Daily Hope Devotional

“I will never lay aside Your laws, for You have used them to restore my joy and health.” (Psalm 119:93 TLB) God’s Word is full of commands that are meant to protect you and give you life. If God says to do something, He means for you to do it, and if He says not to do something, you shouldn’t do it. So why should you follow God’s Word? Why should you make this book your standard? Because the Bible is dependable because it doesn’t change. Fads change, opinions change — even science changes. By the time a science textbook is in print, it’s already out of date! A few weeks ago I threw out a thick stack of computer books because they’re all worthless and irrelevant — wrong operating systems and wrong programs. Everything changes, but God’s Word doesn’t change, because the Truth never changes. During an interview, Alan Shepherd, the first American astronaut in space, was asked, “What are you depending on?” Shepherd replied, “That God’s laws will not change.” That’s a pretty good ans...

God’s Word: Your Signpost for Life “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT) One night after teaching at a pastor’s conference, my family decided to go to the beach at about 9 p.m. — that’s typical for the Warrens. So there we were at Capistrano Beach, frolicking in the ocean, and having fun. Then someone in our family saw this little sign that was posted in the sand that said, “Contaminated water. Stay out.” That sign represented an authority and very clearly told us, “Don’t you dare put even a toe in this water!” Why was that sign posted? To ruin my fun? To make my life a big bummer? No! It was there for my own health. How should I react to that authority? I could reject that authority and say, “This is a stupid sign! I know better than this sign, so I’m going to go ahead and play in the water anyway.” ...

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5 NIV) If you want to make healthy choices to be well and whole again, you have to learn to be meek. Matthew 5:5 says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (NIV). The Bible lists many benefits of meekness: The meek will be satisfied (Psalm 22:26); God will guide them (Psalm 25:9); they will become wise (Proverbs 11:2); they will be filled with fresh joy (Isaiah 29:19). There are many, many others. The problem is, we misunderstand this term. None of us really know what meekness is. In fact we often confuse it with another term that sounds like it — “meek” sounds like “weak.” Nobody wants to be weak, so nobody wants to be meek.                                                                              ...

“But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.” (Luke 12:2 NASB) If you want to get to a place of hope, first you have to see who God really is. But that’s not all. You also have to be honest and admit the truth about yourself. The truth is, you are broken. The Bible says in Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (NLT). I think we all know that. We all know there’s something in us that is broken. As much as we know this is true, there is something in every one of us that wants to hide from that truth and pretend it’s not there instead of just being honest about it. I don’t know about you, but I spend way too much time and energy hiding from this simple truth: I am broken. The thing is, in the end we’re not going to be able to hide from it anyway. Luke 12:2 says, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known” (NASB). That verse scares ...

“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” (Psalm 86:15 NIV) God is a God of compassion. Psalm 86:15 says, “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (NIV). The Bible also says, “God is the Father who is full of mercy and all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3b NCV). Some of you may have grown up with a father who was full of judgment and distanced himself from you. But that’s not who God is. God isn’t that father. God is the Father who is full of mercy. God is the Father who is full of comfort. That is the kind of relationship he offers to you. If you’re going to have hope, you’ve got to see who God really is. You’ve got to see that He doesn’t come into your life to make you feel judged but to let you know He really cares. What’s God really like? God is all about being a part of your everyday life. God is about being close to you. God is about having a relati...

“Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (James 5:16 LB) You know that problem you’d like to get rid of in your life? That temptation, defect, fault, fear, worry, loneliness — whatever is in your life that messes you up? You’re never going to get rid of it on your own. If you could, you would, but you can’t, so you won’t. You’re only going to get well when you’re honest with God — and with other people. You say, “I don’t want to do that. That makes me uncomfortable. Why should I do that?” Because it humbles you, and God gives grace to the humble. It’s your pride that keeps you stuck. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 4:9, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” (NIV). God wired us so that we need each other. You were never meant to face your problems or your sins by yourself. We need eac...

