Arts Worship In May

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Daily Devotion
Choosing Faith over Fear
Philippians 4:13
Stop Being Intimidated

‘God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity.’ 2 Timothy 1:7 NLT

The Bible says, ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God’ (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). So, don’t get involved in anything that doesn’t require you to use your faith. The key to momentum is always having something to look forward to and believe God for. You either venture, or you vegetate. 

Jesus deliberately sent His disciples into a storm. Why? To develop their faith, and show them that with Him on board you can get through anything! God will keep exposing you to difficult situations because He knows it’s the only way your faith will grow. 

Nineteenth-century American preacher and abolitionist Phillips Brooks wrote, ‘Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your power, pray for power equal to your tasks.’ You don’t tap into God’s resources until you attempt something that seems humanly impossible. That’s when you discover: ‘I can do everything God asks me to do with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power’ (Philippians 4:13 TLB). 

All progress involves risk. In baseball, you can’t steal second base while your foot’s still on first base. And progress involves overcoming fear. One day when David was tending his sheep, ‘there came a lion’ (1 Samuel 17:34 KJV). But in God’s strength he defeated it – plus a bear, and later a giant called Goliath. That lion was just an opportunity in disguise. If David had wavered or run away, he’d have missed his chance to become king of Israel. So, when a lion of fear comes into your life, recognise it for what it is: an opportunity from God to rise up in faith and conquer it.

Prayer Point: Pray for anyone going through a difficult time right now. Ask that they would see that time as an opportunity to experience God’s strength.

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— RE

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Daily Devotion
Choosing Faith over Fear
Philippians 4:13
Stop Being Intimidated

‘God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity.’ 2 Timothy 1:7 NLT

The Bible says, ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God’ (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). So, don’t get involved in anything that doesn’t require you to use your faith. The key to momentum is always having something to look forward to and believe God for. You either venture, or you vegetate. 

Jesus deliberately sent His disciples into a storm. Why? To develop their faith, and show them that with Him on board you can get through anything! God will keep exposing you to difficult situations because He knows it’s the only way your faith will grow. 

Nineteenth-century American preacher and abolitionist Phillips Brooks wrote, ‘Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your power, pray for power equal to your tasks.’ You don’t tap into God’s resources until you attempt something that seems humanly impossible. That’s when you discover: ‘I can do everything God asks me to do with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power’ (Philippians 4:13 TLB). 

All progress involves risk. In baseball, you can’t steal second base while your foot’s still on first base. And progress involves overcoming fear. One day when David was tending his sheep, ‘there came a lion’ (1 Samuel 17:34 KJV). But in God’s strength he defeated it – plus a bear, and later a giant called Goliath. That lion was just an opportunity in disguise. If David had wavered or run away, he’d have missed his chance to become king of Israel. So, when a lion of fear comes into your life, recognise it for what it is: an opportunity from God to rise up in faith and conquer it.

Prayer Point: Pray for anyone going through a difficult time right now. Ask that they would see that time as an opportunity to experience God’s strength.

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— RE

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Daily Devotion
Broken by Fear; Anchored in Hope
Ps. 142; 1Sam. 22:1; Jh. 14:27
Fear

What drove an astonishingly successful, battle-hardened warrior who had earned the respect of his people into the darkness of a cave? How had he come to be laid so low that he would declare, ‘Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need’? David’s cry seems to echo off the walls of the cave into the darkness that surrounded him. 

Deep in the cave, there is no warmth, no light, no comfort in the despair of utter self-consuming loneliness that denies hope and leaves you numb to the touch. 1 Samuel tells us that the location of David’s cave was near the town of Adullam, but the reality is that our cave can be anywhere. I don’t need to go to a mountainside; I can be sitting among a crowd, busy at work, busy winning people, but the cave is ever present, and I’m sitting in it. 

‘Set me free from my prison,’ cries David, but that takes breath, life, and energy when the cave is an exhausting place to be. Perhaps that was the most shocking aspect; fear is exhausting. Fear exhausts us mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

It is too easy to reduce the Christian life to being either afraid or not afraid, as though you can be one or the other but not both. It is possible to be scared and excited at the same time; it is possible to experience hope and despair at the same time; it is possible to cry out to the heavens ‘Why have you abandoned me?’ and at the same time proclaim ‘Yet you are God and I will praise you’.

