Be Kind To Yourself

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

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“Be Kind To Yourself”

Ephesians 2:10 NLT

For we are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

 

I have a confession to make right off the bat here.  For most of my life, I have had a really bad habit of coming down on myself when I make a mistake or forget to do something.  This is something I have been working on for a while, but I still treat myself pretty bad when I mess anything up.  The enemy feeds me lies every time I mess up or forget to do something.  The enemy tells me I’m worthless, that everyone else would get it right and that I’m just not smart enough.

 

I’ve dealt with a very low self-esteem for so long, but God is helping me work on this.  And, so is my wife and kids.  Daily they hear me say something bad about myself and I get in trouble when I do that.  If I say, “I’m dumb”, “I’m stupid”, “I can’t get things right”, I get in big trouble with them and they tell me to be nice to myself.

 

When I read this passage this week, it reminded me that no matter how sometimes I feel about myself, it’s usually very wrong because the enemy wants me to feel worthless, useless and not valued at all. 

 

Friends, think about the first phrase of this passage, “For we are God’s masterpiece”.  You and I are God’s MASTERPIECE!!!!  How does that make you feel?  When I read that, I am reminded how valued and loved I am by God.  The enemy is so good at feeding me constant lies about myself.  The heartbreak to this behavior of mine is that often I will hear my kids say the same things about themselves.  Of course, I tell them to stop saying that, but that’s exactly how I act and what I say when I mess up.

 

Be kind to yourself!  We are a masterpiece created by the Maker of all things.  There is nothing useless or worthless about that!  If you are reading this and you are finding yourself struggling just like I do daily with self-esteem, remember this passage.  You are created anew in Christ Jesus!  You are loved and valued by the Maker Himself.  He created you and values you more than you’ll ever know.

 

When you find moments where you come down on yourself and say bad things about yourself, take a deep breath and remember this passage and the fact that God values you.  And remember to be kind.  We’re always told to be kind to others, but we also need to be kind to ourselves.

Honesty Goes A Long Way

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

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“Honesty Goes A Long Way”

Isaiah 6:5 NIV

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

 

As I’ve mentioned many times in the past, I am a fan of police shows.  Watching the reality of what police officers experience is thrilling in many ways, but also touching in some ways as well.  My wife and I will often make comments to each other and our girls how certain officers are really cool in the way they handle things. 

 

One of the things that has stuck out to me lately is when a traffic stop is made and the officer has a hunch there are drugs involved or sees some drug paraphernalia, so then the driver or passengers are immediately asked to step out of the car.  Many officers will then cut right to the chase and say, “Look, honesty goes a long way with here.  If you’re honest with me right now about the drugs you have, we can work something out”.  This doesn’t mean the officer will totally let them off the hook, but with the honesty, the officer will often either destroy it and let them go after delivering a teaching moment. 

 

I’ve had that phrase stuck in my mind for a while now as I watch the shows.  If the people aren’t honest and try to play dumb and the cops find more drugs, then off to jail they go or pay a hefty fine.  The officers value up front honesty and often times, the officers can tell right away if the person is lying.  As I think about this in our lives with God, He values our honesty.  When we come to Him, He wants us to admit the junk in our lives. He wants us to be up front with Him, admit our faults and ask for forgiveness.  We can’t hide anything from God.

 

I would imagine it’s pretty hard to hide things from cops.  They are smart and know how to spot things that aren’t good.  They want people to be honest with them and for it to be a teaching moment.  God also wants to have teaching moments with us and He wants to guide us.  Parents want their kids to be honest with them.  Teachers want students to be honest with them.  Any person in authority desires for another person in a lesser position to be honest.  Honesty goes a long way. 

 

So often, I think we forget this in life.  I have really tried to make this a practice in my life.  Not just to look good to others, but to really have a good conscience and be a faithful servant for God.  I want to be honest in all that I do.  But, there are times I don’t want to be honest and I’d rather hide something because I don’t want to face the music.

 

We can all learn a lot by remembering that honesty goes a long way.  When we’ve messed up, we need to come clean before God and before those we have wronged.

Are We Missing Out?

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/ZVJcJGaVZGc?si=lUzNWw0fwBysIxoT

“Are We Missing Out?”

Revelation 4:8 NIV

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”

 

We have all had experiences in life where we feel like we’ve missed out on something.  Maybe we decided to not go on a trip with others and then we find out all they did and we feel we really missed out.  Maybe as a parent you were not able to attend one of your kid’s events.  For whatever reason, you didn’t go and then something big happened and you didn’t see it in person.  You feel you really missed out.

 

We have all had these experiences in one way or another.  There are times when we wish we could be in two places at once so we don’t miss both opportunities.  However, we can’t clone ourselves, so we have to decide on one or the other.

