Tag: Devotionals

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Trusting God’s Perfect Timing

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

As we step into Monday, the weight of responsibilities can sometimes overwhelm us. The start of a new week often brings a mix of anticipation and pressure. Deadlines loom, schedules fill up, and our minds race with the tasks that need to be done. Yet, Ecclesiastes 3:1 offers a comforting reminder: God has appointed a time for everything. His timing is perfect, even when it feels delayed or unclear. Trusting in His plan allows us to release anxiety and embrace peace, knowing He is orchestrating every moment for our good and His glory.

Reflect today on an area of your life where you’re waiting on God’s timing—perhaps a career decision, a relationship, a personal dream, a personal goal, or a season of healing. It’s easy to grow impatient, wanting answers now, but God’s delays are not denials. His perspective is eternal, and His plans are purposeful. When we surrender our timelines to Him, we find rest in His sovereignty. Instead of striving or worrying, we can lean into faith, trusting that He is working even when we can’t see it.

Think of the seasons in nature: seeds planted in spring don’t bloom until summer, and trees shed leaves in autumn to prepare for new growth. Similarly, God’s timing in our lives has purpose, preparing us for what’s next. Today, choose to trust Him with the unknowns. Let go of the need to control, and invite His peace to guide your steps. As you move through this Monday, let each task, conversation, or challenge be an opportunity to rely on His wisdom and timing.

God’s timing also invites us to be present in the moment. While waiting for the next season, we can miss the lessons and blessings of today. Ask God to open your eyes to His work in the here and now. Whether it’s a kind word to a coworker, a moment of gratitude, or a chance to serve, embrace this day as part of His perfect plan. By focusing on the present, we align our hearts with His purpose, trusting that He is weaving every moment into a beautiful tapestry of grace.

Heavenly Father, I ask You to guide my steps and lead me into Your perfect plan for my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Be Thankful For Something

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The Apostle Paul gives us a powerful reminder in these verses—give thanks in all circumstances. I want you to notice something. Paul doesn’t say “give thanks for all circumstances.” No. Paul says, “give thanks IN all circumstances.” This is important. It’s not about being thankful for every difficulty but about maintaining a heart of gratitude in those difficulties.

The Greek word for “give thanks” here is eucharisteō, which means:
• To express gratitude
• To offer praise to God
• To be thankful for God’s blessings, even when life is tough

So, how do we give thanks in all circumstances? We choose to look at the glass being half full instead of half empty. We choose to look at God who makes a way where there is no way. We choose give thanks—even when things don’t look the way we hoped. Thankfulness is a choice. It’s a decision to focus on what God has done, rather than what is lacking.

So, no matter what today brings, let’s choose to be thankful. There’s always something to be grateful for when we see the hand of God at work in our lives.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Thankful For Something.

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Move God

20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in His prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.” 22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. ~ 2 Chronicles 20:20-22

Before King Jehoshaphat appointed men to go before the army singing to and praising the LORD there was a meeting in Judah. All the people of Judah stood before the LORD. Fathers with their wives, children, and little ones. They presented themselves as one people to the LORD in submission to His will. They didn’t just gather lackadaisical. No. They came together as one nation, one body, fasting before the LORD and presenting themselves to the LORD. And who led them? Their king.

The king led the nation in fasting and prayer. And the king, Jehoshaphat, reminded God of all of His promises and asked for His mercy. During this worship the LORD came down and gave the people an answer through Jahaziel. And what were they to do? Praise.

The presence of the LORD rests upon the praises of Israel. The people of God. Praise shakes the prison walls and breaks chains. When we praise, God goes before us and destroys our enemies. Is it easy? No. Praising when we’re afraid, defeated, discouraged, distressed, etc. isn’t easy. It’s difficult. But when we praise, God moves.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Move God.

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Pray To The Chain Breaking God

Acts of the Apostles 12:6-12 NLT

[6] The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. [7] Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. [8] Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered. [9] So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. [10] They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him. [11] Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!” [12] When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer.