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2 NIV) If you want to have lasting change in your life, you need to refocus your mind. Specifically, you need to change your thought patterns from focusing on what you don’t want to focus on to what you do want to focus on. Why? Because whatever you focus on is what you move toward. Today’s verse gives us the blueprint to change our thought patterns: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2 NIV). - “Do not conform …” How often do we let other people shape our lives? God doesn’t want you to be like someone else; He wants you to be the person He made you to be. So don’t copy, don’t conform, and don’t try to be like anybody else. - “… any longer …”  There are a lot of things you start off doing by copying others that turn into a habit. - “… the pattern of this world.”  ...

“If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.” (1 John 1:8 NLT) We’re all defective. None of us measure up to a standard of perfection. It is silly to pretend that you’ve got it all together when everybody knows you don’t. In fact, the Bible tells us it is self-deception. You will never be sinless on this planet, but it is possible to sin less. So why is it so hard to change stuff in us that we really don’t like? Because we’ve had our defects so long. Some of our destructive patterns were developed in childhood, perhaps in resistance to pain or as a stress coping device. These defects may be self-defeating, but at least they’re familiar! Because we identify with our defects. We often confuse our identity with our defects. When you see yourself connected to your defect, you set yourself up to perpetuate it. Because our defects have a payoff. Whatever is rewarded gets repeated. The payoff for the defects you have in your life may b...

“We ... saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, Who alone could save us, for He can even raise the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:9 LB) Once you admit that you need help, you can ask God for it! This is moving from confession to petition. At one point in His life, the apostle Paul was so discouraged that He was ready to give up on life. In fact he said, “We felt we were doomed to die” (2 Corinthians 1:9 LB). Then he went on to say in the same verse, “We ... saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us, for he can even raise the dead.” If God can raise a dead person, He can raise a dead marriage. If God can raise a dead person, He can raise a dead career. If God can raise a dead person, He can raise a dead dream. Anybody can bring good out of good. God can bring good out of bad. He can do miracles! He specializes in turni...

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” (James 4:6 NIV) In Jesus’ most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, He explains the choices that help us heal from our hurts and hang-ups, and the habits that mess up our lives. The first Beatitude, Matthew 5:3, says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (NIV). What does it mean to be “poor in spirit”? Jesus is saying that nobody gets into Heaven who is full of pride. We get there by grace. To be poor in spirit, you must humbly admit you need help. Jesus said, “The Truth will set you free.” You’ve got to face the truth about yourself and stop living in denial. We call this the reality choice. But the truth is, we don’t like the truth. We love the truth about everybody else, but we don’t like the truth about ourselves. It feels a whole lot safer to avoid the truth about yourself because it is painful to face. Tithe truth will set you free, but first it makes you miserable when you realiz...

“Encourage each other every day while it is ‘today.’” (Hebrews 3:13a NCV) If you’re married, God has given you an incredibly important role: to be your spouse’s biggest fan. It’s a job only you can do in the way God desires, and your spouse desperately needs you to do it. We live in a world full of critics. We don’t have to look far to find someone who will put us down. That’s why every person on the planet desperately needs to be affirmed by someone on a regular basis. It’s how God wired us. If you’re married, one such person should be your spouse. To have a growing marriage, it’s essential for you and your spouse to build into your marriage continual affirmation of one another. More than likely, it’s something that was a part of your marriage in the beginning. Few people will marry someone who doesn’t affirm them in some way. But like so many other parts of a growing marriage, it often fades over the course of time. The Bible says in Hebrews 3:13, “Encourage each other ev...

“You have left the love you had in the beginning. So remember where you were before you fell. Change your hearts and do what you did at first.” (Revelation 2:4-5 NCV) At first glance you may not think the book of Revelation — with its images of beasts, lambs, and angels — has anything to do with romance and the kind of affection needed to sustain a growing marriage. But it does. In Revelation 2:4-5, Jesus uses an analogy from romantic love to describe the relationship of a church that had gone astray. Jesus said to the church of Laodicea: “You have left the love you had in the beginning. So remember where you were before you fell. Change your hearts and do what you did at first” (NCV). He tells us to do four things that are important when recapturing our marriage: remember, return, repent, and repeat. - Remember. Think about what you did in your first days together that made you fall in love in the first place. Think about the happy days. Stop thinking about all the proble...

“Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19b NIV) When you give your spouse your attention and focus, it’s like you give them a piece of your life. Those focused moments of intimate sharing are time you’ll never get back again. They are little pieces of your life. That’s why the most loving act you can show your spouse is to pay attention to him or her. It’s one of the most important ways you say, “I love you.” The truth is, you fell in love by paying attention. You started paying attention to someone, and that person started paying attention to you. It’s that focused attention that’ll keep the romance alive after you say your nuptials, have kids, raise a family, dig deeper into your career, and grow old together. You show you care by staying aware. To keep growing, you need to figure out how to keep paying attention to each other. If you don’t do that, your marriage will crumble. One of the ways we let our attention fade in marriage is when we s...

“I am the God who forgives your sins, and I do this because of Who I am. I will not hold your sins against you.” (Isaiah 43:25 TEV) Some of us, even though we’re believers, think that whenever we’re having problems, God is getting even with us, that He’s just trying to get back at us. It’s like the guy who was driving up to a mountain lake. On the way up it starts snowing, so he gets out to put chains on his tires. While he’s doing this, another car comes along and slams into his car, and he watches in horror as his car goes over a cliff. He continues up the mountain on foot in the snow and sleet, and he’s getting sick from the cold. Then, as he rounds a corner, he sees that his cabin has burned down. He cries out, asking, “Why me, God?” The heavens part, and a voice says, “Because some people just tick me off.” Some of you may think that is the way God feels about you. You think that whenever you’ve got a problem, God is ticked off. But the Bible says, “I am the God who forg...

“Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.” (Proverbs 17:9 NLT) Let’s just admit it: When you have some crazy-maker in your life, and she’s just done the craziest thing again, it’s almost impossible not to get in the car, pull out your phone, and call somebody and say, “You won’t believe what she just did!” Or, “You won’t believe what he just did!”  In fact, you may even be texting as he’s doing it! That’s what we do with crazy-makers. We want to tell somebody else. We want affirmation from somebody else. It’s the most difficult thing in the world to let go of it. It may feel good when we call someone to spread the word about the crazy-maker’s craziness, but it’s also unloving. The Bible says to forgive even your enemies. Proverbs 17:9 says, “Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends” (NLT). Gossip is incredibly destructive. It is destructive to churches, families, and businesses. It is d...

“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3:13 NLT) Many of us have someone in our lives who has done some crazy, hurtful thing to us or, maybe even more importantly, to somebody that we love. In our minds we think, “I know the Christian thing to do is to forgive, so I will. I will forgive him as soon as he gives me an apology.” The problem with that is, you’re still holding on to the hurt. Truth is, that person may never ask you for forgiveness. He may never say he’s sorry, because he doesn’t get it, or she may not even realize what she’s done. So you end up stewing over something that the other person has long ago forgotten. And it’s eating you up inside! Never hold on to a hurt, because resentment tears you up. Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping it’s going to kill someone else. It doesn’t work. You have to decide that, before anything else happens, you are g...

“A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.” (Proverbs 19:11 NIV) When you’re dealing with people who are offensive or irritating, you need to look past the behavior to the pain. Because everything we do is motivated by something. When people are hurting others, it’s because they’re hurting on the inside. Hurt people hurt people. The more you understand about other people’s background, the more grace you’ll show them. Think of the people who you find the most difficult to deal with and who irritate you the most — you probably know nothing about their background. So you don’t cut them any slack. You don’t know that maybe they were molested. You don’t know that maybe they were orphaned. You don’t know that they’ve gone through three marriages and their husband walked out on them. You don’t know their story, so you’re not showing them any grace. The Bible says in Proverbs 19:11, “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlo...

“Whoever is ashamed of Me and My Words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26 NIV) One day, you’ll give an account of your life before God. When you keep that in mind and have that kind of long-term thinking, it’s going to change what you say, what you do, and who you try to impress. It’s the people-pleaser antidote. When you take that long look and realize you’re going to give an account for every word you say today, you’ll ask yourself, “Do I want God disapproving of what I just said or did, or do I want this person disapproving of what I just said or did?” I know this because I’ve been interviewed on lots of tv shows. In those broadcasts, they’ll ask me the toughest questions possible. And, in fact, some interviewers intentionally try to get me to back down from what the Bible says. When I’m in those interviews, my human nature wants to be liked, just like yours does. My human na...

