Take It All Back

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/epW2HGnnM6w?si=jNXUo0enoUA60G6G

“Take It All Back”

John 10:10 NIV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

 

The title of this devotional is taken from a new song by Tauren Wells.  In this song, he sings about taking back what the enemy stole.  I have used this passage in several sermons in the past as well as devotionals.  This time, it has really hit home with me in the past year as I’ve found myself struggling through a lot of negative thoughts about myself and my self-esteem being way down so often. 

 

God has been doing a work in and through me for the past year as I’ve dealt with so many negative thoughts about myself.  I was bullied and teased a lot as a child and that has made for a lot of challenges in my adult life through the years.  God has not only blessed me with a supportive family, but also a great Christian therapist who has truly helped me work through many struggles I’ve had.  I’ve also shared a little with you all recently that I’ve battled stress, anxiety and some seasonal depression. 

 

I am being very transparent with you all because I feel like I’m not alone at all in the things that I’m dealing with and experiencing.  I’m hoping that by being transparent some of you will relate and know that you are not alone in this battle.  For a while now, I’ve just really struggled with a lot of negative thoughts have affected my work life and personal life.  I started reading books and watching sermons about winning the war of the mind.  As I read a book and watched sermons by Louie Giglio, I learned that he battled deep depression many years ago.  Thankfully I haven’t fallen into that hole and I hope I never will.

 

One thing Louie said in one of his sermons that really challenged me was that he decided to be very intentional about listening to worship music, even when he didn’t feel like it.  I made that choice in the past month or so and have been listening a lot more to Christian radio and letting those songs fill my mind and soul.  By doing this, I feel like I’m taking back what the enemy stole.   

 

Friends, the enemy is so good at attacking us and stealing our joy in life.  He’s done that so much with me through the years in various ways.  If he can get us to hold onto worry, anxiety, stress and busyness, then we are distracted from what matters most. 

 

Listening a lot more to Christian radio and reading more has really helped me fill my mind with more positive thoughts.  So, I want to encourage us all to be very intentional about feeding our minds with positive things even when we don’t feel like it and we feel down.  It’s made a huge difference in how I feel and now I have these songs stuck in my mind all day long. 

 

Take back what the enemy stole!

This Is Too Hard

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/ayfJifpx4z0?si=0JAa0voBd2hbjWTX

“This Is Too Hard”

Matthew 26:39 NLT

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father!  If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.  Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

 

I don’t know how many times I’ve used the phrase, “This is too hard” through my life.  I’ve lost count how many times I’ve found myself either thinking this or saying it to someone because of a challenging situation I was in.  I’m sure many of us have said this multiple times as we’ve found ourselves in unwanted, uncomfortable and challenging times. 

 

Who really wants to wake up each day and look forward to challenging times that make life hard?  No one!  I think it’s so important for all of us to take time to focus on this moment in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is so close to His death and He is honestly pleading with His Father to possibly get Him out of the situation.  This is one of the most human situations in all of Scripture.  Jesus knows what He has to do, but He wrestles with this and agonizes over it. 

 

Friends, when we go through hard situations, Jesus knows how it feels.  No matter what pain or agony you are feeling, He is right there with you.  As I pondered this Scripture and scene today, it just made me think of all the times we have all said, “This is too hard” as we experience challenging situations.  There are times we just don’t want to be in and don’t want to deal with.  We’d rather walk away and not deal with the situation in front of us.  We plead with God to remove the hard times so that we don’t have to suffer anymore. 

 

As much as we want to avoid pain, sometimes God needs to use the painful situations to help us grow.  Whatever painful situation you might be experiencing right now in our life, have a real heart to heart conversation with God and tell Him everything you are feeling.  He’s not surprised that you might be pleading with Him.  He wants to hear your agony and your pain and for you to be real with Him.  It doesn’t mean He’s going to take the pain away, but it will bring you much closer to Him.

 

There are many situations in life I wish that I could just steer clear from, but I know that God challenges me and wants me to grow through these to become stronger.  I also know He will be with me through all of it.  I’ve been dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety through the past months in various ways and learning about myself in ways I never considered before.  I know that God is teaching me to deal with what I’m experiencing and He is showing me nothing is too hard to get through with Him. 

 

Every time I think something is too hard for me, I just need to remember what Jesus experienced and I know that I’m not alone.  Whatever your painful time is, know God is with you also.

Just Be In Awe

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/8WYYi9ngaz0?si=DV0b_twDbA8bAJbn

“Just Be In Awe”

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 NIV

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.  Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.  Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.  God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

 

A few weeks ago this passage came up in church and it really spoke to me.  As I read these words, I thought to myself, “How long has it been since I just sat in silence before God and was in awe of Him?” 