Peter was in prison—chained between soldiers, guarded on every side. But while the church prayed, an angel of the Lord came to his aid. The chains fell off. The doors opened. Peter walked out—free.

Not by his own strength. Not by clever plans. But by the power of God.

That’s the freedom Jesus offers us—not just from prisons with bars, but from fear, sin, shame, and anything that keeps us stuck.

This Independence Day, celebrate the freedom Christ gives—a freedom no chain can hold and no prison can keep.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray To The Chain Breaking God.

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Seek Your Cleansing

Matthew 8:1-3 NLT

[1] Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. [2] Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” [3] Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.

This man had leprosy, yet came and knelt down before Jesus and requested a cleansing touch. See in those days, those with leprosy weren’t to integrate into regular society. Matter-a-fact they were to shout out “unclean. Unclean” if they saw others near by, but this man threw aside all protocol and came kneeling down before Jesus asking for a miracle. And you know what happened? Jesus touched him.

See, you may see your sin as disgusting and unforgivable. Your past may have you in so much shame you don’t even feel worthy to ask Jesus for forgiveness, but here’s the thing, Jesus will reach out and give a cleansing touch to anyone who will simply as to be cleansed. When we humble ourselves before the LORD, the LORD has mercy on us. Our sin may be too much for us to clean, too much for us to overcome, but it’s not too much for God to cleanse and forgive. Regardless of your past, it’s not too much for God to handle.

Don’t allow the world to discourage you from following Christ and kneeling before Him. Be like that leper that didn’t care about the crowds or protocol but ran to Jesus and knelt at His feet so that he might be cleansed.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek Your Cleansing.

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Love Each Other

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. ~ Genesis 2:24

After God created woman and brought her to man, it says that the two shall become one flesh. Jesus recites the same words in Matthew 19:5 and again in Mark 10:7. Love binds together, hate scatters apart.

A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one. And so, that is the reason why husbands must love their wives as Christ loved the Church, because they have become one flesh with us. Therefore, if we do not love our wives, we do not love ourselves.

In the same way, if we do love our wives, then it shows that we also love our own selves. It’s a win, win kind of situation. We are not in competition with each other. We are not envious of each other. When one succeeds, we both succeed. We have become one flesh. This is An Acceptable Kind of Love.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Love Each Other.

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Ride Out The Tracks

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. ~ John 16:33

We are taught that life is a series of hilltops and valleys… It’s either, or, but not both at the same time. But that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. It might seem that way when we are on the hilltop, or especially when we are in the valley. We can’t see the forest for the trees.

When all hell breaks loose against us and we can’t even seem to see a hill, much less a hilltop. It’s hard to see the good. It’s hard to stay encouraged. It’s hard to remain joyful.

But to suggest that life is a series of hilltops and valleys would suggest that life is either all good, or all bad. If that is the case, if life is either 100% all good, or 100% all bad, at any given point of time, then how can we rejoice always if it’s all bad, 100% bad? The quick and simple answer is, you can’t, because there would be nothing at all to rejoice about.

There is no problem rejoicing when we’re on the hilltop and life is 100% good. But how can we rejoice if life is 100% bad? So, life is not a matter of hilltops and valleys, but rather, life is like a railroad track.

Train tracks are built with two tracks so that the train rides smoothly on it. There is one track on the right side, and there’s another track on the left side, and we are the train that runs on those two tracks.

The train cannot run on just one, it needs both. It needs the two tracks to safely reach its destination. And if the train runs off the track, or derails, then there is a crash which ends in much loss of product, whatever the train is hauling, and even loss of lives. The environment around the crash site might even be impacted by the crash, depending on the type of material, and if it was toxic or not.

Life is much the same way. On one side we have the good, but on the other side, running parallel right alongside, we have the bad. And when you have a derailment in life, it can become very toxic depending on how you handle the situation. The more anger, the more wrath the more the environmental toxicity.

