Got A Minute?

James 1:3

BIBLE MEDITATION:
James 1:3 - "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
A man had a grandfather clock. One day he felt sorry for the grandfather clock because it had a weight on it, and that weight was always pulling on the clock. The man said, "Oh, Mr. Clock, you've held this weight so long; I'm going to remove it and let you rest." The clock protested, saying, "Don't take that weight from me. That's what keeps me going." In the same way, the trials and tests of life are there for your endurance. They're to keep you going, keep you trusting, keep you praying, and keep you depending upon God.

ACTION POINT:
When was the last time you shared with someone that they need to be thankful for their trials? When was the last time you told yourself that?

Mark 16:15

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Mark 16:15 - "And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
If I had to identify a major problem with believers today, it would be that they spend too much time getting out of trouble with God instead of getting into righteousness! We are living on the defensive instead of the offensive. We need to move beyond the defensive line of Christianity and move on to the offense - advancing the Kingdom, fulfilling the Great Commission, and telling others about Jesus. Our Shepherd will never lead us where His strength cannot keep us. He will never lead us down a path that He hasn't first walked down Himself.

ACTION POINT:
Are you sharing His love and words of salvation with someone who's lost? If not, begin today to move beyond your comfort zone and see the hand of God move.

Proverbs 7:24

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Proverbs 7:24 - "Hearken unto Me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of My mouth."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
The United States Government doesn't teach Treasury agents to detect counterfeit bills by having them study fakes. They show these agents real dollars over and over and over until they have the pattern memorized. Then, when a counterfeit is put in front of them, they recognize it instantly because it doesn't fit the pattern their eyes are looking for. Do you know the voice of the Lord? The only way you can be sure that it is His voice you are hearing is to hear it so often that a stranger's voice is instantly recognizable. It is far wiser to spend time learning the One True Voice than it is trying to learn to detect a multitude of false voices.

ACTION POINT:
Spend at least 15 minutes today being silent before God and listening for His voice.

Hebrews 11:21

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Hebrews 11:21 - "By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Jacob became a wounded worshipper because God did not withhold the rod of correction. The wounded in life are those who have learned difficult lessons through suffering. Do not resist the Shepherd's rod of correction. Is the wounding painful? Indeed. Does it seem that you will not be able to bear it? Most certainly. Then, why would He subject you to such pain? Because you have a Father who loves you so much that He is willing to hurt you to heal you. What you need to focus on is not your pain, but your Savior. God didn't save you to take you to heaven. That's a fringe benefit. God saved you to make you holy - as He is holy.

ACTION POINT:
Read Hebrews 12:1-13. What application can you make from this passage for your life today?

 

Hebrews 12

 ¹Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

 ²Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 ³For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

 ⁴Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

 ⁵And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

 ⁶For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

 ⁷If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

 ⁸But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

 ⁹Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

 ¹⁰For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

 ¹¹Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

 ¹²Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

 ¹³And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Psalm 25:12

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Psalm 25:12 - "What man is he that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
You are free to choose. You are not free, however, not to choose. Then, after you make a choice, your choice chooses for you. There are consequences for your choices - always. If you choose to step off the roof of a ten-story building, you are not, then, free to choose the consequences of your choice. Your choice has chosen for you. What if you make a bad choice? What is God's reaction? First, He is in control. Your choices will not take Him by surprise. Thanks be to God, He can prevail over our bad choices to restore us into fellowship with Himself!

ACTION POINT:
Have you made a choice in your past that has brought you consequences reverberating even today? Share this insight with someone who is younger in the faith than you.

Psalm 31:24

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Psalm 31:24 - "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Who knows you better than the One who created you? Who cares more for you than the One Who died for you? Who leads you more carefully than the One Who knows the end from the beginning? There is no greater picture of courage than the picture of Jesus Christ - the Savior Who lays down His life. You can know security because the One Who loves you is compassionate, caring, and courageous. Jesus knows you. He cares for you. He wants to lead you into the abundant life.

ACTION POINT:
Are you willing to lay down your life for the sake of the Lord and let Him lead you?

