Daily Devotional

[alang]

Originally Posted by HardCory

February 23, 2009


When we hear individuals share their conversion experience, we may conclude that faith happened all at once. But their salvation frequently carries an extended back-story of spiritual pilgrimage before they made that decision. They needed time to reflect on the gospel. For them, coming to the Savior was a process.


Because people may need time and multiple exposures to the gospel before they are ready to make a decision, we need to be sensitive to where they are in their faith-journey. In the meantime, we can cultivate spiritual interest, pray for them, and wait for the harvest! — Dennis Fisher

Have you thought of where you’re going
When this earthly life is past?
Will the seed that you are sowing
Bring a harvest that will last? —Jacobson

How long is TOO LONG? I have been a semi-practicing Christian all of my life with lots of questions and doubts about what to believe, and what to not believe. It has taken me 39 years to get to the point where I do truly believe in my heart, and now I am consistently praying, and going to mass - and even more importantly (to me anyway), I am very frequently thinking about what the good Christian decision would be before I make one. So, have I waited too long to change my ways, or could a person not believe all of their life, and on their death bed, change their mind, ask for forgiveness, and still be saved when they die?

[HardCory]

Originally Posted by alang

How long is TOO LONG? I have been a semi-practicing Christian all of my life with lots of questions and doubts about what to believe, and what to not believe. It has taken me 39 years to get to the point where I do truly believe in my heart, and now I am consistently praying, and going to mass - and even more importantly (to me anyway), I am very frequently thinking about what the good Christian decision would be before I make one. So, have I waited too long to change my ways, or could a person not believe all of their life, and on their death bed, change their mind, ask for forgiveness, and still be saved when they die?

Salvation is gained the second you've accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior. Your sins are forgiven, the slate is wiped clean. You will get to the point, its all about patience and faith. We all have much to learn and much more maturing to do.

[HardCory]

I came upon this in my daily readings it really spoke to me it's from Psalm 90:12

"Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

If I had a penny for everytime I heard someone say life is too short. We must live our days wisely serving the Lord. Setting positive goals for ourselves and making sure everyday we're taking the proper measures to work towards them. I realize that this can't be done under our own strength, only through God. So I figured I'd make my goals public as extra motivation, also so I'll be held accountable for them.

Long term goal: Getting my bachelors degree in kinesiology and exercise biology

Near future: Get to a lean 200 pounds

-Get my certification for personal training

There's many more, but these one's are at the top of my list right now, second only to becoming more like Christ.

[HardCory]

February 24, 2009

Managing The Mess

READ: Ruth 1:15-22

Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me? —Ruth 1:21

When we meet Naomi in the Scriptures, her life is a mess. She and her husband had gone to Moab searching for food during a famine. While in that land, their two sons married Moabite women, and life was good—until her husband and sons died and she was stuck, widowed in a foreign land.

Though honest about her pain, Naomi obviously had a sense of who was in control: “The Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me” (Ruth 1:21).

The Hebrew word for “Almighty” (Shaddai) indicates God’s sufficiency for any situation. The word “Lord” (Yahweh) refers to His faithfulness as the loving covenant-keeping God. I love how Naomi put these two names together. In the midst of her complaint, she never lost sight of the fact that her God was a capable and faithful God. And, sure enough, He proved His capability to deliver her and His faithfulness to care for her to the very end.

If there seems to be no way out of your despair, remember that Naomi’s God is your God as well. And He specializes in managing our messes to good and glorious outcomes. Thankfully, He is both capable and faithful. So, when your life is a mess, remember who your God is! — Joe Stowell

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last. —von Schlegel


Stand back and watch the Lord manage your mess into a glorious outcome.

[alang]

Originally Posted by HardCory

Salvation is gained the second you've accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior. Your sins are forgiven, the slate is wiped clean. You will get to the point, its all about patience and faith. We all have much to learn and much more maturing to do.

Thanks for the follow up Cory.

