A Christian Devotional

[Shammu]

Recount your blessings!

Joshua 23:14 And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.

As Joshua led the children of Israel into the promised land it seemed that God had given them an impossible assignment -- to conquer a foreign and hostile land with fortified cities and armies greater than their own. They had to go forth only on the basis of God's promise. They had to walk by faith and not by sight!

How did Joshua lead them to walk by faith? He reminded them that God has never failed them. And he encouraged them to them focus on the promises of God!

You too can rely on God's faithfulness today! Are you in the midst of a crisis? Are high mountains facing you today? If so, we want to remind you of all the miraculous ways God has worked in your life in the past! Though we often forget our promises to Him, He will never forget His promises to us! Let's spend the day recounting God's victories and determine to exercise faith for the trials we face today!

[Shammu]

Where’s your heart??

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

When a Michigan man entered the hospital for tests one day, he never would have guessed what the doctors would find. A routine chest x-ray revealed that the man’s heart was on the wrong side of his chest! Because of a rare reversed-organ condition, his heart was in the wrong place. This is a strange story indeed, although I think some of us suffer from this condition in a spiritual way.

Do you ever find yourself thinking you’re in a good place with the Lord? I haven’t done this sin or that sin in a long time. I’m doing much better in this area of my life than so and so is. I am in leadership in my church or ministry and and I think I'm a better Christian than the people I lead. You know what I’m talking about? We get to thinking we’re in a good place -- a safe place -- home free.

This safe place is a dangerous place! The reality is that Satan wants us to be content in where we are. He wants us to compare ourselves to others and feel we've arrived! But we haven't! God wants us to continually strive to be more like Him! It is only when we come to a place of humility and dependence upon the Lord that we can have a heart that's truly in the right place.

We need to daily examine ourselves to see if our hearts are where they need to be. Are we depending on God in every way? Are we constantly acknowledging that all we have and are is by His hand of mercy and grace? Let's stop comparing ourselves to others and our pasts and strive for God’s perfection today!

[Shammu]

Are you glowing?

1 Corinthains 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

This is a true story. When I wanted to 'pop the question', I planned the whole event out very carefully -- the restaurant, the roses delivered to the corner table between two big windows overlooking the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, an especially made heart shaped cheesecake (her favorite) with beautiful orchids atop for decoration. Even with all this preparation, when I actually did the proposing after dinner, on my knee, with ring in hand, my beloved just stared at the ring in disbelief. After a few very long minutes that I awaited her answer on bended knee in the middle of the restaurant and there came none, I thought I'd better get back into my chair. Finally, after another few long minutes, she said 'Well, aren't you going to kneel down and ask me to marry you?'

She was so taken aback by the ring that she didn't realize I had done it already! So there again, in the middle of the restaurant, she made me get back down and do it again! But that was the price I had to pay for such a lovely lady, I guess! Afterward, she glowed (as any girl would if she knew she was loved)!

In the ancient Hebrew marriage tradition, the groom's father would go and find him a bride -- like when Abraham sent his servant to choose a bride for Issac. A pretty price had to be paid for that bride, if you remember.

A price had to be paid for our marriage to the Lord too! And what price was that? It was Jesus' voluntary death at Calvary.

Let's remember the great price that was paid for us. The price was precious, because we are precious to Him! He has loved us with an eternal love that cannot be changed! We are His treasure! We should be glowing with joy!

[Shammu]

Is there grass on your path?

Psalms 62:8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Early African believers were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time, the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path."

Prayer is a time when we can be completely intimate with the Lord -- we can share all our burdens, heartaches, situations and life struggles... but sometimes we need to get away into the thicket, alone, and be intimate with Him! The Lord loves to be intimate with us! He doesn't want a superficial relationship of recited prayers -- but a deep relationship with Him -- the One who loves us with a love that is everlasting!

If grass has begun to grow on your path, take some time out and find your way to that spot in the thicket today. God awaits you!

[Shammu]

Let's learn from the ants!

Philippians 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

If you look at the ant you will find that they dwell in colonies.  Each colony consists of approximately 60,000 - 90,000 ants -- they really can't prosper on their own.   They need each other.  How does a colony of that many ants to work together?   The only reason it works is that they operate in unity.  Each ant shares the same purpose, the same goal, and the same aim.

Just as ants can't prosper on their own, neither can we as believers.  As ants need each other, so do God's children.  We need to dwell together as they do.  The way we dwell together is by sharing the same purpose.  We don't have to agree on when the tribulation or rapture is going to happen.  Those are all secondary things.   But we do have to be intent on the same purpose, to glorify God and spread His Word, to love God and each other.  Let's aim to accomplish the task that God has set before us and  God will be faithful bless our colony!

We can't let the ants put God's people to shame! Stay encouraged and focused on the ultimate goal!

[Shammu]

Change your landscape by planting some seeds!

