It Takes More Than Just Seed

“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Mark 4: 3-9

I am praying this devotional changes your life.

I believe God is speaking to His church, “I have something to say to you.”  Otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this.

In the course of writing, I have labored, asking Him to be the One to speak to you in your deepest insides. We need to hear His voice, His heart. We need to hear His Word.

Even if this were the greatest devotional in the world, it wouldn’t matter if its words don’t fall on good soil. The literal, perfect Word of God itself requires a receptive heart. Consider the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4). Let me paraphrase Jesus’ explanation of that story for you:

The perfect seed of God’s Word is sown. There are four results.

1. Some hear the Word, but then Satan snatches the seed away.
2. Some receive the Word with joy, but it doesn’t last. It was just a fad.
3. Some receive the Word and start to grow, but they get choked by the
worries of this world, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things.
4. Some receive the Word, and it changes everything. They bear massive fruit.

If this seed is going to bear fruit in your life, there are conditions in your soil that must be met.

1. You need to be able to seek out and receive God’s messages – not mine.
2. You need to avoid quick excitement and focus on long-term commitment.
3. You need to get rid of distractions that will choke out what God is saying.

This devotional is a catalyst. The real transformation must come as you pray and spend time with God about these things!

Now, this little booklet is not perfect. However, it is built on God’s Word. I know His Word has power to change your life – no matter who you are. In fact, I don’t know how anyone, including myself, could prayerfully go through these 40 days and not be impacted in a significant way. That is because of Him, not me.

It is up to us to resolve to be hungry, diligent, quiet, prayerful, honest, and faithful.

Ultimately, there should be two reasons why you would take the time to go through this 40-day journey.

1. You want your life to count.
2. You want to hear from God and be personally renewed.

Additionally, you must be willing to work hard, pray hard, and carefully consider the messages in the following pages.

Lord, I do want my life to count. I do want to hear from You. Let Your words land on good soil. Do a new work in my life. Change me on the inside. Give me new hope, new zeal, new fire. In these days bring revival into my heart. Renew my life according to your Word. Glorify Yourself in my life. In Jesus’ Name!

Click here to download
a pdf of the Day 1 devotional

Who is God, Really?

The Holy One

You are enthroned as the Holy One.
Psalm 22:3

He is holy. He is one being – completely separate in every way and every category from every other thing. He is infinitely unique and set apart.

Holy. No word can adequately describe Him or anything about Him. No thoughts can even begin to encompass Him.

Holy. We grapple unsuccessfully to even begin to understand Him in His fullness.  No matter how hard we try, we do not have the capacity to really get just who God is.

Holy. He is eternal – yet we can’t grasp the boundlessness of eternity.

Holy. He is omniscient, all knowing – yet we can’t even fathom the breadth of all there is to know.

Holy. He is omnipotent, all powerful. He can do anything at any time.

Holy. He is infinite. All His attributes are unending.

Holy. He is all wise. He is perfect. He never has and never will make an error.  He always knows and always takes the right course. Everything about Him is perfection – every action, every component.

Holy. He is sovereign. He rules everything that exists in every realm. It requires no effort for Him to retain His reign because He is infinitely powerful.

Holy. He is a consuming fire, and “it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). Heaven’s creatures cry, “Holy, holy, holy.”

Holy. He is just. He consumes all His enemies and in His perfect time punishes every word and every act against Him with vengeance.

Holy. He is love. He is mercy. The only shield we worms, we grasshoppers (yes, the Bible refers to us as both) have to save us from His glorious presence is the blood of Jesus Christ Himself.

Holy, Holy, Holy are You, God. Please give me a greater capacity to understand more of just who You really are. Help me to live with more reverence and awe of You in your majestic holiness and awesome splendor.

Click here to download
a pdf of the Day 2 devotional

Who is God, Really?

The Monarch

The LORD reigns forever; He has established His throne for judgment.
Psalm 9:7

Have you ever noticed that the government of the Holy One is not a democracy?  An absolute monarchy might be a better way to describe it, though even earthly monarchies are a far cry from His eternal, autonomous reign.

He exclusively rules over everything in every realm, and there is no one else making the laws and policies that govern the universe. He is it.

Whether anyone likes it or not, at least it is very simple: He is in charge. Whatever He says goes. If you blow Him off, you pay the price.

