Christian Daily Devotionals

by John Grant

"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD"  Joshua 24:15

Recently, I was touring through a school, being shown around by the principal when a poster on the wall caught my eye.

You are not born a winner, You are not born a loser, You are born a chooser!

It really got my attention and I thought what a great message for students…. No a great reminder for everyone. Life is full of choices. Every day brings new challenges and decisions for you and me and everyone around us. Every day is a new day, and every day means we either choose to live for God, by the standards He lays down in the Holy Bible, or we live for ourselves by our own standards of right and wrong, as in the days when, ". . . every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25).

We are free to make choices and we have to live with the consequences of those choices. Whether it is the career we select or the mate we choose or what we order from a menu. We experience the consequences of our choices.

I thought of this question: How does the Christian learn to make right choices and live in the center of God's will every day? These choices are not new. The people of Joshua’s time had to make choices as they took the promised land, but they made a choice, the right choice, declaring “but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD"

Too many people today want to have a foot on each side of the fence. They want the path to heaven but want it to wander through the streets of the world.

Jesus said:
"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (money)" (Matthew 6:24).

So remember that the choices are yours and may we all decide we and our house will serve the LORD. Think about it. It’s your choice!
(a thought from John Grant)

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/15/jg_choices/
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

by John Grant

“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”.  1 John 5:4 (KJV)

Someone recently sent me an amusing story about a farmer and his donkey. It seems that one day a farmer's donkey fell down into an old dry well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off.

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up, one step at a time. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up. Shake it off and take a step up.

Sometimes God has to knock us down to make us look up. The Christian walk is comparable to a long distance race. Those who compete in a natural race have to be able to endure until the end. The same is true for the Christian in their journey with Christ. Every Christian has to learn how to endure as they grow in God’s grace and knowledge. Without endurance, the Christian can possess spiritual insight and knowledge, but cannot last long enough to see the fruits of it flourish in life.

The Holy Spirit gives us the tools to work out of any situation, for whosoever is born of God has the Spirit of God and will overcome the world.

Sometimes life’s situations can seem overwhelming, but we can count on God to give us what we need when we need it to work through life and overcome the world one step at a time.
(a thought on life from John Grant )
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/06/jg_overcoming/

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by John Grant

“But as for me, my contentment is not in wealth but in seeing you and knowing all is well between us.  And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see you face to face”. Psalms 17:15 (The Living Bible)

It’s time to pack, usually at the last minute, and it seemed that I always forgot something. So, I made a trip list and all I have to do is check off each item. The clothes are not the problem. It’s those other things, especially the electronics that seem to make the list grow.

I need my lap top and cell phone and appropriate chargers, extra glasses and sun glasses. Don’t forget the ever growing list of medications. Then there is reading material, especially my Bible and daily devotionals, along with my I-Pod and a neck pillow for those long trips. I need a notebook to take notes and write down things I forgot that need to be added to the packing list before I travel again. And the list goes on.

Did you ever think of life as sort of a packing list too? Of all the times we wake up and have to face yet another day, one day we will wake up in heaven.  Although we can attempt to walk on this earth with our heads up high, we will not be fully satisfied until we see Him face to face.

When we arrive, will there be anything we have left off the list? After all, we could really consider this earth "choir practice" for the main event.  Heaven, where we will worship with the angels, day and night!  Have you gone through your heavenly packing list? If not, here are a few places in the Bible to start:

•    The Bible teaches that the only way to have eternal life is through the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

•    John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

•   Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

•   I John 5:11 ...God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

•   I John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

I am ready for the trip, spiritually packed and ready to go….are you?
(a thought on life from John Grant)

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/02/jg_long-trip/
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

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by John Grant
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you”. Hebrews 13:5

Having major surgery is no small feat, even in the best of hospitals. I am amazed at the teams that prep you for surgery, as well as those in the operating room, at least those I saw before slipping off to “La La Land.” Then there are all sorts of people in the recovery room. Finally when you get to your hospital room, there is another team of people, each with their assigned task. They go from bed to bed and from room to room. But what is missing is the patient’s very own person assigned especially to you and to no one else.

That person is called a “private nurse.” I was fortunate to have one, even though insurance doesn’t cover the cost. But, I got one for free and she was the best. She was there when I woke up in the recovery room, beside my bed and holding my hand. She accompanied me to my room and remained there beside my bed for five days and nights, sleeping on a small cot in the room.

When I was able to get out of bed and take my first steps, she encouraged me every step of the way. There are a lot of needs a patient has ranging from painful to personal and she helped with them all. Whenever I needed something, she made sure that I got it. When I came home, she stayed with me to take care of my needs and encourage me through my therapy. If you are going to have surgery, it’s the only way to go.

When I thought about how blessed I was to have this lady at my side, I thought of a spiritual parallel. From the time I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, He has always been at my side, saying that I should not worry because He will never leave or forsake me. He is always there to carry my heaviest burden or to care for the least of my needs. Scripture often refers to our relationship with God as being like a marriage. The way our society has perverted marriage into a disposable item robs us of the security that concept was divinely intended to portray.

As I am sure you can guess, this “private nurse” was my wife of more than forty years, my best friend, my lover, the mother of my children and next to Jesus, the one who means the most in my life. She never ceases to amaze me with who she is and what she does for me. This new experience in surgery was just one more reminder of how she is as close to me as Jesus and how blessed I am to have both always at my side. I am indeed a most blessed patient, husband and sinner saved by God’s merciful grace.
( a thought on life from John Grant )

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/02/12/jg_the-one/

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