So, here is how it works. Those tracks that the train runs on, they take that train to its destination. The train cannot move without them. Likewise, the tracks of life have brought us to where we are now. It’s those ups and downs of life that have shaped, molded, and made us who we are today. The things that seem so huge, and even life changing, or life threatening, sometimes turn out to be minimal; or at least, not as impactful as it had appeared to be.

Peace. Love Go Forth and Ride Out The Tracks.

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Return To The Roots

24 Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. ~ Matthew 7:24-27

Tim Barton of WallBuilders.com (and if you’ve never checked out this website, I strongly encourage you to) reminds us that a staggering 34% of all Founding-era political documents, written between 1760 and 1805, contained direct quotations from the Bible.

Think about that … One-third of our formative political writings were Scripture! That’s not just a coincidence—that’s a testimony. It reveals just how deeply God’s Word shaped the thinking, language, and convictions of the men who formed our republic. It shows that the Bible wasn’t merely a book of private devotion—it was the public foundation of policy, liberty, and national purpose. It shoots down every accusation and every attempt to try to deceive us that America was not formed on biblical values. It’s just a great, big lie to deny.

A 1984 study by political scientists Donald Lutz and Charles Hyneman confirmed what WallBuilders.com continues to teach: that the Bible was the single most frequently cited source in all political discourse of that era, far more than any Enlightenment philosopher like Locke, Montesquieu, or Rousseau.

This tells us something profound about our Founders: they didn’t look to France, or to the halls of academia, or to the ideologies of men to figure out how to build a just society. They turned to God’s Word.

The Bible shaped their understanding of:

  • Human nature (fallen and in need of accountability),
  • Law and justice (rooted in God’s character),
  • Government (limited in power, answerable to God),
  • Freedom (not license, but liberty under truth),
  • and Morality (objective right and wrong, not relative opinions)

Concepts such as inalienable rights, checks and balances, the rule of law, and personal responsibility are not modern inventions—they are biblical principles that our Founders drew directly from Scripture. The farther we stray from these well grounded and spiritually/biblically sound beliefs held by our founding fathers, the farther we go into darkness and chaos. Many big cities look like the third world countries now. There’s no safety, hygiene, or sanity in many areas of the US today. Why? Because we push against the natural order given to us in Scripture and push forward anarchy. We as a nation cannot thrive in chaos. So, let us return to our roots. Let us once again look to Scripture as the source of justice, righteousness, and the liberty.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Return To The Roots.

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Turn Back To Christ

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ~ John 15:4-5

Last year a group of fifth-grade students in Arizona were arrested for “allegedly” plotting to murder a fellow student and make the incident appear as a suicide. This group of 10–11-year-old girls were planning to murder a fellow student because he cheated on one of the girls in the group. Let that sink in for a second. When I was 10 and 11 years old, I didn’t think about stabbing anyone because they were mean to me or did something that upset me. This isn’t normal 10- and 11-year-old behavior. So, what’s going on?

I believe it boils down to one answer, we’ve removed God from our schools and homes. We’ve removed the source of morality and our conscience. We’ve removed the source of good. What have we replaced God with? Instant gratification. Overindulgence. Secular humanism. An evermoving standard of morality.

When we remove the very source of good from our lives, the little bit of good that we are born with is strained from us and we are more susceptible to evil. Jesus warns us that we cannot bear good fruit apart from Him. Why? Because He is the source of good.

If we want to see a change in our country. A change in our people. A change in our children, we have to invite Christ back into our country. Back into our society. Back into our lives because without Christ we have no morality. We’re hopeless.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Turn Back To Christ.

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Pay Attention To How You Live

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the LORD. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth… ~ James 5:7

A farmer doesn’t give up in the middle of the growing season. He knows the harvest takes time. So does your heavenly Father.

Paul says in verse 10: “As we have opportunity…” That means the opportunity will not last forever.

  • You have a moment to sow
  • A moment to speak truth
  • A moment to act in love
  • A moment to obey God’s prompting
  • Don’t waste your moment

Ephesians 5:16 — “Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

We don’t have time to waste. We must live urgently, generously, and eternally-minded.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pay Attention To How You Live.

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