Devotional for Thursday October 24th

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Peace”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “The promises of God are true.”

One of the greatest thieves of peace is uncertainty about the future. The fear of the unknown and an underlying suspicion that the worst that can happen will happen, combine to rob people of their peace and joy. But God doesn’t want us to live in fear and uncertainty. Therefore He has packed the Bible with dozens of promises about His care and provision for us, Isaiah 41:10 is just one of many. I don’t have the time or space to cite even a fraction of them but how about:

“Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff – they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 (HCSB)

“The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom should I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1 (HCSB)

“Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24 (KJV)

“Therefore, we may boldly say: The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6 (HCSB)

I have included only a few of the dozens of Biblical promises God has given us which assure us of His watch care and provision. Now here’s the thing for us to remember, as Hannah Whit all Smith wisely observed, “Things are not true because they’re in the Bible, they’re in the Bible because they are true.”

Please don’t miss that: These statements aren’t true just because they are in the Bible, they are in the Bible because they are true. If they weren’t true God would not have put them in there. Because they are true God has included them in the Bible and therefore you can take these promises to the bank. God is there for you; He is watching over you; He is in the process of working out His great plan for you; and therefore you have nothing to be fearful about and you have no cause for anxiety.

Not only are the promises of God are true but they are true for you.

God Bless, Pastor Jim

Devotional for Wednesday October 23rd

Good Morning Everyone,

 Our theme for this month: “Peace”

 Our Bible verse for today: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.” John 14:27

 Our thought for today: “Jesus was at peace and we can be too.”

 One of the things that amazes me when I read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry is that He was never in a hurry. As important as His work was and as many demands as people placed upon Him, Jesus seems to have always been well-organized, on schedule, and calm. How did He do it? Of course we know that He was God in a human body but still, He was in a human body, He only had 24 hours in His day just like you and me, and since He was limited by the constraints of a human body and by the amount of time available to Him, there was only so much He could do. So how did He remain so calm and peaceful in the middle of it?

In his book “Ordering My Private World” Gordon MacDonald includes a chapter humorously entitled “Has Anyone Seen My Time? I’ve Misplaced It!” In that chapter he explores how Jesus approached His very busy life and yet maintained such calmness and peace. What MacDonald reveals is that it was because Jesus paid proper attention to keeping His inner world in order. We find that He had the habit of spending lots of quiet time alone with God the Father, sometimes in the early morning (Mark 1:35), sometimes all night (Luke 6:12), and once for forty days (Matthew 4:2).

 What did Jesus do during those times of prayer? He sought His Fathers will and then He organized His own activities based upon what He knew the Father wanted Him to do (John 5:17-20). The result? He clearly understood His mission, His priorities were in order, He knew He had the freedom to say “no” to anything that did not conform to what the Father wanted Him to do, and He could therefore go forward into His days with confidence and peace.

 Now here’s the thing: we can approach our lives in the same way. We can spend quiet time with the Father so that our inner self is in tune with Him. We can seek His will for our activities and invite Him to establish our priorities for us. And then, as Jesus said in John 14:27, we will not need not be fearful, troubled, frenzied, or anxious. Instead we can enjoy the same peace that Jesus had.

 Jesus wants us to have the peace He had. He has offered to give it to us.

 God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Devotional for Tuesday October 22nd

Good Morning Everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Peace”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2
 
Our thought for today:
 
What Paul is telling us in Romans 12:2 is that we have to learn to live from the inside out rather than from the outside in. There needs to be within us an inner core of peace and stability from which our life flows. This is what Solomon was referring to in Proverbs 4:23 when he cautioned us to guard our hearts because the heart is the well-spring of life.
 
Unfortunately most of us live from the outside in rather than from the inside out. We allow the pressures and demands of life, the expectations of other people, the politically correct thinking of the culture, and our desire to fit in, to press in upon us and thereby determining our priorities and setting our agendas for us. Paul would call that “conforming to this age” and he cautions us to not let it happen. In the J.B. Phillips translation of the Bible Romans 12:2 reads “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.”
 
In his book “Ordering My Private World”, Gordon MacDonald writes, “We must “choose” to keep the heart. Its health and productivity cannot be assumed; it must be constantly protected and maintained.” He also writes, “There must be a quiet place where all is in order, a place from which comes the energy that overcomes turbulence and is not intimidated by it.”
 
