Live Confidently

Trust. It can be challenging to trust in promises that won’t be fulfilled immediately or within a short period of time. Waiting for a promise to be fulfilled years or decades or centuries in the future can test our resilience and patience. Abraham lived with that challenge.

God promised Abraham (Abram) that he would make him into a great nation. The promise came when Abraham was seventy-five years old. We learn that Abraham lived another one-hundred years after God promised Abraham would become a great nation.

Throughout those one-hundred years, Abraham had his ups and downs. He and Sarah tried to take matters into their own hands, which did not turn out well. Abraham twice lied about Sarah being his wife in order to save his own life, not trusting God to protect him. In both cases, each ruler who had taken Sarah in later asked Abraham why he would curse them.

Abraham, despite his missteps, is considered to be an example of faith in God. He grew in his faith as time passed and he experienced God caring for him. Perhaps his most pointed to example of faith is when he passed the test of taking his only son Isaac to sacrifice him. He believed God would either raise Isaac from the dead or provide a substitute sacrifice.

Is our faith growing? Are we trusting God’s promises? God has promised he will care for us. He has promised eternal life. For many of us, that is years or decades away. Do we trust God to deliver on his promise? Do our lives demonstrate our faith? Or are we filled with fear, anxiety, and worry rather than living confidently in God’s promise? Just like Abraham, we can choose to trust in God or take matters into our own hands. The more we trust in God, the more we see him acting on our behalf.

I pray we all trust in God’s promises. I pray our faith grows as we experience God in many ways throughout our lives. I pray each one of us live confidently in God’s promises. Trust God’s promises. Grow in your faith. Experience God working on your behalf. Live confidently.

Genesis 12:2-3 “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God Is Calling

Do you like to travel? Do you like to visit places across the country? Do you like to see foreign lands? Do you like to interact with other cultures? Are you willing to move your family and everything you own to a foreign country? Will you go if you are commanded to go?

Some of us like to travel while some prefer to stay home. Some of us who travel will only travel within our own country. Others like to travel to foreign countries. We want to see the sights and experience other cultures. We often think about sampling other foods.

Only a few will move to a foreign land at God’s command. The truth is, God doesn’t call all of us to do this. I’m sure his calling is based on his knowing our hearts and minds. He knows those who are willing. He knows who will accomplish the work he is calling them to. He knows who he has gifted for the work.

God called Abram to pack up his belongings, his family, and his livestock to move to a foreign land. Abram is credited with faith because he followed God’s calling. It was a very large undertaking. They traveled over 600 miles on foot. It would have taken them roughly a month to make the trip to Canaan. The logistics of driving livestock, finding food and water, and negotiating safe passage with the inhabitants of the land would have been challenging to say the least. Add in that Abram was 75 years old and the challenge increases.

God doesn’t call all of us to travel to foreign lands, but he does call us. He may be calling us to merely walk across the street. He may be calling us charitable work. His call always includes showing others who he is through the work he has called us to, even if it is an everyday job. Will our faith show through? If we are following God’s calling, it will.

I pray we all hear God’s calling on our lives. I pray we follow God’s calling throughout our lives. I pray each of us allow our faith to show every day, thereby showing God to others. Hear God’s calling. Follow God’s calling. Let your faith show. Show God to others.

Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

The Gift

Do you like receiving gifts? Do you like giving gifts? Have you considered that gift giving can become transactional? Are you concerned about giving a gift to someone so that your gift is comparable in value as a gift they have given you?

Gift giving has become complicated in our society. We spend a lot of time considering what gift to give. Often, we consider the price as it compares to the gifts we have received. We may not even consciously think about it. It’s just there in our subconscious mind.

We have been offered a gift that we can never match. Though we are all condemned to death because of Adam’s sin, Christ has given us the gift of righteousness. Since He overcame death, we are no longer condemned to death but have received life. Because we have received life in Jesus Christ, we are set free.

We often worry about death. We may hear or say that living is better than the alternative. Yet, if we are in Christ, the alternative is eternal life with Him. Do we really consider this life better than that? If we do, we don’t fully comprehend the gift we have received. That is not to say we should seek physical death, but we also should not fear it.

The gift Christ has given us comes through the grace of God. That grace is boundless and inexhaustible. The forgiveness we have through his grace in the life of Christ is why we are righteous.

I pray we all accept the gift God has given us. I pray we know we can never repay God for his gift. I pray each one of us knows we are righteous because of Christ and God’s amazing grace. Accept God’s gift. Know you are righteous. Trust God’s amazing grace. Thank God for his gracious gift.


Romans 5:17: If, because of the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Accept Life

Have you been lied to? Have you been told a half-truth? How did you find out it was a lie or half-truth? How did you feel when you discovered it? Did you feel betrayed? Were you hurt? What did you do about it, if anything? Are you still dealing with the aftereffects of it?

Being lied to can be frustrating and hurtful. We can experience a range of emotions including anger, hate, frustration, vengefulness, hurt, and even shame. Sometimes, there is no way to reverse the effects the lie had on us. Other times, it may take a long time.

