JACKS DAILY DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
(Psalm 119:130) "The entrance of Your words gives light."
In March 2005, Brian Hardin says, God told him to podcast the Bible.
Hardin wrote, “On New Year’s Eve when I read my first podcast, I said,
‘I’m Brian…I have no broadcast experience… I really don’t know what I’m doing, but I plan to read through the Bible this year.
If you hear this, here’s my email address.
I expected about five people to sign up.
On New Year’s Day 2006, I had 257 responses, and by June, the daily audio Bible had been downloaded 200,000 times.
Now, following our sixth anniversary, it’s been downloaded more than 51 million times and is still one of the top podcasts on I-Tunes.
With more than 1.5 million downloads monthly, the daily audio Bible is one of the most-listened-to podcasts in the world.
We’ve become a vast online family that prays and hears the Bible together.
When somebody calls or goes into the online prayer line with a request, thousands of people pray for that person.
We receive an endless stream of emails from disenfranchised believers whom have found the place appealing.
Separated couples who had nothing left to do but sign divorce papers… started listening to the Bible and found their marriages restored.
I can tell you many stories of people who were hopeless… I mean suicidedly hopeless… yet they found comfort in God’s Word and were restored.
The Bible has a voice, and if given a chance to speak… in context… it will create amazing things in your heart.
The Bible can transform even the most tangled life.
I know.
It radically changed mine.”
The bottom line is… reading the Bible will change your life.
Jesus said “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds form the mouth of God” (Luke 4:4)
(Colossians 3:16) says, “let the Word of Christ dwell within you richly”.
(Psalm 119:105) “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Have you ever been walking somewhere at night with a flashlight and then suddenly the battery dies and the light goes out.
For a moment panic sets in, but if you wait a moment or two, your eyes will adjust to the dark and you will be able to see enough to continue most of the time depending on your circumstances.
As your eyes adjust you can actually see things you could not with the flashlight… as it is bright… but only in a small focused area.
The same applies to this scripture from the Psalms.
Apart from God… we are walking in the dark spiritually speaking… and can only see a short distance in front of us.
As we come to trust in Jesus and follow in his footsteps… our path becomes easier to see… and we learn from the scriptures how we should live and treat others.
In time, our heart becomes more like His and we can see things never seen before… as the Holy Spirit speaks to our heart and mind and can further direct us where to go and what to do when we arrive.
Gods Word is alive with everything we need so we can see in and through the spiritual darkness that surrounds us… and it directs us to safety.
We also become like a lighthouse to those stranded in that darkness and offer hope like a beacon of light in the midst of a storm.
The Bible truly illuminates our path to the father… but we first must be willing to put down our own flashlight… and allow Him to adjust our spiritual eyes to see with a new light… a light better than the one we have known.
(Proverbs 16:25) says, “there is a way that seems right unto men but it’s the way of death”.
(John 8:12) records, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, I am the Light of the World.
Whoever follows me, will never walk in darkness… but have the light of life”
The allegory used by the Lord in this verse speaks of the light of His Truth, the light of His Word, the light of eternal Life.
Those who perceive the “true Light” will never walk in spiritual darkness.
(John 14:6) Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life”.
It is the Word of God that brings light and life to all that will believe.
You have a choice today… a choice to trust God and follow His Word to life, love, and liberty… or choose your own path, your own way, and continue to stumble in darkness.
O by the way… some of you wonder why God insists that you come to Him thru Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son.
It’s because the blood of His Son was shed for your deliverance and freedom.
If there was any other way, then Jesus would not have had to die on the cross.
But friend believe me… believe His Word… believe the millions of believers whom have experienced His love and redemption since that day on Calvary over 2000 years ago.
Believe His millions of children whom give their lives freely to His service every day .
Jesus is the light of the world, He is the Word of God… assuring our salvation and hope for eternity…
He is the way the truth and the light.
Good Day!
(2nd Corinthians 6:17) "Come out from among them and be separate.”
Stop and think about the products we once considered not only to be harmless, but actually beneficial.
Toxins such as asbestos, lead, mercury, etc.
A generation later, we are still treating sick workers who worked with asbestos and breathed in its toxic fibers.
