Daily Hope Devotional

“Epaphras ... always prays for you that you will grow to be spiritually mature.”  (Colossians 4:12a NCV) Paul wrote about a prayer warrior in Colossians 4:12 :  “Epaphras ... always prays for you that you will grow to be spiritually mature”   (NCV). Epaphras is a hero to me. I don’t know about you, but prayer is hard for me. You’d think it should come naturally, but it doesn’t for me. So it impresses me even more that Epaphras had the discipline to always take time to pray for people. But I also love the fact that he prayed for peoples’ spiritual growth. We usually pray for peoples’ needs — health and financial and relational — but we don’t spend nearly as much time praying for their spiritual growth. We don’t pray that God would change our character to be more like Him. I think one of the reasons is that we don’t know what to pray about. Fortunately the Bible is filled with verses about how to pray for somebody to grow spiritu

“Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another”  (Romans  12:10  AMP). Here’s a little secret: Everybody is looking for affirmation. Have you noticed that? People will do almost anything to get it. If you don’t believe that, just watch some of the reality shows. Look at what people do to get on TV, just so people will applaud them. God is an incredibly affirming and loving Father. When you affirm other people, you are showing love and representing Christ. Jesus affirmed people as He ministered, so you are ministering like Jesus did. You’re showing the world a little bit more about what God is like. One of the best ways to affirm people in everyday life is to show them acceptance. Romans 15:7 says,  “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you”  (NIV). The easy choice sometimes is to snub and belittle and demean people, especially when they don’t

“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God — truly righteous and holy. So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.” (Ephesians 4:21-25 NLT) To change the defects in your life, you have to have people in your life who tell you the truth. You’re not going to get well on your own; you’re going to need other people in your life. You’re going to need support. You’re going to need a small group. Change requires honest community. There are some things in your life you’re never ever going to be able to change on your own, typically the things that are the most difficult in your life and that you don’t want anybody else to know about. You’re

When people say “I hate you!” in relationships, it’s often a sign that somebody’s trying to control somebody else. What’s beneath that control? It’s fear. Insecurity causes us to try to control others or resist the control of others. When you’re so insecure that all you think about is what others think of you, it destroys your relationships and disables your life. It’s an amazing dilemma we have as human beings: We long to be close, but we also fear being close. We long to have intimacy with others, but we’re also scared to death of it. Insecurity prevents intimacy and destroys your relationships. You can’t get close to somebody if there’s fear in the relationship. If insecurity destroys relationships, then what builds them? Love! Love builds relationships. The Bible says in 1 John 4:18 ,  “Love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it … shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love”  (N

“Live in harmony, be sympathetic, love each other, have compassion, and be humble.”  (1 Peter 3:8 GWT) Pride destroys relationships. It shows up in a lot of different ways, like criticism, competition, stubbornness, and superficiality. The problem with pride is it’s self-deceiving. Everybody else can see it in us but us. When you have a problem with pride, you don’t see it in your life. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride leads to destruction; a proud attitude brings ruin” (NCV). I love this verse in the Message paraphrase: “First pride, then the crash — the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.” Pride destroys relationships, but humility is the antidote to pride. Humility builds relationships. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:8,  “Live in harmony, be sympathetic, love each other, have compassion, and be humble”  (GWT). How are you and I going to grow in humility? It happens by letting Jesus Christ begin to control our thoughts and he

“The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others — ignoring God! — harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8 MSG) Selfishness destroys relationships. It is the number one cause of conflict, arguments, divorce, and even war. James 4:1 says,  “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?”  (NIV) Every trouble starts because of our self-centeredness. It’s very easy for selfishness to creep into relationships. When you start a relationship, you work really hard at being unselfish. But as time goes on, selfishness begins to creep in. We put more energy into building relationships than into maintaining them. If selfishness destroys relationships, then it is selflessness tha

God works in people’s hearts when we expect Him to do so. Very few people come to Jesus Christ the first time they hear the Good News. They’ve got to think about it and take the time to make the right decision. Never give up on anybody. Nobody’s hopeless! You have to trust God. Hebrews 11:1 says,  “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”  (NIV). Some of you have been praying for some time for your boyfriend or your child or a close friend to become a believer. You’ve been praying for years, and yet you don’t see any evidence that they’re any closer in their journey to God than they were five years ago or two years ago or last year. What do you need to do? You need to start praying in faith, expecting God to act. Faith is certain of what we do not see. You need to say to God, “I don’t see them warming up to you at all. But I’m going to pray and expect that you’re working in their lives