[Commander]

Originally Posted by alang

How long is TOO LONG? I have been a semi-practicing Christian all of my life with lots of questions and doubts about what to believe, and what to not believe. It has taken me 39 years to get to the point where I do truly believe in my heart, and now I am consistently praying, and going to mass - and even more importantly (to me anyway), I am very frequently thinking about what the good Christian decision would be before I make one. So, have I waited too long to change my ways, or could a person not believe all of their life, and on their death bed, change their mind, ask for forgiveness, and still be saved when they die?

YES!!!! God's grace abounds! Isn't it awesome!

Originally Posted by HardCory

Salvation is gained the second you've accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior. Your sins are forgiven, the slate is wiped clean. You will get to the point, its all about patience and faith. We all have much to learn and much more maturing to do.

Exactly, well said Cory.

[Commander]

Originally Posted by klosey

even though i'm not personally a christian, i'd love to see this keep rolling strong, its a positive thing! carry on Bro's

Glad you checked in. This thread is just another reason ABC is THE place to be in 2009.

We all owe HardCory a debt of gratitude.

[Commander]

Originally Posted by HardCory

February 24, 2009

Managing The Mess

READ: Ruth 1:15-22

Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me? —Ruth 1:21

When we meet Naomi in the Scriptures, her life is a mess. She and her husband had gone to Moab searching for food during a famine. While in that land, their two sons married Moabite women, and life was good—until her husband and sons died and she was stuck, widowed in a foreign land.

Though honest about her pain, Naomi obviously had a sense of who was in control: “The Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me” (Ruth 1:21).

The Hebrew word for “Almighty” (Shaddai) indicates God’s sufficiency for any situation. The word “Lord” (Yahweh) refers to His faithfulness as the loving covenant-keeping God. I love how Naomi put these two names together. In the midst of her complaint, she never lost sight of the fact that her God was a capable and faithful God. And, sure enough, He proved His capability to deliver her and His faithfulness to care for her to the very end.

If there seems to be no way out of your despair, remember that Naomi’s God is your God as well. And He specializes in managing our messes to good and glorious outcomes. Thankfully, He is both capable and faithful. So, when your life is a mess, remember who your God is! — Joe Stowell

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last. —von Schlegel


Stand back and watch the Lord manage your mess into a glorious outcome.

Great devotional....too many people assume that if their life has problems, they simply don't have enough faith. As if faith could just wish away hard times. They don't stop to think that the Lord has a plan, and uses hard times to grow us spiritually. They don't think that if faith made every hard time go away, that people would become Christian for superficial reasons.

Naomi's words made me recall these verses:

Isaiah 55:8-9 (New International Version)

8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We are not going to always understand why we struggle. But if we put God before us, instead of putting our struggle before us, we can handle it. As Naomi's use of God's names suggested, our God is sufficient and keeps the promises made to us in the Scripture.

[HardCory]

Originally Posted by Commander

Glad you checked in. This thread is just another reason ABC is THE place to be in 2009.

We all owe HardCory a debt of gratitude.

These devotionals were actually a great gift from a former co-worker after he had learned that I was walking with the Lord. They've significantly helped me start the day off on the right foot, so it's my pleasure to be able to share them with others. You never know who God's Word might touch on any given day.

[HardCory]

Originally Posted by Commander

Great devotional....too many people assume that if their life has problems, they simply don't have enough faith. As if faith could just wish away hard times. They don't stop to think that the Lord has a plan, and uses hard times to grow us spiritually. They don't think that if faith made every hard time go away, that people would become Christian for superficial reasons.

Naomi's words made me recall these verses:

Isaiah 55:8-9 (New International Version)

8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We are not going to always understand why we struggle. But if we put God before us, instead of putting our struggle before us, we can handle it. As Naomi's use of God's names suggested, our God is sufficient and keeps the promises made to us in the Scripture.

I agree I think the term faith is thrown around too loosely. Many people put a time limit on their faith, "fix my problems by this date and no later." To have faith in God, is to put complete trust in God, regardless of your circumstances. Never define God based off your circumstances, define your circumstances based off of God, He is greater than any problem you'll ever encounter. It's always reassuring to know that we're in good hands.