With that illustration in mind, we need to “beware” of the toxins in our everyday life, and don’t let our selves become infected.
I’m talking about toxins called sin carried by toxic people around us!
They are all around us in every aspect of our lives.
The Bible says, “‘Come out from among them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.’”
Now, God is not telling you to separate yourself from your co-workers, family and friends.
He’s not telling you to adopt a spiritually “superior” attitude as you live and work in this world.
He’s telling you to watch out for toxic attitudes, toxic behaviors, and toxic values.
Even as we are having to be careful of toxins in the work place… we must be careful of toxin carriers that we allow in our lives and into our very own home.
The obvious ones are complainers, gossipers, backbiters, manipulators and harassers.
When these agents come your way, do whatever you can to distance yourself from them.
Just being associated with them can be dangerous to your emotional and spiritual health.
And beware of the toxin of “work-a-holism”, whether it is the expectation from your boss or
A generation later, we are still treating sick workers who worked with asbestos and breathed in its toxic fibers.
With that illustration in mind, we need to “beware” of the toxins in our everyday life, and don’t let our selves become infected.
I’m talking about toxins called sin carried by toxic people around us!
They are all around us in every aspect of our lives.
The Bible says, “‘Come out from among them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.’”
Now, God is not telling you to separate yourself from your co-workers, family and friends.
He’s not telling you to adopt a spiritually “superior” attitude as you live and work in this world.
He’s telling you to watch out for toxic attitudes, toxic behaviors, and toxic values.
Even as we are having to be careful of toxins in the work place… we must be careful of toxin carriers that we allow in our lives and into our very own home.
The obvious ones are complainers, gossipers, backbiters, manipulators and harassers.
When these agents come your way, do whatever you can to distance yourself from them.
Just being associated with them can be dangerous to your emotional and spiritual health.
And beware of the toxin of “work-a-holism”, whether it is the expectation from your boss or
self-induced.
Be willing to go the extra mile when it’s required, but maintain clear boundaries between your work life, your home life and your attention to spiritual growth.
Learn to separate business from pleasure.
If you don’t allow yourself time for physical rejuvenation and spiritual restoration, you’ll burn out.
As a result, Satan will be able to trip you up.
Be willing to go the extra mile when it’s required, but maintain clear boundaries between your work life, your home life and your attention to spiritual growth.
Learn to separate business from pleasure.
If you don’t allow yourself time for physical rejuvenation and spiritual restoration, you’ll burn out.
As a result, Satan will be able to trip you up.
O and yes, don't let busyness and pleasure deter you from spiritual nutrition.
The most effective antidote to toxins is good nutrition.
And spiritually speaking, that calls for daily prayer, Bible reading, and fellowshipping with believers who strengthen and encourage you.
And be careful of the toxin of pleasure as well.
I’ve seen too many people reach the end of the work week and then reward them selves with play dates and activities that keep them so busy, they allow no time or have time… for time with God.
Holiday’s and a weekend at the cabin or the lake are good and necessary, but so is time spent with God.
Make sure you cultivate the habit of meeting with a gathering of believers where you can be encouraged, inspired and taught the word of God so that you can “grow” in your relationship with God and become “a workman that needeth not be ashamed” (2nd Timothy 2:15)
I’ve seen too may people replace worship and time with God with work and with pleasure …
The most effective antidote to toxins is good nutrition.
And spiritually speaking, that calls for daily prayer, Bible reading, and fellowshipping with believers who strengthen and encourage you.
And be careful of the toxin of pleasure as well.
I’ve seen too many people reach the end of the work week and then reward them selves with play dates and activities that keep them so busy, they allow no time or have time… for time with God.
Holiday’s and a weekend at the cabin or the lake are good and necessary, but so is time spent with God.
Make sure you cultivate the habit of meeting with a gathering of believers where you can be encouraged, inspired and taught the word of God so that you can “grow” in your relationship with God and become “a workman that needeth not be ashamed” (2nd Timothy 2:15)
I’ve seen too may people replace worship and time with God with work and with pleasure …
and the end result is “estrangement”.
A “coolness” when it comes to serving God, and being focused on His Kingdom… with no time to fulfill our responsibility to be His witness promoting His kingdom… not only in our own lives, but in our families lives, and our community.
