All Aboard

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

When I was a kid, my Dad would often say, “Rickey, your train of thought has jumped its track.” “Train of thought.” I think it is a great metaphor for describing how our minds work. Our thoughts take us somewhere, like a train. And if you want to make it to your desired destination, you had better board the right train!

The truth is, we can choose what we want to think about. That’s why Scripture exhorts us to think about godly things [Philippians 4.8]. Try as hard as you can, you can’t stop ungodly thoughts from entering your mind. If that were the case, there would be no need of Paul’s instruction to set our minds on “things above,” godly things [Colossians 3.2]. 

That’s where the renewed mind comes to bear. Many trains of thought about God, people, even ourselves and our destiny, are completely contrary to God’s Word. Perhaps they have developed from our experiences rather than “thus sayeth the Lord.” 

While it is hard work, we must exercise our mind muscle. When the train of thought that is contrary to the Holy pulls up to the platform, don’t get on board. Pick the train that leads to the right destination. It’s the reason we must study and meditate on Scripture. If we don’t know it, how will we know which train to avoid? 

A renewed mind is not a singular event in the life of a Christ follower. It should be a day-by-day — sometimes a moment-by-moment — experience. That’s right, a lifelong process. It’s easy to become weary, so be ready to fight off the frustration that will come your way. Pick your train carefully and you will always end up at the right, and desired, destination.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12.2

An Anchor for the Soul

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

In the ancient Mediterranean world, an anchor was a popular image. It was a symbol of safety and steadiness. Perhaps that’s why the writer of Hebrews used it, to remind us of our hope that is secure in any storm. 

Hope is comforting to the soul. It is in stark contrast to hopelessness - that overwhelming and depressing feeling that your situation cannot be resolved. Hopelessness is a dark tunnel going nowhere. 

The writer of Proverbs knew this only too well. He wrote, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” [Proverbs 13.12]. The word “sick” here, is interesting. It’s the Hebrew word, which means, weak. It’s the same word used by Samson when he told Delilah that if she were to cut off his hair, he would be “sick — weak!”

So, it’s great to know that as Christ followers, we have a hope that anchors the soul. Our relationship with Christ allows us access to the very throne of heaven, where it is possible to lay all our burdens aside, casting them before an omnipotent God. Furthermore, He’s with us through every circumstance that comes our way. His great love provides strength for weary bodies, peace for anxious minds, and comfort for grieving hearts.  

Hope — the anchor we need. It’s wrapped in God’s oath and promise, steadfast and secure. With that, we have confidence when we flee to Him for safety. Keep hope alive. God is with us. Be anchored in that truth.

God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would never change His mind. So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. Hebrews 6.17-19

Misdirected Trust

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

The year was 1978 and we had decided to drive to Reggio Calabria, at the boot of Italy. Instead of driving on the Mediterranean side, we decided to take the AutoStrata on the Adriatic side and cut across on another major highway deep in the South of Italy. We mapped everything out carefully.

We were driving, talking, and enjoying the new scenery of the trip when, all of a sudden, the AutoStata came to a DEAD END! We looked at our map trying to figure out what went wrong, and then we saw it. It was an asterisk, which in very fine print said, “Road not complete until 1980.” 

We had to turn around and drive about 2 hours in the opposite direction to connect with a highway that would take us to our destination. 

Over the years, that trip taught me a valuable lesson: Putting your trust in worldly things is tempting — our careers, our abilities, our paychecks, our possessions, our relationships… even Google! While these things may bring a measure of assurance, nothing can replace the unshakeable security we have when we rely on God! He is where we should direct our trust. 

His all-knowing wisdom and eternal Word are flawless. Trusting other things may seem like a good idea at the time, but they can lead us miles away from the path God has in mind.

If you find yourself in an unfamiliar place, or in uncharted territory, wondering how you got there, stop relying on other things, especially self-reliance. Seek God. Better yet, before heading out on any life trip, check things out with God first. He will not steer you wrong!

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Psalm 20.7

Give Me Patience — Right Now!

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

“I want what I want — right now!” That’s how life is in these days. Generally speaking, it’s what we have collectively become: a patience-is-hard-to-come-by-culture. Impatience in traffic, when we yell at the driver doing 63 mph in the fast lane. Impatient with the person who put 11 items on the counter right under a sign that reads, “10 ITEMS ONLY.” The nerve of some people! 

The Bible has things to say about salvation and heaven, but what about patience. Does it say anything about that? Well, you guessed it, it surely does. So let’s start with the word itself. It comes from a Greek word that means, slow to boil. In other words, a patient person has a long fuse before explosion… a very long fuse! 

Biblical patience deals with three specific aspects of life. 

