Christian Daily Devotionals

by Max Lucado

If your God is Mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that He is mighty enough to light your path?

God is for you. Not “may be”,  not  “has been”,  not  “was”,  not  “would be”, but “God is”!
He is for you. Today. At this hour. At this minute. As you read this sentence. No need to wait in line or come back tomorrow. He is with you. He could not be closer than he is at this second. His loyalty won’t increase if you are better nor lessen if you are worse. He is for you.

God is for you. Turn to the sidelines; that’s God cheering your run. Look past the finish line; that’s God applauding your steps. Listen for him in the bleachers, shouting your name. Too tired to continue? He’ll carry you. Too discouraged to fight? He’s picking you up. God is for you.

God is for you. Had he a calendar, your birthday would be circled. If he drove a car, your name would be on his bumper. If there’s a tree in heaven, he’s carved your name in the bark.  We know he has a tattoo, and we know what it says.  “I have written your name on my hand”, he declares (Isaiah 49:16).

You can comment on this devotional online at:

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/16/ml_cheering/

Not to be reprinted without permission
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Max Lucado
From: Let the Journey Begin:
God’s Roadmap for New Beginnings
(J Countryman 2009)

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

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by Skip Moen, D. Phil.

“I will rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness, because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul”.  Psalm 31:7 (NASB)

Known – Omniscience.  Oh, it’s a great doctrine.  God knows everything that can be known.  It’s a significant statement about the scope of His observation and understanding.  But it’s kind of sterile.  It’s one of those big ideas that lends itself to debates like, “If God already knows what I am going to do tomorrow, can it really be my free choice"?  I wonder if David ever concerned himself with such cognitive issues.  David’s approach is far more personal.  God knows the troubles of my soul.  When it comes to my relationship with the Lord, this might be all I really need.

The verb is quite familiar.  Yada covers the widest range of knowing in Hebrew, from knowing the facts about the enemy army to knowing the sexual intimacy of marriage.  It’s worth reflecting on this range.  We have many distinct verbal expressions for different kinds of knowledge.  We categorize our information.  There’s a box for facts, a box for opinions, a box for theories, a box for observations, a box for involvements, etc.  Nice, neat compartments where we can “know” the right thing in one area but never let it touch the things we feel or observe in another area.  But yada reminds us that everything is connected.  It isn’t possible to “know” something and keep it neatly separated from the actions that make up who we are.  If God knows the troubles of my soul, certain implications about this fact must follow.

God knows my tsarah.  He knows the distress I encounter, the adversities I face, the troubles life hands me and the vexations that plague me.  God knows these things.  That does not simply mean He observes them as facts. Yada-ata.  He knows them.  He experiences my troubles.

Think about this.  When I weep, is God weeping with me?  When I rejoice, does He dance?  When I shake with fear, is He there beside me?  When I battle with decisions, does He fight for the right?  Yada says “Yes"!  The full range of relationship dynamics is known to Him.  He is not the God of disengaged research or the moral policeman.  He is as close as my breath, my sight, my thoughts and my sighs.  He is the God in my need.

Would it make a difference in our struggles for righteousness if we contemplated the God of yada?  Would we feel His comfort, His guidance or His warning just a little more intensely if we engaged the Hebrew umbrella of knowing.  David worships a God who is intimately involved in life.  He doesn’t sit on His throne in Zion waiting for quarterly reports on our progress.  He sits by our side, asking us to lean on Him.  He is the ‘ezer', the benefactor who comes to our aid in times of need.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/14/sm_knows-me/
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By Max Lucado

“God is so great, greater than we can understand!” Job 36:26

We may search out the moment the first wave slapped on a shore or the first star burst in the sky, but we’ll never find the first moment when God was God, for there is no moment when
God was not God. He has never not been, for He is eternal. God is not bound by time.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/09/ml_he-is-eternal/

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Max Lucado
From: Everyday Blessings

Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
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by Dr. Bill Bright

“For anyone who keeps his life for himself shall lose it; and anyone who loses his life for Me shall find it again” Matthew 16:25

From all outward appearances Tom and Mary were the ideal couple. They lived in a beautiful mansion. They possessed several fine cars – more than they needed. Both of them dressed elegantly and they entertained lavishly. They were the life of the party and everything seemed too good to be true. And it was.

Beneath the facade they were miserable creatures, though outwardly they seemed to be loving and considerate of each other. I soon learned that they had great resentments and deep-seated antagonisms toward each other. Their quarrels had become more frequent, sometimes exploding into temper tantrums, and sometimes resulting in physical abuse. They had tried in a number of ways to find happiness and fulfillment, including several around-the-world trips. But the harder they had tried, the more miserable they had become.

It was in this context that I shared with them the importance of surrendering their lives to Christ and inviting Him to be their Savior. I counseled them to lose themselves, as His representatives, in bringing happiness into the lives of others.

Receiving Christ was not so hard for them to do. They both realized they were sinners and needed as Savior. But they had lived such selfish lives for so long that it was not easy for them to begin to consider others as the Scripture admonishes. After a time they did begin to work with elderly people in convalescent homes and with prisoners through the ministry of the local church. On occasion, they gave their testimony at the skid row mission.

With the passing of time, the miracle happened and that illusive goal of happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction became a reality. In losing their lives they truly found them in service to others in the name of Christ. They found the abundant life which He promised and for which they had sought so long.

God’s loyalty has been proven over and over again. In reviewing my own experiences, and in observing the lives of many others, I have become aware that the individual who seeks happiness never finds it, but the one who is committed to taking happiness to others always finds it. And he also finds meaning, purpose, joy and peace in the process.

Bible Reading: Matthew 16:24-27

Today’s Action Point: I am determined to experience the reality of this promise by surrendering the control of my life to Him and demonstrating my commitment through serving others.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/02/27/bb_find/