Daily Hope Devotional

“The LORD, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and the land of my relatives. And he promised Me, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’”   (Genesis 24:7a NCV) The Bible has more than 7,000 promises from God to you — promises of success, confidence, health, prosperity, strength, wisdom, and more. Why does God make these promises? Because He wants you to learn to trust Him. When you set a goal, don’t focus on the problems; focus on the promises. Find a promise in God’s Word that will take you to your goal. This is what Abraham does when Eliezer, his servant, starts to worry about accomplishing the goal he is given. In today’s verse, Abraham tells Eliezer about the promise he received from God:  “The LORD will send His angel before you to help you get a wife for my son there”  (Genesis 24:7b NCV). You don’t need an angel, because dozens of time in Scripture God has said, “...

“Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.”   (1 Corinthians 13:7 GW) The same love that God gives to you, you are to offer to everybody else that you come in contact with. It’s not an option or a suggestion. It’s a command:  “Now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other”   (John  13:34  NLT). If you are a follower of Christ, you must love everybody — whether you like them or not — in the same way that Christ loved you. That means you are to accept them completely, love them unconditionally, forgive them totally, and consider them extremely valuable. Loving others in this way will transform your relationships! The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:7,  “Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up”   (GW). This is how God lov...

“The mountains and hills may crumble, but My love for you will never end.”   (Isaiah 54:10 GNT) If you don’t feel loved by God, you’re certainly not going to offer love to anybody else. It is impossible to be loving unless you understand and remember the way God loves you. You need to remind yourself every day what God thinks about you — not what the world thinks or what you think about yourself. That is what removes your fears. Let me give you four things God thinks about you to help you remember why and how to love. You’re completely accepted. We spend much of our lives trying to earn acceptance from our parents, peers, those we respect, those we envy, and even total strangers. But you need to realize God has already settled this issue of acceptance:  “Jesus … made us acceptable to God”  (Titus 3:7 CEV). What Jesus did on the cross made you completely acceptable to Go...

“Surrender your heart to God, turn to Him in prayer, and give up your sins— even those you do in secret. Then you won’t be ashamed; you will be confident and fearless. Your troubles will go away like water beneath a bridge, and your darkest night will be brighter than noon. You will rest safe and secure, filled with hope and emptied of worry.”   ( Job   11:13-18   CEV) The Bible says in 1 John  4:18 ,  “ Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear”   (NCV). So how do you learn to live in God’s love so that you can live free of fear? Every day, you have to surrender your heart to God. When you wake up every morning, before your feet hit the floor, you have to say, “God, before I even start this day, I surrender my emotions to you. I want you to be Lord of my feelings. I want you to control my mind and my emotions. I surrender my heart to you. I want you to fill...

“Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Jesus Christ.”   (Philippians 2:5 TLB) If you want to succeed in life, you must learn how to master your moods. When you have emotion that isn’t getting you where you want to go, you’ve got two options: You either change it, or you channel it. Sometimes you need to change what you’re feeling. Some emotions are so destructive, so damaging, so hurtful, so non-effective, the only thing you can do is change it. You’ve got to change what you’re feeling. Philippians 2:5 says,  “Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Jesus Christ”  (TLB). Your attitude includes your emotions, so what you’re feeling should be the same as that of Jesus. You need to ask yourself, “How would Jesus feel in this situation? Would Jesus get irritated with this waitress? No. Would Jesus yell at that person? No. Would Jesus be up all night, wringing his hands and worrying that it isn’t going to work out? No....

“From now on, then, you must live the rest of your earthly lives controlled by God’s will and not by human desires.”   (1 Peter 4:2 TEV) The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:2,  “From now on, then, you must live the rest of your earthly lives controlled by God’s will and not by human desires”  (TEV). What are human desires? It’s your emotions and your affections. Now that you are a Christ-follower, your life should be controlled by God’s will, not by how you feel. Let me give you three questions to ask about your emotions when you’re trying to figure out how to deal with how you feel. When you’re angry or upset or frustrated — whatever you’re feeling — ask these three questions: “What’s the real reason I’m feeling this?”  Maybe the answer is fear or worry. Maybe it relates to something your dad said to you years ago, and when your husband said it to you, he got all the anger against your dad that you pent up. “Is it ...

