But, he will only be successful if you let him. He can't stop you unless you quit.

During the difficult times, remember that the gifts and callings God has placed within you are still there. Don’t become stagnate in pursuing your dreams. It’s time to get your fire back! It's time to press forward. It's time to dig deep inside and take hold of the marvelous destiny God has prepared for you!

Tone Check

From: Our Daily Bread Ministries

Proverbs 15:1 "A mild answer calms wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

Driving home from work, I heard a radio advertisement that got my attention. It was for a computer program that checks e-mails as they are written. I was familiar with "spell check" and "grammar check" programs, but this was different. This was "tone check." The software monitors the tone and wording of e-mails to make certain they are not overly aggressive, unkind, or mean-spirited.

As I listened to the announcer describe the features of this software, I wondered what it would be like to have something like that for my mouth. How many times have I reacted harshly instead of listening first—and later regretted the words I had spoken? Certainly a tone check would have protected me from responding so foolishly.

Paul saw the need for us as believers to check our speech—especially when talking to those who are not Christians. He said, "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one." (Colossians 4:6)