Eve was told a truth and a half-truth by the serpent. He told the truth by saying her eyes would be opened and know good and evil. He told a half-truth/lie by saying she would not die. No, she would die immediately. Yes, she would die later. Also, she would die a spiritual death by being separated from God. Adam was right there with Eve. Both believed the serpent rather than believing and obeying God.

Because of what Adam and Eve did, we all must now die. In fact, we are already dead, unless we commit our lives to Jesus. We are separated from God (spiritual death) until we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We have a limited time to choose life—only as long as we live our physical lives. Throughout our physical lives we are given a multitude of opportunities to turn to Jesus. Therefore, no one can claim they did not get a second chance. We can choose the believe the half-truth and lies of this world, or we can choose the truth of Jesus Christ.

I pray we all know this world is full of half-truths and lies. I pray we know that Satan continues to deceive us. I pray each one of us chooses to commit ourselves to Jesus and be rewarded with life. Satan deceives us. Do not believe the half-truths and lies. Commit to Jesus. Accept life.

Genesis 3:4-5 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Temptation and Victory

How strong is your will power? How long can you resist temptation? What is your greatest weakness? Can you resist eating your favorite food? Can you resist adding one more tool to your tool chest? Can you resist buying a new dress? What is your favorite sin?

Temptation overcomes all of us. We all have a weakness for something. It may be a favorite food or drink, buying something for a grandchild, or buying something for us. We may resist for a while but eventually we cave into the craving. The temptation wins.

We like to point our finger at someone else when they give in to their temptation. We especially like to ask why Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation to eat the forbidden fruit. They are an easy target. We blame them for all the sin that came afterward. But how many of us could resist our favorite food…and for how long? Could we hold out forever?

Satan knows our weaknesses. He looks for opportunities to tempt us with them. He will dangle them in front of us until we succumb to the temptation. Then comes the guilt and Satan celebrates and laughs at us. We commit to doing better. We avoid the temptation for a while. But we know in the back of our minds that we will struggle with it again.

What are we to do? Our only hope is to turn to Jesus. He became the perfect Lamb of God to bring us back into a right relationship with God. Without Jesus, we are lost. With Jesus, we are overcomers. Jesus has defeated Satan and we can participate in that victory. We can celebrate that victory. It is by turning our lives over to Him that we can resist temptation.

I pray we all know recognize our weakness. I pray we ask Jesus to help us overcome it. I pray each one of us will turn our lives over to Jesus fully and join in His victory over Satan. Recognize your weakness. Overcome it with Jesus. Commit fully to Jesus. Celebrate the victory in Jesus.

Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

Fast to Seek

How long do you think you could go without food? How many days could you fast? How committed are you to a cause? Are you committed enough to go without food as a form of protesting? How committed to God are you? Are you willing to fast to grow closer to him?

Most of us like to eat. We may even like to eat too much. There are certain foods we like more than others. When those foods are being served, we overeat, maybe to the point of being miserable. We don’t often think about purposely missing a meal or fasting.

There are some who have used fasting as a form of protest. They will go on a hunger strike. One hunger strike lasted for 94 days in Ireland in 1920. However, the medical viewpoint is that the average person can only fast for 60-70 days before death occurs. By this point, the person has lost 40-50 percent of their body weight.

Jesus fasted for 40 days. Unlike those who have used a hunger strike as a form of protest, Jesus used His fast to build His relationship with the Father and to prepare for His ministry. Though some may believe there is no way a person could fast for 40 days, there have been several throughout history who have. However, not many have done so to grow closer to God.

Matthew makes perhaps the biggest understatement in the Bible when he says Jesus was famished after fasting for 40 days. Though God desires us to grow closer to him, he does not call us to fast for 40 days. However, it can be very helpful and enlightening for us to fast for a day or two. During our fast, we are to spend time in prayer and contemplation, focusing on God and seeking his guidance. We are to learn to trust and lean on God. It is in our seeking that our relationship with him grows.

I pray we all trust that Jesus fasted for 40 days. I pray we understand that fasting is used to seek God. I pray each of us fast for a short period of time to grow our relationship with God. Trust Scripture. Know fasting has a purpose. Fast for a day or two. Seek God during your fast.

Matthew 4:1-2 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished.

Treasure in Heaven

Where is your treasure? Do you first take a look at your bank account? Do you look up the value of your house? Do you combine them? Is your treasure your job? Do you think of your family as your treasure? Is your treasure in pictures? What if your treasure is all wrong?

We put a lot of stock in money, possessions, and our jobs. Money is the easiest one to poke at. Possessions are easy, too, but may be a little harder to poke at. Jobs can be real challenging. They not only allow us to make money but may also bring us prestige and notoriety.

Family is especially difficult to poke at. Sometimes, our family is all we have. We love our children and grandchildren. We love our parents and grandparents. We enjoy time spent with them. They help us when we need it. We help them when they need it. We have a lot of time and energy invested in our families.

