My Daily Devotional

God is Faithful

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”
Psalm 91:4

William Penn, the founder of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was well liked by the Indians. Once they told him he could have as much of their land as he could walk on foot in a single day. So, early the next morning he started out and walked until late that night. When he finally went to claim his land, the Indians were greatly surprised for they really didn’t think he would take them seriously. But they kept their promise and gave him a large area which today is part of the city of Philadelphia. William Penn simply believed what they said, and found the Indians to be faithful to their words. I can certainly count on God to be faithful to His words in my life. There are many times during each of our lives when we are disappointed with others, as they have let us down and not lived up to their promises to us. These disappointments can color our outlook on life, and can even change the way we see God. I know several family members that have turned their backs on God because of disappointments in their lives and now they blame God for these disappointments. They are missing so much as God was not to blame for any of these disappointments, but their hearts have been hardened to the point that they have forsaken God. Each of us is going to be faced with disappointments throughout our lives, and when these disappointments come we must not allow them to cause us to doubt God as He continues to be faithful to those who believe in Him. When times of trouble face us, we need to turn to God even more and depend upon Him to let us endure and be victorious. We can depend upon God, who is faithful to those who believe.

My Daily Devotional

A Church Without Walls

“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:46-47

This past week we went to a small group meeting at our son’s house where there were gathered about 14 people who had come to worship God together. This setting reminded me of the early church in the book of Acts which was a church without walls. This church broke out of the religious establishment of their day and spread the message of hope and salvation to small groups throughout the land. In Acts chapter thirteen we read about an “outbreak” of the Spirit of God in the city of Antioch. People from diverse backgrounds came together to form a group of faith and began to reach not only their city, but the nations with the love of Jesus Christ. The power of God and fellowship became so great in their lives that it changed their city and the world. One of the most interesting things about the church at Antioch was the way it began. It was started through humble means, as we see that men came from Cyprus and Cyrene to Antioch and began to share the gospel with not only the Jews, but other ethnic groups in the city as well. These men and women undoubtedly started the church in a small house, but soon became a church without walls as they began to experience an outbreak of the Spirit of God. Moving into every part of the city with their message of grace and forgiveness, the entire population was greatly moved by this infectious group of people. I am convinced that God’s design is not “containment” of the church within the walls of a building, but a “contagious” church that changes cities and nations. A church without walls; a church without limits!

My Daily Devotional

Jesus Will Return Soon

“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”
2nd Corinthians 6:2

I believe that too many people in today’s society do not take seriously the importance of being ready if Jesus should return today. They are too busy with their daily routines and supporting, in most instances, lifestyles that they cannot afford. I believe that these folks have their priorities completely out of order as they are looking at the things of the world which will mean nothing to them in determining where they will spend all eternity. The Bible tells us that things of this earth will rust and pass away, and are only temporal things, but an everlasting life will last for all eternity. There are several questions we need to ask ourselves. Are we personally ready for the return of Jesus? Have we accepted Him as our Savior or have we been to busy with other priorities on our to-do list? All of us need to really think about our priorities and get our life right with God. We do not know the year, the day or the hour that Jesus might return, but we do know that Jesus will be coming one day, and it is so important that we be ready for this day. We cannot continue to put off thinking about this day and using the excuse that we will take time for God next year or next week, when we get our other priorities taken care of. It may be too late then as God is not going to give us a warning so that we can get ready at the last minute. We must begin to get our house in order today, and not put off something as important as our salvation and our future. It is so imperative for all of us to share the importance of the return of Jesus, and let our children, our families, our friends and neighbors know the importance of being ready for the return of Jesus, and what is at stake for them. Jesus is going to return soon, and we must be prepared and ready.

My Daily Devotional

Forget the Past

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”
Philippians 3:13

So many times when I have counseled friends, fellow church brothers and sisters and neighbors about various problems and issues in their lives, the primary cause of the majority of their problems and issues is that they are not able to forget the past. In today’s society so many marriages begin with baggage left over from broken homes, such as abuse, drug and alcohol addiction and divorce that the foundation is not strong enough to weather any kind of problems and issues that families can face. When godly family core values are not present in a family, children grow up without a foundation in which to build their families on, and when issues and problems arise they are not equipped to know how to handle them. Paul tells us in the scripture above that this baggage needs to be forgotten, and that we need to look at what lies ahead. I have seen people live with their past, and it places them in a dark and lonely arena. There is no life in the sea of regrets and hurts, as there is only a place of hopelessness and despair. Instead of staying in the past God wants us to look ahead to each new day with a fresh hope in what we can accomplish and to depend on Him for all our needs. The Bible tells us that His mercies are new and fresh every morning, and that His grace is sufficient for this day. We can see how God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness as He gave fresh manna daily during their journey. We can trust Him to give us what we need each day and look forward to living one day at a time. The years ahead can be the dawning of grand and glorious days for you if you follow God’s word to forget the past and depend upon Him for your future.

My Daily Devotional

Our Sacrifice to God

“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.”
Matthew 21:12

When most people look at this passage of scripture they focus on those who were selling and changing money in the temple of God. These were the people who were commercializing and degrading the sacrificial system of God. However I would like for you to look at those who were buying what was being sold and bringing nothing of their own to the temple as a sacrifice to the Lord. The temple at that time was a place of worship and a place where people brought their sacrifices to give to God as a way of honoring Him. The people who had come there to buy did not come to bring a sacrifice, but had come to buy goods. God knew their reason for being in the temple and drove them out of the temple along with the sellers. The buyers hearts were hard as well as the sellers hearts and they were not putting any value on the reason why they were at the temple or their sacrifice to God. When we go to our churches, do we go with the thought of worshipping God and bringing a sacrifice to Him? Do we enter with the thought of bringing our tithes to God cheerfully? God wants our very best; He wants the first fruits of our lives. We need to ask ourselves if we are giving God our best sacrifice. Do we give Him our very best when we see someone who is hurting or in need? Do we assist to provide food, clothing or shelter to people around us who are in need? Do we love each other and serve one another as Christ loved and served us? We must begin to always give to God our best, our first fruits, not just in our tithes but also in our service to meet the needs of others around us.

