You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.  James 4:2

We are all familiar with our external battles like verbal conflict. But there is another battle that is a bit tougher to identify; our internal struggle for control. This takes place when we’re presented with the choice to either fulfill God’s plan for our lives, or to fulfill our own desires for life separate from God.  We can wear ourselves out by clamoring for dreams and goals that were never meant to be ours. And when we try to claim something that doesn’t belong to us, we are guaranteed a nasty fight. Ultimately, when we desire possessions of this world, we are selling ourselves short of the greatness and grandeur that God has in store.  If you base your value on the have’s or the have-not’s, then you will always find yourself fighting for rank, yet still falling short in the world’s economy. Instead, surrender to the truth of God’s perfect plan and ask Him to take control. He is the only one who truly has your best interest at heart. And remember—in God’s economy, your true value and worth will never waiver.

Dear God, I know that I struggle with wanting to maintain control. I realize that Your plan is better than anything I can devise on my own. Help me to surrender control to You so that I can experience the ultimate plan that You have for my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.              2 Timothy 2:15

One evening my family was gone and I had the house to myself. I could either watch TV or do the homework from my weekly Bible study. The lure of mindlessly watching TV was strong, but I decided to go with Bible study instead. For two hours, I dug into the scriptures. I found myself eagerly looking up words in the dictionary to clarify their meaning, following up on references to Bible verses, and reading commentary notes.  When I finally finished my lesson and closed my Bible, I felt refreshed, optimistic, and at peace. I don’t remember ever feeling refreshed or happy after a couple hours of watching TV. Was this a coincidence? The next time I had the house to myself, once again I occupied myself with Bible study instead of TV, and once again I came away feeling much better for it.

I’m not saying I never watch TV; far from it. But these days, I make the intentional choice to spend more time with God and less time with mindless entertainment.

Heavenly God, help us to take advantage of time we can spend with you so that we may renew our thinking and be transformed. Amen.

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

In 1948, General Omar Bradley made a statement with a prophetic ring to it: “We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount…. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.”

What an accurate description of our times right now. Today, with all our technology, we have simply discovered new ways to kill one another and to eradicate what God has done. Despite our sophisticated technologies and amazing abilities, we have made no progress in solving our basic human problems. That’s because the world is upside down.

While the early church turned their world upside down, it seems today that the world is turning the church upside down. The early church consisted of a relatively small group of Christians. Their numbers weren’t large like ours today. They didn’t have the technology like we have today to get the Word out. Yet they made a dramatic difference wherever they went.

Today, even with so many naming the name of Christ, our impact on the world seems to be smaller than ever. And that’s my point. Christians are allowing secular attitudes to find their way into the church and into their lives. It seems like our culture is affecting us more than we are affecting our culture.

The world needs to see a genuine man or woman of God living the Christian life. They need to see the real thing. In short, they need to see you. God can use you. Maybe you’re not a preacher, but you can proclaim the gospel message through your life and through your words. You can turn your world upside down.

 “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.”  Psalm 118:9

I had looked forward to this moment for days. I sat across the table from my friend and poured out my heart about a big decision I had to make. As I looked into her eyes, I just knew she would have the wisdom I needed. I waited expectantly for her advice.  Instead of an answer to my problems I got a mini sermon. One I needed to hear. My friend pointed out that I was looking to the answer and not the Source of all answers. I thought if I just made the right choice, I would solve all my own problems. “You need to take your focus off making the right decision and trust God,” she said. “No matter what you decide to do, He will still take care of you and He will accomplish His purpose for you.” (from Psalm 138:8)

I nodded soberly. My friend was right. I had gotten caught up in the outcome. I was placing my trust in princes—looking to people and circumstances for the answers—instead of accepting the truth that, no matter what decision I made, God was going to take care of me. I had made the decision so uber-important that it had eclipsed God’s place in my life.   I had prayed to make the right decision. I had journaled pages to Him about it. But ultimately, I reasoned, since He hadn’t written the solution in the skies for me, I had to make my own choice based on what I felt was right. I had forgotten that He would still be there working all things together for my good after I made the decision, just as He had before.

 If you are facing a big or little decision in your life, seek Him above all. Don’t let the outcome or the opinions of others become more important that the One who “opens His hands and satisfies the desires of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:16)  No matter whether you make the right decision or the wrong one, He will still be there walking with you, loving you, and helping you. Pray about your decision. Read His word. Seek out godly counsel. And then make the best decision you can. Sometimes the biggest decision is to simply make one. Place your trust in Him and rest in the fact that He will meet you on the other side of whatever decision you make.                        

Dear Lord, thank You that because of Your grace I know You will always be there. Thank You for the promise in Romans 8:28 that You will work all things out for good. I pray that my life brings You glory and I trust You to work in all circumstances to make that happen. Help me to place my trust in You and not in princes. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

It’s hard to explain when someone’s life has been cut short, dying at a relatively young age. We expected that person to live a much longer life. But who is to say that it wasn’t his or her appointed time to go? Who is to say that it wasn’t the exact length of life that God had preordained for that man or woman from the very beginning?

That is why we want to make every day count. To paraphrase the words of Moses in Psalm 90:12, “Lord, help us to realize our lives can end on any day, so please show me how to use each day wisely.”

