Do We Really Trust Him?

"And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.  And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece." - Luke 9:2-3



Most of us at some time or another have made the statement "I am trusting the Lord."  It seems to me that we make that statement flippantly, without giving it a whole lot of thought as to the gravity of what it actually means to trust the Lord.  My question for us is, do we really trust Him?

Notice that as Jesus sends out His twelve disciples He tells them to take nothing with them - no staff, no bread, no money, and no extra coat.  How many of us would be willing to take a trip like that?  Do you trust Christ enough to do that?  Modern day "American Christianity" would say that it is ridiculous to take the words of Christ so literally, but is it really?

We are left with the question of why Jesus would require this of His disciples, why would He not simply let them go home first and pick up a few things to take with them?  The answer is simple, Jesus was forcing His disciples to trust Him.  Christ would have to come through for them because they had nothing else to fall back on.  Unfortunately, "American Christianity" knows nothing of this kind of trust.  We have it burned into our minds from the time we are children that we need to have something to fall back on in case it doesn't work out. Now please don't misunderstand me, there is a fine line between faith and stupidity.

I want to share with you a quote from Francis Chan's book Crazy Love:  "This place of trust isn't a comfortable place to be; in fact, it flies in the face of everything we've been taught about proper planning.  We like finding refuge in what we already have rather than in what we hope God will provide.  But when Christ says to count the cost of following Him, it means we must surrender everything.  It means being willing to go without an extra tunic or a place to sleep at night, and sometimes without knowing where we are going."

Again, modern day "American Christianity" knows nothing of that kind of trust.  We all have way too much in the way of material possessions and we all spend way too much money on things that have no eternal significance.  How many of us are willing to downsize our incomes and our lifestyles to get to the point where we have nothing to fall back on except Christ Himself?  Would you be willing to give up some of your luxuries and conveniences so that you might give more money to missions or so that you might be able to help the poor in your community?  One of the things that our family gave up was our satellite television.  We were spending about $90 per month on satellite.  We decided that it was more important to take that money and invest it in eternity by using it to support missionaries financially each month.  Now I am not saying that you have to do exactly what we did, but I would ask you to pray and ask God what you could surrender to Him so that you might invest in eternity.

I pray that you will allow God to speak to your heart about surrendering ALL to Him and coming to the place where you have nothing else to fall back on but Jesus Christ.  Are you willing to come to the place of total trust in Christ?  Do you really trust Him?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, help me to come to the place of complete and total dependence on You for my needs.  May I not trust in my abundance or what I have to fall back on, but may I come to the place where You are the only One I have to fall back on!  Help me to be willing to surrender everything to you!  In Jesus name, Amen!

Who Are You Living For?

"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again." - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15



Most of us are very familiar with this chapter of 2 Corinthians, especially verse 17.  It is one those verses that most every Born Again Christian can quote, but have you paid much attention to the verses that precede it?  As I was reading one of my devotions this morning, there was something in these verses that stood out to me and really spoke to my heart.  Who am I living for?  Am I living my life for me or am I living my life for Christ?

The implications of these two verses could not be any clearer.  Since we all are spiritually dead and that Christ died for all, then we are no longer to live for us, but rather we are to live for Christ.  Sounds pretty simple, pretty cut and dry, right?  It may sound simple and easy, but it is a hard thing to do many times.  Our flesh still wants to have it's way and have it's lusts and desires fulfilled.  That is why we must daily deny ourselves and crucify our flesh that we might surrender all to Christ and live for Him.  I am so amazed at how many people will profess Christ as their Savior, but yet they still live for themselves.  Jesus Christ purchased our pardon on Calvary and freed us from the penalty of sin, so He has every right to demand that we live for Him and not for ourselves.

If you and I are living for Christ, then it doesn't matter what the church down the road is doing, it doesn't matter what another person says about us, the only thing that matters is that we are living for Jesus Christ and pleasing Him!  In the last couple of days I have seen this played out in our community, people so worried and concerned with others are saying and doing.  Quite frankly, I am not concerned with what others are doing, I have a hard enough time just trying to live my life for Christ.  In the end, it isn't going to matter what someone else did or some other church did, the only thing that is going to matter is whether or not you lived your life for Christ.

So the question is this child of God: are you living your life for you, or are you living your life for Jesus Christ, the One who died for you?  When I examine my life, unfortunately, I am forced to conclude that so many times I am living for me and not for Christ.  What about you?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, help me to examine my heart today and see whether I am truly living my life for You.  Help me to die daily, to crucify my flesh, surrender all to Christ, and live for Him with my whole heart.  In Jesus name, Amen!

He Gave

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16


This is the most famous and well known Bible verse that there is.  Most of us learned this verse in Vacation Bible School or Sunday School as children.  I would even dare say that many if not most people that are lost could even quote this verse.  I'm afraid that most of us as Christians take this very familiar verse for granted when it comes to some of the powerful truths that it teaches us.

