April 13
1 Timothy 6:6-8
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
Paul often makes me feel ashamed when I read about the need to be content, however, there are more and more times now when I truly do realize complete contentment. Paul is not concerned with hoarding money and possessions like many people are today. He said food and clothes were all he needed. He had all he needed to live each day and then he had faith that God would provide what he needed for the next day.
Too many people want to think that if they serve God, He will give them all the riches and earthly gain they could ever desire. But as you've probably heard people say, God is not a genie in a bottle that fulfills our every wish. Godliness does not mean money. Or possessions. Nowhere in the Bible does God say, serve me and I will give you earthly gain. But He does promise us life to the full and Heaven when this life is over.
Many of us spent the day yesterday watching the weather in fear of what may come. And in several areas of our states people have lost their lives, others have lost their home and their earthly possessions. (Let us be in prayer for all of them!!) But on this day, the day after the storms, some of us aren't thinking about the weather any more. It is the day after and we are only looking at today and what "storms" we may face anew. I have talked with people who lost possessions due to storms or fires and almost every time they say something to the extent of "I'm just glad the Lord kept me safe. Stuff is stuff." That is really the way we should feel every day. Stuff is stuff but Jesus is life. That put things a little more in perspective.
Today, as go through the day after the storms, let us remember that the majority of us not only have every thing we need, but pretty close to every thing we want. That should bring you real contentment.
Monday, April 13, 2020
Saturday, April 11, 2020
Daily Devotion April 11--The Season of "Without"
April 11
Romans 15:13
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
So many things are running through my head. I feel like a child that has been in perpetual time-out. I don't mind being home, if it is by my choice. Then suddenly it dawned on me---we are in a season of "without".
Students are without the daily routine of attending school regardless of the level. They are without their friends. Many people, especially those who live alone or in residential care, are without visitors. Christians are without weekly, in the church house services. Our choir is without their Easter cantata. Families are without their family reunions. Athletes are without their games. We are without our shopping trips and excursions and just hanging out with others. Yes, we are without many things. But, many are without hope.
Even though I am having to do without many of the things that make my life pleasant and fun and fulfilling, I am not without hope. All those who know Jesus as their personal Saviour, also should not be without hope. We have hope of joy and peace. We have hope of knowing this is all in God's plan and that He will work everything for the good of those who love Him. We are not without. We are full.
As you go through the day today, remember that even if we are without many things, we are never without HOPE,
Romans 15:13
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
So many things are running through my head. I feel like a child that has been in perpetual time-out. I don't mind being home, if it is by my choice. Then suddenly it dawned on me---we are in a season of "without".
Students are without the daily routine of attending school regardless of the level. They are without their friends. Many people, especially those who live alone or in residential care, are without visitors. Christians are without weekly, in the church house services. Our choir is without their Easter cantata. Families are without their family reunions. Athletes are without their games. We are without our shopping trips and excursions and just hanging out with others. Yes, we are without many things. But, many are without hope.
Even though I am having to do without many of the things that make my life pleasant and fun and fulfilling, I am not without hope. All those who know Jesus as their personal Saviour, also should not be without hope. We have hope of joy and peace. We have hope of knowing this is all in God's plan and that He will work everything for the good of those who love Him. We are not without. We are full.
As you go through the day today, remember that even if we are without many things, we are never without HOPE,
Friday, April 10, 2020
Daily Devotion April 10 --Here I Am
April 10
1 Samuel 3
4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
Samuel was just a child, yet he heard the Lord calling him. The first 2 times the Lord called, Samuel ran to the priest Eli. The third time that Samuel ran to Eli, Eli realized that it was the Lord God calling Samuel and Eli told him how to answer. The next time the Lord called, Samuel said "Speak, for Thy servant heareth." (v.10)
I wonder how many times God has called out to us and we thought surely it was someone else speaking to us. Maybe we thought it was our own ego. Maybe we thought we were just speaking to ourselves. I wonder how many times God has had to call us before we realized Who was calling out name.
In this noisy culture that we live in, it is often difficult for us to hear God. But listening for His voice is a very important part of our Christian walk. We must be careful not to let our minds become more in tune with the the sounds of the world than we are with the voice of God. Perhaps that is the reason we have been forced into a more quiet time. With less to do, fewer places to go and fewer obligations, we should have time to be quiet. We have more opportunity to sit and quietly listen for God's calling.
I love this quote: "Breaking the pattern of rush, rush, rush can restore our bodies
and our minds and can bring an oasis of healing calm in the midst of stress." Norman Vincent Peale
It is a great reminder that we need to settle our minds and listen.
As we go through the day today, let us be sure to take time to listen for God's voice.
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Daily Devotion April 9-I Am Missing You!