“I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” (Galatians 1:10 NLT) In life, you only have to please one person. And that is your Creator. You only have to please the Lord, the One Who made you and has a purpose for your life. That simplifies life enormously! You only need one person’s approval: God’s. Jesus said it like this in John 5:30: “I don’t try to please Myself, but I try to please the One who sent Me” (NCV). He said, “I’m living for an audience of One.” You may have never realized this, but people pleasing is a form of idolatry. The first commandment in the Ten Commandments is, “Don’t have any gods before Me.” Anything you put before God becomes a god. So a boat could be a god. A career could be a god. A girlfriend could be a god. Golf could be a god. Anything that becomes number one in your life that isn’t God becomes your god. The second commandment is, “Don’t make any idols.” Anything...

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6 NLT) God’s Word will never change your life until you let it become personal. It’s not about your neighbor, your friend, your spouse, or the stranger down the street. God’s Word must be applied to your life. The Bible won’t become dynamic until it becomes specific. How do you make God’s Word personal? Try the personalize-it method of Bible meditation. Anybody can do it. You don’t need any special tools or advanced theological training. You simply put your name in the place of pronouns or nouns in Scripture. For example, if I were personalizing John 3:16, I’d write something like this: “For God so loved Rick, He gave His one and only Son so that Rick would not perish but have everlasting life.” Or, for Philippians 1:6: “He who began a good work in Rick Warren will carry it on to completion until the day of C...

“I thank my God every time I remember you.” (Philippians 1:3 NIV) What do you remember about people — the good experiences or the bad experiences?  The apostle Paul said, “I like to remember the good things about people, focus on the good times we’ve had, and remember the positive experiences.” When Paul said this, he had not had an easy time in Philippi. Acts 16 tells us that when he went to Philippi he was illegally arrested, whipped, humiliated, and thrown into prison before finally being asked to leave town. Yet he says, “I thank my God every time I remember you” (Philippians 1:3 NIV). Paul could have dwelt on the negative. He could have remembered the painful memories. He chose not to remember the painful things; instead, he focused on the things he could be grateful for. Maybe you have been hurt in the past by a parent or a partner, and you’re still holding on to that hurt. As a result, you can’t enjoy being around them today. You’re still focusing on the negative. ...

“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and He will bless you for it.” (1 Peter 3:9 NLT) Nothing crushes the spirit more than abuse — to feel devalued, unimportant, and misused. Jesus knows that. And He says, “I will care for you.” The starting point in your healing is to get to know your Healer. You need to say, “Jesus Christ, I don’t know how You did this, but You took the guilt for every sin in the world — the ones done to me and the ones done by me. You took that abuse on Yourself. I want to learn to love You. And I want You to come in and heal my heart and my mind and my body.” And He will. He will! When Jesus was abused, did He retaliate? Absolutely not! The Bible says, “Christ never verbally abused those who verbally abused Him. When He suffered, He didn’t make any threats but left everything to the one who judges fairly” (1 Peter 2:23 GW). One day,...

“If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free.” (John 8:36 TEV) The world defines freedom as a life without any restraint — “I can do anything I want to do and say anything I want to say without anybody telling me what to do.” You may burn everybody else, but you get to do it your own way. The world says you can have your freedom, but only by being totally selfish. Yet, the Bible says the only way to true freedom is through Jesus: “If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free” (John 8:36 TEV). Real freedom is freedom from fear, guilt, worry, bitterness, and death. You’re free to quit pretending because you’re free to be yourself. How do you get rid of those kinds of fears? By letting God love you! The apostle John teaches that “there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18a NIV). When you realize how much God loves you, you’ll begin to live in true freedom. In fact, you worship God when you recognize that “God is love.” It is a...

“I said ... ‘I will not say anything while evil people are near.’ I kept quiet, not saying a word.... But my suffering only grew worse, and I was overcome with anxiety. The more I thought, the more troubled I became; I could not keep from asking: ‘Lord, how long will I live? When will I die? Tell me how soon my life will end.’” (Psalm 39:1-4 GNT) The first step in breaking free from abuse, whether it’s sexual or physical or verbal or emotional, is sharing with someone who can help you break free. Jesus said in John 8:32, “The truth will set you free” (NLT). Freedom comes when you open up and admit your pain to someone else. In a study of 10 nations, it was discovered that between 55 to 95 percent of women who have been abused by their partners have never told anybody, and men are even less likely to talk about it or get help. Abuse is often called the silent epidemic because it’s the big, pink elephant in many marriages that nobody wants to talk about. People suffer in silenc...

