AUGUST 31, 2013. GOD’S PLAN FOR SPIRITUAL RENEWAL

Saturday August 31

"He sought his God…And so he prospered.”                                                               2Ch 31:21 NIV

God’s Plan for Spiritual Renewal

The conditions in our country today are similar to those in ancient Israel. In spite of all God’s blessings, the people had turned their back on Him. So when Hezekiah, a man of integrity, came to the throne, he set his heart on restoring God to His rightful position of leadership in the land. Notice four things he did: (1) He reopened the doors of God’s house and called the people to repent and return to the Lord. (2) He challenged the corruption and carnality which had become a way of life even among leaders and ministers of the Lord. His words were strong: "Sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place” (2Ch 29:5 NKJV). Can you see a parallel to the day in which we live? (3) He reestablished the supremacy of God’s Word. "They went in to purify the temple of the Lord…following the word of the Lord” (v. 15 NIV). Pastor, a Sunday morning sermon alone won’t cut it; you need to get your people into God’s Word every day. (4) He called the people to worship God. It was an amazing scene. "The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed” (v. 28 NIV). Scholars estimate that for over three hours the entire nation stood in God’s presence and worshipped Him. Did God bless Hezekiah’s efforts? "In everything that he undertook…he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.” And that’s God’s plan for spiritual renewal!

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 30, 2013. GRACE AT HOME (2)

Friday August 30

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”                                                        2Co 5:17 NKJV

GRACE AT HOME (2)

Here are three more steps to treating your spouse with grace: (1) See them as God created them to be. Focusing on your partner’s flaws doesn’t help either of you. The Pharisees saw only the worst in the woman caught in adultery. Jesus didn’t minimize her sin, but chose to see what she could become through grace. "I don’t condemn you. Go, and stop what you’re doing” (See Jn 8:11). Grace enables you to see beyond your spouse’s upsetting ways and work with God in helping them become the "new creature” He’s called them to be. (2) Celebrate them. Too often we try to impose on our spouse our desired image of them. We resent them and insist they change, see it our way, and do things to our required standard. If they don’t, we think they’re inconsiderate, unloving, even un-Christian. Grace doesn’t operate that way! It understands, accepts, forgives, and leaves changing others up to God. Try telling yourself, "Yes, that annoys me, but I wonder what God’s trying to work out in my spouse.” Then step back, love and accept them and let God work on them. (3) Forgive them. Your spouse will irritate you at times because of what they are. We’re all different. She thinks she’s detailed; he thinks she’s nit-picking. He thinks he’s laid-back; she thinks he’s lazy. We act out the image we hold of ourselves, and that’ll change only when God changes it! Acknowledge your intolerance and forgive your partner’s irritating behaviors—even before they do them. That’s "pre-emptive forgiveness,” the kind that denies resentment a toe-hold on your marriage.

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 29, 2013. GRACE AT HOME (1)

Thursday August 29

"But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”                                              Ro 5:20 NIV

Grace at Home (1)

You need a lot of grace in marriage. Even in the best of relationships, things happen that cause misunderstanding and hurt. Speaking about his marriage, therapist Michael Sytsma says: "Before I was married, God said, ‘Mike, you have some rough edges. To help you become more Christlike, I’m giving you Karen. That should do the trick.’ So he brought Karen…into my life to identify all my shortcomings. My first response when she points out my flaws? Not gratitude! Instead, I strike back: ‘How dare you point out those things? What’s your problem?’ Then I have the opportunity of either denying my feelings, or owning them and maturing. And Karen can either harbor anger and resentment, or offer grace and forgiveness. Imagine a marriage filled with grace: a spouse who extends joy, pleasure, sweetness, kind speech and unmerited favor. My wife does that. I’m still working at it.”

Here is the first of four ways you can show grace to your spouse: (1) Try to look at it differently. Focus on the positive. If you think your spouse is stubborn, feeling loving toward them is hard. But if you exercise grace and choose to see them as persistent and tenacious, loving them becomes much easier. If they’re disorganized, by grace you can choose to see that as a sign they are spontaneous, or creative, or the flexible type, or even over-extended. "You'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things…noble… gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse” (Php 4:8 TM). People usually try to live up to the image you hold of them!

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 27, 2013. HOW QUICKLY THEY GROW!

Tuesday August 27

"Make every minute count.”                                                                                           Eph 5:16 CEV

How Quickly They Grow!

Do you remember wishing your kids were grown? Suddenly you’re amazed at how quickly it’s happening. The truth is, they’ll soon be gone, leaving the place feeling deserted and quiet. Bob Benson puts it poignantly: "I pass a lot of houses on my way home; some pretty, some inviting. But my heart skips a beat when I see my house nestled against the hill. I’m especially proud of the way it looks because I drew the plans myself. It started out large enough for us. I even had a study, in which two teenage boys now reside! It had a guest room, but my girl and nine dolls are permanent guests there now. It had a room for Peg, who hoped to turn it into her sewing room. But two boys swinging on the Dutch door have claimed that room. Right now it appears I’m not much of an architect. But it’ll get larger again. One by one they’ll go away to college, work, the service, their own homes. Then there’ll be room: a guest room, a sewing room, a study, just for the two of us. But it won’t be empty. Every corner, room, nick in the coffee table will be full of memories. Memories of picnics, Christmases, birthdays, bedside vigils…going barefoot, vacations, cats, dogs, black eyes…graduations, first dates, arguments, ball games…and a thousand other things that fill the lives of those who rear five kids. And Peg and I will sit quietly by the fire and listen to the laughter in the walls.” Childhood and youth evaporate swiftly. So fill them with loving, wonderful, sustaining memories. "Make every minute count.”

