Luke 8:13
“Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.”
Roots and rocks are not a good combination, especially if you are a plant. One of the places that has very rocky soil is the state of Maine. One day, as I was hiking in Maine, I came across a strange sight. It took me a while to figure out what I was seeing.
I was hiking down a mountain on a series of switchbacks that went back and forth across the slope. The ground, which up to that point had been a normal brown color, suddenly had a ten foot wide streak of dark chocolate dirt across the trail.
When my foot hit this new dirt, I began to slide, uncontrollably, downhill. When I was finally able to stop myself, I began to look for the cause of this. What I realized was that a huge tree, that had grown in the dirt on top of a rock, had literally slid down the side of the mountain in a rainstorm the night before. Its roots had not held because they could not get very deep.
I took this as a spiritual lesson to me. If you have no root system, you may grow up for a while. Eventually, however, you will now be able to hang on in the storms of life. To be secure you must be firmly grounded in Christ.
Take the time today to add depth to your root system. Spend time in the presence of the Lord building your relationship with Him. Let Him speak to your heart as you wait upon Him. With the strength you gain from your times with the Lord, you need never fear the road ahead.
Tags: Bible, Christian, depth, devotion, encouragement, faith, God's faithfulness, hang on, Holy Spirit, holy worship, Maine, mountain, overcoming, path, prayer, prepare, presence of the lord, rock, rocky soil, rooted, roots, strength, testing
Ephesians 3:17b-19
…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
In this verse Paul is letting us in on a prayer that he frequently sent up to God. It is an interesting prayer because in it Paul is praying for power.
A prayer for power – I’ve heard a lot of those. God’s people are always praying for power. We want the power for healing and miracles. We want the power of the Lord to increase our finances and give us influence with those in authority. We all want the life changing, victorious power of the Holy Spirit to be at work in us. What exactly was Paul’s desire for the power of God to do in their lives?
It is actually something that I never hear the modern church pray for in regards to power. He wanted the supernatural power of God so that they could grasp the love of God. That is how absolutely beyond our experience this love is. It takes the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to grasp it.
So, in short, I cannot love God without knowing God. (God is love) I cannot know God and His love without His power at work in me. He has to reveal His love to me. Why is that so important?
Paul is clear as to why he wants them to know God’s love in a supernatural way. So that they may be filled with the fullness of God. Another interesting thought…I have heard many believers pray for the fullness of God’s power in them. Yet, I never heard them pray for the power to understand and know His love. Maybe that’s why the church in America is not where it should be. We want power without love.
Christ is our example. Power and love in perfect unity and balance. That is what we must seek. Press in to the power. Seek the power to grasp the love of God. Only then will you be truly equipped to walk in the fullness of what God has for you.
Tags: authority, Bible, Christ, Christian, devotion, encouragement, established, faith, filled, fullness of God, glory, God's love, God's will, healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, miracles, overcoming, power, prayer, presence of the lord, rooted, victory
Psalm 42:8
By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life.
This is a beautiful picture of the love of God. What does it mean that He directs it? In Hebrew, that word direct is a military term. It means to command. Just like what a general gives to a soldier. God commands His love to reach out to us.
Think about that. His love is under direct orders to show up in our lives. Whether we know it or not, He loves us.
But there is something even more incredible about it. The Scripture say that it is by day that He commands his love. There is something that I have heard many parents say.
“My children are wonderful, especially when they’re asleep!”
I remember when my children were little. It was so easy to feel a warmth and love for them when I watched them asleep in bed. All of the messes, conflicts, and misbehaviors seemed to melt away in those moments.
In that sense it would be easy for God to love us at night, while we are sleeping. But that is not the case. He commands His love by day, when we are awake. While we are up and doing whatever we are doing is when He commands His love to us.
This is a very comforting thought – that God loves us wherever we are and whatever we are doing. It is all based upon His love and not my performance. He commanded His love toward us while we were still His enemies.
Let this truth motivate you to press in to the Presence of the Lord. Spend some quality time with the One who truly wants to be with you. Let His love flow through you and out to a world that is in desperate need of knowing it.