Our whole relationship or responsibility in life is to “love the Lord God with all of our hearts, with all of our minds, and our neighbor as ourselves. (Mark 12:30-31)
The most important thing in your life is your relationship with God and your relationship with your family.
Don’t let the toxic attitudes of our world get in the way!
Good Day!
(2nd Chronicles 20:15) "The battle is not yours, but God's."
In order to really experience the “peace of God that passes all understanding”, we need to learn to relax in faith.
Notice how God responded to Jehoshaphat’s prayer… “The battle is not yours, but God’s.”
Many of us wear ourselves out trying to fight God’s battles in our own strength.
Do you remember your initial excitement of becoming a Christian?
We’re eager to win the world to Jesus and wanted to go out and single handedly bring about His kingdom.
Then after we worked hard under our own steam, reality set in… and we ended up crawling back on our hands and knees, disappointed because we think we’ve let God down.
Jehoshaphat was feeling that way as well.
Here he is the leader of a small nation with out many resources or a trained army that could defend themselves.
Common sense says run!
But Jehoshaphat went to the Lord instead.
We don’t have Him in our hands, He has us in His hands!
And He’s telling us to relax in faith and let Him do the work through us.
Paul writes in (Colossians 2:6) “As you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him”
In other words, remember how you first became a believer… it was by simple faith in the finished work of Christ… and we must continue to live by simple faith.
You didn’t become a Christian by striving for perfection and doing good works.
Good works have nothing to do with it!
Salvation is a free gift.
God doesn’t need us to micromanage things… He has everything under control, and He wants us to relax and let Him live through us.
Bottom line is, victory in life is a gift from God!
“Thank God, who always leads us in victory because of Christ”
(2nd Corinthians 2:14)
I meet so many people whom will ask “but I don’t understand… Why does He allow this or that”?
(Isaiah 55:8-9) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
The truth is if you stop trying to do things in your own strength and in your own wisdom and understanding… that’s when you release God to begin to work on your behalf.
You need to accept the fact that the Lord He is God… and you and I are but dust in His hand (Psalm 103:14)
I love how the “Message Bible” quotes this great verse of scripture from the above Psalm.
(Psalm 103:14) “God makes everything come out right… He puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how He went about His work, opened up His plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace… not easily angered, He’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as Heaven is over the earth, so strong is His love to those who fear Him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset, He has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear Him.
He knows us inside and out, keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long… like wildflowers they spring up and blossom, but a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love though… is ever and always.
Eternally present to all who fear Him, making everything right for them and their children, as they follow His ways and remember to do whatever He said”.
Listen folks… God says there is peace in the storm (Isaiah 26:3) “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you”.
I encourage you today to, rest in the Lord!
He know the beginning from the end.
He will not leave us or forsake us.
This promise was given by God in one of the darkest period of Israel’s history, yet it will be a great help to us now, when we are surrounded by so much gloom and depression, constantly threatened with the three enemies of doubt, fear and worry.
When all is going well it’s easy to read a promise like this in a superficial way, but when disappointment and trial comes… these words become precious pearls of promise.
There is no promise in the Bible to suggest that here on earth we shall ever experience freedom from trouble, war, trial, temptation, anguish, loss etc.
But something far better is promised: It is the promise of perfect peace in the midst of all these.
Of what value would freedom from these troubles be if we had no inward peace?
Yet it’s possible in the fiercest battle for the trusting soul to experience a deep-down calm, an inward peace and a quiet confidence in God.
Trust in the Lord for your peace today!
Good Day!
(2nd Chronicles 20:12) "We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us."
I know that some of you feel like you’re a little tiny boat out on the open ocean in the midst of a huge storm as we face the traumatic circumstances and challenges that have risen up in the last couple of years.
Many are of you are wondering how your going to make it thru and will you be the next one to go down.
But folks, with God’s help, King Jehoshaphat overcame not just one army, but three!
And his victory teaches us how we can win life’s battles and have peace in the midst of the storm.
But first you must Identify the enemy.
Many of us have no clue who the real enemy is.