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 26, 2013. MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL (2)

Monday August 26 

"Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous.”    Ps 139:14 NLT

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall (2)

So, how should you view the role of your physical appearance? (1) With gratitude. Thank God for the unique person He created you to be. You’re not the result of random genetics. You’re a genuine "one-off,” designed by God to fill a slot no one else can fill. He is what makes you who you are! "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb” (v. 13 NLT). "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous.” You didn’t come from an assembly line like some product designed to fulfill a quota. No, you received the detailed, individualized focus of the Divine Architect. The Psalmist said, "You watched me as I was being formed… as I was woven together in…the womb” (v. 15 NLT). Now, that’s attention at the highest level, right? So give God thanks: you were created, inspected and approved in heaven before you moved a muscle on earth. (2) With understanding. Discover God’s purpose for your life. You weren’t designed to impress others or to seek their approval. In God’s eyes, your looks are not the measure of your worth. "The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1Sa 16:7 NLT). Start seeing yourself as God sees you. Ultimately, His opinion is the only one that matters. Indeed, "He decided in advance that [his people] would be conformed to the image of his Son” (Ro 8:29 CEB). Rejoice! God won’t be finished working on you until He’s made you just like Jesus.

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 25, 2013. MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL (1)

Sunday August 25 

"The clay doesn't ask, ‘Why did you make me this way?’’’                                          Isa 45:9 CEV

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall (1)

A lot of us are unhappy with what we see in the mirror. Indeed, some of us are so unhappy that we spend a fortune to change it. And while it’s good to look your best, God never intended our looks as a statement of our value to Him, or to others. Whatever physical features you may have inherited, here are some scriptural truths worth considering: (1) Resenting your looks just puts you at odds with God. The Bible says, "You have no right to argue with your Creator. You are…a clay pot shaped by a potter. The clay doesn't ask, ‘Why did you make me this way?’” God intends you to be His clay container; a practical, usable vessel; not a fancy ornament for display. "We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us” (2Co 4:7 TM). Your value isn’t in how you look, but in what you contain—the life-changing message of God’s grace! (2) Resenting your looks results from false comparisons. Today we’re driven to become reflections of some unattainable ideal. Airbrushed models on TV sell us everything from cornflakes to cars. Let’s get real! "They are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!” (2Co 10:12 NLT). Unhappiness over your appearance results from ignorance of God’s marvelous and creative purpose for you. And that’ll become clear to you when you "look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect” (Heb 12:2 NCV).

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 24, 2013. FACING YOUR BIGGEST FEARS IN PRAYER

Saturday August 24 

"Father…Take this cup away from Me.”                                                                  Mk 14:36 NKJV

Facing Your Biggest Fears in Prayer

The next time you drink from the communion cup in church, stop and recall what was in the cup Jesus drank from in Gethsemane on the night before He was crucified. You can drink from the cup with assurance because He first drank from the cup in agony. On the eve of His death He prayed: "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death…Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will” (vv. 34-36 NKJV). Note the words, "exceedingly sorrowful.” (If you think your sin is no big deal, perhaps those words will help to change your mind.) Christ drank from the cup of God’s wrath so that you could drink from the cup of God’s grace. Although He was sinless, He tasted the sins of both the most refined sinner and the most repulsive one. He had never felt God’s fury; He didn’t deserve to. He had never experienced isolation from His Father; the two had been one from before time began. He had never known physical death; He was an immortal being. Yet within a few hours God would unleash His sin-hating wrath on His sinlessly perfect Son. And as a man, Jesus was afraid. Deathly afraid. And what He did with His fear shows us what to do with ours. He prayed earnestly and persistently. He told His followers, "Sit here while I go and pray over there” (Mt 26:36 NKJV). Jesus faced His ultimate fear with honest prayer, and overcame it. And through prayer, you can overcome your fears too.

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 23, 2013. SAMSON AND JOSEPH (2)

Friday August 23

"These things happened to them as examples…for us.”                                          1Co 10:11 NIV

Samson and Joseph (2)

While Samson had everything going for him, Joseph had everything going against him. Notice: (1) He was badly treated by the people of God. Joseph’s brothers resented the vision God gave him and the favor that was upon his life, so they sold him into slavery. Who told you everybody would appreciate you? Not God! Jesus said, "If they hated you, it’s because they hated me first” (See Jn 15:18). But Joseph maintained a forgiving spirit and not only ended up being reconciled with his family, but he fed them during the famine. (2) He was alone in a land where no one had knowledge of God. But like a lily in a mud marsh, he stayed clean and grew in faith. It’s not the circumstances that surround you, but what’s within you that determines your success. (3) He was exposed to temptation. Joseph was lonely, far from home, and subject to every impulse a red-blooded male can have. Potiphar’s wife tried repeatedly to seduce him, but he said no. In his case, there’s a good chance that he might have gotten away with it. But his reason for saying no was, "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Ge 39:9 NIV). Nothing meant more to Joseph than his relationship with the Lord. (4) His integrity came at a price. Based on false accusations by Potiphar’s wife, Joseph went to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Did God fail him? No, the contacts needed to get him to the throne were waiting for him in prison. So be true to God and He will bless you.

