Your Daily Crossroad

Seize Your Opportunities!

Posted on Sep 13, 2019 in Devotions | Tags: Deuteronomy 20:4, opportunities

For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. (Deuteronomy 20:4)

An organization in Montana offered a bounty of five thousand dollars for every wolf captured alive. Two hunters decided to head for the hills and make some money capturing wolves. Day and night, they scoured the mountains and forests searching for their valuable prey. Exhausted after three days of hunting without success, they both fell asleep.

During the night, one of the hunters suddenly woke up to find that the two were surrounded by a pack of fifty wolves, their eyes flaming and teeth bared. At once, he called to his friend, “Hey, wake up! We’re gonna be rich!”

Sometimes we feel in over our heads in difficulties. They surround us like that pack of wolves preparing to pounce. But perhaps these difficulties are actually opportunities?? Recently, we’ve had some interesting trials. But through these tribulations, we see that God is taking each situation, one by one, and turning it for His Glory — just more opportunities for us to testify of His goodness.

Today, we have the opportunity to learn and grow, and experience the grace and power of God through these trials which surround us. The devil is not as smart or powerful as he appears — and we have a great and All-Mighty God who has a way of using our enemy’s silly tactics for the building up of His Great Kingdom!

I was blessed by this devotion. Seize your opportunities! I love this. When we intentionally change our thoughts, our life changes as well. May you be filled with a fresh breath of optimism today.

Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!

Today’s Reading is 1 Peter 3:8

Sep '19

In The Midst Of It All . . .

Posted on Sep 12, 2019 in Devotions | Tags: Matthew 1:23, Rejoice

Sep '19

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23)

When Daniel was in the midst of the lion’s den…God was with him. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in the midst of the fiery furnace…God was with them. It would have been perfectly easy for God to immediately transport these saints out of their difficulties, but no, He chose instead to be with them in the midst of their trials. God chose to reveal His power through the trials instead of exercising His power to remove them.

Trials and difficulties are simply a part of life and quite honestly, the longer I walk with the Lord the bigger these trials become. But how do we react when our faith is challenged by these adversities? James 1:2 says to count it all joy! What could possibly be joyful about difficult situations? Painful, yes…but joy??

Yet, somehow, I do find joy in knowing, and even sensing that God is with me in the midst of my problems — in the midst of my trials. He did promise never to leave or forsake me; and as I look over my life, I find it to be absolutely true…no matter what crazy situation I’m in, God is with me.

We all have this decision: either to complain because of the trials we’re enduring…or to prayerfully lift our souls before him (Psalm 25:1) …and rejoice in the midst of our troubles — knowing, believing, and even feeling, that God is with us, now…always…all the way!

Today’s devotion blessed me and I pray it encourages you to lift your soul before Him and rejoice. Rejoice in The Lord always and again I say rejoice. Romans 12:12, Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.

Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!

Today’s Reading is Philippians 4:4

Sep '19

How to Love the Life You Have Even If It’s Not the Life You Wanted

Posted on Sep 11, 2019 in Devotions | Tags: John 10:10, Love Your Life

Sep '19

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

There came a time when I had to accept that my life had not turned out the way I thought it would, and no amount of wishing it were different could change it.

Sometimes we come across an unexpected bump in life, causing our plans to derail and our hopes to shatter. Or maybe we simply wake up and realize the life we’re living isn’t the one we expected, much less the one we wanted. As a result, we feel unhappy, joyless and discontent.

Perhaps you can relate.

Maybe you had a dream crushed after years of pursuing it. Perhaps you stayed at a job for years building your retirement fund, only for the company to go bankrupt and take your life savings with it. Perhaps you’ve experienced the heartbreak of infertility when you planned on having a full house. Maybe you had a loved one die far too soon, leaving you feeling alone and lost. Maybe you were struck with an illness that limits your abilities and independence. Or by now, you thought you’d be married but are still single, or maybe you invested years in a marriage that ended painfully in divorce.

Or possibly, nothing earth-shattering has happened at all, and life is the same as it has always been. Same ol’ circumstances, different day. And therein lies the problem: Surely there has to be more to life than this.

Regardless of your reason for feeling unhappy with your life, maybe you think loving the life you have is impossible unless circumstances change.

Trust me, friend, I understand.

The last several years have brought unexplainable sorrow, fear, disappointment and crushed dreams. There were countless days, months in fact, I thought I would never be able to feel truly happy again, much less love my life.