My Daily Devotional

God Can Change Us

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5

In the previous devotional I talked about a makeover that started from the inside and one that God wants for each of us. When we invite God into our lives and let Him take charge and control, our lives will never be the same again. I am reminded about some of the extreme makeovers of people where God has taken control of their lives, and changed them and made them a completely new person. Chuck Colson is one of these individuals, as after being convicted of a federal crime he spent many years in prison, but came out of prison a changed man. During his time in prison he allowed God to come into his life and is now a different person who is doing a wonderful ministry for Jesus Christ and bringing many lost souls to salvation. Just as a makeover with our outward appearance gives us a pleasurable appearance that may last for a short period of time, it takes an inward makeover to give us a change that will last for all eternity. A makeover of the heart requires that we spend time with our Heavenly Father. Our desire to become more like Christ will only be realized, as we set aside time to listen to Him and study His word. It is during these times that He will shape our hearts and our will to conform to His. It doesn’t matter what condition our lives are in at the present time, God is there to listen and will welcome our invitation to come into our lives and to help us change. When God is in our hearts and we make Him number one in our lives we can then begin to bear much fruit as the scripture states. Without God in our lives we are nothing, and will not produce any fruit, but with God by our side He can mold us to become the person that He created us to be.

My Daily Devotional

Do You Need a Makeover

“Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
James 4:8

The scripture above is such a powerful verse as it tells us that when we become closer to God, He will reciprocate and draw closer to us. This reminds me of some of the programs on television where people are having makeovers that are supposed to change their lives. They are attempting to change their appearances and behaviors to become a new person which is going to change them forever. Although their outward appearances may be enhanced and their attitudes about themselves may be uplifted, it is their inward beings that need to be changed. God can give us a complete makeover when we draw ourselves closer to Him. He can renew us and make us a new person. He can change a lifeless person from the inside and make him a completely new being. God tells us that when we want to become more like Him, we must spend more time with Him for that to happen. In order to have a complete makeover we must devote more time to God. We can do this in our prayer life, in our thoughts and in our daily lives and actions. We can practice love with our fellow man; we can forgive others that have harmed us and done wrong to us; we can read and study God’s Holy Word and get His wisdom; we can begin to help our fellow man by showing our love and helping to provide for their needs. There are many ways that God teaches us throughout the Bible where we can draw closer to God. When we reach out to God He will reach out to us. Our lives will change and the fruits of the Spirit that He promises us will begin to spring up in our lives and we will experience the love that God has for us. When we reach out to God and begin to live our lives with Him being first in all we do, we can then experience an extreme makeover that will last for all eternity.

My Daily Devotional

We Can Take Back Our Nation

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”
2nd Peter 3:13

There has been much discussion in recent days and years about the coming of the end of time, and the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. No one knows the day or the hour of Jesus’ return, but according to Biblical accounts the prophesies of the Bible are being fulfilled each day. Our great country is turning their back on God and His teachings, and I am sure that God is disappointed with what He is seeing. As we look back on the history of the people of Israel we can see that when God became dissatisfied with what was going on in the land He destroyed it. This is seen when God destroyed the earth and allowed only Noah and his family to survive and repopulate the earth. We can see what God did again with the accounts of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as He destroyed them. With the sexual immorality, drugs, abortion and dysfunctional families that is so prevalent in our society today, and the overall turning away from any Christian moral family values, our nation is again in danger of God taking His revenge against us. It is time for all parents to begin to take a stand and reverse this trend in our society by bringing back godly family values to their homes, and restoring these godly values in their everyday actions and teach these values to their children. Parents can reclaim this great nation by returning to the biblical principles of the Bible, and practicing these principles in their everyday lives. If we continue this downward spiral our children and grandchildren are going to feel and see the wrath of Almighty God come against them and see His wrath. It is time for parents to wake up and begin to take the action needed to teach our children about God and begin to live a life that is pleasing to God.

My Daily Devotional

A Child’s Family Fortune

“My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad; my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.”
Proverbs 23:15

Don’t you wish that all parents could experience the joy from the scripture above as their children would speak and live a life that is pleasing to God? All parents could experience this joy and happiness when they leave their children with the “Family Fortune” I discussed in the previous devotional. As parents, we cannot force our children to know and serve God, but we can, however, minimize the possibility of them going astray and maximize their potential to love God by living a godly life before them. The Bible tells us that it is the responsibility of every parent to pass on the eternal riches of knowing and honoring God to their children. There is no doubt that parents are the most powerful influence upon their child’s spiritual development. At some point however, as the child matures they must begin to take ownership and possess the godly heritage for themselves. A youth must initially receive and begin to live by faith in the Lord Jesus on their own. Making the transition from “passive” to “possessive” toward their spiritual heritage is not easy for some, but for others it is a natural process in their spiritual development. The fact is, most youth and young adults are going to be severely tested in their faith and love for God as they come into their own. They are going to be tempted by peer pressure and unfortunately by their teachers and other influential adults in our society today. The statistics tell us that many of our young people are failing the “test” of faith once they launch out on their own. I know that for me, and I hope that for all of you, this is one “test” that we as parents cannot allow our young people to fail. Parents must leave their children a “Family Fortune” that will follow them always.

My Daily Devotional

The Family Fortune

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6

When I look at our society today I see so many families who are dysfunctional and their children are left to find out about God on their own. This creates a cycle where our children imitate their parents and have their own dysfunctional family. I believe that as Christian parents, giving a godly heritage to our children is a deep-rooted core value that is necessary to keep families together and stop this devastating trend in families today. Whenever we hear the words, “Family Fortune,” we immediately think of the wealthy of our culture. But we have something to give our children of greater value than money, assets and mansions. We have a “Family Fortune” from our Heavenly Father to pass on to our children. It is a fortune that far exceeds all earthly riches. It is the riches of a godly life lived and worked out in front of our children on a daily basis. The Biblical story of the prodigal son illustrates the impact of a godly parent on his children. Though the father was rich in earthly treasure, he was even richer in spiritual treasure. When both sons went astray, one to extreme carnality and the other to extreme judgmentalism, it was the godly life of the father that was the catalyst for change in their lives. Both sons eventually returned to the godly wisdom, counsel and lifestyle of their father who raised them to do what was right in the sight of the Lord. He had given his sons more than money and wealth. He gave them something that rescued them from the corruption of their own soul. He gave them a godly heritage. Your prayers, lifestyle and unconditional love is a major part of what God uses to influence the direction and destiny of your children and parents must give their children a godly heritage.