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 22, 2013. SAMSON AND JOSEPH (1)

Thursday August 22

"These things happened to them as examples…for us.”                                          1Co 10:11 NIV

Samson and Joseph (1)

Samson was a loser, Joseph was a winner. Samson had everything going for him. He was the product of a miracle birth, raised by godly parents, and given supernatural strength. Yet he failed miserably. Why? (1) He did not pray. The only time we read of Samson praying is when he was in trouble. Sound familiar? If you conduct a post-mortem on your biggest failures, somewhere in the wreckage you’ll find that you’ve forsaken the place of prayer. You can’t run your car on an empty tank, work on an empty stomach, or pay bills on an empty checking account. And you can’t live a victorious Christian life without daily prayer. (2) He refused to live by God’s Word.When confronted by his parents over marrying the wrong woman, Samson told them, "She pleaseth me well” (Jdg 14:3). When you’re led by sentiment rather than Scripture, you’re heading for trouble. One of the best definitions of "disobedience” is "incomplete obedience.” You can’t pick which Scriptures you want to live by and turn a blind eye to the rest! (3) He had the wrong spirit. While Joseph extended forgiveness to those who’d harmed him, Samson prayed for revenge. Any time you give in to resentment you’re allowing someone other than God to dictate your actions, and you end up suffering even more. (4) He was motivated by greed.Consorting with the Philistines, he placed a bet with thirty of them, saying, "If you lose, then you will give me thirty changes of raiment” (See Jdg 14:13). You say, "What’s the point?” If it could happen to Samson, it could happen to you!

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 21, 2013. WHOSE "REPORT” WILL YOU BELIEVE?

Wednesday August 21

"Who has believed our report?”                                                                                   Isa 53:1 NKJV

Whose "Report” Will You Believe?

An oil spill pollutes the Gulf of Mexico, devastating marine life and the livelihood of millions of people. Day after day we watch it on TV, in real time. An earthquake hits Haiti, 200,000 die, and the world’s poorest people are left hungry and homeless. An American-born terrorist flies home from an Al Qaeda training camp with a bomb in his underwear and tries to destroy not only the plane, but much of Detroit. Bankers, car makers and oil executives we trusted sit in front of a Congressional committee and say they have no idea how we got into this mess. The reports keep coming 24/7. Talking heads in the media milk each moment and sensationalize each event because it increases their ratings, sells advertising and makes money. Indeed, some of the news reporters have become celebrities. Fear sells! It’s a major industry. Paradoxically, we are the most prosperous generation in history, and the most fearful one too. In the past you had to get your daily dose of anxiety from the evening news; today you get it around the clock on your Blackberry or iPad. Now you can’t bury your head in the sand. But if you’re not selective in what you listen to, you can lose your peace of mind. God knows this, so His Word asks, "Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” In Scripture, the "arm of the Lord” speaks of His power to deliver and His providential care over every event in our lives. So whose report are you going to listen to, internalize, and respond to?

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 20, 2013. MIDNIGHT MADNESS (2)

Tuesday August 20

"While the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered.”                                        Mt 25:5 NKJV

Midnight Madness (2)

Let’s look at these ten virgins and see what else we can learn from them. Observe three things: (1) The midnight crowd. "While the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.” Who slept? The wise as well as the foolish; the world as well as the church. Paul warns, "It is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Ro 13:11 NKJV). We’re in mortal combat with an Enemy who observes no truce, no armistice and no peace treaties. The Titanic disregarded five warnings before it hit the iceberg. The naval yard at Pearl Harbor disregarded six warnings before it was attacked. Christ is not coming back for the religious but the redeemed; not for the refined but the regenerated; not the respectable but the righteous. (2) The midnight cry. "At midnight a cry was heard: Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” (Mt 25:6 NKJV). All around us the voices of fear sound. Where can we look for hope? To government? To bankers? To industry? To academics? No, our hope can be found in these words: "Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Tit 2:13 NKJV). (3) The midnight crisis. The urgent message of this parable is: Some will have enough to get them into the wedding, others will not. So what should you do? "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Lk 21:36).

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 19, 2013. MIDNIGHT MADNESS (1)

Monday August 19 

"And at midnight a cry was heard.”                                                                               Mt 25:6 NKJV

Midnight Madness (1)

You’ve probably heard the story of the five wise virgins and the five foolish ones. Jesus told it. A requirement for being allowed to participate in a wedding in those days, was that your lamp had to be burning. But when the bridegroom showed up five of these virgins were out of oil. So they said to the other five, "Give us some of your oil” (v. 8 NKJV). But they said, "No, lest there should not be enough for us and you” (v. 9 NKJV). So while they went to town to buy oil the wedding started and they were locked out. Christ’s parable teaches us four important lessons: (1) The foolishness of depending on somebody else. Your mother and father may have been Christians, but that won’t get you into heaven. You must accept Christ as your own personal Savior. (2) The futility of last-minute preparations. "While they went to buy, the bridegroom came” (v. 10 NKJV). Remember, Jesus is teaching about the kind of people who will be living when He returns. So here’s the question: Are you putting salvation off until you’re old? What if you don’t live that long? (3) The finality of judgment. "And the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you’” (vv. 10-12 NKJV). (4) The fallacy of morality. They were "virgins,” yet they were shut out. Your character and good works won’t get you into heaven. "By grace are ye saved through faith” (Eph 2:8). Are you ready to meet the Lord? If not, put your faith in Him today and get ready.

