Devotionals
Someone Told Me
“…be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” 1st Peter 3:15
Have you ever wondered where you would be spiritually if God had not brought someone your way to tell you about Christ and/or to live a life for Christ that impressed you to search out Christ for yourself? If you think back, you will recall at least one person and maybe even more than one.
“Napoleon Kaufman knew there was more to life than football, but it took a teammate calling him out in public to wake him up. Greg Surratt was raised in a loving, Christian atmosphere, but it took a book by Josh McDowell he read later in life for Jesus to become real to him. For either, the path to salvation did not come easily. Like all people, Kaufman and Surratt needed someone to share the good news with them. Someone had to plant the seed of the gospel message; another had to water it. But, whether though a tragic event, an unexpected book, or the reluctant acceptance of an invitation to church, the seeds were planted for a future harvest.” (copied from an old Ministry Today Magazine – page 44)
Someone told you. We all have our stories. But, have you told somebody? The cycle is 1.) someone shares with you, 2.) you share with someone, and 3.) that someone shares with someone else. Last week as the younger children in our church had been studying the basics of being a Christian and developing their memory boxes. One of the items to be included was their personal testimony of how they came to faith in Christ. Many of our adults have not written their own testimonies to share. The process is simple:
# 1 – Your Life Before Christ. A simple sentence or two.
# 2 – How You Met Christ. A simple sentence or two.
# 3 – Your Life After Christ. A simple sentence or two.
Bro. Larry
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If We Could Reverse Decisions Made
“… behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2nd Corinthians 5:20
Many of us would give most of our possessions to reverse a decision or action we made earlier in our lifetime. Think about these Biblical characters:
1.) What if Eve was given another chance to stand before that tree in the garden and choose?
2.) What would David give to reverse that evening on the rooftop when he first saw Bathsheba and have another opportunity to choose?
3.) What would Peter give to relive that night standing by the fire when he denied knowing his Lord, not once but three times? Would he have chosen differently?
More importantly, think about these two:
1.) What would the rich young ruler give to relive the day he walked away from Jesus and choose his possessions over eternal life? If nothing changed later in his life, he is in hell today. I’m sure he would want the opportunity to choose again, but will never come.
2.) What about the rich man Jesus said who woke up in Hell tormented in the flames. What would he have given to hear the beggar Lazarus tell the story of Jesus? Now, he will never have that opportunity again.
Finally, think about yourself:
1.) Have you heard the way of salvation through the belief and confessing of Jesus followed by repentance and yet either put if off or rejected it completely? Some day in the future, you will regret your decision and wish it were reversed.
2.) Have you had an opportunity to share the news of salvation to a friend or relative and didn’t do it? Have you had an opportunity to invite someone to an evangelistic event at church and didn’t do it? Don’t wait.Take that opportunity now before it’s too late.
Bro. Larry
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Words of Kindness
“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;” Romans 12:10
A few years ago our youngest daughter Danielle was placed as a park ranger for a time at the “Abe Lincoln Homeplace” in Springfield, Illinois. While visiting for a few days, my wife and I decided to see a few of the sights. One sight I wanted to visit, but ran out of time, was “The Museum of Funeral Customs.” Now some of you are thinking, “That’s morbid!” But as a pastor, funerals are in my line of work. There are differences between different parts of the country and different cultures. Even in east Tennessee, 90% of the funerals are at night, while it is almost unheard of to have a night funeral in middle Tennessee. Take time to read and think about the following conversation.
A minister and a funeral director were discussing funerals, funeral messages, and funeral customs. The funeral director had attended thousands of funerals. Some were long. Some were short. Sometimes the remarks were appropriate and at other times they were extremely inappropriate. Sometimes only one minister spoke and at other times there were three or four.
Jokingly, the funeral director said, “I am going to have 10 preachers at my funeral. There will be a fund set up and the one who says the greatest number of nice things about me will get $1,000.”
We would all like nice things said about us after we die, but wouldn’t it be more appropriate, and would we not enjoy it, if people said nice things about us while we are still living. “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” Most everyone has heard it said at one time or another, “Give me roses while I am alive, not after I’m dead.”
From, Bro. Larry
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Set Your Mind On Things Above
Photo by Henrik Dønnestad on Unsplash
“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2
Back when Donna and I served as youth directors for Halltown Church, I gave lessons on Christian athletes of that day. One of those was an NBA player named David Robinson.
David Robinson is considered the best basketball player in the history of the United States Naval Academy and one of the greatest centers in the history of the National Basketball Association.
David played in 987 games and averaged 21.1 points per game for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA from 1989 to 2003. Nicknamed “the Admiral” for his service with the U.S. Navy, Robinson was a 10-time NBA All-Star, the 1995 NBA MVP, a two-time NBA champion, a two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner, a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and a two-time U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame inductee. He is widely considered one of the greatest centers in both college basketball and NBA history.
