Your Daily Crossroad
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Dec '18
Everlasting Hope
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Dec '18
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God. (Psalm 146:5)
The week before Christmas, two months after my mom died, holiday shopping and decorating sat at the bottom of my priority list. I resisted my husband’s attempts to comfort me as I grieved the loss of our family’s faith-filled matriarch. I sulked as our son, Xavier, stretched and stapled strands of Christmas lights onto the inside walls of our home. Without a word, he plugged in the cord before he and his dad left for work.
As the colorful bulbs blinked, God gently drew me out of my darkness. No matter how painful the circumstances, my hope remained secure in the light of God’s truth, which always reveals His unchanging character.
Psalm 146 affirms what God reminded me on that difficult morning: My endless “hope is in the Lord,” my helper, my mighty and merciful God (v. 5). As Creator of all, He “keepeth truth for ever” (v. 6). He “executeth judgment for the oppressed,” protecting us and providing for us (v. 7). “The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down” (v. 8). He protects us and cares for us, and He will always be King (vv. 9–10).
Sometimes, when Christmas rolls around, our days will overflow with joyful moments. Sometimes, we’ll face loss, experience hurt, or feel alone. But at all times, God promises to be our light in the darkness, offering us tangible help and everlasting hope. Amen!
When I read this devotion I was reminded, God secures our hope in His unchanging character. Find hope in Him today. He is faithful.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Mark 8:34-35
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Dec '18
What Does God Want?
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Dec '18
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. (Hosea 6:3)
If we want to know what’s expected of us at work, we ask our supervisors or read the employee handbook. If we want to know what’s expected at school, we talk to teachers or read the student code of conduct.
Understanding what God wants for us works the same way. If we want to know what God wants for our lives, we ask and we read. We ask God in prayer and we read the Bible. The Bible is called God’s Word because every word was inspired by God to help us know Him and His desire for our lives.
Just like we wouldn’t submit to someone we don’t work for or a school we don’t attend, giving the Bible authority in our lives only happens when we recognize God’s authority in our lives. In Hosea 6:3, the prophet Hosea tells God’s people to “acknowledge the LORD” and “press on to acknowledge him.” Properly understanding our role in a relationship is key to a having a healthy relationship. God is God, and we are not.
From the beginning of time, God’s desires for us haven’t changed. What God wants from us is also what He wants for us — a healthy, strong and consistent relationship with Him. We can’t experience that depth of relationship simply by doing the right things the right way (Hosea 6:6). A thriving relationship comes from time spent together.
The more we get to know someone, the more we trust him or her. Our obedience becomes not just a matter of doing what’s right but trusting that person to lead us well. The same is true with God. As we spend time talking with God and reading His word, we’ll find ourselves submitting to His desires, not because we have to, but because we want to.
Amen! This devotion blessed me. Today, spend time getting to know Him better than you did yesterday. Today is a new day, make the most of it. He’s waiting.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Jeremiah 29:13
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Dec '18
Impaired Judgment
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Dec '18
Judge not, that ye be not judged. (Matthew 7:1)
I’ve been quick to judge anyone I saw walking in the street while staring at a phone. How could they be so oblivious to the cars about to hit them? I’ve told myself. Don’t they care about their own safety? But one day, while crossing the entrance to an alleyway, I was so engrossed in a text message, that I missed seeing a car at my left. Thankfully, the driver saw me and came to an abrupt stop. But I felt ashamed. All of my self-righteous finger-pointing came back to haunt me. I had judged others, only to do the same thing myself.
My hypocrisy is the kind of thinking that Jesus addressed in the Sermon on the Mount: “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5). I had a huge “beam”—a blind spot through which I judged others with my own impaired judgment.
“For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again,” Jesus also said (7:2). Recalling the disgusted look on the driver’s face that day, after having to make an abrupt stop when I walked in front of the car, I’m reminded of the disgusted looks I gave others engrossed in their phones.
None of us is perfect. But sometimes I forget that in my haste to judge others. We’re all in need of God’s grace.
Heavenly Father, please help me be quicker to console or encourage, and slower to judge someone else. Amen.
When I read this devotion one word came to mind, guilty. I needed this reminder. If we would just stop for a moment and take a step back and honestly evaluated our actions from time to time we would see that we are all guilty of this. Today, challenge yourself to be slow to judge others.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Romans 13:10
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Dec '18
Roller Coaster Rides
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Dec '18
Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am. (Psalm 39:4)
When I was young, summer vacations took a small eternity. Granted, as soon as I saw a hint of a “Back to School” sale, I remember being quick to complain that life wasn’t fair and summer was far too short. But even I got a little excited about getting back to the “grind” that was Elementary School.
These days it seems a season can come and go without my even recognizing it. “Winter already?” “This jacket is brand new! I bought it in 2014.”
Has time gotten… faster? If life were a roller coaster, it’s as if the early part of our lives was the slow crawl to the very top — full of anticipation and nerves and excitement — and then we got careers and kids and dogs and iPhones and we were careening through the ride faster than we could handle!
Sometimes, through all the noise, we are reminded of our short time here.
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (James 4:14)
It is good to remember the brevity of our lives. “Teach us to number our days,” says the Psalmist, “that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) Ours is the experience of someone made for eternity, but living in a fallen world. And we have such hope.
Death is not the end. Death is not the end!
Our great hope as a Christian and the central event of history is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (1 Corinthians 15:17-20)
And now, as a Christian, the One who defeated the grave has also taken residence in our hearts, and we have victory over death, too. Claim it!
A life without hope is a life without God.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Isaiah 29:13