My Daily Devotional

Seek the Fruits of the Spirit

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
Matthew 5:6

Have you ever thought about what comes out of us when the pressure of life comes upon us? That question is something that we all need to ask ourselves and take a close look at what the real answer is. If the fruit of the Spirit and the righteousness of the Lord do not come out, then we need to allow the Lord to do some work in our life. Jesus tells us that the fruit of the Spirit should be love, joy, peace longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, and should be shown coming from us at all times. Are these the fruits that flow from your mouth and your actions, when the trials of life come upon you? What comes out of us reveal the true character and nature that is inside us to others, and if we do not exhibit these fruits in our times of stress we need to earnestly seek Jesus to change things in our lives. If you find yourself lacking in this regard, and desire to change and want to become a person who resembles Christ in your actions and speech there are two things that you must do. First get in the Word. That means to read and study your Bible, and begin to put the wisdom and knowledge that you find to practice in your every day life. When we put God’s word in our heart we are able to stand against sin and act with the character of Christ, when we are feeling the pressure of the world trying to squeeze us. Second, we need to obey the scripture above and get hungry and thirsty for this righteousness. If you are filled with the righteousness of God, then the only thing that will pour out of you when the pressures of life come will be the righteousness of the Lord. All the righteousness you have filled yourself with, will now come out and you will become a true witness for Christ by your conduct.

My Daily Devotional

Be an Encourager

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
1st Thessalonians 5:11

Having spent my entire 45 year career in administration I have encountered many people, including many managers who were critical of almost any thing and anybody they met. These people were very negative individuals and hardly every had any thing positive to say about anything or anybody. These same individuals always seemed to be ones that were unhappy with themselves and never had any joy in their lives. I am sure each of you has people in your lives at this time that are similar to the ones I am describing. I have always believed that Jesus wants us to be encouragers instead of being critical, complainers and negative, and I have never condoned this kind of behavior with the people I supervised. The Bible gives us many scriptures, such as the one above, where we are to always be uplifting and to always build each other up. No matter how rough your day is today, speak words that uplift and encourage those around you. Encourage others when you notice them doing a good job or a good deed. You can do this with all the people you come into contact with, such as store clerks, auto mechanics, food service employees, your friends and neighbors. Always give compliments for good service and good works and deeds. You can change your own life and your own attitude by choosing to speak positive words. We can improve our relationships with others by leaps and bounds when we become encouragers instead of critics. You will become an ambassador for Jesus when you begin to embrace this habit as people will begin to see Christ in you, and His righteousness will begin to shine upon you. You will be in God’s favor when you choose to bless others through your kind words.

My Daily Devotional

Our Purpose in Life

“Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
2nd Corinthians 5:5

God has a plan and a purpose for your life and this plan and purpose was known by Him before you were born and still in your mother’s womb. It should be your main objective in life to find out what God’s will for your life is, and to work towards meeting this objective. God will lead you to fulfill this purpose if you will let Him lead and direct your life, in everything you do. One of the first steps you must make is to fully accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. When you accept Jesus and ask Him to come into your heart He is ready to take you to the next step in finding your purpose in life. When you accept Jesus you are going to make Him number one in your life. You are going to obey and follow His commands and live your life in a way that will be pleasing to Him. You will cast aside all the worldly pleasures and focus your future to doing His will. This does not mean that everything will be rosy in your future, but with your destination, which is heaven, in front of you, you must forge ahead despite any setbacks. There will be challenges ahead, as Satan knows what is happening and will come against you with all his schemes, but you must not let setbacks determine the final outcome which is a place reserved for you in heaven. You must now determine what is important in serving God and make Him number one in your life. You have complete control of your time and your life, and only you can determine what your real priorities are. God tells each of us what His chief priorities are and all of us need to make His priorities our chief priorities. The will of God must be the most important thing to us every minute of every day. Our goal must be to serve God.

My Daily Devotional

The Road to Heaven

“But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.”
1st John 3:5-6

This is a powerful scripture and one that every new Christian needs to embrace. Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God promises to take away our past sins and forgive us. He puts into our hearts the desire to be righteous from that point forward, and live a life that would be pleasing to Him. The sins of our past are now forgiven, and we are to move forward in our life living and obeying the commands of God. We must now make God first and foremost in our daily lives, and follow His will in all things that we do. There is no more room in our life to continue to sin, as we did before we were saved and accepted Him. Our thoughts, our behavior and our actions must now be centered around Jesus and following and obeying His commands. The Bible tells us that the road is narrow that leads to Heaven, and few will find it, but wide is the road that leads to destruction. The Christian that finds this narrow road will be the ones that seek His commands and live them out in their daily life. The road to Heaven is given to us in God’s Holy Word, and we must begin to embrace God’s commands for our lives and live each day holding these truths in our hearts and displaying them in our thoughts and actions. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our lives will be changed, and our focus will now be on serving Him and not on the things of the world. Obeying God’s commands must now become the number one priority in our lives, and we must go forward with the knowledge that one day we will stand before God and give account of all we have done. We must commit our life to Jesus.

My Daily Devotional

Seek God’s Word

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
2nd Timothy 4:3

In these perilous times we live in, it is so important to know the Word of God, so we can discern what the real truth of God really is. So often we try to find reasons that suit our own desires, and follow teachings and beliefs that give us justification to do what we want to do. There is only one way that each of us can be assured that we are following the real Word of God, and that is to seek the wisdom given to us throughout the Bible for ourselves. There are answers for almost any situation that we will ever encounter throughout God’s Holy word, and these answers will be given to us when we seek them. It is extremely important to spend time each day seeking this wisdom and then applying this knowledge to our daily living. God’s commands will take us to a new level when we consistently apply them to our lives. When we make God number one in our lives, and seek Him daily, He will open the floodgates to this wisdom and fill our hearts with the knowledge that we need, in order to bring peace and joy to our lives. The more time we spend with Him daily, in seeking this wisdom the more understanding we will receive in return. God’s wisdom will enable us to grow and mature in our spiritual walk, and will give us the assurance that how we are living our life is pleasing to Him. When we live each day with God first in our lives, we will begin to experience the overflowing blessings that He will bestow on us. Our lives will change, our attitudes will improve, things will be brighter and we will now have hope for our future. God can make a difference in our lives if we seek Him.

