Guarded by His Power–Jesus Sees You BIBLE MEDITATION:“And when evening was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and He alone on the land. And He saw them toiling in rowing … and … He cometh unto them, walking upon the sea …” Mark 6:47 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:Jesus’ disciples were way out in the sea, and Jesus was on the shore. But He saw them toiling and rowing. He never took His eyes off them. Are you in the midst of a storm? Did you know He sees you right now? You say, “He doesn’t know where I […]

The Refiner BIBLE MEDITATION:“And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.” Malachi 3:3 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:Do you know that God is not as interested in making you happy as He is in making you holy? His goal is to purge and purify you. The moment you were saved, God began His work to make you pure and holy. He wants to burn out the dross and impurities in your life and present […]

His Searchlight Upon Our Hearts BIBLE MEDITATION: “Shall not God search this out? For He knoweth the secrets of the heart.” Psalm 44:21 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: Christian author and speaker S. D. Gordon said, “In every man’s life there is a throne. And when self is on the throne, Christ is on the cross. But when Christ is on the throne, self is on the cross.” There is something you hold to be the highest good that captivates your attention and controls your life. Your decisions are made in light of whatever this thing is. Is it Christ? Or something else? […]

Who You Are in Christ BIBLE MEDITATION: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: The key to living a victorious Christian life is to discover who you are in Christ. Many Christians have never discovered this. They remind me of the man who had an identity problem and an energy crisis at the same time. He didn’t know who he was and he was too tired to find out. God doesn’t work from the outside in. He works from the inside out. God doesn’t modify our behavior in order to […]

Beautiful Garbage BIBLE MEDITATION:“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven.” Matthew 6:19-20 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:Years ago I read about a man who had a rather ingenious way of getting rid of his garbage. He would gift-wrap it, put it out on the curb in front of his house, and invariably someone driving by would see that wrapped box, stop, and pick it up. And the man would be behind the curtains, watching those people drive away with their gift-wrapped garbage! So many times that’s what the devil does. He just takes the […]

After “Fighting the Good Fight” BIBLE MEDITATION:“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good professionbefore many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:Some of the greatest spiritual defeats you will ever have will followsome of your highest spiritual victories. Jonah, Moses, and Elijah– all these men learned this. Why does this happen? Because we are tired and feel we can just coast awhile. We think,“Didn’t God bless and give us a great victory?”But what we forget is that the devil is clever. He knows justwhen to pull the rug […]

Controlling Your Thought Life BIBLE MEDITATION:“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:There was a sign in a business that said, “We are not what we think we are; what we think–we are.” What are you allowing into your mind and thereby controlling your heart, your actions, and your words? God made you where you can’t think two thoughts at one time. If you’re thinking what’s right, you can’t be thinking what’s wrong. And as you think, you will become. Guard your mind. Center your mind upon the Lord Jesus. Don’t let the devil […]

Hunger for the Word of God BIBLE MEDITATION:“I rejoice at Thy Word.” Psalm 119:162 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:Job said, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). When God’s Word is as important to you as your physical food, then you’re going to start to grow in your Christian life. I wonder if one day the dust on our Bibles is not going to testify against us. The following verse sobers my heart, “These hath God married and no man shall part, dust on the Bible and drought on the heart.” Oh, that we would […]

When We Don’t Understand  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8 Read Isaiah 55:6-13 Although I depend on technology every day to get my job done, I don’t understand much about how it works. I turn my computer on, bring up a Word document, and get to work on my lesson. Yet my inability to comprehend how microchips, hard drives, Wi-Fi connections, and full-color displays actually function doesn’t get in the way of my benefiting from technology. How does the printer connected wirelessly, grab my word document out of the […]

Five-Finger Prayers Pray for each other James 5:16 Read James 5:13-18 Prayer is a conversation with God, not a formula. Yet sometimes we might need to use a “method” to freshen up our prayer time. We can pray the Psalms or other Scriptures (such as The Lord’s Prayer), or use the ACTS method (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication). I recently came across this “Five-Finger Prayer” to use as a guide when praying for others: • When you fold your hands, the thumb is nearest you. So begin by praying for those closest to you—your loved ones (Phil. 1:3–5). • The […]