He is self-sufficient. He needs nothing. He needs no approval, no counsel, no servants, no resources, nothing. He doesn’t need love, belief, praise, or anything from anyone.

He is KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. Like it or not, believe in Him or not, live for Him or not, the fact is that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10).

Now, because He is perfect and good, His Kingdom governance is also perfect and good. So we can celebrate His rule. Whew!

Regardless of whether people believe in this King or not, and regardless of whether they submit to His rule or not, everyone has sinned against Him (Romans 3:23).  So what He does with that is entirely His choice.

And then it can get gory. His judgment is not neat and clean. He can be violent.  His righteous actions speak for themselves. A fire goes before Him and He consumes His foes on every side (Psalm 97:3). He is the one who killed every man, woman, and child on earth with a flood, except for upright Noah and his family. He is the one who destroyed rebellious Sodom and Gomorrah.  He is the one who has warned of the broad road to destruction where the majority of humanity will go. Fire, weeping, and gnashing of teeth.

As C.S. Lewis wrote, “He is good, but He’s not safe.”

He is God. He is King.

King of kings, give me faith to trust that You are perfect, loving, and just in all of Your ways. There is no wickedness in You (Psalm 92:15). I fall on Your mercy, thankful that You offer it to me despite my sin. Give me strength to immediately give You reign over every single area of my life.

Click here to download
a pdf of the Day 3 devotional

Who is God, Really?

The Heat Shield

When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous
stand firm forever.
Proverbs 10:25

Some people have been in hurricanes. Some have been in tornados, war zones, and the like. But nothing compares to coming into the presence of the Holy One.

When a space shuttle returns from the world of space, it has to reenter earth’s atmosphere. The temperature is so intense that the ship would instantly burn up – except for more than 26,000 heat shield tiles that insulate the plane from the nearly 3,000-degree heat.

Jesus is our heat shield. He saves us from God’s holy presence. As fallen people, there is no other defense against the sheer glory of God than being found completely covered in the cleansing blood of Jesus.

Of course we are guilty people. No one needs to stand before the Holy One to figure that out. Can you imagine? “Oh, God, I’m sorry. I had no idea that I had ever sinned against You.”

We also know that the penalty for sin is death and hell itself (Romans 6:23).  Someone had to pay for this mountain of sin against the Holy One. So the infinitely loving God Himself stepped in as a man and died in our place, satisfying the requirement for everyone who has ever sinned.

But there is one other key step. In order for someone to have the protection of the heat shield, they have to put it on. That is done through repenting and believing.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

This is the story of gospel, and it never gets old. It is the greatest love story ever. It is ours to embrace and ours to tell. And now is the time for both.

Lord, I come before You acknowledging that I have sinned and that I deserve death and hell itself. Thank You that You, Jesus, stepped in and took my punishment so I didn’t have to. I celebrate that you love me! I celebrate that You loved the whole world enough to come and die for our sins. I give you my life. Take it!  It’s yours. You are in charge. You are my God alone.

Click here to download
a pdf of the Day 4 devotional

Love God, Love People

That’s What It’s All About

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.
Luke 10:27

I once saw a bumper sticker that read, “What if the Hokey Pokey is what it’s all about?”

I can tell you what life is all about, because Jesus already told us: we are to live our lives loving the LORD our GOD with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Everything in life must be rooted in that.

At your funeral, there is no greater tribute statement that could be said of you than this: ___________ (Your name) just loved God more than anything or anyone.

It has been said that love is a verb. It is. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15).

And Romans 5:8 teaches that God demonstrated His love by taking action; Jesus died for us.

What good is it if someone says he loves you, but he doesn’t do anything? That is why the Bible says, “Let us not love with words or in tongue, but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

So we get it: love is a verb.

But there is so much more to love than action. It really is an affection thing, too!  We, made in His image, understand that action without heart behind it isn’t love.  Heart without action is also incomplete. We need both.

To love Him with our whole heart means that His heart, His joys, His sorrows, His anger, His dreams, and His desires become ours. We long for Him and miss Him terribly! We haven’t even had the opportunity to see His face, to embrace Him – yet. But we love Him.

Of course we don’t love Him just because He commanded it. We love Him because we love Him. We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

And that’s what it’s all about.

Lord, let the primary description of me be this: that I loved You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Give me a greater love for You, demonstrated by my actions in every aspect of my life. Let my love for You overflow into a love for people.