This is inside-out living. It’s a life that has at its center a a quiet core of peace and stability and from which all the rest of life is approached. As MacDonald explained above, that core doesn’t come into being and then remain peaceful and stable by accident. We have to be intentional about it. This is why the daily disciplines of prayer and Bible study are essential. It’s in the quiet times with God that this inner sanctuary of ours is tended to by the Holy Spirit. Again from MacDonald, “If my private world is in order, it will be because I make a daily choice to monitor its state of orderliness.”
 
I encourage you to begin your day in quiet time with the Lord. Give yourself at least 20-30 minutes of prayer, Bible reading, and contemplation to start your day. Every time you do that your inner core of peace and stability is strengthened. Then as you go through the day make a conscious effort to live life out of the calm and peaceful center. Rather than allowing the pressures and demands of the day to press in upon you, let the peace and stability within you flow out and influence the world around you.
 
God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Monday October 21st

Good Morning Everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Peace”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” Proverbs 4:23
 
Our thought for today: “We need inner peace.”
 
When the Bible speaks of the heart it’s almost never referring to the organ which pumps blood through your body. Biblically the “heart” is the place where thoughts, feelings, and emotions all come together and it is where decisions are made. It’s the core of your being. In Proverbs 4:23 Solomon says we need to guard that place because it’s the source of life. In other words, it is from the heart that the rest of life springs.
 
If your heart is a mess then so is your life. If your heart is a swirling caldron of conflicted emotions, confused priorities, anger, bitterness, sadness and strife, then your life will be in chaos and you will not be at peace. Since the heart is the place from which the rest of life flows we need to pay special attention to making sure it’s a healthy and peaceful place. We have to guard it.
 
In 1984 Gordon MacDonald published a book entitled “Ordering Your Private World”. It’s all about guarding your heart. It’s about making sure the inner-most you, that strategic center of your being, is a place of order and calmness, serenity and stability, and a place of peace. MacDonald writes:
 
“If my private world is in order, it will be because I am convinced that the inner world of the spiritual must govern the outer world of activity.” He goes on, “… if neglected this private world will not sustain the weight of events and pressures that press upon it … I believe that one of the great battlegrounds of our age is the private world of the individual.”
 
We live in an age of information and technology. Televisions, radios, laptops, smart phones, billboards, and much more, all contribute to an environment where our senses are being constantly bombarded with stimulation and we are seldom alone with our own thoughts. A world of chaos and noise is continuously forcing its way into our private world. It’s hard for there to be inner peace under such conditions.
 
Over the next few days we’ll explore some ideas about how to guard our hearts and to protect that inner place of peace.
 
God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Saturday and Sunday October 19-20

Good Morning Everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Peace”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20
 
Our thought for today: “Which voices are you listening to?”
 
So, are you listening to the voices inside your head? There are voices you know – more than you might realize. First, there is your own voice. We talk to ourselves all the time. Sometimes out loud but more often it’s in the quietness of our own mind. And what we say to ourselves really does matter. It’s been rightly said that the most important conversation you will ever have is the one you have with yourself. Self-talk is a major determining factor in the kind of person you are.
 
Then there’s the voice of the Lord. As Jesus indicated in Revelation 3:20, He does speak to us. Almost never does He speak in an audible voice – at least not in His own voice. Sometimes His words will come to us through a preacher or teacher, and sometimes through the counsel of a mature Christian friend, but more often He speaks to our mind through prayer and through the printed words of the Bible.
 
And then there’s a third voice in your head (I know, I know, it’s getting crowded in there), it’s the voice of Satan. In John 8:44 we’re told that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. How does he lie to you? Sometimes his lies will be transmitted by human speakers or through the voice of the culture, but primarily it happens by him whispering lies into your mind. Yes, Satan can plant thoughts in your mind and you can be sure they will be lying deceptive thoughts.
 
What does all this have to do with peace? Well, you will not be at peace unless the loudest voice in your head is the voice of the Lord. Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6); He gives His peace to us (John 14:27); and if we keep our minds focused on Him, He will keep us in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).
 
So, are you listening to the voices inside your head? Which one are you paying the most attention to? I encourage you to turn Satan’s decibel level to zero; pay only moderate attention to yourself; but when it comes to the voice of Jesus, crank it up loud.
 
God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Friday October 18th

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Peace”

Our Bible verse for today: “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Our thought for today: “When Jesus says “Come to Me”, we need to actually “go to Him”.

