Weeekly Devotional #1: How does God talk to you?

He has never spoken to from a burning bush or a booming voice from the sky. I'm not saying He
couldn't, but I don't expect Him to. Instead, He speaks to me in a subtle voice, one that comes to me
with a voice of quiet certainty. This is how I prepare myself to listen to Him.

When I am facing a difficult question, one that I'm struggling with and looking for divine guidance
on, I first prepare myself by trying to zero my emotions and eliminate feelings of anger, envy,
exhuberance, fear, desire, etc. I think hard about what it is that I am actually asking Him. Then I get
to a quiet place, thank Him for the blessing He has been in my life and ask Him for His answer.

I listen for His voice and when an answer doesn't come right away, I ask again, in slightly different
words and listen again. I repeat this process over and over until an answer forms in my thoughts.
Once that answer forms, I continue to pray and test the spirit that answered me (1 Jn: 2-3). I thank
God for sending Jesus to Earth to be my Savior to atone for my sins. If I feel anything other than an
immediate sense of peace and confidence, I know that there is another spirit at work and I shouldn't
trust that answer uneqivically, so I repeat the process until I am certain that it is only the Holy Spirit
talking to me.

Sometimes the answer is rapid and clear. Sometimes I struggle getting an answer and fast or
exercise to a state of exhaustion, and try again. I find that when I've been living right and staying
immersed in the Word, the answers come faster and more clearly. Sometimes His answer to me is
"The answer is in my Word, seek it there". When that happens I open my bible to a random page
and read for awhile awhile and try again.

I don't always like what He tells me. Some times His anwer is, "You aren't ready yet" or "You
already know the answer to that" and He confirms something I didn't want to admit to myself or
didn't want to do. He always talks to me though.

How does he talk to you?

Weekly devotional #2: disappointment

Everyone faces disappointment in their lives. Sometimes it is more like a profound sense of betrayal, some
times it's just an inconvenience that is easily shrugged off.

When we are really disappointed by people and events, it helps us to remember a few things.
1. We disappoint God everyday. From allowing our eyes to linger where they shouldn't, to failing to live up
to Christ's example, we are sinners and the stink of it covers us. Do we forgive those who hurt us with the
same grace as we hope God shows us when we are called before Him? I know I don't, but I also know that's
what I should aspire to.
Hanging on to and dwelling on disappointment only allows it to fester and poison the spirit. Forgiving those
who disappoint us is the 1st step to overcoming it.

2. The bible is very clear that we should not test God, and even more clear that God tests us frequently. The
thing about tests is that when we do well on one it feels awesome, when we underperform it lets us know
what we need to work on.
Disappoinptment that comes from a failed or missed opportunity only becomes a negative if we fail to learn
from the experience. When a failure induces you to grow and improve it is transformed into a success.
3. When I find myself dwelling on disappointment I try to look at what I'd do differently the next time to
avoid it, then I ask if that action would please God. Achieving a win through immoral or unGodly behavior is
actually a defeat, no matter what the scoreboard says.
4. Sometime disappointment is the way we know that something we want for ourselves is not what God
wants for us. If pursuing a goal arduously brings us further away from fellowship with the Lord, we should
re-examine that goal and pray about whether the goal is about pleasing us or Him, and if we need to change
goals and/or the way we pursuit it.

Weekly devotional #3: Pride and temptation

'Pride cometh before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall'

Proverbs 16:18 is so frequently paraphrased that it has become a cliche. Pride is listed as one of the '7 Deadly
sins', but I was surprired to learn that that list didn't originate in scripture. Is it wrong to be proud of a person
or thing that you are emotionally invested in? I think pride itself isn't a sin, but rather, like other temptations,
pride is an emotion that Satan uses to suck us into sin.
There are two parts of that verse, and they sound similar, but I think they have quite different meanings.
The first part states that pride comes before destruction. Not that it causes destruction. It implies that before
things go really bad, things often go really good. It is a warning to recognize that no matter how good things
are now, it won't last and everything of the world will eventually be destroyed.