My Daily Devotional

Obey the Sabbath

“There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.”
Hebrews 4:9-10

Throughout the Bible God tells us about a time for rest, a Sabbath; a time where we take time out from our busy schedules, and spend renewing ourselves and spend building our relationship with God. I believe that we all need our Sabbath’s where we can reflect on the goodness of God and his mercy and the blessings that he bestows on us. People in today’s society get so caught up in the hustle and bustle that we do not take the time to slow down and smell the roses. The Sabbath should be our time to stand back and reflect on what God does in our life each day. This is the time that we need to give Him thanks for the blessing He gives us. All of us need this Sabbath, this time that we devote to God. Begin by thanking Him for some little thing, and then go on, day by day, adding to your subjects of praise…until you see in everything some cause for thanksgiving. Our praises of thanksgiving need to be carried throughout our days and weeks, but a good time to begin is during our Sabbath day. God needs to be number one in our lives daily, as He commands us to throughout the Bible, but so often we lose this sense of dedication and need our Sabbath day to bring us back, and get our minds and thoughts refocused on serving and obeying His commands and making Him first and foremost in our lives. The Sabbath day is critical to God as this is one of His ten commandments, and one that He expects us to follow faithfully during our life. I would encourage each of you to begin to honor God throughout the week, and make Him number one in your life, and on the Sabbath day to set this day aside as a day of rest and spend the time letting Him know you love Him.

My Daily Devotional

I realize that many of you may be going through difficult times in your lives right now, and you may not understand why these things are happening to you. The Bible tells us plainly that we will endure times of suffering during this life, and that our life may not be a bed of roses. However, the trials and troubles also may be due to God just trying to get your attention. If things always went the way we wanted them to go, we would not need God, as if we got everything we wanted, when we wanted it, we would not need anything, and probably would never seek God. This doesn't happen, however, as things do go wrong in our lives. We have health issues, we have financial problems, we have problems getting along with our spouses, our children, our coworkers and numerous other problems. Many times we do not see any way out of our situations, and don't know where to turn. These are the times so many seek God. If we did not have these problems we would not have had any reason to seek God. So if you are dealing with problems and trials today in your life, this may be God's way of letting you know that you need Him. Just remember that God is there to comfort you in whatever situation you are dealing with today. He may or may not make your problems disappear, but believe me He will comfort you and give you peace in whatever you are going through. When you have nowhere else to turn, God is there and can make your load lighter, if you will only ask.

God May be Speaking to You

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Hebrews 5:7

Throughout our lives I believe God speaks to us. We may not receive his words through an audible loud voice or through visions or dreams where we are struck with awe. I believe that God can speak softly to us through gentle whispers, and through our thoughts. God places His will for our lives in our hearts and keeps reminding us of His plan for us. He tells us that He knows all our thoughts, and knows all about us, even before we were born. God’s plan and will for our lives is imbedded in our hearts, and is engrained in our minds from the beginning of our lives, but so often we do not open ourselves up enough to let His words come through. I know that I had heard these gentle whispers from God long before I opened my heart and really let His words sink in. Many times it takes difficult situations and trials in our lives before God gets our attention to allow Him to talk to us. Many times it takes a health issue, financial issue or a relationship issue to bring us to the realization that we cannot do it on our own, and need God’s help to bring us out of our despair and right our ship and allow us to continue. This is how God so often got the attention of the people of Israel, as before they really heard and began to obey God they suffered difficult times and situations where there was no place to turn to except God. Many times God needs to get our attention before we begin to hear Him. If you are in a situation at this moment, maybe this is the time that you need to turn to God for help. This may be the moment that you realize that you cannot handle the situation by yourself and need God’s help to right your ship. God is always there for you, and if you ask Him for help He can calm your storms and take away your fears. He is waiting for you to respond, as this may be your time.

My Daily Devotional

Maybe my recent devotionals were written because I suddenly realize that I am getting older, or maybe simply that I have reached the point of my life (which I have heard other older people talk about) where they begin to reflect back on their lives. Whatever the reason I seem to find more scriptures as I read my Bible each day bringing me to want to write about them. One day we suddenly realize where did our life go, as it only seems like yesterday when we were young and just starting on our journey. Our future was ahead of us and we could make it whatever we wanted. Our dreams and visions of what lay ahead made us alive with every day being a new adventure as we tried to make our dreams and visions become realities. Then we suddenly realize that we are in the winter season of life and begin to reflect back to see what actually took place during our lives. We see many successes in our past, many times of joy and happiness, and many times we would love to experience just one more time. But we also see times of disappointments, failure, and times that we want to forget and erase from our memories. These mixtures of the good times and the bad times have gotten us to where we are today, and made us the people we have become. As you look back and reflect on your life I hope you have been blessed with more joy and happiness, than you were with disappointments and failure. I hope you are seeing the fruits of the seeds you have sown during your life, and that they have produced a bountiful harvest. Whatever you are seeing as the result of your life, whether it is a fruitful harvest or one that has not produced much fruit, I want you to know that whatever you see, does not determine what your future still holds for you. You may have accepted Jesus into your heart years ago and let Him lead and guide you through life, and experienced His many blessings. However, you may have rejected Him to this point in your life. If you have not accepted Him yet, it is not too late. Jesus is still there, and even if you are in the winter of your life, He is still waiting. He doesn't care what has happened in your past, whether you have messed up, and done things you should not have done. There is nothing that you have done that He will not forgive and forget. He is only interested in your future, and it is not too late to ask Him into your heart, and ask Him to forget your past and forgive you of all your sins. You can begin your life all over again today, and assure your future. May God Bless You.