Jesus tells us our heart will be where our treasure is. If our jobs are our treasure, we sacrifice our family to get one more thing done. If our money is our treasure, we are stingy and seek out more ways to make more money. If our possessions are our treasure, we hoard them, we won’t lend them out, we continue to seek to buy more possessions and more expensive ones.

Jesus reminds us that all of this will fade away. He tells us to store up treasure in heaven. How do we do that? We love one another. We love our enemy. We care for one another. We share with one another. We give to those in need. Most of all, we love God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). It is our actions in love that pleases God and builds our treasure in heaven.

I pray we all choose to build our treasure in heaven. I pray we love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. I pray we love one another and show our love with actions that comes from our love for God. Build your treasure in heaven. Love God with all you are. Show your love with actions.

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Secret Works

Do you like to be seen? Do you want others to observe your acts of goodness? Do you tell others about every act of kindness you perform? Are your actions different when being observed by others than when you are alone? Are you being hypocritical?

Most of us want to be seen. But some of us want to be in the spotlight. We want to receive accolades for what we are doing. We may even put on a show of doing good in front of others. If we act differently when alone, we are being hypocritical.

When Jesus says we are to be careful about practicing our righteousness before others, He is not saying we should not participate in worship services. He is telling us not to put on a show of doing good in front of others just to get a pat on the back. If we do that, we have received our reward. We received what we were looking for.

If we read Matthew 6:3, we see the oft quoted “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” The point is not about actions as much as it is about attitude. Our motivation for doing good must be to show Jesus to others. Many want others to see the large donations they are giving to charitable organizations. They want the moment of recognition or fame.

Jesus tells us to do good without seeking recognition. Do the good privately and without bragging. Do the good work for an individual or make your donation privately. When we do, God will reward us. He will bless us in ways we cannot anticipate and may not see. For God is always working on behalf of those who love him. Therefore, practice your righteousness out of your love for God.

I pray we all are motivated by our love for God. I pray we do our good works without showboating. I pray each one of us will seek a reward from our heavenly Father rather than people. Be motivated by love. Do not showboat. Seek God’s reward. Do your good works without fanfare.

Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

Never Too Late

How long have you been waiting? How long have you failed to confess your wrongdoings? How long have hid your favorite sins? How long have you hoped that God would not strike you down for them? Do you think you have waited too long? Have you given up hope of begin forgiven?

We all keep things hidden. We are hiding one thing or another, and perhaps more than one. We don’t want others to know about it. We sometimes think we can hide it from God. However, that is not the case. God knows it all. We are only punishing ourselves by not confessing.

The prophet Joel states that God is waiting for us. As long as we have breath in our lungs, it is not too late. We can turn back to God. We can grieve over our sins. We can confess them to God and trust that he will forgive us. Rather than continuing to suffer through our guilt, we can go to God on our knees to ask for forgiveness. We can be certain that by his grace and mercy he will accept us back into his loving arms.

We have a choice to make. We can continue to live with our guilt and continue to fool ourselves into thinking we are fooling God. Or we can come clean. We can confess before God (he already knows anyway). When we come clean with God, we relieve our conscience. The heavy weight we have been carrying around is lifted. We are set free.

I pray we all decide to come clean with God. I pray we confess the sins we have been trying to hide. I pray each one of us experience the weight being lifted from our conscience. Come clean. Confess to God. Trust him to forgive you. Clear your conscience. Be relieved. Be set free.

Joel 2:12-13

Yet even now, says the Lord, 

return to me with all your heart, 

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 

rend your hearts and not your clothing. 

Return to the Lord your God, 

for he is gracious and merciful, 

slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, 

and relenting from punishment.

What Would You Give?

What would you give to receive everything you have always desired? What are you willing to sacrifice? Would you sacrifice having a family? Would you give up a long life? Are you willing to set aside being who God designed you to be to pursue personal achievements?

We don’t typically think about what we must give up to pursue our careers. We don’t often set down to weigh the pros and cons of pursuing fame and fortune, even if it is just locally. We don’t consciously make the decision to sacrifice our families.

Jesus asks a very important question when He asks what profit we have if we gain the whole world but forfeit life. Success, as defined in human and business terms, requires sacrifice. Sometimes it requires extreme sacrifice. It can be as simple as missing your children’s school events and as stressful as going through a bad divorce.

We have a choice. It is really all about priorities. We all struggle with it. We don’t intentionally want to push our spouse and children away. We don’t intentionally want to ignore our parents, especially as they age. Yet, we make choices every day that do just that. We believe we need to spend the extra time in the office. We believe there is something more important for us to do.

Of course, Jesus’ point is, we should make Him our top priority in life. It is when He is our top priority that all other priorities come into focus. As we choose to make Him our top priority, we also choose to follow His commands to love God and love neighbor. It is when we obey those commands that our families become a higher priority.

I pray we all choose to make Jesus our top priority. I pray we choose to obey His commands. I pray each one of us realize we cannot gain worldly success without sacrificing our relationships. Make Jesus your top priority. Obey Jesus’ commands. Live a successful life. Live for Jesus.

Matthew 16:26: For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?