How do we act when things are going really good? Are we giving that glory to God? Are we sharing our
success with others in order to further our Father's kingdom? The second part of that verse says 'a haughty
spirit comes before the fall'.

Do we allow our pride to give us a haughty spirit? Do we think that our success makes us superior to others
(haughty). Do we claim the glory rather than recognize that our achievements are only possible because of
the blessings our master gives us? Do we judge one Christian 'better' than another and reject the fellowship
of a brother when he reaches out to us?

When our pride causes us to take credit for our blessings, mistreat others or become blind to their suffering,
or miss an opportunity to serve and win hearts for Christ, we have given into the temptation of pride and
fallen into sin.
Most of us have seen or experienced that haughty spirit at work and felt how it hurts. Being aware of how
that temptation draws us towards sin allows us to avoid it and embrace humility.

Devotional #4
How should a Christian react when we reach out to a brother or sister with an offer of friendship or desire for
fellowship and get rejected. I've given it a great deal of thought to it and came to some conclusions.

1. There is a social hierarchy in many churches with popular people who are selective about who they
associate with. Their friends form a clique and they don't respond warmly to others with a different social
status. I've found myself on both sides of this, and it hurt to realize that I've missed opportunities to grow as a
Christian because I was uncomfortable with someone's way of living, or they mine.

2.Some people's lifestyle is clearly not in keeping with scripture. If that lifestyle would open the door to
temptation that would lead you away from God, distancing yourself from them can become a matter of
spiritual self-survival. In such a case telling them in a gentle way why you can't be close to them may be the
thing that spurs them to give up an addiction, immoral beiavior, or activity that the Bible says is displeasing
to God.

3.Sometimes the person who is rejecting your fellowship is so ashamed of their secret sin that they feel
unworthy of your fellowship or are afraid that their immorality would be revealed. I don't know what to do
about that other than to pray for them and yourself.

4. People can mistake your attempts at fellowship for something that would be inappropriate or unwelcome.
Sexual advances, an attempt at personal gain, or fear of being manipulated are the ulterioi motive for
someone reaching out to another often enough that it's easy to understand why one might be wary. I've had
my innocent efforts to befriend someone mistaken for this, and I've also had people pretend to have altruistic
motivations only to find out it was a ploy. This has happened so many times that I've become jaded about
most charities and making donations to individuals in need.

Weekly devotional #5: why do bad things happen to

good people?
Everyone asks this question of themselves at some time. This is what occurs to me as I ponder that question:

1-The Gospels describe the most painful thing imaginable to the best being that has ever existed. When I'm
going through something 'horrible' and feeling sorry for myself, I remind myself that better people than I
have endured far more, with more grace, than I've been showing. I think about how, because of my sin, I've
earned the eternal torture that Christ saved me from, and I try to use my to give me perspective on Christ's
sacrifice for us.

2-When I see someone enduring something difficult I am inspired to step up and be a better man and
Christian. Am I doing anything to ease their suffering? What can I do that I am not?

3- No matter the depth of the crisis, It is just a flash in time compared to the eternity ahead of us. How ever
many decades I live, that is a miniscule portion of what my existance in heaven will be, where time will be
meaningless.

4- My prayer life is the most active when things are going the worst for me.  I am grateful and praise Him
when life is treating me well, but I think most of us pray with more urgency and fervor when we are asking
Him for help. I wonder if that was reversed, would He give us more reasons to praise Him and fewer to seek
His help.

5- My understanding of God's plan is like a drop in the Ocean. When we ask Him to use us to do His will do
we add, 'but only if it doesn't hurt?, Few of us will make the sort of cmtribution to His kingdom that will
touch millions of lives, but we can be one of His foot soldiers. No one thinks that the thousands of men who
died on the beaches of Normandy died in vain because most of them never even got a good shot at the
enemy. They did their part and the bullet they took allowed another man to get to cover and take the beach
head. We are spiritual warriors and some warriors have to be casualties before victory.