“The Holy Spirit, God’s gift, does not want you to be afraid of people but to be wise and strong and to love them and enjoy being with them”   (2 Timothy 1:7 TLB). Everybody’s looking for a true friend — not just acquaintances but people who are there with you when you need them most. God wants you to build true friendships with the people that are already in your life so that you can share the Gospel with them. God has put these people — your co-workers and classmates, neighbors and teammates — in your life specifically so you can share with them about the most important decision they will ever make. If you don’t tell them about what Christ has done for them, then who will? The Bible says in Romans 12:16,  “Be friendly with everyone. Don’t be proud and feel that you are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people”   (CEV). Christians tend to fall into one of two extremes: isolatio

“Come and listen … and I will tell you what [God] has done for me.”  (Psalm 66:16 TEV) The most effective way to let other people know about the great things that God can do in their lives is to tell them the story of what God has done in your life. That is what makes a difference. Jesus said in Acts 1:8,   “You will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere” ( NLT). When I hear the word “witness,” I think of a courtroom. It’s a perfect picture of what God’s asking us to do to make a difference in the world. He doesn’t tell us to be the attorney, arguing the case. He doesn’t tell us to be the judge, judging other people. He wants us to be His witnesses. What does a witness do? A witness just says, “Here’s what I’ve seen. Here’s what I heard.” A witness just tells other people the story of what God’s done in their life. Friends don’t keep good news from other friends. You tell them the good news of what God has done in your

“Pray for us that God will give us an opportunity to tell people His message.”   (Colossians 4:3 NCV) You were made for a mission. God wants you to share His love with other people — your friends, family, and the people you work with — who are not in His family. Why does He want you to do that? Because God wants everybody in His family. God has never made a person He didn’t love and have a purpose for. God has never made a person that Jesus Christ didn’t die for. So God wants us to share that Good News. But you’re not alone! God wants you to go on mission with other people. Philippians 1:27 says,  “You are standing side by side with one strong purpose — to tell the Good News”   (TLB). How do you share with your friends that God loves them? And how do you do it in partnership with other people? You do it through your small group. First, you pray together. You ask your small group to pray for your friends who don’t have a relationship with God. You can’t for

When you experience suffering in life, you need people to weep with you. There are situations that nobody should ever have to go through alone. Nobody should ever have to wait in the hospital while a loved one is in a life-and-death surgery. No woman should ever have to wait alone for the lab report on a problem pregnancy. Nobody should have to wait alone for news from a battlefield. Nobody should have to stand alone at the edge of an open grave. Nobody should have to spend the first night alone after a spouse has died or walked out. The fact is, some of these things are going to happen to you. They’re inevitable. You’re going to go through tragedy. You’re going to get bad news. You’re going to experience heartache. Only a fool would go through life totally unprepared for something that you know is going to happen. The time to build the safety net — the network of supporters and friends — is  now . What is God’s safety net? It is a group of other believers. You don

“Look out for one another’s interest, not just your own”   (Philippians 2:4 TEV). Who’s watching out for you? You need people who will defend you, stand up for you and protect you, help you stay on track, and warn you. We all need this, because we all have blind spots. Philippians 2:4 says , “Look out for one another’s interest, not just your own”  (TEV). If you want a counter-culture verse, that’s it! In America, the general idea is it’s all about “me” — my needs, my interests, my wants, and my ambitions. But the Bible says we should care about each other. We’re family! As brothers and sisters in God’s family, we should defend each other and help each other stay on track. Since Sept. 11, 2001, we’ve all been more vigilant in watching out for each other. But did you know that you have an enemy far more destructive than terrorists? Oh, yes! You have a personal enemy, and he hates your guts. His name is Satan. He wants to mess up your life

