Do You Listen with Your Heart?
“Make your ear attentive to wisdom. Incline your heart to understanding”—Proverbs 2:2 (NASB). A recent devotional in The Upper Room about listening with the heart led me to meditate on the writer’s words. The writer’s husband had retired early because of Parkinson’s disease. Because his voice had become soft and monotone, his wife often had trouble understanding his speech. However, she said, “Our adult son always understands what his dad is saying.” One day she asked her husband the difference between their son’s approach and hers. Her husband replied, “Our son listens with his heart.” The writer realized her preoccupation …
Tracing Our Blessings Backward
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love”—Ephesians 1:3-4 (NRSV) Sometimes we get hung up on our past mistakes. Our regrets. Our poor choices. We soon forget the blessings God has bestowed on us. Why is it easier to focus on the negative, forgetting what He has done for us in the past? Aren’t we encouraged not to dwell on the …
Is Your Treasure in Heaven?
Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me”—Matthew 19:21(ESV). “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Have you ever wondered where this idiom originated? According to the English Language and Usage website, the earliest example is found in Hector Urquhart’s introduction to 1860’s “Popular Tales of the West Highlands.” The intro reads: “Practical men may despise the tales, earnest men condemn them as lies, some even consider them wicked; one refused to write any more for a whole …
Failure is Inevitable But Not Fatal
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”—Romans 3:23 (NIV). Fearing failure, I waited almost a year after becoming eligible before I took my driver’s test. I was getting ready to enter college when I took a leap of faith. Passing the written part didn’t bother me. It was the fear of failing the parallel parking portion of the test that held me back. Living in a rural community, we lacked parallel parking spaces. The examiner would use two vehicles parked across the street from an auto repair shop to conduct the test. On the day …
Spiritual Poverty is the Real Problem
“Let me sleep a little longer!” Sure, just a little more! And as you sleep, poverty creeps upon you like a robber and destroys you; want attacks you in full armor—Proverbs 6:10-11 (TLB). In 2008, I went on my first mission trip with 19 others from our church to Rio Bravo, Mexico. It was also the first time I’d been out of the country. However, I wasn’t prepared for the abject poverty of the people we would be helping on our trip. A few weeks before leaving, our senior pastor met with the team to offer encouragement as well as …
The Word of our God Stands Forever
“The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever”—Isaiah 40:8 (NLT). As I read my Bible this morning, God’s Word reminded me “He is still in control.” It’s often difficult, even for a Christ-follower, to let go of the fears and embrace His peace. Romans 8:6 reminds us “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” If we stay focused on the constant stream of bad news via all types of media—both mainstream and social—we will slowly die inside. His Word is where we …
Choose to Be a Servant Among Others
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”—Matthew 20:25-28 (NIV). Have you ever met a true Christian servant—someone who served others without a second thought to their own needs? My 91-year-old friend, …
Ask and It Shall Be Given to You
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”—Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV). Matthew 7:7-8 is often misinterpreted. Many who read this scripture believe God will give them anything they ask for, because, after all, He is God. But He’s not a genie in a magic lamp we can rub, thinking we’ll get our wishes answered. The next three verses further clarify the meaning of the previous verses. …
Walk with Jesus through the Valley
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me”—Psalm 23:4 (NKJV). After John 3:16, the twenty-third Psalm is probably one of the most well-known scriptures in the Bible. It brings comfort to those who are going through trials. The popular chapter is also often read at funerals. A recent morning devotional made me take a new look at the fourth verse. The devotional, by O.S. Hawkins, brings new insight into this psalm. Hawkins writes, “A lot of voices tell …