We think it’s the person who is interested in taking our job, our spouse, or our money.
But many times the enemy is our own attitude!
It’s not so much what’s happening that gets us down, it’s our response to the situation.
Before you can win on a personal level, you must identify the enemy.
Note how Jehoshaphat reacted when he heard “a vast army” was coming against him.
(2nd Chronicles 20:2-3) says He was “alarmed”
It’s a fairly typical human response.
We see a big problem, panic, and become fearful about what’s going to happen to us.
And in truth, fear isn’t all bad… unless we deal with it in the wrong way.
We can use it to motivate us to conquer the problem and drive us closer to God.
It’s when we get discouraged, give up, get angry, and start asking, “Why me, Lord?” that fear defeats us.
If you’re in a situation that’s filling you with fear and anxiety today, remember… God doesn’t respond to need… He responds to faith.
So stake your faith on His unshakeable Word and stand on His promise… “Fear not, for I am with you… be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you… yes, I will help you… I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
Unshakeable trust in God’s Word is what brings His help.
(Philippians 4:4-8) “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again… Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable… if anything is excellent or praiseworthy… think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received, heard from me or seen in me…put it into practice… and the God of peace will be with you.”
There is peace in the midst of every storm of life that we will face… its found in Jesus and Gods saving grace.
Good Day!
We see a big problem, panic, and become fearful about what’s going to happen to us.
And in truth, fear isn’t all bad… unless we deal with it in the wrong way.
We can use it to motivate us to conquer the problem and drive us closer to God.
It’s when we get discouraged, give up, get angry, and start asking, “Why me, Lord?” that fear defeats us.
If you’re in a situation that’s filling you with fear and anxiety today, remember… God doesn’t respond to need… He responds to faith.
So stake your faith on His unshakeable Word and stand on His promise… “Fear not, for I am with you… be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you… yes, I will help you… I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
Unshakeable trust in God’s Word is what brings His help.
(Philippians 4:4-8) “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again… Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable… if anything is excellent or praiseworthy… think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received, heard from me or seen in me…put it into practice… and the God of peace will be with you.”
There is peace in the midst of every storm of life that we will face… its found in Jesus and Gods saving grace.
Good Day!
(2nd Chronicles 20:17) "Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you."
If you really want to experience victory in life, you need to “stand firm”.
Notice what God told Jehoshaphat… “Stand firm.”
What does it mean to stand firm when you’re in a crisis?
It’s a mental attitude of quiet confidence that says, “I’m going to trust God no matter what I see.”
One thing I have learned over the years in my walk with God and that is that it’s never God’s will for me to run from a difficult situation.
If I do, the situation will only follow and catch up with me a little further down the line.
It may not look the same, but it will be the same.
Why?
Because God wants to teach me, that He is sufficient for any problem.
If we don’t learn this today, we may learn it next week.
If we don’t learn it next week, we may learn it next year.
But eventually we’ll learn it… and the sooner the better.
We can save ourselves problems by standing firm and waiting on God in quiet confidence.
“So what do we stand firm on” you ask?
(2nd Chronicles 20:20)”Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld… have faith in His prophets and you will be successful”
First, we need to stand firm on the character of God.
God is faithful, and we can depend on Him.
Second, we need to stand firm on the writings that He has given us in His Word, the truths of the Bible.
God said what He meant and He meant what He said!
The Bible is God’s Word, and we need only rely in quiet confidence on His written promises.
(Luke 4:4) “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
So the word for you today is this.
Stand firm on the unchanging character of God and the unchanging promises of His Word.
(Numbers 23:19) “God is not a man, so he does not lie.
He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”
God is knowable.
God, who created the universe in all of its magnitude and creative details, is not hidden.
He need not be distant, aloof, somewhere “out there.”
Instead, He welcomes us into a relationship, so that we can get to know Him in a personal way, as we might a close friend.
Not only can we know about Him, we can know Him, intimately.
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches… but let him who boasts, boast about this: That he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord.” (John 10:11-18)
(John 10:27) “I am the good Shepherd.
I know my own and my own know me…My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
So I encourage you today to come into Gods presences and allow Him to reveal Himself to you.
