He sat down on his favorite stool in his favorite diner waiting to place his favorite order. When the waitress asked for his order, he said meekly, “Please, I’d like two things: an order of pot roast and a few kind words.”

Looking at him kindly, she replied, “The kindest words I can think of right now are, ‘don’t order the pot roast.’“

Offering “kind words” is the responsibility of every Christian every day. Everyone we meet needs words of strength, hope and encouragement to meet the challenges they face. Life for most of us has various shades of difficulty each day.

But what are the kindest words we can ever offer anyone? Perhaps they are these: “Don’t forget the next world while living in this one.”

It is possible for each of us to place our values in the wrong things. No one is immune from being caught up in the moment when we are vulnerable and weak. How sad it will be if we live our lives and, at the last moment, discover life’s greatest mistake: we did not include God in our plans.

Jesus asked, “How do you benefit anything if you gain the whole world and lose your own soul?”

Prayer: We pray, Lord, that we will recognize our greatest need: first to accept You as our Savior and then to bring others to a knowledge of Your saving grace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.


Scripture for Today: Mark 8:34-38  What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

He sat down on his favorite stool in his favorite diner waiting to place his favorite order. When the waitress asked for his order, he said meekly, “Please, I’d like two things: an order of pot roast and a few kind words.”

Looking at him kindly, she replied, “The kindest words I can think of right now are, ‘don’t order the pot roast.’“

Offering “kind words” is the responsibility of every Christian every day. Everyone we meet needs words of strength, hope and encouragement to meet the challenges they face. Life for most of us has various shades of difficulty each day.

But what are the kindest words we can ever offer anyone? Perhaps they are these: “Don’t forget the next world while living in this one.”

It is possible for each of us to place our values in the wrong things. No one is immune from being caught up in the moment when we are vulnerable and weak. How sad it will be if we live our lives and, at the last moment, discover life’s greatest mistake: we did not include God in our plans.

Jesus asked, “How do you benefit anything if you gain the whole world and lose your own soul?”

Prayer: We pray, Lord, that we will recognize our greatest need: first to accept You as our Savior and then to bring others to a knowledge of Your saving grace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.


Scripture for Today: Mark 8:34-38  What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Quite frequently a dear, young friend who is very concerned about my health comes to my office to visit me. Each time we meet he “reviews” my work schedule and responsibilities in great detail. He wants to know what time I get to work and what time I leave; what I did on each Saturday and Sunday since we last talked. He wants to know the last time I preached at a church, where it was and how long it took me to drive to and from it. His questions are not meant to be invasive or abusive. He is concerned about my health and wants to know whether or not I am taking proper care of myself.

After we conclude his lengthy interrogation, he looks at me and makes the same statements every time we visit: “You’re working too hard. You’re working too much. You need to go on a vacation or you will kill yourself. Why do you work so hard? Do you want to die?”

Each time we have this discussion I give him the same answer: “Dear friend, I am going to die. But I do not know when. So, I want to get as much done for the Lord as I possibly can. But I promise I will care for myself.”

And then I remind him of Psalm 103:15-16: “As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.”

Our days may be few or they may be many. But one thing is for certain: We have fewer days to serve Him after today than we did yesterday. We must make each one count for our Lord. 

Prayer: Help us Lord, to realize the importance of each day knowing that we have no assurance of tomorrow. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

Scripture for Today: Psalm 103:15-16 The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.

“He who runs from God in the morning,” said Paul Bunyan, the author of Pilgrims Progress, “will scarcely find Him the rest of the day.” In other words, if we want to sense the presence of God, the guidance of God and the strength of God throughout every minute of every hour of every day, we must begin the day with God.

Rarely do we begin any day without some idea of the things we intend to do or where we plan to go or what is expected of us. And although we may not go through a formal planning process where we establish prioriies and allocate certain amounts of time for each of them, we have some idea of what we are going to face.

That is why David, in his infinite wisdom that came from God said, “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly!”

How presumptuous of Christians who profess our dependence upon God to make plans without Him, to set goals that exclude Him or make decisions without His advice. Beginning each morning with God and presenting our “agenda” to Him for His blessing is the proper thing to do. When we offer our thoughts and plans to God and seek His directions we are saying to Him: “Lord, what I face today may be beyond me, but it is not beyond You. Therefore, I need You to be with me in everything I do, to walk with me wherever I go and to put Your words in my mouth before I speak.”