Tags: Bible, Christ, Christian, devotion, encouragement, faith, fellowship, God's faithfulness, God's love, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, joy, love, prayer, presence of the lord, sleeping, unconditional
2 Corinthians 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
In this verse, Paul is referring to Moses. When he was leading the children of Israel through the desert, they stopped for a while at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Moses went up to meet with God. At one point, upon his return, the people couldn’t look at his face because it shone like the sun.
The glory of God was reflecting off his face. Moses had to wear a veil until things were back to normal. He had an incredible encounter with God, but it eventually faded back to the way it was.
Understand this, the Lord has greater plans for us. The Holy Spirit is working in us to make us like Christ. Each day we are becoming more and more like Him. This is the glory of God in us.
This glory that God is clothing us with is different than that of Moses. First of all, it doesn’t fade. It is a glory that is always on the increase. My prayer in the presence of the Lord is that throughout my life people will see more of Jesus and less of me.
Another aspect of this glory is that we reflect it with unveiled faces. It is not a glory that frightens others and pushes them away. It is the warmth of love and freedom that draws men and women to the cross.
Spend some time in the presence of this glory. Let it continue to do its transforming work in you. Make it your goal to reflect more of His beauty.
Tags: Bible, Christian, Christian witness, cross, devotion, disciple, encouragement, glory, glory of God, God's love, God's will, goodness, Holy Spirit, holy worship, light, Moses, prayer, prepare, presence of the lord, reflect, testimony
John 5:17-18
Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Jesus and the Pharisees had a hard time getting along. They were the “religious bunch” in Israel at that time. Jesus didn’t seem to tolerate religious people too well. That gets me thinking about the church today. When you talk to some people, they think that being religious is a plus. I wonder how they would feel if they ever met Jesus in person.
In this section of Scripture, persecution is starting to arise because of the things Jesus is saying and doing. The Pharisees don’t like the way Jesus is ignoring their religious traditions. Among other things, He’s healing on the Sabbath. To make matters worse, the Lord makes an announcement that really starts them grumbling. He actually calls God His Father.
The Pharisees were always having a problem with what the Lord said and did. They didn’t like the fact that Jesus made himself out to be God in the flesh. According to Scripture, that’s who the Messiah was meant to be. He couldn’t lie about who He was. Of course, this didn’t sit well with the Pharisees, who enjoyed the esteem and praise of the people. They didn’t want to hear who the Lord was, because it meant that they’d have to submit their will to His.
It seems that religion always gets in the way of a relationship with Christ. We need to step back and take a good look at how we view our connection with God. Do we see it as a set of rules that need to be followed. Or is it about time and intimacy spent with the Lord. Don’t become like the Pharisees. Cultivate the living relationship that Christ wants to have with each of His followers.
Tags: Bible, Christ, Christian, church, devotion, encouragement, fellowship, God the Father, Holy Spirit, holy worship, intimacy, Jesus Christ, Messiah, Pharisees, praise, prayer, presence of the lord, relationship, religion, religious, rules, Sabbath, Scripture
Psalm 41:12
In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.
Here is a concept all but lost in this society. We have no understanding of true integrity. It is not an acting role we can put on in front of people. Integrity can only be seen when the crowds are gone.
For instance, if I were at home, I would never think about throwing a piece of trash on my front lawn. After all, what would the neighbors think. But when I am all alone hiking in the woods, miles from the nearest road, it is so easy to just drop that candy bar wrapper on the ground.
Integrity is not how good you appear in front of people. It is maintaining your same level of discipline even when there is no one else around. It is the ability to live your life knowing that God sees all. He is our constant companion.
Upholding integrity and acknowledging the presence of God are two things that must go hand in hand. It is in these private places that we can cultivate both of these qualities. When we are alone, with no one else around, we must learn to sense the Lord’s Spirit with us. This makes it easier to live for Him when no one is looking.
Spend some quality time with Christ today. Make an effort to acknowledge His presence with you throughout the day. Instead of asking, “What would Jesus do?”, ask, “What would I do if I saw Jesus walking beside me?”