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 18, 2013. YOU CAN APPROACH GOD WITH CONFIDENCE

Sunday August 18

"The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”                             Mt 27:51 NIV

You Can Approach God with Confidence

One day a year, on the Day of Atonement (at-one-ment), the high priest could go beyond the thick curtain in the tabernacle and into the "Holy of Holies” where God’s presence was. What qualified him to go there was the fact that the blood of a sacrificial lamb was covering the mercy seat, under which rested the ark of the covenant. You ask, "What was in the ark?” The Ten Commandments—which all of us have broken. God arranged it like that. The only way God could look at the evidence of His people’s guilt was through the blood of the lamb. Now, fast forward to the cross. Jesus "gave up His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” Everything changed for the better that day! In spite of your failures, you can now come into God’s presence, knowing your sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, and confidently ask for whatever you need. "Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Heb 4:16 NLT). Your acceptance with God is guaranteed when you approach Him saying, "I come in the name of Jesus and on the merits of His shed blood.” It works like a credit system. "You are in Christ,” so you have a perfect credit score! So even when you feel inadequate and undeserving, if you ask in faith believing, God will give it to you "for Christ’s sake” (Eph 4:32).

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 17, 2013. CHOOSE THE PEOPLE GOD HAS CHOSEN

Saturday August 17 

"I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen.”                                                   Ex 31:6 NLT

Choose the People God Has Chosen

Just as a river can’t rise higher than its source, no enterprise can rise higher than its leadership. When it was time to build the tabernacle God told Moses: "I have specifically chosen Bezalel…I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise…He is a master craftsman…He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood…And I have personally appointed Oholiab…to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make” (vv. 1-6 NLT). Whether you are in ministry or in business, here’s a plan that will bring you success:(1) Be sure that the people you choose are the people God has chosen for you. This calls for a prayerful and careful approach to hiring. Hiring isn’t fun, and firing is agony. But so is trying to undo other people’s mistakes! (2) Look for those to whom God has given "wisdom, ability, and expertise.” Not only must they have the right skill set, they must have the same spirit you have; otherwise you are headed for conflict. (3) Don’t stake your future on any one person, however gifted. "I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen.” If Oholiab goes rogue or messes up, you need to have other "craftsmen” in place to carry the vision forward. (4) Make sure the goals you have set line up with God’s will. "Make all the things I have commanded.” Ideas are important; God’s plan is all-important!

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 16, 2013. GETTING "UNSTUCK”! (2)

Friday August 16

"I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.”                                                      Php 3:14 TM

Getting "Unstuck”! (2)

Though you’ve settled the issues of forgiveness and faith, getting unstuck involves two more challenges. You will need to learn: (1) Flexibility. When your faith runs into obstacles, your flexibility keeps you in the race. You need the ability to "roll with the punches,” to bend without breaking. Don’t marry your methods! Be willing to make a mid-course correction when it’s needed. Flexibility, however, isn’t ambivalence or wishy-washiness. Flexibility is: (a) An attitude of determination to adjust to life’s challenges and stay on course; to trust God for wisdom; to fine-tune your responses to changing circumstances. (b) A commitment to take action. A positive mind-set alone won’t get you unstuck. You’ll have to "do something!” Remember, big doors swing on little hinges; taking small steps of faith will move you forward! (2) Firmness: resolve not to quit. You’ll encounter problems that leave you no option but to stand still, like the Israelites between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army. In the tightest of spots, they received this five-fold counsel: (a) Don’t give in to fear. Don’t let it decide your response. (b) Stand still. Stop your irrational, emotion-driven behaviors. (c) Quit talking. Don’t talk yourself into defeat. (d) Look for God’s way forward. Expect Him to take action that will get you unstuck. (e) Be ready to move forward when He opens the way. These are simple but powerful steps you can take when you don’t know what to do. And what about when you blow it? Acknowledge it. Relabel it as "Valuable lessons learned,” and put it in your "What not to do next time” file!

 Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 15, 2013. GETTING UNSTUCK! (1)

THURSDAY AUGUST 15

“He rewards those who earnestly seek him.”                            Heb 11:6 NIV

GETTING UNSTUCK! (1)

Ever notice how icy winters cause multiple car pile-ups, leaving drivers in ditches waiting for tow trucks to rescue them? In life, we each have different reactions. Some surrender to feelings of being powerless, others get frustrated and deepen the rut they’re in. But the wise think rationally of steps they can take to get unstuck. Getting stuck isn’t always an option, but staying stuck is! Good news: no matter how long you’ve been stuck, the right attitude can get you moving again. So here are some attitude changers: (1) Forgiveness.The guilt that follows failure can immobilize you long-term, but forgiveness liberates you—freeing up your energy and creativity. Forgiveness is two-dimensional: first, you must receive God’s forgiveness for your failures. Things you’ve done: betrayal, angry words, dishonesty, broken promises, etc. Things you haven’t done: love unexpressed, responsibility avoided, a child, parent or spouse neglected, the truth withheld. Heartfelt confession always brings God’s forgiveness! (See 1Jn 1:9). Second, you must forgive those who’ve failed you—parents, siblings, children, bosses, spouses, friends, enemies, etc. Severing the chains to your past restores your options for the future. (2) Faith. When you’ve been stuck a long time, forward momentum can seem impossible. You lack direction, energy and confidence. What to do? Getting traction requires a willingness to act in spite of your feelings. God calls this "faith,” and He always responds to it! "He rewards those who earnestly seek him.” When you act like you believe, God will reward your faith—and the feeling of faith will follow your action!

Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 14, 2013. HAVE A WORK ETHIC GOD CAN BLESS

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 14

“Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings.”                        Pr 22:29 NIV

HAVE A WORK ETHIC GOD CAN BLESS

Journalist William Zinsser’s first job was writing for The New York Herald Tribune. Traditionally "cub” reporters often start by writing obituaries, but Zinsser was frustrated with his assignment. "I could be doing Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporting,” he thought to himself, "and I’m stuck writing obituaries.” Finally he worked up enough courage to ask his editor, "When am I going to get some decent story assignments?” His crusty old editor growled at him and said, "Listen, kid, nothing you write will ever get read as carefully as what you are writing right now. You misspell a name, you mess up a date, and a family will be hurt. But you do justice to somebody’s grandmother or somebody’s mom, you make a life sing, and they will be grateful forever. They will put your words in laminate.” "Things changed. I pledged I would make the extra calls,” Zinsser said. "I would ask the extra questions. I would go the extra mile.” That is essentially from the Sermon on the Mount—write obituaries for others as you would want others to write an obituary for you—obituaries that deserve to be laminated—because someday, somebody will. Zinsser eventually moved on to other kinds of writing, including a book on writing itself that has sold more than a million copies. But none of it would have happened if he had not devoted himself to obituaries. Understand this: if you cannot experience the spirit in the work you are doing today, then you cannot experience the spirit today at all.

Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

August 13, 2013. FORGIVENESS (2)

TUESDAY AUGUST 13, 2013

“Forgiving each other, just as…God forgave you.”                    Eph 4:32 NIV

FORGIVENESS (2)

The Bible says, "Be kind…forgiving each other…as…God forgave you.” Kristin Armstrong says: "After you forgive…you get to walk out the process…it’s a collaborative effort of God’s power and your hard work. Letting go isn’t always as simple as opening your tightly-clenched fist, although deliverance sometimes is immediate. For example, some people quit smoking cold-turkey, while others chew nicotine gum for years! Old habits die hard, and letting go of resentment means: (a) Recommitting to your decision as many times as old thoughts of unforgiveness pop into your head. (b) Making peace with the space formerly occupied by bitterness, regret and thoughts of revenge until the Holy Spirit takes up full-time occupancy in the new digs! (c) Releasing old, toxic relationships and people whose only purpose is keeping your old wounds fresh. When people change around unchanging people, it makes them aware of their own need for change, and it scares them. (d) Just as your salvation is immediate yet you have to walk out your sanctification, the release of your forgiveness is immediate but you have to walk out your healing. (e) Living a life free from the burden of resentment and the toxicity of unforgiveness is a choice followed by a series of choices. Each one becomes easier…as we move farther from our old ways and into the light…Paul said, ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free’ (Gal 5:1 NIV) and every time we let something or someone go free, we receive freedom for ourselves in overflowing proportion. It’s a time-tested, guaranteed spiritual principle backed by the promise of Scripture.”

Taken from the Word for You Today devotional

AUGUST 12, 2013. FORGIVENESS (1)

MONDAY AUGUST 12, 2013

“We love because he first loved us.”                                        1Jn 4:19 NIV

FORGIVENESS (1)

One author writes: "Think of an area of unforgiveness and see if any of these Reasons to hold a grudge resonate with you. (a) Anger keeps more potent emotions at bay; once it’s gone you fear the emotional flood that may follow. (b) A grudge takes time and energy, and you’re not sure who you’d be without it. (c) You’ve replayed your ‘personal-betrayal-and-hurt movie’ so often you know it by heart. (d) The idea of moving on is terrifying, whereas misery is familiar. (e) The offender has done nothing to deserve forgiveness. (f) Harboring resentment stops you from getting hurt again because nobody can get close.” Jesus said, "Why…look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own?” (Mt 7:3 NIV). This author says, "I’ve banged my plank into walls and around corners so often I’m certain I have retina damage!” Now consider these Reasons for releasing a grudge. (a) Relinquishing past hurts frees you to embrace the present and future. (b) When you’re not spending time and energy feeding a grudge, you can nourish new, healthy ideas. (c) The offender can’t keep hurting you when you shake off the shackles and move on. (d) Holding a grudge feels like a form of control, but actually you’re the one being controlled. (e) Once you lower your defenses you can start to heal, love, and be loved. (f) Feeling angry feels good temporarily, but being healed feels so much better. (g) God mandates us to love because He first loved us. You've held onto it long enough; it’s time to let it go and enjoy the freedom that comes from forgiveness.

