Tag: Devotional

Devotionals

Our Hope is in the Lord, not in Powerful People

Loring Schultz

“Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God.” Psalm 146:3-5 NLT

            The year 2023 is rapidly coming to a close. There is truth to the old sayings, ‘time flies’ and ‘time waits for no man, or woman.’ It is also true the older you get the faster it goes and I’m now on that fast moving train. Time flies. With time moving on as it does, where is your hope for the future? In whom do you place your trust and hope? Whom do you have confidence in to lead you and help you in this world we are living in and ultimately in the next world? The Psalmist of Psalm 146 says this, “But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God.” (146:5 NLT)

            As 2024 rolls in so does another Presidential election year in the United States. What was once a very exciting time for me every four years being intrigued with politics has become a time of frustration and disappointment in the political process. I have learned over the years that putting your trust in people over God also adds to this frustration and disappointment. Our trust is to be in God who “controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings.” (Dan. 2:21 NLT) People no matter how noble, honest, sincere, humble, smart, or tenacious they are, will fail and disappoint you, even the most powerful people.

            As Christians our trust and hope is to be in God, and God alone. Our current culture is crumbling in the United States and seemingly out of control. One can easily be overcome with frustration, disappointment, and depression. Therefore, the words of the Psalmist written many years ago are here to comfort us today as we head into 2024, “Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there….. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God. “(Ps. 146:3, 5 NLT)

Read Psalm 146: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20146&version=NLT

Devotionals

Give your best to the Lord

Loring Schultz

“Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord.” Malachi 1:14a NLT

            Successful athletes sacrifice much in striving to achieve the best they can be. When reaching the pinnacle of being able to perform at a high level, they do not slack off, but continue to give their best. Their desire is to see the results of heavy training, a healthy diet, and the sacrificing of creature comforts. Giving their best is self-satisfying and pleasing to teammates in a team sport. When one does not give their best in the sporting world it is very noticeable. Teammates and fans alike recognize it immediately and one’s individual statistics cannot hide the fact. Giving a lackluster performance when one is more than capable to step it up by giving their best is, well let’s say, cheating.

            God accused Israel of cheating by not giving their best sacrifice. They had it in their power to do so, they had their best, and even promised to do so, but chose to not give it. God demanded the very best, an unblemished animal, for sacrifice. Israel thought they would get by offering a less than stellar performance but they did not get away with it.

            Christians today will also not get away with not giving their best in serving the Lord. God is holy and He demands the best that each one of us is capable of doing. He will call us out. We cannot hide or get away with it. The talents and gifts the Lord has given to us are to be used for His honor and His glory to the best of our ability. Although I am a sports enthusiast I was never much of an athlete, but the Lord has given me other talents that I am to use in serving Him. All of us have the opportunity and capability, with the Lord’s help, to give our best. Give your best to the Lord!

Read the account of Israel giving unworthy sacrifices: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Malachi+1%3A6-14&version=NLT

Devotionals

Angels Worship Him

Loring Schultz

“And when he brought his supreme Son into the world, God said, ‘Let all of God’s angels worship him.’” Hebrews 1:6 NLT

“Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.’” Luke 2:13-14 NLT

            Have you ever thought of the significance of the angels announcing Christ’s birth and preceding to worship Him in highest praise? We read the familiar story of the shepherds being the first to hear the news and quite spectacularly in the gospel of Luke. (Lk. 2) Angels are God’s ministering spirits to serve Him and on this particular night they were sent out to shout the good news of the Messiah’s birth. God’s created spirit beings, the angels, worshiped the Christ child because He was God the Son, the second person of the trinity. Hebrews 1:6 says, “And when he brought his supreme Son into the world, God said, ‘Let all of God’s angels worship him.’” (NLT) And they did.

            This is of vital importance especially in our day as there are many who consider Jesus to be no more than an angel of higher rank. Others perceive Him to be a prophet, and still others believe He was just a man sent by God for good works and to act as a model on how we are to live our lives. Today’s world is filled with false religions that support these claims and sadly there are many (so called) Christian churches among them.

            To understand Jesus’ deity, that He is truly the God-man, is everything. Our very salvation depends on a perfect, sinless, and blameless substitute sacrificed for the remission of sins. That substitute could only be Jesus Christ, the Son of God-the Messiah, whom the angels worshiped. Do you know Jesus as truly the Son of God and have you accepted Him as your Savior? Make this Christmas season be the year you accept Christ for even the ‘Angels Worship Him.’

Devotionals

A Wide Door of Opportunity

Loring Schultz

“for a wide door for effective work has opened to me” 1 Corinthians 16:9 ESV

Photo by Yusuf Kaya on Pexels.com

            Christians have a great opportunity to share their faith every December. Just take a look around, there are not many people who are not affected by the Christmas season in some way.  It could be the busyness of the season from the shopping, decorating your home, or preparing that special meal, not to mention exhaustion from participating in many activities and the anxiety that goes along with it. It could also be the lonely, distressed, and sad emotions the season brings. Yes, there is “a wide door” that is opened to share the love and peace of Christ and why He came-the true meaning of Christmas.

