Not Just Another Day

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/q9kBGseL_yk?si=v2etieWCzYGx-hMG

“Not Just Another Day”

Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT- The faithful love of the Lord never ends!  His mercies never cease.  Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

 

Isaiah 43:19 NIV- See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

 

It’s so easy for all of us to get into certain routines each day and not even think twice about what we are doing or who we are around.  A lot of us get up, go to work, do our job, then come home to our families to end the evening.  So often, we’ll go through our day and just do our routine things and not even consider what God may be wanting to do different things in our lives.  We get comfortable in our day to day lives and just go about our usual business.

 

For many people, every day is just another day.  Just another day at work to get through to earn a paycheck.  Just another day to put up with what we don’t want to do for a while so we can then go do what we want to do.  It’s almost like we do our thing each day, then get up the next day and repeat.  It’s a constant process and, often, we don’t give much thought to what we are doing.  We just expect each day to be the usual and go through it.

 

As I consider the lives that God has given to us, I know that He does not desire for us to just go through another day doing the same stuff over and over again with the same usual attitude.  As Christians, God calls us to live a life that is set apart and different.  We are to carry His light. 

 

I know it’s challenging each day to wake up and immediately try to think of all the amazing new things God is wanting to do in our lives as we hurry through our routines, but it would be good for us to take a few moments, after we get up, and just pause to ask God to open our eyes to see all that He is doing around us.

 

For your lunch break, maybe take a walk instead of sitting at your desk and scrolling on your phone.  Instead of always putting in our earbuds at your work desk, maybe strike up a conversation with a co-worker to get to know him or her. 

 

God gives us each a new day of life every day that we awake.  I am trying to learn more that each day is a gift from Him and I shouldn’t just fall into the routine rhythm that I am comfortable with so often.  He wants me and He wants us to take notice of our surroundings and be a light in the darkness.  See things in a new way and watch what He is doing as we engage with those around us and as we take the time to look around at His creation. 

 

Every day He gives is NOT just another day.  It IS another new day that He gives us to live for Him and share the love He has given to us. 

Not What I Expected

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/r5l3X12zWtE?si=qyFE0HZTBtdxmwHZ

“Not What I Expected”

John 14:1- NIV, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.”

John 16:33- NIV, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

Just recently when I was out on a run, I got to thinking about how it’s been 2 years since I started back up running again after not having run since I was in Jr. High.  In that time, I have learned a lot about running, especially from others who have been part of my encouraging running community.  The experience I’ve had getting back at it is not what I expected at all.  I really didn’t think I would stick with it and come to enjoy it again.  I thought I would drop off and give it up, but I haven’t and I’m glad I kept going.  It’s been a good learning experience with good days and bad days of running. 

 

I’ve learned to pace myself, push myself, control my breathing, and learn how I can improve on my timing and my distance.  The experience the past 2 years is not at all what I expected, but it’s been great.

 

As I consider my experience with running, I’m also looking at other areas of life where situations were not what I expected.

 

Life after college is not at all what I expected.  I studied to be in full time vocational ministry for years to come, but God obviously had other plans and I am happily serving in a volunteer capacity.

 

Life in marriage after 22 years is not what I expected.  Today, I am so very grateful for my relationship with my wife and all we have been through together.  As with any marriage, there’s been lots of ups and downs.  However, with God at the center, there has been nothing we can’t get through with Him leading us.

 

Being a parent is not what I expected.  It’s been one of the greatest learning experiences of my life.  I have 2 daughters and I never would have imagined what it takes to raise kids.  God has been so good and I am very proud of them and their faith.

 

Jesus spent much time with His disciples trying to get them to understand what was going to happen and what would come upon them.  He tried so hard to simplify it, but there were so many times they just did not get it and could not comprehend what He was telling them.  It was emotionally painful for Him so often when He saw them bickering with each other and focusing on who is greatest among them.  He tried to warn them about what was to come for them and Himself, but they just couldn’t understand. 

 

Jesus knows that, so often, life is never truly what we expected.  We have our vision of what might come, but life rarely happens as we think it will.  This teaches us to trust Him in leading us when life doesn’t make sense and trusting that He knows what He’s doing as He leads us.  Let us continue to trust God, especially in times of life where things don’t make any sense and are totally different from what we expected.  

The Best Deal

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/HAtJKoYD0mQ?si=Q6Mee2-5XYiF9bAt

“The Best Deal”

John 14:6 NIV

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

Over the years, I have become someone who likes to search out good bargains.  I always like finding a good deal that saves me money.  If I need to buy something, of course I want to find the best value for my money.  One of the best sections of stores we like to shop is clearance.  My wife and I are signed up to a lot of food places and stores to get special deals.  We also like to comparison shop when we are in stores so that we know where to get the best deals.

