Time Out! Devotions

Does what you read in the newspaper depress you? Are you dragged down by the economy and worry?

Some years ago I discovered a way to keep alert and enthusiastic. By memorizing certain statements from the Bible and holding them in my mind, I could in fact restimulate and refresh my spirit.

Listed below are seven negative forces at work and seven healing passages from the Bible to counteract them.

WHEN YOU ARE TIRED:

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. (Isaiah 40:29)

There is a difference between normal tiredness and that condition of deep fatigue where all your physical resources seem spent. First, believe that God is the source of all energy-in the sun, in plants and in people. Then try this renewal technique. Lie down and relax as best you can. As you repeat the above words from Isaiah, conceive of the Lord as sending through your body His strength and power until your spirit is renewed.

WHEN YOU FEEL UNLOVED:

Above all, take the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:16, 17)

Just as men wore armor In the old days to protect themselves from physical attack, you need spiritual armor today to guard yourself from the fiery darts of the hate and evil thoughts all about. The mind can be a battleground. See yourself as defending it with all your spiritual resources of faith and prayer.

WHEN YOU ARE GRIEVING:

I am the resurrection, and the life: be that believeth in Me, though be were dead, yet shall be live. (John 11:25)

The death of a loved one can bring on a crippling sense of defeat and depression. It often causes the mourner to feel that life will never again be filled with happy, buoyant attitudes. But in a sense you are not true to the departed one if you do not face life again with spirit. The above words have a glorious message-Jesus Christ is alive and those who believe in Him live forever.

WHEN YOU ARE HURT BY GOSSIP:

He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (Hebrews 13:5-6)

If someone gossips about you, do not return evil for evil but pray for him. Do not harden your heart, but forgive him. As a means of building up your own inner defenses to slander, practice turning off your mind to the negative. Instead of thinking of what has been said about you, meditate on the positive way in which you can use conversation to God’s glory.

WHEN YOU ARE ILL:

The prayer of faith shall save the sick. . . . (James 5:15)

With all illness goes a certain amount of despondency which, in turn, can lead to lack of faith. The prayer of faith says, “I believe.” Such a prayer will attune your mind to God and permit His healing forces to operate in you. Many sick people also find it helpful to focus their mind on Jesus when they pray, seeing Him going about Galilee healing every disease, believing that His restoring power is at work today.

WHEN YOU ARE UPSET:

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son. (Revelation 21:7)

Low-spirited people often get that way not from one big trouble but from many small irritations-the pinpricks of life. Lacking a strong grip on God they give in to these daily harassments. The secret of the above passage is to concentrate on the idea that you are a child of God. As God’s child you will receive His strength to handle your weakness. With God’s power, instead of being overcome, you can overcome.

WHEN YOU HAVE NO PEACE:

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

There is a great hunger for peace today. One answer is to seek peace from God and not from man. When God’s peace enters our hearts, fear and distrust and violence depart.

(by Norman Vincent Peale from OurPrayer.org)

You and I have the privilege to do for others what God does for us. How do we show people that we believe in them?

Show up. Nothing takes the place of your presence. Letters are nice. Phone calls are special, but being there in the flesh sends a message.

Do you believe in your kids? Then show up. Show up at their games. Show up at their plays. Show up at their recitals. It may not be possible to make each one, but it’s sure worth the effort. Do you believe in your friends? Then show up. Show up at their graduations and weddings. Spend time with them. You want to bring out the best in someone? Then show up.

Listen up. You don’t have to speak to encourage. The Bible says, “It is best to listen much, speak little” (James 1:19 TLB). We tend to speak much and listen little. There is a time to speak. But there is also a time to be quiet. That’s what my father did. Dropping a fly ball may not be a big deal to most people, but if you are thirteen years old and have aspirations of the big leagues, it is a big deal. Not only was it my second error of the game, it allowed the winning run to score.

I didn’t even go back to the dugout. I turned around in the middle of left field and climbed over the fence. I was halfway home when my dad found me. He didn’t say a word. Just pulled over to the side of the road, leaned across the seat, and opened the passenger door. We didn’t speak. We didn’t need to. We both knew the world had come to an end. When we got home, I went straight to my room, and he went straight to the kitchen. Presently he appeared in front of me with cookies and milk. He took a seat on the bed, and we broke bread together. Somewhere in the dunking of the cookies I began to realize that life and my father’s love would go on. In the economy of male adolescence, if you love the guy who drops the ball, then you really love him. My skill as a baseball player didn’t improve, but my confidence in Dad’s love did. Dad never said a word. But he did show up. He did listen up. To bring out the best in others, do the same, and then, when appropriate:

Speak up.