1. Patience doesn’t give in to negative circumstances no matter how difficult they may be. When God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, they had to wait many years before God would make good on His promise. But they became impatient as the child-bearing years rushed by. So they took matters into their own hands and, well, you know the rest of the story. Ishmael came along, and we still haven’t recovered from that sin today. They had to wait another fourteen years before the son of promise came. To that, it was said of Abraham, “Having waited patiently, [Abraham] obtained the promise” [Hebrews 6.15].

2. Patience copes with difficult people. That’s why the Apostle Paul told the Thessalonian Christ followers to, “be patient with all men” [5.14]. Patience refuses to be vengeful. It refuses to retaliate. In other words, patience bears insult, slander, hatred, even persecution. You can’t start a fight with a patient person!

3. Patience takes every aspect of God’s plan as a good thing. While it may question God at times, it is always obedient, even when it lacks understanding. Patience says, “I will do Your will, Lord. Whatever You have planned for me, You will make it right.” That’s the point of Romans 8.28, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

There you have it. Patience endures negative circumstances, copes with difficult people, and accepts God’s plan for everything. Since God is in control, let’s be patient people, waiting for Him to do His good work in all things.

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering [patience], bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4.1-2

Sealed with Promise

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

I was asked not too long ago how the Holy Spirit “seals” us for protection. The one asking the question was a fairly new convert and thought the Holy Spirit wrapped us up in a spiritual bubble-wrap, keeping us safe in the world. 

I spent a little time explaining that being sealed by the Holy Spirit speaks of ownership, authenticity, security, and authority. In times past, nobles placed an official seal on documents or other possessions to guarantee inviolability. If anyone were to break that seal, they would immediately incur the wrath of the one it represented (see Daniel 6.17; Matthew 27.62-66]. 

That kind of an official seal was put on documents, deeds, and wills when they were finalized. Not only that, but anyone holding a decree from a sovereign, which had his seal on it, had the sovereign’s authority to act on it. 

Everything I just said is a picture of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is the Sovereign’s guarantee of salvation. He proves that you are an authentic child of God. You are the Sovereign’s possession, purchased with His Son’s precious blood [1 Peter 1.18-19]. You are the Sovereign’s ambassador, given authority to act on, proclaim, His message of salvation [2 Corinthians 5.20]. 

There’s one more thing to be added. Paul told the Ephesian Christ followers that the Holy Spirit was the “pledge” or “guarantee” of their eternal inheritance. He used an interesting Greek word to convey it, arrabon, which literally means, down payment or earnest money. A down payment is the promise to secure a purchase. The Holy Spirit is the pledge that God will keep His promise, that you are His for eternity—the first installment of your eternal inheritance.

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1.13-14

Be Uniquely You

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

You may not have the strength of another believer in certain things, but God has given each of us the strength to be, and do, what He created us to do.

The Psalmist said, “It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure” [Psalm 18.32].

The Apostle Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” [Philippians 4.13].

King David adds, “In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all” [1Chronicles 29.12]. 

How about that! God gives strength to all. But I also believe there are specific things, unique only to you, that He gives strength to make you individually strong. The Psalmist said, “From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works” [Psalm 33.14-15]. Paul wrote, “Now you are the body of Christ, and member individually” [1 Corinthians 12.27].

In other words, God wired us the way He wants. We fit together, but each is powered somewhat differently. He has strengthened some one way, and some another. Each person has a kind of strength that another doesn’t possess.

Here’s my point. There is something uniquely you, something God has put in you that gives you strength and character and purpose. It’s your foundation, the place from which God wants to use you to serve and bless others. 

We often wish for someone else’s strength rather than to discover and cultivate our own. So remember, God individually fashioned you! You are wonderfully unique. It’s that you, which God wants to bring blessing to others.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139.14

Guard Your Ways

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

“I will guard my ways,” the Psalmist said. His point had to do with repeated, engrained behavior - guard where I tread. I get that from the Hebrew word translated ways. It’s a word that pictures a beaten path. 

Perhaps you’ve heard that old saying, “He’s set in his ways,” meaning you’re not likely to change the way a person acts, his behavior. The “ways” are habits, attitudes, and responses that aren’t likely to change without strong motivation, or, from a Christian perspective, without some sort of an encounter with God. 

Your “ways” have to start somewhere. I believe they start with our thinking. Steven Covey, in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, wrote, “Sow a thought; reap an action. Sow an action; reap a habit. Sow a habit; reap a character. Sow a character; reap a destiny." It all points back to a thought that perhaps should have been dealt with, but wasn’t.

It’s the beginning of a new week. Take some time today to consider your thoughts. Ask yourself, “Am I giving in to thoughts that lead to ungodly ways?” If so, cast those thoughts aside and ask God to help your resolve to put them behind you. Then, replace them with positive things, things the Apostle Paul told the Philippian Christ followers to think about: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” [Philippians 4.8].

Godly thoughts lead to godly ways.

Therefore I said to myself, “I will guard my ways and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” Psalm 39.1