Wednesday Morning Devotional

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  – Genesis 1:1

Your belief about the first verse of the Bible determines so much about you.  Either God created all of this, someone, or something else created all of this, or it all came together by random chance.  I remember wrestling with it all in a biology class at Clemson University.  The professor did a pretty good job of dismantling any faith that any student had.  He made you feel almost silly for holding on to any beliefs about God.  It was a rough time for me and my faith.  I’m beyond thankful for men like Jimmy Boggs, Don Vaughn, and Ronnie Hodge for placing my feet on a firm foundation.

When witnessing to others, you are going to encounter someone who sincerely doubts the existence of God.  Before you read on, what do you tell people?  What would you tell someone who came to you with the honest question, “How can I know for sure that God exists?”

The quick and easy response comes from Romans 1:20: “being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” I liked when someone pointed out to me that there is so much order to this world that, at the very least, someone, or some force was behind its creation.  If we saw a beautiful painting and asked who the painter was, imagine our response when someone told us, “Nobody, a paint factory just exploded, and this was found in the rubble.” 

The second response I use is experience.  When I was in college, that professor had a lot of life experience.  He had learned to create good and solid arguments.  I was a 19-year-old idiot who didn’t have a clue about life and was so foolish and selfish that I simply wasn’t able to see God’s provision and protection in my life up to that point . . . much less articulate it.  I believed in His existence, but I didn’t know Him.  Truth be told, I wasn’t trying to get to know Him.  Sitting here 30 years later with several trips through the Bible under my belt, hours of prayer, and having Him come through for me more times than I can count . . . you couldn’t convince me that He doesn’t exist.  I know Him, I love Him, and I am so thankful that I’m His.  Always remember, a young believer in the faith doesn’t have this.  It takes time for the acorn to become a mighty oak.

I was pressed recently on the issue.  The person said, “Look, I want you to think about this: if you were presented with absolute 100% truth that God didn’t exist, I want to know what you’d do!”  I was really reaching for a response when it hit me: “Well, assuming the Bible still existed, I wouldn’t do anything different.”  I got to tell the person that learning the things that the Bible teaches has done nothing but bless my life.  If not for the Word of God, I would have died in a car accident when I was in my 20’s.  If not for the Word of God, I wouldn’t have my wife, I wouldn’t have my kids, and I wouldn’t be a math teacher.  Every good thing in my life is rooted in some sort of obedience to God that I didn’t want to do at the time.  I did it anyways simply because I called Him the Lord of my life.

He either is . . . or He isn’t.

Lord, please help this world come to faith in You.  Send the greatest revival this world has ever seen.  Let us who trust in You see countless people truly put their trust in Your Son, Jesus Christ.  I can only imagine how Noah felt when You closed the door to the ark, and it started to rain.  How awful to hear the screams of the people on the outside who wish they had listened.  Help me take as many as I can with me to heaven, for one day the opportunity to turn to You will cease.  Many think they will deal with death after it happens, but NO, we must deal with it while we have breath in our lungs here on earth.  Please, Lord, send revival . . . let it start in the church with the people who claim to be Yours.  Let it start with me.  Amen.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. – Ezekiel 36:26

Ever since I went to see the Pilgrim’s Progress play, I’ve been enthralled with John Bunyan.  I just keep thinking of him writing this story in prison in the 1600’s.  All he had to do was agree to stop preaching to his group of people who so eagerly came to hear the gospel.  He refused . . . and it cost him 12 years in prison.  Without those 12 years in prison, we would not have The Pilgrim’s Progress.  400 years later, that book has been used more than a few times to help keep me on the narrow path that leads to life. 

I stumbled across a part of John Bunyan’s story that I didn’t know.  He self-professed to be a bad kid.  He was very aware that his heart gravitated towards evil.  Yet, if someone ever mentioned “hell”, it messed with him.  He knew enough that he didn’t want to go there.  Eventually, he would try to earn heaven by becoming moral.  He stopped cussing and stopped other behaviors that he knew were wrong in his heart.  This bothered him even more because he felt like he simply “put a new coat of paint on an old house.”  He knew what he was underneath the surface, and it tormented him.

One day, he stumbled across some ladies talking of Christ.  They spoke with such joy.  Hearing this conversation, he was led to their pastor who showed him how to receive the new heart that the verse in Ezekiel talks about.  He never looked back after that. 

Just the other day, I was talking to a friend about the Lord.  Our hearts just burned while we spoke of Him.  I thought of just how much more I’d like to get with people who simply loved to talk about God and what He is doing in their lives.  It is one thing to hear a preacher preach about God, but it is entirely another to hear others speak of how their lives revolve around Him.

Lord, thank you for those who have walked the path before me.  I’m so thankful that we can read about them and that it motivates our hearts to walk as they did.  Help me stay on the narrow path that leads to life.  I know how quickly I could be led astray.  May You bless me indeed.  Increase the reach of my influence.  May Your hand be with me as You keep evil from me.  There is no one like You, Lord.  Amen.

Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing.  Then the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:9

How much peace do you have in your heart, mind, and life right now?  I sit here this morning just meditating on the Word of the Lord and I’m astonished at how much peace I have right now.  Peace is truly a gift from God.  2024 has been a bad year.  If I let my mind go there (and I sometimes do), this year was so close to being a devastating year.  For many, there is no “close to” . . . it has been flat out devastating. 

