Christian Daily Devotionals

By Vonette Bright

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come"! 
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

Television commercials couldn’t be more clear!  The message is almost always, “It’s all about you”!  And for a product—that’s the greatest sales strategy.

Gwen’s life was pretty much on that same track.  It was about her career.  Her possessions.  Her priorities.  But you know what?  It didn’t make her happy.  No.  In fact, she grew more and more discontent.

But when Gwen’s friend Leah introduced her to the Lord—the change was incredible.  Her friends noticed it immediately.  She began to truly care about them.  To reach out in friendship.  Even her facial expression “beamed” with a new-found joy.

Dear friend, there is true contentment.  And it’s all about knowing and sharing Jesus.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/14/vb_about-god/

By John Fischer

Vicky never gave up. For 42 years she prayed for her uncle. Last year she thought she could see some cracks forming in his 101-year-old heart. Earlier in the summer, Vicky's daughter joined a short-term mission group in Hawaii. Her emails home were all about what God was doing in her life, and Vicky's uncle read them all. Vicky wasn’t sure, but he seemed moved by them. And then something happened that broke his heart. Was God was opening up a place in the hard heart for Himself?

“I am a scientific person,” he once screamed at Vicky, “and I need scientific evidence. I need proof! I won’t believe unless I have proof!” C.S. Lewis has said that God dragged him, kicking and screaming, into heaven and Vicky decided to hold onto the hope that God was dragging her uncle in like Lewis. He’s an intelligent man and a self-made millionaire. He’s been fighting God for 100 years. Those are hard odds to overcome, but nothing’s impossible with God.

Vicky and her daughter went to see him after her daughter’s return from Hawaii. “We went with highest hopes,” Vicky said. “As usual, he was incredibly distracted and appeared not to be listening. My daughter kept trying to steer the conversation back to Jesus and he kept changing the subject. Finally I told him how I knew he had no purpose and hope for living and asked him if he wanted to pray with us to find the peace that his sister and I had found in Christ. Miraculously, he softly said, ‘Yes.’ My daughter and I couldn’t believe it!”

Shortly after Christmas, the sister he dearly loved and had looked after all his life, passed away. Vicky believes it is the grace of God that kept her alive long enough to see her brother’s salvation. Though he was deeply saddened by her leaving, Vicky’s uncle was visibly buoyed by the knowledge of being able to be reunited with her in heaven. This is the same man who only a few months earlier had claimed there was nothing after death. Nothing. Now he has a new purpose for his life, and, by the way, another sister to take care of. This one is only 96 and in better health than her older sister, which puts a little sparkle in her brother’s eyes because it means he can get out again. He may not be screaming anymore at 102, but he’s still kicking!

Last October, Vicky’s family got to celebrate her uncle’s one-hundred-second and her aunt’s one-hundredth birthday with the joy of adding the celebration of his first natural birthday as a Christian. Born again at 101. Proof that it’s never too late; and encouragement to all to never give up, even amidst the most obstinate resistance. Just ask Vicky.

Question: Is there someone in your life who you’ve been praying for, seemingly without results, for a long time? Can you recommit to continue praying for them?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/10/jf_born-again/
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by Dr. Bill Bright

"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" Proverbs 4:18 (KJV)

I had just finished giving a message, challenging students and young executives to commit their lives to helping to fulfill the Great Commission when Steve approached me with words that shocked me. I had known him for a long time and believed his life to be totally committed to Christ.

"If I were to respond to your challenge to take what I have to the rest of the world," he said, "I'm afraid not much would be accomplished, because my brand of Christianity -quite frankly - is not that attractive, exciting or fruitful."

He went on to share how he was not experiencing the joy of the resurrection in his life. The study of the Word of God had no appeal, his prayer life was nil and it had been a long time since he had introduced anyone to Christ. His outward evidence of being a man of God was just a facade, by his own admission.

What about you? Is your brand of Christianity truly the revolutionary, first-century kind that helped turn the world upside down and that changed the course of history? If not, it can be - and that is what this daily devotional guide is all about.

Every Christian needs to echo daily the sentiments of an unknown poet:

My life shall touch a dozen lives
Before this day is done,
Leave countless marks of good or ill,
Ere sets the evening sun.
This, the wish I always wish,
The prayer I always pray;
Lord, may my life help other lives
It touches by the way.

That goal should reign supreme during my waking hours - to touch lives for eternity. For if the all-powerful God, in the Person of His Holy Spirit, truly lives and reigns and triumphs, surely I can tap into that supernatural power and give evidence of it in my life.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 4:14-19

Today's Action Point: Knowing that this dark world desperately needs light, I will trust God to let His light shine through me today. I pray that my life will be so radiant, joyful, attractive and fruitful for Christ that it will demonstrate the kind of Christianity that can be exported to others, to members of my family, neighbors and friends, as well as to people in other countries.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/08/bb_worth-sharing
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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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