Matthew 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

There was a mailman, John Hand, who rode his mail truck through Los Altos Hills of California on his 50 mile route each day.  The route was plain, all brown and virtually no color.  One day he began to throw wild flower seeds out of the window as he drove.  Today, if you travel his route in the Los Altos Hills you'll find beautiful patches of flowers throughout, blossoming in many colors.

We all travel different roads.  Sadly, many of us miss wonderful opportunities to change and bring added beauty to our landscapes. In our families, at our jobs, in the world around us, God has given us opportunies to color those landscapes!   It's far easier for us to complain and resign ourselves to settling for those landscapes, than it is to be the catalysts of change. From this point on, let's resolve to stop complaining about the lifelessness around us and do something about it!  God has given us the power and anointing to change those landscapes!  Let's start sowing the seeds of the Gospel, the seeds of salvation and new life.  Let's sow the seeds of love, joy, righteousness and all the tasty fruits of the Spirit.  As we sow them throughout our daily lives, those dull, dry landscapes will begin blossom into something beautiful and we, like that mailman, John Hand, will be remembered as the ones who sowed those seeds.

Be a sower of seed producing fruit of a 100-fold!

[Shammu]

Get down!

Matthew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Jesus began His earthly ministry by being baptized in the Jordan river. The word Jordan in Hebrew is "Yarden" and its root is "yarad". It literally means to descend, which would make sense being that the Jordan descends more than any river on earth.

If we truly want to walk in the fullness of the Lord, we have to follow the example that Jesus set before us. Jesus descended from Heaven, He descended from glory, was baptized in the Jordan and fulfilled the calling that the Father bestowed upon Him by being our perfect sacrifice on Calvary. Jesus totally and completely surrendered Himself to do His Father's will.

We too must descend and surrender all that we are and all we have been given. We must truly give our lives, not for our own glory, but for His. Until we do that, we'll never be able to see all the blessings and opportunities the Lord has prepared for us since the foundation of the world.

Let's learn a lesson from the Yarden today. When we descend, we'll be lifted up! We'll see the blessings freely flow from a Heavenly source which will never run dry!

[Shammu]

Keep your head up!

John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

I read a story about a new young partner in a law firm. The senior partners had set extremely high standards and had coached him carefully. He did well in some minor trials but he lost his first big case. When the partners reviewed the trial, they pointed out his errors and suggested different strategies. Even with all their critique, he lost the next big one. He felt terrible. Were they ready to give him the boot?

Then one of the partners took him aside. "Look," he said, "you're learning. Just keep going. You'll start winning. Meanwhile, your position is secure. You're one of us." Those words were exactly what he needed to hear.

Have you ever experienced this kind of compassion when you were feeling hopeless? If we’re believers, we have. The Lord has taken us aside and said, “Yeah, you’ve made some mistakes, but don’t worry -- your position is secure.

Know that God has provided your security today. Rest assured in Him -- and be sure to convey that same kind of compassion to struggling siblings in the faith. All of us need to be reassured once in a while.

[Shammu]

It's story time!

Matthew 13:34-35 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Here's an old Yiddish tale that we found.

Once upon a time, Truth went about the streets as naked as the day he was born. As a result, no one would let him into their homes. Whenever people caught sight of him, they turned away and fled. One day when Truth was sadly wandering about, he came upon Parable. Now, Parable was dressed in splendid clothes of beautiful colors. And Parable, seeing Truth, said, "Tell me, neighbor, what makes you look so sad?" Truth replied bitterly, "Ah, brother, things are bad -- very bad. I'm old -- very old, and no one wants to acknowledge me. No one wants anything to do with me."

Hearing that, Parable said, "People don't run away from you because you're old. I too am old -- very old. But the older I get, the better people like me. I'll tell you a secret: Everyone likes things disguised and prettied up a bit. Let me lend you some splendid clothes like mine, and you'll see that the very people who pushed you aside will invite you into their homes and be glad of your company." Truth took Parable's advice and put on the borrowed clothes. And from that time on, Truth and Parable have gone hand in hand together and everyone loves them. They make a happy pair.'

Jesus told many truths with parables. We can see that as we read through the gospels. Jesus rarely (maybe even never) began with scripture when he was among commoners. It was only in the synagogue, among the scholars that he did so. Most of the time, Jesus told stories about everyday things in order to bring His strong message in a way that would keep his listeners attention!

Perhaps you've been sharing Scripture with someone and the message is just not getting across the way you'd hoped. Each person is different. There is no exact universal recipe for how to share our faith. We must sense where a person is -- ask the Lord to show us where to start -- try different approaches! Maybe try something different today. Tell a story -- maybe even your story!

[Shammu]

Live like a king!

Revelation 1:5-6 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

One day a passerby saw a homeless man on the roadside. He stopped for a moment to hand him some loose change and casually said "God bless you, my friend”.
"I thank God," said the homeless man, "I am never unhappy."
"What do you mean?" the passerby asked.
"Well," he said, "when the sun is out, I thank God -- when it rains, I thank God. When I am full, I thank God and when I am hungry, I thank God. And, since God's will is my will, and whatever pleases Him pleases me, why should I say I am unhappy when I am not?"
The man looked at him in astonishment and asked, “Who are you?”
"I am a King," said he.
"Where, then, is your Kingdom?" asked the man.
"In my heart." The homeless man replied.

