Christian Daily Devotionals

by Sylvia Gunter

I don't know your story and you don't know mine, but we share a common theme. We are driven by the search for true identity, a desire to be understood and appreciated for who we are. We have longing to seek out something more. Those are not evil desires. God gave us the desire to seek the essence of who he created us to be, so that he can fulfill it.  He created the thirst so we can enjoy the Living Water.  Unfortunately, we spend a lot of time and energy looking everywhere else but to him for that fulfillment.

In Jeremiah 2 God paints a picture of how his people loved him like a bride loves her groom, full of passion and complete in their devotion to him. But their hearts changed. In Jeremiah 2:13 God says that his people have forsaken him, the spring of Living Water, and have dug their own cisterns. They are looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places. You can hear the Father's grieved heart as he lays out their behavior before them and then ends with "How's that working for you?"

My heart sinks as I see the areas in my life where I have chosen to find identity in my own cisterns, rather than drinking the Living Water. We too easily revert back to our own cisterns that can hold no water. Look at the cisterns in your life. What seemed like such a good source of legitimacy suddenly pales in comparison to true legitimacy found in God. That is why it is critical to meditate on the truths of who God is and who we are in Him until it sinks down deep into our spirit, soul, and body. John Calvin wrote in The Institutes Of The Christian Religion, "It now remains to pour into the heart itself what the mind has absorbed. For the Word of God is not received by faith if it fills the top of the brain, but when it takes root in the depth of the heart." Calvin is urging us to take deep drinks of the Living Water of who he is and what we have because of who he is:

He is Jehovah-Jireh (provider).
Genesis 22:14 Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide.
You can be sure he sees and knows your every need.
Matthew 6:8 Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

He is Jehovah-Rophe (healer).
Exodus 15:26 I am the LORD, who heals you.
You are being renewed.
Isaiah 40:31 ... those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength...

He is Jehovah-Shalom (peace).
Judges 6:24 ... and called it The LORD is Peace.
You have life and peace.
Romans 8:6 ... to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

He is Jehovah-Nissi (banner).
Exodus 17:15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner.
You are led in Christ's triumph.
2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ...

He is Jehovah-Rohi (shepherd).
Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd...
You are his well-tended sheep.
Psalm 100:3 We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

He is Jehovah-Tsidkenu (righteousness).
Jeremiah 23:6 This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.
You are free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:2 Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

He is Jehovah-Shammah (THE LORD IS THERE, Ezekiel 48:35)
Matthew 28:20 Surely I am with you always...
You are continually with God.
Psalm 73:23 Yet I am always with you...

Stop and allow these truths to sink deep into your spirit.  You may "know" these Scriptural facts, but now really receive their truth deeply in your spirit where your legitimacy, identity, significance, and birthright are defined by God.

Remember whose you are... and who you are in him!

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/09/sg_whose-you-are/
_________________________________________

follow us on Facebook

follow us on Twitter

by Skip Moen, D. Phil.

"but rather let him labor, working the good with the hands, that he may have to give to the one having need". Ephesians 4:28

Have To Give – Why do you work?  Try making the list of your work objectives.  Let’s see – pay the bills, keep a roof over your head, provide for your family, gain recognition for your efforts, do what you love to do (and get paid for it).  You might add one more.  Paul implies that one of the reasons for working is to have in order to give.  The Greek phrase is eche metadidomai.  This is capitalism on purpose.  Why?  Because the biblical view is giving from excess, that is, giving from the profit made above what is necessary to live.  You have to have something before you are able to give it away.

There are a few implications here that require articulation.
First, work is good.  God established the goodness of work in the Genesis account.  Work is part of what it means to become human.  Of course, in God’s design, work is supposed to be an expression of my true essence.  I am designed by God to do exactly what fits His plan.  When I work in that way, my work is a form of worship.  It is fulfilling for me, delightful to Him and a blessing to others, all at once.  If that’s not what you’re doing, it’s time to reevaluate.

Secondly, work is not about accumulating.  I do not have in order to have.  It’s not about collecting coin or toys.  Work is designed to be the super-fruit of my life.  I produce what God has designed me to produce for the benefit of others.  My work becomes the vehicle for others’ consumption.  In the past, we looked at the idea that what I bear in my life becomes food for other lives.  In this way, we are all interdependent on each other and dependent on the Lord.

Finally, we should notice that this verb, metadidomi, is used to describe the action of giving alms.  It is about sharing what I have with someone in need.  In other words, Paul suggests that work is intended to produce charity.  This was enormously important in the Jewish community.  From a biblical point of view, people do not work to enhance their lives.  They work in order to live so that they may study Torah, pray and give to others.  In this way, work becomes an act of righteousness.

