3/9/20-3/13/20 Devo Two - Every Opportunity

This is the second devotional for the week of March 9-13. This is a devotional from Our Daily Bread on looking for spiritual opportunity. It's a great reminder to use our time wisely and positively toward others. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Every Opportunity

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity"

Colossians 4:5

Ever caught a dragon? I hadn’t until my son convinced me to download a game on my phone. Producing a digital map mirroring the real world, the game allows you to catch colorful creatures near you.

Unlike most mobile games, this one requires movement. Anywhere you go is part of the game’s playing field. The result? I’m doing a lot more walking! Anytime my son and I play, we strive to maximize every opportunity to nab the critters that pop up around us.

It’s easy to focus on, even obsess over, a game that’s crafted to captivate users. But as I played the game, I was convicted with this question: Am I this intentional about maximizing the spiritual opportunities around me?

Paul knew the need to be alert to God’s work around us. In Colossians 4, he asked for prayer for an opportunity to share the gospel (v. 3). Then he challenged, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity” (v. 5). Paul didn’t want the Colossians to miss any chance of influencing others toward Christ. But doing so would require truly seeing them and their needs, then engaging in ways “full of grace” (v. 6).

In our world, far more things vie for our time and attention than a game’s imaginary dragons. But God invites us to navigate a real-world adventure, every day seeking opportunities to point to Him.

By:  Adam R. Holz

Reflect & Pray

When did God use someone in an unexpected way to bring you into deeper relationship with Him? When has He used you to impact someone’s life during an ordinary day?

Jesus, thank You that You’re constantly at work in the people around me. Help me to make the most of every opportunity I have to demonstrate Your love and grace.

3/9/20-3/13/20 Devo One - What God Can Do in Daily Devotions by John Piper

This is the first devotional for the week of March 9-13. The Bible will change you from the inside out. Every time you read his word, God is mending, strengthening, and shaping your soul. John Piper, who wrote Desiring God, gives a short message on what God can do in daily devotions (even weekly devotions). May these devotions be encouraging and inspiring for you. Watch this video and let us know what you think by leaving a few sentences as comment below the post. The comments are what give you credit. Here's a little background about John Piper.

John Stephen Piper is an American Reformed Baptist pastor and author who is the founder and leader of desiringGod.org and is the chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Time with God

3/2/20-3/5/20 Devo Two - Plans Disrupted

This is the second devotional for the week of March 2-5. This is a devotional from Our Daily Bread on dealing with sudden change. It's a great reminder to keep faith in God in uncertain times. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Plans Disrupted

"Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails"

Proverbs 19:21

Jane’s plans to become a speech therapist ended when an internship revealed the job was too emotionally challenging for her. Then she was given the opportunity to write for a magazine. She’d never seen herself as an author, but years later she found herself advocating for needy families through her writing. “Looking back, I can see why God changed my plans,” she says. “He had a bigger plan for me.”

The Bible has many stories of disrupted plans. On his second missionary journey, Paul had sought to bring the gospel into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus stopped him (Acts 16:6–7). This must have seemed mystifying: Why was Jesus disrupting plans that were in line with a God-given mission? The answer came in a dream one night: Macedonia needed him even more. There, Paul would plant the first church in Europe. Solomon also observed, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21).

It’s sensible to make plans. A well-known adage goes, “Fail to plan, and you plan to fail.” But God may disrupt our plans with His own. Our challenge is to listen and obey, knowing we can trust God. If we submit to His will, we’ll find ourselves fitting into His purpose for our lives.

As we continue to make plans, we can add a new twist: Plan to listen. Listen to God’s plan.

By:  Leslie Koh

Reflect & Pray

How can you submit your plans to God today? How can you listen to His plans?

All-knowing God, give me the faith to listen to You when my plans are disrupted, 
knowing that You have a greater purpose for my life.

3/2/20-3/5/20 Devo One - Denzel Washington

This is the first devotional for the week of March 2-5. In delivering the commencement speech at Dillard University, Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington told the college graduates to put God first in everything they do, adding that everything he has accomplished in this life was due to the grace of God. May these devotions be encouraging and inspiring for you. Watch this video and let us know what you think by leaving a few sentences as comment below the post. The comments are what give you credit. Here's a little background about Denzel Washington.

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, director, and producer. He has received two Golden Globe awards, one Tony Award, and two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for the historical war drama film Glory and Best Actor for his role as corrupt detective Alonzo Harris in the crime thriller Training Day.

Put God First!

