Hello everyone!

I have an idea for a devotional book and I would like to ask your help. You see, this is one of the truly wonderful things about the Internet, the ability for you and I to interact. And I’d love to hear your ideas on this.

Actually, I want to hear your one word ideas.

That is the idea. Just one word. One word that would make a great devotional subject.

Love.

Peace.

Joy.

You get the picture.

Make it something that would be a blessing to others.

It can even be in another language.

Have fun with it.
,
Think: what one word just gets me fired up about Jesus and brings me great comfort or peace or joy.

Just one word.

It can be monosyllabic or multisyllabic.

Just one word.

Please email your devotional word to me at christophercourtney@comcast.net. There’s no money in it, but, should the book see publication, you will get a “thank you!”

Just one word.

God bless!

Oops… That’s two words…

Chris

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)

I’ve been thinking about Paul and Silas this week. Our early Monday morning men’s Bible study group (a.k.a. The Predawn Theological Society) has been going through the book of Acts and… wow… if you need an example of boldness in The Lord, go no further than Acts 16. I think of all Paul endured on his missionary travels.

And I think of the comparatively very light load I whine about.

Then my mom helped me put it all in perspective for me. She asked me, “Son, do you realize how blessed you are?” I think I do. But, really, I don’t. I’m not sure that any of us realizes just how blessed we are.

For those of you who have been reading my writing for a while, this may sound familiar to you. If so, hang in there. This is the type of subject that won’t hurt any of us to hear more than once.

How blessed are you? Well… write it down. Grab a notebook and pen and begin writing down your blessings. If you look deep enough, you will even find blessings in the hard, difficult aspects of life.

Blessing does not come from wealth. Financial prosperity comes and goes with great ease (especially the latter). Riches today are no guarantee of ease tomorrow.

True blessings come from God. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17, ESV). Believe it or don’t, it’s up to you. And one’s refusal to accept that fact in no way negates the truthfulness of the statement.

In every hardship, every difficulty, every pain, there is blessing. The blessing may be growth, the strengthening of your faith as you see God working in your life. It may be inspiring others who know you are struggling but see your faith is becoming ever stronger. It may be giving others hope, or developing within you a deeper sense of empathy for those who wrestle with the same giants – the same anxieties and fears and troubles and quandaries – as you.

“Your blessings far outweigh the bad stuff in life,” my mom said.

So do yours, if you’ll just stop and think about it.

So remember to rejoice, for God is great and greatly to be praised! Always be ready to pray, knowing God is always near. And cultivate an attitude of gratitude toward God, recognizing that it is only because of God that we are even alive. Do not for one minute take for granted the immeasurable love and amazing grace of The Lord!

You are loved far more than you know.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

How many times have I written about this verse?  I couldn’t tell you.  I haven’t enough fingers to count them. 

But I find myself continually coming back to these words Christ spoke to Paul.  I think about the “trials” I face.  Then I read words of Paul, describing his ministry adventures as a man who endured…

“far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for pall the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?” (2 Corinthians 11:23-29, ESV).

Personally, had I endured any one of those travails, I would have been marred for life.  However, as we see when we read on to chapter 12, the LORD had given Paul great and glorious visions.  And, in order to keep the apostle from becoming full of himself, Jesus allowed Paul the trouble of a thorn in his side, to keep him humble and focused on Christ.  For it is the grace of God that is sufficient for us.  Our self-sufficiency is absolutely useless.  Anybody who claims he is a “self-made man” is far more a fool than he realizes.

Then I came across this quote from Scottish theologian Alexander Whyte: “Grace, then, is grace – that is to say, it is sovereign, it is free, it is sure, it is unconditional, and it is everlasting.”   Read that again.  Slowly.  Let the words sink in.  Marinate in them for a minute or two.  Or ten.  However long it takes to permanently imprint these words on your very soul. 

Grace is sovereign, for it comes from God Almighty. 

It is free because that’s what grace is – the free, unmerited favor of our Heavenly Father.

It is sure because it comes from God Who never changes, Who is steadfast forever.

It is unconditional because it is a gift from a loving God – His power working for us, and through us.