Weekly devotional #6: 'God will provide'

A religious man was warned that his house was in a flood zone and would be underwater from an impending
flood. He told everyone he wasn't evacuating because 'God will provide'.

The water rose to his door and a member of his church came in a 4wd truck to get him, but he refused to
leave, saying 'God will provide'.

With the water waist deep a rescuer came by in a boat to get him, but he refused to leave, saying 'God will
provide'.

The water comtinued to rise until he succumbed to exhaustion and drowned. As he waited for judgement he
asked, ' Lord, I have always had faith that you would provide. Why did you abandon me and let me drown?'

He was shocked to hear, 'I provided warnings, a truck, and a boat. You refused my help'.
Of course that is just a funny story, but it makes a point about how sometimes we look to God for the
solution we desire, but refuse to accept the one He offers.

Prayer is a powerful thing and we have to be careful about how we use it. I've prayed, fasted and begged
Him for what I thought I needed, only to be devestated when those requests weren't fullfilled. I finally
realized that I was often like a child asking his father over and over for dessert without regard for the health
consequences, cost, or time of day, and refusing the meal he intends for me.

It's hard to accept that God often answers our prayers with 'NO' or 'Not yet'. We don't like the answer (Leave
now) so we assume our prayer (Save me) is unanswered.

I stopped asking God to advance my plan. Instead, I ask Him to show me His will and to illuminate the path
He wants me to walk.

Whether I follow that path or not is on me. Far too often I've stepped off His path because I convinced
myself that 'It's just this one little thing'. Then, like a disobediant child that gets away with breaking rules for
awhile, I am hurt when it catches up to me.

God always provides, but often He provides for us in a way that is best for His kingdom, not what our greedy
hearts desire.

Weekly devotional #7: Proverbs 3: 5-12

"Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

I had the misfortune of being a pretty intelligent kid. Learning came easily to me and I was able to get decent
grades without studying much just by relying on my understanding of the material after reading and
practicing it just a bit. I say that was unfortunate because it meant that I didn't develop good study habits or a
good work ethic because I didn't need them to outperform my peers. When I got to subjects/jobs that I
couldn't comprehend intuitively (Calc II comes to mind) I wasn't prepared to put in the work to be prepared
for the rest of my engineering classes, and I dropped out of college the first time I went.

I see the same issue in many other fields. Great natural athletes who never develop their talents to their full
potential due to lack of effort or humility. Businessmen who know everything about their trade but go
bankrupt because of poor financial decisions. Soldiers who excel in a firefight, but can't  plan a battle.
Christians who love Jesus but fall into a life of sin because they confuse what they believe is right with what
God tells us IS right.

Those are examples of how looking to ourselves instead of our wise predecessors inhibits our growth and
allows us to take paths leading away from our intended destination.

For Christians that wisdom is laid out in the Holy Bible, and studying it and following where it leads us is
the only sure way to know the path God wants us to follow. It is the light that shows us where to step, how to
avoid triping, and which direction to head to when we fall down.

There should be no doubt, we will fall down. Perfection is a goal that is impossible to attain, and, although
the sting of His rebuke generally hurts, accepting His discipline and learning from it is how we grow closer
to our Father.

"...the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a Father the son he delights in."

Remember that days of hard discipline means that God loves you!

Weekly devotional #8. Be the man you want to be

I had a driver in Iraq who struggled being a soldier. He said that he hated the army, but couldn't find a decent
job or apartment for his family after getting out so went back in when they called him back up.

I asked him if we got blown up tonight and another man ended up taking care of his wife and daughter,
would he want that man to be like him, or would he want that guy to be free of the issues he struggled with in
and out of the Army? I told him to look at those things that he'd want to be different in that man and make
the changes to be a better version of himself now for the ones he loved.

I had a similar conversation with a co-worker last week. Afterwards, I asked myself, 'Am I the best version
of me that I can be? Am I serving the Lord with every part of my heart? What can I do differently to be a
better Christian? Why do I hold back, what is more important than pleasing my Savior? What sense does it
make to pace myself by only giving a percentage of myself to my creator, redeemer, and judge?'

