Tag: God

Devotionals

Northern Lights    

Loring Schultz

“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?” Psalm 8:3-4 NLT

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Last week a major portion of North America was treated to a display of the Northern Lights. Aurora Borealis, as they are called, are spectacular displays of light that occur in the night sky caused by particles from the sun colliding with the earths upper atmosphere. There are many scientific terms and research that has been done by very intelligent people for explaining how and why these lights occur. I appreciate them all, but I’ll go with the most natural one of all, it’s God painting the sky.

David writing in Psalm 8 notes the wonders he sees in the night sky with the moon and stars. No magnificent light show of the aurora borealis is mentioned. But what David witnessed was enough. The numbers of stars he couldn’t count in the sky and the light of the moon proved God’s greatness and His magnificent show without any northern lights. On a side note, in David’s time the night sky had no intrusion from city lights, airplanes, or cloud-covered gases. David saw the night sky as God had intended it, a spectacular view and a portrait of His greatness.

How often do we pause to recognize God’s creation all around us? We shouldn’t need a reminder of a northern lights occurrence to pay attention to His handiwork. It is seen every day and everywhere if we look for it. The greatest northern light that has ever appeared was when God sent His Son, the light of the world, into this world to save us from our sin. You don’t need to wait for particles from the sun to collide with earth’s atmosphere to see His light, only for the Son to collide with your heart through the Holy Spirit. His light is always visible; will you see it?

Devotionals

The Breath of Life

Loring Schultz

“Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” Genesis 2:7 NLT

“………But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!” Daniel 5:23b NLT

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How many of God’s blessings do we take for granted? Our normal everyday life activities have countless examples of all we take for granted until it’s gone, even for a short time. A power outage in your home disrupts everything. It’s amazing what you now are unable to do with no electricity. Lack of fresh water is more than an inconvenience especially if lasting more than a couple of days. Most of us take for granted that our automobile is going to start when we get in it, but we all know that is not always the case, and we can go on and on with those things we take for granted.

My thought is we take for granted the very air we breathe the most, not to mention the source of our air supply. The Old Testament book of Genesis says, “He (God) breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” (Gen. 2:7b NLT) God breathed into us the very breath of life. He has created air consisting of mostly of three gases; nitrogen, oxygen, and argon, which He also created, to maintain our breath of life. Have you ever thought, what if God had decided there would an ‘air outage’ for a period of time? I think it’s safe to say none us would be around to remember it. Electricity and water supplies are vital for survival in our current day, but it doesn’t mean instant death when their service is interrupted. But it is “God who holds your breath in His hand.” (Dan.5:23 NKJV)

The prophet Daniel told King Belshazzar he was going to lose the kingdom and his life that very night because he did not humble himself before God but mocked Him and praised their gods of silver and gold. Daniel was clear in his explanation to Belshazzar that he did not honor the true God who gave him the breath of life and the air to breathe, but took it for granted. “…But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!” (Dan. 5:23b NLT)  

It is a message for us to take to heart. Let us count our blessings, (as the old hymn goes), naming them one by one. May we not take any of them for granted, especially the air we breathe supplied to us by the one who gave us the Breath of Life.

Devotionals

Self-righteousness doesn’t cut it         

Loring Schultz

Read: Titus 3:3-8 NLT – Once we, too, were foolish and – Bible Gateway

“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:4-5 NLT

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Our righteous acts on this earth have positive results among people in need. Recipients of our gracious good-will are blessed beyond measure in receiving what they desperately need but do not have the means to provide it. Lending a helping hand to non-profit organizations and supporting our local police and fire departments and being good neighbors goes a long way in caring for others. But all these righteous deeds added together don’t do a thing to get us into heaven.

You have heard some people say, ‘I’m hoping my good outweighs my bad.’ It’s sad how many people have that perspective when it comes to their eternal destiny. Perhaps you are one who is counting on just that, ‘good outweighing the bad.’ But the sad reality is that you can never do enough good to overcome the bad. Our bad is a sin nature which can never be changed by a lifetime of good behavior and righteous acts towards others. Our sin nature alienates us from God. God may be pleased with acts of kindness towards others, but it doesn’t erase our sin debt. Our self-righteousness doesn’t cut it.

The apostle Paul explains we are saved not because of ‘the righteous things we had done’ but because of God’s mercy to us. God washed away our sins by the sacrificial blood shed by His Son on the cross of calvary. Our righteous acts could never do that. God gave us a new birth and a new life which is impossible for anyone of us to do, but not through the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ as our savior. It’s time to stop weighing the good verses the bad, not stopping the good, but trusting our salvation on what God has done for us because of His mercy. Our self-righteousness just doesn’t cut it.

