Daily Hope Devotional

It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. The development of Christ-like character cannot be rushed. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time. Billy Graham associate Lane Adams once compared the process of spiritual growth to the strategy the Allies used in World War II to liberate islands in the South Pacific. First they would “soften up” an island, weakening the resistance by shelling the enemy strongholds with bombs from offshore ships. Next, a small group of Marines would invade the island and establish a “beachhead”—a tiny fragment of the island that they could control. Once the beachhead was secured, they would begin the long process of liberating the rest of the island, one bit of territory at a time. Eventually the entire island would be brought under control, but not without some costly battles. Adams drew this parallel: Before Christ inv

Your choices are far more powerful than your circumstances. You may not like how complicated your life has become. But with few exceptions, no one is forcing you to keep your life complicated. You have the power to simplify your life. In fact, God expects us to assume responsibility for our lives and to carefully choose how we spend our time. You have just enough time to do God's will while you’re here on Earth. You’ve been given just enough time to fulfill your purpose. When you try to do more than God planned for you, it’s only natural that you will find yourself constantly out of time or stressed over your schedule. My prayer for you is that you will find relief from stress and a new sense of satisfaction as you do only the things God created you to do. Talk It Over Make a list of the activities and responsibilities that are causing you stress. Ask God to help you determine the things on your schedule that He never intended for you to do. Where do

Have you ever felt that somebody was a hopeless case? That he or she was never going to come to Christ? Maybe it was an alcoholic relative, a drug-addicted parent, or a co-dependent neighbor — someone with a hurt, habit, or hang-up that kept him from knowing God. But no one is outside Jesus’ reach! Last article talked about the importance of small groups in helping “hopeless” people find healing. From the story in Luke 5 of the group of men bringing their paralyzed friend to Jesus to be healed, we learned three characteristics of a small group that God uses to heal people who others might consider hopeless. Today we’re going to look at four more: Persistence:  We all get discouraged as we try to reach our family, friends, and acquaintances with the Gospel. But we can’t give up! The friends in Luke 5 didn’t let difficulties discourage them. It didn’t matter that crowds were between them and Jesus. Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at th

No one is outside Jesus’ reach. I believe that small groups are a vital part of helping so-called hopeless people find healing. One of the parts I like best about being in a small group is that you can pray for one another’s “hopeless” cases. We can lean upon the faith of others when we start to doubt. In Luke 5, a group of guys took their paralyzed friend to Jesus. It’s a great story of a small group of men who took someone in need of healing to the feet of Jesus. In this account, we find seven characteristics of a small group that God uses to heal. Today we’re going to look at three of those characteristics, and tomorrow we’ll look at the rest. Compassion:  This man was healed because his friends cared. It all starts with us caring about people who are hurting. Romans 15:2 says, (NLT, second edition). God used these guys because they were sensitive to a friend’s need. And He’ll use us when we aren’t preoccupied with our own needs and start caring more about other

There are many things that work to keep us from completing our life missions. Over the years, I’ve debated whether the worst enemy is procrastination or discouragement. If Satan can’t get us to put off our life missions, then he’ll try to get us to quit altogether. The apostle Paul teaches that we need to resist discouragement: “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (Galatians 6:9 NLT, second edition). Do you ever get tired of doing what’s right? I think we all do. Sometimes it seems easier to do the wrong thing than the right thing. When we’re discouraged, we become ineffective. When we’re discouraged, we work against our own faith. When we’re discouraged, we’re saying, “It can’t be done.” That’s the exact opposite of saying, “I know God can do it because he said …” Ask yourself these questions: How do I handle failure? Whe

Often we’re afraid of making the wrong decision, and that creates stress. Maybe you’re facing a decision about a major issue: “Should I hold on, or should I let go?” “Should I get in, or should I get out?” “Should I get married?” “Should I find a new job?” “Should I move?” When you can’t make up your mind, you stagger through life. In fact, the Bible says when we remain double-minded, we become unstable in everything we do (James 1). The Greek word for unstable literally means “stagger like a drunk.” But God says there is an antidote to our indecision. Psalm 23:3 tells us,  “He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake”   (NIV). We handle the stress of decision-making by letting God guide us. You may be thinking, “But I’ve tried this!” You asked God to guide you, but then you became more confused than before. You still couldn’t figure it out. Now you wonder, “Why is knowing God’s will so difficult?” Is G

God is far more interested in changing your mind than changing your circumstances. We want God to take away all of the problems, pain, sorrow, suffering, sickness, and sadness. But God wants to work on you first, because transformation won’t happen in your life until you renew your mind, until your thoughts begin to change. Why is it so important that you learn how to manage your mind? Let me give you three reasons. Manage your mind, because your thoughts control your life. Proverbs 4:23 says,   “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts”   (TEV). The power of your thoughts has tremendous ability to shape your life for good or for bad. For example, maybe you accept the thought someone told you when you were growing up, “You’re worthless. You don’t matter.” If you accepted that thought, even though it was wrong, it shaped your life. Manage your mind, because the mind is the battleground for sin.

“Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; be made new in the attitude of your minds; and … put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”   (Ephesians 4:22-24 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. 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 …”  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, don’t try to be like anybody else. “… any longer …”  There are a lot of things you start off doing by copying others, but then they turn into a habit. “… the pattern of this worl

When God wants to remove the defects in your life, He doesn't just snap His fingers so that it happens instantly. He does it incrementally. When God wants to make a mushroom, He takes six hours, but when He wants to make an oak tree, He takes 60 years. Do you want to be a mushroom or an oak tree? The Holy Spirit will make changes in your life far beyond anything you thought possible, but they’re not going to happen overnight. When Saddleback Church did our “Decade of Destiny,” my prayer was that, through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God and with support from our small groups, our church would become more mature, more Christlike, and further along in our purpose 10 years from that point. My prayer is the same for you, that in the next decade, you would grow in spiritual maturity and Christ-likeness and purpose. I want you to be stronger emotionally, physically, spiritually, psychologically, and financially, but you'

Change requires new thinking. In order to change, we must learn the truth and start making good choices, but we also must change the way we think. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act. If you want to change the way you act, you start by changing the way you think. In addition, if you want to change the way you feel, you must start with the way you think. For instance, you can say,  “I need to love my husband more,” but that isn't going to work. You can't fight your way into a feeling. You must change the way you think about your husband, about your kids, about your wife. That will change the way you feel, which will then change the way you act. The Bible says, “Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes”   (Ephesians 4:23 NLT, second edition). The battle for sin, the battle to deal with those defects in your life that you don't like, starts in your mind. If you want to change anything in yo

Change requires making choices. It's not enough to dream of changing. It's not enough to desire change. In order for you to change, you will need to make a decision. You must choose to change. Change is intentional. Are you going to be any different in six months? Are you going to be better a year from now? Are you going to be healthier, stronger, and more mature? Are you going to be happier? Are you going to be less in debt? Are you going to be more like God wants you to be? I can tell you the answer right now: It will only happen if you choose to change, because it isn't going to happen accidentally. It requires a choice. A lot of times we think we're waiting on God to change us. No! God is waiting on  you . He's waiting on you to say, “Yes, Lord, I'm willing to make these changes.” We have to make intentional choices in order to grow. There is no growth without change, there is no change without loss, and there is no loss without

“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him …”  (Ephesians 4:21a NLT, second edition) The secret to personal change is not willpower. The secret is to know and face the truth. You must know and face the truth about yourself and your nature. Nothing will change in your life until you know and face the truth about your weaknesses, your relationships, your successes and failures, and your past and future. Nothing changes until you know and face the truth. And that truth is found in Jesus Christ. Why is it necessary to learn the truth before anything can change in your life? Here’s why: Behind every self-defeating habit in your life is a lie that you believe. If you get in debt, it's because you believed some lies like “I can spend and get away with it” or “I can always pay it back.” You might have overestimated how much you were going to make, or you believed the lie that you needed a m

As you strive to reach the goals that God has given you, it’s important to remember that life on Earth is just a temporary assignment. Knowing this truth should radically alter your values and fix your attention on the things that are eternally important. As C. S. Lewis observed, “All that is not eternal is eternally useless.” It is a fatal mistake to assume that God’s goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance. Faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career or even in ministry. Never focus on temporary crowns. Paul was faithful, yet he ended up in prison. John the Baptist was faithful, but he was beheaded. Millions of faithful people have been martyred, have lost everything, or have come to the end of life with nothing to show for it. But the end of life is not the end! The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:18 ,  “For we fix our attention, not on things

When God gives you a mission, you can be sure you’ll run into delays, difficulties, detours, and dead ends along the way. They are a natural part of life. But you can be ready for them. For example, if anybody had a right to be discouraged, it was Noah. Do you know how long it took Noah to build the ark? 120 years. Could you go 120 years on a project without one word of encouragement from anybody else in society? Noah trusted God. And when he heard God's warning about the future, Noah believed him, even though there was no sign of a flood. I bet there were many days that Noah didn't feel like going to work, but for 43,800 days, he went to the same place, and he worked. He never gave up. Don't give up on your dream, either. Don't give up on your marriage. Don't give up on your health. Don't, don't, don't give up. God is in control. You haven’t read the final chapter of your life. God's already w