The Bible says in Colossians 2:6-7,  “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him”   (ESV). The Bible often compares life to a walk, because you don’t just sit still in life. We are on a journey! Throughout the New Testament we’re told to walk in wisdom, in love, in light, in obedience, and in the Spirit. But one of the key ways that God tells us to walk is this: You were never meant to walk through life alone. This has nothing to do with whether you’re single or married. Marriage does not solve the issue; community does. And you find community in your spiritual family — the Body of Christ. Some of you say, “What’s wrong with walking alone? I like waking alone. In fact, I prefer it. I can go at my own pace. I don’t have to wait for anybody.” You may like walking alone, but you need others to walk with you through life. Let me give you three reasons. 1. It’s safer. Have you ever had to walk through a dark alley at night or down a long road in the countrysi

“This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, Who raises the dead. He has delivered us … and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us.”   (2 Corinthians 1:9-10 NIV) In whatever situation you find yourself right now, what are you expecting God to do? Some of you aren’t expecting Him to do anything. But God works in your life according to your expectation. That’s called faith! Paul knew this. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:9-10 , “This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, Who raises the dead. He has delivered us … and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us”  (NIV). This is phase 6: deliverance. The purpose of the dead-end is to teach you to trust in God. Why does God let things get so bad and so out of control? So He can force you to learn to trust in Him instead of trusting in your own ingenuity and cleverness. What’s the

Faith is not denying reality. It’s not pretending you don’t have a problem. Faith is not saying, “I’m not in pain” when you are. It’s not saying, “I don’t hurt” when you do. It’s not saying, “I’m happy” when you’re really grieving inside. That’s not faith; it’s phoniness! Faith is facing the facts without being disheartened by them because you know God is greater than the problem. There is a brand of Christianity today that basically says, “Deny all of your problems. Just have a positive confession. Name it and claim it.” That kind of thinking did not come from Jesus. That’s Pollyanna, and Pollyanna is not exactly a good theologian. Faith is facing reality without being discouraged by it . You know that God can change a situation. You can build a family on faith, but you can’t build it on fantasy. You can build a business on faith, but not on fantasy. You can build a life on faith, but not on fantasy. The key is to look beyond your circumstances:  “We fix our eye

“Abraham never doubted. He believed God, for his faith and trust grew ever stronger, and he praised God for this blessing even before it happened.”  (Romans 4:20 TLB) How do you know when hope has died in your life? You start using the word “never.” I’m  never  going to get married. I’m   never  going to graduate. I’m  never  going to get well. I’m  never  going to get out of debt. I’m  never   going to be able to let go of my past and forget all of that shame and heartache. I’m  never  going to be able to change. I’m  never   going to see this situation turn around. That’s when hope has died. What do you do when your hope dies? Romans 4:18 says,  “Abraham, when hope was dead within him, went on hoping in faith …. He relied on the Word of God”  (Phillips). When you are at a dead-end, you need the Bible. Read it. Study it. Memorize it. Think about it. Write it down on little notecards, and go over it. The Bible is full of promises. Y

“What is impossible with man is possible with God”  (Luke 18:27 NIV).  There are certain dead-end words in life, including cancer, divorce, bankruptcy, infertility, and unemployment. How do you know when you’re at a dead-end? You know it when things get out of your control and you can’t do anything about it. When you’re stuck in phase 5 and you’re waiting for deliverance, you need to remember what God can do. The situation may be out of your control, but it’s not out of God’s control. When you face a dead-end, don’t focus on what  you can’t do . Focus instead on what  God can do . Romans 4:17 says,  “Abraham believed in the God Who brings the dead back to life and Who creates new things out of nothing”   (NLT, second edition). There are two things God does that you can’t do: He can give life to the dead, and He can create something out of nothing. If God can give life to a dead man, He can give life to a dead caree

“Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, ‘Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.’”   (Acts 27:31 NIV) Life is not fair. You will have problems, difficulties, and hurts that will make you better or bitter. You will either grow up or give up. You’ll either become who God wants you to be or your heart will become hard. You have to decide how you are going to respond to the tough times in your life. How will you handle it? When you go through those difficult times, what happens to you is not nearly as important as what happens  in  you. That’s what you take into eternity — not the circumstances but your character. In Acts 27, we learn three ways you  shouldn’t  respond: Don’t drift.   “The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along”   (Acts 27:15 NIV). The ship carrying Paul and other prisoners to Rome was in the middle of the Mediterranean and had