Prayer: Help us, Father, to realize how inadequate we are to face life without Your goodness and guidance. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 5:3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.

A once successful football team experienced several successive losing seasons. The fans were unhappy and many stopped attending their games. So the owner decided it was time for a new coach. After a lengthy search, he located a leader whom he felt was up to the challenge – one who could inspire the players.

At the team’s first meeting he stood before the players and said, “Gentlemen, we are going back to the basics. We are going to start at the beginning.”

“This is a football,” he said forcefully – making certain that each of them knew how serious he was.

“Basics” are important for any endeavor in life. They provide the foundation for growth and expansion. They assure stability in times of distress and doubt and direction when the path seems uncertain. They enable one generation to pass on a heritage of guidance and hope to another and give structure to families and institutions.

Paul passed on a “basic” to young Timothy. He gave him a “solemn warning before God” to be faithful in his responsibilities to Christ. “Preach the Word!” he wrote. “Be persistent whether it is convenient or not. Patiently correct and encourage your people with good teaching,” he concluded.

That “warning” has never been more important than it is now. We who are His disciples must be willing to listen, hear, obey and follow His “basic” teachings.

Prayer: It is so easy, Father, to forget what matters most in life. Help us to accept and follow the “basics” of Your Word and live lives that are pleasing to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: 2 Timothy 4:1-2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

It began as a day like any other day. James Galway, a brilliant flutist, was happily walking to his morning rehearsal. While crossing a street, a speeding motorcyclist hit him and shattered the bones in both of his legs and one arm.

He was rushed to the hospital and the orthopedic surgeons immediately began a lengthy operation as they attempted to repair the damage.

Unfortunately, the bones did not heal as quickly or properly as they had anticipated. As a result, he had to remain in the hospital for many months. He was once known to have said, “It took quite a while to pick up the pieces.”

Upon his release from the hospital and while he was still recovering from the accident he is quoted as saying, “I decided from this moment on I will play every concert, record every album, give every performance and live every day as though ‘it may be my last.’”

Someone who knew him said that his new goal in life was to “make sure that every time he played, his performance would be as near to perfection as God wanted it to be!”

No doubt that is what Paul had in mind when he wrote, “Whatever you may do, do all to the glory and honor of God!” There is a two-fold implication here: Whatever we do is a choice. And with the choice is an opportunity to bring honor and glory to God. So, not only are our choices critical but that Christ is exalted in the things we do.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, guide us in our choices and make us conscious of whatever we do, knowing that we are always representing You by the way we live. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: 1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Two merchants in a small community were fierce competitors. Their stores faced each other on opposite sides of the street. Drake’s Store was much larger than Albert’s Merchandise Mart. Each fought for the same customers. One day Drake put up a sign in his store that read, “If you want it, we’ve got it!” Not to be out done, Albert hung a larger sign across the entrance to his store that read, “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it!”

There is a vast difference between “a need” and “a want.” A “need” refers to the essentials in life, the things that we cannot do without. A “want” is something quite different. It is something that is not really essential.

Think of the importance of water and the pleasure of a soft-drink. We can do without soft-drinks, but water is essential. Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need and He will give you what you need if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” When we make the Kingdom of God our primary concern, it means that God is first and foremost in our lives and that He is at the center of all that we do.

If we make His thoughts our thoughts, His desires our desires, His priorities our priorities and His ways our ways, He will meet our every need every day!

Prayer: Our Father, may we give You the place of honor that You deserve in our lives. May we always place You first in our lives and honor You in all that we do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Matthew 6:31-34 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Read more…)

Karl Wallenda was one of the world’s greatest tightrope performers. In 1978 he fell to his death.

Some time later his wife was speaking of the tragedy. “All Karl thought about,” she recalled, “for three straight months prior to his death was falling. It was the first time he had ever thought about that, and it seemed to me that he put all of his energies into not falling rather than in walking the tightrope.”

Paul warned us about focusing on the wrong things. In his letter to the Philippians he advised them to “look forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God through Christ Jesus is calling us to heaven.”

The future is in front of all of us. And often it is not the future that causes us problems, but the past. We can’t feel sorry about what problems that may happen in the future, we can’t become discouraged about mistakes that might occur in the future and we can’t regret sins we will commit in the future. But we can become overwhelmed with problems and mistakes and sins that occurred in the past.

