Daily Hope Devotional

“I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless — like chasing the wind. What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered.” (Ecclesiastes 1:14-15 NLT) The third result of sin is the area of your emotions. Sin causes emotional distress and disappointment. Solomon writes a lot about this in Ecclesiastes: “I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless — like chasing the wind. What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered” (Ecclesiastes 1:14-15 NLT). Solomon is saying that, as a human being, it seems pointless, because we cannot change the past and we cannot control the future. All the stuff that we’ve done wrong, we can’t undo. All the stuff that was done wrong to us, we can’t undo. And, we can’t control the future. Most of the important things in your life you have no control over. The world cannot be fixed by human effort alone. Can we go out and do good in th...

“We know that all creation is still groaning and is in pain ...” (Romans 8:22a CEV) Nothing works perfectly. Because the entire human race has made poor choices … Everything’s broken, and nothing on this planet works perfectly. Sin has damaged everything. Sin has ruined everything. Sin has destroyed everything. Sin has corrupted and spoiled everything. Sin has injured everything — every relationship, idea, dream, and human body. Everything has been touched by this damage. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon describes six dimensions of your life that sin has damaged. Over the next few days, we’ll look at these six dimensions. 1) The first result is natural disasters and deformities. We’re not living in Eden anymore. As John Milton wrote in a very famous poem, paradise was lost. We live on a broken planet. And, as a result, we have hurricanes, typhoons, wacky weather, earthquakes, droughts, and floods. It’s amazing to me that insurance calls all these things acts of God...

“All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.” (Isaiah 53:6 NLT) Everything seems to be a battle. Nothing is easy. The fact is, life is difficult. So, why is life so hard in this world? The Bible says rebellion against God broke everything. It all started back with the first couple, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden. When God created the world, everything was perfect. It was paradise. And Adam and Eve had no problems, suffering, sadness, temptations, or troubles. But one day Adam and Eve decided that they wanted to do what they wanted to do. God told them, “You can do anything you want to in this paradise except one thing.” And what did Adam and Eve do? The one thing God told them not to do. Why did He even give them a choice? Because without a choice, they couldn’t choose to love God. If you’re forced to love God, then it’s not real love. Romans 5:12 says, “Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death wi...

“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.” (Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT) You need more power than just willpower in your life. You need God’s power in your life. The “fruit of the Spirit” are the qualities that God puts in your life when the Holy Spirit lives through you. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. How does God produce the fruit in your life? Not by willpower. You don’t go out and say, “I’m going to be a more patient person!” That doesn’t work. The Holy Spirit has to grow it on the inside. You try to say, “I’m going to be more patient. I’m going to be more loving.” It’s like tying some oranges on a eucalyptus tree and calling it an ora...

“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.” (Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT) Change in your life requires new thinking. The battle to change the defects in your life is always a mental battle. It starts in the mind, and it’s won or lost there. Ephesians 4:23 says, “Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” (NLT). You’re not going to change until your thoughts and attitude change. This is why a daily quiet time is important. The time you spend intentionally studying God’s Word and in prayer is the spiritual renewal in your mind. If you’re not doing that, you’re not going to have the power to change. Do you know what the theological term for “change of mind” is? It is the word “repentance.” To repent literal...

“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.” (Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT) It’s not enough to want to change. It’s not enough to desire to change. It’s not even enough to say, “I have a dream of changing.” Dreams are worthless unless you wake up and actually act on them. You’re not going to change the defects in your life until you choose to change. How are you going to be different in six months? Are you going to be emotionally stronger? Are you going to be mentally sharper? Are you going to be physically healthier? Are you going to be spiritually deeper? It isn’t going to happen automatically. You aren’t just going to get healthier by accident in any category of your life. A lot of times we think we’re waiting...

 “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.” (Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT) You will never change the things in your life that you know are defective unless you learn the truth. Change requires learning the truth. Jesus said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NLT). You’re not going to be free until you know the truth. The secret to personal change is not a pill, program, or process. It’s not therapy, a book, or a seminar. It’s not positive thinking or psychology. The proof of personal change is found in the truth. You have to know and face the truth about yourself, God, and your relationships before you can change. Behind every self-defeating behavior in your li...