Dejection

"But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done." - Luke 24:21


Do you ever feel dejected in your life and your walk with Christ?  The disciples sure did feel this way after Jesus had been crucified.  Just imagine, these men believed Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah, the One who would redeem Israel, and now they have just seen all of their hope and faith crucified on that cross with Jesus.

In the preceding verses every fact that the disciples stated was correct, but the inferences they drew from them were wrong.  Jesus Christ was sent from God, He did mighty miracles before all of the people, He was delivered to the chief priests and condemned to death, He was crucified on the cross, and He was the One to redeem Israel.  Their last statement is where they missed it.  The nation of Israel and even the disciples were looking for the wrong kind of redemption.  They were looking for a physical redemption from Roman oppression instead of a spiritual redemption from their sins.

If we are not careful, we will fall into the same trap that the disciples did.  Ask yourself this question: "What have I been trusting God to do?"  The disciples were trusting Christ to do something different.  Today, the immediate present, is the third day, and He has not done it, therefore we imagine that we are justified in being dejected and blaming God.  Does this describe where you are spiritually today?

I'm afraid that this is where many of us are when it comes to our prayer life.  Whenever our insistence is on the point that God answers prayer, we are off track.  The purpose and meaning of prayer is that we get a hold of God, not of the answer.  The disciples already had a preconceived idea in their heads of what they thought the answer should be, and when it did not happen that way the became dejected.  If you and I are honest, we are guilty of the exact same thing.

I would like to share with you a quote from Oswald Chambers about dejection:

"We look for visions from heaven, for earthquakes and thunders of God’s power (the fact that we are dejected proves that we do), and we never dream that all the time God is in the commonplace things and people around us. If we will do the duty that lies nearest, we shall see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes when we learn that it is in the commonplace things that the Deity of Jesus Christ is realized."

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, help me today not to be dejected and discouraged.  May I not have a preconceived idea of what I think You should do, but help me when I pray to seek You.  Help me Lord to see Your presence in the common things and people around me.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Spiritual Nourishment

"If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained." - 1 Timothy 4:6


Do you spend much time in God's Word?  How you answer this question will determine much about your life.  It will determine the strength and direction of your faith.  It will determine your priorities.  It will radically affect every area of your life!  I like the way one preacher put it when he said, "the Bible should not be prominent in our lives, the Bible should be preeminent!"  Is God's Word preeminent in your life?

You must decide whether or not God's Word will be the light that guides your path each day or whether it will be just a dim nightlight that occasionally flickers in the dark.  This is a decision that only you can make, but it is the most important decision you will ever make other than trusting Christ as Savior.  Your decision will have an impact on your life in ways that you cannot even imagine right now.  Either way you decide, it will radically affect your life!

God's Word is our map and blueprint for how to survive and thrive in this pilgrimage that we are on.  It is our source of strength and comfort for our journey.  The Word of God is a source of wisdom and truth that never fails.  Will you make God's Word preeminent in your life?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Your Word!  Help me to make You Word preeminent in my life, that it would be light for my path and strength for my journey.  I will purpose to study and meditate upon your Word daily and apply to every area of my life.  Lord, use Your Word to stir my heart and radically change my life as I serve You.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Growing In Christ

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." - 1 Corinthians 13:11


I would like to share a few thoughts about growing in our walk with Christ.  As I read through Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth I cannot help but think of how spiritually immature they were in their walk with Christ.  From the very beginning they were split into factions, one saying that he was of Apollos and another saying he was of Paul.  It is very similar to what we see today in Fundamentalism.  People are so quick to identify which camp they are in and then they want to know which camp you are in.  Of course, if you are in what they perceive is the wrong camp, then they will want nothing to do with you.  Before I run too much of a rabbit trail here, the point I am making is that we must get past our spiritual immaturity and grow in Christ to be spiritually mature Christians.

Our journey towards spiritual maturity will last a lifetime.  That means that we are never going to arrive at complete spiritual maturity on this side of eternity.  Each day that God gives us to serve Him we must continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This does not mean that we just accumulate more head knowledge about Jesus Christ, it means that we are to become more like Christ each day.

I'm afraid that there are many in our churches today who have ceased to grow spiritually.  There are some who are not faithful to their church services so they miss out hearing God's Word preached and they miss out on growing with the body of that local congregation.  There are others who never have a time of daily worship with Christ.  While it is VERY important to be faithful to all of the church services, it is also EQUALLY important that you have a time of worship with Christ EVERY day.  This means you must set aside time each day to spend in God's Word, pray, and fellowship with Jesus Christ.

Many of us have become stagnant in our spiritual walk with Jesus Christ.  Why?  It is because we fail to spend time in God's Word, we fail to have a prayer life, we do not obey His commandments, we are not faithful to our local churches, and we are not cultivating the relationships with other believers that are necessary for our spiritual growth.

John Maxwell said, "Every great company, every great brand, and every great career has been built in exactly the same way: bit by bit, step by step, little by little."  How are you going to grow in Christ and be a spiritually mature Christian?  You must do it bit by bit, step by step, and little by little.  You can start by being faithful to your local church, then you must determine to spend time EVERY day in God's Word, develop a prayer life and not just a prayer time, and cultivate relationships with other believers in Christ that will further your spiritual journey.

Examine your heart and spiritual journey today.  Are you growing in Christ or has your spiritual walk become stagnant?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, help me as I continue on my walk with Christ to grow in Your grace and knowledge.  Help me today and each day to become more like You and reflect more of You in my life.  Help me to put away childish things that would hinder the work of Christ.  May I reflect your grace in my life today.  In Jesus name, Amen!