daily devotional

The Purpose is for You to Serve

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.“ – 1 Peter 4:10 Hannah and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary in May, which I am very excited about! We got married when we were both 21 years old and started dating two years before that. So now, we have officially been together longer than we haven’t been together in our lives, which is a milestone all on its own. I have an amazing wife, partner, and friend who is my greatest treasure. And at this point in my life, I feel like I am finally able to offer marriage advice. I can honestly say that we have a very good, healthy, and happy marriage. I believe that marriage is not as complicated as we think it is. Here are the two things that I feel

August 16, 2023 1 Comment

A Double Commission

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:20 Did you know that you are a missionary? Though you might think that doing the Lord’s work means being employed in full-time ministry or spreading the Gospel in a far off country, the truth is that you have as much influence right here and right now as you would on the other side of the world. Wherever you go in this life, Jesus has set divine appointments for you to share the love, hope, joy, and encouragement that He alone can bring. Whenever He moves you into a new season, there are people in it who need to hear that life-saving truth of the Gospel. Besides being a missionary, you are also a disciple-maker. That means that you are called by God

August 15, 2023 1 Comment

Heaven Is on the Other Side

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.“ – James 1:12 We are called to cast our cares on Jesus and walk like a tortoise. Have you ever seen a tortoise walk with its short and stubby feet? It looks like every step is painful. In the famous Aesop fable, “The Hare and the Tortoise,” there is a race between a rabbit and a tortoise. The tortoise wins, which makes no sense because rabbits are faster. But there’s something built into the tortoise that’s not built into the rabbit. The rabbit acted quickly and carelessly. Even though the tortoise’s steps are slow and look difficult, it keeps going. At 16, I had to decide whether or not to make a quick investment. I worked at a Mexican

August 14, 2023 No Comments

Go the Extra Mile

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “ – Matthew 25:21 Yesterday, we discussed the fact that every job has two salaries. The first payment you receive is money, while the second and most valuable is how you develop as a person, a Christian, and how you positively impact others. I would like to share an impactful example of this principle. I know a guy who is now a talented architect, but he got his start as a ticket-taker at Disneyland. He performed grunt work at minimum wage, but always got there early, always stayed late, met people, and eventually befriended some artists. Interestingly, he did not have any artistic background, but began helping the Disney artists by doing grunt work, then started drawing and

August 13, 2023 No Comments

Every Job Has Two Salaries

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21 There is something we can do today to improve our lives: We can understand that every job, every calling, every organization we ever work with that pays us — pays us twice. The first payment is almost worthless, and that’s the one that’s money. The second payment is how you develop as a person and how you positively impact others; that’s the kind that will carry you for the rest of your life. The only thing you take to Heaven is who you become. The first salary, or paycheck, is what

August 12, 2023 4 Comments

Made Under Pressure

“And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.” – Psalms 12:6 As we discussed yesterday, fires are hard to experience, but life always comes back. Our challenge is to remember that there’s something good that comes out of the tough times or fires in life. The fire is not always God’s plan or our plan, but your talents, personal growth, and achievements are forged by fire. The process of making diamonds takes place under pressure. During the extraction of gold, a large clay pot called a crucible is used. The gold is extracted from a lump of metal, under the melting fire of the crucible. Gold is inside you, but it’s sometimes lumped together with other things. When we walk through the crucible with the Lord, gold will emerge. The crucible is even used to bring out your desire

August 11, 2023 No Comments

In-Between the Victories

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” – 1 Peter 1:6,7 When you’re in between an amazing testimony and triumph, and you’ve already paid a price, it’s hard to keep praying, to keep plying your trade, to keep working, or whatever it is you need to keep doing. My friend and his wife were told many years ago that they couldn’t have children. One day, his wife became pregnant, and they were overjoyed. After that, she lost the baby. After experiencing this cycle a few times, my friend was distraught and wanted to give up. Still, they kept going because

August 10, 2023 No Comments

God Asks You to Pay a Price

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” – Luke 22:42 When God asks you to pay a price, it’s because there is a reward. I know it’s hard sometimes to keep your eye on the prize, but in the end, you’ll be glad you did. Being a mom or dad is difficult. Being a grandparent, sibling, son, daughter, or friend is hard. Working hard, being a leader, an entrepreneur, or an artist is challenging. It’s hard to be excellent. Doing everything you can for the people you love can be demanding. It’s all worth it, but you have to pay the price. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ faced the ultimate price of death, burial, and resurrection for mankind, and with sadness prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but

August 9, 2023 No Comments

A Go-First Philosophy

“And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.” – 2 Corinthians 8:5 Early in my life I developed a go-first philosophy that has served me well. Young boys do careless things, but when their actions aren’t too absurd like jumping off a high dive or swinging on a rope, I learned you just have to get it over with. The more you think about it, the more you want to get out of doing it. We can learn to trust God and immediately cross the chasm of fear. The benefits of this philosophy was solidified in high school when I ended up being the first student in my class to present their science project. No one wanted to go first; everyone wanted more time to prepare. But going first ended up being a blessing!

August 8, 2023 No Comments

The God Who Picks Up the Pieces

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” – 1 Peter 5:10 G.K. Chesterton is an English author who lived and wrote over 100 years ago. He published several books, short stories, and essays and he was a literary and social critic, historian, theologian, and debater. He once commented that he loved fairy tales and that he learned some of the greatest lessons in life from them. One particular observation he made that got my attention is that there is a lot of glass in fairy tales, whether glass slippers, castles, halls, or mirrors. These objects — though bright, beautiful, and transparent — are also fragile and breakable. He says in his book, “Strike glass and it will not endure an instant. Simply do not

August 7, 2023 1 Comment

The Purpose is for You to Serve

A Double Commission

Heaven Is on the Other Side

Go the Extra Mile

Every Job Has Two Salaries

Made Under Pressure

In-Between the Victories

God Asks You to Pay a Price

A Go-First Philosophy

The God Who Picks Up the Pieces

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