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17 (NIV) Good relationships take time. They don’t happen by accident. They take cultivation, work, and time to build a deep connection with somebody. That requires commitment. Proverbs tells us, “A friend loves at all times.” That means even when it’s inconvenient, when you don’t feel like it, even when they don’t deserve it, even at personal cost. That’s what real friendship is all about. Friends are in your corner when you’re cornered. And they see you through when everybody else thinks you’re through. They walk in when everybody else walks out. You don’t need many friends to make it in this world but you do need a few good ones. Focus on quality not quantity. You can have many acquaintances but that means nothing. The acquaintances are not going to be there in the crisis. They’re not going to be there when you need them. Friends will. And every important close connection begins with a commitment....

Love People From the Heart “It is right for me to feel this way about all of you since I have you in my heart.” Philippians 1:7 (NIV) I’ve discovered that if people are not on my heart, they’re on my nerves.  If you don’t have your kids in your heart, they get on your nerves.  If you don’t have your husband in your heart, he gets on your nerves. The reason so many marriages are crumbling is that mates are reacting to each other from their mind rather than their heart. When your wife says, “I feel depressed” listen to her; it’s legitimate.  When your husband says, “I don't feel this is the right thing we ought to do.  We ought to do it this other way.” Listen to him. Heart love begins with understanding why someone feels the way they do. Ask questions and then listen. Hear the hurt, look for the problems, know what makes your mate tick. You need to understand the moods of the people closest to you, why they act the way they do.  If you care, you’ll be a...

“In the end, people appreciate honest criticism far more than flattery.” (Proverbs 28:23 NLT) If you’re single and you’re prolonging a relationship that you know is going nowhere, don’t continue it. “But I won’t have anybody to take me out on Friday night,” you say. A bad marriage is a million times worse than not going out on Friday night! The longer you’re in a relationship, the more difficult it’s going to be to get out of it. Proverbs 28:23 says, “In the end, people appreciate honest criticism far more than flattery” (NLT). Size that person up quickly, particularly related to emotional health. Don’t be afraid to ask questions like, “Do you have uncontrolled anger?” “Can we talk about me?” or “Will you pick up the tab?” Regardless of the emotional state of your partner, you need to begin with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ yourself. If you haven’t done that, you need to start there. You need to get spiritually connected to God. Next I want to challenge you to ...

Emotionally Healthy Christian Seeks the Same “The righteous choose their friends carefully.” (Proverbs 12:26a NIV) If you wait for the perfect wife or the perfect husband, it isn’t going to just happen. Let me tell you why: We’re all broken. That’s OK, because God still loves you. But you need to understand that anybody you marry will be broken. Everybody’s broken, but some people are a lot more broken than others. And you need to avoid them no matter how good-looking, rich, or nice they are. You have to figure out the emotional health of your potential partner before you enter into a long-term relationship. Why am I saying this? Study after study has shown that 80 percent of all separations and divorce happen because one or both of the partners are emotionally unhealthy. I’m going to give you a partial checklist of emotional health factors. These aren’t my opinion; this is what God says you need to avoid. Whoever you marry must not be nursing any uncontrolled anger. Pr...

“The righteous choose their friends carefully.” (Proverbs 12:26a NIV) If you’re supposed to choose your friends carefully, you should be even more careful about who’s going to be your life partner. Notice it is a choice. God doesn’t do this for you. God says you make the choice. God leads us, God guides us, and God gives us guidelines. But ultimately, it’s your choice. However, many people believe the myth that there is only one right person for them. That’s very romantic, but it’s just not true. It’s also not biblical. And it’s not even logical! If there were only one right person for everybody in the world, it would only take one person to make a wrong decision and break the chain for everybody else. Let’s say I was supposed to marry a woman named Susan. Instead, I marry Kay. Then all of a sudden, it upsets the apple cart for everybody else on the entire planet! It is a total myth. It’s romantic, but it’s a myth. In your life there are multiple people God would say it’s...