Taken from the Word for you Today devotional

AUGUST 11, 2013. YOU'VE GOT TO WORK AT IT!

SUNDAY AUGUST 11, 2013

“Well informed, quick to understand…qualified to serve.”             Da 1:4 NIV

YOU'VE GOT TO WORK AT IT!

When Nebuchadnezzar captured the Jews he told his Chief of Staff to look for the brightest and best, and bring them to his palace. He wanted the following qualities: "Showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace.” Daniel seized the opportunity. Yes, God gave him favor, but he also had to work at it! The CEO of one of the world’s largest companies put it this way: "The only way you’re going to stand out is to grasp this simple principle: when your boss asks you a question, assigns you a project or sends you to gather data, he already knows the answer he’s looking for. He just wants you to confirm that what he believes is true. Most people do just that. But there’s a difference. You must understand that the question is only the beginning. To elevate yourself, you must sink your thoughts into not only answering the question, but going above and beyond it. That means presenting him with three or four other ideas that he had probably not considered. Your goal should be to add value to the idea by exceeding expectations. This is true not only with questions, but assignments, initiatives, and anything else ever given you to do. If you understand that the question is only the beginning, you’ll get out of the pile fast, because 99 percent of all employees stay in the pile because they don’t think. If you understand this principle, you’ll be given even more critical questions to answer, and in time, you will be the one giving the questions to others.”

Taken from the Word for you Today devotional

AUGUST 10, 2013. JOB’S CREED (2)

SATURDAY AUGUST 10, 2013

"This I know…I shall see God.”                                                                                           Job 19:26 NKJV

JOB’S CREED (2)

Job ends his creed by saying, "After my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God.” When Christ returns, your body which sleeps in the grave will be replaced with a glorious Christ like body. And then the promise of God’s Word will be fulfilled: "Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust” (Isa 26:19 NKJV). Of all the religions on earth, Christianity is the only one that guarantees the resurrection of your body. And that’s because Christ, our leader, was the only one capable of promising to rise from the dead bodily, and keeping that promise. Rejoice, when they lay you in your grave it will not be the last of you. Paul writes: "I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality…then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’” (1Co 15:51-54 NKJV). In that day faith will give way to sight. When a little boy’s kite flew so high it went out of sight, a man standing nearby asked him, "How do you know it’s still up there, son?” Tightening his grip on the string, he replied, "Because I feel the tug!” Do you feel something tugging you heavenward?

Taken from the Word for you Today devotional

AUGUST 9, 2013. JOB’S CREED (1)

FRIDAY AUGUST 9, 2013

“I know that my redeemer lives.”

JOB’S CREED (1)

The patriarch Job survived boils, bankruptcy and bereavement and came out with his faith intact. Let’s look at the creed he lived by: (1) “I know.” When you can say, “I know,” you’re and exclamation point in a world of question marks. Job didn’t say, “I have been told.” What he knew about God, he knew through experience and personal revelation. Is such a life possible? Yes, “You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things” (1 Jn 2:20 NKJV). You can “know” things about God in your heart that you can’t fully understand or explain. Why? Because they’re spiritually discerned. (2) “That my Redeemer lives.” Through Christ was not yet born, Job caught a glimpse of our pre-existent Redeemer whom Scripture describes as “the Ancient of Days” (Da 7:22 NKJV); the One Micah referred to “whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Mi 5:2 NKJV). He existed before He was born, and He outlived His pallbearers. Paul says, “He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (1 Co 8:9 NKJV). (3) “And that he shall stand at last on the earth.” Job saw what Zechariah the prophet saw: “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives” (Zec 14:4 NKJV). The truth is, the first time Jesus came, He came to save. The next time He comes, He comes to reign. His first coming was to be our Redeemer; His second coming is to usher in His rule as King of Kings. “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appealing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Tit 2:13 NKJV).

AUGUST 8, 2013. MARITAL HAPPINESS

THURSDAY AUGUST 8, 2013

“Blessed (happy, to be envied…) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant).”                                                                                                    Mt 5:3 AMP

MARITAL HAPPINESS

When the rosy glow diminishes and reality sets in, what makes some marriages happy while others slide into misery? Luck? Good genes? Hanging tough? Hardly! Marital happiness that transcends changing circumstances is built on the qualities Jesus taught. Let’s look at them: (1) Happy are the humble. “Blessed (happy…) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant).” Pride that’s self-promoting and always demanding its rights brings misery, while humility, self-denial and considering your mate’s needs brings happiness. (2) Happy are the meek: the gentle, patient and kind. Handling your spouse’s struggles with kindness, sensitivity and long-suffering is an expression of love that brings healing into the painful chapters of life and marriage. (3) Happy are the merciful. Sooner or later well inflict injury into one another. Hurt, disappointment and anger will rise up, followed by a desire to make them pay. But just as revenge begets revenge, mercy begets mercy. Mercy isn’t “letting them get away with it.” Treating your spouse mercifully is reciprocal. It creates an atmosphere, where, when you fail, “you shall obtain mercy.” Mercy ends disputes when nothing else works! (4) Happy are the peacemakers. The need to be “right” and “win” only intensifies conflict. In marriage, when one “wins,” both lose! Giving up personal victory to be a peacemaker is ultimate victory. You’d be eternally lost if Jesus hadn’t willingly surrendered His rights for your wrongs. The ring is not the sole symbol of Christian marriage, but the cross superimposed on the ring. Christ like surrender of our uncrucified-self promotes marital happiness!

