Cup of Faith - Day 25

Scripture of the Day

Matthew 1:23 - “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”)

John 10:10-11 - ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Devotion of the Day

Today's devotion is taken from the book "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young. This is written from the perspective of Jesus talking to you.

Learn to enjoy life more. Relax, remembering that I am God with you. I crafted you with enormous capacity to know Me and enjoy My Presence. When My people wear sour faces and walk through their lives with resigned rigidity, I am displeased. When you walk through a day with childlike delight, savoring every blessing, you proclaim your trust in Me, your ever-present Shepherd. The more you focus on My Presence with you, the more fully you can enjoy life. Glorify me through your pleasure in Me. Thus you proclaim My Presence to the watching world.

Focus Points for the Day

Question - Do you ever think about your pleasure in God as something that proclaims who God is to the world?

Action - Try to live today with childlike delight...savor the blessings round you...tell the Lord how much you trust in Him. Allow your pleasure in God to shine to the world around you!

Cup of Faith - Day 24

Scripture of the Day

2 Timothy 2:1-7 - You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. ³ Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. ⁵ Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. ⁶ The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. ⁷ Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Devotion of the Day

Today's devotion is entitled "Example That Encourages" by Albert Lee from the website Our Daily Bread (odb.org).

The story is told that in the late 1800s a group of European pastors attended D. L. Moody’s Bible conference in Massachusetts. Following their custom, they put their shoes outside their room before they slept, expecting them to be cleaned by hotel workers. When Moody saw the shoes, he mentioned the need to others because he knew their custom. But he was met with silence. Moody collected all the shoes and cleaned them himself. A friend who made an unexpected visit to his room revealed what Moody had done. The word spread, and the next few nights others took turns doing the cleaning.

Moody’s leadership style of humility inspired others to follow his example. The apostle Paul reminded Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Tim. 2:1-2 NIV). 

When we remember that our strength is a result of God’s grace, that keeps us humble. Then in humility we pass on God’s truth by being an example that encourages and inspires others to follow.

Humility is the result of knowing God and knowing yourself.

Focus Points for the Day

Question - Can you think of a leader you have known that lead in a humble way? Did you find that leader easy to follow?

Action - In this devotion we read about one man doing an act of service for others without them knowing it was him. Your challenge for today is to do an act of service for another without them knowing it was you!

Cup of Faith - Day 23

Scripture of the Day

Proverbs 16:9 - The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

 

Devotion of the Day

Today's devotion is entitled "God Draws Crooked Lines" from shortdailydevotions.com.

“The shortest distance between two points is a straight line”. We all learned this in geometry. The problem is, we often try to apply this geometric principle to our lives. We make our lists, set our goals, map out the path to get there and off we go, praying for God’s assistance in getting us there. Everything’s fine as long as it all goes according to plan.

But the truth is, we don’t live in some 2 dimensional, theoretical plane that adheres to these geometric laws. Life is messy. We live in a world of all kinds of forces. Relationships, finances, health issues, fears, desires, sin, injustice, and all kinds of things pulling us in different directions.
So what happens when our straight line from point A to point B is acted upon by all of these other forces? Our lines get crooked, and we don’t like crooked lines.

When our lines get crooked we get upset, disappointed, mad, frustrated, we play the “what if” or “if only” game. We have regrets, we give up, or we get depressed. Sometimes, we feel guilty and feel like we’ve let God down because after all, God draws these neat and tidy little straight lines from point A to point B, right?

Well, if God’s will is this straight line from point A to point B, what about Joseph? He became the most powerful man in Egypt only behind Pharaoh. But Joseph didn’t chart that course and map that out. He didn’t graduate from Egyptville High School with honors and attend the University of Egypt Law School. Nope, let’s see, he made his brothers mad, got thrown in a pit, was sold into slavery, got a good job, got taken advantage of by a bad woman, got thrown in jail, interpreted a dream, was forgotten, got another good job, became rich and powerful and saved his people. That circuitous route wasn’t Joseph’s plan, but it WAS God’s plan, and it took an entire lifetime.

So, maybe we should stop being disappointed that we haven’t gotten from point A to point B and stop feeling like we’ve let God down. Let’s acknowledge that His ways are not our ways and REST in the fact that, those straight lines… WE DREW THOSE… and GOD DRAWS CROOKED LINES.

 

Focus Points of the Day

Question - Have you ever thought about how God draws crooked lines? What is a time when God drew one in your life?

Action - Take a few moments and sketch out a few big life moments and then mark the "crooked line" stops along the way. It will be amazing to see how God used every step...even when it felt out of the way.

Cup of Faith - Day 22

 Scripture of the Day

 

Mark 12:28-34 -  ²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[a] 30} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^{[b] 31} The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[c] There is no commandment greater than these.”
³² “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. ³³ To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

 

Devotion of the Day

Today's devotion is entitled "Power of Simplicity" by Bill Crowder. It is taken from the website "Our Daily Bread" found at odb.org.

Few people take time to study the US Internal Revenue Service income tax regulations—and for good reason. According to Forbes magazine, in 2013 tax codes surpassed the four million-word mark. In fact, the tax laws have become so complex that even the experts have a hard time processing all the regulations. It’s burdensome in its complexity.

The religious leaders in ancient Israel did the same thing in their relationship with God. They made it too complex with laws. The growing burden of religious regulations had increased to the point where even an expert in Moses’ law struggled to understand its core. When one such leader asked Jesus what mattered most in the Commandments, Jesus responded, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).

