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““O Israel,” says the Lord, “if you wanted to return to me, you could. You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more.” Jeremiah 4:1
Back in the 1970s, a comedian named Flip Wilson did several comedy sketches built around the phrase “the devil made me do it!”
While there was a lot of humor in those sketches, the reality is that many of us continue to play the blame game when it comes to our struggles.
We blame our spouse for relational issues. We blame the boss for an unhealthy work environment or our inability to pay our bills. We blame the pastor for our lack of spiritual growth. We blame the government for… well, everything. We may even blame the devil himself!
Make no mistake about it, Satan is powerful; he is deceitful; his intent is to destroy us. The apostle Paul teaches us that Satan is at the root of all our battles. The last thing the devil wants us to do is to follow God and live in the peace and freedom that God wants us to be in and that we have available to us through Jesus Christ.
The reality is, because of Jesus’ death on the cross, and because of his resurrection, we have the Holy Spirit living within us when we are his followers. We did not receive a spirit of fear but a spirit of power.
The message God sent to Israel is the same message he sends to us today. Nothing in our past and nothing in our current circumstances can keep us from turning to God if we truly want to. He wants us to come home to him. He wants us to experience his love. He wants us to know the joy and peace we can have in him through Jesus.
But the choosing is ours. We have to want to change first and then ask God to help us begin the journey to living a God pleasing life. Satan wants to destroy you. God wants to build you up and empower you. But the choice begins with you!
“Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35
Have you ever been really hungry? I mean really really hungry? Your body aches, you may get a headache, you may even begin to feel sick. You may have even said that old saying I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!
Hunger is a natural response of the human body. It is a signal to us that we are in need of food. Without it our bodies will not be able to function.
In the same way, our soul gets hungry. The cure for a hungry soul is Jesus. Yet too many times we seek for other things. Junk food for the soul may satisfy for the short term but it doesn’t satisfy completely and isn’t healthy for you.
What you feed your heart affects your spiritual walk in the same way your physical diet affects your body. Jesus as soul food is like eating healthy. Anything else is junk food. And we know what junk food does to our bodies.
Help me to feast on what you have for me so I can be spiritually healthy. Nothing but trust and faith in Jesus will satisfy the cravings of your soul!
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13
A few times every year an event happens that excites every true sports fan. During this event, they may sit glued to their screens in anxious anticipation. Some will leave angry or disappointed. Some will leave excited. All will leave hopeful. This strange event I’m talking about isn’t a football game or baseball game or a hockey game. No one is dressed in team uniforms. There are no officials. If you haven’t figured it out yet, what I’m talking about is the draft. By design, the draft is created to allow teams to add to their rosters players that will best suit their needs. Teams that have bad records get the first choices, teams that have good records get the last choices, unless of course there are trades.
But this devotional isn’t about the draft or athletes. It’s about potential. You see players are drafted with hopes that they will live up to their potential. Sometimes players who are expected to do well, do poorly. Sometimes players who are expected to be average, become superstars. The difference is potential over actual.
In the Christian life it’s no different really. We all have a tremendous amount of potential. Not because of our own abilities, but because of the driving force behind our potential. The difference is that we have God on our side. In fact, the very Spirit of God dwells in us. Think about it. The same power that created the world; the same power that erased Jesus from the dead, lives in you as a Christ-follower.
If we follow him he’ll help us to reach our best potential possible. Relying on him for our strength and our direction will help us each to be a superstar in his eyes. And that’s all that really counts. Potential over actual. God is the difference between being average and reaching your potential. In Jesus you can rise above mediocrity and be awesome.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 