April 9
Genesis 31:49
49 ...The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
How I am missing the time I usually get to spend with friends and family. It seems like each of us has been banished to our own island. And even though we can text, call, email or FaceTime, it is just not the same. I miss the softness of a hug from my aunt. I miss the kiss on the cheek from a church friend. I miss the sparkle in my friend's eyes when we are laughing together. I miss those special people in my life. I bet you can share some of these same feelings with me.
However, I can take some comfort in knowing that God is watching over each of them just as He is watching over me. I think it is ok to miss people. God has not given us the ability to love others without knowing that there would be days when we would be absent from one another.
We know that God sees and knows everything and He can watch over each of us regardless of how far we are from one another. I think this is a good prayer for each of us to pray every day as we think about those we are missing during this time. We can trust God to watch over us and keep us safe. That is what we will need to do as we go through the remainder of our days. Thank you, Lord, for watching over us.
Today as we go through the day, let us take just a moment to ask God to watch over all those we love until we are together again.
Genesis 31:49
49 ...The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
How I am missing the time I usually get to spend with friends and family. It seems like each of us has been banished to our own island. And even though we can text, call, email or FaceTime, it is just not the same. I miss the softness of a hug from my aunt. I miss the kiss on the cheek from a church friend. I miss the sparkle in my friend's eyes when we are laughing together. I miss those special people in my life. I bet you can share some of these same feelings with me.
However, I can take some comfort in knowing that God is watching over each of them just as He is watching over me. I think it is ok to miss people. God has not given us the ability to love others without knowing that there would be days when we would be absent from one another.
We know that God sees and knows everything and He can watch over each of us regardless of how far we are from one another. I think this is a good prayer for each of us to pray every day as we think about those we are missing during this time. We can trust God to watch over us and keep us safe. That is what we will need to do as we go through the remainder of our days. Thank you, Lord, for watching over us.
Today as we go through the day, let us take just a moment to ask God to watch over all those we love until we are together again.
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Daily Devotion April 8--How Long
April 8
Psalm 6:3
3 My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long?
When we look around today, I have a feeling many of us can agree with the Psalmist that our should is "sore vexed." I don't know about you, but every day I ask, How much longer, Lord? Then I remind myself that our only hope anyway is in Jesus. Are these two things so opposite that they should not be in our minds simultaneously? I don't think so.
Even when we know we have our hope based in Jesus, we still can become discouraged and question how long we will have to withstand a trial. In those times, it is good for us to spend time in prayer and ask God what He needs from us. Sometimes I think we have to say, OK, Lord, You have my attention. What can I do? What do You want me to see, to do, to learn? I think that God longs for us to ask Him these questions. This gives Him the opportunity to show us how great He really is. We need to have a desire to move to higher ground and we know that only He can get us there.
Perhaps that is the motivation for asking how long. When we know something is going to eventually end, that it will be behind us one day, we can deal with it a little better. God doesn't tell us how long we will have to endure but He does promise us that better days are coming--whether on this earth or in Heaven.
One of my favorite hymns says:
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus name
On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
As we go through this day, let us remember that God knows how long and will give us the strength to survive.
Psalm 6:3
3 My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long?
When we look around today, I have a feeling many of us can agree with the Psalmist that our should is "sore vexed." I don't know about you, but every day I ask, How much longer, Lord? Then I remind myself that our only hope anyway is in Jesus. Are these two things so opposite that they should not be in our minds simultaneously? I don't think so.
Even when we know we have our hope based in Jesus, we still can become discouraged and question how long we will have to withstand a trial. In those times, it is good for us to spend time in prayer and ask God what He needs from us. Sometimes I think we have to say, OK, Lord, You have my attention. What can I do? What do You want me to see, to do, to learn? I think that God longs for us to ask Him these questions. This gives Him the opportunity to show us how great He really is. We need to have a desire to move to higher ground and we know that only He can get us there.
Perhaps that is the motivation for asking how long. When we know something is going to eventually end, that it will be behind us one day, we can deal with it a little better. God doesn't tell us how long we will have to endure but He does promise us that better days are coming--whether on this earth or in Heaven.
One of my favorite hymns says:
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus name
On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
As we go through this day, let us remember that God knows how long and will give us the strength to survive.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Daily Devotion April 7--Thankful for Blessings
April 7
Psalm 9:1
I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart;...
I was listening to the news today and thought to myself "OH God, how thankful I am for all of Your blessings!" Sometimes in times of trouble or fear, we forget how truly blessed we are.
We often hear the statement "Have an attitude of gratitude." For some reason we seem to only think about our blessings around Thanksgiving but we really need to think about them every single day.