“There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person.”   (1 Corinthians 12:4-6 GW) In architecture, form follows function. Tell me what you want to use the building for, and I’ll tell you how to build it. But in human beings, it’s the exact opposite. Function follows form. Figure out how God shaped you and how he wired you, what he’s given you in spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experience. Then you’ll know what you’re supposed to do with your life. Did you know that God has specific work for you to do while you’re on this planet? God doesn’t put people on Earth without giving them a life’s work. Your life’s work involves your job or your career. Work is a part of God’s purpose for your life. He didn’t put you on Earth just to be placeholder and use up ...

“There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person.”   (1 Corinthians 12:4-6 GW) When you know what you’re shaped to be, then you know what you ought to be, and you can start focusing on that and make better use of your life. The moment you step across the line spiritually, you say, “I’m going to go God’s way, not my own way. I’m going to let Him direct my life. I want to follow God’s purpose, not my purpose. I’m going to do what I was wired and made to do.” The moment you step across the line and put your faith in Christ, God also gives you four major gifts: Forgiveness . Romans  5:15  says,  “For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of forgiveness to ...

“To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace. Those who obey their human nature cannot please God.”  (Romans 8:6, 8 TEV) Learning to manage your emotions is the key to peace of mind. I want to share with you four important reasons from God’s Word why you need to learn to deal with what you feel. You need to learn to manage your emotions because they are often unreliable . Your gut is often wrong. Your intuition is often flawed. Your emotions often lead you down a blind alley. You can’t depend on everything you feel! Proverbs  14:12  says,   “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death”   (NIV). You don’t have to accept everything you feel, because not everything you feel is right or authentic or will lead you in the right direction. You need to learn to manage your emotions because you don’t want to be manipulated.  If you don’t control your emo...

“The most important commandment is this …. ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” (Mark 12:29-30 NLT) The Bible says in Mark 12:29-30,  “The most important commandment is this …. ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength”  (NLT). Do you hear the emotion in the Words of Jesus? He’s saying He doesn’t want you to just kind of love Him. He wants you to love Him passionately — with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. God doesn’t want your head knowledge; He wants an emotional relationship with you. There are some things you need to understand about emotions. First, God has emotions . God is an emotional God. He feels joy, grief, pain, and hatred toward sin. He gets frustrated with people. The only reason you have emotions is because you’re made in God’s image. ...

“Think about Jesus’ example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to Him. So do not get tired and stop trying.”  (Hebrews 12:3 NCV) For mental health, you must focus your mind on the right things. Think about Jesus . You’ve heard the saying, “You become what you think about most.” If you want to become more like Jesus, you have to fill your thoughts with Him. Hebrews 12:3 says,  “Think about Jesus’ example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to Him. So do not get tired and stop trying”  (NCV). Think about others . The Bible says in Philippians 2:4,   “Don’t just think about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and in what they are doing”  (TLB). Do you realize how counter cultural that is? Everything in the world teaches you to think about yourself and nobody else. But Jesus was counter-cultural, and when you think about Him, you’ll more easily think of others. Think about et...

“I have made up my mind to obey Your laws forever, no matter what.”   (Psalm 119:112 CEV) The reason why most people are ineffective in life is that they’ve never learned how to fight the battle of the mind. If you want to learn to manage your mind, you have to deliver it from destructive thoughts. That isn’t easy, because there are three enemies that keep you from fulfilling all your good intentions of changing your life. The first enemy is your old nature.  Paul says in Romans  7:23   ,   “There is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me ” (NLT). Do you ever find yourself doing things that you don’t really want to do? That’s the battle in your brain between your old, sinful nature and your good intentions. The sec...

“People do not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God.”   (Matthew 4:4 NLT) If you want to have a healthy mind, you must feed your mind with Truth. We all know the importance of nutrition. Good food and good calories make you stronger and healthier and give you more energy. Bad calories and junk food harm your body. The same is true in your thought life. You must feed your mind not with junk or poison but with truth. One time I had the privilege of lecturing at Oxford University, and while I was there, I was invited to go to a meeting of Oxford Analytica. This is a group you’ve never heard of that has enormous influence in the world. Every day at about  6 a.m.  the leading scholars of Oxford gather in a room to get reports from all around the world of what’s happened in the last 24 hours, from crop prices rising in China to more unrest in the Middle East. Then they make the decision about what needs to be sai...

“Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” (Proverbs   4:23 TEV) 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 w...

Our world is constantly throwing out ideas of what it means to really be a man. The reality is that everyone has their own opinion, but as a Christian the only blueprint men should mimic their life after is that of the Bible. To know what a true man is, we need look no further than the life of Jesus Christ Himself. Makes sense doesn’t it? As the Son of God, Jesus is the epitome of manhood, manliness and what we should strive for in our attempt at being a reflection of true maturity in Christ. Jesus was completely full of the Holy Spirit, not to mention He lived in complete dependence and obedience to the will of God. It’s a beautiful testimony. Easier said than done, but the strive for this lifestyle is one that will set apart men from the boys. Christ fully displayed the fruit of the Spirit ( Galatians 5:22-23 ), and He did it with a righteous swagger. A true man of God will show evidence of these works. 1. Humility ...

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.”   Hebrews 11:6a (NIV) Godly goals are set through faith. The Bible says,  “Without faith, it is impossible to please God”   (Hebrews 11:6a NIV). In order to please God, you must set goals that require faith. What does this mean? It means you must set goals that are bigger than ones you can reach on your own. For instance, I want you to set a health goal for this year. As I’ve said, if you don't have a health goal, then your goal is to stay the same or get worse. To move forward and get healthier, you must set a health goal. Let’s say you need to take off some weight. If you say, “My goal is to lose one pound,” well, you know you can do better than that. Set a goal based on what God tells you to do, and I have no doubt that will be a goal that will require you to remain dependent on Jesus. You haven't believed God until you've attempted to do somethi...

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” ( Psalm 23:4 ESV) One of the common sources of stress is loss. You can lose your job, your health, your money, your reputation, or a loved one. When people go through loss, there are always two common reactions. One is fear, and the other is grief. Grief is good. Grief is the way we get through the transitions of life. In fact, if you don’t grieve, you get stuck! Grief will not kill you if you let it out. On the other hand, fear is a bad thing. Not once in the Bible does it say, “Grieve not,” “Sorrow not,” “Weep not,” or “Cry not.” What it does say is “Fear not.” And it says that 365 times! Because grief doesn’t paralyze; fear does. David says in Psalm 23:4,  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they ...

“Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.”   Exodus 34:21 (NIV) The Bible is filled with instructions about rest and recreation and relaxation. In fact it’s so important that God put it in the Ten Commandments — right up there with “Don’t commit adultery” and “Don’t murder.” He says every seventh day, you have to take a day off. That’s how important a Sabbath is in your life. Jesus said in Mark  2:27 ,  “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”   (NIV). In other words, God created this idea of you taking a day off every seven days for rest, recreation, worship, and restoration. It’s His idea, and it’s for your own benefit so you don’t burn out. Yet in our modern society, people aren’t doing that. Even on their day off they’re working. And even those who go to a church service go home afterward and go right back to work, trying to get ...

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”   Matthew 11:28-30 (RSV) I don’t know what burden you’re carrying. I don’t know what’s weighing you down. But I do know the answer. Jesus says,  “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light”   (Matthew 11:28-30 RSV). For many years I never understood that verse, because I didn’t know what a yoke was. When Jesus says, “Take My yoke upon you,” it sounded to me like He was going to give me something else to deal with. I’ve got a heavy enough burden, Lord. I don’t need to take Your problems on me. A yoke is actually a board that has...

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Psalm 23:5 (NIV) Our civilization is losing its civility. The world is getting ruder! One of the things that’s causing that is the Internet, because it allows people to hide behind the screen and say things online that they would never have the courage to say to others face to face. All those people are doing is revealing the smallness of their hearts. Great people make people feel great, but small people belittle people. People who belittle others have a little knot for a heart, and they make fun of others because they think it will make them feel better. How do you handle rude people? You don’t. You let God handle them. You let God be your defender. King David was a pro at this. He knew what it meant to be attacked emotionally, verbally, and physically. As a young man, he was anoint...