Taken from The Word for You Today devotional.

AUGUST 7, 2013. HOW TO PICK THE RIGHT LEADER

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 7

“They nominated...Barsabbas...and Matthias.”  Ac 1:23 NLT

HOW TO PICK THE RIGHT LEADER

When Judas committed suicide the team of apostles was one man short.  So what did they do?  “They nominated two men...Barsabbas...and Matthias.”  To decide which one was called to take the place of Judas, they used a method known as “casting lots.”  It was a system used in biblical times when only a few select people could actually speak with God or hear from Him personally.  As a result, Matthias was chosen.  You say, “But I’ve never heard of Matthias.”  And nobody else has either!  He is not mentioned again in Scripture.  But Barsabbas, the man who didn’t get the vote, is referred to as one of the leaders who steered the church through some treacherous waters of doctrinal error (See Ac 15:22-23).  There are two important lessons for us in this story:

(1) You can know God but you will never be able to figure Him out.  So stop trying.  You can’t reduce Him to a formula and say, “This is the way He always does it.”  Casting lots was a system God may have honored in the past, but when the apostles tried it they didn’t get the results they hoped for.  (2) God will speak to you if you are willing to listen.  Before leaving them, Jesus had told His disciples that the indwelling Holy Spirit would guide them.  “All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me’” (Jn 16:15 NLT).  You say, “But how will I know the Holy Spirit has spoken to me?”  Because it will produce the results that God wants!

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)

AUGUST 6, 2013. POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH (3)

TUESDAY AUGUST 6

“My grace is sufficient for you.”       2Cor 12:9 NKJV

POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH (3)

One of the classic stories of adversity in the Bible is about Joseph.  At the beginning of his life he is the favorite son, envied by his brothers, with dreams of being someone everybody bows down to.  Then he’s kidnapped by his brothers and ends up serving as a slave in Potiphar’s house.  He loses his home, his culture, his security and his status as favorite son.  What does Joseph have left?  He is in a strange bed, in a strange house, in a strange land, with no friends, no prospects, and no explanation.  But he has one gift - one that makes all the difference.  “The Lord was with Joseph” (Ge 39:2 NIV).  What happens when you lose everything but God, then find out that God is enough?  You experience His presence in a way you never did before!  Paul writes: “Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death...No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us” (Ro 8:35-37 NLT).  God wasn’t at work producing the circumstances Joseph wanted, He was at work in bad circumstances producing the Joseph that God wanted.  Just as a diamond is formed out of common carbon placed under millions of pounds of pressure - so the character of Christ is formed in you by adverse circumstances.  So the question is, will you hold up or fold up?  When Paul thought he couldn’t stand any more, God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2Co 12:9 NKJV).  And do you know what?  His grace is sufficient for you too.

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)

AUGUST 5, 2013. POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH (2)

MONDAY AUGUST 5

“God intended it all for good.”           Ge 50:20 NLT

POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH (2)

Rising to a challenge reveals hidden abilities within you that otherwise would have remained dormant.  Just as you find out what’s inside a tube of toothpaste when it gets squeezed, adversity reveals what you’re made of.  Sometimes we say, “I could never go through what that person went through.  I would die.”  Then you go through it, and guess what?  Your heart keeps beating.  Your world goes on.  You don’t know what you’re capable of until you have to cope.  Wise people have always understood the connection between suffering and growth.  Meng Tzu, the Chinese sage, said, “When heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on any man it will place obstacles in the path of his deeds so as to stimulate his mind, harden his nature, and improve wherever he is incompetent.”  God could have let Abraham stay in the comfort of Ur, and Moses in the splendor of Pharaoh’s courts.  He could have kept Daniel out of the lions’ den, Nehemiah out of captivity, Jonah out of the whale, John the Baptist away from Herod, Esther from being threatened, Jeremiah from being rejected, and Paul from being shipwrecked.  But He didn’t.  In fact, God used each of these trials to bring them closer to Himself - to produce perseverance, character and hope.  It’s said, “The school of hard knocks produces the greatest scholars.”  And guess who the teacher is?  Adversity!  You either face it with God, or without Him.  And those without God are watching you.  When they see your faith sustain you and God bring you through, they’ll get interested in what you have to say.  And not before!

