Devotionals Archives - Page 4 of 12 - Focal Point Ministries

Funerals

It is remarkable that non-Christians, agnostics and staunch secularists turn into weeping and hope-filled theologians at their loved ones’ funerals. People that rarely give God a thought or ten minutes of contemplation take up the microphone and tearfully recite their poems about the fishing, feasting and frolicking in “heaven”. They speak confidently of

Holiness

The concern for most Christians isn’t “How far from sin can I get?” but rather, “How close is okay?” Anyone who is thoughtful about obedience and wants to distance himself from temptation and sinful behavior is sure to incite the charge of being “a misguided legalist” – as if the accuser knows what biblical legalism is. He usually doesn’t. But it sounds like a good

Consideration

It is unfortunate that we often treat God with less respect and consideration than we treat the people with whom we interact from day to day. This is especially true when it concerns our sin. Were we to come to the realization that we had offended, insulted or sinned against someone at the office or in our neighborhood, most of us would be

Keeping Grace in View

We are prone to forget, especially as we compare our relative righteousness, that our salvation is all of grace. We must never fail to remember that everything about our lives – our spiritual efforts, our moral resumes and our celebrated accomplishments – are all exchanged for Christ’s. Our salvation is secured in the same way

Perseverance

So many Christian virtues orbit around the “stick-to-itiveness” of the biblical word “perseverance”. To be patient or long-suffering, to look to the future with steadfast hope or “wait on the Lord”, to endure trials or persistently pray – these all relate to this fundamental godly trait called perseverance. To exercise biblical

Decisions

Our feelings have been entrusted with far too much authority in our decision-making process. While we may live in a culture that wants to “feel led” before they act, Scripture provides us a template wherein God’s people choose to act righteously and “let their feelings catch up”. Consider the countercultural logic

Empty Phrases

Jesus said that when we pray we should “not heap up empty phrases” (Matthew 6:7). Later he lamented a hypocritical form of worship by quoting the indictment that first came through Isaiah: “These people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me” (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew15:8). We must be so careful

Who Are You Impressing?

Much of the Bible would have us ponder our coming evaluation. God, our Father and our Judge, will be the One to whom we must give an account of ourselves. And so, the logic goes, we must think of him when it comes to our decisions, words, actions and work. Our stewardship before God should always be in the forefront of our minds. And yet it seems we so often

Desert Attitudes

When God led the Israelites out of Egypt, the destination was the promised land of Canaan – a land of abundance and rest. The route was through the desert – which by contrast was hot, difficult and filled with discomfort. As is so often the case, God’s good plans include a path through the desert. From the perspective of the New Testament

Daily Struggle

While we would all love to imagine a Christian life that is tranquil and calm, the truth is it’s not. The Bible is clear that this side of heaven every Christian has been drafted

Hell

Hell. No one likes to think about it. The world attempts to dilute its force by using the word as an expletive or as an impertinent adjective. But much like tax day

Christ Honoring Words

While impossible to master this side of heaven, God calls us to give special attention to replacing our errant and superfluous words with Christ-honoring words that make a good and godly difference (Ephesians 4:29). While this requires restraint and thoughtfulness, the primary focus of this command

Regret

It is not uncommon to hear people say that they have lived their lives with “no regrets”. They often state that they would live just the same if they had it to

Forgetting God

The Bible often speaks of God’s people “forgetting God.” It would seem impossible that those who are called by God’s name would “forget God,” but that is the tragic

Confession

The Bible instructs us to “confess” our sins (1Jn.1:9). While many think that means to say “I’m sorry” to God, the word actually precludes most forms of modern apologies. The word confess in the Greek New Testament is a compound word which is made up of the words “the same” and “to speak”. The idea is that when we

Feelings

Our Maker tells us in his word that our volition can and should take charge of our emotions. God has so designed our minds and now insists that we not be tyrannized by our feelings. It may not be easy. At times it will be a fierce battle, but our decision-making must not be conscripted by our fickle

Stand for Truth

God warned of a great apostasy as the end of human history draws near (2Th.2:3; 1Tim.4:1-3; 2Tim.3:1-5; 4:3-4; et al.). This is not a promise of a religion-less world. On the contrary, the end times events are filled with references to popular and influential religious organizations (Rev.17:1-18). What God’s word predicts

Creation

While many of us affirm the truth that God made the world and that it displays his handiwork, and while some of us go so far as to say that it is God’s strategic source of “general revelation” to mankind, it is unfortunate that most of us take so little time to utilize God’s creation as a catalyst for

God’s Sovereignty

Trusting in the sovereignty of God does not give us license to live lax or laidback lives. Knowing that God is actively governing and guiding life’s events is a comforting realization. It rightly dispels fear and anxiety, but it should not quench our passion or drive to attack each day with zealous intent. Consider Paul’s

Relationship God’s Way

The newspaper recently reported that what people are looking for these days is a “spiritual” experience without any “religious” guidelines. That’s nothing new, so were Adam and Eve. We tend to want a relationship with God our way. The problem is “our way” is “sin” – which by definition is

Pain

Having a daughter with paralysis, I understand the blessing of pain. Without the ability to feel pain, both physical and emotional, we would run headlong into destructive situations. The pain of guilt is a classic example. We usually feel that something is wrong, because something is wrong. We often feel

Assessing Motives

Unfortunately Christians these days routinely and confidently assert their supposed insight into the thoughts and motives of those with whom they disagree. God’s people are regrettably mirroring the practice of the world by all too often claiming to know what others are thinking. While it is common to routinely impugn motives

Reading Good Books

It is hard to miss the connection between a growing body of Christ’s disciples and their love for reading theologically stimulating Christian books. Of course God’s people are to be a “people of the Book”, but thriving Christians and vibrant congregations have always been “people who ingest lots of books”! Remember Paul’s requisition to Timothy from prison:

I’m for Christ

In his parable of differing “soils” Jesus specifies some of the reasons certain people initially embrace Christianity, often with a great deal of enthusiasm and fervor, but then after a while bail out never to establish a root system which bears genuine and lasting fruit. Those identified as the first to leave do so because of

The End

Part of the reason God gave us divine revelation about the next life is to motivate us in this one. Some have said Christians can be “so heavenly minded, they are no earthly good.” But as C.S. Lewis rightly pointed out, Christians are no earthly good until they are heavenly minded. Until we digest

Fight

If you knew that you had to engage in a street fight with someone today, you’d prepare. Not wanting to fight wouldn’t help if the fight were inevitable. Ignoring the fight would only ensure your loss. The Bible says that you are in a daily battle for the control of your words. Scripture warns that your

Be Strong!

We intuitively prefer strength to weakness. And we should. It is a biblical virtue to possess the strength to resiliently face life’s challenges and to “bear up under the pain” we all inevitably encounter (1Pet.2:19; Eph.6:10-13). Thankfully God is desirous of granting his children

Good News

To trust in Jesus as the sole provision for my acceptance before God is the essence of the gospel. But by definition this gospel cannot be the same as a gospel which allows you to trust in Jesus plus something else. Many are glad when they find those who “love Jesus” and are quick to consider them

All In

Life really does necessitate that we decide who or what we are going to serve. The words of Joshua are perpetually relevant as he turned to the people and said, “choose for yourselves this day who you will serve… but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Josh.24:15). Without a resolute decision...

Help Me

As you read through the Psalms you will see the repeated, simple and effective prayer of a righteous man. It is a prayer I hope you pray regularly. It is a prayer that reveals your heart of dependence on God for your life, your protection and your future. I mentioned that this prayer is simple. Actually it is extremely simple...