 

I’m not at all against us bringing our concerns and requests to God.  He invites us to lay our burdens at the Cross.  However, we so often fill our time with prayers doing all the talking and rarely just sitting in silence quieting ourselves before Him.  How long has it been since you sat before God and just took in the silence?  Why don’t we do this more often?  Why??  Because it’s UNCOMFORTABLE!!!  We live in a “GO, GO, GO, GO, GO, GO” world and it’s very difficult to feel productive when we are just doing nothing but taking in quiet time before Him.  Plus, we have become accustomed to bringing our laundry list of requests before God without considering time to just sit and be still to listen.    

 

A couple of years ago I read the book “The Ruthless Elimination Of Hurry” by John Mark Comer and one of the things he mentioned that I’ll never forget was when you are sitting somewhere waiting for an appointment or something else, instead of pulling your phone out to occupy the time, just sit there doing nothing.  It’s hard!  Who wants to just sit in silence and do nothing?? No one!

 

I want to encourage all of us to find time and be very intentional in the coming days and weeks to find time where we just sit and do nothing before God.  Be in awe of Him.  Ask Him to speak to you and fill you with His presence and just be present before Him.  We definitely need to practice this more. 

 

Find some time soon and just be in awe.  Sometimes, our words need to be very few and we need to stand in awe of God.  He loves us bringing our worries, concerns and cares before Him, but He also loves when we are in total silence just taking in His presence. 

 

Just……Be……..In……….Awe

Facing Our Giants

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/UsoNCLG2q3s?si=fPkePKLcSGUZTnWw

“Facing Our Giants”

1 Samuel 17:48

As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.

 

Last week, we discussed the story of David and Goliath in our small group session.  I’ve read this story so many times through my life and have heard it in church through many sermons.  However, something always seems to hit you differently at some point in time about a passage you’ve read so many times in the past.

 

This verse really stood out to me in our study time together and I mentioned how the verse states David had no hesitation in running up to the battle line to meet Goliath.  This is a confident person who knew that God was with him and would help him conquer Goliath.  David had experience of trusting in God in the past and knew God would be with him as he fought Goliath.  He was confident and did what he needed to do.  Saul tried to put armor on him to help, but David didn’t need that.  All he needed was a stone and his sling.  Wow!

 

As I’ve thought more about this passage this week, I think about how all of us face giants in our lives that scare us to the point where we can’t face them.  Stress and anxiety hits us and we cannot even fathom facing our giants.  The enemy has as way of making us feel like the giants are way bigger than they are.  Don’t get me wrong, some giants are terrifying, but God is BIGGER than any giant we face.  That doesn’t mean the giant will just disappear because we have God on our side.  However, it DOES mean that God will give us strength, courage and endurance as we face the giants.

 

Often we get upset when God won’t remove a giant from our lives.  We have to remember that His ways are not our ways.  Although we cannot often understand what God is doing, we know that He is working and that He’s worked through us and with us in the past.  We have to trust Him and face our giants.  It takes much prayer and faith. 

 

I find myself dealing with a lot of giants in my life and I get stressed out and anxious easily.  I need to fully focus on God and pray for wisdom, strength and endurance through it all.  We can all be like David and run to the battle line to face whatever is in front of us staring us right in the face.  We can conquer with God’s help.  Running away from our giants will never solve our issues. 

 

I want to encourage all of us today and every day moving forward, to bring fears to God regarding our giants and ask Him for the wisdom, strength, endurance and confidence to face the giants head on and watch God do amazing things.  

Conformed Or Transformed

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/QStSLrVow_I?si=GTY2gjlPUK4aWK6I

“Conformed Or Transformed?”

Romans 12:2 NIV

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 

Recently I was watching a sermon by Louie Giglio on the power of a transformed mind and something he said really caught my attention.  He talked about how every moment of each day is claimed by either following God or following the world.  The thought really spoke to me and I thought about how often we live our lives conformed to the world instead of transformed for God. 

 

The past few months I have really struggled with thoughts in my mind.  The enemy has been working a lot on me getting me to think negative thoughts about myself.  Recently I finished Louie’s book “Don’t Give The Enemy A Seat At Your Table” and it was a life transforming book for me.  It really challenged my thoughts and how I need to take them captive each day instead of letting them take root and cause a downward spiral of a negative mindset. 

 

His sermon and book were a big reminder that my life needs to be completely transformed by God every moment of every day.  The NLT version reads, “Don’t copy the behaviors and customs of this world”.  So often we find ourselves following and copying what the world does.  And, there is absolutely no way in the world we can be conformed to the world and transformed to God at the same time. 