Reflections of Life

“You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!”
Galatians 4:10

We all see the power of God in our lives when we make Him number one in our lives and follow His commands. As I look back on my life I can see how God has worked in me, and how He has influenced me, and made me the person I have become. I believe that in the winter of our lives God gives us the wisdom and understanding to reflect back on our lives and see our accomplishments and also our failures. Old age is winter for many people, but for those who are wise and optimistic, it is the happiest and most fruitful time of their life as they now begin to see the abundance of their harvest. We can see the fruits of our labor begin to be manifested in our children and our grandchildren, as they bring back the memories of our own childhood, and we relive aspects of our youth all over again. Old age arrives suddenly, as does the snow, as one morning on awakening one realizes that everything is white. However I believe that by growing old one learns to remain young, as we can now understand and rid ourselves of our shortcomings, because they no longer serve any useful purpose. We can now see how God begins to put all the pieces of His magnificent puzzle into place, and can begin to see His design, His purpose for all things and can see our part in completing this amazing puzzle. Even as through the effect of the setting sun on the beautiful twilights of autumn we can see our reason and place in God’s magnificent and beautiful world. Things that used to cause us grief, worry and strife no longer seem to be the important things of life as we now get a glimpse of the future that God has planned for us; a future that far surpasses what God has given us in this life.

My Daily Devotional

A couple of weeks ago I received word that one of my friends son had been killed in a car accident. He was only 21 years old. It is so important that we live each day with the thought that this could be our last day. All we have to do is pick up any newspaper and look at the obituary page, to see people who experienced their last day, some of these will be young people. When they woke up that morning they did not realize there would be no more days for them. My question for you today is, would you be prepared if this was your last day? I know most people don't want to think about death, but death is going to come to each of us, we just don't know when. Our main purpose and goal in life should be, to be ready when this day comes. I encourage you to think about your life right now, and determine if you would be ready. It is so easy and simple to ask God into your heart, so that you could be ready if this is your last day. This could be your last chance and could be the most important thing you will ever do.

The Winter of Life

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”
2nd Timothy 4:2

We need to be mindful all during our lives that there are different times that we all go through. There are times of learning, where we are taught the good things of life; things that God would have us do. There are times when we need to live out these good things that Jesus gives us. Then there are times when, if we have sowed our good seeds when we reap the harvest of what we have sown. Our seasons have a way of coming at us before we know it and soon we find it is our winter season. Time has a way of moving quickly and catching us unaware of the passing years. I know it seems like only yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my wonderful wife. I have passed through the first three seasons and now find myself in the winter of my life. But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I’m not sure how long it will last, that I have very few regrets. Yes there are things that I wish I had done differently and better, and things that I still haven’t gotten accomplished, but I am pleased with my life and what God has provided me and blessed me with. Life goes by so quickly, and I would encourage each of you to do what you can today, as you can never be sure just how long your winter will last. You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life—so live for good today. Say all the good things that you want your loved ones to remember, and teach them by your example, the good things that God has given you. Be their mentor, their teacher and their example in the way you live. Life is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after you. Make it one they will follow.

My Daily Devotional

My devotional today is about making a change in our society. Our great nation is headed to destruction if we don't change our wicked ways. God is not pleased with what is happening in our nation, as we have completely abandoned His teachings and have become a perverse society. However, it does not have to be this way, as change in any culture must start with each of us. If everyone would begin to obey God and His commands, just imagine how different our world would be. We would still have prayer in our schools, abortion would be abolished, marriages would be sacred, and Godly family values would be taught to our children. Obeying God and doing His commands would be the focus in our everyday lives You can make a change in yourselves today by living the life that God wants each of you to live. As you read this devotional think just about today, and begin to do the will of God and obey His commands, in your life. This may seem like such a small step but change can start with you today. In reality your eternal life is what is in the balance, as God loves you and wants you to change and follow Him.

Pray for God’s Deliverance

“For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
1st Peter 4:17

As you can probably gather from my previous devotionals, I believe that God is going to punish our great nation for the sins we are allowing to happen to our society. We as Americans are not standing up, and being a force and preventing the moral decay of our nation. We are allowing the pagan society to bring us to the point of destruction, and God is going to pass judgment on us as He did on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and destroy us as He did them. The church of God is a force that needs to heed the words of God, and change our wicked ways, and take back our country, and become a Godly people again. This change needs to start with each of us, and in our churches and with our church leaders. We have gotten away from God’s commands and are concentrating on ourselves instead of concentrating on bringing the lost to Christ. We have allowed the killing of unborn babies, removal of prayer from our schools, homosexuality, drug and alcohol additions and other perverse behaviors to take over our values. We have thrown God out of our daily worship, and have succumbed to the ways of the world, and we are going to pay the price for our wicked behavior. It is time for all Christians to take a stand and seek God again. We need to cry out to God to heal our land. He tells us that if we seek him and seek His heart He will hear us and come to our rescue. He will intervene in the hearts of our young, our old, the ones with addictions, sexual perversions and all other sins. If God’s people begin to pray today and call upon the name of the Lord, He will hear our prayers, and will heal our land and bring it back to the righteous behavior that He intended for us to have.

My Daily Devotional

My devotional today is about humility. There are many scriptures throughout the Bible where God teaches us about humility. I realized early on in my career that humility was an important part of what it takes to be a good leader. Dictators can rule and govern, but they are never respected by the people they control, but someone that is humble, kind and considerate can get much more accomplished by being a servant leader, rather than a dictator leader. Jesus was a servant as He came to help and serve others, and I believe we need to also serve others. God's greatest commandment was to love God with all our soul, mind and strength, but his second was to love others as we love ourselves. My message to you today is not to go through life with your focus on yourself or your accomplishments. Practice humility where ever you go. Think about others around you, in your jobs, your neighborhoods, your schools, or anywhere you are. Be kind, considerate, respectful to everyone, as you are the example to these people of the kind of person that should reflect the love of God. You can make a difference where ever you are by practicing humility, and serving others.