In her book “The God of All Comfort” Hannah Whitall Smith asks, “Why, I asked myself, should the children of God lead such utterly uncomfortable religious lives when He has led us to believe that His yoke would be easy and His burden light?”

She goes on, “There is a feeling abroad that Christ has offered in His Gospel more than He has to give. People think that they have not exactly realized what was predicted as the portion of the children of God. But why is this so? Has the kingdom of God been over-advertised, or is it only that it has been under-believed; has the Lord Jesus Christ been overestimated, or has He only been under-trusted?”

Ok, I’m thinking the problem is us and not Him. I’m thinking that the reason we don’t have the peace we yearn for is not because God has promised more than He can deliver, it’s because we’re lazy in the practice of our spiritual disciplines, prone to making excuses, and sleeping when we should be praying.

When Jesus said “Come to Me” the implication is that we will actually have to get off of our backsides and go to Him. Instead of sleeping late we must get out of bed and go to the time of Bible reading and prayer. Instead of sitting around the house on Sunday reading the paper and getting ready for the early football game, we need to actually go to church. Instead of just pushing on through our frustrating and stressful work day we need to stop what we’re doing, go someplace quiet, and pray about it.

The problem with most of us is that when Jesus says “Come to Me”, we don’t. If we did, we’d have a lot more peace. When Jesus says “Come to Me”, we need to actually “go to Him”. 

 God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Devotional for Thursday October 17th

Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Peace”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth, from eternity to eternity, You are God.” Psalm 90:1-2
Our thought for today: “We must choose to dwell with God.”
 
More than 100 years ago Hannah Whithall Smith wrote the devotional classic “The God of All Comfort”. The reason she wrote it was because it seemed to her that the majority of Christians she knew were living lives characterized more by defeat and despair than by victory and joy. As she surveyed that sad scene she realized the problem was that they were looking in the wrong places for peace and joy. She realized that even Christians – good Christians, were largely preoccupied with material concerns rather than spiritual. She wrote:
 
“The comfort or discomfort of our outward lives depends more largely upon the dwelling place of our bodies than upon almost any other material thing; and the comfort or discomfort of our inward life depends similarly upon the dwelling place of our souls.”
 
If you’re living in a cardboard box under a bridge you probably will not feel as safe, secure, comfortable and peaceful as you would if you were living in a warm, dry, well furnished house. Likewise, if your soul is wandering in barren and empty spiritual places you’re not going to be at peace like you would be if you were seeking and finding your refuge in the God of eternity. Hannah continues:
 
“It is of vital importance, then, that we should find out definitely where our souls are living. The Lord declares that He has been our dwelling place in all generations, but the question is, are we living in our dwelling place? … We shall always hunger and faint for the courts of the Lord, as long as we fail to take up our abode there.”
 
So, where is your soul hanging out these days? Have you developed the habit of beginning each day in prayer and Bible reading? Throughout the day do you listen to Christian music, engage in additional short periods of prayer, and talk to others about the Lord? Are you a regular and active participant in the life of a good church family? Where is your soul living? Are you dwelling with the Lord, or in the spiritual equivalent of a cardboard box under a bridge?
 
Many professing Christians live the lives of a spiritual hobo and then wonder why they’re not experiencing deep joy, a sense of security, and real peace. The problem is that they’re not really living with God. They do have a passing relationship with Him, and they do stop by to see Him every once in a while – for a sort of sp ritual hand-out, but they’re not really living with Him. 
 
God will be your dwelling place, your place of refuge; and with Him there is peace, but you do have to choose to make His presence your home.
 
God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Wednesday October 16th

Good Morning Everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Peace”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine …” 2 Timothy 4:2-3
 
Our thought for today: “We want peace, but not peace at any cost.”
 
Paul instructed Timothy to persist in proclaiming Biblical truth whether the people wanted to hear it or not. Paul predicted a time when people would be so eager to hear soft fuzzy teaching that tickled their ears and warmed their hearts that they would not accept Biblical truth. That would present difficulties for those daring enough to proclaim the truth and yet Timothy and the others were to persist.
 
The same is true in our day. As Christians we want to get along with our family members, neighbors, co-workers, and society at large. We don’t want people to be mad at us or to take actions against us. We would prefer to live at peace – in harmonious relationships with everyone. But we have to be careful we’re not seeking peace at any price. We can’t compromise Biblical truth in favor of getting along and going along.
 