In a book about Christian athletes, he contributed a chapter entitled, “Overcoming Temptation.” He said that when he got into the NBA, he didn’t go to clubs and bars because he figured that was not the place he was going to find a wife. He told himself, “I’m not going to listen to that kind of music, I’m not going to watch these types of movies, and I’m not going to put myself in certain situations where I’m going to be tempted.”
The Best way to beat the world’s temptations is by avoiding whenever possible. Don’t expose yourself to evil. Protect your mind and your eyes and begin to clothe yourself with Christ.
From Bro. Larry
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No Looking Back
Photo by Haeun Kang on Unsplash” width=”300″ height=”300″> Photo by Haeun Kang on Unsplash
“…this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
As I am currently preaching through Philippians in a series I’ve entitled “Regaining Our Purpose,” thinking on how 2020 robbed much of our efforts carrying out God’s purpose in our lives. As I came upon the above verses, I began to think on how much we dwell on the past.
In my past I’ve seen God at work in ways that redirected me toward His purpose in my life. However, I can see so many failures from the past. If I dwell on those failures, they will multiply into more failures in my future. There needs to be no looking back at past failures unless we are to learn from them and not repeat them or else we become discouraged by them.
Learn from the past and move on (press on).
When Babe Ruth held the home run record for many years, remember his other record — strikeouts. And then there is Abraham Lincoln, considered one the most admired and respected president in history.
1831 – Failed in business; went bankrupt.
1833 – Back on his feet; failed again
1835 – Fiancée he loved dearly died
1836 – Nervous breakdown
1838 – Ran for speaker of the house; defeated
1840 – Elector; defeated
1843 – Congress; defeated
1848 – Congress again; defeated
1855 – Senate; defeated
1856 – Vice president; defeated
1858 – Senate again; defeated
1860 – Elected president; one of the greatest who ever lived
What if he had quit because of his defeats and failures? Where would the United States been in those years and the many that followed? He moved from one failure to the next. Surely, with God’s help, we can rise above a few failures in our lives.
From Bro. Larry
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In God We Trust
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2nd Corinthians 12:9
I say that I believe God is fully in control and I believe He cares about me and holds my future in His hands. Yet, in the midst of troubling times like today I tend to rely upon myself or some alternative quick fix. Thus believing deep down that God can’t handle this by himself and that I’ve got to help Him out or seek an alternative.
Ever since the Garden of Eden, unbelief has blinded and defeated God’s people. Satan’s ploy for Eve to eat the apple was based upon the temptation to disbelieve God’s character and question His commands. And throughout history, nothing has changed. Today, Satan is as relentless as in the days of Genesis in deceiving us to doubt what we know to be true—particularly about the character of God and who we are in Christ.
During troubling times, you may catch yourself attempting to reason, “You know, God has got a lot going on down here, and it is only understandable that now and then He overlooks some things. I can’t really expect Him to attend to all the details in my life, now can I?” That is the lie. The truth is that my God calls every star by name (Isaiah 40:26). He does not lose track of details! “His understanding no one can fathom” (Isaiah 40:28).
Ask yourself, “Do I wholeheartedly believe that God is sovereign—even at this moment, when life feels out of control? What does this trial mean for my future? My work? My ministry? The dreams I thought God gave me.” Because many of us only halfheartedly believe God’s grace is sufficient, we live half-effective lives, defeated more often than victorious over sin and the challenges before us.
Until we believe that God holds the future as well as each of us in His hands, we will not be able to surrender our lives and dreams to Him with full abandonment. When we continue to believe what the world or the Satan tells us about ourselves, rather than what God tells us, we are quenching the Spirit of Truth and allowing lies to choke the good fruit that God wants to bear in our lives.
Bro Larry
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Count Your Blessings
Ephesians 1:3
Four guys decided to go mountain climbing. In the middle of the climb one of the guys fell off over a cliff. The other three, hoping to rescue their friend yelled down to him, “Joe, are you okay?” Joe answered, “Well, I’m alive, but I think I broke both my arms!” The guys replied, “We’ll toss you down a rope and pull you up. Just be still!” “Fine,” answered Joe.
A couple minutes after dropping the end of the rope, they started pulling their friend up. Tugging and grunting together they worked feverishly. When they thought they may have him about three-fourths of the way up, they suddenly remembered he said he had broken BOTH his arms. They yelled down “Joe, if you broke both your arms, how in the world are you hanging on the to rope?” Joe responded, “With my TEEEEEEEETH . . . !”
There are times, when it seems to all of us that we are hanging onto life by the skin of our teeth. God is under no obligation to make us prosperous or powerful regardless of what you may hear a preacher say. He has promised to bless us, but those blessings may or may not be physical. In fact, they usually are more spiritual than physical. One of the greatest blessings we are promised is the opportunity to give away to others what we ourselves have already been given (2 Corinthians 8:9-14).