            We cannot escape the sights and sounds of Christmas from the festive lights and trees to the constant flow of Christmas music, to the cable networks and streaming services providing Christmas movies 24/7 repeating the same feature over and over again.

            The bottom line is; what an opportunity we have as Christians to engage our culture with the true meaning of Christmas. Not that there is anything wrong with Christmas trees, lights, continuous music or movies, there is not. And what about gifts, nothing wrong with gift giving either. We give gifts at Christmas following God’s example of giving. He gave us the greatest gift of all, His Son Jesus Christ. This Christmas may we all share our faith in Christ by “keeping the Main Thing, the Main Thing”, the Reason for the Season.

Devotionals

Worthless Things

Loring Schultz

“Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.” Psalm 119:37 NLT

Photo by Jean van der Meulen on Pexels.com

            Something of worth is defined as having a material value, especially in terms of money. Also something deserving of importance or merit is also considered valuable or worthy. Some things of worth range from jewelry, automobiles, real estate, furniture, fine china, and many others pieces of material worth, even money itself. Achievements such as receiving a college degree from a highly respectable university is very valuable when presented in the job market. 

            Worthless things would be the opposite of worthy things. Old rusted cars, run down property, broken china, worn down stained furniture, even the university degree if the holder devalued it by regrettable acts would now be useless. But even worthless things can be restored, just attend an antique automobile show, or visit an antique shop and you will see restoration. Real estate developers can turn unseemly property into luxurious residential areas, and many individuals have restored their reputation with the help of caring organizations.

            The psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:37, “Turn my eyes from worthless things.” In this section of Psalm 119, the psalmist desires to be instructed in God’s laws. He asks God to help him to turn away from worthless things. Taking our definition of worthless things, it would seem quite easy to turn away from those things, unpleasant as they are. But that is not what the psalmist had in mind. He really wanted to turn away from the worthy things. In comparison to God’s Word even the things of worth are worthless. He writes, “…..give me life through your word.”(119:37b) His desire was to look upon things of the greatest value, the Word of God.

            Having the proper perspective on who and what is worthy will go a long way in living our lives according to God’s Word. It will help us grow in our relationship with Him, and we will have a better understanding of what is of value and what is not. May we ask the Lord to turn our eyes from worthless things.

Read Psalm 119:33-40: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20119%3A33-40&version=NLT

Devotionals

Do you have the gift? Yes, you do!

Loring Schultz

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.” 1 Peter 4:10-11a NLT

            Fear of not being qualified or talented enough has kept many Christians from serving the Lord in their local church. There are also other, not so legitimate, reasons for not serving and you most certainly cannot serve if you do not attend church, but that is for another day. Today, be encouraged the Lord God has gifted you to serve Him in His church. If you are a child of God you have been given a spiritual gift, maybe even a combination of serval gifts, but one in particular to serve God within His church.

            The gifts that God bestows upon us at our conversion are spiritual gifts of a supernatural nature. They are gifts we did not possess before, nor could we achieve them on our own. They are also not to be confused with natural God given abilities which can and should be used to bring glory to God. These are gifts given to us by God to serve Him and our brothers and sisters in Christ where we gather together as a body of believers.

            It is also important to note not everyone has the same gift. Oh, there may be others who have similar gifts, but a variety of gifts works best for the church to function orderly and for all to be taught, encouraged, cared for, and blessed. Whether you have the gift of teaching, administration, leadership, hospitality, serving, exhortation and caring, or a hands on where needed, used the gift God has given you for His glory. You are qualified and talented enough so do not fear. Do you have the gift? Yes, you do!

Devotionals

Our Christian Responsibilities

Loring Schultz

“Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” 1 Peter 2:17 NIV

            Life as a Christian is not an easy task. It has never been without the Lord’s help. We live in a world that is dominated by Satan’s influence and any rejection of that influence is met with resistance. However we are called to be a light in this dark world and salt for a preservative to prevent the spoilage cause by evil. The apostle Peter reminds us of our responsibilities as Christians as a way to work this out. And our Lord expects us, with His help, to live in such a way as to bring glory to Him.

            We begin by showing proper respect to everyone. Yes, even those we do not agree with and those who do us harm. Every person is made in the image of God and for that they deserve respect. Allow everyone to see Jesus in us and be transparent by being obedient to His Word.

            Love the family of believers. Unfortunately our love for fellow Christians is, at times, not what it should be. Apparently it was also true in Peter’s day. Jesus addressed our duty to love our Christian brothers and sisters by saying, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

            Christians are also to fear God. Fear in the sense of a “reverential awe” for who He is; Holy, the creator of all things, the sustainer of life, merciful, gracious, just, all powerful, all knowing, and a loving God.

            Lastly, Peter instructs us to “honor the emperor”, those in authority over us. The Roman emperor in Peter’s day was Nero. Peter tells his readers to honor Nero. Honor is to “highly regard” with “inner respect.”  We are to be obedient to the governmental authorities, except when the law goes against the law of God according to scripture. (Acts 5:29)

            Yes, life as a Christian is not an easy task and we cannot do it in our strength. But with the Lord’s help we can “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor” and fulfil ‘Our Christian Responsibilities.’