 

I could go on and on about how I like to find good deals.  If I find a good deal, but then soon after realize that I could have gotten an ever better deal, I get bummed and wish I had looked further to get the better deal.  Often times, my wife will say, “It was only a few dollars difference”, but then I’ll say, “Yeah, but I could have saved more money!”  I am a bargain hunter!

 

I think we all like to find good deals and bargains when we are shopping for food, clothes, electronics, etc.  Who doesn’t like to find good deals, right?  Everyone does.  I think we spend a lot of time trying to find the best deals and we put a lot of effort into our researching and shopping experience.  That can save a lot of money, but it can also take a lot of our valuable time as well.

 

Recently, as I was thinking about how we like to find good deals, I thought about the best deal we have found as people of faith.  The best deal we could have ever asked for is Jesus Christ dying for us and offering us eternal life by accepting Him as our Savior.  This is truly the best deal ever!  There is no comparison shopping.  But often, we do comparison shop.  We want to see if the world is going to offer us a better deal by chasing after other things that offer a happier way of living. 

 

We can easily get tricked and deceived by believing going a certain way or believing a certain thing will help us more.  We buy the latest thing on the market and we get a high for a while.  But after a while, the feeling fades and we’re back to searching again. 

 

Jesus said that He is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life.  There is NO better deal anywhere in the entire universe!  He is the real deal!  We simply cannot get any better than this. 

 

Are we daily thankful for the best deal we have ever received?  Are we daily grateful that Jesus has given us the best life ever?  I hope so.

Give Me Your Eyes

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/W1aaE0kgSUs?si=Rf8kl8W9-gqFPFr5

“Give Me Your Eyes”

1 John 4:7-8 NIV

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love

 

Recently, I was working remote for most of one of the days in a coffee shop.  The place seemed to be busy most of the day.  Every so often, I would find myself looking up and around to observe all the different people gathered at various tables.  If there’s one thing that my wife and I find fascinating to do in public, it’s people watching.  There’s something about it that is intriguing to us.  I found it intriguing especially as different thoughts started popping into my head regarding how I observed different people.  I started imagining who these people might be and the scenario of their discussions.

 

I noticed some older ladies enjoying each others company.  I’m guessing they were retired and possibly sitting around talking about their grandkids or their kids and the families.

 

I noticed some younger gals sitting together and imagined maybe they were college students discussing classes or various things going on in their lives.

 

I noticed some tables with a young guy and gal chatting.  Perhaps they were discussing their dating relationship or discussing the exciting things they were looking forward to in the coming days or weeks.

 

I noticed some people sitting at tables and wondered if one of them was going through a divorce.  A friend helping a friend cope with that difficult part of life.

 

I imagined a father sitting with a son or a mother sitting with a daughter and chatting about some difficult times the child was having with school.

 

As they day progressed, I just kept imagining different people and various scenarios of discussions going on and the excitement or sorrow being expressed in those conversations.  Some people were celebrating life, just hanging out or possibly having one of the worst seasons of their life. 

 

As I took this all in here and there in between the work I was doing, I kept thinking about Brandon Heath’s song “Give Me Your Eyes”.  It reminded me how so often we are clueless to the people around us and all that is going on inside of them.  They might be good at hiding what is actually happening inside and able to fake it on their faces.  They could be really struggling through tough stuff and no one knows.

 

This is a reminder to you and me that we should be very aware of our surroundings and the people around us each day.  Often times God puts us around these people to observe and offer words of encouragement and for us to notice and lend a helping hand. 

Stay On The Click

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/qA7v_6BKcS0?si=TS-c1mL0YVO02d9p

“Stay On The Click”

Proverbs 4:25-27 NLT

Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.  Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.  Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

 

On our worship team at church, we use an in ear monitor system that has a program which includes a metronome.  When I first joined the worship team 4 years ago, I was informed that there is a “click” that I would need to get used to and follow so that the whole team stays on beat.  What’s more is that I’m one of the drummers, so it’s absolutely crucial that I do my best to stay on beat.  Somewhat often, it’s easy for any one of us on the team to get off the beat or click.  On some songs, with the feeling and flow, it’s easy to get carried away and stray from the click.  When that happens, it immediately throws us all off and we try to get back on track.

 

I have found that I really like the click and it’s so helpful for me as a drummer.  If I didn’t have that click, I know that I would either go too slow or go too fast.  The click is intended, of course, to keep us on all the right beat so that the song speed flows well. 

 

As a praise team, we all try very hard to stay on the click so that the flow goes well and we can lead worship well for the congregation.  We do our best to follow the click so that we help bring a worshipful experience.  As I consider this effort that we put into the worship team, it reminds me how God wants us to stay in His Word and do our best to stay true to following Him as He leads us each day. 

 

Just as our praise team at church needs to stay on the click to provide a meaningful worship experience, we need to stay in God’s word so that our lives stay enriched with the life God intended for us.  God’s Word is the “click” that keeps our lives flowing, even with the challenges that life throws at us.  When the enemy throws obstacles and temptations in our way, God encourages us to stay on the course. 

