GOD
Good morning! God wants and deserves to receive all the glory for what He has done. The story in Judges chapter 7 shows us how He arranged a situation so that no man could take the credit and all would have to give God the glory. In this story God had Gideon reduce the number of men to fight Midian down to 300 from the original number of 32,000. The Lord did this so no one could boast of their strength and power and all would have to say that God and only God was responsible for the victory. This is just another example of God using ordinary people to carry out His extraordinary plan.
This story got me thinking about the story of my life and the things that God alone should receive the glory for. The first thing that popped in my mind was the fact that I’m still alive. My first heart doctors didn’t see this one coming but the Lord has allowed me to remain here in spite of my failing heart. And not only that I’m still here but that I’m active and still able to serve Him. The next thing that popped in my mind were these morning devotions. I have been writing them since 2013. So let’s do the math: 5 devotions per week x 52 weeks in a year x 6 years = ALL GOD. There is no way I could have come up with these devotions without Him. Sure, I could probably have written a few dozen over the years but coming up with over 1,500 devotions can only be because of God and therefore I give Him all the glory.
So now it’s your turn. What are your God-only glory stories? It’s something good to think about and reflect on but it’s even a better thing to share them. God gets wrongly blamed for so much in life so we should honor Him every chance we get by sharing our stories and giving Him all the glory that is rightly due Him.
God, please help us remember to give You the glory that You so richly deserve. We are nothing without You. Let our stories strengthen other believers and draw unbelievers to You. Amen.
3…HE DIED FOR YOU
Good morning! Whose eyes do you see yourself through? Do you see yourself through your own eyes, as though you were looking in a mirror, or maybe it’s through the people you’re trying to please? From my experience, both of these perspectives will leave you lacking. When we look through our own eyes, aren’t we pretty critical? Isn’t there always something that we see that’s not right? And if we’re looking through other’s eyes as we try to please them...well, we can forget that, too. That saying we’ve all heard is so true. “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” Trying to please others is often a no-win situation. In this life, we need to concern ourselves with pleasing the Lord, plain and simple. If we keep our focus on the Lord, then we won’t have to concern ourselves with pleasing anyone else.
Feeling as though you belong is one of those basic needs we all have, but it’s often just that, a feeling. But when you belong to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, you are in the perfect place. You don’t have to rely on your feelings. You can be assured of this fact every single day. I recently received a t-shirt that said, “I might not be perfect but Jesus thinks I’m to die for.” And scripture backs that up. John 3:16 states that fact this way. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” If you were the only sinner to have ever been born, Jesus would still have died for you. So isn’t it time for us to see ourselves the way the Lord sees us and not worry about other’s opinions. Jesus sees us worth dying for.
Lord, it is so easy to get wrapped up in what others think about us and when that happens we spend way too much time trying to keep that image alive. Help us see that the only one we need to please is You. Once we do that, no one else’s opinion will drive us. Amen.
4…THE NEXT EXIT
Good morning! Do you ever feel like a dog chasing its tail, just trying to figure out life? I thought about this as I watched a car go round and round in the roundabout in town. There were four different places that driver could have chosen to exit the roundabout but he was having trouble deciding which exit to take. Life often mimics one of these roundabouts. There are so many options to take on our journey in life. So, how do we know for sure which exit to take? Thankfully, God shared His wisdom with us in the pages from Genesis to Revelation. We can learn what pleases God in His Word, which gives us a good foundation to stand on. He shows us what is right and what is wrong and the reward or consequence that goes along with each. God speaks to us about what it takes to be His child and the life He expects us to live, one of sharing Him and shining His Light brightly to those around us.
It takes more than just reading what God’s Word has to say in the Bible. Where the rubber meets the road is how we live out His Word. Influence of others can impact our walk with the Lord, so it’s important for us to surround ourselves with those who know the Lord and live a life pleasing to Him. Proverbs 13:20 says it this way. “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” We want to spend time with people who won’t try and steer us to take the wrong exit. Those are the people who were referred to as “the companion of fools.” But on the flip side of that coin is where we’ll find the wise men that we are encouraged to associate with. Those are the people who lift you up in the Lord. If you should stumble, they are there to pick you up, brush you off, help you get back on track and continue to love you, just like the Lord does.
Lord, thank you for giving us all we need to navigate the roundabouts in life. Thank you for Your Word that leads us down the right road and the guidance of the wise men and women that You have put in our life. Amen.
5…FIRM FOUNDATION
Good morning! There is lots of commotion on my street this week as work has begun preparing the ground for grass and landscaping for two new houses that were just built. Truckloads of dirt have been brought in and bobcats and backhoes are moving and packing that dirt down to make solid yards for those houses. It’ll be fun to see what these yards will look like when it’s all said and done.
As I was thinking about how those guys are giving the yards a solid foundation, I thanked God for the solid foundation He provides for us as believers. Once we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, our firm foundation has begun. On that foundation, the Holy Spirit begins showing us God’s truth and His promises but it all begins with Jesus and what He did for us. On the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sins so that God the Father could look on us as believers and see us as righteous. On our solid foundation, trust is developed as we see God fulfill His promises in our lives and in those around us. This foundation of trust helps carry us in our faith walk with God. And as we learn to trust God more each day, we can share that trust with others. There are literally hundreds of verses in the Bible talking about trusting God. My favorite verses are Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” When we place our trust in God, whether we understand the what and why of the things He’s doing in our lives, we believe that He is in the process of giving us His best for our good, just like Romans 8:28 promises. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Lord, sometimes our lives are full of commotion, but when we put our trust in You, beautiful things will come from our firm foundation. And thank you that any foundation built on You will be rock solid. Amen.
6…NEVER FORGOTTEN
Good morning! My sister has been visiting from Texas. Her week here has gone by so fast. As we normally do when our family gets together, reminiscing takes up a part of our conversations. For days now, we’ve been trying to think of the names of two brothers that lived across the street from us growing up. All five of us kids could remember one of the brother’s name but none of us could remember the second one’s name. It was a toss-up between Steve, Tim, Scott or Todd. Turns out that we were