And when we allow the past to interfere with our future we will take our eyes off the “prize” that God has waiting for us. We must never relax our efforts or lower our standards if we want to be all that we can be through Christ our Savior. If we do, we lose the prize.

Prayer: Help us, Father, to keep our eyes upon You and the prize that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. May we allow no one or no thing to distract us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

A nearby church called a new pastor. He was well received and in a short time the church began to grow. The attendance at Sunday school and worship services increased beyond expectations. Even the number of people at prayer meeting surprised everyone.

“Congratulations on the way your church is responding to you,” I said after being introduced to him. “What are you doing differently than most other churches to see such growth?”

“I’m decreasing,” was his strange reply.

“Decreasing?” I asked with a question mark on my face.

“Yes,” came his quick reply. “It’s what John said about Jesus: ‘He will increase if I will decrease.’“

John’s willingness to decrease is an important first step in humility. Those of us who want to serve God with the gifts He has given us are always tempted to do what John did in reverse order: we want the attention and focus to be upon us and what we are doing when blessings occur and success arrives.

We must never forget that it is always about Him. If we want to see Him at work in our lives, we must do as John did so successfully: point to Him and make Him the “main attraction.” We must never put ourselves first. We must stand aside and let His Kingdom grow!

Prayer: Lord, it’s difficult to get out of the way and not want to be praised in what we do for You. We pray for hearts that are humble and lives that are surrendered to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

Leonardo da Vinci had just completed his masterpiece, The Last Supper. Pleased with his work, he invited another artist to come to his studio and view his painting.

Gazing with great admiration, the guest artist was overwhelmed and speechless. Finally he exclaimed to da Vinci, “You have painted the chalice with exquisite beauty. It is the most beautiful thing in the whole picture.”

When he heard the comments of the other artist, he immediately took his brush and painted over the chalice. He told the other artist that he did not want anything to take away from his Lord for whom he had painted the picture.

Christ is present in the life of every Christian. But His presence is no assurance of His preeminence. Writing to the church at Colossae Paul said, “Christ...is first in everything.”
Because of His death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, God exalted Him and elevated Him to His rightful place in creation. And if God so honored Him as being supreme over all things, how ought we to honor Him in and through and with and by our lives?

Simply accepting Him as our Savor is not enough. We must exalt Him and elevate Him in every aspect of our lives.

Prayer: We thank You Father, for what You have done for us and what You can do through us. May we make You the centerpiece of our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Colossians 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

The James family gathered together for a quiet time and discussion. Albert climbed into his father’s lap and hugged him with all his might. Teasingly, he asked, "Well, son, what do you want now?"

"Nothing," he answered. "All I want is you!"

How unfortunate for us that we rarely go to our Heavenly Father unless we want something. It seems that when we approach Him it is for something that contributes to our well being, our health, family problems, issues at work, our financial needs or a friend who has come to us for help. Too often we are more interested in the gifts that the Giver has to give us than the Giver. We ask rather than admire and we prey rather than praise and we want rather than worship.
It is true that our Lord has invited us to ask if we want to receive and to come to Him for anything and everything – no matter when or what. For most of us it is a long standing habit that might be hard to break.

Perhaps it would change the nature of our relationship with God if, on occasion, we simply said to Him in a prayer of gratitude, "All I want is You!"

Prayer: Lord, we truly love You! Forgive us for hearts and minds that only focus on our wants and needs. Help us to also express our love and praise. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Romans 6:1-13 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Read more...)

A man who was greatly overweight made an appointment with a psychiatrist. He wanted to know why he could not control his eating.

"Why," he asked, "am I so fat?"

Pausing to think for a moment, the psychiatrist responded, "Because your life is focused on food. When you go to a baseball game, you indulge in hotdogs and beer. When you watch TV, it means snacks like candy, chips and other snacks. When..."

Before he gave another example the patient interrupted and said, "You're right. Now tell me, what type of food do you serve during your sessions?"

Whatever is uppermost in our minds is what we live for and eventually die for. Jesus, wanting us to be sure our priorities are the ones that lead us to living God-pleasing lives said, "Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness for they will be satisfied."

Whenever we surrender to anything in our life that is self-destructive or self-defeating, it is a sure sign that He does not have His proper place of honor in our lives. Peace and healing come only from Him.

Prayer: Lord, as we look at our lives, may we realize that if things are out of control, we need to search our hearts for Your solution. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.