One of the pitfalls you may face as you fulfill your purpose in life is temptation to take shortcuts. In truth, these shortcuts will only get you off track. The shortcuts may be moral, ethical, spiritual, financial, or even relational. But they will distract you from what God wants you to do in your life, eventually eating up your time, energy, resources, and creativity. Shortcuts are always shortsighted. God wants you to stop being  “absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ — that's where the action is. See things from His perspective”   (Colossians 3:2 MSG). Talk It Over How do you know when something is a shortcut? What are the shortcuts you’ve tried to take in the past when working toward your goals? How can shortcuts cause us to be disobedient to God? ~ Written by: Rick Warren ~ ~ Modified by: Oleg Fabyanchuk ~

“ It is the   Lord  W ho gives wisdom; from Him come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6 TEV ) You say, “I want to trust God, but I don't hear Him.” You don't hear God when your mind is filled with a thousand other distractions. To hear God, you’ve got to get near God. You've got to get alone with God and be quiet. The Bible says,  “Be still and know that I am God”  (Psalm 46:10 NIV). That means sit down and shut up. That's how you hear God and get near to God. You have to sit alone and just be quiet with your Bible and say, “God, is there anything you want to say to me?” You read God’s Word, and you talk to Him about what's on your heart. And, God says He will give you the wisdom you need to recognize His voice and follow through on what He says:  “It is the   Lord Who gives wisdom; from Him come knowledge and understanding”  (Proverbs 2:6 TEV). Pray this today: “God, I want to listen to You,

Have you noticed that the moment you establish a goal in your life, you start hearing people say, “Who do you think you are?” or “It can't be done” or “Forget about it”? The antidote to the voices of doubt is to instead listen to the voice of God. Just imagine all the critics that were in Noah's life. “That guy Noah thinks God speaks to him, but he's just messing up all of our property values by building that ark in his front yard.” The Bible tells us that Noah listened to God. And what did he hear? He heard God's warning that the world was going to be destroyed. He believed what he had not yet seen. That's what faith is — being certain of something we don't see. So Noah didn’t turn back on the vision God had given him. Instead, he built the ark. God is going to give you a goal for your life, and some people may think it’s pretty crazy. But you’ve got to stay focused on what you know God has said throu

“Get wisdom; develop good judgment.” (Proverbs 4:5a NLT) One of the most important tests we all face as we try to achieve what God has called us to do is cultural distractions. Can you relate to losing your focus because of any of these distractions? The distraction of popularity.  If you are always worried about what other people think, you will be distracted from your destiny. The distraction of pleasure.  It’s OK to have fun and feel comfort, but if that's the primary focus of your life, you will never fulfill your destiny. The distraction of profits.  You can’t serve both God and money. Making a profit shouldn’t be the primary focus of your life. The distraction of possessions.  Judging your success by how much stuff you own will keep you concerned about keeping things and maintaining things. If you are going to fulfill the mission God has given you, you must dare to be different from others. Stay focused on the most im

Many people in life start out well, but they end up progressing poorly because they don't plan for the pitfalls. But the Bible says the wise man looks ahead and faces reality. As we make plans for our future, we all face pitfalls, such as cultural distractions, voices of doubt, tempting shortcuts, and discouraging delays. Just look at Noah: He had pitfalls after God told him to build the ark, but he overcame them — and you can, too. Now, this doesn’t mean God will give you a goal as audacious as building an ark, but I pray He’ll give you a  big  goal — even an audacious one —for your next 10 years. The Bible says,  “The wise man looks ahead. The fool attempts to fool himself and won’t face facts”   (Proverbs 14:8 TLB). By looking ahead, we’ll not only be prepared to spot the pitfalls when they come into our lives; we’ll also be equipped to make plans that help us become the man or woman God wants us to be. Ask God

I heard a story about a man who took his son to McDonalds and bought him super size French fries. On the way home, those fries smelled so good, so he reached over and took one little French fry out of his son’s carton and ate it. His son got all upset and said, “Dad, you can’t have that one. These are my fries!” The dad immediately had three thoughts: “First, my child has forgotten that I am the source of all fries. I took him to McDonalds, I made the order, I paid for the order, I handed them to him, and I’m driving him back home. The only reason he got any fries was because of me, the Great Fry Giver! “Second, my child doesn’t realize I could take the fries away in a second if I wanted to. Or, on the other hand, I could buy him an entire truckload of fries if I wanted to, because I have the power to do either. “Third, I didn’t need his fries. I could easily get my own. I could buy myself a hundred cartons of them if I wanted to