Yet over time, through a lot of faith and tears, God helped me accept that although I couldn’t change the circumstances I found myself in, I could change how I reacted to them. I realized I’ve been given one life to live — this life — and I could either continue to allow adversities to have power over my happiness, or I could embrace God’s promise for abundant life and make it a reality in my own. The choice was mine.

In John 10:10, Jesus explains there’s a thief who seeks to steal, kill and destroy us. But in John 10:10, Jesus declares He came to earth so we could not only live life but live it abundantly despite the thief’s intentions. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Here we see the contrast between the destroyer of happiness and the Giver of joy.

Jesus was explaining He is the answer to experiencing the best life possible despite what life throws at us. He is what gives our lives meaning and joy.

Choosing to learn to love my life, even if it wasn’t the life I had imagined, was the best choice I’ve ever made. It wasn’t always easy, but as I intentionally chose to let Jesus be the source of my joy, even in the midst of less-than-joyful circumstances, my perspectives and feelings changed for the better.

The life you have today, and all it includes or doesn’t include, is the life God has given you. It’s the life you’re supposed to love, despite what it looks like. It’s the only life you have, and the only life you’re going to get. You can live it abundantly with joy based on Christ alone or let life pass you by as you allow problems, disappointments or drudgery to steal your zest for living.

Sweet friend, no matter what you’re going through, loving life is a choice, not a by-product of everything going our way. Our peace, joy, contentment, fulfillment and overall happiness depend on the choice we make.

I now realize it was not only within my reach to love my life again and live it abundantly, but 100 percent within my control, as it is for you.

Your happiness is up to you.

Lord, I want to enjoy my life! I commit today to begin looking at life differently and being thankful for the life You’ve given me. Change my heart and mind so I can live abundantly in Your peace and joy. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I love this devotion! I was blessed when I read it. My happiness is up to me, it’s up to you. What will you choose today? Loving life is a choice, not a by-product of everything going our way.

Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!

Today’s Reading is Psalm 121:1-2

Sep '19

Sometimes I Talk Too Much

Posted on Sep 10, 2019 in Devotions | Tags: Proverbs 18:21, Silent, Talk Too Much

Sep '19

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. (Proverbs 18:21)

I have some opinions.

I have some thoughts.

I have a plethora of words that beg to be spoken.

And if I’m not careful those words can be too much. Maybe you can relate.

Unchecked words that come too fast bring with them a rush of trouble. That’s why it’s important for us to consider three things with our words ?

1. Listening should take precedence over speaking.

Honestly, I think a lot of relationship troubles could be solved if we made the commitment to listen more than we speak. Gosh this is hard, isn’t it? Sometimes when I’m listening to someone all I can focus on is when I’m going to be able to jump in and say what’s screaming in my brain. Later I realize all that focus on my next words prevented me from really listening to what they were trying to say.

What if I made the commitment today to do more listening than speaking? I’m going to challenge myself to not interrupt. Wait until there is a true pause in the conversation. Truly consider what the other person has said. And then respond with care.

“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” Proverbs 18:13

2. Words should be measured.

I need to engage my brain before I engage my mouth. Just like I consider how a purchase will affect my bank account, I have to consider how words will affect my relationship account. I can do this by thinking about how my words will come across and intentionally asking myself if there are better words that could be used in this situation?

“A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.” Proverbs 18:2

3. Once words are spoken, I can’t un-speak them.

Once words come out of my mouth I can’t gather them back in. It’s like once you squeeze too much toothpaste out, you can’t get it back into the tube. Now certainly, I can quickly say I’m sorry. I can ask for forgiveness. I can attempt to make the wrong right. But I can’t un-speak my words.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Proverbs 18:21

If my greatest desire is to honor the Lord with every word I say and interaction I have, these three things are crucial for me to keep in mind. Instead of allowing my flesh reactions to lead me, I’ve got to boss my thoughts and opinions around using God’s Truth.

Dear Lord, I always want my words to reflect the fact that You live within me. But sometimes my first reaction isn’t as God-honoring as it should be. Help me to keep these three perspectives in mind as I deny my flesh response and follow Your teaching in this. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

When I read this devotion I couldn’t help but think of one word, guilty. Sometimes we talk too much. I believe we all struggle with this very thing from time to time, but if we would make a deliberate effort to do these three things and follow after what God’s word says, we will find our words will honor The Lord.

Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!

Today’s Reading is Isaiah 46:4

Crossroad Fellowship

Your Daily Crossroad

Seize Your Opportunities!

In The Midst Of It All . . .

How to Love the Life You Have Even If It’s Not the Life You Wanted

Sometimes I Talk Too Much