Change only comes when we are able to acknowledge the fear of what awaits us outside: the presence of friends or friends who might show us love—the bright, shining, glorious presence of a hope that never fails, never ends, never gives up on us even when we have given up on ourselves. 

I firmly believe that God is with us in the cave. Knowing Jesus means that the Spirit of God is deposited in our hearts as a promise of all that is to come. He is there with us—we cannot flee from his presence. We cannot escape him; David knew it was impossible to escape the presence of the God who loves us so much that he gave up his Son for us to rescue us from all that separates us from him. 

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— RE

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Daily Devotion
God will Carry You
Gen. 37:28; Psalm 139:14
God Has a Plan

Down to Egypt. Just a few hours ago, Joseph’s life was looking up. He had a new coat and a pampered place in the house. He dreamed his brothers and parents would look up to him. But what goes up must come down, and Joseph’s life came down with a crash. Put down by his siblings. Thrown down into an empty well. Let down by his brothers and sold down the river as a slave. Then led down the road to Egypt.

Down, down, down. Stripped of name, status, position. Everything he had, everything he thought he’d ever have—gone. Vanished. Poof. Just like that.

Just like you? Have you been down in the mouth, down to your last dollar, down to the custody hearing, down to the bottom of the pecking order, down on your luck, down on your life . . . down . . . down to Egypt? Life pulls us down.

Joseph arrived in Egypt with nothing. Not a penny to his name or a name worth a penny. His family tree was meaningless. His occupation was despised. The clean-shaven people of the pyramids avoided the woolly bedouins of the desert.

No credentials to stand on. No vocation to call on. No family to lean on. He lost everything, with one exception: his destiny.

Through those odd dreams, heaven had convinced him that God had plans for him. The details were vague and ill-defined, for sure. Joseph had no way of knowing the specifics of his future. But the dreams told him this much: he would have a place of prominence in the midst of his family. Joseph latched on to this dream for the life jacket it was.

How else do we explain his survival? The Bible says nothing about his training, education, superior skills, or talents. But the narrator made a lead story out of Joseph’s destiny.

The Hebrew boy lost his family, dignity, and home country, but he never lost his belief in God’s belief in him. Trudging through the desert toward Egypt, he resolved, it won’t end this way. God has a dream for my life. While wearing the heavy chains of the slave owners, he remembered, I’ve been called to more than this. Dragged into a city of strange tongues and shaven faces, he told himself, God has greater plans for me.

God had a destiny for Joseph, and the boy believed in it.

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— RE

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Daily Devotion
Hope in the Dark
Hab. 2:2; Isa. 40:8; Pro. 3:1-3
Write

If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried, and therefore, through trial, be strengthened.

—George Mueller

How do you react when life crashes in on you? What are your default responses, the things you run to for comfort, relief, or escape? 

Trying to avoid a situation only makes matters worse. We end up even more frustrated, because nothing changes. We may even feel guilty for not being strong enough to deal with whatever thorn has gotten under our skin. Ultimately, we run even farther away from the only one who can truly help us. 

Until we’re willing to have that honest conversation with God, we will never know peace. But how? 

Habakkuk helps guide us through the valley with three specific actions. First, Habakkuk questioned the apparent injustice of God. Then he decided to stop and listen to God. Next, he took notes. God told Habakkuk, “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it” (Habakkuk 2:2 NIV).

Why would God want him to do that? Basically, God told Habakkuk, “Write it down so that when I prove myself just and true, everyone can remember that I am a God of my word.” 

When God says something to you, record it, because your spiritual enemy is an expert at stealing the seeds of truth that God wants to plant. 

Maybe you’re thinking, “Come on, Craig! I get what you’re saying, but I’m just not much of a writer. It’s a great idea, but do you really expect me to get on my phone, tablet—or even crazier, take out paper and pen—and write down what I think God’s saying to me?” 

You got it. 

The very act of putting words on thel page or screen produces a testimony, seals a memory, and helps hold you accountable. Record his message to you. 

Act: Come up with a plan for how you’ll regularly take note of your conversations with God. Then, start today. 

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— RE

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Daily Devotion
Hope in the Dark
Have. 2:2-3; Isa. 40:26-31; James 5:7-8; Ps. 27:14
Wait

Teach us, O Lord, the disciplines of patience, for to wait is often harder than to work. 

—Peter Marshall 

Most of us don’t have to wait very long for anything anymore. Just think about how antsy you feel when the dentist is running behind schedule. Drives you crazy, doesn’t it? 

