Category: Devotional

“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” – Psalm 51: 7-12. 

There is a line in the book, Jesus>Religion that blew my mind.  The author, Jefferson Bethke, was talking about an incident in his life. He was in the process of doing something that he knew to be a sin and went ahead and did it anyway. Afterward, he was swimming in his guilt and shame when a still, small voice whispered in his mind. “I love you. I desire you. I saw you were going to do that before I went to the cross and I still went.” The line was not a revelation, yet my eyes hovered over it, my mind refusing to move on.  I just stared at those words for a few seconds.  Then I read them again, letting the power of those words sink in. Jesus knew I would be a mess, yet He still went to the cross for me.

For those few seconds, I wondered what my life would have looked like to God, if not for the cross. Isaiah 64:5-7 tells us, “You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways. But you have been very angry with us, for we are not godly. We are constant sinners; how can people like us be saved? We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.” All of my righteousness is like “filthy rags” and I am “infected and impure with sin.” Look at what Paul said in Romans 7:24 (ESV):”Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Just a few verses earlier, Paul says “…I am all too human, a slave to sin.” (Romans 7:14 NLT). God loves us in spite of our sin, and He yearns to forgive us, cleanse us and purify our hearts and minds.

So no matter what we do, we will never catch God off guard. The Bible says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” (Hebrews 4:13). When Jesus went to the cross, He saw all I’ll ever be and all I’ll ever do; but He loved and pursued me anyway. That is grace. Grace that I couldn’t earn and don’t deserve.  Thanks to the cross, God no longer sees me as a ”wretched” sinner but as a child of God, as someone God thought was worth the blood of Jesus. 

Right now if I died, I would go to heaven. Not because I pastored a church. Not because I participated in mission trips and taught small groups. Certainly not because of religious education, Bible knowledge or study.  Not because of denominational affiliation, baptism, or participation in the Lord’s supper. If I died right now, I would go to heaven because two thousand years ago the Son of God shed His blood for every wretched person, inluding me.

Discussion Questions:

1. Jesus knows all about our sins, and yet He went to the cross for each of us. How do you respond to Jesus’ powerful love for you?
2. What can we do this week to better understand the love and grace of God?  

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.” – 1 Timothy 2:1.

In the midst of His greatest trial, Jesus prayed fervently. What would you have prayed about when facing torture and death? It’s fascinating to see what was on Jesus’ mind as He prayed, not only for Himself but for His disciples and for us: “Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.  I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” (John 17:18-21).

Jesus did not just focus inward, but by His words and His prayers showed that He wanted love and joy and peace and patience and all the presence of God’s Spirit for His followers.  He prayed for them—and us—out of love and deep concern. The scriptures direct us to intercede for others. Praying for others is our responsibility and our privilege. Oswald Chambers said that “the real business of your life as a saved soul is intercessory prayer.”  

Have you ever felt an unexplained burden on your heart to pray for those who are far from the heart of God in your community or the world at large? There are many ways to love our neighbor, but intercessory prayer—praying on behalf of other people—is surely one of the most powerful. The Bible is full of examples of intercessory prayers. The prophets prayed for the people of Israel. Jesus interceded for those involved in His crucifixion, “…Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing…” (Luke 23:34). The book of Hebrews indicates that Jesus will always intercede for us: “Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save[a] those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.” (Hebrews 7:25).

Jesus often stopped what He was doing to help people whether it was convenient or not. He lived and ministered among the “people.” He did not shy away from interaction with people like tax collectors, prostitutes, and lepers. When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, he wanted them to remember the needs of others, not just their own needs.

Prayer is vital,  but don’t stop there.  Ask God how you can take action to help a person in need. Maybe it is taking them grocery shopping, or cooking, or babysitting, or just picking up the phone and calling them.  

Discussion Questions:

1. Have you seen God work through your intercessory prayers? 
2. Have you experienced a blessing in your life as a result of someone interceding in prayer for you?  

“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. 