Click here to download
a pdf of the Day 5 devotional

Love God, Love People

Real Worship

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12:1

He didn’t owe us anything.

We turned from Him and sinned. He didn’t spare the angels who had fallen, but for some reason He made a way for us human beings.

In our world, the overwhelming majority of people never come to know this. Most never come to know Christ as Savior. Billions of them. The odds that you would know Him as Savior? Very low.

You may never win the lottery. You may not always feel like the “luckiest” person around. But the truth is, if you know Christ as your Savior, you are so very, very fortunate.

“Why me? Why did God single me out of this mob of humanity, reach down, and show such mercy to me?”

It’s time to get grateful. What mercy He has had on us!

In view of that mercy, let’s do the obvious right thing. “After all You’ve done for me, I owe You my very life. Even if You didn’t ask me for anything, I would still owe You my very life.”

“I offer You everything I have. I set myself entirely apart for You. I live to please You, whatever the cost. You have been so good.” That is our spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1).

There are a lot of people who like to get all heady about the definition of worship.  They love to talk about what forms of worship are important, what methods we can use and all the rest. But the real act of worship has nothing to do with all that stuff. It’s all there in Romans 12:1.

Psalm 51:16 says, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.” God isn’t looking for the best church attendance, the largest financial gifts, or the most noble acts of service. He’s looking for a life offering: a humble heart that is grateful for His mercy, that loves Him and lives fully for Him. That is our spiritual act of worship.

Lord, in view of Your unfathomable mercy, I gladly offer You everything I am and have. I set myself and everything at my disposal apart for You. I want to please You. Let my entire life be 100% worship.

Click here to download
a pdf of the Day 6 devotional

Love God, Love People

The Dream to Die For

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.” Then He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fasted on Him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:18-21

Most people don’t have a dream in life.

That used to really bother me. Then I realized that we don’t need one. We don’t need one because He’s the King. He’s in charge. He has already spelled out our mission. We don’t need a dream because we love Him so much that we live for His dream, not our own.

He gave us His dream. It is to bring good news to the poor, and real healing to the broken-hearted. It is to set captives free, to open eyes that are blind. It is to comfort all who mourn, to bring dignity and gladness. It is to clothe them with a beautiful garment of praise, replacing a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:1-3). It is to see His people making disciples of all nations, resulting in the eternal salvation of multitudes across the world (John 3:16). That is our dream.

It’s not a missionary’s dream. It’s not a certain type of Christian’s dream. It is God’s dream, and until you embrace it, you’ll never become all that God created You to be. It’s just impossible.

Yes, you will not be truly successful in life if you chase after any dream other than God’s. You will soon be gone, and anything not of eternal value will fade like the mist (James 4:14).

It is such a sad and uninspiring sight to see so many believers just try to be good people, try not to do bad things, try to polish their faith, maintain balanced schedules, and juggle important responsibilities as wives, husbands, moms, dads, workers, students, and churchgoers. We need more.

We need something to die for. We need something to live for – to stay up late for, to give sacrificially for, to cry about, to be fanatically radical about and flat out consumed by. That is what we need. And that is what He calls us to. Without His dream, His agenda, His passion, we should just shut the church down.  It is just noise (Amos 5:23).

A dream worth dying for? His dream alone.

O Lord, forgive me for drifting into small things that really don’t matter. Renew me. Give me a dream worth dying for. Give me Your dream. Give me a heart that is in sync with Yours. Break my heart with what breaks Yours. Bring life, fire, and passion. Yes, I want to have great zeal, but not from myself. It must be supernatural. It must be from You. Hear my prayer, O God.

Click here to download
a pdf of the Day 7 devotional

The First Word of the Gospel

Is He Really Lord?

Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?
Luke 6:46

I used to think that if people just knew the needs in the world, they would take action.

I thought that if they were presented with just the right statistics at just the right moment in just the right way, then they would get going. Wrong.

The key to getting God’s people moving is much simpler: just help them to become totally consumed with God. When we are right with Him, we begin to hate evil, turn from sin, and do what He wants us to do.

For you or anyone else to bear real fruit that lasts, you must be submitted to and in love with Him (John 15)! It is His love that must compel us.