Practice Humility

“A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools blurts out folly.”
Proverbs 12:23

The scripture above reminds me of a board member at one of the hospitals where I worked, who was always trying to impress everyone by bringing up the fact that he had graduated from Harvard Law School. No matter what the subject was he could always find some way to bring this up in a conversation, and usually wanted to dominate any conversation. Even though he evidently was a well educated man, he was never able to apply his knowledge to his job as a board member or to his profession, as he was not a very good attorney and the public and people he came into contact with quickly realized this. On this same board was another attorney who had gotten his Law Degree from a small state university who was a brilliant man, and had a well established practice in town. He was a very quiet man but when he spoke everyone listened as he always knew the solutions to any of the problems and situations the hospital encountered. Jesus talked throughout the New Testament about the Pharisees who gave the eloquent speeches, and prayed long prayers in public, but did not walk the talk, and led lives that were less than Godly. Jesus tells us that we need to humble ourselves around people, and not try to impress them by our wealth, our power, our prestige or any other means. Others need to see us as we are, Godly men and women, living Godly lives and obeying and following God’s commands. The way we live our lives needs to be our testimony to others, as they need to see us being a caring, respecting and loving individual who does not have our own individual concerns in mind, but are always thinking about others around us. I believe Jesus was this kind of man, as he humbled himself to others.

My Daily Devotional

As you can gather from the previous devotionals, and many others throughout my writings, winning souls for Christ is such an important part of my life and has been the sole purpose of my ministry during these past years. All the programs I have developed have been built around meeting needs, but most of all reaching these people and ministering to them, and telling them about Jesus. I have found that the people who are in need are usually the ones that need Jesus the most in their lives, because they are normally in their plight because they have not followed the commands and will of God in their lives. There is so much need all around us, and it is so easy to assemble any size or group of people that we want to assemble. It is easy to assemble groups of teenagers, the elderly, the sick, the unemployed, the alcoholics and drug addicted, the blind, the disabled, the divorced, etc. These are the people that need to be ministered to by our church family the most, as God gives us his Great Commission to reach out to these people and bring them to Christ. During the past several years we have assembled groups of almost all of these people together and have tried to get our church pastors, deacons and church leaders to minister to these lost people, help them with their problems, but most of all lead them to Christ. It is sad that so few of our churches, do not seem to care enough to become involved in these types of ministries, but even sadder that they do not have any programs of their own that are reaching out. It is time for a revival of our churches and time for them to begin reaching out and fulfilling their duty to save lost souls. May God Bless All Of You.

God’s Great Commission #2

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18-19

The mission of Jesus is to set the captive free. Jesus declared his mission publicly from the outset of his ministry when he spoke the scripture above. The question is how can we, as the people of God fulfill the mission of Jesus and empower the people of God to do the work of Jesus in the world? I am convinced the body of Christ in America has lost its way in the matter of its mission because we have neglected the work of the Holy Spirit. Many leaders in the body of Christ are so bound up themselves and have grieved the Holy Spirit so much that the only thing that moves in the Sunday service is the clock. People leave the same way they came in, broken, bound, feeling helpless, and destitute. Many churches in America never see a conversion, a healing, deliverance, or broken hearts mended because the leaders refuse to allow it to happen, and the church people are themselves bound by the very same habits, compromise, and sinful pursuits as the ones who have never experienced God’s deliverance. The body of Christ needs revival. We need a God sent, Spirit empowered, sin cleansing revival in the church in America today. We need to pray for revival in our churches, and for the pastors, elders, deacons and others to begin a revival in their own hearts and then pass this on to their members. I have been going through some difficult times lately dealing with the issues of getting churches involved in reaching outside of their churches into the community and saving souls for Christ. Each day that passes it seems like we lose another dear person to death that we have been ministering to where we are not certain that they have received Christ in their life. When this happens I wonder have I done enough, and what could I have done better or differently? Many times it seems that no one else is concerned about the plight of our community, as our churches are not responding to the call of these people. Yes, we have some volunteers that are faithful workers that help distribute food and clothing to the needy, but such a small percentage of the need is actually met. The time our few volunteers have to spend with these people is very limited due to the volume of need. We should have the time to know them and be able to share the Word of God with them and tell them about Jesus. We have people in the local agencies that are crying out for help in dealing with family issues, financial issues and relationships issues which offers such a great avenue to minister to them and tell them about Jesus and win their souls to Christ, but we are failing miserably in our church family providing this to them. Each time I see an obituary in our local paper about one of these folks, I wonder if they were saved, and did we provide information about Jesus to them. There is so much that our churches could be doing to win souls for Christ that is going undone. I would ask all of you to pray that God will inspire our churches to respond and reach out to save these souls.

My Daily Devotional

I know that a large percentage of people in our churches do not think they are called to be evangelists, but we all can do the work of evangelism. We are witnesses for God, to others wherever we are and wherever we go. Our mission as a Christian should be to share with others outside the church about the goodness of God and win the lost so that none will perish. However, I find very few Christians doing this, as it is difficult in our community to find people who are willing to work with the needy in distributing food, providing clothing or shelter, or even praying with someone who is having trouble. The lost are not in the churches or in the home groups. They are in the lines waiting to get food for their families, or waiting to get a pair of shoes at the local community center. The church family does not have to receive a degree from the pastor to be able to help distribute food or show someone that you love them. It does not take a diploma from the church to be able to pray with someone who is having financial difficulties and no place to stay. It is time to start putting the training to use, and time for our churches to actually start sending out their members to reach out and win souls for Christ in our communities, as each day we are missing out on being able to reach someone for Christ, and for some it is too late. May God Bless all of you.

God’s Great Commission

“Then the master told his servant, Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.
Luke 14:23

As I have been growing in my walk with God I have discovered that in so many of our churches today, everyone gets so focused on the church community within the church, that we forget the community outside the walls of the church building we attend. Jesus gave us the Great Commission to all churches to go out into the land and make disciples of all mankind. As Christians we are to reach out and be ambassadors for Him, in our communities and throughout the world. I am witnessing so many of our churches who have wonderful programs set up, such as small groups, where the purpose is to train members of their congregations to go out into the community and reach the people. However, they are failing so badly in that they are forever “training” but never “doing”. They constantly minister to each other in these small groups, supposedly getting each other prepared. This small group then trains others, with the bottom line being that all the time is spent training to go out but no one ever goes out to become actual workers for God. This reminds me so much of a recent commercial, where as a man sits at a table choking to death on a piece of food which is stuck in his throat, while others are calmly sitting and talking about how to administer the Heimlich maneuver. No one does anything to help the man, but continue to talk about the procedure. It is time that our churches begin “acting” instead of “talking” about planning and training. There are souls that are being lost in the meantime, due to this irresponsible behavior. It is time to become a doer instead of a talker and actually reach out.