 

Several weeks ago, we had a prayer and worship night at church during the week.  One of the songs we sang was Chris Tomlin “Holy Forever”.  The chorus really caught my attention:

 

And the angels cry, Holy
All creation cries, Holy
You are lifted high, Holy
Holy forever

 

As I thought of these words, I pictured Revelation where the creatures are bowing before the Throne and saying “Holy” and they never stop!  I thought about how in the past years in ministry life, I have heard off and on people talk about how there’s constant worship going on in Heaven and are we joining that praise?  Or, are we totally missing out because life is just too important here on earth and we are consumed with everything on our agenda?

 

I am one that really hates to miss out on things that are cool to be part of.  There are times that when I miss out on something and I get serious FOMO, it hits me and the emotions are all over the place.  Well, I often wonder how I feel if I am missing out on just giving God praise all day long and joining with the creatures before the Throne. 

 

Friends, if we are so consumed with life, it’s so easy to totally miss out on praising God and getting that focus in our lives.  We miss out on something really BIG when we forget that our lives are to constantly be praising God, every moment of each day.  Let that sink in for a moment.

 

I don’t want to miss out any longer.  I want to constantly be joining the praise that is already going on.  How about you?

There Is No Easy Button

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

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“There Is No Easy Button”

Luke 9:23 NLT

Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me.”

 

Remember many years ago the commercial for Staples store with a button that says, “That was easy”?  We actually have one of those buttons at my work on top of the corner of a cubicle.  One of the IT guys usually walks by and hits it and we laugh.  I remember through the years talking about that commercial and how so often it would be nice if certain things were easy.  Don’t we all feel like that?

 

As a parent, I often hear my kids make comments and complain about how they wish life were just easier.  As much as I lecture them about this, I have to admit I do feel the same way many times.  There are times in life when I just wish things could be easier.  Why can’t raising kids be easier?  Why can’t my job be easier?  Why can’t marriage be easier? Why can’t school be easier?  The list could go on and on. 

 

As I think about how we’ve become so accustomed to comfort in our lives and finding the easiest way to do things, I can’t help but think about how this is the exact opposite of what Jesus taught us about life.  He came and lived anything but an easy life.  Pretty much everything He did was the opposite of easy.  People around Him often complained about how hard things were.  But He taught so often that “hard” is good.  It teaches us and creates character and perseverance in our lives.

 

Jesus was very clear to us about how we need to carry our cross daily.  If we want to follow Him, we cannot expect an easy life.  We cannot live daily wishing that everything was easy.  Even though we would often want this, living easy does not produce growth in our lives.  The challenges I experience in my life are often not wanted or easy, but they definitely help me grow as a person and in my faith. 

 

Friends, we must stop holding on to the “easy button” and wishing so much in life was easier.  We must remember the life that God called us to live should be anything but easy.  God’s call and challenge to us is to grow and be stretched in our faith every day.  Through the pain and trials of carrying our cross daily, we learn what it truly means to live a life that Jesus calls us to. 

 

There is no easy button for our lives in Christ.  We were meant to live a life that is full of challenge and growth.  An easy life will not produce growth and character.

Get Back Up And Go

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

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“Get Back Up And Go”

James 1:2-3 NIV

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

 

Last week, I shared how I was moved by the numbers on the scale and I decided to get it in gear and start walking and jogging regularly again.  Well, one of the days I got home from work and went for a jog, I must have stepped into a groove on the sidewalk at just the wrong time.  Next thing I know, my body shot forward and I hit the ground.  I ended up dropping my phone and breaking part of it (I don’t know why I didn’t just have it in my pocket!), skinning my left knee, left thigh, left elbow and right palm.  It hurt bad, but I got up, took a little bit to regain my composure while limping.  After a bit, I thought, “I think I can still do this”, and I started jogging again.

 

I was actually questioning myself in my head why I chose to continue to jog after I just got injured.  I have motivation to keep jogging and getting exercise and I didn’t want the injury to stop me.  I mean, if I had broken something, I probably would have stopped and limped my way home.  But, I was determined to see how it felt to keep going.  I got home, wiped my cuts off and went on with life.  The next day, I was very sore and it hurt a lot to move my left leg.  I was limping a bit for the next day or so, but got better soon.  I’m still sore and healing from the wounds, but I’ve been out almost every day still jogging and walking.  When I come to that place I fell, I go a bit slower and try to be more aware of the sidewalk so I don’t do it again!

 

Friends, we all have had numerous experiences where we fall in life.  Sometimes, it’s just figuratively speaking with a bad decision we’ve made, or it could literally be physical where we experience an injury to our body.  Either way, when we fall, it’s often scary and difficult in some ways to get back up and go again.  We might think, “What if it happens again?”  Well, the only way to know is try again.  We can either be filled with the fear of it happening again or be confident that we’ll do our best to not let it happen again.