Maybe we need to do a quick evaluation of our attitudes and objectives when it comes to work.  Outside the biblical culture, the objective of work is too often all about getting ahead, maintaining a lifestyle and collecting security for the future.  All of those objectives rest on the basis of a world that needs to be controlled.  Maybe you and I have unconsciously absorbed some of these misdirected goals.  Maybe we need to take a long look at why we work and ask ourselves if eche metadidomai is at the top of our list.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/02/22/sm_on-purpose/

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

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”” John 14:6

Have you ever stood in a book store and surveyed the number of books that have a number of ways to do most anything? There’s everything from 8 Minute Workouts to 8 Mindful Steps to Happiness to 7 Principles for Making a Marriage and 7 Days to Whiter Teeth. Remember Steven Covey’s, Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People? He put the words “proactive” and “synergize” on the map.

An edition of U.S. News featured on the front cover “50 Ways to Improve Your Life in 2006.” The inclusive list covered everything from flossing your teeth to enjoying a massage to joining a singing group. It seems that everybody writes or reads books that boil anything down to less than ten precise steps to accomplish any goal.

We live in a scientific and technological culture where people believe that every problem can be solved by applied techniques (six steps to a better whatever). How much has this way of viewing life shaped you?

Christian bookstores are not immune this way of thinking. Notice how much it looks like the self-help section of your local secular bookstore. Whether it’s a better marriage or a stronger prayer life, there are numerous books that offer it in six or seven easy steps.

Pastors run to church growth conferences to hear the latest “formula,” in however many steps the speaker may think it takes to grow their church. It all seems so right, so logical so reasonable. The sell books like 5 Good Minutes to Change Your Spiritual life and 100 Morning Practices to Help You Stay Calm and Focused All Day Long.

As Christians, we often think there is some magic formula out there to dramatically change us and make all of our problems go away overnight. Well, it isn’t quite that easy. A lot of self help, spiritual and otherwise are on the shelves of local book stores. Some contain sound advice and some are marginal, if not outright incorrect. Be careful what you load into your brain and be sure you know the core values of the author and don’t believe that a few steps practiced and applied in your life can remake you.

There is only one way and it is a one step process. Jesus said:, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). I suggest that if you really want to change your life this year, commit yourself to follow Him and read His Word every day.

In a world that tells us to conform, Jesus tells us to transform and to present ourselves as a living sacrifice.

So, for us all, may this be the year of transformation, the year of presentation, the year we surrender all we have to the one who holds the keys to joy, peace and contentment. The path to that goal is daily Bible reading, committed worship, not just in church, but in all we do. May this year be the year we renew our pledge to love God more, to seek His face and His plan for our lives more clearly and to draw close to His Word each and every day.

Right now is our most exciting time ever. Last year is history. Next year lies in the future, but this is the only time we will ever have to live right now. So let’s live it to the fullest, changing our lives and changing the lives of others.

Question: What is a goal that you have for the future, and how can your goal be used to honor God?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/01/06/jg_precise/

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon. Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer.

“I will pour out water to quench your thirst” Isaiah 44:3

When a Christian believer falls into spiritual depression, he or she often tries to lift themselves out of it by focusing on their sorrow. That’s not the way to rise from the dust. It’s a sure way to continue in it.

It is not the law, but the gospel which saves the seeking soul. And it is not legal slavery, but gospel liberty which can restore the hurting believer. Slavish fear won’t bring back the backslider to God, but the sweet wooings of love will draw them back to Jesus. Similarly, the spiritually depressed must focus on the living God’s love and promises.

Are you today thirsting for the living God, and unhappy because you cannot find him to the delight of your heart? Have you lost the joy of your relationship with God? Then this is this your prayer: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” (Psalm 52:12)

If you are feeling totally barren, like the dry ground, in this state you are not producing the fruit which God has a right to expect of you. Here is the promise which you need: “I will pour out water to quench your thirst.” (Isaiah 44:3)

You will receive all the grace you require, and it will exceed all of your needs. Water refreshes the thirsty and you will be refreshed. Your desires shall be gratified. Pulse quickened by exhilarating grace. Harvest of fruit multiplied. You will enjoy all of the goodness of divine grace. It will be as though you were drenched with the water of divine grace. How do I know that? Because God promised it!

And as sometimes the meadows become flooded by the bursting rivers, and the fields turn into pools, you yourself will become a pool of living water as God fills you. In this way the entire thirsty land can become full of pools of living water for the good and refreshment of all!

Question: Have you felt spiritually dry lately?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/01/04/cs_living-water/