2 Corinthians 4:7

BIBLE MEDITATION:
2 Corinthians 4:7 - "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
If you're like most people, you don't realize your dependency on God until you're burned out from stress - either self-induced or caused by circumstances beyond your control. Why is that? Paul says it's because we are fragile, but he doesn't stop there. He says that God made us this way so that His power may be known through us! Maybe someone told you, "Oh, just tie a knot and hang on!" Sometimes God wants us to let go of the rope because it is keeping us tied down to our destructive habits. We are totally dependent on God so that the love of His Son may be made known to the world.

ACTION POINT:
Get a piece of rope and tie a knot in it. Let it sit on your desk this week as a reminder that God is more than just a knot at the end of the rope; He is the Savior of the World!

Jude 24

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Jude 24 - "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Have you fussed and fumed through life's challenges, wondering if the Sovereign Creator of the Universe was on vacation? I have a message for you: The God who hung the stars, the God who poured the oceans, the God who raised the mountains, the God who knew you before you were knit together in your mother's womb, this sovereign God is your Savior. He is your King, and He is in control. When you are plucked from the depths of sin, you are placed in the very hand of God! You can't climb up into the hand of God; you are placed into the hand of God. Hallelujah! Our efforts didn't get us there. His grace placed us there. And His love will keep us there forever.

ACTION POINT:
Read Psalm 139 and rejoice in the truth that God has created you and will make a way for you!

 

Psalm 139

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

 ¹ O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
 ² You know my sitting down and my rising up;
         You understand my thought afar off.
 ³ You comprehend my path and my lying down,
         And are acquainted with all my ways.
 ⁴ For there is not a word on my tongue,
         But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
 ⁵ You have hedged me behind and before,
         And laid Your hand upon me.
 ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
         It is high, I cannot attain it.
         
 ⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit?
         Or where can I flee from Your presence?
 ⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
         If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
 ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning,
         And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
 ¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me,
         And Your right hand shall hold me.
 ¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall^[a] on me,”
         Even the night shall be light about me;
 ¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
         But the night shines as the day;
         The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
         
 ¹³ For You formed my inward parts;
         You covered me in my mother’s womb.
 ¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;^[b]
         Marvelous are Your works,
         And that my soul knows very well.
 ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You,
         When I was made in secret,
         And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
 ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
         And in Your book they all were written,
         The days fashioned for me,
         When as yet there were none of them.
         
 ¹⁷ How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
         How great is the sum of them!
 ¹⁸ If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
         When I awake, I am still with You.
         
 ¹⁹ Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
         Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
 ²⁰ For they speak against You wickedly;
         Your enemies take Your name in vain.^[c]
 21 Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You?
         And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
 ²² I hate them with perfect hatred;
         I count them my enemies.
         
 ²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
         Try me, and know my anxieties;
 ²⁴ And see if there is any wicked way in me,
         And lead me in the way everlasting.

1 Peter 5:6-7

BIBLE MEDITATION:
1 Peter 5:6-7 - "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
When God brought us into this universe, He did not make us to abandon us. When God finished His first creation, He stepped back and said, "It is good." But then sin came into the world, and we broke fellowship with our Creator. Because of His great love and mercy toward us, God sent His only Son to bring us back to Himself. Now, when we are saved, we become a new creation, and God says, "It is good." When sin soiled your garments, God sent the righteous robes of His Son for you to wear. Now you are washed in His blood, clean in His sight, and forever in His heart.

ACTION POINT:
Take a look in the mirror. Are you dressed in the robes of man or the King? Humble yourself under His mighty hand that He may lift you up.

Philippians 1:6

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Philippians 1:6 - "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
God has not promised you smooth sailing, but He has promised you a safe landing. He has a purpose in allowing every circumstance into your life. You can bank on this: He'll see you to the shore in every storm of life. Andrew Murray said, "God is willing to assume full responsibility for the life totally yielded to Him." One of these days your destiny will be fulfilled. And soon and very soon, He is going to step down from the mountain of His glory, and the trumpet will sound. Our little ship will leave the sea of time and immediately we'll be on the shores of eternity. When He comes, He's coming for you! He's coming for me!

ACTION POINT:
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 tells us to comfort one another with the words of Christ's return. Do you have a friend who is troubled today? Comfort him or her with this hope.