Daily Hope Devotional

“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...