Devos

Jesus Will Never Change

   

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Have you ever gotten ready for school in the morning and decided you did not like your outfit? Unless you are short on time, it is usually okay to change your clothes. People do it all the time.

Have you ever realized that a food you used to hate is starting to become a favorite food now? Maybe you used to hate spinach. After all those years of hating spinach, you are starting to love it. People are like that. As we grow older, our tastes change.

Did you ever lose track of someone who used to be a good friend of yours? Some friends will always be a part of our lives. But some of our friendships will change over the years. We make new friends. We may never forget the old friends, but we might spend less time with them or go a long time without seeing them.

Change is a part of every human being’s life. We have to deal with that change. Sometimes it takes a very long time for us to change, just as it takes a long time to grow taller or wiser. On other things, we might change overnight.

Every human being has to change. But one encouraging thing about Jesus Christ is that He is always the same. He is God, so He will always have the great character that only God has.

Because Jesus never changes, we do not have to wonder about Him. We can trust that Jesus will always be exactly Who He always has been. He will never lose His love for us. He will never forget us or let us down or change His mind about us. He will never make mistakes. He will never do wrong. Because He is faithful and never changing, Jesus deserves our trust and worship. What a great God He is!

The Lord Jesus Christ is always going to be exactly Who He always has been.

My response:

» Do I ever doubt whether Jesus is still the same person He was in Bible times?

» Do I ever wonder how Jesus could keep on showing grace to me every day?

» How should I respond as I learn more about the unchanging goodness and greatness of Jesus Christ?

Truth in Real Life Moments

Fanny Crosby

   

“To weep and sigh because I’m blind, I cannot and I won’t!”

Fanny Jane Crosby was born in southeast New York on March 24, 1820. When she was just six months old, she got a cold in her eyes that had to be taken care of by a doctor. The doctor made a terrible mistake that cost Fanny Crosby her eyesight for the rest of her life. It was later learned that the doctor was not really a doctor at all, and not qualified to do medical work. Before he could be arrested, however, he left town, never to be heard from again. But there are no mistakes with God. Fanny once said,

“Mother, if I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind…for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Saviour.”

When Fanny was a child, her mother introduced her to the Bible. As a result, Fanny’s life changed completely. She began writing poems about Jesus Christ. Although she was blind, Fanny Crosby “saw” 8,000 of her poems set to music and over 100,000,000 copies of her songs published. She wrote up to seven hymns a day. Over the years, she used as many as 200 pen names so that the public would not realize she was writing so much. Once in a while, she would hear a hymn that she liked and would ask someone who had written the words. Often, she would be surprised to be reminded that she herself was actually the writer!

Fanny Crosby wrote hymns such as “All the Way My Savior Leads Me,” “Blessed Assurance,” and “To God Be the Glory.” From an early age, she determined to rejoice in her limitations and the gifts she did have. When she was 8 years old, she wrote these words: “Oh what a happy soul am I! Although I cannot see, I am resolved that in this world, contented I will be.”

Are you content with your life right now? What do you think you need in order to be happy? God has given you everything you need!

1 Timothy 6:8 – And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

Devos

God Wants Us to be Poor in Spirit

   

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

It was Billy’s turn to read his verse in the morning devotions. The Phillips family was reading in the book of Matthew, chapter 5. Billy read verse 3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

“Dad,” he asked, “what does ‘blessed’ mean?”

His father answered, “It means ‘happy.’”

“How can a poor person be happy? He doesn’t have anything to be happy about?” Billy wasn’t sure how this verse could be true.

His father answered wisely. “It doesn’t just say a poor person is happy. It says those who are ‘poor in spirit’ are happy because they will live in the kingdom of Heaven.”

Billy wasn’t sure what all that meant. “What does it mean to be ‘poor in spirit’?”

“It means a person is not proud. There is a saying about proud people that goes something like this, ‘He’s full of his wee self.’ That means a person who is proud is filled up with himself. He doesn’t have room for others, let alone for the Lord. All he thinks about is himself. All he cares about is himself. You know what it means to be poor, don’t you, Billy?”

“Sure. It means someone doesn’t have much of anything.”