It is everlasting, for God is eternal.

Grace is the strength we receive for the task at hand.  It allows us to endure whatever we must endure in this life for the work and sake of Christ.  It brings great glory to the LORD when people see His children stand straight and tall in His name under pressure.  Not because we are strong ourselves, but Jesus is strong within us.

Grace is the enabling power and gift available to you – to me – to move forward, press toward the goal, do what God called us each to do.  The grace of God pushes us beyond our fears, our doubts, our inabilities, our poor self-images, the lies we have embraced and the pains we experience (and avoid).

Grace puts pay to the promise that we can do all things through Christ which strengthen us.  The LORD is ever present – even when we cannot recognize His presence.  Even when the pain is great.  Even when the weariness gives way to exhaustion.  Even when your nervous system wants to give out.  There is no darkness God cannot lighten.  There is nothing too hard for God.  No task too tough, no calling unanswerable.

With God’s grace, that is.

So… what are you facing?  What do you need to do that you just can’t see how to go about it?  What obstacle has been dropped in your path?  Should you have avoided that left turn at Albuquerque?  What impossibility do you need to overcome?  Why haven’t you pursued the dream, the vision that God has given you?  Why have you let people get in your way?  What do you need to let go of?  What changes – big and small – do you need to make?  Why have you tried to do it on your own?

Today is the day.

Go grab a piece of paper.

Now.

I’ll wait.

Got it?  Ok.  Here’s what I want you to do.

1. Write down your name, and the date and time in the upper left hand corner.
2. Pray.
3. Write down your God given vision.  Who are you to bless?  How are you to go about it?  How does this vision look to you?
4. Go do it. 
5. Find someone who will help keep you accountable and shore you up in Jesus’ name in times of weakness.

Remember that nothing is impossible with God.  His grace – His gift of unmerited favor – is there for you.  Grab it in faith, rest in His peace and rely on His love and mercy and strength and guidance and provision.

And know that the grace of God is there for you!

 

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, God will reveal that also to you. Only lets us hold true to what we have attained. – Philippians 3:13-16 (ESV)

Press onward, my friend. Press through the pain. Press through the doubt. Press through the opposition.

Press upward, my friend. Keep your eyes on the prize. Press upward toward the kingdom of God, seeking Him first.

Press forward, my friend. Don’t get caught up in the past. Don’t hold on to the hurts, the sorrows, the losses, the mistakes, the missteps, the misfortunes of the past. Don’t let what used to be trip you up. Remember Lot’s wife. Don’t look back.

Strain forward. Cling to God’s truth. Stay in God’s Word. Rest in God’s peace. Praise God for His greatness. Thank God for His faithfulness. Trust in God’s grace. Revel in God’s love.

Press onward, my friend. Pray. Focus. Run the race The Lord has set before you. The results aren’t our responsibility. God is in control. God strengthens us that we may endure.

You are greatly loved, dear ones. Sleep well tonight. Rest in God. You have another leg of the race to run tomorrow.

If life is getting tough, this is for you.

If you are facing a struggle that seems too big, this is for you.

If you are in a situation that you see no way out of, this is for you.

If trouble just keeps hounding you, this is for you.

If your faith is weak and it seems the enemy has the upper hand, this is for you.

If you are facing any sort of crisis and you’re just downright tired or confused or depressed… this is for you.

Are you ready?  At face value, this may not sound very inspirational or helpful, but read on.

OK?  Here goes…

Give up.  Just give up.

Give up the pain.  Give up the sorrow.  Give up the striving and trying to make sense of it all.

Give up on just wishing it would all go away.

Give up on trying to control every facet of your existence.

Give up being angry – at God, at your circumstances, at your spouse or your parent or your kid or your boss or the co-worker who gives you fits, or your third-cousin on your mother’s side, or the guy who just cut you off as you hurry to work, or the individual at church who made the snide remark or the butcher or the baker or the candlestick maker…

Give up all the junk that makes you miserable.  Just give it all up.

Now… here is what you do NOT give up on.