Apparently, Habakkuk wasn’t crazy about waiting either. Nonetheless, he knew that was the next thing he had to do if he was going to make it out of the valley of despondency. God told him, “The revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3 NIV).

The Hebrew word here for “appointed time” is mow’ed, which means the right time, the affixed time, the divinely chosen time that God permits something to happen. There’s an old saying that God is rarely early, never late, and always right on time. That’s summed up by mow’ed. 

Maybe you’ve been praying for what seems like forever for someone you love to come to Christ. So you wait. You might be asking God for another kind of miracle. For someone to be healed. For someone to be freed from an addiction. For a promotion. Or a spouse. So you pray. You wait. 

Then you wait some more. 

When you look through Scripture, you’ll see example after example after example of people who are chosen by God, close to him, who still find themselves waiting. 

God told Moses, “I’m going to use you to deliver my people and rebuild the nation of Israel.” Then Moses went on a forty-year road trip. Forty years! 

Now, here’s one of my favorites. The apostle Paul has a vision and met Christ. He’s transformed and says, “I’m called to preach. That’s what I’m here to do. This is all. I am compelled to preach the gospel. This is my God-given, singular purpose in life.” And then he waits. Thirteen years pass before that purpose begins. Thirteen years before he gets to preach his very first message! 

Some seasons in life, you just wait.

Pray: I’m willing to wait. God, what can I do to get to know you while I wait?

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— RE

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Daily Devotion
Hope in the Dark
Habakkuk 2:3; Hebrews 11
By Faith

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. 

—Martin Luther King Jr. 

When it comes to faith, there’s going to be waiting involved. I love the way C.S. Lewis put it: “I am sure that God keeps no one waiting unless he sees that it is good for him to wait.” We can trust God to do what’s best for us at the right time.  

Even when we’re forced to wait, God often reinforces his promises to us and reminds us of his presence. It might be through his Word, by a whisper, through a person, or simply through our believing by faith that he is with us. 

If you want to strengthen your faith, I know of no better place to look than the book of Hebrews. There, in chapter 11, we find the Faith Hall of Fame, a list of so many people who struggled, waited, lived by faith, and saw God’s promises fulfilled. There we find people going through unbelievable things—seemingly impossible trials—and ultimately experiencing a new level of intimacy with God even as they witness more of his power.

By faith, Noah obeyed God and built an ark, saving his family. 

By faith, Abraham and Sarah received the son God promised them, even though they were past the age of childbearing. By faith, Joseph overcame betrayal, slavery, false accusations, and imprisonment to save the nation of Israel. By faith, God’s people left Egypt and walked through the Red Sea as it parted on either side of them. By faith, the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho, and the walls came tumbling down.


These weren’t perfect people—far from it, in fact. They all had their struggles and doubts, their mistakes and infidelities, their flaws and their weaknesses, but they persevered in their faith and waited on God again and again. 

By faith, you will get through this. 

Think about it: if you had everything figured out, you wouldn’t need faith. You could live simply by your understanding. By your logic, but not by faith. But when you don’t understand something, that gives you the unique opportunity to deepen your faith.

Oswald Chambers said, “Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.” 

Pray: God, will you grow my faith way beyond my own need to figure everything out?

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— RE

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Daily Devotion
Hope in the Dark
Habakkuk 2:2-20; Eph. 2:4-5; Ps. 73:26; Matt. 19:26
Faith Tested

I am one of those who would rather sink with faith than swim without it.

—Stanley Baldwin, British Prime Minister 

What if you’re living by faith and yet you don’t see God’s promise to you fulfilled in your lifetime? Can you dare to believe he will still keep his promise, even if you don’t get to see it during your time on earth? Is it possible that you might grow so intimate with God that you’re able to keep loving and serving him despite your disappointment? 

Habakkuk is a good teacher for us on this lesson, because it was not until the next generation that God kept his promise and punished the Babylonians. 

That’s a long time to wait.

But the Lord was still faithful.


Habakkuk gives us three little words that we can cling to when it appears that God has not delivered on what he promised. No matter what you might be going through, never let go of these words. 

If you want to be able to grow closer to God—no matter what—then these are the three words you need to remember on your journey toward intimacy and ultimate trust and faith in him: 

“But the Lord . . .” 

