Devotional Time with God

Every word of God is flawless;  he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Proverbs 30:5

There are moments where I have doubts.  There are moments where I worry.  There are moments where I’m just not sure about anything.  This is especially true with the Bible. I don’t read it as much as I ought to.  This is why I have these lingering thoughts on the validity of God’s words.

But the Bible itself said God’s words are flawless. God only speaks the truth. He has promised me that if I believe in Him, I can do all things, in Christ Jesus.  So, I do read His words. I do believe His words are true and eternal. Powerful enough to protect me, in any circumstances, in any doubt, in any of my weak moments.

I will take refuge in God’s words for He shall comfort me.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:7

Every day is a struggle. It’s an all day struggle, starting with the morning to get up when my alarm clock goes off. It’s a struggle to keep motivated, as I get ready to go to work.  It’s a struggle to drive to work. It’s a struggle at work, with so many issues to tackle and so many people to help. It’s a struggle to keep my family happy. And in the end, it’s sometimes a struggle to even get to sleep!

So how do I keep up with this? God promised that He’ll be with me during my struggles. He promised to give me whatever I need.  However, I must realize I have to be WITH GOD before this can happen. God is always with me, not just during my prayers, or when I’m focused on Him. That’s why my actions have to be in realization that God is always next to me.

My first thought should always be with God.

Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Matthew 13:18-23

As part of my daily devotional, I need to make sure I’m ready to receive God’s words.  I need to make sure the ground is prepared.  I need to make sure my heart is open.  It’s easy to simply listen, or read, but not really take in anything out of what I just heard or seen.

So, I need to create a space that I can comfortably sit down and meditate on the word of Christ. I want to let God’s words be an adventure, to excite me in the morning, and prepare me for the “battles” in life. I pray that God guide me along the way.

Be with me, Lord Jesus, and lead me with your word.  Open the eyes of my heart, so I may see you. Talk to me. Guide me. Lead me on the correct path. Plant your seed on my heart, so I may grow to be the man that I ought to be.  Thank you, Jesus. Amen.

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.

1 Corinthians 10:11

It’s indeed wise to learn from the experience of others. The Bible is filled with advice and stories, that are not only true, it’s also enriching and enable me not to stumble.  It’s a guide that leads me to righteousness.  It’s a source of hope.

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

Romans 15:4

Pastor Rick of Saddleback Church has just kicked off a new study series with “40 Days in the Word“, to study the word of God. It will surely enrich my life and keep me focused on reading the scripture and writing notes on it.

The first one is:

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Colossians 3:16

The word of God needs to dwell in me. I need to “wear” it to help me go through the day, as Jesus would. As Colossians 3:12 suggests, I need to be compassion, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. A good set of attitudes to be Christ-like.

Lately, I’ve been enjoying taking walks with my friends and co-workers, just talking about kids, work, or life in general.  It gives me a chance to get to know each other.

Sometimes I take long walks to gather my thoughts.  Sometimes to clear my frustration. This is also the perfect time to talk to Jesus about my troubles.  In Matthew 28:20, Jesus said He’ll be with me, always.  I believe that.  I walk with Jesus and tell him all of my hurts and hang-ups.

I’m so glad I have a devoted companion that will walk me through to the end.

My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 68:3

Often I depend on my own strength and smarts to get by in this world. The truth is I’m scared to make a mistake and falls flat on my face.

Bit, I’m comforted to be God’s friend for He always catches me when I fall. He will be there to hold me.

I thank you, Lord, for your protection and hands in my life! Amen.

My heart is a complex organ. Yet, it’s the easiest to describe. It’s where my life mostly resides. It has my life, my desires, and my needs. It’s the other center of gravity, next to my mind.

It’s also fragile. I can feed it a bunch of junk and it’ll just stop loving my body. Or, I can feed it love and the goodness of God, it’ll provide me a steady and healthy life.

I need to guard it, carefully. God wants me to guard it carefully.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21

Just like any project, my life also needs progress. Something worth mentioning. Something I can be proud of. Something I can measure to be more than when I first started.

My life with Christ also needs a progress check.  Am I still doing my daily devotional? How many people I’ve shared my faith with? How many difficult situations I’ve dealt with using God’s wisdom?  Have I been keeping my body holy and close to sin-less today?

Pastor John Piper wrote about the things he learned from his father:

Anything you do that hinders your progress for God is wrong.
O how thankful I am that this was the dominant way my father pressed me to pursue my sanctification. He did not mainly impose lists of don’ts on me, though we had them. And they were clear. Mainly he said: Maximize your progress in knowing and serving God. That ruled out a hundred foolish behaviors, some bad and some uselessly innocent.

So my progress has to be truly be aligned with serving God. I have to be able to honestly evaluate myself (and by others) of my progress. One of the indication is my behavior, at home, work, or anywhere. When I can truthfully say I’ve done my part, in a peaceful manner and in humility, doing God’s work, then it’s progress – in the right direction.

Josh Etter quoted D. A. Carson about us mistaking we can “drift” towards holiness.

We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.

It’s easy to be on the sidelines and watching other Christians do God’s work.  I need to get involved. I need to take a bigger role. I need to spend more time.

I need to try harder!

God’s grace is a given.  But to gain His rewards, I must run to get them!

Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’
“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Luke 12:18-21