 

We all experience trials and hard times.  God uses these times to strengthen us and help us to continue to live life.  We gotta pick ourselves back up and keep going.  Maybe not the same way we chose before, but we keep going again.  I used to tell my girls years ago about how the gymnasts experience setback after setback and mistake after mistake for many years and you never see that.  And, even though they become professionals in many ways, they STILL mess up!  And, so will we! 

 

We will continue to fall down, but how we handle that means everything!  We gotta make the decision to get back up and keep going and let God guide us.  I hope that we can all strive to move forward, regardless of the falls we experience in life.  We will have them, but it’s our choice how we deal with them.  Let our motivation for life keep us going!

Numbers

 You Tube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/hN7-tfMeKwI?si=nN0tIhiUgy59lYhT

“Numbers”

Hebrews 12:11 NIV

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

 

About a week and a half ago, I decided to get on the scale one morning because I hadn’t weighed myself for a long time.  I just stood there and looked at the number and said, “You’ve got to be kidding!”  I was not happy about it.  I thought about all the days that I’ve laid around doing nothing when I should be moving around and then all the times I probably overeat with meals and snacking.

 

As much as I did not like what I saw, it was the reality that really hit me!  The numbers stared me right in the face.  I couldn’t say, “Well, the scale is broken!” or “batteries need changing”.  I knew they were right and I just felt fat.  I was ashamed I had let the numbers get so high.  I hadn’t really been taking care of myself as I ought to.  That has changed since then.  I’m starting to eat less at meals and not snacking so much.  I’m also getting back out to walk and jog again.  That feels great!

 

Numbers have a way of showing us reality.  Scores from a school test.  Numbers from blood lab work.  Numbers when we get a bill we didn’t expect.  So many different ways we are told numbers that leave us in a state of shock.  It’s reality and it has hit us.  There’s no sense in arguing about it or trying to make excuses.  We have to own up to the reality and start making changes or just facing the reality of what we might have to live with if we can’t change the numbers.

 

Numbers can be a powerful way for God to get our attention.  When we aren’t taking care of ourselves, the numbers we see on a test or a scale can slap us upside the head back into reality. Maybe we shouldn’t eat out so much.  Maybe we should have ice cream so often. 

 

I did not like what the scale showed me.  And, you know what?  That number isn’t going down fast.  I have to work at it.  I have to be diligent.  I have to stay consistent with being mindful of what I eat and getting out for exercise.  We have to make a conscious effort to change things when we don’t like what we see.  We cannot keep on living how we’ve lived and expect things to change. 

 

Friends, when we don’t like certain numbers we see, we need to practice discipline.  It’s hard to do.  Numbers often do not lie.  I’m not saying every test is 100% accurate, but the numbers should jolt us into thinking better than we usually do.  We need to be more disciplined in life and take better care of ourselves and be mindful of things before they spiral out of control. 

 

God definitely disciplines us in life and we often need it.  Let’s heed God’s discipline when He’s trying to wake us up to reality.

Stop Running

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/tEF7fZt8tkQ?si=eux4PAq_xqwfHh53

“Stop Running”

Jonah 1:1-3 NIV

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

 

Since I was a young boy, I became fascinated with the show “Cops”.  All through the years at various times, I’ve kept watching it whenever I flipped through channels at home or when we’d be at a hotel.  That show always captured my attention.  In the past several years, there’s been “Cops:Reloaded”, “Live PD” and now “On Patrol Live”.  I have to admit we watch “On Patrol Live” regularly each week.  My youngest daughter, my wife and I mostly watch it and I’ve gotten them addicted as I am. Haha! 

 

There’s something captivating about watching people do the things they do and how people react to police.  We often find ourselves shaking our heads and saying, “What were you thinking?  You actually thought you could outsmart and outrun the cops?”  I’m often amazed and impressed with how cops can easily spot when someone is lying to them and how they can spot different things throughout the stop. 

 

As I think about these people who often run on foot or speed away in the vehicles, it surprises me that they actually think they won’t get caught.  They run or speed away from what they need to face.  When I consider this, I cannot help but think of Jonah and how we so often relate to running away from things we need to face in our lives.  Jonah clearly disobeyed God and ran away.  He said, “NO”.  That wasn’t very smart at all!  But before we shake our fingers at Jonah’s situation and say, “Shame on him, he knew better!”, we so often know better as well. 

 

Friends, just like Jonah and all the people on police shows, we make decisions to run from God in various ways in our lives.  We don’t want to face what He wants us to deal with and we just decide to speed away, thinking we will get away from Him.  We all know we won’t.  God will continue to pursue us and we will get where we need to go one way or another.  But why do we want to experience more pain?  So often the cops will say to the people who run, “You would have just been dealing with a simple ticket, but now you ran and you’re going to jail!”  People don’t think.  Well, often we don’t either.  We run without thinking and somehow think we’re ok.

 

Let’s try to be mindful of our situations when we get the impulse to run away.  It’s probably better to have a heart to heart with God and get things figured out.  We need to stop running and start facing what God leads us to through life.