My Daily Devotional

Don't you wish you could go back in time and relive the good times in your past. Don't you just wish you could just experience the joy, happiness and security you felt during these wonderful times. You had no cares, no worry, no hurts or no pain to think about, only peace and comfort filled your heart. You had perfect peace. I believe this is what Heaven will be like, as we will forever be experiencing our good times all over again. There will be no fear, no pain and suffering, no tears will dim our eyes, and nothing will disturb our peace as we will always be happy. This is what I believe awaits us in heaven if we accept Jesus into our hearts, and believe and trust Him as our savior. I can't wait until I can get to experience all my wonderful first times all over again, and all the new first times that I haven't yet known. This is the promise that God gives each of us as we will be in perfect peace in the arms of Jesus. "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3

Our First Times

“Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.”
Revelation: 1:17

Have you ever thought how we remember our favorite “firsts”, and how these are many times the most memorable moments of our lives. For example, the first time I saw my children after they were born, or saw my wife for the first time, or the first time I caught my first fish, were moments that will always be etched in our memories, and will last our lifetimes. Have you ever thought about the very first day, and what a wonder this must have been as God surveyed what he had created. Or the first man, when God saw Adam walking around in the Garden of Eden. Take a moment and think about all that you value in your life, and pretend for a moment that you could awaken tomorrow and experience them once more—for the first time. I am confident that each of us can think of many things that we value more than anything in our lives, and would love to relive these “first times” again. There are also times in our past that I would refer to as our “dark times”. Each of us has our own “dark times”, but instead of wanting to relive these moments, these are the times we would like to forget and never be reminded of again. These are the times we were hurt, disappointed, suffered failure, and are times we want to forget. The truth is that we will never be able to bring back either of these times, even if we wanted to. They are gone forever, and we either have a good or bad memory of them. The thing we must concentrate on now is our future. We need to get excited about our tomorrow, and make all our new “first times” ones that will become our favorites, and ones that we will value. Jesus is the answer to make our future the brightest yet, as he can remove all the “dark times” from our past, and make all our new “first times” the best ones possible as they will last for all eternity.

My Daily Devotional

My devotional today is about making choices, and letting God lead the way in making sure you make the right ones. I know there may be many of you today, that are facing decisions and choices which you are not sure about which ones to make. If you are in this situation, the first thing you need to do is pray and ask God for guidance. Many times the decisions and choices we make during life hinge on the balance of doing what is right or wrong in the sight of God. If your decision is based on deciding between right and wrong, a few moments in prayer will quickly convict you enough to follow the way that is good and the one that is pleasing to God. So often in life we are faced with making these kind of choices, and know deep down which ones are right and which are wrong, but greed, selfishness, or a moment of personal pleasure causes us to make the wrong decisions. This is why a moment in prayer will often bring us back to our senses and let us make the right choices.

Let God Lead the Way

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.”
Isaiah 42:16

It is good to have dreams and plans for the future, as this is what keeps us motivated and many times moving ahead. Many of us have gotten to the place we are today because of the dreams and plans we made years ago. However many people have gotten where they are by circumstances that they have not planned for, and are living day to day dealing with things as they come, with still no plan for the future. I believe most Christians would prefer to follow God’s lead and stay on course, rather than go their own way and stumble along. I know that when I am uncertain about the correct decision or path to take, I can find direction and peace in my decisions by asking God for help. When we follow God and His plan for us, we do not have to worry about where we are going, as we always know that He is going to lead us to the right destination. One of the keys to unlocking the doors to our future is prayer. Prayer can bring us peace of mind when it comes to making decisions or deciding which road to travel about our future. Just a quiet time with God can give us a direction, and provide us with the wisdom needed to make the right decision, about what to do. If you don't know where the Lord is leading you, or are uncertain about the path to follow, or the decisions you need to make, don’t worry because you have the Word of God, and the Scriptures from God’s Holy Bible to give you wisdom and understanding to set you on your journey. God gives you His road map to let you get to your proper destination. If you follow the wisdom and advice found in the pages of His Holy Word, you will find success in whatever you do and wherever you go.

My Daily Devotional

When we accept Jesus into our hearts, we are transformed and become a new being. We are cleansed both inside and out through God's redeeming grace. We are now to be like God, clean and a new creature made in God's image. This is where the hard part begins, as we now have to change our life to be more like Jesus in every way. This means that we cannot continue in our sinful ways. We must now discern the wisdom that God teaches us through His word, to change our lives and become more like Him. The life that we once lived has now passed away, and through the Holy Spirit we are changed. The new life is one without sin, and the temptation to sin by the help of the Holy Spirit gives us strength to withstand the challenge. As the scripture says we are totally renewed. May God Bless You today

Become a New Christian

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Psalm 51:10-12

The previous devotional talked about becoming transformed and truly accepting Jesus into our hearts. The apostle Paul reminded the Christians in the wicked city of Corinth that they had been horrible sinners. He gives them a long laundry list of sins that they described in their lives. Then he says: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” He is telling them that God has cleansed them inside and out. In a later letter to the same church, Paul reminds them that the Holy Spirit gives them freedom to become what they couldn’t become without Him; God’s children with power like Christ. The presence of the Holy Spirit is the defining mark of who is a Christian and who isn’t. One of the great gifts of salvation is the gift of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. One of the great blessings of being a Christian is that we can ask God to empower us and strengthen us through His Spirit. While the spirit is always present in us, He gives us special power to meet our obstacles and also fulfill our opportunities. Giving thanks to God and obeying His commands and doing His will for our lives are things that each of us can do to begin this transformation. We need to also seek God’s will by studying His Word. The Scriptures are Spirit-inspired, and when we read, study and meditate on God’s will in Scripture, the Spirit helps us understand what is said, and convicts us of what is wrong in our life. It also empowers us to live out what God has called us to do, and fulfill His plan for us.

