Category: Daily Inspirational Devotional

God can turn any mess you find yourself in… into a powerful message for others. He can turn your trials and tests… into a powerful and unique testimony only you will have. That’s because, we all mess up…we all flub, fumble, and make foolish decisions we regret. But by God’s Divine Sovereignty and benevolence, every hardship and random life twist can serve for our greater good under the direction of an all-knowing and loving Heavenly Father. This verse tells us that the ultimate plan and purpose of God guarantees “good” for His people. Now this does not necessarily mean a life of ease, quiet, and comfort, but it does mean that everything that happens to us is working for our benefit. So we can therefore confidently look at the “mess” we may be in today, in the light of our assurance about tomorrow.

This could have been written now by the Puritan Preacher, Charles Spurgeon. In recent years, a new term gained traction in Christian circles: it’s called The Progressive Church. For some it was a breath of fresh air, a Church that was open, inclusive, and relevant to today’s culture. But for others, it was a source of confusion, concern, and spiritual alarm. The Progressive Church emphasizes: social activism, LGBTQ inclusion and affirmation (That Biblical teachings and sexual ethics are outdated or even oppressive), a non-literal approach to Scriptures. (That the Bible is viewed as a human document – beautiful, but flawed and outdated), a de-emphasizing of sin, judgment, and Hell. (That there is no Hell, thus no need for judgment, because every person will ultimately be saved-this is called Universalism) and finally, a focus on personal experience over adhering to Doctrinal teachings. (That Jesus Christ was just an inspirational and wise man.) The Church today needs then to be very careful in watching for worldly influences that infiltrate and slither within their walls. Is the Bible still God’s Authoritative Word? Does Jesus remain your Savior and not just some nice symbol? Has sin been completely redefined and Salvation is now merely an option?

This reminds me of the story of Paul and Silas in prison. (Acts 16:16-40) They had been arrested for preaching the Gospel, stripped, severely flogged, and thrown into the inner cell of the prison with their feet fastened in stocks. But rather than giving up all hope, it tells us that at about midnight the two of them were praying and singing hymns. And it’s in that small gesture that we can find the true example of steadfast faith and Godly character. For when there’s nothing to hold on to…we hold on to hope. One of my favorite Scriptures is found in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” In Psalm 62:5-6 and Psalm 130:5 it shows that our hope comes from Him and in His Word, so we shall not be shaken. And as we hold on to His promises and memories of God’s past devotion…it brings hope out of hopelessness, (Lamentations 3:20-21) and enables us to be joyful in hope. (Romans 12:12) Paul and Silas could of wallowed in darkness and despair…but they chose instead to worship with unwavering faith and Godly character.

Every day, with each interaction, we decide if we’ll treat the other person with kindness…or not. But we also need to be reminded that our kind acts aren’t reserved for our loved ones only…but for all those we come into contact with throughout the day. Across Proverbs we are instructed to be kind to the needy and the oppressed…but it’s usually with the ungrateful and evil ones where we find our patience and kindness running thin. But Luke 6:35 tells us that God is kind to the ungrateful and the evil, so we must be also. Our kindness then cannot be allocated just for those we love, but for all people God brings across our path. II Corinthians 6:6 reminds us that we are to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit by pure speech, pure conduct, pure motives, and a deep love for all people…thus illustrating by example the Godly character of kindness.

“Just as water reflects our outward appearance like a mirror, so the thoughts of our hearts reveal our inner nature and character.” (Proverbs 27:19) For as it’s clearly illustrated throughout Scriptures, our hearts are deceitful, full of evil, and the basis of our corrupt mind and will. Thus, to have Godly character, we must allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Word in order that we can hear, receive, and properly understand the message to reshape our hearts. By directing our hearts in the Way, the Holy Spirit can wash our hearts from evil (Jeremiah 4:14)… (actually giving us a new heart and spirit, Ezekiel 18:31)…so that our hearts can firmly trust in the Lord. (Psalm 112:7)

Throughout Scriptures we are warned about the dangers of arrogance, pride, and self-promotion. A haughty spirit pushes its agenda…refusing to listen and unabashedly thrusting its superiority onto others. But Jesus was very forthright about exalting God and not ourselves in Matthew 23:12 and Luke 14:11, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” So the key to Godly character, when it comes to humility, is again to look to Jesus Christ as the example for us to follow. Philippians 2:5-7 tells us that Jesus is the supreme example of humility. For He did not exploit His Deity for personal gain or capitalize on the privileges that were always His. Jesus also never exercised His Deity at the expense of His people, rather humbly acting only for their benefit. So Godly character doesn’t self-promote…it allows God to do the honoring… or as Proverbs 18:12 tells us, “Humility comes before honor.”

Ephesians 4:2 tells us that we are to walk in a manner worthy of the call, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another. But too many times, our conversations are anything but meek. We want to get our point/opinion/belief across and don’t care how it may effect the other person. But we don’t realize that our words have the power to either build up or destroy relationships… either calming or inflaming the situation. (Proverbs 15:1 & Proverbs 29:22) Godly character then is full of the meekness and gentleness of Christ as we demonstrate to others His kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. (Colossians 3:12)

I John 4:7 tells us, “Let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” This shows us that the love of God the Father for His only Son, Jesus Christ, is the source of love that binds the fellowship of Believers together as a family. By giving us His Son, Jesus, God shows us what perfect love is. So in order to reflect this perfect love in our own character we must remember that perfect love is without boundaries…goes outside church walls…and is blind to difficult relationships. That goes for uncomfortable connections with enemies, (Luke 6:35) disagreements with neighbors, (Romans 13:9) and even awkward dealings with relatives. ( I Timothy 5:8) Thus, loving Godly character is colorblind, unbiased, and nonjudgmental in all the relationships we’ll ever find ourselves involved in.

This phrase made me think of Chapter 6 in the Book of Daniel. Daniel served in a high position under King Darius, which caused a lot of jealously among the other officials. These corrupt satraps looked for dirt on Daniel…but couldn’t find anything against his character… even to the point of reluctantly affirming his moral integrity, upright character, and faithfulness to his God. (Daniel 6:5) But still they looked for a way to malign him, so they deceived King Darius into issuing an edict forbidding any prayers other than to the king for 30 days. Which leads us to Daniel 6:10, ” Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” It shows that Godly character doesn’t change with circumstances or situations – whether public or private. (Psalm 101:2)

Our character should glorify God as we journey through life. Our desire should be to live and act honorably, with respect and regard for others. For careless words such as lies, gossip, and insults do not glorify God. (Matthew 12:36) Neither do evil thoughts that fill our hearts and minds . (Matthew 15:19) And faithless deeds are useless (James 2:20)…for when we believe that we are justified by a kind of faith that produces no works, we are embracing the heresy of antinomianism. (A big word coined by Martin Luther during the Reformation that means we believe that there are no moral laws that God expects us to follow.) The opposite of this is placing our confidence in our good works to get us to heaven without any faith in Jesus Christ…neither being the Godly character we should be emulating to others daily.