“Count your blessings, name them one by one; count your blessings, see what God hath done” (Johnson Oatman, Jr.), then share your blessings with others.
From Bro Larry
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Read Me!
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11
A few years ago, I was at a conference where Chuck Colson had spoken and as I approached him, he somehow realized I was going through some spiritual struggles without me ever telling him. He said to me, ”I sense God would like for me to pray for you. Do you mind?” He had not spoken those words to any others who came around but he sensed my need. That impressed me, touched my spirit, and gave me a memory I will never forget.
It reminded me of a story of a nationally known preacher who was signing a book he had written and shaking hands following his message at a conference. There was a line of people at his table when a lady came up to him and asked him, “Do you have a word for me?”
He looked her into the eyes and said, “Yes I do!” He then handed her his Bible. The Bible Is God’s Word for mankind but it is also God’s Word for you and me personally.
Before becoming a pastor, I was a member of the “Gideons.” They are an organization of Christian businessmen and professionals who gather for prayer and Bible study. What they are most known for is placing Bibles in motels, hospitals, and waiting rooms along with giving New Testaments to 5th graders, college students and military. One morning I was participating in their Bible give-a-way at Volunteer State College when a student refused to take a Bible from my hand saying, “I don’t believe in that stuff.”
Most Christians have multiple copies of the Bible. Personally, I have a couple dozen hard copies plus it’s available on my phone, tablet, and computer. But, as many could say, “I need to spend more time in reading and meditating on the Bible.” Since God only wrote one Book, we ought to read it and study it accompanied by prayer. Enter your prayer time with the Bible in one hand and a pencil in the other hand while talking with God and listening to His Word.
Bro Larry
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I Used to Have Days Like That Before I Became a Christian
“Be still, and know that I am God!” Psalm 46:10
As a teen, a rock song made the lyrics popular, “Momma said they’d be days like this, my momma said.” Maybe the following story will remind you of a few of those days.
A pastor was scheduled to preach his first Sunday at a new church. He had not had time to move his family to the new town, so he spent the first night in town in a motel with his wife and kids still back at the old house making final arrangements for the move. He was running late because the alarm had not gone off. In a hurry, he cut himself while shaving and bled a lot. Then his shirt wasn’t ironed properly and no iron to be found. When he was leaving the motel he noticed a flat tire!
Really disgusted and mad, he quickly changed the tire, ran back to his room and washed up again. He finally got underway, taking off from the parking lot squealing his tires and put the pedal to the floor. Racing through town, he ran a stop sign only to be pulled over by a policeman that was watching the intersection and he immediately heard the scream of the siren and saw the flashing red lights.
Really irritated, he pulled over, jumped out of the car and immediately begin explaining, almost shouting, “Well, go ahead an give me a ticket. Everything else has gone wrong today!” The policeman quietly began his conversation with the minister by saying, “Sir, I understand your dilemma. I used to have days like that before I became a Christian.”
Hearing what he needed to hear, the pastor apologized, asked for forgiveness, and went his way toward the church, this time praying for strength and discipline to correct a faulty attitude. From time to time we need to be reminded, there will be days like that. How we respond makes the difference.
No wonder the psalmist encourages us to just be still (calm) and know God is at work while listening for His instructions and following His guidance.
Bro Larry
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Remedy for the Soul
“. . . the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” Isaiah 1:5-6
One year when I was small, a carnival came to our town. Our town was so small this just never happened. They were always at bigger towns. I whined so much to my dad that he finally gave in and took me. It had rained so hard that the mud was deep. I don’t remember a single ride or a show but I do remember walking down the muddy path and hearing a barker ring out the words like these, “Step right up, ladies and gentlemen. I’m holding in my hand nature’s own elixir. Get rid of those tired bones. Cure your baldness Fix the pains in your back. Repair your constipation. A dose a day for a month and you’ll never be the same person.”
To me, it sounded like the wonder drug of all drugs. Now that I’m older, I realize how gullible the people were to buy a product that did everything for you but didn’t really give any lasting effects for 30 days to allow time for the carnival to be out of town.
I can look around and see that our society is sick today, and the deceiver of the fake tonic is attempting to sell the cure at high prices. If you notice our Bible passage, Isaiah described the people of his day as being spiritually and emotionally ill. Sounds as if he is describing our day.
There is a Great Physician. Step right up to hear from Him. He is not selling a bottle with promises, He is offering a book with absolutes. You probably won’t find the cure for gout or cancer, but you can see the spiritually healing of our soul and it just may affect the body as well.
Open up the Book and you will see in its pages that God performs an examination throughout. He sees all and knows all. Also, we are to examine ourselves. The benchmark for our life is Jesus. We should follow His examples and guidelines in order to live a spiritually health life. Then the world will see in us what they lack in themselves.
So step right up, dive into God’s Word and take a daily dose of the spiritual medicine He provides. It is amazing.
Bro Larry
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