You do that by opening up your heart, humbling yourself in heart felt prayer, and submitting to His word.
If you don’t know how to do this, give me a call or write me a letter and I will try to help you start your walk into His light and love.
Good day!
(2nd Chronicles 20:12) "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."
The only people God can’t help… are those whom don’t think they need His help.
King Jehoshaphat said, “We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Often our eyes are on everything and everyone except God… the One who can solve all our problems and all of our issues... no matter what they are.
Your circumstances are like a mattress… if you’re on top, you can rest easy, but if you’re underneath, you can suffocate.
Keep your eyes on the Lord, and you’ll win out over your circumstances.
Remember, it’s “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6)
You can’t live the Christian life in your own strength… because you have a power shortage.
You need the power that comes from letting God’s Spirit live through you.
Try to imagine a glove.
On its own, it is limp and powerless.
But once a hand fills that glove, it becomes useful and effective.
Jesus said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8).
Jesus often spoke of the Holy Spirit as “the Helper,” so when you don’t know what to do, look to him… stand, cling, grasp and hold on to His promises for they are yes and amen.
(2nd Corinthians 1:20) “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
“The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name… will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).
If you fight in your own strength, you’ll lose.
However (1st John 4:4) says “Greater is He who is in You than He who is in the world”.
And when you draw on the power of God’s Spirit that’s within you, you’ll win, every time!
Paul writes, we are more than conquerors in Christ (Romans 8:37)
Today invite the Spirit of God to be “in you” as well as “with you”.
God says “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5)
Good Day!
(2nd Chronicles 20:3) "Jehoshaphat...set himself to seek the Lord."
In the midst of his crisis, Jehoshaphat “set himself to seek the Lord, and
proclaimed a fast.”
Why is it… that prayer is often the last thing we think of?
Is it because we want to work out our problems on our own?
Is it because we don’t think God is big enough or powerful enough to take
care of it.
Perhaps we think He doesn’t care or that we are too insignificant for Him
to be concerned about my troubles or your troubles.
Why is it that we wait until we are face down in the gutter, or beyond our
own resources… before we run to Him and call on Him?
When you’re facing life’s battles, prayer should be your first resort, not
your last!
And sometimes when the problem doesn’t yield to prayer alone, God leads
you to add a second element, “fasting”.
Have you ever tried it?
Fasting isn’t something mystical and mysterious… it’s about focus!
It’s saying, “Lord, I can do without food and other things, but I can’t solve
this problem without You.
So instead of eating, I’m going to spend time seeking Your face until I have an answer.”
From the Book of Acts we read about Cornelius, a Gentile whom fasted and prayed for four days, asking God for direction.
As a result, God sent Peter to his house to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and in the process, changed the course of history (Acts 10).
In order to know whom to appoint to leadership positions, the New
Testament church fasted, prayed, and asked God for guidance.
And as a result, one of the most dynamic evangelistic teams of all time,
Paul and Barnabas was born (Acts 13:2-3)
When you get serious enough to fast and pray about your problem, God
will show you the solution.
We need God to intervene in our lives!
What more has to happen for America/Canada and the world to call upon our God for His help and His deliverance?
(2nd Chronicles 7:14) “If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land”.
If we really want to see our life style as we know it continue with the same opportunities and blessing that we have experienced in the past… then I believe that the leaders of America/Canada, need to call a “national day” of fasting and prayer.
I know several groups around the country have tried to schedule a time for prayer, and I hope we have all made the effort to stop what we were doing and join in at those times.
We need to pray that God will give our leaders wisdom how to guide our country thru the economical crisis we are all facing.
The Jesus said that “if we believe, that we can ask anything in His name and it will be done for us”
(Matthew18:19)“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask,
it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”
(Matthew 21:22) “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
(Mark 11:24) “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have
receivedit, and it will be yours.”
(John 14:13) “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son.”
(John 15:7) “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish,
and it will be done for you.”
(John 15:16)
“That whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you.”
Finally (James 1:6) says “let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the
wind.”
So will you join me today?
Let’s fast and pray together?
(Ecclesiastes 4:12) “if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
(Matthew 18:19) “Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”
Jesus we need you… take a hold and lead us thru!
Good Day!