My Daily Devotional

My devotional today is about making a change in your life, a change to the kind of person that God wants you to be. God knows what is in your heart. You may put on a good outward appearance to the outside world, but He knows what you are really like on the inside. The question I have for you today is, would God be pleased with you as you are? Would He be pleased with all the secret sin, with all the unforgivness, with all the pride, with all the anger and bitterness you may have stored up inside you? Could you stand before God today with a clean heart, and be comfortable with His judgment? If you are not sure of where you stand; today could be the day that you need to let God transform you and change you into the person He wants you to be. When you allow God to make this transformation in your life and in your heart, you could then stand before Him, at His judgment throne, and be 100% sure that God would be pleased with you, both on the inside and on the outside.

Let God Transform You

“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
1st Corinthians 6:11

Over the years I have observed many, who are good and decent folks, who go to church on Sunday only to keep up the appearance that they are good Christian people. Their outward appearance is what matters to them, as their thoughts are only how they appear to others. Their involvement and thoughts about God rarely extend beyond the Sunday morning sermon. Their actions and activities are usually non-existent when it comes to meeting the needs of the less fortunate in their community. If you see yourself as this kind of Sunday morning person, you need to think about transforming yourself into a more dynamic individual who is depicting God in your daily life, and not be concerned about your outward appearance. The thing that matters most to God is not your outward appearance, but your inner being, your spirit, your mind, your thoughts, but most of all your soul. What you need to seek is an internal as well as an external transformation. Some of us hope getting the outside clean, and keeping appearances up to date will suffice. Deep down, however, we fear that if we let God in too close, if we open up our hearts and truly let Him look inside us, then we will have to change significantly. Our hidden sins, our pettiness, our grip on pride, our self centered attitudes are suddenly threatened, if we let God really come into our lives. God can transform us if we open ourselves up to Him, and let Him come into our hearts. Becoming a real Christian is critical in this transformation, as God will empower us and strengthen us through His Spirit. When we come to Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit cleanses us and makes us holy.

My Daily Devotional

My devotional today is about resisting sin. Each of us need to wake up each morning and ask God to watch over us each day, to let us not be tempted by the things of this world, but to keep our eyes on Him. When God is with us each day, and our thoughts are on doing what is pleasing to Him, we are less likely to be tempted to sin. There is much evil in the world, and this evil is all around us, everywhere we look, and everywhere we go. However, if we keep the presence of God in our life, we can resist this evil. Satan cannot get to us, when we have on the armor of God, as it will protect us. Ask God each morning to go with you, to shield you, and protect you from the evil forces of Satan. With God by your side you can be victorious in your daily walk.

Resisting Sin

“Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.”
Proverbs 13:6

We are all born into this sinful world, and have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, but this does not have to continually be the pattern of our lives. Many times when we sin we tend to cast the blame on others, as was the case with the first sin when Adam and Eve blamed each other for their transgression. Many times there are reasons why we sin, as we use envy, strife, unforgiveness, revenge and jealousy to try to justify it, but it is no use as we are still the only ones to blame when we commit a sin. Satan is always on the prowl to tempt and entice us to do wrong, and will affect our thoughts, create doubt and any other logic that will cause confusion and disorder in our lives. We must always stay focused, and remember that it is Satan that is originating the assault against us, and not blame others that may be used as pawns to carry out his plans. The Bible tells us that we must discern for ourselves what is right and wrong, and that if we seek wisdom from God it will be given to us. Proverbs 2:6 “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.” The best defense against Satan’s attack is to put on the full armor of God, which includes knowing the truth which is given throughout the Bible, and knowing what God’s commands are. This truth will help us make the proper decisions, and give us wisdom and understanding, to find the proper path to travel throughout our lives. A righteous man will be a man of integrity, who is following the will of God and obeying His commands, and will be one that will shun evil and wickedness. Please remember that only you are responsible for your sins, but when you are faced by Satan’s attack God is there to defend you.

My Daily Devotional

My devotional today is about setting your goals. I believe knowing where you are going is important to everyone, as if you don't have a plan you will wander hopelessly going in one direction to another and never get anything done. The primary goal each of us need to have each morning we get up, is to make God number one in our life. If our lives are not centered around God there is very little else that matters. We need to realize that our life here on earth is short, and is described as a fleeting shadow and only a mist in the wind in the Bible. Our real goal must be where are we going to spend all our eternity, which will last forever, not just for the short time we are on this earth. This must be our real goal, and the only one that matters. Think about your goals today and if they set on your eternity, and not just for today. You are not promised tomorrow, so today could be the most important day of your life to get your goals right.

Set Your Goals

“May he give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”
Psalm 20:4

I believe that one of the major causes of failure in the lives of people is their unwillingness to take the time to set their goals. If you do not know where you want to go in life, chances are you are not going to get there. You will be lost and continually spend your life from day to day trying to get by and not knowing where you are going. There are several reasons why people don’t set any goals for themselves, such as they do not know how to go about it, or they are afraid of possible failure, but the greatest is that they have not been taught the power and joy of such an action. Planning and goal setting takes the disorder out of life, as you know where you want to go and the steps needed to get you there. Proverbs 14:8 “The wise man looks ahead.” (TLB) The setting of specific goals is one good way of fulfilling the purpose God has for your life. For instance, you might have as a goal to be a better Christian this year. To fulfill that goal, one of your daily goals could be to read a specific amount of chapters in the Bible each day, or set up a morning prayer time. Goal setting may take some time, discipline, courage and patience but the rewards are very well worth the effort. You must decide for yourself what you really want out of life, as nobody else can decide for you. If you don’t care what happens to your life, no one else will. You need to ask God and seek his wisdom to make sure your goals and plans are ones he desires for you as well. Some people get comfortable in a particular job and stay with it for 20 years even though they may be missing a divine position God is wanting for them. Financial security to them is their job, not their Heavenly Father. It is important to know God’s goals and plans for your life