You’ll find these words in Habakkuk 2:20, where the prophet, after acknowledging that he still doesn’t like what’s going on, says, “But the Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him” (NLT, emphasis mine). 

The world may seem upside down, but the Lord is still there.


When you have nowhere else to turn, when your own ideas and resources have evaporated, when your control over a situation is in shambles, God is still there. When your knees ache from kneeling in prayer but you can’t tell if he’s even listening, God is still there. 

No matter what happens in your life, the Lord is in his holy temple. 

Pray: God, will you allow me to experience your presence in new ways? Will you show me how close you are? 

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— RE

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Daily Devotion
Hope in the Dark
Habakkuk 3:1-4; Psalm 77:1-20
Remember

If you think God has forgotten you, then you have forgotten who God is.

—Anonymous 

When I’m in the valley, sometimes I simply need to remember. I return to who I know God is. 

Habakkuk’s third chapter starts like a worship song that acknowledges how hard life is and yet remembers all God has done. It’s another step, a really big one, in the journey out of the valley. 

Habakkuk prays, “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2 NIV). 

I remember when I was in college and more lost than you could ever imagine, and I called out on the name of Jesus, asking him—no, almost daring him, “If you’re real, and if you are there, do something.” I fell down on my knees as one person, and then when I stood up, I was a completely different person. 

And then I remember how God brought Amy into my life. I cherish her and the gift she was and continues to be from God. 

And then I remember when our daughter Catie was born, and how, when she was about three years old, Catie got into some poison ivy and ended up covered in a rash from head to toe. Before bed that night, she told me, “Daddy, Jesus is going to heal me because I prayed.” I remember thinking, “Wow, that’s really sweet. But I don’t know what we’re going to do if she still has this rash tomorrow.” I remember that the next morning, Catie came running into our room, buck naked and giddy with joy, shouting, “Look! Look! He healed me!” 

And that rash was completely gone. 

I remember when Amy and I were young, just starting out in ministry, and we didn’t have any money. We prayed together, “God, we don’t know where food’s coming from tomorrow.” The next day, we received a refund check in the mail. 

What do you do when you’re in the valley? You remember what God has done. 

And you dare to believe that what he’s done before, he will do again. 

Pray: God, I remember when …

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— RE

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Daily Devotion
Hope in the Dark
Habakkuk 3:16-18; Psalm 42:5; 33:20-21
Accept

It’s not denial. I’m just selective about the reality I accept.


—Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes 

Sometimes, even when we remember all that God has done for us, it doesn’t change our circumstances. Sometimes we just have to accept that it’s beyond our understanding right now and just keep going. But we must also realize that acceptance is not denial. 

When you accept what God is doing, you don’t simply stuff your feelings down and let your heart die, even as you’re practicing your smile in the mirror and memorizing Bible verses. When you accept that God’s up to something that you can’t see or understand right now, you don’t just roll over and play dead and resign yourself to despair. No, you keep praying for a miracle from him unless he tells you otherwise. But you don’t pretend that everything is okay when clearly it’s not. 

Habakkuk certainly couldn’t pretend and keep his head in the sand. After he questioned God and the Lord responded by telling him that he was going to use the wicked Babylonians to destroy Israel, Habakkuk said, “I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled” (Habakkuk 3:16 NIV). 

His response is visceral. You know that sinking sensation you get in your gut when something bad happens that’s beyond your control? That’s what Habakkuk was facing. 

When Habakkuk accepted reality while waiting on God, it wasn’t denial. It was faith. Not faith that God would do what Habakkuk wanted God to do. But faith in God’s character. Habakkuk goes on to say, “The sovereign hand of God is doing something here. God has spoken, so I’ll accept whatever he is doing, as difficult as that may be for me.” 

Sometime, something is going to happen that you don’t like. It may be happening right now. 

You remember what God has done. You accept what God is doing. You trust what God is going to do. 

Pray: God, I don’t understand what’s going on, but I accept that somehow, you are in control. 

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— RE

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Daily Devotion
Hope in the Dark
Habakkuk 1:12-17; 3:16-19; Psalm 56:1-13 John 14:27
The best proof of love is trust. 

—Joyce Brothers 

Habakkuk offers us an amazing model of a healthy, balanced response to what had to be about the worst news he could have received from God. Even as his body reacted, he realized that he had a choice about what he was going to believe. He could trust his emotions. He could trust his current view of the situation. Or he could trust that God could somehow bring good out of an inconceivable scenario—the Babylonians invading their land. 