 

So often in our lives, we think we know what is best and we like to make up our own rhythm.  This takes us off the rhythm of where God wants us and things go south quickly.

 

Just imagine if I started playing an entirely different song on the praise team than the one everyone else is playing?  Everyone on the team would probably say, “Uh….Zach?  What’s going on?”  Everything would be thrown off if I were to play an entirely different rhythm than the rest of the team.

 

God has a rhythm He wants us to follow.  If we go off the click and do our own thing, it’s not a good situation and we can fall far from where we need to be. 

 

Let’s stay on the click pattern God has for our lives and our best to follow His Word.

Break The Routine Of Autopilot

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/7lNIoXCy818?si=1BrASVn_NRlByOQR

“Break The Routine Of Autopilot”

Ecclesiastes 1:5 NLT

The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.

 

This past week, we read chapter 1 in Ecclesiastes in our men’s Bible study group.  This passage stuck out to me and the word that really jumped out was “hurries”. I read this passage and I think of daily routines.  The sun rises in our day, we often hurry through the day, then the sun sets, we go to bed and we do it all over again the next day, the day after and so on. 

 

I’m not at all against having a routine each day, but I do think we so often get into autopilot mode with our routines and we don’t think twice about the hurried state we are so often in each day.  We go from one thing to the next and we often are doing this at a high rate of speed through the day. 

 

When I get home from work each day, I often find myself cleaning things and taking little time to sit down and just relax.  Then, on the weekends, I find myself making a long list of things I need to take care of and I’m off to completing those.  Again, it’s not at all wrong having lists of things we need to take care of, but we do get into such routines that we don’t break away from and just enjoy the moments God gives us. 

 

My wife and youngest daughter are often reminding me to just sit down and take breaks from the routines I’m into each evening and on the weekends.  If we are focused on all of our routines and the tasks we need to take care of day in and day out, then that is meaningless.  We must balance chores with spending time with family and just enjoying some down time.  We were never meant to go full blast all day, every day and not take time to take life in and just chill. 

 

Years ago, I read a book by John Mark Comer titled, “The Ruthless Elimination Of Hurry” and it really got my attention.  There are times in our lives when we just need to sit and do absolutely nothing.  Watching a sunrise or a sunset.  Sitting down and watching traffic go by or watching people.  Too often, we fight initial boredom by taking out our phones and passing the time scrolling, looking up things online or checking e-mails. 

 

I want to encourage all of us to be intentional about breaking out of our routines each day and taking time to notice our surroundings and get of autopilot so that we don’t miss opportunities around us.  Opportunities to be alone and take life in and also opportunities God puts around us with various people. 

 

Let us break the routine of autopilot. 

I Don't Like The Beeper

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/QJnsLeyBBHQ?si=fKBWCbuUuf2gvl-z

“I Don’t Like The Beeper”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV

 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

 

We used to be with a car insurance company that had a beacon we kept in the car that kept track of our driving habits.  It didn’t make any sound, but you could look up driving habits whenever you wanted to see them.

 

Last year, we switched companies and we now have a beacon that actually makes noise when you drive.  It beeps if you’re stopping too quickly, turning a corner too fast or not making a complete stop at a stop sign.  In the past months, I have found myself getting aggravated at the beep and talking to it like it’s a person.  I’ll often say, “What?  I stopped just fine” or “C’Mon!  There was nothing wrong with that turn or stop!”  There have been times where I’ve slowed down way before a stop and then come to a gentle and complete stop, only to have it keep on me anyway.  I’m like, “Seriously???  How else could I have done that?” 

 

Needless to say, it is VERY picky about how you drive.  That’s good, because it determines future discounts on our policy.  However, it still annoys me when I feel like I’m driving just fine and I still get beeped at. 

 

I’ve discovered that, no matter how good I think I may be driving, the device is programmed to record my driving habits and painfully alert me when I’m not driving like I should.  It doesn’t matter if I think I am driving well or not.  If I’m not up to par, I get beeped. 

 

So often in our lives, the same applies to how we think we are doing in our walk with God.  So often, in our perspective, we think we’re living just fine and doing the right things.  It’s so often easy for us to justify things and think we are doing fine, when in reality, we clearly are not. 

 

God has a standard for us to follow in His Word.  If we are not living the way we should, God will discipline us and bring us back to reality so that we can shape up and correct how we are living.  We often get frustrated when people we trust and love try to correct us.  We often can become defensive and react like I have to the beep and say, “What?  I am doing this just fine!  I’m not doing anything wrong!”.  However, in reality, we are not. 

 

God’s word is authority for a reason.  It is meant to correct us, even when we don’t like being corrected.  I personally don’t like the beeper sound in our cars and it annoys me.  But I need to remember that it’s there to help me be a better driver so that I’m safer and get good discounts.

 

Even when we don’t like the “beeps” that come up when we are doing wrong things in life, God’s Word is there to give us the correction we need.