“That’s right. In this case the person doesn’t have much of himself. His life isn’t full of himself. He has room for the Lord and others. This is true of those who are going to Heaven. They have realized they are nothing great in themselves and they need Jesus to forgive their sins. They also know they need His help to do what is right and to make the right decisions. The proud person doesn’t think that way. He thinks he is good enough by himself and doesn’t need God or anyone else. He has all he wants as long as he has his pride.”

Billy started to understand what his father was saying. “So the person who doesn’t think he is good enough by himself is the one who will come to Jesus and get saved from his sins, and then he will know he is going to Heaven. And that’s why he’s happy. But the person who doesn’t want the Lord is a proud person and will never come to Jesus because he doesn’t think he needs God. And he will not go to Heaven. He has nothing good to look forward to. And when he dies, he will never be happy again. It that what it means, Dad?”

His father answered, “That’s pretty much it, Billy.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Billy. “Last year I understood I was a sinner and not good enough to go to Heaven, and I asked Jesus to forgive my sins and save me. And I still know I’m not very good all by myself. I still need the Lord to help me not to sin and help me do what is right. That means I’m poor in spirit, and I can be happy because I know I will be in Heaven with Jesus forever. Sometimes it really is good to be poor, isn’t it Dad?”

“It sure is, Billy. It sure is.”

My response:

» Am I poor in spirit?

» Do I know I need Jesus to save me?

» Do I know I need Jesus to help me live?

Devos

Serving God for the Right Reasons

   

“As the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men” (Ephesians 6:6–7).

Kara walked quickly down the church hallway. She was late for orchestra practice. When she reached the auditorium, she searched the chairs for her usual empty spot. To her surprise, it was filled by her friend Melanie. Kara stalked up the stairs and stood in front of her chair. Melanie stopped practicing and looked up.

“Oh hi, Kara. Pastor Fox just moved me up here this morning,” she explained.

“Okay. Did he say why? This has always been my spot.”

“Not really, but it’s not a big deal. I mean, if you need to sit here, I can just move back,” Melanie offered.

Kara gave a plastic smile. “It’s fine. I’ll just move somewhere else.” She found an empty stand at the back of the first violins and flopped down.

After a couple of minutes, Pastor Fox came in. As he passed Kara’s chair, he stopped and said, “By the way, Kara, I moved you because I thought it’d be nice to give Melanie a chance to sit in the front. You don’t mind, do you?”

“No—it’s fine,” she said sourly. They began practicing the Sunday offertory, but Kara’s heart wasn’t in the music. All she could think about was the injustice of her new seat. It’s not fair. I’m so much better than Melanie, she thought.

After practice, she made a beeline for the door but was stopped by Pastor Fox. “Kara, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Uh, sure,” she swallowed.

“I noticed you didn’t seem very happy about your new seat. Maybe Melanie isn’t as good a musician as you, but this is a leadership opportunity for her. I want you to really think about why you play in the orchestra. Are you doing it for God, or for yourself?”

Kara thought a minute, then said, “I guess, myself.”

God wants us to serve Him because we love Him. When we do something to be recognized by other people or to make ourselves feel good, we are being selfish in our ministry.

We glorify God when our motivation is to honor Him.

My response:

» What is my attitude when others get attention that I don’t get? What does this show about me?

» What’s my reason for ministry—do I do it for God or for myself?

Devos

God Wants Us to Serve Him

   

One of the saddest verses in the Bible is Genesis 6:6. It says, “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” Our God, Who had seen “everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” had decided that because of people’s sinfulness, He could no longer look upon His creation. He decided it was better to destroy everything.

But God did not want to destroy Noah and his family. Instead He told Noah what He was going to do—bring a flood of waters upon the earth so that everything would die—and what Noah must do to save himself and his family. Noah was to make an ark.

Noah had a very big responsibility. He listened, obeyed, and began a job that seemed absolutely ridiculous to those around him. Yet Noah did just as God had said.

God is looking for those who are willing to serve Him, who will work even though others may criticize them. He is looking for those who will complete a task He has told them to do.

God wants the people who worship Him to serve and obey Him.

My response:

» Am I obedient like Noah?

» Can God depend on me?

» Do I listen, obey, and do the job God wants me to do, like obeying my parents or studying the Bible?