Posts Tagged ‘Daily Devotion’

• Tips On How To Be Miserable

  Date: 2008.10.17 | Category: God, Life, Scripture | Response: 0

  Do you want to be miserable? Here are some tips on how to fulfill your desires.

  The famed English writer, Charles Kingsley, once wrote, “If you wish to be miserable, you must think about yourself, about what you want, what you like, and what respect people ought to pay you. Then to you nothing will be pure. You will spoil everything you touch; you will make sin and misery out of everything God sends you.”

  Self-centered people are always unhappy. In the 1970s, Chaplain Earl Jabay wrote a thought-provoking book entitled, “The Kingdom of Self,” in which he describes seven attitudes of a self-centered individual. Permit me to share a few of them:

  “I am power: I can do anything I set my mind to.”

  “I am truth: Whatever I think, is right.”

  “I am right: If people don’t agree with me, they have a problem.”

  “I am a messiah. I don’t need God; I can lift myself by my own boot straps.”

  “I am perfect: If you don’t meet my standard of perfection, I have the right to show disapproval.”

  Any one of these attitudes will result in a life of misery. How much better it is to forsake the kingdom of self and live joyously in the Kingdom of God.

  You see the fruit of misery everywhere, in crime, immorality, broken homes and on and on. It almost always stems from self-centeredness and selfishness. It is always related to ignoring God and His commandments to self-sacrifice and to love.

  I do not recommend misery, but I do recommend its opposites – joy and peace. Joy and peace are states of mind and spirit that are promised by our great Creator God and Savior to all who trust and obey Him. They are fruit of the Spirit — the Spirit who indwells all those who put their trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. That fruit is manifest in our lives when we invite the Holy Spirit to fill and control us.

  In the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3-11, our Lord gave us nine keys of happiness. The Greek word “makarios” is usually translated “blessed,” but it also means happy.

  For examples, verses 6-9 give us the first four: “Happy are those who long to be just and good, for they shall be completely satisfied. Happy are the kind and merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. Happy are those whose hearts are pure, for they shall see God. Happy are those who strive for peace — they shall be called the sons of God” (TLB).

  It just doesn’t make sense to remain miserable when, if we obey God, we can be assured of being happy!
  By Bill Bright

• GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED

  Date: 2008.03.03 | Category: God, Life | Response: 1

  (An email story I recieved today- you may have seen it before, but I think it’s worth the read again.)
  

  I envy Kevin. My brother Kevin  thinks God  lives under his bed. At least that’s what  I heard him say one  night.

  He was praying out loud in his  dark  bedroom, and I stopped to listen, ‘Are you  there, God?’ he said.  ‘Where are you? Oh,
  I see. Under the bed…’

  I giggled softly and tiptoed off  to my  own room. Kevin’s unique perspectives are   often a source of  amusement. But that
  night something else lingered long after  the humor. I  realized for the first time  the very different world Kevin lives  in.

  He was born 30 years ago, mentally  disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size  (he’s  6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he  is an adult.

  He reasons and communicates with  the  capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he  always will. He will probably  always  believe that God lives under his bed, that  Santa Claus is the one  who fills the  space under our tree every Christmas and  that   airplanes stay  up in the sky because  angels carry them.

  I remember wondering if Kevin  realizes he  is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with  his monotonous  life?

  Up before dawn each day, off to  work at a  workshop for the disabled, home to walk  our cocker spaniel,  return to eat his
  favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner,  and later to  bed.

  The only variation in the entire  scheme  is laundry, when he hovers excitedly over  the washing machine like  a mother with
  her newborn child.

  He does not seem dissatisfied.  

  He lopes out to the bus every  morning at  7:05, eager for a day of simple work.

  He wrings his hands excitedly  while the  water boils on the stove before dinner,  and he stays up late  twice a week to
  gather our dirty laundry for his next  day’s laundry  chores.

  And Saturdays-oh, the bliss of  Saturdays!
  That’s the day my Dad takes Kevin to the  airport to have a soft  drink, watch the  planes land, and speculate loudly on the
  destination of  each passenger inside.  ‘That one’s goin’ to Chi-car-go!’ Kevin  shouts as  he claps his hands.

