Devotions – Page 3 – Hour of Power

See Opportunity Over Calamity

“The Lord said to Gideon, ‘You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ “ – Judges 7:2 Seeing opportunity when everyone else sees calamity is a gift. This is the fifth in our series of seven ways to flourish and bear fruit wherever you are planted. The life of Gideon is a remarkable example of seeing opportunity. God called Gideon to save Israel from Midian’s oppressive power after being enslaved for seven years. Gideon’s mission to bring Israel victory over the Midianites’ 132,000-men army was seen as a calamity especially when God instructed him to reduce the number of his army to 300. Gideon trusted God’s instructions with his 300-strong army. If you’ve got a Midianite army with slaves and people from all different countries speaking different languages, that’s not a catastrophe, that’s an

September 5, 2023 No Comments

Don’t Waste Your Life

“Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” – Mark 10:21,22 With so many competing distractions in today’s society, it is one of the easiest times in history to waste your life. Today, I’m going to share the fourth way to succeed and bloom where you are planted: Don’t waste your life! I remember my grandma growing up on a farm, and I thought, what a wonderful life she must have had. No! She said a farm is boring. Yet, boring places are excellent incubators for creativity of all types. Whenever you’re bored, you stare off into a beautiful place, and then you start cooking up things that wouldn’t

September 4, 2023 No Comments

Learn How Things Are

“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ “ – John 3:6,7 As we move through our study of blooming where you are planted, the third way to accomplish this is to learn how things are. Don’t consider how they should be or how you want them to be. Avoid using the word “should” as much as possible. You have to learn how things really are. There are many so-called “experts” who aren’t experts at all. Take Nicodemus for example. Jesus is discussing the spiritual life with Nicodemus, a famous teacher in Israel, informing him how to be reborn of the spirit and how the spirit dwells in a person. It was so confusing for Nicodemus, he had no idea how this could be possible. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do

September 3, 2023 No Comments

Don’t Curse What You Have

“But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.” – Matthew 13:25,26 Growing as much as possible is the first step towards blooming where you are planted, which we discussed yesterday. The second way to bloom right where you are is: Don’t curse what you already have. We live in an age of envy, comparison, and popularity where this mindset is so common. In a parable, Jesus talks about weeds that are sown in a master’s farm. The beautiful crops are growing, but a competitor sneaks in at night and plants weeds. The weeds start growing up alongside the healthy crops, and his servants say they need to pull them up. How does he respond? He says it’s not a good idea because when you pull the weeds, inevitably, the

September 2, 2023 8 Comments

Grow as Much as You Can

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;“ – Psalms 92:12 The Lord has given us a great promise in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” My grandpa Dr. Schuller said, “God knows more about your tomorrows than we do about our yesterdays.” This is God’s plan for you. You blossom where you are, and the door opens. Over the next several days, I’m going to share seven ways you can bloom right where you are. The first one is: Just like a tree, grow as much as you can. The person who gives it their all every day goes to bed saying, “I’m glad I gave it my all.” Everyone needs progress and growth. We tend to

September 1, 2023 No Comments

Responsibility Requires Sacrifice

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:2 A responsible life is a meaningful life. I want to add further to this thought by convincing you that the reason many people choose not to take responsibility is because it always requires sacrifice. Nothing of meaning or substance comes without pain and challenge. In order to get something, we inevitably have to give something up, and those kinds of choices are often the hardest to make and sustain. For instance, if we’re going to get through college, we may have to temporarily cut back on social activities and settle for a less than perfect part-time job to help pay for our tuition. If we’re going to get married, we need

August 31, 2023 1 Comment

Do the Next Right Thing

“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” – Acts 2:44-47 The early church was full of God’s fire. So great was the momentum that the believers were coming together regularly to pray and worship. They were selling their possessions and giving to everyone as they had a need. I know I’ve never been part of a church like that. It sounds amazing, but it also sounds scary and foreign to those of us living in the individualistic Western world. While I don’t necessarily think the Church will

August 30, 2023 No Comments

Be a Light in the Darkness

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.“ – Isaiah 9:2 The Lord has a great promise for us found in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for you to prosper, and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Before this promise, let’s remember that God had a plan for Israel, His people, which was to be a light in the darkness. Yes, the Bronze Age was very dark and Judah was exiled to Babylon for a reason. Scripture repeatedly mentions two major reasons. First, they turned their backs on the poor, hungry, widowed, and those in need. I think we all understand that. The other reason that confused me was that they bowed down to idols. They weren’t likening it to

August 29, 2023 No Comments

The Second Gift

“I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.“ – Psalms 2:7 In previous messages, I have discussed the blessings that are received through the “first and second payments” in life. In every job you’ve ever held, there was either a salary or an hourly wage. That is what we call the first payment. The same job, however, also has its people, lessons, and experiences that you learn from, and this is what we call the second payment or the second reward. As part of today’s message, I would like to talk about the second gift, which is the gift of becoming better than you were! For example, in every marriage, you get the reward of your wife or husband, but there is also a second gift: You receive the rewarding experience of becoming a spouse and all that

August 28, 2023 No Comments

Blossom Right Where You Are

“The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.“ – Genesis 39:2 The person I want to encourage today is the one who says they are stuck. I specifically want to talk to anyone who feels like, “I’m here, but I want to be there instead.” Whether it’s in your relationships, at work, or in your walk with God, have you ever felt this way? Or perhaps it’s in a literal sense like, “I’m trying to get out of California,” or, “I’m trying to get into California.” I have a word of encouragement for you from the Lord: Bloom first. Right where you are, you are to blossom and flourish! In the years when Israel’s patriarch Joseph was falsely imprisoned and rotting away in a dungeon, I’m sure he must have thought to himself that no good deed goes unpunished.

August 27, 2023 1 Comment

See Opportunity Over Calamity

Don’t Waste Your Life

Learn How Things Are

Don’t Curse What You Have

Grow as Much as You Can

Responsibility Requires Sacrifice

Do the Next Right Thing

Be a Light in the Darkness

The Second Gift

Blossom Right Where You Are

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