Yes, we can have nothing, yet have it all. So often, we focus on what we have and forget who we are! The two are not related at all -- what we have (or don't have) has nothing to do with who we are! The Word says that we are kings and priests and so it is!

Let's give all our concerns to the Lord and see ourselves as He does -- Kings and Priests! Thank God in every circumstance and there, we will find our victory.

[Shammu]

Softer is better!

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.

Often we come up against another’s opinion or idea, we feel that our way is right and we will fight fiercely for our position on the matter. The scripture teaches us, and I have come to understand from experience (although I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination); that we go about it the long way when we fight fiercely. If we come at them with our fists in the air, I think theirs will come up just as fast as ours, if not faster.

But if, instead, we say “come, let us reason together, and hear each other out, respecting each other, speaking softly, and trusting the Lord for the outcome, we will always gain a blessing.

Give a soft answer today and see what the Lord does!

[Shammu]

Be passionate!

Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

As churches across the world prepare for their own "Passion" plays, I thought I'd share the history of how it originated.

In the early 1600’s, a small village in Germany called Oberammergau, desperately cried out to God to save them from the bubonic plague which was devastating Europe at the time. The people of this town vowed to perform a play where every villager, both rich and poor, would participate. They would present the story of Messiah to the world every ten years forevermore, if the Lord would remove the plague from their people.

Even as thousands were dying in nearby villages, Oberammergau was untouched by this terrible disease. The people of Oberammergau were completely spared. This was the beginning of a tradition of which you’ve surely heard -- the renowned “Passion play”.

No matter what is happening around us --wars, plagues, sin running rampant -- if we are whole heartily committed to serving God, we will escape just as the tiny village of Oberammergau!

[Shammu]

It's time to volunteer!

2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

A wise man once said, "There's nothing more powerful than the heart of a volunteer". Webster describes a volunteer this way -- one who renders a service or receives a conveyance or transfer of property without giving valuable consideration.

It's so easy to get into the mindset that serving God is a chore, it's our job, our duty -- we give valuable consideration to our giving. The fact of the matter is that God loves a cheerful giver. He loves a volunteer. When I think of that verse, the first thing that comes to my mind is monetary giving, but God wants us to cheerfully volunteer every good thing He has so mercifully allowed us to have –- things we often take for granted -- our time, our energy, our abilities, our talents, our homes, our cars, our families –- all that we have – all that He has cheerfully given to us!

Let's make a point to volunteer some of these things to the Lord this week. Let’s begin to bless the Lord and those around us!

[Shammu]

Issumagijoujunnainermik!

Mark 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Today's word is not Hebrew or Greek, it's Eskimo! The word is issumagijoujunnainermik. When missionaries first shared the gospel with the Eskimos, they couldn't find any word in the Eskimo language for forgiveness.  So, they took a number of Eskimo words and joined them to form a new word -- Issu-magi-jou-jun-nai-ner-mik -- and it became the Eskimo word for forgiveness. The individual words are "Not-being-able-to-think-about-it-anymore."

Too often we remember the hurt, replaying it over and over again in our minds. Forgiveness is not something we do just once.  It is something we must reaffirm every day.   Whenever a hurtful memory comes up, remember the word Issu-magi-jou-jun-nai-ner-mik, and say, "I can't think about it anymore, it's in God's hands."

Rather than replay the hurt you may have acquired, replay God's mercy, His grace, His love for us (and them) -- when He freely gave His life. That will enable us to forget it and move forward.

[Shammu]

Be valiant!

Judges 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

Judges 6 begins with an angel talking to Gideon saying, “thou mighty man of valour!” However, in this passage Gideon isn't feeling very valiant – he’s consumed with his circumstances -- how poor his family is and how he's the least of his fathers’ house. He doesn't feel he's done anything worthy of being called valiant, yet the angel still addresses him "mighty man of valour!”

Gideon is not the only one who struggles with feeling unvaliant, though, is he? Even the best of us struggle with feelings of failure and defeat. But we must remember that we are part of the Lord’s army – and in the Lord’s army we do not depend upon our own strength. We depend upon the power of the Lord! We depend upon the victory that He has already won!

Imagine the countless thousands of saints like Gideon who have passed away before us and now sit in heaven’s glory where every tear is dried, and every wound is healed -- who have already fought the battle of life and are calling down to us from heaven saying "Fellow Saint, you can get through this thing! Fight this battle – for we have fought these same battles in our lives and been rewarded with heaven’s glory! So fight through and we’ll see you soon beside us! March forward you mighty man and woman of valor!"

The Lord stands anxiously awaiting our call. He wants us to walk in His power, not our own! Let's give him our circumstances today and strive to rely on His strength to conquer them! There's so MUCH work to be done!