Tags: alone, alone with God, Bible, Christ, Christian, Christian witness, devotion, disciple, encouragement, fellowship, God's will, Holy Spirit, integrity, overcoming, presence of the lord, private
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
What you can see makes a big difference in your attitude. Once, while I was hiking, I spent a night in the lean-to on the top of Glastonbury mountain in Vermont. I was told that you could see all the way to Massachusetts from the shelter. Unfortunately, the night I was there it was thick fog and rain. The shelter felt closed in and miserable.
Of course I also remember hiking up Mount Katahdin in Maine. The day of that trip was crystal clear. From the top you could see to the horizon in all directions. It was life-changing.
What made the difference? Obviously it was the view. It is the same in life. How far ahead you look determines your attitude. There are some people who don’t look beyond what is right in front of them now. They want the quick fix. They’re only looking for the “feel good” experience.
If we want the best that life can offer, then we must take God’s advice. We must view the eternal rather than the temporary. We must live today knowing that we will exist a million years from this day. Not only that, but we must ask ourselves what will be important a million years from today. This allows us to live in this moment with a view of eternity.
As you go before God today, ask Him to increase your vision. Let Him work in you to see the eternal over the temporary. Make it your goal to live for that which will never fade away.
Tags: attitude, Bible, Christian, devotion, disciple, encouragement, eternity, feel good, glory, hiking, Holy Spirit, mountain, mountaintop, prepare, quick fix, temporary, vision
Psalm 18:30
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
Many people talk about the shield of faith. Unfortunately there are few who actually pick it up and use it. It requires more than just a mental assent to the Word of God. It requires a walk with the God of the Word.
We must first realize that His Word is flawless. There is no trickery or deceit in Him. He says what He means and means what He says. I must hold God’s Word above the word of any other.
But it doesn’t stop there, even though most Christians think that is enough to lay hold of the shield. There’s more.
If His Word is flawless, and if I believe that Word, then I will walk the way that Word teaches without hesitation. I will believe that God’s way is perfect and live accordingly. It is simple logic. If I don’t do what the book says, then I don’t trust the book completely.
It is the first half of this verse that is the foundation for the second half. If I believe God’s Word and walk in His way then am I protected by His shield.
Spend some time with the God of the Word today. Prayerfully meditate upon what He says. Let the mind of the Lord renew your mind. Let His desire change the way you live your life. Then you can expect His shield to protect your path.
Tags: armor of God, believing, Bible, Christian, devotion, encouragement, faith, God's word, meditate, overcoming, prayer, prepare, presence of the lord, protection, shield of faith, trust, victory
2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Thousands of people start new things each day. A new diet, hiking the Appalachian Trail or an exercise program just to name a few. It is a sad fact that most of them never finish what they have started. They had good intentions. They started strong and were eager to take on the new challenge. But somewhere along the way they fizzled out before the finish line.
Think about an athletic event like the Olympics. Nobody remembers how the race started, only the finish. The winner may have started at the back of the pack – it doesn’t matter – it is the strong finisher who gets the gold medal. We need to pick up the attitude that says, “No matter the obstacles, I’m finishing strong.”
What counts in God’s economy is not how you start, but how you finish. Whether it’s in athletics or in our walk with the Lord, we need the persistence to keep going even when we would much rather quit. It doesn’t take any special ability to drop out of the race. Most people never finish half of what they start. Find out what is important to the Lord in your life and commit yourself to finishing it.
We need God’s strength to keep going. Seek His power for your life today. Seek the Lord’s wisdom to know if there is some area of your life that you have quit that you should now pick up and bring to the finish line. Take the time needed to get this area of your life back in line.
Tags: Bible, calling, Christian, devotion, distractions, encouragement, finish, finishing strong, God's will, good intentions, Holy Spirit, overcoming, path, persistence, power, quit, run the race, start, strength
Luke 24:1-8
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:’The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'”
Then they remembered his words.
Today is the greatest reason on earth to celebrate.
Let the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ fill your heart, soul, and spirit with the joy that can only come from a life that has been transformed by the power of the resurrection.
Tags: Bible, celebrate, Christ, Christian, devotion, Easter, empty tomb, encouragement, faith, fellowship, God's faithfulness, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, joy, overcoming, power, praise, resurrection, risen, testimony, victory
The Spirit and the Word 