If I asked you who you pray for most of the time the answer would be yourself.  Our prayers are full of our individual worries, problems, needs, and desires. If we are praying for ourselves, we aren’t praying for others. In the book Radical by David Platt, the author challenges the reader to do five things, one of which is to pray for the world. There are more than 1 billion people without Christ that are in need of our prayers.

Jesus called us to pray for the world and those lost in the world. In 1 Timothy 2:1-4, “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” God wants believers to pray for everyone on earth together because He desires all people to be saved. How can we love our neighbor as ourselves if we do not even pray for them? Prayer is one of the simplest ways we love our neighbors near and far.

And it just so happens that today’s technology extends our memory, expands our reach, and unites our efforts so that we can intentionally do this for everyone on earth. What will God do as we pray for people we’ve never prayed for before? What will happen as we pray regularly for the world? It will be exciting to find out. 

In the book Radical, David Platt talks about a book entitled Operation World, by Patrick Johnstone.  Platt says this book revolutionized his prayer life more than any other book outside of the Bible. This book contains detailed information on every nation in the world, including statistics on the religious makeup of every country, updates on gospel work in every country, and prayer requests for every country. It also includes a prayer guide that you can follow, over the course of a year. That information enables you to pray specifically and intentionally for every nation in the world. You don’t have to buy the book. The information in the book is available free online (www.operationworld.org).

Prayer can lead to effects far beyond what we can imagine. What can your prayer do, as it is empowered by God? Just imagine. So the first facet of the radical experiment from the book Radical is to pray for the entire world in one year. Pray intentionally, specifically, and audaciously that God’s purpose to be accomplished around the world.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think praying for the world will make a difference? Why or why not? 
2. Which countries would you be willing to pray for? 

“I believe God has heard my prayers. He will make it manifest in His own good time that He has heard me. I have recorded my petitions that when God has answered them, His name will be glorified.” ― George Muller, The Autobiography of George Muller“

George Müller…most people have never heard that name. Certainly his name is not as familiar to Christians as D. L. Moody, Charles Spurgeon, and Hudson Taylor. George Müller (1805–98) pastored a church in Bristol, England, for more than sixty years, but he was best known for the orphan ministry he began. During his life he cared for more than ten thousand orphans. The defining feature of George Müller’s life was his unshakable confidence and faith in God.  

In the 1800’s, England was driven by social classes, which meant that poor people did not fare very well, including children. Many children in poverty ended up on the streets, either abandoned or orphaned. George made these children his primary ministry. The Müllers’ took in their first group of girls in 1836, and their orphanage soon housed over a hundred. It’s expensive to feed even a small family. Imagine the cost of feeding hundreds at a time. But George never worried about money and never asked for donations. He believed that God would answer his prayers to provide their needs. George raised each and every penny for this ministry on his knees, through unceasing, persistent, thankful prayer and an unwavering faith in God. Remarkably, and intentionally, he never asked for money or other resources to provide for these orphans. Instead he simply prayed and trusted God to provide.

One example: The orphanage had run out of milk. Upon hearing the news, George rose from his desk and reached for his wife’s hand. “Mary,” he said, “let us pray.” Two orphanage employees joined them, and together they made their humble yet necessary request to God. Someone knocked on the door. Mary hurried to answer, returning to the study a moment later. She handed her husband an envelope. “It’s a letter, George. Hurry up and open it.” Enclosed was a sum of money, more than enough for the milk. Within minutes, two more letters arrived with money and pledges of support.

The power of prayer should not be underestimated. James 5:16-18 declares, “…The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.” God most definitely listens to prayers, answers prayers, and moves in response to prayers. 

There is no magic formula to prayer. There is no eloquence requirement. We don’t have to use certain words or phrases. Prayer is communicating with God. All you have to do is ask God for His help as George Müller did so many times in his life. Psalm 107:28-30 reminds us, “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor.” There is power in prayer!

Discussion Questions:

1. The early church was described as being “devoted” in prayer. Would you say that you are devoted to prayer? 
2. Read Ephesians 3:14-19. Imagine this prayer becoming reality in your life. How would things be different?