2/24/20-2/28/20 Devo Two - Unexpected Changes

This is the second devotional for the week of February 24-28. This is a devotional from Our Daily Bread on dealing with sudden change. It's a great reminder to keep faith in God in uncertain times. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Unexpected Change

"You do not even know what will happen tomorrow"

James 4:14

In January 1943, warm Chinook winds hit Spearfish, South Dakota, quickly raising the temperatures from –4° to 45°F (–20° to 7°C). That drastic weather change—a swing of 49 degrees—took place in just two minutes. The widest temperature change recorded in the USA over a twenty-four-hour period is an incredible 103 degrees! On January 15, 1972, Loma, Montana, saw the temperature jump from −54° to 49°F (–48° to 9°C).

Sudden change, however, is not simply a weather phenomenon. It’s sometimes the very nature of life. James reminds us, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow” (4:13–14). An unexpected loss. A surprise diagnosis. A financial reversal. Sudden changes.

Life is a journey with many unpredictable elements. This is precisely why James warns us to turn from “arrogant schemes” (v. 16) that do not take the Almighty into account. As he advised us, “You ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that’ ” (v. 15). The events of our lives may be uncertain, but one thing is sure: through all of life’s unexpected moments, our God will never leave us. He’s our one constant throughout life.

By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray

When facing sudden change, how do you respond?
What do you think an appropriate faith response to life’s surprises should look like?

Father, forgive me for the times I worry over things I couldn’t anticipate or can’t control, 
and help me to find my rest in You.

2/24/20-2/28/20 Devo One - The Missionary's Feet

This is the first devotional for the week of February 24-28. This video is a devotional about missionary Hudson Taylor. May these devotions be encouraging and inspiring for you. Watch this video and let us know what you think by leaving a few sentences as comment below the post. The comments are what give you credit. Here's a little background about James Hudson Taylor.

James Hudson Taylor (1832 – 1905) was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China and founder of the China Inland Mission (CIM, now OMF International). Taylor spent 51 years in China. The society that he began was responsible for bringing over 800 missionaries to the country who began 125 schools and directly resulted in 18,000 Christian conversions, as well as the establishment of more than 300 stations of work with more than 500 local helpers in all eighteen provinces.
Taylor was known for his sensitivity to Chinese culture and zeal for evangelism. He adopted wearing native Chinese clothing even though this was rare among missionaries of that time. Under his leadership, the CIM was singularly non-denominational in practice and accepted members from all Protestant groups, including individuals from the working class, and single women as well as multinational recruits. Primarily because of the CIM's campaign against the opium trade, Taylor has been referred to as one of the most significant Europeans to visit China in the 19th century. Historian Ruth Tucker summarizes the theme of his life:

No other missionary in the nineteen centuries since the Apostle Paul has had a wider vision and has carried out a more systematized plan of evangelizing a broad geographical area than Hudson Taylor.^[4]

Taylor was able to preach in several varieties of Chinese, including Mandarin, Chaozhou, and the Wu dialects of Shanghai and Ningbo. The last of these he knew well enough to help prepare a colloquial edition of the New Testament written in it.

The Missionary's Feet

2/10/20-2/15/20 Devo Two - In It Together

This is the second devotional for the week of February 10-15. This is a devotional from Our Daily Bread on showing empathy. It's a great reminder of how God can use the hard things we go through to help others. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

In It Together

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."

Romans 12:15

During a two-month period in 1994, as many as one million Tutsis were slain in Rwanda by Hutu tribe members bent on killing their fellow countrymen. In the wake of this horrific genocide, Bishop Geoffrey Rwubusisi approached his wife about reaching out to women whose loved ones had been slain. Mary’s reply was, “All I want to do is cry.” She too had lost members of her family. The bishop’s response was that of a wise leader and caring husband: “Mary, gather the women together and cry with them.” He knew his wife’s pain had prepared her to uniquely share in the pain of others.

The church, the family of God, is where all of life can be shared—the good and not-so-good. The New Testament words “one another” are used to capture our interdependence. “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. . . . Live in harmony with one another” (Romans 12:10, 16). The extent of our connectedness is expressed in verse 15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

While the depth and scope of our pain may pale in comparison with those affected by genocide, it’s nonetheless personal and real. And, as with the pain of Mary, because of what God has done for us it can be embraced and shared for the comfort and good of others.

By: Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray

When have you allowed someone else to share your sorrow?
How does the body of Christ—the church—help you deal with the hard times in life?

Gracious God, forgive me for my reluctance to enter the pain of others. 

Help me to live more fully as a connected member of Your church.