You have the power to change someone’s life simply by the words that you speak. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21 NKJV). That’s why Paul urges you and me to be careful. “When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need—words that will help others become stronger” (Ephesians 4:29).

Earlier I gave you a test for love. There’s also a test for the tongue. Before you speak, ask: Will what I’m about to say help others become stronger? You have the ability, with your words, to make a person stronger. Your words are to their soul what a vitamin is to their body. If you had food and saw someone starving, would you not share it? If you had water and saw someone dying of thirst, would you not give it? Of course you would. Then won’t you do the same for their hearts? Your words are food and water! Do not withhold encouragement from the discouraged. Do not keep affirmation from the beaten down! Speak words that make people stronger. Believe in them as God has believed in you.

From A Love Worth Giving
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2002) Max Lucado

(from – http://www.intouch.org/site/c.cnKBIPNuEoG/b.5281195/k.210D/Feature_Article__Conquering_Your_Fears.htm)

Would you consider yourself a free person? More than likely, you would. But perhaps somewhere in the back of your mind, you wonder, am I truly free?

We live in a country that has a rich heritage—one that is steeped in freedom and liberty. But many people are not living free lives. They are bound by invisible chains that prevent them from reaching their full potential. These shackles are made up of links that have been cast and shaped in the emotional fires of fear.

Once this deadly emotion captures a person’s heart, breaking its bond is difficult—but it can be done. Though fear’s grasp is strong, it is not greater than the power of Jesus Christ. The Savior told His disciples, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32).

How do we break free from the bondage of fear? There is only one way, and that is through faith in Christ. But before we can do this, we must come to a point where we admit that we are battling a deadly foe and need God’s help.

I’m not fearful!

The young boy leveled his eyes at his mother’s gaze and said, “I’m not afraid. I want to camp outside with my friends!” His mother softened as she thought through the situation. He would be in the fenced-in backyard, within range of her hearing his every move, and more than likely, she would be awake—watching to make sure he and his friends were safe. And if they needed anything, they could easily come inside the house.

This is exactly what happened. Somewhere around 2 am, she heard the backdoor open and close. She got up, grabbed her robe, and hurried downstairs to check on her son. As she flipped the lights on in the kitchen, she was greeted by the sight of her boy and two of his best friends—sleeping bags in hand along with a crumbled bag of chocolate chip cookies. Sensing their embarrassment, she asked, “Son, what happened?”

“There’s something out there,” her son replied. “I don’t know what it is, but it snarled at us. We could hear it in the yard. Maybe it was a big dog, a wild fox, or even a large bear!” Trying not to smile at the thought of their imagined foes, she said, “Why don’t you just sleep in the den and go back out to the tent in the morning? I’ll make pancakes for you when you wake up.” The mood of the group immediately brightened. She didn’t bother to mention the fact that the chances of meeting up with a fox or a bear were extremely low, especially since they lived in a densely populated city.

Fear attacks without warning. It tempts us to believe things that will not or cannot happen, and often leaves us feeling helpless and without hope. Each day, we are bombarded with words and messages that have the ability to stir thoughts of fear within us. Turn on the news, and more than likely you will hear a dismal rundown on the economy and many other items that strike notes of panic in your heart.

News organizations often broadcast with the goal of creating an emotional reaction from those who watch, listen, and visit their Web sites. To increase their audience, they target people with the messages that produce the greatest response. Therefore, if the fire of fear works, the flame is turned up.

From a worldly perspective, the future may look pretty bleak, especially if you decide to calculate your situation apart from faith in Jesus Christ. The fact is, if you do this, fear will reach out and grab your heart, telling you that the worst will happen and it will be beyond anything you can imagine. Don’t buy into the Enemy’s lies. The nightly news cannot give you a complete picture of reality—certainly not from a heavenly standpoint. And remember, nothing the Devil whispers to you is based on the truth of God’s Word (John 8:44).

While we are facing very serious times in our nation’s history, we are not alone. God is with us, and He is never out of control.

(from – http://www.intouch.org/site/c.cnKBIPNuEoG/b.5281195/k.210D/Feature_Article__Conquering_Your_Fears.htm)

(the conclusion to this great message from

Dr. Stanley will be posted tomorrow!)