We all know our greatest offenses towards God. Why do we continue to discount them and act like its Ok
because we sin less than another man or than when we did in our past?  If we had a stab wound would we
say, 'I don't need to get that sewn up because its not as bad as the guy with a gunshot wound or the time I
almost died in that wreck'.

Our sin is to Jesus like a festering wound is to a doctor, but He won't treat it if we don't ask to be seen.

Brothers, I'm a mess, and most of you are too. If we thought otherwise, that would indicate we were blind to
how far away we are in our quest to be like Christ. Why wait to be a better man? Why cling to  ways that
distract us from serving Him better?

Too often, I withhold my forgiveness but release my anger. I lay blame and resist accepting fault. Wicked
thoughts creep into my mind and they cast a shadow over my actions. If today was our last day, did we do
enough for Him? What unfinished work would We leave behind?

Weekly devotional #9:Dealing with disappointment

Everyone faces disappointment in their lives. Sometimes it is more like a profound sense of
betrayal, some times it's just an inconvenience that is easily shrugged off. When we are really
disappointed by people and events, it helps us to remember a few things. 1. We disappoint God
everyday. From allowing our eyes to linger where they shouldn't, to failing to live up to Christ's
example, we are sinners and the stink of it covers us. Do we forgive those who hurt us with the
same grace as we hope God shows us when we are called before Him? I know I don't, but I also
know that's what I should aspire to. Hanging on to and dwelling on disappointment only allows it to
fester and poison the spirit. Forgiving those who disappoint us is the first step to overcoming it.
2. The bible is very clear that we should not test God, and even more clear that God tests us
frequently. The thing about tests is that when we do well on one it feels awesome, when we under
perform it lets us know what we need to work on. Disappointment that comes from a failed or
missed opportunity only becomes a negative if we fail to learn from the experience. When a failure
induces you to grow and improve it is transformed into a success.
3. When I find myself dwelling on disappointment I try to look at what I'd do differently the next
time to avoid it, then I ask if that action would please God. Achieving a win through immoral or un-
Godly behavior is actually a defeat, no matter what the scoreboard says.
4. Sometime disappointment is the way we know that something we want for ourselves is not
what God wants for us. If pursuing a goal arduously brings us further away from fellowship
with the Lord, we should re-examine that goal and pray about whether the goal is about
pleasing us or Him, and if we need to change goals and/or the way we pursuit it.
5.

I struggle with picking things back up that I layed down after I gave them up to God to deal with. I get a
degree of victory over something, but before I know it I'm doing it again and it is casting a shadow over my
life again.
There are many things this happens with, but for me the most common is beating myself up over things in
my past that didn't turn out the way they were supposed to. Whether I screwed up or something spun out of
control through circumstances beyond my control, there isn't any way to put milk back into the jug once it
has spilled.
I have been studying 1 John lately and the verses about walking in the light spoke to me as I contemplate
this.
We all know that there are places that we should avoid. Temptation comes in many forms and we all have our
own demons that we battle with varying degrees of success. Avoiding those demons seems like the most
obvious path to take and that is a no brainer when it is a physical temptation, but what about when the demon
you wrestle with is triggered by a memory that you can't stop thinking about? Memories are harder to avoid
than places or people that tempt you, and a memory or thought process can bring you to a negative activity as
surely as a recovering alcoholic hanging out at a bar leads to drinking.
Dwelling on negative thoughts is walking in the shadows. Staying focused on Christ is how we cast light on
the dark areas that we should avoid.
Like I said, I struggle with this. A LOT. It's better when I stay immersed in His word and prayer though, and
spending time with other Christians and serving the Church helps. Even writing these devotionals helps keep
me in the light, although I suspect only a handful of the 30 or so men I send them to actually read them.
I am not a paragon of virtue. I stumble frequently. I fail often. But despite that I continue to serve Jesus and
love Him, secure in the knowledge that He loves me. It is enough to keep me going in the right direction,
even when dark clouds close in.