In your life, it may feel like the Babylonians have already ravaged the landscape of your heart. You may be grieving losses that occurred years ago. But even in the middle of all that pain, if you can choose to trust God despite all kinds of evidence to the contrary, then you will break through to a new level of intimacy with him. You will know his presence in the middle of your hurting. You will trust his character when you don’t understand your circumstances. Then, no matter what happens, no matter how painfully your heart is pierced, you can continue to take one more step for one more day. 

As with Habakkuk, your prayer becomes honest about what you’ve lost or will lose, even as you realize that you still have God. 

“Even though my spouse said till death do us part and didn’t live up to their word, I will still rejoice in the Lord my God.” 

“Even though I raised my kids to know better and they’re making very scary decisions right now, yet will I trust in the Lord my God.” 

“Even though we’ve prayed for someone’s health to get better and they’ve gotten worse, yet I will trust in the Lord my God.” 

“Even though our house will not sell and we are on the line, I will yet trust in the Lord my God.”


“Even though finances are tough and it’s going to cost four hundred dollars to repair my car, yet I will trust in the Lord my God.” 

“Even though I don’t like it, even though I don’t understand it, even though I know he could and he should but he’s not, yet will I trust in the Lord my God.” 

Pray: Even though … I will trust you. You are my God. 

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— RE

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Daily Devotion
Hope in the Dark
Habakkuk 3:13-19; Psalm 62:1-11
Hope

A living hope enables us to have both sorrow and joy. Our living hope is an inheritance achieved for us by Christ. 

—Tim Keller 

The book of Habakkuk concludes with his prayer, “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (Habakkuk 3:19 NIV). 

When you consider what this prophet knew he was already facing, his sheer hope is stunning. “Even though the fig tree doesn’t bud and there are no animals in the barn, yet the Lord is in his holy temple. Even though it’s going to get worse before it gets better, be still all the earth before him. The righteous will live by faith. God’s word will be true. I will find my strength and my hope in the Lord my God, and he will take me to new heights.” 

Habakkuk wrestled with questions, embraced reality, trusted anyways, and found his hope in God. If you take nothing else away from this Bible Plan, I hope you’ll remember what Habakkuk’s name means: To wrestle. And to embrace. 

Both at the same time.

I remember when my youngest daughter, Joy, was barely four years old and playing on a friend’s backyard zip line. Since she was too small to keep herself from hitting the tree at the end of the line, she smashed her face square into its thick trunk. I can still remember hearing that crack! She fell to the ground, bloody and unconscious. 

Panicked, I found a pulse, although not as strong as I would have liked. We rushed her to the ER, and the doctors began running tests. Once she regained consciousness, they tried to stitch up the gash on the bottom of her chin. But Joy wasn’t having it. 

I had to pin her down. 

I was lying on top of her, holding her body and head still while the doctor carefully dressed her cuts and stitched them up. She was sobbing, “Daddy, what’s going on? Please let go. Make them stop. I want to play. Please. I just want to play. Please don’t let them hurt me.” But I knew that if she was going to heal properly, she had to go through this. 

Sometimes God holds like this, knowing what it will take for us to heal properly.  

We wrestle and embrace. Both at the same time. 

Yet in his arms, there is hope. 

Pray: God, thank you for holding me. Thank you for healing me. Thank you for hope. 

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—RE

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Daily Devotion
Hope in the Dark
Heb. 11:1; Rom. 5:1-15; Mark 9:14-24; 1Cor. 3:11
Believe

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.

—C. S. Lewis 

True hope requires a firm, substantive foundation. As the author of Hebrews explains, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 KJV). Without our belief in the character of God—and our relationship with him—as our foundation, we might as well be hoping in Santa Claus or some app. 

I realize that all of these abstract ideas like belief can start to feel detached from the flesh-and-blood, bills-and-bankruptcy trials you may be going through. But maybe belief is not abstract. Maybe it’s the only foundation when everything is shaken. The Apostle Paul put it like this, “we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5 NIV). 

Here’s my take on Paul’s progression from suffering to intimacy with God: When we’re suffering through hard times, we take God at his Word and believe that he’s still in control, with a specific purpose in mind. So we keep going, relying on him. As we keep going, hour to hour, day to day, week to week, we become stronger. Our faith grows, our maturity grows, our trust in God grows. As we get stronger, we believe in God’s goodness, more than our circumstances. We learn to believe in God’s promises.

