1-Minute Daily Devotion

Dealing With the Storms of Life

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0600

"...I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you." - Hebrews 13:5b

We will all face difficulties in our lives. It could be the death of a loved one, financial setbacks, health issues, family dysfunction, or some other painful tragedy. Events occur that can batter us, beat us down, and place us in turmoil. How can we bear such events without breaking down? Perhaps the most important thing to remember about the storms of life is this: Every storm is temporary. When you are facing a storm—even a hurricane—and you just don't know how you will ever work it out, realize this: Every storm is temporary.

And for the believer, that's true even of death. You say, "Well, how can the storm of death be temporary?" Because when the believer steps over to the other side of life, we get to see Jesus face-to-face, and we get to experience a peace and a calm like we never get to experience here on earth. For the Christian, death is not a storm that defeats us. Even in death, Jesus can carry us through this storm like He does in every storm.

So remember, no storm lasts forever. Life is a mixture of sunshine and clouds and storms, but no storm is permanent. Hold on! Be brave! Have faith! Every storm is temporary.

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A Key to Contentment

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0600

"If you have food and covering, with these we shall be content." - 1 Timothy 6:8

In our rush to acquire wealth and possessions, we often wonder just how much is enough? Put simply, God's Word tells us: When you see that God is meeting the basic necessities of your life, be content. Be thankful. The apostle Paul says, Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

In other words, the apostle Paul understood. He could be content with little. He could be content with much! Let's learn to follow his example. Because Christianity is most of all a relationship, when we are in a right relationship with God through Christ, one of the many by-products is contentment.

So, as long as the basic necessities of life are being met, be thankful. Everything over and above is just extra blessings!

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What Are Your Prayer Stats?

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0600

"Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

How should we pray? God tells us that prayer should be a balance of a four-fold focus. These areas are praise; confession thanksgiving; and then supplication, which is another word for our personal requests. Now wouldn't it be fascinating if God gave us the statistics showing how much prayer time we spend on requests versus how much time is spent thanking God, praising God, or confessing our sins? Now that would be an interesting stat! I know that if He did it for my own prayer life I would see those supplications way up there on that list!

God's Word tells us that when we pray, we are to have an attitude of thanksgiving. We want to be thankful to the Lord for the many blessings in our life, for the greatest blessing of all - which is the salvation we have in Jesus Christ and the eternal abundant life that He gives us. We ought to have an attitude of thanksgiving. Because, you see, with an attitude of thanksgiving, you will be more joyful and more content with life. Praise your Lord for these many blessings and discuss your sins with the One who offers forgiveness.

Strive for this four-fold balance in your prayer life and see how it draws you closer to the Creator of the Universe.

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Wanting To Be Rich Has A Dark Side

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0600

"For they that will become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition." - 1 Timothy 6:9

When a rather selfish TV character was reminded that money doesn't buy happiness, she quickly replied, "Oh, of course it does. That's just something we tell poor people to keep them from rioting." Not only does money not buy happiness, but the desire to be rich can add many complications to your life.

The Bible makes it clear that the desire to be rich brings many new temptations into your life. What are some of those temptations? Well, it can be the temptation to lie or to steal. It can be the temptation to use and even run over other people to have more wealth. It can be the temptation to defraud other people to have more wealth. This focus to have more and more money can cause one temptation after another and the next thing you know, we can find ourselves doing things we never thought we'd do. We can make life a mess. When wealth becomes our priority, we are not willing to acknowledge that all we think we own is God's and that victory with money—be it a little or a lot—is using His money in a way that pleases Him.

Wealth earned honestly can be a blessing. It can do a lot of good. But the desire to be rich so we can spend it or hoard it for ourselves can cause us to give into all sorts of unhealthy temptations.

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Contentment Through a Godly Life

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0600

"Godliness is actually a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment." - 1 Timothy 6:6

Would you like to be rich? I guess we all would, but let's look at God's definition of "rich." God's Word says if you really want to be rich from a lasting perspective, you want to live a godly life. Now, don't make the mistake of feeling that you can live a godly life by trying to be religious, by trying to be good, by trying to do all these things you're supposed to do in church. Realize that godliness is a byproduct of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Godliness comes out of growing closer to Christ so that His Spirit begins to guide and convict us through the Word of God to live a life that is more and more pleasing to Him—to live a life walking with Him.

Godliness is to be our primary goal when it comes to thinking about money and riches. There's no lasting significance in money, but there is lasting significance in godliness. God says something like this, "Look, when you live a life of godliness, this is a life of great gain." There's no ultimate meaning in money, but there is ultimate meaning in having a godly walk with the Lord. You can never lose this. Oh, yes, you can stray from God, but you never lose that relationship with God. It's eternal! Unlike financial riches, your relationship with God is eternal. It goes beyond the grave, beyond death.

Let godliness be your primary concern, and out of that will come contentment.

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What Is Intercessory Prayer?

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0600

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." - Ephesians 6:18

What is intercessory prayer? Paul tells us of Epaphras, a member of the church in Colosse, who "is always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God." Epaphras prayed for the people in the church to be spiritually mature, for them to be complete and whole, and also for them to fulfill the will of God. Now that is an example of intercessory prayer; it focuses on fulfilling the ministry and the mission of the church.

One of the concerns we often have about our prayer ministry is that the requests we receive are overwhelmingly for those who are sick. Now there is no doubt that the church is called to pray for the sick. But so often it seems the church is just absolutely obsessed with praying sick sinners out of heaven and totally oblivious to praying lost sinners out of hell. We need to have the right priority when it comes to our intercession. It's about praying for "Christ's Kingdom to come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven." That means focusing on the spiritual welfare of the church and its mission as we remember the physical needs of those who are sick.

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The Pure in Heart

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0600

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." - Matthew 5:8

What did Jesus mean when He declared in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God?" To a great extent, having a pure heart is wrecked because of sexual immorality. Many Christians are living spiritually impotent lives because we have fallen into a mindset of sexual immorality or sensuality or impurity to the point that it blocks our vision and understanding of God. Many non-believers have no inkling or understanding of ever seeing God because of this lifestyle of sexual immorality and impurity and sensuality.

Jesus tells us that when we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will cleanse us of all unrighteousness. When we do decide to live a life that is pleasing to Him, we can begin to get a glimpse of what Jesus is teaching when He says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for those are the ones that see and know God."

May this be the case for all of us!

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