Christian Daily Devotionals

by Vonette Bright

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart”.
Psalm 37:4 (NIV)

Shirley’s life was one hurt after the other.  Two divorces and the challenges of a blind son had left her aching to be happy.

One day as she read the Bible verse: “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” she decided to do exactly what it says.  Delight in the Lord!  She began praising God—no matter what happened.

The car wouldn’t start.  Praise God.  Her boss was unreasonable that day.  Praise to You, Lord.

It wasn’t long before the “desires” of her heart began to change.  Did she suddenly have a wonderful marriage?  A son easy to rear?  No.  She discovered the joy of God’s love and His “blessings” on her life—despite the circumstances.

Dear one, delight in the Lord.  He will give you the desires of your heart.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/18/vb_delight-yourself/

By Idelette McVicker

“Alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic! Alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic”!

We sounded the words to the rhythmic clapping of our hands. Faster, faster, faster. Alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic! This morning drill formed part of our early morning leaders meeting at Winners’ Camp, a residential camp for teenagers on the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm”. As we went off to our daily tasks of shaping the lives and hearts of a troupe of teenagers—some more privileged than others—it wasn’t difficult to be enthusiastic about the day. I remember those seven days with such fondness. And I still remember many of the faces.

I learned a few years ago that the word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek term “entheos”, meaning “God within”.

When we can be enthusiastic about something, perhaps it is also an indicator that we are doing what we were meant to; that we are about the things that were set out for us on this earth to do. I find God in the places where I am most enthusiastic.

As another day dawns, am I alert, awake and enthusiastic about the possibilities that lie ahead? And if not, why not?

Dear God, today I invite you into every activity I put my hand and heart to. Thank you for filling me with enthusiasm as I go about the work you set out for me to do. Amen.

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

by Marilyn Ehle

“If we confess our sins…”  1 John 1:9

Cameras recorded the public official’s unwise and potentially dangerous behavior. Although initially denying the gravity of the situation, his eventual public statement included these words, “I sincerely apologize for allowing myself to be placed in that situation where there’s a perception of wrongdoing”.

We might at first dismiss and decry such words as cautious “politikspeak”,  but they reveal a practice we often adopt in our own approach to confession—to both God and our fellow travelers. Frequently we couch our apologies in protective words like “I was stressed…or tired…or hungry”. “I was just doing what everyone else does”. “I never learned how to do it right”.  Or—even more wounding—“You did (that) so I did (this)".

How strikingly different was David’s response when faced with his heinous wrongdoing. “I have sinned against the Lord…I acknowledged my sin…I will confess my sin”.

To confess sin means “to agree with God”, about it, to have His view toward it. With that kind of honest confession and determination to turn from the sin comes the incredible flood of forgiveness: “…He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”.

Father, forgive my tendency toward self-justification instead of honest confession. Help me learn to understand the difference between “God is love, BUT God hates sin”, and “God is love, SO God hates sin”!

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/15/me_lost-art/

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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