“I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray.” – Psalm 17:6 

If I asked you if prayer is important you would probably say “most definitely.”  If I were to ask you if you pray as much as you know you should your answer may be “no.” You would not be alone. It is interesting that we all know that we should pray, but we do not pray enough.  We hear sermons on the right and wrong ways to pray. Sometimes we even hear sermons on how we should pray. We know that prayer is important and that the Bible has much to say about it, but we do not always feel as if we are doing it effectively. It is natural to pray regularly and repetitively about certain matters—our personal relationship with God, family members, our church families, our unsaved neighbors and relatives, financial care and provision, health and safety, and so on. We become concerned that we are saying the same old things about the same old things. As a result, our communication with God has become too repetitive or stale. 

When God met Moses at the burning bush, it became a time of communication. God gave Moses his calling and Moses rebutted with his excuses as to why he was inadequate. Every time Moses gave an excuse, God gave an answer. God already knew everything about Moses, but Moses needed to get involved with God. Moses needed to communicate with God and become accustomed to talking with Him. As a result, Moses became a changed man. God then used him to change his world. God wants to get involved in everything we do. Prayer is how we involve Him.  

By spending time daily in prayer and worship, we invite God into our lives. God wants to hear from us, and get involved with us. Prayer is an opportunity that we should take to invite God to become involved in our lives. At Gethsemane, Jesus prayed “I want your will to be done, not mine.” In Matthew 6:10 (CEV) Jesus taught His disciples to pray “Come and set up your kingdom, so that everyone on earth will obey you, as you are obeyed in heaven.” It is important that we tell God what it is we think we need. It is also important to let God know our wants and our will. But, we need to listen to God and find out what He thinks and what He knows we need. We must remember that God’s will is more important and much better for us than our own. We can tell God our wants and needs, but we need to tell Him, “your will be done.”  

We desperately need God. God is not made complete in us, but we are made complete in Him. Prayer is the key to being made complete in Christ Jesus. In the book of Acts, whenever the church came together in unity and prayed, God moved miraculously. We need God to move miraculously in our lives, and this can only happen through prayer. This is why we pray, not to inform God, not to change him to our way of thinking, not to get our will done, not because He needs us, but because we need Him, love Him, and long to worship Him.

Discussion Questions:

1. Describe your daily conversations with God. What types of things do you regularly pray for?
2. There are people who think “life is a prayer.” Agree or disagree and why? 

“Oh, the joys of those who do not  follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” –  Psalm 1:1-3. 

Christianity is not a religion. It is a personal relationship with the living God. But effective relationships do not run on autopilot. It’s easy to have an exciting relationship when you first fall in love, but it takes deliberate effort to keep your marriage close and growing as the years go on. The same is true in your relationship with the Lord. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, it’s all-new, fresh and exciting. But if we don’t put in the effort, that relationship can become routine or even stagnant. That is where the Bible comes in. The Bible has all the information we need to build and even strengthen our relationship with God. It is God’s guidebook for life. So, you need to pray with Paul, “asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.” (Ephesians 1:17).

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Paul is telling us that God’s Word is good for us; it is profitable. Profitable means that there is a great gain on an investment. It teaches – helps us understand and brings clarity to life. It reproves – shows us how we have sinned. It corrects – points us to the truth when we are in error. It trains – shows us how to obey. God left us His word not simply to increase our knowledge, but to influence our character and conduct. God’s Word is sufficient to prepare us for everything the Bible commands us to do.

Jesus made perhaps the clearest statement describing the ultimate importance of Scripture when, as Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3: “…The Scriptures say,‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4). 

Spending time daily in Scripture is an essential component of spiritual growth. The power of understanding what the Scriptures say is not for knowledge only but because they tell us of Jesus. The more we know about the Bible the more we can intimately abide in our relationship with Jesus.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why should we study God’s Word? Do we need a different learning style when studying the Bible? 

“So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.” – 2 Corinthians 5:9-10.