If you thrive in Your love for Him, others near you and far from you will be reached (Proverbs 11:30). If you dink around, they will suffer (1 Timothy 4:16).

Of course the world is desperate. Your own nation is desperate. Odds are that those in your own immediate or extended family are desperate.

Literally billions of people have never heard of Jesus Christ at all. The Bible teaches that they cannot call on Him if they have not heard of Him. It teaches that Jesus is the only Savior from eternal damnation (Romans 10:9,14).

He said to go and make disciples of all nations. He wants our sacrificial giving.  Time. Money. Service. Prayer. Any and every means possible to reach people with the love of Christ. He calls for it all – now.

But the real reason that now is the time to get it together is simple: He said so. He is the King and whatever He says must be adhered to immediately, without question.

Sound harsh? Then stop calling Him Lord and King. Delayed obedience is disobedience.

Ultimately, the real issue is not missions or our interest in it. The real issue is if we will repent and do what He said to do. It’s not about a cause, it’s about a King. If you truly crown Him King and get on fire for Him, watch out….

Lord, bring me and believers in Your church worldwide to a place of sincere brokenness over our sin – sin that keeps us from You, sin that keeps us focused on our kingdoms and not Yours. Purify us, refine us, prune us, do whatever is needed to get us to the place of truly crowning You alone as our King. Let Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Click here to download
a pdf of the Day 8 devotional

The First Word of the Gospel

Brokeness, Sorrow, Repentance, and Life

Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.
1 John 1:10

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
Proverbs 14:12

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us ours sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

There is a little song that I wrote with our kids. “God’s ways are best / God’s ways are best / God’s ways are best every time.” If we really believe that, we should have no problem doing what God calls us to do. But often we don’t.

There is a way that seems right to us, the Bible says, but in the end it only leads to death (Proverbs 14:12). Death doesn’t just mean dying physically. It means so much more.

It means there is a weakening of conviction, a dimming of our eyes. Our resistance to sin wanes. We lose our ability to hear from God, to have insight into reality. We lose energy and zeal for His work. We become numb, weak, hard, and grey.

So get excited about identifying any areas in your life that you know are not in line with what He wants. Once you discover what needs fixing, you can repent!

Repentance is difficult. Repentance is sorrowful. Repentance is exciting. It is all about new beginnings, new life, new opportunities, freedom.

When we discover sin in our lives, let’s deal with it. Let’s run to the altar! Let us fall to our knees as broken people. Let us truly mourn our sin. Forgiveness and new beginnings are a prayer away! What a great opportunity to be able to identify sin that entangles us and keeps us from running a great race (Hebrews 12:1).

And know this: you can have victory over any sin, right now. Read 1 Corinthians 10:13 if you don’t agree. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

We are all called to a lifestyle of repentance. We are all called to return to Him again and again! Repentance is not “I already did that”.

If you don’t know of areas that you need to repent of, get diligent. Let’s start asking God to reveal anything that keeps us from Him. In the next few days, we’ll begin looking at some of the things He may uncover.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 
Psalm 139:23-24

Click here to download
a pdf of the Day 9 devotional

The First Word of the Gospel

The Wall

Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.
Proverbs 25:28

Picture your life as a compound protected by a wall on all sides. The wall keeps your enemies out. Nothing can disrupt what God wants to do in your life.

The only way the wall can be breached is if you allow sin to enter.

When we look at other people, it’s easy to see that some have so many breaches in their wall that the enemy can just walk right in.

But what about your life? How many breaches would it take for the enemy to penetrate your wall and enter into your compound? That’s right. Just one.

Consider Adam and Eve. All was fine until one little bite from the fruit let the enemy in.

Consider Moses. He was used in a major way, but once deviated from God’s instructions and failed to trust Him. Because of this he never entered the Promised Land.

Consider David. He was on fire for the LORD, but one act of adultery wreaked havoc in his life.

As you look closely at your life in the next few days, remember that it only takes one breach in your wall to allow the enemy to keep you down.

May God be gracious and bring to light any areas of sin that keep you from thriving in Christ. May you have the gift of true brokenness and sorrow that leads to repentance, forgiveness, and new life.

With Him, may every breach in your wall be sealed. Now is the time.

Lord, please reveal any breach in the wall around my heart. Be gracious and expose any areas that are not tended to. Even now, I am listening…

Click here to download
a pdf of the Day 10 devotional