  His anticipation is so great he  can  hardly sleep on Friday nights.

  And so goes his world of daily  rituals  and weekend field trips.  

  He doesn’t know what it means to  be  discontent.

  His life is simple.   He will never know the  entanglements of  wealth of power, and he does not care what  brand of  clothing he wears or what kind  of food he eats. His needs have always  been  met, and he never worries that one  day they may not be.

  His hands are diligent. Kevin is  never so  happy as when he is working. When he  unloads the dishwasher or  vacuums the
  carpet, his heart is completely in it.

  He does not shrink from a job when  it is  begun, and he does not leave a job until  it is finished. But when  his tasks are
  done, Kevin knows how to relax.

  He is not obsessed with his work  or the  work of others. His heart is pure.  

  He still believes everyone tells  the  truth, promises must be kept, and when you  are wrong, you apologize  instead of  argue.

  Free from pride and unconcerned  with  appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry  when he is hurt, angry or  sorry. He is  always transparent, always sincere. And he  trusts God.

  Not confined by intellectual  reasoning,  when he comes to Christ, he comes as a  child. Kevin seems to  know God – to  really be friends with Him in a way that  is difficult for an  ‘educated’ person to  grasp. God seems like his closest companion.

  In my moments of doubt and  frustrations  with my Christianity I envy the security  Kevin has in his  simple faith.

  It is then that I am most willing  to  admit that he has some divine knowledge  that rises above my mortal  questions  

  It is then I realize that perhaps  he is  not the one with the handicap . I am. My  obligations, my fear, my  pride, my 
  circumstances – they all become  disabilities when I do not trust  them to  God’s care

  Who knows if Kevin comprehends  things I  can never learn? After all, he has spent  his whole life in that  kind of innocence,
  praying after dark and soaking up the  goodness and love  of God.

  And one day, when the mysteries of  heaven  are opened, and we are all amazed at how  close God really is to our  hearts,   I’ll  realize that God heard the simple prayers  of a boy who  believed that God lived  under his bed..

  Kevin won’t be surprised at all!

• “I Was Choking!”

  Date: 2007.06.19 | Category: Christian | Response: 0

  “I Was Choking!”

  Other seed fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades (Luke 8:7, NLT).

  Dear friends:

  Suddenly I was desperately choking! A piece of popcorn had lodged in my throat.

  I couldn’t breathe, a horrible feeling, and I was at the point of passing out. I just could not get rid of that tiny particle, no bigger than 1/8 the size of a pencil eraser.

  Now red-faced, I coughed violently and repeatedly. But thankfully, before I blacked out, it was finally expelled. God’s mercy prevailed.

  On reflection, I realized two great truths. Of course, God uses life experiences to teach us His truths.

  The first great truth I realized is how fragile life is. Every person is only one precarious breath away from eternity. Only one breath! For numerous unpredictable reasons, that last breath could come at any instant to any one of us.

  Every second we live in our bodies is a gift of grace. People without Christ are on the very edge, the dangerous precipice, and every second they chance passing into a Christless eternity. It is a terrible gamble, and every day, thousands lose their bet.

  Even Christians, who are saved by grace but who are knowingly disobedient and living in sin, are only a breath away from entering eternity with this on their record and having to face their holy Savior, who died for them. John exhorts us, “Continue to live in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame (1 John 2:28, NLT). According to God’s Word, some so-called prodigals are not true believers and when they die, have no hope of eternal life.

  We do not want to be ashamed either at His return or our going to meet Him.

  The second great truth I learned is that there I was, desperate for just one breath of air, but I was surrounded by an ocean of air! It was all around me, yet I could not obtain any. What a paradox.

  Many people are like that. Their lives are often choked off from the truth of God’s Word by worldly distractions that by comparison they are like tiny kernels of popcorn in importance.

  Our Lord spoke of choking. “The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word” (Mark 4:19, NIV).

  As I was surrounded by an ocean of air but could not get any, many people are surrounded by God, yet they cannot perceive Him. “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28, NIV). He is like the air in which we live. Interestingly, the Greek word for Spirit is “pneuma,” which also means air or wind.