The Bible tells us that our main goal should be to please God. There are many Christians out there that try their hardest to do just tha. They have a quiet time every morning. They pray often. They memorize Scripture. And they lead a small group each week. But they never feel like they are doing enough and inevitably they ask the question that Christians have asked themselves for millennia: “Am I doing enough to please God?”

The answer can be found in Ephesians 2:8-9 that says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” The bottom line is that God’s acceptance of us is not based on our ability to do the right things. Because even on our best day, when we seem to be doing everything right, we’re still sinners. We can’t keep God’s commands perfectly. That’s why we need God’s grace in the first place.

God is pleased with us, not because of what we do but because of who we are—His child. Through his grace, we are “hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3). That means when God looks at us, He doesn’t see our sin, He sees the perfection of His Son. In Genesis, we read about Abraham’s “friendship” with God.  His relationship with God shows us what it takes to please God and to be accepted by God.  Abraham’s relationship pleased God not because of what he did, but what he believed. He believed God.  “Now you see how Abraham’s faith and deeds worked together. He proved that his faith was real by what he did. This is what the Scriptures mean by saying, “Abraham had faith in God, and God was pleased with him.” That’s how Abraham became God’s friend. You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe.” (James 2:22-24 CEV)  

In the gospel, God reveals the depth of our need for Him. He shows us that there is absolutely nothing we can do to come to Him. We can’t manufacture salvation. We can’t program it. We can’t produce it. We can’t even initiate it. God has to open our eyes, set us free, overcome our evil, and appease His wrath. We are radically dependent on God to do something in our life that you could never do.

As followers of Jesus we must learn to accept His acceptance.  Receive, by faith, His forgiveness made possible by what He did for us, not by what you can do for Him. Thank Him for loving us.  Rejoice in the fact that God accepts each of us by faith.  Through Christ, we are pleasing to God!

Discussion Questions:

1. What is more important, trying to get to God or acknowledging our desperate need for Christ?
2. How can we change our way of thinking so we will focus on winning God’s approval, not other people’s approval?

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” – Psalm 51: 7-12. 

I Can Only Imagine is a film with a powerful message of hope, redemption, and forgiveness. “My dad was a monster. And I saw God transform him.” There, in the words of Bart Millard to Amy Grant is the theme of the movie. It is the story of God’s amazing grace, of the redemption of a lost and broken soul, and of the power of forgiveness to change both a father and a son. It is a story of true repentance. 

The importance of repentance is hard to overstate. After all, Jesus’s first public exhortation was “Repent!” (Mark 1:15)—and if repentance was high on Jesus’s list, we probably should pay attention too. In fact, all throughout the Bible, we see people being called to repentance. Repentance is not just believing in God, but turning from our old ways. We begin to live as new creations and let the old life pass away: “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17) 

Repentance is often confused with remorse, but there is a significant difference between the two. Repentance produces change, whereas remorse merely produces sorrow. Repentance is where a sinner is inwardly humbled and outwardly reformed. Essential to the idea of repentance is that it is both internal and external. When Jesus calls us to repent, he is not calling us to beat up on ourselves or merely to work on cleaning up our lives. Instead, He is calling us to a radical change of heart. 

In David’s psalm of repentance (Psalm 51), he reminds us that God does not delight so much in the outward signs of repentance which included making a sacrifice, He wants a change of heart. “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” (Psalm 51:17). David knew he could not fix the problem of his heart. He did not draw a line in the sand and make bold promises about what he could do for God. He threw himself on God’s mercy and grace. He prayed in verse 10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God…” because he realized he could not make his own heart pure. In verse 12, he prayed, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” Not the “joy of my salvation. Repenting brings us to the end of ourselves and back to God’s grace.

True repentance—a heart change and the determination to no longer follow after the flesh but rather turn toward Jesus. Christ. 

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you know if repentance is real? What is the result of genuine repentance?
2. Is there one person in your life that you think truly understands what it means to repent? What kinds of things characterize their life?

“In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.”– Matthew 6:14-15 (MSG). 