Do not give up on Jesus.  God loves you.  It doesn’t matter whether or not you feel loved.  If faith were emotion-based, it would be easy.  Sometimes, in the face of circumstances we can no longer bear, faith is an act of will.  You just do it.  You don’t allow “logic” to overshadow faith.  You don’t spend your time staring at your situation.  All that leads to is inward navel gazing. 

Remember what Jesus said to the apostle Paul when he was struggling with the thorn in his flesh: “But (Jesus) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV).  God’s unmerited favor over our lives is all we need to see us through.  Instead of staring at the problem, keep your gaze on the solution: Jesus Christ and His immense grace, love, forgiveness, mercy, joy, peace… 

When we are struggling, tempted to walk away from God or give in to sorrow or pain and succumb to our circumstances, we need to give up on the misery.  But never – never ever – give up on the LORD. 

(Today, if you know someone who is hurting or struggling or facing some tough dilemma, please feel free to share this message with them.  And, if I can pray for you today, please drop me a line at christophercourtney@comcast.net.  God bless!)

© 2003 by Chris Courtney.  All rights reserved.

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.  – Acts 6:8 (ESV)

Reading Acts 6 and 7, the short story of Stephen reveals a lot of parallels between himself and Jesus.  Both were servant leaders, humbly serving in a position many would consider beneath them.  Both were targeted by people from the synagogue who didn’t like what they said, and falsely accused.  Both faced these false accusations with strength of conviction.  Both pointed out – to their faces – how wrong these “stiff-necked people” were.  And both died – in most gruesome ways – because of what they knew to be right.  And both, just before their deaths, asked the Father to forgive their killers.

Stephen was a human being.  He was not the Son of God.  And yet he was able to stand in the synagogue and, using the Scriptures, reveal to those who wanted him dead the truth about Jesus and their circumstances.  And he was able to withstand his own death – by stoning (try to imagine how that must feel!) – with faith and mercy undiminished.

How did he do it?

The ESV rendering of Acts 6:8 is slightly off-mark.  The word translated here as “grace” is actually the Greek term pistis, which more accurately means faith.  Stephen was enveloped in the strength of conviction, the assurance of the rightness of Christ.  He was emboldened by faith, “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1, KJV). 

Yet grace is a perfectly acceptable term here as well, for grace is a free, unearned gift from God.  And, clearly, Stephen was not operating on his own human power:

But (Stephen), full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”  – Acts 7:55-56 (ESV)

And his enemies all saw the Light and turned away from their wicked ways, abandoning legalism and accepting Jesus as their Savior, right?  Not exactly…

But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. – Acts 7:57-60 (ESV)

Nobody said the Christian life was going to be easy.  But we all have the same power to do what Stephen did: stand up for the Truth, bolding proclaim His Word, humbly serve others, and love our enemies.

Even when they are hurling rocks at our heads with murderous intent.

We can withstand anything when we come to the simple realization that it isn’t merely our works that bring results.  It is God Who works through us.  It is the Holy Spirit Who emboldens us and guides us.  It is Jesus Christ Who provides the model for us to follow.

When we’re facing great difficulty, we need to look up to our Heavenly Father, to see Jesus seated at the throne.  It is the same lesson Peter learned when he nearly drowned walking on the water: don’t look at the storm.  Don’t focus on the enemies and the rocks they lob.  Don’t get caught up in the troubles. 

Look to Jesus.  Fix your gaze upon the LORD.  Draw your strength from a firm, unswerving faith in God alone, knowing His grace is sufficient for you in all things, at all times (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Don’t get tangled up in life’s circumstances.  Follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and do what God says to do.

How did Stephen do it?  Stephen didn’t.  God did! 

Everybody has dreams.  Here is one of mine. 

I heard Sara Groves word this so well in one of her songs that I am reticent to even attempt to write this.  I will never be able to capture the simple elegance of her words as she sang about wishing she could have all those she loved gathered together around a campfire, trading stories and just loving one another.  She put voice to one of my deepest desires.

I would love to collectively wrap my arms around all those I love and, in turn, see all of you joyously celebrating being with one another.  To my mind, in my heart, that is fellowship in its purest form – people gathered together, praising God as one, in tune, caring for one another, truly happy to be in each other’s company.