We don’t know when our day will come. When God calls you home, you’re going home! You can live on vitamin C, zinc, and Echinacea. You can drink green tea, eat tofu, and avoid all the toxins you can, but when your number is up, your number is up.

On the other hand, you will be around until God is done with you. You won’t go before your time. You may or may not be the healthiest person, but you will live to the time that God has appointed for you…and worrying about it won’t extend your life for one moment.

At the same time, however, we are not to take foolish risks and “put the Lord to the test.”

We can be assured that we are here until God is done with us. As the apostle Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians. 1:21). So let’s make the most of the lives God has given us. Missionary Jim Elliot once wrote: “Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.”

“Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” (Luke 15:6)

The devil was trying to stop Jesus and the disciples from reaching a poor tortured soul, a demon-possessed man who was living among tombstones (Mark 4:3-5:20). Jesus said to the disciples, “Let us cross over to the other side.” So they boarded their little boat and began to make their way across the Sea of Galilee. Suddenly a storm arose and the waves beat the boat so that even these seasoned sailors thought they were going to drown.

But Jesus would not be stopped. He explained why in the Gospel of Luke, saying:

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’” (Luke 15:4-6)

The devil is always on duty. Ever watchful, he doesn’t rest day or night. He wants to destroy you and make your life miserable. This tormented man on the other side of the lake was the lost sheep Jesus was after, and he wasn’t going to let high water stop Him from His intended goal.

Satan tried to stop Jesus, but he failed. He always will.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.   Ephesians 4:32

Some members of my church have expressed opposition to a new policy. To me, their complaints show spiritual immaturity and appear to neglect important spiritual principles. Although I refrained from speaking angry words in order to avoid conflict, my thoughts about the issue still contained much anger. I felt justified in my feelings because in my view it was righteous and godly anger.

This issue led me to recall Jesus driving out the moneychangers who were using the temple for inappropriate purposes. (See Mark 11:15-19.) Often I would have identified myself with Jesus and his righteous anger. But this time God led me to consider how often I have been less than worshipful in church or how I have served for selfish reasons rather than godly ones. As I thought about my own motives, I realized that even though I may have reason to be angry at these church members, I am not to judge them; I have been in their position often enough to know that I cannot. Instead of harboring angry thoughts, I decided to pray for strength and wisdom for our church leaders, that they may resolve the dispute peacefully and harmoniously.

Dear Father, give us a forgiving heart, and help us remember that you ask us not to judge others. May we proclaim peace and unity, in our pews as well as in the streets. Amen.

One of [Jesus’] disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”   Luke 11:1

AS a pastor, I conduct weekly prayer meetings and pray for the sick and others in need. Prayer comes naturally to me and has been an important part of my pastoral ministry. Recently, in leading a devotional time on prayer, I discovered that I had made several typographical errors in the prayer quotations I had given to the participants. Although I was upset with the mistakes, I continued with the devotion.

How often are we as careless with our prayer life as I was with my typing? At times we pray not because we enjoy praying but because we were asked to pray or because we had to lead the prayer meeting. Sometimes we can be so caught up in what words to use in prayer (especially in public) that our prayer becomes merely an outward form.  Despite our shortcomings in prayer, Christ continues to invite us to pray and to teach us how. In today’s passage, Jesus teaches us how to pray. He said, “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites … when you pray, go into your room.” Matt. 6:5-6.  God does not despise our imperfections. God wants us to pray; God wants to commune with us.

“He who is not with Me is against Me.” Luke 11:23

After Jesus cast the demons out of the man who lived among the tombs, they went into a herd of pigs and ran over a cliff. When the people saw that, instead of rejoicing that their neighbor was saved, “they began to plead with Him to depart from their region” (Mark 5:17).

That really sums up the reaction of all humankind to Jesus Christ. You’re either saying, “Jesus, I want to be close to You,” or you’re saying, “Jesus, go away. I don’t want You in my life.”

You might protest, “Now wait a second. I admit that I haven’t yet made a commitment to Christ. I’m simply saying I haven’t decided yet.” But if you don’t say yes to Jesus, you are essentially telling Him to go away. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Luke 11:23). Either you have faith and trust in Christ or you have unbelief. There is no other option.

Have you said, “Away with Him?” You say, “What do you mean, away with Him? I have never said, ‘Jesus, go away.’” Maybe you have, indirectly. Maybe you resisted God’s work in your heart. Maybe you don’t want to give up some things in your life that you know are wrong. Or maybe you’re just too busy—you have time for everything but Jesus.

It really boils down to this: what have you done with Jesus? What are you going to say right now? “Away with Jesus”? Or are you going to ask Him to become a part—the very center—of your life? He offers you His forgiveness. Take it. The choice is yours. Don’t put it off.

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14)

In a broad sense, we should pray about everything. But there are certain things we don’t need to pray about. For example, if someone were to say, “Greg, I’m praying about robbing a bank. Would you pray with me?” I will pray for that person, but I won’t pray that God will bless their efforts. Why? Because the Bible says, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15). We don’t need to pray about that.

Yet there are certain things God tells us we can pray for. He tells us we can pray for wisdom: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

We can pray for His provision. Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

We can pray for protection. Psalm 91:5-7 says, “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.”

The key to effective prayer is getting our will in alignment with God’s will, as the verse at the top of today’s devotional explains.

Nothing lies outside the reach of prayer except that which lies outside of the will of God.