The idea of forgiveness tends to make people squirm a little. It doesn’t matter if you are a new Christian or one that has walked with the Lord for many years, it is a struggle to get over past hurts. Showing mercy and love to those who have injured us does not come naturally. Once you are a Christian you would think it would be easier to love others, but forgiving someone who has deeply hurt us is one of the most difficult tasks we are faced with as Christians. That is because we want affirmation that the pain inflicted upon us was unfair and cruel. We want someone to pay for their actions. It is at times like these when we need to remember we serve a God who shows more forgiveness to us in a day then we will ever have the opportunity to show someone else in a lifetime.

The movie I Can Only Imagine, shows the reality of forgiveness in a way that so many will relate to. This movie is not only an example of God’s never-ending, all-consuming, redeeming love, but also an example of a man who chose to look to Him as an example of forgiveness when he was faced with two choices: to forgive or to reject. Bart Millard’s father consistently crushed his dreams and physically and emotionally abused him. It was when Millard returned home to find his father a changed man, passionate about loving Christ and asking for his forgiveness that he was faced with the task of truly trusting and forgiving like Christ. The story that unfolds is one that he would never have imagined—a true testament to the love and forgiveness he showed a man who by all accounts, didn’t deserve it.

There are real lessons to be learned from this movie. For example, no one is too broken for forgiveness from God, which means they shouldn’t be too broken for forgiveness from us. Second, if a perfect and all-knowing God can forgive, who are we to withhold the forgiveness that is so selflessly given to us? Forgiveness is not about getting even. In fact, sometimes, the scales will be left unbalanced. Forgiveness is a gift that is genuinely given to someone who has wronged us. And finally, forgiveness opens doors to reconciliation opportunities instead of going through life with anger. Bart and his father were able to mend and develop a relationship that changed both of their lives. Had he chosen not to forgive, the pain of their broken relationship would have followed him for the rest of his life. The redemptive story of his father’s journey to Christ is what inspired the song, “I Can Only Imagine.” 

Discussion Questions:

1. What characteristics in your life might indicate that you haven’t fully forgiven past hurts, even if you know in your head what you need to do?
2. Who do you need to forgive this week? 

“Isn’t it interesting how some life-changing devastations are actually like the crossover switches on train tracks that take you in a totally new direction, often forcing you onto the path you were supposed to be on all along?” ― Bart Millard, I Can Only Imagine: A Memoir.

I Can Only Imagine is a good movie. It doesn’t try to cram too many themes and sub-plots into a 2 hour movie. Nor is this movie preachy.This is a movie that shares the story of God’s redemption and grace in an inspirational but simple way.  

The vehicle for the story is the best-selling Christian song, “I Can Only Imagine”, by Bart Millard, lead singer of the band MercyMe. Millard wrote the song for his father, who represents overbearing and abusive fathers everywhere. There were plenty of confrontations between father and son. Few people would describe the process of confrontation as a joyful one, but the reconciliation aspect is truly one that inspires rejoicing. The story of Jacob and Esau is a story of reconciliation. 

If anyone had good reason to hold a grudge, it would be Jacob’s brother, Esau. Jacob cheated Esau out of his birthright and his blessing; then he fled because Esau planned to kill him as soon as their father, Isaac, died. Years later, after they both had wives and children, they met again, but Jacob was still terrified that Esau still wanted to kill him. He sent messengers and lavish gifts ahead of him, hoping to appease his brother. But he need not have worried. As Jacob bowed before his ­brother, “Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.” (Genesis 33:4) Jacob responded, “For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably.” (Genesis 33:11 NIV) 

If we have also read the previous chapter, Jacob’s response may remind us that Jacob had just had an experience of seeing God face to face. Now Jacob saw a reflection of God in Esau through their reconciliation.

The Bible instructs us to live in harmony with other people, but we won’t always succeed. We will hurt others, even if we do so unintentionally. And others will hurt us. We will have misunderstandings. We will anger others and be angry at others. When we reconcile with another person after being at odds, we see God’s face, because God is a God of reconciliation.

Discussion Questions:

1. How would you feel about doing something or going somewhere that might take you out of your comfort zone in order to reconcile with someone? 
2. Is there a person that we need to reconcile with?