Belief in God can be your firm foundation.

If you still want to believe, then God will meet you in the midst of your efforts to believe. Even if you throw your Bible across the room and shake your fist at God or question him, as Habakkuk did, God will honor the passionate sincerity of your pursuit. If you really want to experience God’s closeness and care for you as you go through trials—and you desire him more than just different circumstances—then he will come alongside you with each and every step. 

Pray: God, I’m choosing to believe in your goodness and love. I believe in Jesus, your Son, and what he did to save me. Will you become the foundation of my life? 

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— RE

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Daily Devotion
Hope in the Dark
Habakkuk 1:2; 2:1; 3:17-19; 1John 4:19; James 1:2-12
When You Question and Believe

Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.

—William Barclay, Scottish minister 

I don’t know what you’re going through or what you’ve already survived. But I do know this: our God is a good God who loves us enough to sacrifice his precious Son, the greatest gift he could give us, just so we can know him, just so we can glorify him on earth, just so we can spend eternity with him in heaven. 

He loves us that much. We’re able to love him—or anyone else—only because he first loved us.

When hard things happen, and the best you can manage is to want to believe, that’s enough. Don’t stop wanting to believe. 

Allow that spark of hope to grow by trusting that God is right there beside you. Pray and ask God to help you overcome your unbelief. Like Habakkuk, ask your questions and then be prepared to listen to God’s response. 

My prayer is that you would grow to have that Habakkuk kind of faith we see in chapter 3. But here’s the deal: you can’t have a chapter 3 type of faith until you’ve had a chapter 1 type of question and a chapter 2 kind of waiting. Because God often does more spiritually in the valley than he does on the mountaintop. 

I don’t have all the answers to your questions. But after loving God and serving Christ for more than twenty-nine years now, here’s what I can say: I’ve walked with Jesus for enough yesterdays to trust him with all my tomorrows. 

Do you want to grow closer to God? Do you want that intimacy with him more than you want a comfortable, easygoing, problem-free life? 

Then never stop wanting to believe. 

You can have hope in the dark. Because as you grow to know God, he will reveal even more of his love, his faithfulness, his grace. And over time you will realize, believe, and embrace that even when life is difficult, God is still good. 

Pray: God, I believe you’re good, and I’m ready to keep growing closer and closer to you. I’m in this for the long haul. Amen. 

.”

— RE

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Daily Devotion
Truth for Life
Numbers 14:2; Lam. 3:33; Heb. 12:6; 1 Cor. 10:10
Are You a Grumbler?

There are grumblers among Christians now, just as there were in the camp of Israel of old. There are those who, when punished, cry out against the affliction. They ask, “Why am I afflicted? What have I done to be chastened in this manner?”

A word with you, grumbler! Why should you grumble against the dealings of your heavenly Father? Can He treat you more severely than you deserve? Consider what a rebel you once were, but He has pardoned you! Surely, if He in His wisdom considers it necessary to chasten you, you should not complain. After all, are you punished as severely as your sins deserve? Consider the corruption that is in your heart, and then will you wonder that so much of the rod is necessary to root it out? Weigh yourself, and discern how much dross is mingled with your gold; and do you think the fire is too hot to purge away the amount of dross you have? Doesn’t your proud rebellious spirit prove that your heart is not thoroughly sanctified? Aren’t those grumbling words contrary to the holy, submissive nature of God’s children? Isn’t the correction necessary?

But if you will grumble against the chastening, pay attention, for it will go hard with grumblers. God always chastises His children twice if they do not respond properly the first time. But know this—“He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.
”1 All His corrections are sent in love, to purify you and to draw you nearer to Himself. Surely it must help you to bear the chastening with submission if you are able to recognize your Father’s hand. “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”2 “. . . nor grumble the way some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.

”

— RE

“

Daily Devotion
Truth for Life
Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:8
It is Good

It is good that there is One who is always the same and who is always with us. It is good that there is one stable rock amidst the billows of the sea of life. Let us not set our soul’s affections upon rusting, moth-eaten, decaying treasures but set our hearts upon Him who remains faithful forever. Let us not build our house upon the moving quicksands of a deceitful world but base our hopes upon this rock that, amid descending rain and roaring floods, shall stand immovably secure.

