Time Out! Devotions

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

John 14:1, 3 (NIV)

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. … I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Mark 5:36 (NIV)

Jesus [said], “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

Luke 1:37 (NIV)

For nothing is impossible with God.

Psalm 116:1-2 (NIV)

I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Psalm 65:5 (NIV)

You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior.

Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

Psalm 30:5 (NIV)

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

2 Corinthians 4:8, 17-18 (NIV)

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Matthew 6:32-33 (NIV)

Your heavenly Father knows what you need. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

1 John 4:18 (NIV)

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Psalm 34:7-8 (NIV)

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

James 5:13 (NIV)

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

Psalm 118:8 (NIV)

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

Romans 8:31 (NIV)

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 5:1-6 (NIV)

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

Paul used a beautiful phrase to describe the believer’s position in Christ: “We have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand . . . ” (Romans 5:2, emphasis added). This is no puddle of mercy that barely wets the toes, but rather a mighty ocean. The Lord’s kindness wraps around us without regard for our worth or merit.

God’s grace is an essential concept for believers to understand. He freely offers His favor to mankind because Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross purchased forgiveness and salvation for anyone who believes. However, many people think they are enjoying God’s kindness when what they are really trying to do is earn it. If we have to purchase, merit, or work for grace, then it is not a gift. The Lord is very clear that works cannot save us—in fact, He compares our good deeds to filthy rags (Ephesians 2:8-9; Isaiah 64:6).

On the other hand, grace is not a license to sin or to be lazy; Christians are called upon to serve the Lord every day. From the outside, it is usually impossible to distinguish between works and service in someone else’s life. But God knows the heart’s motivation. He accepts for His glory those things we do to show Him our love and to express appreciation for His countless blessings.

Dear Friend, serving God in order to earn His favor or to ensure that He continues to bless you amounts to thwarting grace. You can do nothing to deserve the Lord’s kindness! He pours it upon believers freely so that each one is standing in a full measure of grace.

(by Dr. Charles Stanley from the January 2010 issue of In Touch devotional magazine)

So give yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. And when you draw close to God, God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and let your hearts be filled with God alone to make them pure and true to Him.

Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and sincere grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Then when you realize your worthlessness before the Lord, He will lift you up, encourage and help you.

Don’t criticize and speak evil about each other, dear brothers. If you do, you will be fighting against God’s law of loving one another, declaring it is wrong. But your job is not to decide whether this law is right or wrong, but to obey it. Only He who made the law can rightly judge among us. He alone decides to save us or destroy. So what right do you have to judge or criticize others?

(James 4:7-12 – The Living Bible)

Although God and Satan are at war, we don’t need to wait until the end to see who will win. God has already defeated Satan (Colossians 2:13-15; Revelation 12:10-12), and when Christ returns, Satan and all he stands for will be eliminated forever (Revelation 20:10-15). Satan is here now, however, and he is trying to win us over to his evil cause. With the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can resist Satan and he will flee from us.

How can you draw close to God? James give 5 suggestions:

• “Give yourself humbly to God” (4:7) – Realize that you need His forgiveness, and be willing to follow Him.
• “Resist the devil” (4:7) – Don’t allow him to entice and tempt you.
• “Wash your hands (lead a pure life) and let your hearts be filled with God” (4:8) – Be cleansed from sin, replacing it with God’s purity.
• Let there be tears, sorrow, and sincere grief for your sins (4:9) – Don’t be afraid to express your deep heartfelt sorrow for them.
• “Realize your worthlessness” (4:10) – Humble yourselves before God and He will lift you up (1 Peter 5:6).

“Realize your worthlessness” can also be translated, “Humble yourselves before the Lord.” Humbling ourselves means recognizing that our worth comes from God alone. We do not deserve His favor, but He reaches out to us in love and gives us worth and dignity, despite our human shortcomings.

Jesus summarized the law as love to God and neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40), and Paul said love demonstrated towards a neighbor fully satisfies the law (Romans 13:6-10). When we fail to love, we are actually breaking God’s law.

Examine your attitudes and actions toward others. Do you build people up or tear them down? When you’re ready to criticize someone, remember God’s law of love and say something good about him or her instead. If you make this a habit, your tendency to find fault with others will diminish and your ability to obey God’s law will increase.

(from the Life Application Bible – Living Bible edition)

Now all praise to God for His wonderful kindness to us and His favor that He has poured out upon us, because we belong to His dearly loved Son. So overflowing is His kindness toward us that He took away all our sins through the blood of His Son, by whom we are saved; and He has showered down upon us the richness of His grace – for how well He understands us and knows what is best for us at all times.

God has told us His secret reason for sending Christ, a plan He decided on in mercy long ago; and this was His purpose: that when the time is ripe He will gather us all together from wherever we are – in heaven or on earth – to be with Him in Christ, forever. Moreover, because of what Christ has done we have become gifts to God that He delights in, for as part of God’s sovereign plan we were chosen from the beginning to be His, and all things happen just as He decided long ago. God’s purpose in this was that we should praise God and give glory to Him for doing these mighty things for us.

(Ephesians 1:6-12 – The Living Bible)

What delight youngsters display when given a special gift. Joy radiates from their eyes, spreading across their faces in big, happy smiles. As adults, we rarely experience such pure delight. Yet we ourselves are gifts that inspire an infinitely higher and greater delight in the heart of God. He accepts us with joy because of what Christ did for us. When you feel that your life isn’t worth much to anyone, remember that you are a special gift in God’s eyes, a precious present that brings Him great joy.

God has offered salvation to the world just as He planned to do long ago. God is sovereign; He is in charge. When your life seems chaotic, rest in this truth; Jesus is Lord, and God is in control. His purpose to save you cannot be thwarted, no matter what evil Satan may bring.