I’ve always loved a saying that I heard when I first became a follower of Jesus:  If you know the Lord, your life on Earth is as bad as it is ever going to get, but if you don’t know the Lord, your life on Earth is as good as it’s ever going to get.  When things are bad, this helps me remember how temporary my whole life is, and I look forward to the day when my faith will be made into sight.  When things are good, this helps me immediately praise God and thank Him for just how wonderful He has made my life, because I certainly don’t deserve it.  Through all of it, I thank Him for just how much He has changed me.  I thank Him for the gift of salvation.  Evil does seem to be trying to destroy me right now, but without Jesus in my life, I know I would have already self-destructed.

So, what does Paul practice that he wants us to put into practice?  In context, it involves our thought life.  The previous verse says we are to fix our thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.  We are to think of things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  (See Philippians 4:8)

As I sit here this morning an hour or so before I take off for work, my mind wants to gravitate towards negativity.  I intentionally fight this.  In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the truth,” so I meditate on that.  He alone is worthy of glory, honor, and praise.  He teaches me what is right, and He has purified my heart, saved my soul, and changed my mind.  When we simply think of Jesus and all that He did to make a way for all of us sinners to be saved . . . how lovely . . . how admirable.  The fight for me is to keep it at the forefront of my mind as I go through this day and not wait until this time tomorrow to put this into practice again.

Why take the time to do all of this?  Because I want peace in my life.  I’ve come to thrive on peace.  The Lord is my shepherd.  He really does make me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.  Sheep won’t drink from fast running waters.  Things must be calm, and they must know the shepherd is near before they can truly rest and take a drink.

Here I am right now, just for a moment, in perfect rest and perfect peace. 

How great is our God that such a place is even possible?

Lord, You are amazing!  You have given us the formula for peace!  It all has to do with what we focus our minds upon.  Help me keep my mind upon You this day.  Help me honor You with my life this day.  One day, it will be my last day on this planet.  Then I won’t have to set my mind on things above, for my faith will be made into sight.  While I’m here, please grant me every tool available to stay on the narrow path that leads to life: The power of the Holy Spirit, the blood of the lamb, the word of the Lord, a clean heart, and a mind that gravitates towards the things of God.  May you truly bless and keep all who have placed their trust in You.  Send revival, Lord!  May all come to believe in Jesus, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.  Do for the lost the same thing You did for me when I was lost.  Amen.

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; — Revelation 20:12

Yesterday, I saw a picture of what it will be like when we stand before the Lord on Judgment Day.  My boy had a car accident back in August that was his fault.  His court date loomed along with a $232 fine.  He had the money ready, along with his paperwork, and we entered the building.  Before we entered the building, there was a girl and her dad about to go inside as well.  We could have easily jumped in front of them, but we held the door and let them go first.

The poor girl’s “trial” was a train wreck.  She told the officer that she was there to provide proof of insurance and registration.  I guess she didn’t have either when she initially got pulled over.  He said, “That’s all good . . . what are you going to do about this speeding ticket?”  She said, “Well, when I got pulled over, I was going the same speed as everyone else.”  I just cringed at the horrible defense.  The officer said, “Well, that may be true, but you got pulled over and got the ticket . . . what do you want to do?”  She said, “I guess I’ll pay the fine since I did it.”  She and her dad scrounged for the exact amount of cash to pay the fine.

Now it was our turn.

Without going into details, the officer was reminded of the details and whereabouts of the accident.  My boy simply had a conversation with the officer.  I mentioned that he was a much better and safer driver since the accident.  It was also brought up that he pretty much only drives to school and to work.  He asked about work.  My son told him all about his job.  He asked him how many hours he works a week.  “About 12 to 15,” he said.  “Wow, this fine is a couple weeks’ worth of work for you, huh?”  “Yes, sir.” 

The officer dropped the whole thing and let my son completely off the hook.

Immediately, I thought of Heaven’s courtroom.  I thought of how many people are going to use the “I was no worse than anyone else” defense.  I thought of Romans 3:23, “The wages of sin is death.”  We’ve all sinned, and we are all going to God’s courtroom.  It is appointed unto man once to die, and afterwards to face judgment.  (Hebrews 9:27)

What will be my defense?

I hope it is a simple conversation like that of my son and the officer.  The charges of my sins, which are many, will be brought to light.  In no way will I defend myself or justify my actions.  I will simply say, “Nothing has changed my life more than realizing that I am a sinner on my way to hell.  I received the gift of salvation and Jesus has worked in my heart, transformed my mind, and changed my life on Earth as I sought Him, followed Him, and believed His Word.  I stand completely at His mercy.” 

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.  – 1 John 5:12

Lord, things have been really crazy these last couple of months.  I have certainly seen the fragility of life.  As much as I think sometimes that I’d like to control my own life, I realize that the best thing I can do is hand control over to You.  This life is so short . . . I’ve already lived 49 years and they seem but a vapor.  I imagine that it will seem but just a little more time and it will be my turn to stand before You.  May You, the Lord Jesus Christ, be my defense . . . my only defense!  Thank You for helping me come to know You over these last 30 or so years of my life.  I sure don’t ever want to do life without You.  I offer up a prayer for those who are trying to do life without You.  May You reveal Yourself to them and let them know that You are for them.  Work in their hearts and minds like You have worked in mine.  You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and there is no close second place!  I love You, Lord.  Amen.