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)

AUGUST 4, 2013. POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH (1)

SUNDAY AUGUST 4

“Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ.” Ro 8:37 NLT

POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH (1)

Just as there is a condition known as “post-traumatic stress,” researchers are now talking about “post-traumatic growth.”  One line of thinking is that adversity can lead to growth.  Another is that the highest levels of growth cannot be achieved without adversity.  But adversity doesn’t automatically bring growth.  Much of the outcome depends on how you respond to adversity.  Ernest Hemingway wrote, “Sooner or later, the world breaks everyone, and those who are broken are strongest in the broken places.”  Sometimes that’s true.  But sometimes people write beautiful things and believe them to be true - or hope they’re true - and yet they don’t help.  Hemingway himself had a brokenness that ended his life because the pain was too great.  On the other hand Joseph, who was betrayed by his family, falsely accused of rape and unjustly imprisoned, looked back and said, “God intended it all for good” (Ge 50:20 NLT).  The key to post-traumatic growth is in seeing God in all things, drawing close to Him, trusting Him when you can’t understand the situation, and knowing He only has your best interests at heart.  When it comes to serving God there are two sides of the coin: success and suffering.  We like the first, and try to avoid the second.  But they’re both part of God’s plan.  God called Paul into the ministry, saying, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Ac 9:16 NLT).  But hard times didn’t make Paul doubt his faith, or the God he served: “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)

AUGUST 3, 2013. ARE YOU HEARING FROM GOD?

SATURDAY AUGUST 3

“Then Moses said to the Lord.”         Ex 33:12 NKJV

ARE YOU HEARING FROM GOD?

Throughout the book of Exodus we read these two statements: “The Lord said to Moses,” and “Moses said to the people.”  There’s an important lesson here.  Until you have heard from God, what do you have to say to anybody that’s worth consideration?  Does that mean God won’t use your brain?  No, when your thoughts and desires are submitted to Him He will actually think and speak through you.  What a privilege.  The trouble is, we want to speak without first consulting God and hearing from Him.  The people Moses had been called to lead hadn’t heard from God for four hundred years.  After ten generations of living without God’s Word, can you imagine the shape they were in spiritually?  If you want to know how such a mindset will act, look at their responses every time they had a problem in the wilderness.  They wanted to go back to the security of Egypt!  This is one of the dangers you will face as a leader.  You must love people and listen to them, but you must be led only by God.  And unless you know God intimately, when times get tough people will take you back to what’s familiar and comfortable to them.  When people want to go back to their old way of doing things, it’s usually because they don’t know God well enough.  The litmus test of spiritual leadership is found in the ability to hear from God, then teach people to love God, discern His will, and begin to walk according to it!

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)

AUGUST 2, 2013. SUFFERING WITH GRACE

FRIDAY AUGUST 2

“For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ...to suffer.”         Php 1:29 NKJV

SUFFERING WITH GRACE

You need the kind of faith that not only believes God for good things, but also sustains you through bad things.  The Bible says, “If you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it.  So don’t worry or be afraid...instead...worship Christ as Lord of your life” (1Pe3:14-15 NLT).  God has foresight but we have only hindsight.  So whether the path you’ve been called to walk is rough or smooth, your attitude should be one of “worship,” acknowledging “Christ as Lord of your life.”  Joseph’s kidnapping led to the saving of his family.  The lions’ den led Daniel to a cabinet position.  Christ entered the world by a surprise pregnancy and redeemed it through an unjust murder.  Do you believe what the Bible teaches - that no disaster is ultimately fatal?  Chrysostom did.  He was the archbishop of Constantinople from AD 398 to 404.  He gained a following by his eloquent denunciations of corruption in the church.  Twice banished by the authorities, he asked: “What can I fear?  Will it be death?  But to know that Christ is my life, and that I shall gain by death.  Will it be exile?  But the earth is the Lord’s and its fullness is the Lord’s.  Will it be by loss of wealth?  But we have brought nothing into the world, and we can carry nothing out.  Thus all the terrors of the world are contemptible in my eyes; and I smile at all its good things.  Poverty I do not fear; riches I do not sigh for.  Death I do not shrink from.” That’s suffering with grace!

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)

AUGUST 1, 2013. BE THEIR GUIDING LIGHT

THURSDAY AUGUST 1

“Let your light shine.”  Mt 5:16 NIV

BE THEIR GUIDING LIGHT

Every child, including yours, is born “lost” into a world of moral and spiritual darkness.  So parent, your most urgent responsibility is to be their guiding light.

Paul Harvey told of a hard-drinking father who left his adolescent son in a pickup truck and went into a bar for a drink.  Two hours later, Dad lumbered back to the truck, finding his boy missing.  Later, in the bar, he found his son in the company of a couple of inebriated young hooligans who’d gotten him drunk.  In the ensuing fight with them Dad ended up bleeding on the floor, his distressed son kneeling over him, pleading, “Please don’t be mad at me, Pop.  I just followed you!”

We all follow someone, hoping they know the way.  The Bible says, “Ahaziah son of Ahab...did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he walked in the ways of his father and mother” (1Ki 22:51-52 NIV).  Our children may not follow our advice, but they will follow our example, whether good or bad.  We are called to be signposts at their crossroads; road maps in their confusion.  Paul encouraged his spiritual children, saying, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1Co 11:1 NIV).  You don’t need a college degree in parenting to shine at home.  Embracing and living out Christ’s teaching each day qualifies you to be the best parent you can be!  “A righteous man who walks in his integrity - how blessed are his sons [and daughters] after him” (Pr 20:7 NAS).

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)