The law of Moses was burdensome, but faith in Christ is simple and His “burden is light” (Matt. 11:30). It’s light because God was willing to forgive us and love us. Now He enables us to love Him and our neighbor.

God’s love in our heart gives us a heart for Him and others.

 

Focus Points of the Day

Question - Have you noticed a change in your heart that when you spend more time with the Lord...learning about him and his great love for you..that you have more of a heart for others?

Action - Focus on having a heart for others today. Make a point of trying to meet needs of others with a joyful heart. It might be a stranger at the store or your own kids at home.

Cup of Faith - Day 21

Scripture of the Day 

Psalm 77:14-20 -  

¹⁴ You are the God who performs miracles;
    you display your power among the peoples.
¹⁵ With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

¹⁶ The waters saw you, God,
    the waters saw you and writhed;
    the very depths were convulsed.
¹⁷ The clouds poured down water,
    the heavens resounded with thunder;
    your arrows flashed back and forth.
¹⁸ Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
    your lightning lit up the world;
    the earth trembled and quaked.
¹⁹ Your path led through the sea,
    your way through the mighty waters,
    though your footprints were not seen.

²⁰ You led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Devotion of the Day

Today's devotion is entitled "Finding God's Pathway" by David C. McCasland from the website Our Daily Bread (odb.org).

The Channel Tunnel opened on May 6, 1994, nearly two centuries after it was first proposed in 1802 by Napoleon’s engineer, Albert Mathieu. Today the 31-mile passage beneath the English Channel allows thousands of people, cars, and trucks to travel by train each day between England and France. For centuries, people had sailed across the Channel until this surprising new way to go under it was completed.

God planned an unexpected route for His people too—one we read about in Exodus 14:10-22. Faced with certain death, either from Pharaoh’s army or by drowning, the Israelites were near panic. 

But God parted the Red Sea and they walked through on dry land. Years later, the psalm writer Asaph used this event as evidence of God’s mighty power, “Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters—a pathway no one knew was there! You led Your people along that road like a flock of sheep, with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds” (Ps. 77:19-20 nlt).

God can create roads where we see only obstacles. When the way ahead of us seems uncertain, it’s good to remember what God has done in the past. He specializes in pathways in any circumstance—pathways that point us to His love and power.

Focus Points for the Day

Question - Have you had a time in your life when God had an unexpected route for you?

Action -  Read this prayer today! Thank You, God, for the miraculous ways You have worked in the past. Help me to remember Your power and faithfulness when I can see only trouble and difficulty. The God who created a way for our salvation can certainly see us through our daily trials.

 

Cup of Faith - Day 20

Scripture of the Day 

Isaiah 55:6-9 - “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Devotion of the Day

Today's devotion is entitled "Which Way Do I Go?" from shortdailydevotions.com

One of the biggest questions every follower of Jesus asks is “What is God’s will for my life?”  We can be reassured from Isaiah 55 that as we seek God, He wants to be found and He wants us to know His path.  We are also challenged by the idea that our desires and the paths we would ordinarily follow may often be radically different from what God desires. This scripture has several implications:

• Our perspective is limited. We cannot see anything beyond what our five senses tell us, right here and right now. We cannot see into people’s hearts around us. We don’t know with certainty what the future holds- not even 10 minutes from now. At any given time, we only see a small part of the big picture.
• Our perspective is broken. Due to selfishness, pride, and everything else that dwells in us under the banner of sin, we have a skewed perspective concerning ourselves and the surrounding world. Our inner compass points us towards what we want. The problem is that what we want may not be what is right and best.
• God’s perspective is perfect. God can see everything going on in the world right now. He sees everything going on in every person’s mind and heart. He views everything from eternity past and in eternity future with one glimpse. Additionally, His path is set on everything that is right and best.

Focus Points of the Day

Question - As you pray about God’s direction for your life, do you let go of what you think you know? 

Action - Today imagine your heart and mind as a blank slate...open to the Lord's writing for your life.

Cup of Faith - Day 19

Scripture of the Day

Psalm 34:15 - The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;

 

Devotion of the Day

Today's devotion is titled "The Upright Thumb" by Jennifer Benson Schuldt from the devotional Our Daily Bread. It can be found at odb.org.

According to an African fable, four fingers and a thumb lived together on a hand. They were inseparable friends. One day, they noticed a gold ring lying next to them and conspired to take it. The thumb said it would be wrong to steal the ring, but the four fingers called him a self-righteous coward and refused to be his friend. That was just fine with the thumb; he wanted nothing to do with their mischief. This is why, the legend goes, the thumb still stands separate from the other fingers.

This tale reminds me that at times we may feel we’re standing alone when wrongdoing surrounds us. 

In Noah’s day, the earth was filled with violence; every thought in every heart was “evil continually” (Gen. 6:5,11). Yet “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (v.8). Fully devoted to God, Noah obeyed Him and built the ark. The Lord, in His grace, spared him and his family.

We too have been shown God’s grace through His Son Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. We have every reason to bring Him honor and stand strong for Him in our daily lives. He is always near, even abiding in us, so we never really stand alone. His “ears are open to [our] cry” (Ps. 34:15).

 

It’s easy to stand with a crowd; it takes courage to stand alone.

 

Focus Points of the Day 

Question - Do you ever feel like you are standing alone in your faith?

Action - In our scripture today we are told that God sees the righteous and hears the cries of the righteous. This can be a great comfort to us when we feel like we are standing alone. When you speak to God today know that he hears your prayer.