My soul, I charge you, lay up your treasure in the only secure cabinet; store your jewels where you can never lose them. Put your all in Christ; set all your affections on His person, all your hope in His merit, all your trust in His efficacious blood, all your joy in His presence, and then you may laugh at loss and defy destruction. Remember that all the flowers in the world’s garden fade by turns, and the day comes when nothing will be left but the black, cold earth and death will soon put out your candle.

How sweet to have the sunlight when the candle is gone! The dark flood must soon roll between you and all you have; so join your heart to Him who will never leave you; trust Him who will go with you through the surging current of death’s stream and who will bring you safely to the celestial shore and have you sit with Him in heavenly places forever. In the sorrows of affliction, tell your secrets to the Friend who sticks closer than a brother. Trust all your concerns to Him who can never be taken from you, who will never leave you, and who will never let you leave Him, even “Jesus Christ [who] is the same yesterday and today and forever.”1 “I am with you always” is enough for my soul to live upon no matter who forsakes me.

.”

— RE

“

Daily Devotion
Creatures of Habit: Prayer
Colossians 4:2-6
Prayer: The Heart of The Habit 

Communication makes the world go ‘round!

While this statement is maybe a bit far-fetched, I think we could agree that great communication is helpful and important. Marriage is better when communication is central. Friendships are strengthened when communication is healthy and honest. The workplace operates differently when good communication is a central theme.  

One thing is true for almost any area of our lives, regardless of the season or situation…communication is important. 

If communication helps strengthen earthly relationships, why would the same not be true in our relationship with God? God wants to communicate with us. He wants to hear from us. He wants us to hear from him. He wants to connect with us in a way that strengthens our relationship with him. We love and serve a God that wants us to talk to him through prayer.

Prayer is communicating with our God who loves us deeply and cares for us intimately.  

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart” (Colossians 4:2 NLT). 

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul calls all believers in Christ to devote themselves to prayer. Devote means to concentrate on a particular pursuit. In other words, devote/focus/concentrate on communicating with God in all you do. As you go about your day, communicate with God through prayer. When you face the same obstacle you’ve been facing for months, talk to God about it. Instead of worrying, pray. Replace complaining with prayer to God. In all areas, at all times, devote yourself to prayer.  

Talking to God helps brings you closer to the heart of God. 

• How can you devote time to pray today?

• In your relationships is it easier for you to talk or listen? Is this true of your relationship with God as well? Be mindful of your tendencies. 

Read Colossians 4:2-6 and talk to God today. Let God talk to you, too. As you read the words of scripture and meditate on them, listen. God’s heart is to bring you closer to him through regular (even constant) communication.

.”

— RE

“

Daily Devotion
Creatures of Habit: Prayer
St. Luke 11:1-13
Prayer: The How of The Habit 

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1 NLT).

Lord, teach us to pray. 

In forming our habit of prayer, this is a great place to start. The disciples saw Jesus praying privately, they heard him praying publicly, and they asked him to teach them to do the same. This would have been common in the teacher and disciple context of that time. Prayer was an opportunity for teachers to express their theology, what they believed about God and his Kingdom. So, Jesus’ response in what we call the Lord’s Prayer, is not just a model of posture or order, but it is Jesus teaching his disciples what he knows to be true about who God is and how God’s Kingdom works. So how does Jesus teach his disciples to pray?

With adoration…because God is worthy of all honor and praise.

Father, hallowed be your name,

With expectancy…because the Kingdom of God is near, as near as your next breath. Let it be. 

your kingdom come.

With dependency…because we are not in control. Everything we are and have is a gift from God. 

Give us each day our daily bread.

With humility…because we are all in need of being saved. 

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

With faith…because God is good and wants to lead us into blessing, not harm. 

And lead us not into temptation.

The “how” of prayer is more about getting to know “Who” we are praying to. 

Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, but he also wanted them to know Who they were praying to. The “how” of prayer isn’t about saying the right words in the right order. Prayer is a relationship. And Jesus’ whole earthly ministry revolved around telling people the good news about who his Father is and that his Kingdom is near! 

• If you were talking to another person, how would you describe God to them? 

• How does your understanding of who God is hold up in comparison to how Jesus describes his Father?

Read the Lord’s Prayer and the following parables in Luke 11:1-13. And rejoice in the knowledge that the one who seeks God, finds God.

.”

— RE

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood

“I strongly believe that the power of food has a fundamental place in people’s homes that binds us to the best things of life.”

— Leo Wood