 

This reminds of Paul’s words as he spoke about the fight of the flesh each day.  He speaks about following the flesh and following the Spirit.  It goes back and forth.  We need to be renewed in our minds by God’s Word.  Every time a negative thought comes into our mind, we must IMMEDIATELY take it captive.  No “ifs”, “ands” or “buts”!  We are told to take it captive right away and not let it simmer in our minds and stew on it.  From there, it can become a fast downward spiral. 

 

I highly encourage you to read Louie’s book as it really challenged me to think of things I had never thought of before.  It’s a daily battle we face striving to live our lives transformed by God instead of confirmed to the world.  I challenge each of us to strive for taking captive every thought and not letting the enemy have a seat at our table.  The enemy will try to in many different ways and a lot of us have given him the seat for a long time.  I know I have.  We must be careful to not let negative thoughts slip in and take root. 

 

Take some time today, tomorrow and each day after thinking about whether you live your life more conformed to the world or transformed to God. 

Slap Of Reality

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/msyVv3DnxN4?si=pNrUvrUZY1f8XlCm

“Slap Of Reality”

Proverbs 12:15 NIV

The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.

 

One of my favorite movies from many years ago is Disney’s The Kid.  Bruce Willis stars as a very successful image consultant (Russ) who has become very uptight and not dealt with his past childhood of tension with his father and getting bullied from kids at school.  His younger self appears to Russ and then Russ feels like he’s going crazy and seeing things.  He makes an appointment with a therapist and then walks in and has a very quick conversation.  He makes it very clear that he just needs 5 minutes to clear this up and get a strong pill prescribed to take care of the situation.  When the therapist says, “You need to deal with these issues”, Russ snaps back with, “Issue!  Issue!  Just one issue!” 

 

As funny as this scene is, I cannot help but think this is so often how we come to God with what we think is wrong in our lives.  We often want God to take care of something we think is wrong, but God wants to point out other areas that also need attention.  Often times I think we come to God with, “Only 1 issue, God!  I just need help with this one thing.”  All the while, we act foolish and hard headed to not allow God to show us more that we need to work on.

 

We often need a slap of reality from God to show us that just because we think we know what’s wrong and what needs fixed in our lives, God will often show us something else and we need to heed His words and guidance.  We so often are foolish to think we know what we need to work on and everything else is fine.  We need to let God work in our hearts to show us more and exactly what He wants us to see.

 

As we have entered this New Year, why don’t we become more open to what God wants to show us?  We all have issues we need to deal with in life.  Not everything is going to be a quick fix, much like Russ wanted in the movie.  We need to come to God and let Him show us the “issues(plural)” that we have in our lives that need attention. 

 

It’s better for us to have a slap of reality to face these issues and work through them with God’s help and not plug away with only what we think is wrong.  We need to ask God to make that clear to us and show us what we need to work on.  We need to ask Him to search our hearts and reveal whatever it is that is not right that we need to work on. 

 

Let’s not be foolish, but instead listen for wise advice. 

As Long As I'm Breathing, I've Got A Reason

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/OdI1XWn6PVo?si=oqRYRtiE8-P8HaLA

“As Long As I’m Breathing, I’ve Got A Reason”

Psalms 150:6 NIV

I will bless You with every breath of my life; I will lift up my hands in praise to Your name.

 

 

The past several months at our church, we have been playing the song “Praise” by Elevation Worship.  This has become a really fun song to play on our worship team.  The phrase that always sticks out in my mind is the line right before the chorus, “As long as I’m breathing, I’ve got a reason to praise the Lord”. 

 

As we’ve continued to play and sing this song for several Sundays, I’m reminded how easy it is for us to find every reason to complain about things in life.  And, before going any further, I’m going to admit that I am one of these people.  I don’t mean to be, but I have a tendency to be critical and complain about things.  I have been working very hard on trying to be more positive about things in life, but it has been a struggle for me. 

 

As I continue to think about these lyrics (Apparently God keeps bringing them to my mind!), I am constantly reminded that no matter what is going on in life, I have a reason to praise if I’m breathing.  This is so simple, yet so important!  Look, I know that we all have concerns in our lives and a lot we are dealing with.  I get that and I’m trying to focus more on the positive.  We are always going to have challenges and trials in life.  There’s always going to be something that causes inconveniences in our lives.  However, we need to strive to be focused on the very fact that God gives us breath each day.

 

If we wake up each morning and we are breathing, we have a reason to praise!  Period!!!!  As we look to the New Year, this is a perfect time to think about how we can change our attitude and perspective each day we wake up as the New Year begins.

 

If you take the time to listen to and read the lyrics of the song “Praise” by Elevation Worship, it will be a great reminder that we always have a reason to praise God.  We especially have a reason because we are breathing. 

 

Let’s start the New Year by focusing on praise!