  Let us not allow the world or our own self-centered desires to get lodged in our throats, choking us spiritually, and cutting off access to our vital spiritual air, or God’s Spirit.

  Yours for helping to fulfill the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns,

  Bill Bright

  ——-

  The late Dr. Bill Bright was Founder and President/Chairman Emeritus of Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization which began as a campus ministry in 1951 and now has more than 27,000 full-time staff and up to 500,000 trained volunteer staff in 196 countries in areas representing 99.6 percent of the world’s population. In the past 50 years, Campus Crusade for Christ has seen approximately 6 billion exposures to the gospel worldwide. The film, “JESUS,” which Bright conceived and funded through Campus Crusade for Christ, is the most widely translated and viewed film of any type ever produced. Since its use began in 1980, the film has been translated into 839 languages and viewed or listened to by over 5.7 billion people in 228 countries. Dr. Bright was also the author of more than fifty books. Dr. Bright recently co-founded Global Pastors Network to “Touch, Teach and Train” a group of 5 million new house churches around the world 24/7/365 at http://www.globalpastorsnetwork.org.

  Copyright (c) 2003, Bill Bright. All rights reserved. However, readers may copy and distribute this message as desired, without restrictions in number, as long as the content is not altered. Forwarding this e-mail to friends is encouraged. For many evangelistic and spiritual growth materials, visit the Campus Crusade for Christ Web site at http://www.ccci.org. See http://www.campuscrusade.org for Bill Bright’s own materials.

• A worry

  Date: 2007.04.19 | Category: Christian, God, Scripture | Response: 0

  I’m the type of person who has to mentally pull something completely apart and reconstruct it to know how everything is going to go.  It doesn’t help the situation to do it four or five times.  This is called worry.  I try to organise myself and plan and strategize, this works alot of the time, but often it’s just another form of worry. 

  Today’s “Our Daily Bread” spoke to me and gives you a practical exercise to use when you’re worrying.  I share it below.

  The Peace-Of-Mind Game

  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. —Psalm 23:1

  In her down-to-earth book More Than Sparrows, Mary Welch tells of her discussion about worry with a group of teenagers. Although they were Christians, they were as worried as unbelievers about the common things of life. As she lovingly listened to them, an unusual idea came to her for a game they could play. It went like this:

  Instead of saying, “I’m worried,” stop and say, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” Then add, “So I’m worried to death!” The students laughed at the absurdity of the idea, but they all promised to play this new “peace-of-mind” game.

  Later, Mary received a phone call from a young woman who had been paralyzed by worry over an exam she had been dreading to take. She said, “I must tell you how the game helped me trust God today. As I froze with worry, I remembered to say, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd . . . so I’m afraid I’ll fail!’ Suddenly I felt the strangest peace of mind. I laughed at myself, then I took the exam—and I passed!”

  Saying “The Lord is my Shepherd, and I am worried to death” is more than a mind game to point out the absurdity of worry. God can use this contradiction to bring us to a fuller trust in Him. —Joanie Yoder

  Why worry when you can pray?
  Trust Jesus, He’ll be your stay;
  Don’t be a “doubting Thomas,” rest fully on His promise.
  Why worry when you can pray?  —Peterson
  © Renewal 1977 Singspiration, Inc.

  Worry is the interest you pay on borrowed trouble.

• Seeking God’s will for our lives

  Date: 2007.04.13 | Category: God, Life, Scripture | Response: 0

  Recently we have been seeking God’s will for our lives.  Sounds like a huge grandios statement, when in fact it’s rather simple.  Funnily enough most of the things about God are simple.  God’s will for my life (and that of my family) is for us to serve Him with the gifts He’s given us, whereever and whenever He asks us to.   So that leads me to these next questions.  How do I hear from God so that I know what gifts He’s given me, where He wants me to use them and when?  By being in a close relationship with Him.  Again, sounds simple, and it is.  Pray daily, read the bible daily and be with God daily.  It’s simple.

  “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
  Matthew 11: 30