This would be a rather large gathering, as one of the great blessings of my life is the people the Lord has placed in my path – some for a season, some for a lifetime.  I would love to bring all of us together.  No pretenses.  Just to be. 

If only for a day. 

I know we would all go back to our homes changed – for the better.

I would pray that Jesus would work in hearts.  Wounds would be healed, hurts nursed, hard feelings softened, transgressions forgiven.  I would hope for a wonderful time of catching up, of refreshment, of people just happy to be together.

I would pray that love be our lead, and we would all connect on that deeper level that comes only from true fellowship.  I would see people so happy to see one another that tears of joy stream down faces.  Hugs abound, laughter arises…

All the people I love filled with joy in Christ.

All of them so happy and laughing with not one ounce of pain, or regret, or bitterness, or mourning, or struggle.

All of my loved ones together.

If only for a day.

Can’t you just see it? I can.

I write a lot about hope.  Hope is a cornerstone of the ministry I do.  It is part of my daily prayer: to bring hope to as many people as Christ wills, and that God be glorified in that work.

Hope is vital.  It is so intimately intertwined with faith that the two are practically mutually dependent.  You cannot have faith in Christ without Him being your hope.  You cannot cling to hope if you don’t believe and trust in Someone in Whom you can find hope.

So what does one do when he reaches out with a message of hope – proclaiming the Gospel of Christ – and finds it falling on deaf ears?  Simple: you keep proclaiming the truth.  You keep pointing to Jesus, our Hope and Salvation. 

We were never instructed to go out into the world and convert people.  God never said, “Force salt and light down their throats.”  No, we are called to be salt and light.  We are called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ!  Shout it from the rooftops – with our very lives, not only our voices – and let all the world know:

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6  The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. – Psalms 121:1-8 (ESV)

All we are called to do is love others, and proclaim the Gospel message.  There is hope – hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.  There is hope for today and forevermore.  No situation is beyond His grasp.  There is no need to wrestle any longer. 

Love God.  Love one another.  Find hope in Him and rest there. 

Keep proclaiming the Truth.  God will bring the results.

1  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. – Romans 5:1-5 (ESV)

Hope – the joyous anticipation of something we have not yet received, but know in faith that we will obtain.

Faith – “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1, ESV).

The two go hand in glove.  Indeed, the Greek root word elpis is translated 53 times in the New Testament as “hope” and once as “faith.”  And, while the two terms are interrelated, they are not interchangeable.  We hope for specific outcomes.  And, in faith, we know we will receive what we hope for.

It is hope that lifts our hearts.  As Paul points out, we begin with faith in Jesus Christ, whom the apostle refers to as “our hope” several times in the New Testament.  Through faith and hope, we change our view of the suffering we face in life, seeing it through God’s eyes.  After all, as believers, our ultimate goal has nothing to do with this life – a mere vapor.  No material thing on this earth is of any value compared to the riches of God (which are our eternal inheritance).

When we suffer, we grow in endurance.  Its like the old saying goes, “What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.”  Not only will we strengthen in spirit and soul, but in character as well.  As we face trials in life and see that the Lord works through us – even if the problem persists, we have an even stronger faith, and even greater hope.  When we realize that just because we do not see God doesn’t mean He isn’t working, that His will is what is important, then we can rest easy in the hopeful faith that every aspect of our lives is in God’s hands and, no matter how situations may seem, no matter how great the pain or difficulty, He is here. 

He is with us.

He is our strength.

He is our endurance.

He is our hope.

Today’s encouragement is simple: hang in there.  Know that God hears your every prayer.  Even David knew this: “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears” (Psalms 18:6, ESV).

Cling to this: what you are going through now is not permanent. This won’t last forever. You will get through this. The light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train. It is hope. 

28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. – Isaiah 40:28-31 (ESV)

It is my prayer that the pieces I write be a blessing to others in Jesus’ name.  Please feel free to copy this article, share it via e-mail, and share the link to this website to others.  Thanks so much and God bless!!

chrisandjennie91@gmail.com