  Would you agree that we live in a culture of materialism? It’s like the goal is to get more and more and more. And just about the time you catch up with the Joneses, they refinance or file bankruptcy. And just about the time you think you’ve got it all, the Christmas advertisements come out, and they tell you about all kinds of things you didn’t know you couldn’t live without. It’s tough keeping your priorities right when you live in a society that’s all about “getting.” The one with the most toys wins, right? No! The one with the most toys still dies, whether or not you’ve got toys. There is only one antidote to materialism: generosity. Every time you’re generous, you have a spiritual victory in your heart. Every time you’re generous, your heart grows. Every time you’re generous, you break the grip of materialism in your life. Why? Because materialism is all about getting — get, get, get, get! It is your nature to get and to hold on. God

How do you have the attitude God wants you to have when you give? It starts with your heart. God is a lot more interested in your willingness to give than your wealth, because He’s interested in what’s happening in your heart when you decide to give. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7,  “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. ‘For God loves a person who gives cheerfully’”   (NLT, second edition). This verse talks specifically about four key heart attitudes you should have when you give. Give thoughtfully.  Don’t give impulsively. The most spiritual kind of giving is when you think about it and pray about it and make up your mind about it. Why? Because we plan anything that’s important in our lives. God wants your giving to be important and meaningful in your life. Give enthusiastically.  Don’t just say, “I have to give! If I don’t give God’s going to hit me with lightning or something.” Give bec

“Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven — it is the only safe investment for eternity! And they will be living a fruitful Christian life down here as well.”  (1 Timothy 6:18-19 TLB) Generosity is an investment. Luke 16:9 says, “Use your worldly resources to benefit others” (NLT, second edition). I’ve said many times that you can’t take it with you. Did you know that mortuaries sell burial suits? They’re for people who want to be buried in a suit but don’t have one. Do you know what the difference is in a burial suit? There are no pockets in them! It’s true! You don’t need them, because you can’t take it with you. But you  can  send it on ahead. How do you do that? By investing in people who are going there. The Bible says in 1 Ti

“Your heart will be where your treasure is”  (Matthew 6:21 NCV). When we’re generous with each other, we draw closer to each other, and that creates community. Someone from my church sent me a letter once that read: “My neighbor asked if he could borrow my ladder, and I said of course. I later learned that he already had one of his own. He didn’t need to borrow my ladder; he just used it as a way to build our relationship. When he borrowed my stuff, it made me feel that I was needed, and I liked that feeling. I’ve now learned to do the same thing with my other neighbors. Another neighbor has a shop vac, and I borrow it every Friday night to clean my car with my son. In fact, now Roger leaves it out for me. I told Roger recently that I could afford to buy my own shop vac, but I just like the interaction of borrowing his. Roger asked me to please not buy one for myself. He had learned to see the connection between generosity and community.” The Bible says in Matthew 6

“All of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.” (1 Peter 3:8 NIV) You’re never going to live in harmony with your wife, your husband, your friends, or anybody else without empathy. You can’t have a team without being aware of what’s happening in each other’s lives. That’s why when people work together in an office, they may do work together, but they’re not a team unless they know what’s going on in each other’s lives. Empathy is so important because it meets two of our deepest needs: the fundamental need to be understood and a deep need to have our feelings validated. If you’re going to build a team of friends or at work or in your small group, you have to build empathy into the structure. So how do you become an empathetic person? Slow down.   Because our culture teaches us to move fast, we end up relationally skimming.

Trust is the emotional glue that draws you closer to your friends, your family, and your small group. Without trust, you’re never going to have the intimate relationship that God wants you to have. Teamwork without trust is impossible. Proverbs 20:6 says,   “Many people claim to be loyal, but it is hard to find a trustworthy person”   (NCV). That was written thousands of years ago, and yet we have the same dilemma today: Who do you trust? How do you find a trustworthy person? More importantly, how do you become a trustworthy person so that people trust  you ? You earn people’s trust by being consistent.   The Bible says in Luke 16:10 ,  “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much”  (NIV). Today everybody wants to serve God in the obvious and showy ways. But God says you build trust by being faithful in little things. Even when no one is watching you, God is. He sees what you’re doing. And He says that if you’re faithful

There’s only one way you can serve God: by serving other people. Whenever you use your talents, time, energy, and resources to help other people, that’s called ministry. But God doesn’t want you to minister alone! Philippians 2:2 says, “Make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose” (NLT, second edition). Why does God require this? Why can’t you just serve God on your own? Because we’re family.   The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:9,  “We are co-workers in God’s service”  (NIV). If you’re in God’s family, God wants you to get along with the other family members. In fact, God is more interested in the relationships you build during service together than He is in the service that you do. He wants you to learn to get along with the family of God. Because we need each other.   We need each other to serve. Nobody has all the talents. Nobody has all the gifts. God did it that way intentional