In the first part of Psalm 105 verse 1 we read "O give thanks unto the Lord..." This should be our thought in every situation. The more thankful we are to God for His blessings, the closer we draw to Him. Gratitude also gives us a sense of peace. We find that we aren't as worried or fearful when we have God's peace. We know that being thankful makes us more appreciative of the things we have and even more thankful for the negative things we do not have to deal with each day.
We need to be careful and not complain about the trivial things in life. Nobody has a life of perfection on this earth. However, if we let our unhappiness become our main focus, then we don't have the heart we need to be grateful for our blessings. Being thankful should be one of the marks of the believer in Jesus Christ. Start talking about your blessings more and less about your problems and see how life turns for you.
As we go through this day, let us remember to praise the Lord with our whole heart.
Psalm 9:1
I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart;...
I was listening to the news today and thought to myself "OH God, how thankful I am for all of Your blessings!" Sometimes in times of trouble or fear, we forget how truly blessed we are.
We often hear the statement "Have an attitude of gratitude." For some reason we seem to only think about our blessings around Thanksgiving but we really need to think about them every single day.
In the first part of Psalm 105 verse 1 we read "O give thanks unto the Lord..." This should be our thought in every situation. The more thankful we are to God for His blessings, the closer we draw to Him. Gratitude also gives us a sense of peace. We find that we aren't as worried or fearful when we have God's peace. We know that being thankful makes us more appreciative of the things we have and even more thankful for the negative things we do not have to deal with each day.
We need to be careful and not complain about the trivial things in life. Nobody has a life of perfection on this earth. However, if we let our unhappiness become our main focus, then we don't have the heart we need to be grateful for our blessings. Being thankful should be one of the marks of the believer in Jesus Christ. Start talking about your blessings more and less about your problems and see how life turns for you.
As we go through this day, let us remember to praise the Lord with our whole heart.
Monday, April 6, 2020
Daily Devotion April 6--Laughter
April 6
Job 8:21
Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.
I love to laugh. I like to be around people who laugh. I love when my grandchildren are giggling in the tub or in the backyard or as we roll around in the bed. Some of my greatest memories of my dad included hearing him guffaw. We all have heard that "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:" (Provers 17:22). So laughter is a good thing, especially in times of trial, fear or anxiety.
In this verse from Job we read that God would fill his mouth with laughing. Just think about that...God giving us laughter. If you've lived any length of time you have problem learned that God has a sense of humor. When you look at all the different animals that God created, you know He had to have a sense of humor. (I mean, have you ever seen a platypus?) But just imagine having the opportunity to sit and laugh with Him. I just believe that during their 3 1/2 years together that the disciples spent some time laughing with Jesus. He was part man and that is the natural release of an emotion.
In my imagination I sometimes think about what it will be like to finally be in the arms of Jesus. To sit with Him and talk about all He has done. To listen to Him tell us of the times that He knew we were hurting or lonely and He sent someone our way to make us laugh again. It is such a release of stress to just have a good ole belly laugh.
During this time of constant anxiety and worry, let us not forget to laugh. Tell knock knock jokes with kids. Call Bro. Cecil and he will tell you a Boudreaux joke lol. Watch an old I Love Lucy or Carol Burnett. Just find something that will fill you with the joy of laughter.
As we go through the day, let us look for ways to bring laughter into the lives of others and ourselves.
Job 8:21
Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.
I love to laugh. I like to be around people who laugh. I love when my grandchildren are giggling in the tub or in the backyard or as we roll around in the bed. Some of my greatest memories of my dad included hearing him guffaw. We all have heard that "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:" (Provers 17:22). So laughter is a good thing, especially in times of trial, fear or anxiety.
In this verse from Job we read that God would fill his mouth with laughing. Just think about that...God giving us laughter. If you've lived any length of time you have problem learned that God has a sense of humor. When you look at all the different animals that God created, you know He had to have a sense of humor. (I mean, have you ever seen a platypus?) But just imagine having the opportunity to sit and laugh with Him. I just believe that during their 3 1/2 years together that the disciples spent some time laughing with Jesus. He was part man and that is the natural release of an emotion.
In my imagination I sometimes think about what it will be like to finally be in the arms of Jesus. To sit with Him and talk about all He has done. To listen to Him tell us of the times that He knew we were hurting or lonely and He sent someone our way to make us laugh again. It is such a release of stress to just have a good ole belly laugh.
During this time of constant anxiety and worry, let us not forget to laugh. Tell knock knock jokes with kids. Call Bro. Cecil and he will tell you a Boudreaux joke lol. Watch an old I Love Lucy or Carol Burnett. Just find something that will fill you with the joy of laughter.
As we go through the day, let us look for ways to bring laughter into the lives of others and ourselves.
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