Billy Graham once wrote, “We have our peace movements, and all we want is peace – abroad and at home. But if by peace we mean appeasing tyranny, compromising with gangsters, and being silent because we haven’t the moral fortitude to speak out against injustice, then this is not real peace. It is a false peace. It is a farce and it is a hoax.”
 
As Christians we do want peace, but more than that we want truth and justice. There will never be true peace until it is the peace of Jesus Christ that reigns in the hearts and minds of individuals and in society at large. But people will not discover the peace of Christ if we His followers are silent. It’s up to us proclaim the message of peace in Christ and it’s up to us to stand strong for Biblical principles – even in the face of opposition.
 
Yes we do want peace, but not peace at any cost.
 
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
 

Devotional for Tuesday October 15th

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Peace”

Our Bible verse for today: “I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content – whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13

Our thought for today: “Contentment is the key to peace.”

Most of us are not really at peace because we haven’t learned how to be content. Truth be told, no matter how much money most people have, they would really like to have a little more. As good as the current position at work might be, the next rung up the ladder would be even better. Although I might be grateful for the home I have, a new one with a pool and Jacuzzi would sure be nice. And on it goes.

That thinking applies to almost every other area of life too. The kids are doing ok in school, but wouldn’t it be nice if they were on the honor role. The middle aged woman knows she’s actually healthy and in reasonably good shape for her age, but she’d love to be aging better, maybe like Cheryl Ladd (she’s 60 but looks 40). I have a nice lawn but it’s still not golf course quality … 

The dictionary says that to be content is to be satisfied and happy with things as they are. Unfortunately that doesn’t describe most of us. Truthfully, we’re not really content and therefore we’re not really at peace. There’s nothing wrong with improvement and advancement, unless it creates a never-ending cycle of restlessness and discontentment. Our constant desire for more and better robs us of our peace.

In her book “The Contented Soul” Lisa McMinn writes, “Too easily we live unexamined and disconnected lives, distracting ourselves in our quest for greater ease, comfort, or the acquisition of better stuff.”

In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul described a better way. He wrote of how he “learned” to be content by focusing on Christ instead of on stuff. Over time he trained himself to find real peace and contentment in his relationship with the Lord and not from the things of the world. Now please note, in that passage Paul admitted that he did have times of affluence, fullness, and great provisions – and he obviously felt free to enjoy them, but his sense of peace and contentment didn’t hang on those things.

McMinn goes on, “We are surrounded by simple pleasures and the possibility of sipping and savoring our very earthy, very physical life. Contentment awaits us, inviting us to savor each moment, and in doing so to honor the God who gave us life.”

Rather than constantly striving for more and better, we would benefit from learning to be content with where we are and with what we have. There is peace in contentment.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

DEVOTIONAL FOR MONDAY OCTOBER 14TH

Good Morning Everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Peace”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “God has made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.” Ecclesiastes 7:29 (TEV)
 
Our thought for today: ‘There is peace in simplicity”
 
I love the Jewish concept of “shalom”. The fullest sense of the word incorporates the ideas of peace, wholeness, unity, and balance. It describes both an individual and community-wide mind set that creates a sense of harmony in a world of chaos; balance amidst competing pressures; and peace while surrounded by strife. It’s common in the Jewish world to wish someone “Shalom” as a way of speaking a blessing into their life.
 
In his book ‘The Freedom of Simplicity” Richard Foster writes of how we can increase “Shalom” in our lives by intentionally incorporating greater simplicity into our daily routines. He’s talking about living lives that are intentionally less complicated. As a practice of our faith, Foster encourages us to develop what Bishop John Taylor once called “The Theology of Enough”. We must come to the point of deciding that we already have enough possessions, or enough advancement at work, or enough activities in our lives, or enough (fill in the blank with whatever it is that’s cluttering up your life.)
 
We all need more “Shalom” in our lives. We need more peace, wholeness, unity, and balance. As Solomon explained in Ecclesiastes 7:29, God made us plain and simple, we’re the ones who have greatly complicated this business of living. Someone else once observed that God made us human “beings” not human “doings”. Most of us need to slow way down and cut some things out of our lives. “Be still” the Lord said, “and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
 
For an expanded teaching on this subject of achieving a more balanced life of “shalom” you can go to my web site at http://www.JimMersereauBooks.com, click on the button “Free Articles” and download the articles “Room for the Singing of Angels” and “Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times”.
 
There is peace in simplicity.
 
God Bless,
Pastor Jim