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Devotionals

Perfectly Planned

Loring Schultz

“Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.” Luke 1:8-9 NIV

            In early Jewish history the Temple had incense burning continually in front of the veil that divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. There were twenty-four divisions of temple priests who each ministered for one week twice a year. Their job was to keep the incense burning by a lone priest entering the Holy Place and offering the incense every morning and evening. Their selection to perform this duty was chosen by lot. Due to the number of priests within each division and the fact they only served twice a year, it was indeed a rare privilege to serve in this capacity. Most priests never had the opportunity for this duty and no one was to serve more than once.

            Zechariah, a priest from the division of Abijah, had the once in a lifetime privileged to enter into the Holy Place to burn incense. His division was on duty and he was chosen. Some would argue he was chosen by chance of the lot, the luck of the straw, or even coincidence. But this was perfectly planned by God. For as he was performing his duties an angel of the Lord appeared before him. He declared to Zechariah that Elizabeth, his wife would have a child in her old age. His name would be John, John the Baptist, and he was to be the forerunner to the Messiah, Jesus. Six months later, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary announcing that she will be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and will conceive and bear a Son and His name would be Jesus. 

            God’s planning and timing is perfect. He is never late, but always on time. His plans always work out according to His schedule. A lesson for us in our impatience to wait on the Lord and trust His plan for our lives, for it is ‘perfectly planned.’

Read Luke 1:5-25, The Birth of John the Baptist foretold: Luke 1:5-25 NIV – The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold – Bible Gateway

Devotionals

Living in the Last Days

Loring Schultz

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” Hebrews 1:1-2a ESV

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law” Galatians 4:4 ESV

            Now that Thanksgiving is over, the Christmas season is officially upon us. You have the green light to start decorating, shopping, listening to Christmas music, and turning off the annoying Christmas music. Preparing for Christmas has been rushed over the years mainly by retailers seeking an early advantage over the competition. These early displays of gift ideas, Black Friday deals, and lawn decorations are succeeding as more people are buying into rushing into the season. On a road trip last weekend, I was amazed of how many homes are fully decorated for Christmas including a tree prominently displayed in the front window. We have all been doing our share in pushing forward the season.

            That first Christmas 2,000 years ago in the city of Bethlehem was anything but rushed. God the Father had planned it out perfectly when He would send His Son Jesus to be born. Paul writes in the book of Galatians, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son.” (4:4a ESV) But in a way, we could say Biblically, the season was rushed or pushed forward. The author of the book of Hebrews writes, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.” (1:1 ESV) The Lord spoke His Word through the prophets during the Old Testament days previewing of the coming of Christ, the Messiah. The Jewish people knew the term ‘last days’ indicated the coming of the Messiah. Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, had come and we have been in the ‘last days’ since His birth.

            The prophets of the Old Testament paved the way for our understanding the birth of Jesus as the Messiah who was to come. The Old Testament indeed speaks of God’s redemptive plan of salvation through the Messiah. God’s spoken revelation in the Old Testament was through the prophets, but now Jesus the Messiah, God the Son, has come speaking of God’s plan of redemption in these last days. (Heb. 1:2a)

            Jesus told His disciples the night before His crucifixion God’s plan of salvation, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn. 14:6 ESV) Just before these words to them, He said, “…I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (Jn. 14:3 ESV) Jesus has declared He is coming back again as the prophets of the Old Testament spoke of His first coming. We do not know the date so we better prepare for His coming as we prepare for each Christmas season ahead of time for we are ‘living in the last days.’

Devotionals

Truly Thankful

Loring Schultz

“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” Luke 17:15-17 NIV

Photo by Anna Tukhfatullina Food Photographer/Stylist on Pexels.com

            Every year as we approach Thanksgiving Day, many people make out their list for what they are thankful for. Who cannot help but smile with some of the answers children make when asked what is on their list, sometimes for grownups as well. We all have trivial items we are grateful for and there is nothing wrong in giving thanks for even the simplest things in life. 

            But on the other hand we need to careful not to simplify or casually treat all our thanks to the Lord in this manner. The blessings we receive on a daily are often taken for granted. Major life events appear to be treated as happenstance without giving thought to divine intervention from our Lord. Answers to prayer are given lip service; “Thank the Lord” “The Lord is good” etc. But do we go beyond speaking the words, do the words come from our hearts, and do we truly express a heart of gratitude? Are we Truly Thankful?

            Jesus, travelling to Jerusalem, entered a village and was met by ten men who had leprosy. They shouted from a distance due to their disease, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Jesus responded by telling them to go show themselves to the priests. (Luke 17:13-14) As they were healed on the way, one of them came back to personally thank Jesus by glorifying God and falling down at His feet. Jesus questioned where the others were, after all they were all healed. They may have all been thankful in some degree, but one was Truly Thankful.

            Let us examine our hearts this Thanksgiving and be Truly Thankful.