I want to draw your attention to the words "that He gave."  This tells us how much God truly loves not just the world as a whole but how much He loves you and I as individuals.  God the Father loved you and I so much that "He gave."  Have you truly thought about that weight of those three words "that He gave" or have you been guilty of just glossing over it?

The reality of John 3:16 is that God completely, absolutely, and totally gave Himself for us!  He took on the form of a man in Jesus from Nazareth, left the glory and splendor of Heaven, to be rejected by His own people and then to suffer, bleed, and die on a cross.  Think about it, God, the Creator of the entire universe became a curse when He hung on the cross; He was taking all of the punishment that you and I deserved for our sin.  God Himself, the Person of Jesus Christ, gave up everything for you and for me; He literally gave you and I everything when He gave Himself as that perfect sacrifice required for our sins to be forgiven.

The question to you and I today is: if God gave Himself absolutely for us, then shouldn't you and I be willing to absolutely give ourselves to Him?  We must be willing to completely and totally abandon everything for Jesus Christ!  The sad reality is that most Christians know very little if anything at all about giving up anything for Christ.  We are so worried about the consequences of what we are giving up to follow Christ.  However, the truth is that when we grasp the reality of John 3:16, that God totally and absolutely gave Himself for us, we will have no trouble giving ourselves absolutely to Christ, no matter the consequences.

There have never been three more powerful words than "that He gave!"


Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for giving Yourself completely and absolutely when You hung on the cross to pay for my sins and take the punishment that I deserved.  Help me today and everyday to totally, completely, and absolutely give myself to You.  May I totally abandon myself to You and Your will.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Denying Yourself

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." - Matthew 16:24


Why is it that we are so quick to quote John 3:16 and talk about God's love for us but we don't like to talk about what Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 or Luke 9:23?  I believe that we like to skip over verses like Matthew 16:24 and Luke 9:23 because they don't sound very appealing.  The thought that God loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son for us and that if we believe in Him we will have eternal life is a wonderful thought! However, when we think about having to deny ourselves and having to take up our cross to follow Jesus, that sounds like a bit much.

If you have not already figured it out, you are going to spend your lifetime denying self.  When you trusted Christ as Savior, you went from being self-centered to being Christ-centered.  One of the greatest temptations that you and I will face is to affirm ourselves while we follow Christ.  I'm afraid too many Christians today want a Jesus that does not impede their personal desires and ambitions.  We say "Lord, I want to follow you, but I want to stay where I am."

Most Christians today want to keep their lives unruffled, undisturbed, safe, and secure.  However, Jesus tells us that if we are going to follow Him and be His disciple that we must first deny ourselves, then we are to take up our cross and follow Him.  The startling reality of Matthew 16:24 is that most of us today are not truly following Jesus, even though we may have trusted Him as Savior.

Are we truly denying ourselves?  Are we denying all of our dreams, our hopes, our ambitions, and our desires? Are we totally surrendered to Christ in every area of our lives?

I would like to share with you three things that we all need to start each day doing:

1. Deny myself
2. Surrender to Christ
3. Live in the power of the Holy Spirit

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, today may I deny myself and totally surrender every part of my life to You.  Help me to not be self-centered and focused on the temporal, but help me to be Christ-centered and focused on eternal things.  Use my life in such a way that You would receive all the honor and glory.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Learning To Be Content

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." - Philippians 4:11


Are you content with things in your life?  We learn from the above verse that it is not natural for our flesh to be content.  Paul tells us that he had learned to be content in whatever state that he was in.  If you and I are to learn to be content, it is going to take prayer, denying ourselves, and surrendering to Christ.

Have you ever noticed that you do not have to teach your children to complain?  We are quick learners when it comes to the art of complaining, even without any education.  If you and I are to learn to be content, it is something that we must cultivate and grow in our lives.  You would not be able to plant a garden without plowing it, then sowing the seed, and cultivating that garden.  Contentment is not going to grow in you and I by nature, it is something that will only be produced by allowing Christ to grow it in us.  There is something else interesting about Paul's statement in this verse.  It cost Paul some pain and suffering to learn how to be content. If you and I are going to learn to be content, it is going to cost us something.

Here is what Spurgeon said about this verse:

"We might well be willing to endure Paul’s infirmities, and share the cold dungeon with him, if we too might by any means attain unto his good degree. Do not indulge the notion that you can be contented with learning, or learn without discipline. It is not a power that may be exercised naturally, but a science to be acquired gradually."

How are you doing with learning to be content?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, help me to learn how to be content, no matter my circumstances.  Help me to surrender my complaining and allow You to cultivate a spirit of contentment in my life.  In Jesus name, Amen!