Devotionals

 Swept and in order

Loring Schultz
Photo by Josue Michel on Unsplash

It is always a good feeling when our homes are swept and in order. With the upcoming holidays, Thanksgiving in the United States and Christmas celebrated around the world, many of us spruce up our homes for expected company. Every spring around the Easter season we do the same calling it ‘spring cleaning.’ We clean out the dust from the long cold winter, let in the fresh air, and put everything in order.

Our spiritual lives work the same way. There are times when spring cleaning is in order. The sin in our life that has been hanging around filling our souls with the dirt of the world is starting to show its wear and tear on us. We make a commitment to the Lord, confessing our sin, sweeping the dirt out of our lives, and putting our lives on track to maintain a clean house. But once that sinful habit is gone, what have you replaced it with? Read what Jesus has to say:

“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’  So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.” (Lk.11:24-26 nlt)

Just giving up a bad sinful habit is no guarantee it will not come back. If you haven’t filled your heart, mind, and soul with the things of God on a daily basis, it will come back as Jesus said and bring more sinful habits along with it. The first step is to confess those sinful habits, get rid of that sin, sweep your house and put it in order. Then fill your soul with God and His Word and the godly habits you will form will leave no room for those old habits to return.

Devotionals

Reformation Day: the righteous shall live by faith

Loring Schultz

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Romans 1:17 ESV

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October 31st is recognized around the world as Halloween or ‘All Hallows’ Eve.’ The meaning of ‘hallows’ is ‘saints’ in the Christian tradition, All Saints Day is November 1st. However, Halloween today is nothing about Christian saints and I will leave it there. Today is Reformation Day, the day celebrated by Christians in recognizing Martin Luther’s ‘95 Theses’ nailed to the University of Wittenberg’s chapel door in 1517.

Martin Luther was a German monk and a professor of biblical studies at the University of Wittenberg who became disillusioned with the error he saw in the Catholic church, particularly the selling of indulgences. He posted his ‘95 Theses’ to spark conversation and debate among his colleagues calling for reform in the Catholic church. This, however, led to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.    

Luther was convinced through the reading of Scripture that salvation was by the grace of God alone and faith alone in Jesus Christ. It was not by any merit or works on our part that contributes to salvation and entrance into heaven. This was in contradiction to what he had observed within the church. Luther was also a staunch believer that every person should have access to the Bible and be able to read it for themselves. He had translated the entire Bible into German.  

Stephen Nichols of Ligonier Ministries writes, “The real main character in Reformation Day is not Luther. It’s the Word of God. What Luther discovered as a monk is that for centuries, the true teachings of the Word of God had been hidden by century upon century of tradition. That’s what Reformation Day is about: it’s about pulling back the cover and releasing the power of the Word of God and the beauty and the truth of the gospel. That’s why we celebrate Reformation Day.” (1)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV

(1) What Is Reformation Day? | Ligonier Ministries

Devotionals

God’s Orderly Design     

Loring Schultz

Read: 1 Timothy 2:9-15 NLT – And I want women to be modest in their – Bible Gateway

“There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 NLT

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Having established proper order and maintaining it in any area of life here on earth prevents confusion and even chaos.

Our God is a God of perfect order. When the world starts to change up what God has designed there is mass confusion. Our world does not function as it should because it is out of order of God’s original design. God has a specific design for men and women and the roles of each in our world today. We can see the chaos that has developed over recent years when God’s creation order is ignored. But more on that at a future date. Today, our concentration is on God’s design for men’s and women’s roles in the Christian church.

First of all, men and women are equal in the body of Christ. Paul, the apostle affirms this in the book of Galatians. (Gal.3:28) However, men and women have different roles in the church when it comes to the corporate worship service. God has designed men to be responsible for leading the church in worship. This results in a lot of push back in 2025. But God commanded it. Women are in no way inferior to men in spiritual matters. Both men and women learn equally from the preaching of the Word. It is by God’s orderly design.

Adhering to the truth of Scripture is vital for the Christian church in all its functions, activities, and mode of worship. God’s Word has not changed over time to meet the demands of a changing culture. Accepting any changes opens up the whole Bible to question what is for today and what is not. But more importantly, the way of salvation becomes subject to change. There is only one way of salvation (Jn.14:6) and it is in God’s unchanging Word along with His design for worship.

Devotionals

Crying Out to God         

Loring Schultz

Read: Psalm 5 ESV – Lead Me in Your Righteousness – To the – Bible Gateway

“Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.” Psalm 5:1-2 ESV

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King David’s enemies were spreading lies about him to destroy him. The rumor mill had it that David was no longer fit to be king. God had abandoned him, and it was said David’s ability to protect the nation was in doubt. But David says in his prayer to God, “For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave.” (Ps.5:9 esv) David appeals to God’s character in this psalm he wrote knowing that God will never abandon him and will answer his prayer.

David begins by crying out to God in Hebrew parallel form repeating the same thought three times. ‘Give ear…consider…give attention’ David expresses his desire for God to hear his prayer and consider his groaning by giving attention to his cry. He comes before God the first thing in the morning with his petitions. He calls on God to hold his enemies guilty (Ps.5:10) and to bestow blessings on the righteous. (Ps.5:11) David is confident in the Lord’s answer of blessing to his prayer as we see in the closing verse, “For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.” (Ps.5:12 esv)

So, we can have the same confidence that God will answer us as He did David when he cried out to Him in prayer. It’s OK to appeal to God by repeating our cry. That is crying out to God. Ask Him to hear your words, and consider your groaning through it, and to give attention to the sound of your cry. Our God wants us to come to Him in prayer even when we cry out to Him.

Devotionals

Can I Trust Him?

Loring Schultz

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

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Life is complicated for most people. Even for those who live in rural communities where not too much is going on, there’s always something going on, yes life is complicated. We all need a little guidance to help us along. Guidance is needed not only to be successful in life, but to have continued joy and contentment. Given over to ourselves, we are not always successful in life and our efforts for joy and contentment are but moments soon to drift away. We need someone who is bigger than ourselves, God, but can we trust Him?

The wisest man who ever lived on this earth, King Solomon, said God can be trusted. Solomon wrote, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart……and he will make your paths straight.” (Pr.3:5-6 niv) The idea of making our paths straight is to remove any obstacles that are in the way. Who would better know how to remove those obstacles than one with the ability to know what we will encounter before it happens and has the power to remove them. We are often confused lacking understanding in the way God is leading us, but we must rest assured His plan for us is good and will not fail. When we fully submit to God trusting His leading as we reject our own temptation to do it ourselves, God will surely lead us to complete joy and contentment. Yes, you can trust Him!

“I cannot always understand, The Way God leadeth me, The why, and when and wherefore Is oft a mystery. But I can trust His wisdom, I know His way is best, His heart knows no unkindness And on His love I rest.” (1)

(1) Cowman, Mrs. Charles E. Streams in the Desert 2. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1966. p.138

Devotionals

Need a quick reply?

Loring Schultz

“Then when you call, the LORD will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.” Isaiah 58:9 NLT

Photo by Eyestetix Studio on Unsplash

Today’s devotional is light-hearted with an experience I’m sure a lot of us go through. There are times when we need an immediate answer. Urgent matters required a quick response. But what about needing a quick response that is not critical, but only to your timetable. It can be frustrating waiting for an answer or getting the run around as your request for service gets passed around only to wind up back where you started. Yes, our time is precious and valuable, and we don’t want to waste it, but living in an imperfect world we are going to have delays and needless waste of time can be expected.

I experienced such an incident this week. With an already full daily schedule, a scheduled appointment for a quick fix at the car dealership turned out to more than a quick fix but not fixed at all. I got caught up between two car dealerships and a third-party service provider as to who will fix it. I’m not complaining (really,) the problem will be resolved, but I was frustrated with the amount of extra time I spent reaching out to the other parties. Living in a day when communication is so much faster it sure took me a long time to finally convince Chatbot that I needed to speak to a representative. Chatbot wasn’t programmed for this unique dilemma.

What a comfort it is to know that when we call upon God, He will answer and quickly. To be fair to Chatbot, it answered quickly, but only had programed answers for the most common problems, not my unusual circumstance. God has all the answers all the time, and He needs no reprogramming or updates. He is the original programmer of all things, and He is quick to reply.  

Devotionals

Our Unchangeable God 

Loring Schultz

Read: Malachi 3:6-18 NLT – A Call to Repentance – “I am the – Bible Gateway

“I am the LORD, and I do not change.” Malachi 3:6 NLT

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Aren’t you glad we have an unchangeable God? Just think how many times a day you change your mind. Sometimes when we change our minds it doesn’t work out so well. Ask yourself, have I ever changed my mind towards God? If you did, how did that work out, or are you still working it out? We never need to worry about God changing His mind towards us, because He never will. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He doesn’t change His mind.

The Lord God was calling His people Israel to repentance through the prophet Malachi. They had sinned against Him countless times. Israel would repent and turn back to God. God would forgive them but they would again change their minds and go back to their old ways. Sounds a lot like us in our day. God did not give up on His people Israel and He doesn’t give up on us either. God’s forgiveness is always available when we confess our sins and repent, because our God doesn’t change His mind.

God’s forgiveness, grace, and mercy is the same as it was for Adam and Eve in the garden when they first sinned. His plan of salvation for sinners has not changed, and every one of us should be eternally grateful for that. God’s Son Jesus Christ is still the only way of salvation and eternal life with the Father. (Jn.14:6) The way of salvation is through Christ alone by faith alone. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” (Ro.10:9-10 nlt) It’s still the same way today, no additions and no subtractions, for we have an unchangeable God.